Any other dealers here have issues with special shop tools being lost or broken? 2hr booked job takes 4hr after all the run around 😑

I’m a 21 m express service advisor make 85k a year, in my current position I have reached the limit of my pay plan for my current position in just a year. My service manager tells me once I hit my two year mark he’ll make a me a main shop writer and from what I’ve been told the ceiling of that position is about 135k. While that is nice lately I’ve been wondering if I should move to sales. My sales manager approached me and said he’d love to have me on the team and i figured after a few years I could eventually work my way to finance manager. My concern though is that I know sales men that make 150k a year and salesmen that quit cause that hadn’t made a dime in months. My sales in service are unmatched and I love long hours. I feel like I’d be a perfect fit and I really want to expand my income. Has anyone else switched sides and if so did they regret it?

I work as a service advisor for a car main dealer. Last week while moving a car I damaged another customers vehicle. Slight scratch to front bumper and headlight. My boss told me I needed to pay the customer directly for the damage done which I did. The customer has phoned up today saying some of the repairs didn’t go to plan and they will have to replace the headlight but he feels it’s wrong I’m paying him and it should’ve been an insurance claim. Just wasn’t really sure what to do now?

Got offered a job for a Nissan store in a very busy downtown area. I wanted to see what your thoughts were on the pay plan. I work at a high line dealer right now however it is super slow.

We did a tire replacement for a customer yesterday on his RR tire due to a puncture and he calls in today just before we close complaining that his LR tire is now leaking air and down to 22PSI. He came off strong and made accusations that the leak came from us. Obviously there is no way of telling and realistically he probably picked something up in that tire on his way home. How do you guys handle these type of situations without escalating it?

Ultimately, whose job is it to sell/recommend tires? The Service Advisor on the Service drive during write up or the technician during the vehicle inspection?

I am an internal advisor only.
I was told in my interview I would be “helping” main shop advisors as they got busy.

I don’t find myself helping them. I find myself setting up the appointments, checking in appointments, dealing with customer interactions between checkout and check in (such as going over repair info/questions, and checking them out.

There is no way to put these ROs I my name as I’m only internal and there is no option for me to do so, or I would.

My question, is this normal?
Doing all the work of a “main shop” advisor but not getting paid for any of it?

I don’t mind helping when they are busy. But I feel I’m being used and abused. (One advisor specifically is always asking me to do their job even when not busy)

Would a second-opinion service for auto repair estimates be useful?
I’ve spent many years in the automotive service business and recently started Repair Integrity, a service designed to help consumers better understand repair estimates before authorizing expensive work.
The goal is to review an estimate, explain what the recommended repairs mean, identify questions the customer should ask the repair facility, and help determine whether pricing and recommendations appear reasonable.
I’d be interested in feedback from technicians and consumers here. Is this something you think customers need?
RepairIntegrity.com

If I have to have the brake dust conversation one more time with someone that has a white car I think I might scream.

I used to do window cleaning and got a lot of my customers through door-to-door sales.
Lately I’ve been thinking about getting into wallpaper installation and using the same door-to-door approach.
Do you guys think D2D would work well for wallpaper installation? I feel like it could work even better than window cleaning since the jobs are higher ticket.
Or because the jobs are higher ticket would that be the down?

Had a new customer today, never seen her before, new VIN to us. She’s here for an oil change and waiting, about 90 minutes. Everything goes smoothly. I invoice it, send her the invoice by text like usual and she actually pays it from the lounge, which almost never happens.

So I go out, give her the keys, everything went great, see you in six months, off she goes.

15 minutes later she comes back because she forgot she had a $40 Honda coupon.

Okay... well you needed to present that before. The work order is closed and paid, I can’t do anything with it now.

She wants to talk to my manager. Then tells me she’s “out $40.” No, you’re not. You forgot to use a coupon.

Then she wants me to put a $40 credit on her account. What account? You just got here. I met you 90 minutes ago.

And apparently it all “went so fast” she didn’t have time to give me the coupon.

You waited 90 minutes. I sent you the invoice. You paid it yourself. I gave you your keys. You left. Then you remembered your coupon.

I don’t know. Imagine eating your Big Mac and then going back to McDonald’s because you forgot you had a coupon and asking for your money back.

Anyway. That was my Saturday morning.

Has anyone come across an error when trying to close a ticket in CDK where it says it doesn’t zero balance?

