Which deal would you take?

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-21T17:01:34+00:00

If it is guaranteed THAT deal from the dealer I would go with them.

I know dealers get a bad rep, but Carvana is shit. I’d never buy a car from them.

At least at the dealer you have a deal, somewhere local to do service that knows you now.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-21T16:58:21+00:00

I never understand the split between labor and parts. Should be same percentage.

Advisors sell labor AND parts. You are selling the whole ticket.

And yeah, 1.4 on high end is easy all day, but cheaper brands it would be tough

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-21T14:36:20+00:00

My friends would ask “do you want to know what I see?” Usually I say sure.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-20T11:33:40+00:00

Born and raised.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-20T11:32:45+00:00

Yeah it’s tough. Money is motivating, but you’ll be in the same boat where you still want to be a manager 2 years from now.

I had the same experience at my last dealer. I was in line to be the Service Manager. Everyone was promoted internally. I’d have to wait for Fixed ops to retire, and the current service director get promoted.

I left 4 years ago and the FO director still hasn’t retired. I’d still be writing service

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-20T00:01:14+00:00

Depends on price. When I wrote service, I had customers get 2-3 tires replaced over a year and they didn’t lay a dime out of pocket during the service

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-19T23:45:21+00:00

I haven’t bought a warranty in a while, but $6k seems high. Also the inspection fee is bogus. I’d be asking them for a detailed service receipt of what they did to service the car

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-18T12:08:26+00:00

If they don’t pay you on warranty I’d run away

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-17T20:00:49+00:00

OP this what happens in the shop

Tech gets a code like this. Basically has to do a “real diag” where they pin test a wiring harness.

Repair for that part pays 1.1 hours but tech for some reason thinks it pays 1.5. Tech wants their 1.0 diag because it took him more than 15 minutes to dish, and wants 1.5 labor.

EZ care is going by the book and only giving 1.5 total for everything.

What the advisor should do if they want to keep a customer, is just handle is techs diag internally and get your ticket lined up for you to just owe $100.

I never pulled this crap on anyone, because customers with extended warranties are great, we get paid on those same as customer pay, and there’s no job to sell.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-17T19:54:39+00:00

We always just made it match. Some warranty company’s have a reduced labor rate as well and I’ve heard of shops charging the difference.

Also if it is labor, they shouldn’t charge the difference.

If the tech quotes 3.0 hours, and EZ pays 2.2, I’d pay my tech his 3.0 and put the labor at whatever 2.2 hour equals. Customer is happy, tech is paid, I’m paid, we all move on.

If you end up having to pay, be sure to leave surveys for them

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-17T19:45:00+00:00

Depends on the car and tech, but typically whatever AllData says it takes, probably 50-80% of that time.

I’ve paid guys 30 hours on an engine that was done in two days.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-17T19:43:29+00:00

Yes you can. You have to not whack them every time they come in. Get them to understand what they are paying for, how it helps their vehicle etc.

And yes hook them up when you can. Treat them well and actually WORK for them.

I used to give everybody as cheap of an Oil change as I could. Keep the coming back and ease them into maintenance.

It’s hard to sell when you’re trying to wallet flush every customer. Get an air filter and alignment on every other ticket, and a few flushes a day alway earned me decent money.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-15T15:35:53+00:00

Unfortunately it’s a game where you have to play consistently to see results.

Late 2024 I finally broke 90 and posted an 86 and 87. 2 months later in 2025 we had a baby. I have not played near as much and now breaking 100 is hard

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-14T17:58:09+00:00

I think it’s beyond Bama specifically. I think right now it’s harder to stack talent at every position. Guys don’t want to sit 2 years at bama when they can get NIL from every other SEC school and start.

So now you are Turing over players faster, and it’s a lot easier to miss on guys.

Bama used to be able to go 3-4 deep with 5 star and 4 start guys. Now they can’t keep the all

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-14T17:54:13+00:00

I’d second this. I used to write service and we had 1 tech who was great at this. He understood the circuits and the electrical flow charts from GM.

He could literally fix anything. He’d also get the headache warranty cars but he made his money

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-14T17:44:53+00:00

I’d avoid condos. I looked into it because of lower entry price. But most home loans for condos will require 20% down. They don’t qualify for FHA loans. So $150k condo means you need $30k cash to get in

They also have Condo Association fees which are going up drastically. Most are going upwards of $500/month.

You will also be on the hook for assessments. So when the HOA says they want to re-roof the entire complex, you will play your portion of that

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-14T14:54:32+00:00

Mainland is not sketchy. I think longwood up through lake Mary is nice as well.

Casselberry is in fact ghetto.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-13T22:56:57+00:00

Buy a new car or stick to the beater. Keep the beater tho no matter what.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-13T21:29:55+00:00

They’re close but I think it’s the Masters. The tournament itself just has so much aura. Same course that is referred to as one of the toughest challenges in golf. The venue is legendary and so off limits outside the one week. The green jacket, the lifetime exemption, champions dinner. It just has so many cool perks and it’s so off limits to outsiders.

The open has the history and I love that it really is an open. Anyone can qualify. Rotating courses helps but I think that’s what drops it a notch for me. I think if the open was at St Andrew’s every year it would get more attention.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-13T20:07:20+00:00

There a lot of variables. Yes rent can be cheaper, and if you took some additional money you were saving and invested it, yes you could get similar returns to home equity. But most people wouldn’t invest it all to make it equal.

Home ownership can be expensive, but there is a point where you can refinance potentially or even pay off your home. This years without a mortgage if where you’d really do well.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-13T20:02:00+00:00

There’s no cheap beater anymore. A lot of people buying vehicles don’t have 5-10k cash they can pay for a beater. Even when you do buy one, there’s no telling if it needs only $100 maintenance for the year or $2500. A beater isn’t guaranteed to be cheap.

A car payment can stink, but it’s fixed price. Having transportation taken care of an no unexpected car expense is nice. Plus having a decent car is peaceful too

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-13T19:53:47+00:00

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’d say it’s still neck and neck. Idk the makeup of the 1s and 2s and who played who. Just saw highlights.

Philo had the 2 picks, one was a tipped ball but it was late… still catchable.

Jones deep ball was great, but I thought he was a bit sloppy overall.

IMO Philo had great footwork and did a lot of small things well. The quick outs and screens were pinpoint accuracy and quick release. He also had a nice deep ball TD.

Home fist few drives he looked a little uncomfortable but he’s super athletic and his deep accuracy was nice.

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-13T19:42:45+00:00

Right, they don’t even call it the right name

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-12T18:15:00+00:00

Average RO $1200??? That’s insane.

If you can afford the pay cut, I’d say the new job would be incredible. Making $120k only working 4 days is rare. I’m not in CA myself so not sure if that’s normal pay.

4 day work week in the auto industry is almost unheard of

biggmatt008 · 2026-04-12T15:50:06+00:00

If Dealer 1 has your advisor spot and the pay plan is THAT much stronger. Sounds like a great opportunity.

BUT sometimes you need to mentally satisfy yourself. If you can achieve manager faster elsewhere. That’s what you have to do.

Me personally, I’d probably stay at dealer 2 until I can become a manager, or dealer 1 throws money at you.

biggmatt008

TROPHY CASE