Realitybites said:
Assassin said:
Typical chamber of commerce nonsense that has been thrown out there as support for mass immigration for decades.
He could fix that problem in literally 2 mins. All they need to do is change warranty flat rate times to match customer flat rate times. They would have so many techs busting down their doors it wouldn't be funny.
No amount of immigration would fix their problem. It's a skilled labor problem. Anyone with skill doesn't want to work at a dealership.
Complex layers actually
1) Tech pay has always been low compared to skill required
2) COVID hits and we are paying pizza delivery drivers $18/hr
3) Techs essentially revolt (I'm not buying $20,000 in tools to make less than a pizza guy)
4) Payroll skyrockets as dealers increase pay to keep employees. Guys that were worth $15FRH are now making $23FRH. Guys that were making $26FRH are now making $40FRH.
5) In order to cover payroll labor rates have to increase.
6) Labor rates skyrocket which prices out customer pay work and all that's left is warranty.
7) Warranty labor rates don't pay full time. So if a steering rack fails and the labor rate is 8 hours the warranty time is closer to 5. The justification is that the car is so new it should be much easier to work on (which is true btw).
As an example:
I just did the brakes on my wife's GLE350. I bought the parts from Mercedes at employee pricing. Front and rear pads, rotors and sensors were just over $1,100. The retail price was right at $1,900. They charge 2.5FRH per axle for a total of 5 hours at $209/frh. Which is $522.50 per axle or $1,045 in labor. Thats $2,900 plus brake fluid exchange plus shop supplies and tax. That means someone walking in off the street would pay just over $3,200 for brakes.
How many GLE350 customers are paying that? Maybe your S580 customers or your G Wagon customers.
That's the reality at car dealers right now.
