Mechanic wage

mushtafa

mushtafa

mushtafa

Soldato
Joined
17 May 2013
Posts
2,939
Location
West Sussex, UK
Are you a mechanic? What is your rough wage?

I only ask because I feel I need to earn more. I've Googled for an average wage, but even those results vary a lot.

I've been working at the same place since leaving school - 15 years ago.

Fully qualified, plus additional training, and MOT tester.

I earn around 23K a year and feel it's not enough - thoughts?
 
I would absolutely love to go self employed, but the price of an empty unit is around £500 a month minimum. I just can't afford to take the plunge and get started.
I did think about going mobile, but I don't fancy that to be honest, everything becomes so much more difficult without a ramp.

Most people forget or just don't realise that mechanics have to buy their own tools. So my £23k doesn't sound too bad, but I spend around £1.5k on tools a year.
 
I work for an Indy, specialise in Renault, but work on anything and everything, including vans.

We have no bonuses, and no overtime. If I could do more hours I would.

A lot of people I speak to regarding main dealerships say they're a load of rubbish to work for. But like I say, this is the only garage I've worked at - obviously loyalty doesn't seem to matter.

Yes, £500 for a unit sounds cheap, but I can't afford it. I was looking at grants and loans, but the majority of stuff I've seen is aimed for under 25s
 
I haven't worked out any figures yet. I don't know how much stuff costs, rates, electric, water, phone and broadband etc. The water will be less than I use at home, but the electric would be very high.

The equipment can be paid off over 5 years normally, but that would still cost me around £30K which is £500 month plus any interest. The MOT testing bay is £20K+

Do I need to factor in a business phone line and internet? I could use my mobile, but would customers prefer a land line?

You make it sound very easy! Not sure how I'd get that many customers when first starting out?

I suppose it's the risk putting me off, what if it doesn't go to plan? I don't make enough money, have to give the unit up, sell the equipment at a loss, and live with the debt for a number of years - leaving me worse off than I am now...

I need to find someone who's done all this and go over some numbers I think
 
Syla5 said:
£30k for equipment? what are you buying a gold plated air compressor? As an established mechanic shouldn't you have a lot of tools as it is?

£20k for an MOT testing bay?

Also while new is ideal maybe look in to a 2nd hand MOT testing ramp and break tester. Getting a pit put in shouldn't cost you hugely either.
Click to expand...

£30K isn't unrealistic. I own tools, yes. But I will need to buy equipment which is normally company bought.

Ramp, compressor, welder, tyre changer and balancer, alignment equipment, A/C machine, diagnostic hardware and software subscriptions from the top of my head.

If I bought all that new, it would be much more than £30K. I expect if I did take the plunge, most of it would be bought second hand.

Here are some examples of these costs;

http://www.ap-tech.co.uk/products/mot_bay_packages.html

https://www.hickleys.com/pdf/tools/deals.pdf

http://www.jbsequipment.co.uk/
 
My wage only covers the rent, bills, food shop etc, so the treats would also mean days out with my 7yo, house repairs, school uniform, clothes in general, etc

I ask everyone I do work for to spread the word, but they either can't be bothered, or forget maybe? As far as I know, they are always happy with the work I do. Never received negative comments.
I only ask them once to leave a review and share the page, sounds rude to keep asking them.
 
The tyre equipment I would agree with, but some jobs are impossible to do without disconnecting some part of the A/C system. It was more me talking out loud really.

I just need to find someone in the know, and work out some sort of business plan, see how big of a loan I need, then work out if I can afford it....
 
No, not tax declared. It wouldn't be worth it otherwise. I know the risks which is why I'm not doing too much work.

Yes - gross pay.

Net pay, minus my tool payments etc leaves me around £310 a week
 
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