Salary range for a Ferrari Mechanic

do a search, there's a ton of info on here about that. good luck though! also, fill ouy your profile, let us know a little more about you. welcome to f-chat!

 

More to be made in German cars by a substantial margin.

I know a number of Benz mechanics making well into six figures in my area alone and a few over 200k. The number of Ferrari mechanics in North America making six figures can be counted on fingers and toes and they all paid big dues getting there.

You will spend 10 or more years getting there, 10 years there and then you will no longer physically be able to keep that pace and you will be pitched.


In most geographic areas you will have one choice of employer. If he is a bum you will have to relocate. If you are really, really, really good you will be a very rare commodity. The potential employers will be even more rare.

 

Brian, why do ferrari mechanics make less?

Is it a volume issue? (More BMW's available to fix)

Is it that german cars are easier to work on?

Is the mark-up higher?

Usually, in any field, the more specialised you are, the more money you make.

Why is it different with ferraris?


Don't most mechanics get paid by the hour of actual time spent working? In that case, both a BMW and a Ferrari mechanic should max out at the same level? Are BMW mechanics paid on commission? Book hours?

Just curious...

 

I would think the mechanic gets about 30% of the fees that are charged with the remaining going to overhead (maybe 25%), workers comp (20%), and the shop owner's profit / risk (25%). So if a shop charges $130 per hour, you might get $39 per hour (a little less than $80k) including your costs (insurance, holidays, etc...). So if you can bill 1500 hours per year at that rate, you should get about $60k per year. I am not in this business but am guessing based on typical business scenarios. In architecture my experience has been that a person's salary is roughly 1/3 of their billable rate. YMMV.

BT

 

I am not aware of any Ferrari tech working for someone else that makes $39.00 an hour. Most Ferrari tech's I am aware of make between $25.00 and $30.00 an hour at the dealership level.

 

25-30$/hr sounds awefully low. Seriously.

Thats why I asked about how the hours are billed. My understanding, with dometics at least, is that mechanics are sometimes paid based on book hours. So, if you can do a 10 hour job in 6 hours, you can do quite well.

I find it suprising that in an area where repair costs are frequently 5x that of a domestic, the mechanics make less. They very well may, but it is still surprising.

 

I have said it here a hundred times but no one believes it....Ferraris are not very profitable to work on. German cars have huge profit in them by comparison. If you are working flat rate a decent Benz mechanic can bill huge numbers of hours a week even on warranty work. Actually in many cases more on warranty work. Every warranty job on a Ferrari is a money losing proposition. Retail work is not enough to make it up.

I doubt there is a Ferrari dealer in North America that would have a service department if it was not required in the contract.

Labor is not where the profit is in service, it is in the parts. Labor is where the costs and liabilities are. In the Benz business you use a lot of parts at a high markup and a little labor. With us you use a few badly made parts (that have a high probability of causing you a comeback) with very little profit in them and a lot of labor.

The only time the business makes any sense is in an independant shop. We are not saddled with the huge money drain called warranty work, but still if I changed the make we work on I could double my profits.

 

This explains EXACTLY why Dealerships cannot hold onto quality talent in their service departments....the 'indie' shops, however, don't seem to be short on talent at all....hmmm.

 

There are a few. I was on salary at a fair amount above that. In expensive areas like Nor Cal and similar the rates are higher but most have gone flat rate and when that happens quality becomes a real issue.

 

Rifledrivers comments are so true, I was both a tech and a service manager in the 80's, my last FNA training was for the 456....it was amazing how much things had changed since the late 70's, and just as much has changed from 1995 to 2007....

Being a tech is real grind, maybe good job if you're in your late 20's or 30's...how may techs in their 50's or 60's do you see working at dealerships or "production" indepedents? I was fortunate in that I never worked flat rate,
trust me it's a grind to R&R a 308 motor in 17 hours, or a TR in 20 on any day, much less when it's 90F outside and the car you're working on is filthy from oil leaks.

These days being a tech involves a huge knowledge of electronics, and I doubt if much "heavy" repair work is done at dealerships but rather exchange units are fitted.

There are much easier ways to make the $60 - $80K, trust me.

 

Porsche/Benz

There are companies that sell OE parts in the US with profit margins that should be criminal. They are mind numbingly simple cars and I can stand out on the street corner and yell and have 20 qualified guys to work on them come running. Both companies sell their technical and diagnostic info and equipment at the parts counter for the asking at reasonable prices.

Whats not to like?

 

Brian, you and other master techs like Dave I am sure made more than the numbers above when you were at the dealership, but $39.00 an hour seems to be the exception rather than the rule, am I wrong?...

 

Mate of mine who has been working as a tec in a UK ferrari dealership. Was told when he first started 20 years ago that he would never earn enough doing the job to buy a ferrari.
He makes up his money by doing foreigners on mates ferraris at his home or theres. He said that working for another car marque dealership would pay him more but he loves ferrari. Sad really because IMO Ferrari tecs dont make the money they deserve. They make peanuts compared to the big bills that customers are charged and pays/

 

Agreed.

 

Hey Flaviaman, have a Flavia? I used to have a Flaminia. Love old Lancias especially Fulvias. Only front wheel driver I have ever liked.

 

A 2000LX berlina...yes old Lancia's are wonderful cars. Same twist and push ignition switch as a 250!

 

Brian,
I used to keep books for an indep. P-car mechanic in Crow Canyon area (now gone, I worked there in high school). Guy was a truly great mechanic, loved his work, ran the shop during the 1980s with no lifts, and 1 or 2 other mechanics out of a hole in the wall. Most P-cars mechs give discounts from retail to their customers, and they still do well. This guy made about $120K+/yr in the eighties, not bad. And the older cars (aircooled) are very straightforward cars to work on.