If you are an Automotive Mechanic or in the industry this is the show for you! The #1 automotive mechanic podcast! We talk about the good and the bad.
Flat rate is broken. We’re done staying quiet.
The Flat Rate Tech Podcast is the raw, unfiltered voice of real dealership and independent shop technicians. Hosted by a working flat rate tech and the author of Flat Rate Life—the book that exposes what it’s really like to survive in this trade—this podcast pulls back the curtain on the automotive industry.
Every week, we call out the truth behind flat rate pay, toxic shop politics, unpaid diagnostic time, tool debt, burnout, and the constant pressure to “just hit your hours.”
If you're a tech, mechanic, or service advisor who's tired of the lies, this one's for you.
No sponsors. No filters. No corporate polish. Just the truth.
Disclaimer:
This podcast reflects personal opinions based on real-life experience in the automotive repair industry. All names, locations, and identifying details have been changed or omitted to protect privacy. The views expressed do not reflect those of any current or former employer, coworker, dealership, or manufacturer. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.
If you recognize yourself in this podcast… ask yourself why.
Produced By Flat Rate Life Media™
Is being a mobile mechanic the way out of this BS and work for yourself? Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support! Tech...
This episode you get the Patreon cut. Subscribe Help Support the podcast. They had this planned the whole time. The technician shortage was a smoke screen for the big VISA takeover. AI can't take our jobs, but importing cheap labor can. And they knew that all along. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget ...
flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com check out the website, join Patreon. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support! Tech...
Do you ever ask yourself why you're still a mechanic? I do every day. Today we shoot the $hit. Some real talk and we make fun of mechanics. Don't be that old guy eating Salisbury steak frozen dinners while your project car rusts away. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For L...
Parts stolen from the factory and also stolen from the dealerships parts employees. Theft everywhere not just from us technicians. Some employees are fighting back LOL. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support! Tech...
Do you ever ask yourself why you're still a mechanic? I do every day. Today we shoot the $hit. Some real talk and we make fun of mechanics. Don't be that old guy eating Salisbury steak frozen dinners while your project car rusts away. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For L...
All that information and knowledge from technicians around the country just taken away. What did they do with it? Thats what we talk about today. If you haven't got the books yet get them. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support! Tech...
There is no team in a flat rate shop. And training schools are a joke. Why pay $30,000 to start at the bottom anyways. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support! Tech...
Join The Patreon Link Below This episode is just real stories. Mechanics. Shop guys. People in the same trade… who lost their shit. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support! Tech...
Today there is 2 episodes in one. I been pushing towards getting the YouTube channel going and the episodes have been shorter. I know that sucks for podcasts cause I listen to podcasts all day every day. So soon there will be longer episodes coming. I been working on a lot of for the podcast so hopefully we get back to normal. This episode is about the flat rate effect and how they blame everything on the technicians. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Face...
Most shops will tell you there’s a technician shortage. But that’s not the truth. The real reason shops are always hiring is because techs keep leaving. In this episode I break down what’s really happening inside the bays. The revolving door of technicians, the broken flat rate system, the paperwork they make you sign just to get the job, and why so many experienced techs are walking away from the trade. This isn’t about people being lazy or not wanting to work. It’s about an industry that expec...
Most people think independent shop owners are getting rich. The truth? A lot of shops are one bad month away from closing. High overhead, debt, equipment payments, and constant pressure mean many independent shops survive because one or two technicians are carrying the entire operation. If one of those techs quits, the whole place can collapse overnight. This is the reality behind struggling shops, unstable business models, and why techs carry the weight of an entire business. Support the show T...
Go to my website. They judge you on four numbers. Productivity Efficiency Proficiency Effective Labor Rate In this episode we break down what each one actually means, what you control, what you don’t, and why a slow week doesn’t always mean you’re a slow tech. Flat rate turns shop problems into your pay problem. Understanding your wrench time vs billed time shows the real story. Are you slow or are you starving. Know your NUMBERS! Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Fo...
