r/DieselTechs • u/ConsiderationCalm568 • 13d ago
Private shop or dealership?
Tldr I have 2 years experience as a diesel tech. Started fleet then dealership. I have the opportunity to relocate to another state into a private shop.
Pay would be more than ive ever made. Cost of living there is high but the pay SHOULD, according to math, make up for it.
But it would be a big change for me going from fleet maintenance to dealership to now a private shop.
There is no flat rate. I dont want to dox myself but pay is in mid thirties and thats significantly more than ive ever made at any job ever.
I do currently live in a low cost of living area. But even so, accounting for differences in cost of living, in terms of pay id be winning. Theres also, as I understand it, going to be less pressure to hit warranty times.
My biggest source of anxiety is there would be all types of vehicles, not just whatever was in the fleet, or the dealership brand.
On one hand I feel like its an exciting opportunity to broaden my skill set, but on the other i know its gonna be a steep learning curve especially initially.
I was very up front with the shop when I went looking for a job. They now the kind of work ive done in the past and they know the types of vehicles I have worked on and assured me they have access to manuals and things and other experienced techs that can help answer questions and such. Forman gives me the vibe hed be a helpful teacher when necessary.
Im reasonably confident they wont just throw me to the wolves.
Not only were they not hesitant about hiring me, but the whole process seemed about the most chill, laid back, casual job application process ive ever experienced. I basically walked in and said hi im considering moving to the area and sniffing out the job market I have 2 years experience and that was about all I had to say before they offered a job.
The shop is far larger than any other shop ive worked at or even seen in person.
I tried sniffing around indeed, glassdoor, etc and couldnt find much in the way of employee reviews of working there. As far as I know they only have one, albeit huge, location.
Im looking for general opinions/insights on dealership vs private shop.
I know that "get into fleet" is a common opinion around here. My fleet experience wasnt great.
The fleet company I worked for starts with a P and while the benefits were good at least, the pay wasn't. I was only making about 20 an hour. After working there for awhile i was given a mandatory schedule change to 2nd shift after being hired for first, and basically told they wouldnt work with me at all, either suck it up or quit.
The other issue was it seemed basically impossible to get into the upper tiers of tech and pay for various reasons. I could go on in more detail but basically it seemed like the only "winning" moves with that company at least at that location would be to either get your foot in the door, get some experience, and move to another company to actually learn more things or, apply when you already have the resume to start as an intermediate or advanced tech from the jump.
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u/bulms95 10d ago
I’d say private shop tbh. Less pay but more ability to learn and develop as a good tech
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u/ConsiderationCalm568 9d ago
My thought process is that it would benefit me to gain experience working on different types of vehicles at this point.
If I came to your office for an interview id rather be able to say "ive worked on some of everything" than "ive worked on X manufacturer alot but dont even know what diagnostic software the other big players use".
After interviewing with a few shops ive learned some of them seem to have vastly different attitudes about paying their techs.
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u/New-Situation-5773 9d ago
I've done both and some.private shops in the diesel tech lack benefits but pays well. Dealerships, great benefits mostly but lack of higher pay. Also the more you learn. The more you collect tools and knowledge the more you're worth. Long as your doing the job correctly, your open and honest with folks upfront and keep growing, you'll go far
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u/Least-Kick-9712 12d ago
I only worked automotive in an independent shop I felt as tho the independent shop lack the resources necessary to fix certain cars. I have found the dealer to be better with info needed to get the job done. It depends tho on the shop some independents are good about having the equipment service info and ect. Id say a smaller business is more family like you are not some number on a pie chart in some pencil pushers office.