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Grease The Wheels PodcastAuthor: Grease The Wheels
A Master Technician, a microphone, 30 years of experience in the Automotive Industry: buckle up! Come along as we take a look at the current state of the automotive industry from the point of view of the guys and gals turning the wrenches. So no matter what you fix, how you fix it, or how many tools you have to fix it with: welcome to the Grease the Wheels Nation. Also once in a while we take a look at the makes and models of cars we work on through the lenses of history, economics, politics, our own personal experiences and the experiences of our listeners. Special thanks to The Wrenching Network, Curien, Surfwrench, and Murray the dog. Language: en-us Genres: Automotive, Leisure Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 332: Monetary Abuse
Episode 332
Wednesday, 26 November, 2025
Send us a textOn this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy outlines all of the ways that flat rate technicians lose time and money to the inefficiencies of the dealership system itself. Support staff and Service Advisors are key culprits, between not separating items on repair orders, repair orders that are poorly written or feature hand written add-ons, and not going over cars to check and see what else is wrong with them such as check engine lights. This problem is massively amplified with porters and lot personelle when they do not follow proper procedures such as putting the car in numbered parking spots and not hanging identifying hang tags. When you start adding it all up, there is a lot of this going on in any shop that utilizes the flat-rate system, and it doesn’t cost the dealership a nickel! There are also tons of things that the technician is expected to do for free, such as airing up the tires, “complementary" inspections , checking and filling fluids and again — they cost you time, which in this system is costing you money. Also major time wasters; the systems themselves such as internal, OEM, and third party software even when they work right! Bottom line the best system that a shop can have to be fair and equitable to the talent that keeps that shop making money is a hybrid that features salary with production bonuses — and that might just fix the tech shortage overall! Also, Uncle Jimmy completely forgets about the Ford Explorer Firestone Tire Scandal and talks about his favorite secret societies. This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!
