How much do you think car mechanics earn?

[AnnaQuayInTheUk]

My son is a car mechanic. He qualified last year. I was talking to a friend about his starting salary and she was surprised at it. So what would you expect a newly qualified mechanic to earn?

My youngest DD ex worked for mercedes in the stores and earned more than my DH as a technician. His tax relief 2 years ago was £25 for the year. The only ways to get more tax relief was to be self employed, and the Dealerships wouldnt allow that.spent a fortune on Snap On, then purchased tools where possible in Lidl. He worked for ford, Toyota, vauxhall, nissan,main dealers, small independent garages. The last Vauxhall, later pergeot, office staff had air conditioning, none or heating in the workshop. One year, in the summer,plastic roof, over 40c he ended up in hospital on a drip with heatstroke.

I was going to ask what these targets are that he has to earn for a bonus, so it's good that it's not upselling.

I took my car to the dealership for a recall and they did a "health check" while I was there and told me I needed new brakes. I have a friend that's a mechanic and got him to take a look and he said they were fine and had a good year's worth of wear left on them. I'm therefore now suspicious of the dealership trying to sell services that I didn't need in order for them to earn bonuses!

I think your DS's base wage is pretty good though. It sounds like he's doing really well. You must be v proud (and hopefully never have to pay for a service of your own car ever again!)

That's really good for your son, OP. A great salary and in a sector he enjoys. I was going to say nearer £20k but over time moving up to £30k.

DD had to go to uni to do the job she's doing, second year in her job earning £28k and paying student loan back (although minimal right now).

As other people have said, it's a similar level to teachers, nurses, social workers etc who do a 3 or 4 year degree. I think it's a fair salary and - more importantly - so does he.

@DazzlingCuckoos we don't use his dealership to service our car, we have a different make plus it's a 2 hour drive away! But DS has given us useful advice about what to ask for in the garage we take ours to.

It's the same for DS2 although his salary is now higher. His starting salary straight after uni was £28k. He's now in his second year in his job and has been promoted so is earning over £35k. Plus has his student loan to pay back

I’m sure he probably thinks that you are the poor bugger seeing as he is the one with the qualification, which will obviously stand to him in life and he can build from.

At his age I would definitely pick the qualification over money, it’s called playing the long game

It really gives me the ick that you discuss his salary with people. He's an adult now, respect him.

Why would you think a trained mechanic would only earn minimum wage?

In fact 3 grand under minimum wage.

As I said, a few may object but this is reality.

i have had to escort students from school to courses in mechanics garages, and the amount of sexual harassment the girls face is abysmal. It was horrifying and stressful trying to find what to say to stop the endless touching without making the lads want to do more just to show that they could. I have also spoken to grown women who tried to become mechanics but left the sector dismayed by constantly being shoved out the front and told to wear skimpy clothing to tempt the men to spend more, and I have some experience that way from years ago in related trades. But you carry on ignoring reality.

We have had 100 years of this fight in our age of civilization and still the headlines have to encourage women into these sectors by showing the one token privileged scion in high places : eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cjexw7v7185o
ypu could go look at how even successful women’s football teams are being treated too. Eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cjl6pjkel2ko or https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cgxxg442zyjo

But you clearly don’t read or are interested in facts or you would have read about my concern for my dd.

Ah, that's a shame.

My friend's (now ex-)DH was a car mechanic and used to do my services from his home. While I miss his cheap car servicing he was a bastard to my friend so it's the only thing I miss about him! 😆

@WaryCrow I'm very sorry that that's been your experience, but that's not the case where my DS works. it's a very reputable company with multiple dealerships, DS worked at quite a few through his apprenticeship and he would definitely have spoken out if he'd witnessed any inappropriate behaviour.

I'm sure it still happens in some garages but hopefully it is dying out.

Not discussing salaries is what gives some employers the freedom to pay people less than they should do.

The idea we shouldn’t discuss salaries is peddled by corporations, it does the average worker no good whatsoever.

Maybe, but just because you get a lot out of your job doesn’t mean you shouldn’t earn more!

100% being a qualified social worker with 5yrs of study, constant responsibility and risk of emotional burn out should be paid more than a newly trained mechanic. I’m not saying mechanics should earn crap money but I mean it when I say why do people bother with uni now?

3 years behind and £50k debt? Just to be in a similar if not less salary? No thanks.

Totally agree.

@Changingplace - completely agree if the person being paid the salary makes the decision to discuss it. Tittle tattling about your children is not a good look.

I agree. The local family garage that I now go to is very diverse and, quite frankly, the boss (also female) would have their guts for garters if they said anything inappropriate.

Their latest apprentice is a 20 year old woman. She serviced my car this year. She's so tiny she could barely see over my steering wheel as she drove it out the garage! Small but mighty they describe her as! Said she's the best apprentice they've had in years.

Where is this please, what are the local house prices, and can the average working family (ie mine) afford to move there? Or is this just more examples of wealth and privilege improving things massively for themselves and ignoring the rest of the country? I’m in the north west - and not the newly gentrified (on the surface at least) Manchester, we can’t afford anywhere near there that isn’t drug country.

@WaryCrow I work for a main dealer in the NW and none of those issues here
We have females in service, sales, parts and the workshop as well as management positions

The town I’m in has females only in customer service, and the rest as above. I’d love to know where these places are. Really don’t see female mechanics anywhere I go.

@WaryCrow I'm in between Blackpool and Bolton for an idea of area without being outing so not anywhere upmarket!

Off hand we have a female service manager, female parts advisor, female tech, female deputy manager, female finance manager
Even when you get further up so managers for the entire brand, there's a lot so probably 60/40 female at that level

They always do a round up on international women's day of achievements through the year, promotions etc as well

It's commutable to London, so unlikely to be affordable I'm afraid!

I know the mechanics there don't get paid as much as OP's son though, and the business gets by by the skin of its teeth at the moment, so not exactly wealth and privilege!

Thanks for that I’ll grab my map and go visit.

The company dd has her apprenticeship with used to be great- then they were taken over by a big group. Workshop controller not a huge fan of women in the garage. 14 staff left or leaving since the takeover. Dds female friend is moving to another garage, dd will follow in a fortnight. There is already a female mechanic there. Unfortunately there are still a few dinosaurs still working in the trade. Crossing fingers none at her new job.