No More Dealer Flat Rate Warranty Pay In Illinois

[AngryBob_VA]

Honda motorcycle book times are calculated by having a factory tech take a brand new vehicle and do the job three times in a row. The third time becomes the official book time. All tools are out. All bolts loose. Everything is clean. Tech just did the job twice. This is the absolute best case scenario.

It's not so bad on warranty work, but the same numbers are used on customer work. Have a bolt snap on a customer's 20 year old POS, and you're not eating today.

 

[DMG]

Honda motorcycle book times are calculated by having a factory tech take a brand new vehicle and do the job three times in a row. The third time becomes the official book time. All tools are out. All bolts loose. Everything is clean. Tech just did the job twice. This is the absolute best case scenario.

It's not so bad on warranty work, but the same numbers are used on customer work. Have a bolt snap on a customer's 20 year old POS, and you're not eating today.

That is hiw most if not all manufacturers calculate book time.

 

[DMG]

There is some merit to having internal benchmarks.

Let's move to another industry and use that as an example. New home construction.
How many here could, start to finish, go from a level pad/basement foundation and construct a 1.5k sq/ft. house (minus plumbing/hvac/electrical)? I bet 75% or better could, and it would be a perfectly acceptable job. Now, how many could do it in 30 days, with a 3 man crew of the same skill level as yourself? Not many, I'd bet. Yet, I've been on the 3 man crew that's done it, with only one of the 3 being an 'old hand' (not I) but the other 2 being someone of a couple years experience.
You are, to a certain extent, paying for speed as well as quality.

I am not a great carpenter but I really need to do things right so you would get a slow job with a lot of dumb questions.

In the case of flat rate the incentive is different. It is just profit, not speed or quality.

 

[IowaOffRoad]

I am not a great carpenter but I really need to do things right so you would get a slow job with a lot of dumb questions.

In the case of flat rate the incentive is different. It is just profit, not speed or quality.

I guess now I'm back to bashing on mechanics...

It is, as it currently stands, probably mostly about profit. That said, many of the flat rates were instituted for the reasons I stated way earlier in this post, along with the way that unscrupulous dealers and mechanics would pad the time necessary for their profit. So, the manufacturers, who look for one-size-fits-all solutions create flat rates for tasks and refuse to pay above that. Once that policy was in place, then the financial arm puts the screws to those rates in order to chip away at expenses. And so it goes...

 

[rockota]

I am not a great carpenter but I really need to do things right so you would get a slow job with a lot of dumb questions.

In the case of flat rate the incentive is different. It is just profit, not speed or quality.

fixed bids are always about speed... always. Because it increases profit for efficiency. Doesn't matter what the business is - consulting, MFG, etc.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Honda motorcycle book times are calculated by having a factory tech take a brand new vehicle and do the job three times in a row. The third time becomes the official book time. All tools are out. All bolts loose. Everything is clean. Tech just did the job twice. This is the absolute best case scenario.

It's not so bad on warranty work, but the same numbers are used on customer work. Have a bolt snap on a customer's 20 year old POS, and you're not eating today.

Clearly Subaru doesn't do it that way because they think it takes .7hr warranty or 1hr non-warranty to do an ignition coil that's on top of the engine.

 

[D'Mann]

I thought this looked familiar. Anyone notice that there is no link to the article, and the law goes into effect on Jan 1, 2022?

 

[shortbus4x4]

The worst thing was when someone would come in and say their TPMS light was on. The SA hands you a RO, you bring it in, check codes, check pressures. The tires are low. You add air park it outside and have spent .5 hours on it. Then the SA tells you they cant pay .5 hours for puttng air in the tires. It was every fucking day. But they wanted it checked out.

This is just one example.

I've worked flat rate and BS like this happened all the time.

 

[DMG]

I've worked flat rate and BS like this happened all the time.

None of the techs knew it at the time but it is wage theft and it happened constantly.