Auto Techs Get Respect. Finally.

Dealership auto technicians are getting the respect they deserve. Finally, say many members of the auto-retailing world who spoke at the recent Ted Ings' Fixed Ops Roundtable.

“It is the best time to be a technician,” says Tully Williams, fixed operations director for Niello Co., a nine-store dealership group based in Sacramento, CA.

Salespeople once stood out as the stars of the show at dealerships.

That’s changing as the spotlight widens to include back-shop crew members.

“In the past, the focus of a dealership has always been on the front end,” says Stephen Hill, service director at I-10 Toyota in Indio, CA.

“The viewpoint of what a technician is has changed dramatically.”

Because of their growing skill levels, auto technicians now enjoy new-found respect, especially as dealership money-makers.

General managers are paying more attention to a dealership’s back end and focusing on pay plans for the different levels of technicians, from master mechanics to newbies working in express-repair operations, but showing potential to take on more involved work ultimately, Hill says.    

“The value is there for good technicians,” he says. “It wasn’t always that way. Before, it was all about salespeople being the most valued employees.”

That was partly because many dealership principals and general managers came from the sales side.

But fixed operations, which include the sale of car parts and repair and maintenance services, contribute a major portion of dealership profits, according to the National Automobile Dealers Assn.

NADA says that, on average, fixed ops accounts for 47.3% of a dealership’s gross profit. That compares with 27.6% for new-vehicle sales and 24.9% for used-car sales.

The trade group says fixed ops are essential for a dealership’s growth and profitability, especially during times when vehicle sales soften as they have due to high interest rates and economic uncertainty.  S&P Global Mobility has reported that the average age of U.S. cars on the road is 12.6 years, an all-time high.

Changing Role of Mechanics

The role of mechanics has evolved to skilled technicians using high-tech tools and diagnostic equipment to fix the latest and greatest products automakers roll out.

“Whether it is certain incentives or pay plans or whatever, we must be willing to evolve along with the role of the technician and the technology of these cars,” says Thomas Sirmons, service director at Harbor Nissan, Port Charlotte, FL.

He adds: “It’s important to set the precedent and make sure these people are taken care of. We will have to evolve along with these technicians and new vehicles.”

Niello Co.’s Williams is an innovative fixed-operations director who is keen on dealerships making concerted efforts to recruit, retain and continuously train technicians.

Questions for Dealership Managers

“We believe in the value of the technician,” he says, then poses a series of related questions:

“Are we out there recruiting? Does your store have mentoring programs? Do you believe someone who was earning minimum wage can come in and eventually make six figures fixing automobiles?  

“Do you believe in training? Is there a pathway at your store where you can say, ‘Here is the pay plan, the pathway – in writing.’”

Doing those things goes to “the value of the technician,” Williams says. “It’s the time for dealerships to say they are all-in on technicians. Hire up, train up and the success of your store will be unbelievable.”    

Industry veteran Jeff Bogaski who has held management positions at Cox Automotive and Affinitiv, says it is up to the current generation of dealership management to get up-and-coming technicians up to speed. 

As much as the status of technicians has increased in recent years, it is expected to go even higher.

“What technicians will be thought of in 10 years will be different than it is today,” Bogaski says, noting the cadence of technological advancements on modern vehicles.

Doug Eroh, president of Penske Motor Co. and Longo Toyota in El Monte, CA, keeps his eye on the growing battery-electric vehicle market.

His EV market in Southern California is “unique” with a 22% share – and growing.

“We need the right technicians and right equipment,” he says for servicing and fixing EVs.  

Bright Future for Car Fixers

A bright future for auto technicians is foreseen by Dawn Newsome, vice president-fixed operations at Vaden Automotive, a group based in Savannah, GA. It employs 143 mechanics of various skill and training levels.

The next five to 10 years “will be better” for technicians, she says.

Newsome urges auto makers to “get engaged” in dealership technician recruiting and training. “Put technicians at the top of the list.”

Being an auto technician isn’t easy. There are job-performance pressures, sometimes brain-busting problems to address and often toe-tapping impatient customers who want their cars back ASAP. 

Dealerships want valued technicians to work hard, not spend time taking bows, despite their growing esteem.  

“They’ve got to work hard, but at the end of the day they are our bread and butter,” Newsome says.