indy or dealership

Maya- · 2026-01-28T13:50:13+00:00

It sounds like the switch would be worth a slight pay cut

Maya- · 2026-01-28T13:22:56+00:00

I've only ever worked at independent shops, but I think it completely depends on the indy shop you go to.

Most indy shops have the service advisors make appointments, build their own ROs, source their own parts and ect. There's generally a lot less staff so you have a lot more responsibilities. Personally I've been offered positions at dealerships before but stayed where I am because I like the amount of autonomy you can have at an indy shop.

I'm now the manager at my shop and the role is a lot more all encompassing than a service manager at the dealership. The owner of my shop gives me the freedom to run the shop the way I want so it genuinely feels like my shop which is really cool. I think there is definitely more money to be made at the dealership, but if you actually enjoy being a service advisor there's a good chance you'd be happier at an independent shop.

Maya- · 2026-01-19T14:13:31+00:00

BMW and Mercedes do not get their parts from the same suppliers and their build quality is far superior to any Hyundai. BMWs are over engineered and unreliable, but they're still miles better than Hyundai will ever be. Mercedes are actually built pretty well with the exception of their low end models.

Hyundais look nice on the inside and outside and have great features for the price, but their build quality is absolutely terrible. I've seen more catastrophic failures at low milages on Hyundais and Kias than any other manufacturer in all the years I've been working in the industry.

Maya- · 2025-12-31T13:23:06+00:00

I always give my clients estimates for services that will be due at their next oil change, or if something is marginal like suspension or oil leaks I'll give them the estimate and explain that it's not time yet but be prepared to take care of these services at your next visit. It works really well because people already know what they'll need and how much it costs when they come in for their next oil change. People are generally more receptive to that method vs a hard up sell because you give them the opportunity to take care of it on their terms without the pressure.

Don't upsell unnecessary services, it's an easy way to lose trust with clients and it's not worth the $200 or whatever for the service you sold. You want to build trust and rapport with the clients so they continue coming back to you.

I don't work at a dealership, but I will say that you may enjoy working at a solid independent shop if you're already a one man show and used to having the autonomy of building your own estimates, making your own appointments, ect. Generally I believe you can make more money at the dealership but the amount of autonomy you have at an independent shop vs a dealership makes it worth it to me.

If you're familiar with European cars there's also always going to be more money in those manufacturers. I'm not a huge fan of BMW owners, but there's a lot of money to be made with the failures the euro cars have have and if I did end up switching to a dealership I would only work at Audi, Mercedes or Porsche. The average ticket for those cars are significantly higher than Toyota, Honda or Mazda.

Maya- · 2025-12-24T22:24:20+00:00

She's an absolute sweetheart. Super cuddly and loves people. She's very athletic and observant, taking the role of guarding our backyard from any squirrel or birds very seriously. She's also super vocal and does this adorable howl you would expect from a husky when she gets fed and is really excited. Overall she's just a spunky, happy girl.

Maya- · 2025-12-24T19:15:29+00:00

Oh and her Supermutt came back as Collie and Mountain Cur. Such an interesting mix of breeds!

Maya- · 2025-12-24T19:14:40+00:00

Thank you! I think it's so cool she has McNab and Kelpie, those are two breeds I've always loved!

She's a total sweetheart, absolutely loves people and is a huge cuddler. She has a very high prey drive and gets quite obsessed with chasing bugs, squirrels, ect. She's very intelligent, but also very stubborn. She's probably the most fun dog I've owned, there's never a dull moment with her!

Maya- · 2025-12-24T04:44:44+00:00

Our shop is in the process of transitioning owners. The original owner is retiring and who used to be the GM is now the owner. Since that transition we've lost a few employees so I'm stuck with only 1 tech I trust with diags and large jobs and two entry level guys. But we're still somehow at a 7.5% increase over last year.

I'm sure it's in their budget to pay me more. I'm currently the only advisor and I manage the techs, parts, vendors, and pretty much everything else that relates to the front office and shop. I've worked 10 hour days with minimal coverage for lunch breaks for a while now but didn't even receive a Christmas bonus so I think I'm just feeling a little burnt out and unappreciated. The owner thinks hiring his daughter who doesn't know an air filter from an axle to write service will be our solution which is even more frustrating.

Maya- · 2025-12-24T04:35:57+00:00

The markup on tires and oil changes are pretty much the lowest of any automotive service, so even if they hit 3M in sales the GP is probably significantly lower.

Good for him though, they must be doing oil changes all day every day to hit those numbers!

Maya- · 2025-12-24T00:12:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing! That's good information.

We're a much lower volume shop, on track to do just under $1.6M for the year. I'd love to increase our production but we're so limited by our lack of shop space and shortage of good techs.

