Ive been with this company since college, almost 20 years. Ive been everything from service adviser when we had one quit, to service manger at our GM shop before GM axed small dealerships. Well ive been Shop foreman/commission lead tech for 12. My side gig, restoring cars, building toys, and side shop also. My shoulders, and back are to say the least shot!!

I went in and spoke with the owner about transitioning to Service Manager in 1.5-2 years. He smiled, and didnt seem upset.

Could I get some feed back from Service managers, If any dodge, chrysler, jeep managers on here as to what i could expect pay wise, and what I need to do to prepare myself for anything underlying that I may over look?

I just turned 40, and I enjoy my cars, and LOVE what I do, but I have to look out for my family. If i go down needing shoulder surgery, Ill be down for 6 weeks minimum. MAJOR pay cut!

Any info would be great, if you would PM me with numbers that would be more professional on both ends I think..

Thanks in advance guys

Without getting in to numbers you can expect a wide variety of pay plans, it all depends on the dealer. When I was at a small store (7 techs and 2 writers) I got 25% of the net but I was also the dispatcher and warranty administrator. Larger stores may pay 5% of the net with CSI and FIR bonuses as well as warranty expense numbers. I can tell you this, any pay plan based on your CSI isn't worth crap. Even if you do hit it they will just raise it the next quarter to an unreachable number.

Now with that being said get all you can get in a percentage, preferably off the gross but that rarely happens. Know what your shop grosses and nets and figure what you need from that. Also if they won't show you the entire financial statement at the close of the month, they are stealing from you in some way or another.

I've been offered that position a few time in the past 10 years and they couldn't sweeten the deal enough for the extra hours and responsibility. You have been in this deal long enough to know how the service manager gets the crap storm when the hours are down. I think I offended the GM last time when I told him I couldn't afford the pay cut from my flat rate master tech wages. So now I'm sitting at home collecting unemployment checks and healing my abused body from 40 years of being a tech.
I would do that job if I didn't have to deal with the thirty-somethings who have zero long range vision. We have a very young management staff that know nothing about the car business other than when to kiss the owners daughters butt.
I wouldn't do it because like Guitar said they will engineer ways to weasel out of paying your bonus check every quarter

Gus

Ive got a really great guy for a Owner/Boss...


I got a flat rate pay when I was manager for the GM shop, he treated me great there.

He seriously is almost like my dad in so many ways... Hard to get into that here, but very very good to me.

With that said I know I can go in his office with a flat rate number, and hash it out from there to where we are both happy.

He knows from what I do now that I will go above and beyond for him, and I expect the numbers will be enough to make me happy family wise....

I hope...

Truth be told I worked very, very hard to get into that position and I did it for about 12 years, but after being there I found it very unsatisfying and got burnt out. You'll soon find out that you have to many people to please, the dealer, the customers, the factory and your employees. It's quite the juggling act. While the money was good, I won't lie, the well into the 6 figure income is nice, to me it wasn't what I thought it would be. Customers will wear you out, they lie right to your face and don't have a clue what they are talking about. I remember one time a customer said to me, "The customer is always right!" I said while that may be true at Burger King it is not in this situation.

Yeah my shoulders, knees and back have been killing me but I am much happier and feel a sense of fulfilment in my life that I didn't feel as a manager. I love working on cars, I love what I do so much I even do it in my spare time and on my vacations. YMMV, every one is different but if you enjoy what you do now, you may not like the job, money isn't everything to me.