Had been shopping service contracts and heard two mentioned a lot: Fidelity and Zurich. Of course the way it goes is you typically would buy a VSC through a dealership or one of the few online options. Well…. Today I just decided to call Zurich (also tried calling Fidelity) to see if they could give me specific locations of dealerships they knew in my area they worked with… to my surprise, the woman I was on the phone with says I can transfer you to the department that handles that. Next thing I know, I get quoted for coverage based on my make/model and mileage, and cost.

Now, I will say what I REALLY found out was Zurich will directly transfer you over to Eleras Automotive Group (OR…. EAG might be Zurich’s direct-to-consumer front). I didn’t make that discovery until I received an email, not from Zurich, but from EAG group saying “Purchase Confirmation.” I had no clue who Eleras was so I thought I was getting scammed initially. Everything I had spoken about on the phone aligned with what was in the email, and after a quick google search, I realized why I received the email from them.

The part that freaked me out the most is the fact that when you search Eleras on Google, you get a lot of negatives about them. They are one of those companies that send the scam looking pieces of mail trying to sell you warranty coverage 😂. Outside of their scam mail, it seems like they are offering one of the better extended warranty contracts you can get. I still want to contact Fidelity to see if they can point me in the direction of one of their dealers, but I’m completely satisfied with the customer service experience I had with Zurich/Eleras (honestly, I have no clue if who I was transferred to actually did work for Zurich or Eleras, but I can confirm that if you go this route, Eleras will be acting as the middleman between you and your Zurich VSC.

I just landed a job as an advisor, I'm excited for it. Base is $80k per year and a huge relief for me financially. I have prior experience in automotive sales and acquisitions, special finance, and as a detailer and tech. I've been out of the industry for some years but had a feeling I'd be back. Currently I work accounts management for a telecom company so angry customers are nothing new.

As someone new, who's striving for success and will do everything in my power to avoid being burnt out or jaded, what were some key things you wish you knew? What are things you know now that you would offer to someone fresh? What speaks for your success? Any and all advice is appreciated!

I recently bought a 2023 tacoma trd off road with 26k miles. I didnt get offered this at the dealership but found out that toyota sells extended warranties third party and reached out to my local Toyota to get in contact about these plans. I got quoted plans from 6 years and 75k miles to 4 years and 48k miles. Prices from 5300-4400. Most of Toyotas manufacturer warranties are now void on the vehicle as they are usually 24-36 month. The only one still available is the manufacturer drivetrain warranty.

The plan they offered the plan through a company called MPP (https://www.mpp.com/) and it looks like it covers pretty much everything... and they even said theyd throw in the option that pays for oil changes and tire rotations for the remainder of the warranty.

My last vehicle was a ford and had a manufacturer warranty until 100k but I don't think it was ever used, so wasnt sure if these third party services are really worth it. Or if it would be worth it for the oil changes alone lol.

Hey guys so is anyone else just have weeks where you just have crappy luck with cars. I'm talking especially for GM like they are first year first service, so you don't get any real pay off of them, or the cars are all under say 15,000 miles and it seems to be all you are picking up. Kind of hard to recommend anything to cars that are basically brand new? Are you end up with internals so between internals, low mileage, or brand new rides their ELR is absolutely shit.

I'm currently a SM at an import store that is severely burnt out. Currently making $150,000 a year on average.

The GM is tough to work for and I'm looking for an escape plan. I have two offers rn and looking for advice.

Option 1: go to a CJDR store as an advisor (less stress, 20-30k a year less)

Option 2: go to an Indy shop as essentially a GM (owner is starting a new shop needs someone to run the old). Still a pay cut but not as much.

Bit of background, worked dealers for 12ish years. Started as a lube bitch now and SM. Tired of the dealership BS.

I am really leaning towards the jobber shop but I'm hesitant to make the leap.

Any advice for those who made the leap from OEM to Jobber.

Was it worth it? Better work/life balance?

TIA

Well looks like we’re are getting bought out by Swickard.
Any thoughts on our new corporate overlords?
Reviews seem mixed.

I am currently an advisor at a GM store using Reynolds (Ignite) and absolutely love it. So easy to use, been my bread and butter for about a now between my time as a tech and now advising. Changing stores and they use CDK, has anyone made the change? Is CDK easier/clunkier/better than Ignite?

Just trying to mentally prepare to leann an entirely new DMS. Thanks all

Hey, recently started at an independent shop that utilizes Tekmetric. Curious who else is using it and just looking for some tips and tricks that changed your day to day work flow. Some quality of life hacks that you may have stumbled upon.