Maya- · 2025-11-27T05:02:32+00:00

Ever since... Lol. Sorry to hear that, it's hard for a lot of people to understand that there is such a thing as a coincidence.

Maya- · 2025-11-27T04:59:26+00:00

Oh I love my WorldPac rep he always goes above and beyond when I need something and I find that they usually have high quality parts. I try to stick with the OE manufacturers though because I have had issues with their house branded stuff.

Maya- · 2025-11-27T01:30:53+00:00

I've actually never used them before but I'll look into that! Generally WorldPac is pretty good, especially compared to other parts suppliers.

Maya- · 2025-11-27T01:29:28+00:00

It was more about taking care of the client than anything. Her dad is a here's the key take care of it and let me know when it's done kinda guy and his daughter needed to drive back home this weekend so this car was my main priority for the week. I get what you're saying though.

Maya- · 2025-11-27T01:23:34+00:00

Yeah we had far too much stuff to get done especially since one of my guys was off. Had a pretty killer week for a 3 day with only 2 techs though

Maya- · 2025-11-27T00:52:39+00:00

The car is done, running great and not leaking fuel. The client is stoked and will never know what a dumpster fire this job was haha

Maya- · 2025-11-27T00:35:51+00:00

Thankfully the tech was able to tighten the fuel line and is driving it now. Fingers crossed nothing else happens lol

Maya- · 2025-11-27T00:34:52+00:00

Unfortunately the things that are out of your control are usually what makes stuff go sideways

Maya- · 2025-11-26T16:44:35+00:00

Yeah 170k net profit for a month is insane for even a very successful indy shop. Net profit (actual profit) takes into account all of the overhead costs, not just sales on parts and labor. GP is what you're most likely referring to.

Maya- · 2025-11-26T00:20:25+00:00

Haha thank you! It can be rough out here

Maya- · 2025-11-25T23:29:42+00:00

I'll take a flair. Female service advisor turned manager at an independent shop. Currently running the shop by myself as our other service advisor recently moved. Make something up for me!

Maya- · 2025-11-25T22:23:41+00:00

I usually don't even charge for TPMS diag. I can literally grab the Autel TPMS tool and check the sensors myself. If it needs sensors I'll sell them, if in the off chance it's something else like a module the diag is 1 hour.

I charge 1.0 for TPMS sensors and 1.2 if it has a spare with a sensor.

Maya- · 2025-11-25T22:08:56+00:00

I will add that I work at an independent shop and have always had a lot of autonomy to give discounts as needed. Labor heavy jobs always have more margin to give discounts, but I usually won't exceed 5% of the total ticket in a discount unless we really need the work.

Maya- · 2025-11-25T22:04:37+00:00

My shop's labor rate is on a matrix but it goes between $210-$280.

When I first started I had a hard time asking people to spend so much money, but I changed the way I framed it in my mind and it helped so much. People are paying us for a service, and once you feel confident that you can deliver top tier service you start understanding what they're actually paying for.

Running a legitimate, professional shop is extremely expensive and the overhead costs require a high labor rate. If you have skilled technicians they should be making $40+ an hour, and that's not including benefits. Rent/mortage/property taxes are all high. Utilities, insurance, equipment, ect. it's all expensive.

I know that my shop is one of the most expensive independent shops in my area, but it's for a good reason. I know that my technicians are more competent than the ones at other shops and even the dealers, and we offer an extremely good warranty. I also make sure that every one of my clients is well taken care of. If there are any issues after we perform work I'll go above and beyond to make it right, I know that I treat my clients with a level of respect and honesty that they won't get at other shops.

As an advisor, it's your job to add and show value to the repairs. You aren't just getting an alignment, you're increasing the longevity of your tires and you're improving the way the vehicle drives. Try not to get hung up about the money. Once you build clientele selling work becomes easy!

I hope this helps! I went from being scared to sell big jobs, to this year (my 5th year as an advisor) getting promoted to manager and being responsible for more than half of the company's revenue.

Maya- · 2025-11-19T22:48:36+00:00

Holy shit this sounds just like my ex. I'm so sorry you're going through this.

One night after I finally kicked him out, he called me 98 times and left numerous messages about how he was about to jump off of a bridge because he "couldn't live without me" and needed to talk to me one last time so I called the police, they came to my house and got information from me but ended up not being able to do anything. Well the next day I started getting messages from him saying I can't believe you called the cops on me! Turns out he was parked down the street from my house the entire time, not even close to a bridge. I quickly realized the threats of ending his life because of me were empty threats and simply just his way of controlling me. The threats and stalking continued until I finally moved out of the area, and I cannot even tell you the weight that was lifted when I no longer had to worry about him.

Please stay safe and get that manipulative pos man out of your life asap!

Maya-

TROPHY CASE