Automotive/Dealership Careers

[02-EM2-Driver]

A couple weeks back I posted a thread to see your opinions for getting into an IT/IM career. The other area I have an interest for is the automotive industry, working more in a suit/office atmosphere rather than a mechanic or detailer.

Does anyone here work for any dealerships? If so what kind of position, expected salary range? Were you required to take any courses?

Thanks

[GS430]

Service advisor comes to mind right off the bat, you can make decent money if you're good at it.

Finance department would be another option.

[Jeff_E]

salesperson is purely commission! unless you are a manager! Sales is a dead end in my opinion. but i agree with the Service Advisor Position. If you're good you will make a decent amount of cash.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

I service advise for a GM dealer in Calgary, PM any questions you may have.

[Rat Fink]

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[dj_rice]

I work as a Parts Advisor at a Nissan dealer. PM me with any questions as well

[jdmXSI]

I'd say if you were 1/2 decent with people and you wanted to sell Japanese/ domestic cars, you could make between $40-50k/year. If you went to the premium brands, I don't think it would unreasonable to think that number would go up to $50-60k. Keep in mind I know people on both sides that make substantially more than what I noted. I'm in sales, feel free to pm me with any questions as well.

[HO2S]

You can also work for a parts distributor/manufacture like napa being like their sale rep for lets say their brake department. You would go to shops and tell the techs what's what on new products and such.
You can also work for the Alberta government being a opi inspector or somewhere in the transportation department.

If you do decide to get your hands dirty and become a tech, Keep in mind it is very unrealistic to expect the same flat rate wage when you are 30 as when you are 50. I know techs that have destroyed there body's in there 20's and 30's making as much as they can. Now when they are 40 then cannot put their socks on in the morning and are fucked trying to put food on the table.

[revelations]

OP years ago I worked for a large GM dealership. I started out as a Technicians aid (not a car wash guy) and quickly became know as the "go to" guy to get odd things done, and done right (apparently no one else took the job seriously).

GM was willing after 3 months to pay for my apprenticeship - but I had plans to enter the Aircraft Maintenance world already.

IMO - get started in a dealership (can also mean washing cars) and see what positions you like. Then work towards those internal goals. Too many kids walk into a shop/dealership and expect to be gm of sales in a year, and end up being pushed out.

Careers are built in a lifetime, humility goes a long way these days.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by Rat Fink
I'm a Ford technician in a smaller city. I make 85K+ per year. The advisors at my dealership are less....substantially less. Maybe 40K or even less but the front staff are under a re-structuring to move to a more heavily commission weighted pay so I think they'll rebound as they get more proficient.

At my last dealer in Lethbridge, the good techs were mostly in the 70-90K and the advisors were in the 70K/year range.

Salesmen.....I don't know how the majority of them can even hold a roof over their heads.

I'm not sure what the salary multiplier would be for working in Calgary. I have a few friends who are techs in Calgary (mostly GM) and they are six figures/year but have decades of experience. I think adding 15-20% onto my numbers may not be unreasonable, maybe Twin_Cam_Turbo can respond to that?

All staff with Ford (and the other dealers I have looked at) have access to courses.....the majority of the courses are online with a handfull of them being in other cities (Fords western training centers are in calgary, edmonton, winnipeg, vancouver for the service guys). Sales, service, and parts all have their own courses geared to improving various aspects of their work. Some courses are great and others are a total waste of time, but most dealers have a pay structure that benefits completion of as many as you can do so it's highly worth it. A tech with all the courses at my dealer gets around $10/hr more than someone who doesn't have any of them.

Advisors at our dealership made between $65k and $99k last year.

[Cos]

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[HO2S]

Originally posted by Cos


I did my first year of my apprenticeship at Heninger in 2000. Loved it. Had EVERY SINGLE TECH not talked me out of continuing I would probably still be a tech today. Every single guy I got to know there told me I would regret it when I hit mid 30's. Ever guy over 35 was so fucking grumpy. Now I know why.

Everything you say is 100% true. My goal was to get some experience and then open my own. Whether it be a Carline or under another brand name. Didnt take long to drop that dream.

OP do what you WANT to do. You will figure it out. If you are not sure about this, you wont want to do it. Trust me.

My dad is in his 17th year of owning his own company that he built from the ground up. To this day I cannot eat oatmeal and lentils because that is all that I eat when I was a kid. When times are good they are great, when times are bad they are very bad.

The times of owning a mom and pop shop are over. Its a dealer that you have millions of dollars to invest in, or a franchise that you own 50% of and still get bossed around by the big wigs.

As a tech with a lot of gm experience I can get a job at almost any GM dealer in Calgary and pull 6 digits a year. But I would hate every minute of it and I would burn out in a few years and be screwed. I'm better off making $30 an hour straight time with a good productivity bonus, working at my own pace and becoming a sait instructor when I see fit. Not when I have to.

[Ukyo8]

I work in sales for Ford, made 95K my first year, forecasting for about 110K for my second.

It's great work if you know what you're doing and have a happy client base.
85% sales guys in this business are totally incompetent from what I've seen, I don't even know how they pay their bills.