Go to my website and order the NEW book 'The Grey Mechanic" I BET you can relate to it. Training is a scam. The more you know, the less you make. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't Forget To Rate And Review! Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support! Tech...
The new book is out "The Grey Mechanic" Link below The Grey Mechanic Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKVGDSPM They tell you that master certification is the finish line. That once you hit that level, the stress eases up and the money finally makes sense. That’s not how it works. In this episode, I break down what really happens after you become master certified. The heavier workload. The nonstop problem cars. The unpaid diagnostics. The expectation that you’ll fix everyone else’s mess while you...
Starting over doesn’t scare techs. Being wrong again does. This episode is about the moment when leaving one shop and going to another starts to feel heavier than staying, and why that happens after you’ve been in this industry long enough. It’s about burnout that shows up quietly, experience turning into hesitation, and what “starting over” really means when you’ve already done it before. If you’re still showing up, still doing the work, and quietly questioning how long you can keep going, this...
Is your manager clueless about why techs are leaving your shop? go to flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com and click the manager link. Print out the form and put it on his desk. This is what will change your shop. New book is coming the "Grey Mechanic" will be out soon! If you related to the last one wait until this one comes out. This industry is a joke and it’s rigged against technicians. You’re told to trust management, trust the manufacturer, trust the process. Then your hours get cut, your pay ch...
This trade is being held together by technicians who are burned out, under pressure, and tired of being ignored. We’ve talked for years about why techs are quitting. Why morale is dead. Why good people are walking. Why nothing ever seems to change. Complaining isn’t the hard part. Fixing it is. Over the last year, I’ve been building something quietly, not for techs to buy, not for sponsors, not for clicks, but for the people who actually control what happens in the shop. It’s a straight, no-bull...
“Be more professional.” That’s the line. And it’s bullshit. Every time technicians speak up about unpaid labor, flat rate abuse, or unsafe pressure, the same word gets thrown at them. Unprofessional. In this episode, I talk about what that word actually means in THIS industry. Why it has nothing to do with skill, quality, or doing the job right. And how “professionalism” gets used as a leash to keep techs quiet while the system keeps taking. Technicians are already professionals. The problem is ...
It’s a new year. Same shop. Same pressure. Same lies. Labor rates went up. Budgets went up. Expectations went up. Your pay didn’t. They changed the wording. They call managers “leaders” now. They hang balloons, push culture slogans, and talk about productivity. But nothing actually changed for the people in the bays. This episode breaks down how pressure flows downhill, why techs are still being squeezed harder every year, and why the industry keeps blaming technicians instead of fixing the syst...
We were lied to. We were told to work harder. Buy more tools. Stay loyal. And somehow it would all work out. This episode breaks down why being a good technician was never enough, why flat rate keeps techs unstable, and why there was never a real future built into this job. Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com FlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.com Don't...
Dealerships love to talk about “growth” and “training” for lube techs. What they don’t talk about is how many of them never leave the lube rack. In this episode, I explain why so many lube techs are promised a future that never shows up. How “just give it time” turns into years. Why moving you into the shop isn’t always in management’s best interest. And how this cycle keeps pay low and turnover high. Any lube techs watching BEWARE of the SCAM. Don't be a LIFER in the Lube Shop. Support the show...
Techs starving in a billion dollar building. No work. No hours. No pay. Meanwhile the dealership flexes its giant showroom, overpriced labor rate, and “look at us” bullshit while the guys in the bays are wondering how to pay bills on five hours a week. This episode is the truth about flat rate starvation, slow season panic, and how fast a dealership will forget you exist the second the cars stop rolling in. When it’s busy they grind you. When it’s slow they hide. Either way, we’re the ones getti...
Every shop’s got that one “super tech” everybody’s supposed to worship. The guy who somehow turns 90 hours every week, never gets comebacks, and magically has every gravy job routed straight to his bay. Yeah. That guy. The one who games the system, steals hours, cuts corners, and leaves the rest of the shop buried in warranty comebacks he somehow never sees again. And the worst part? Management protects him. Every. Single. Time. In this episode, I break down how these scammers operate, why they ...
People love saying dealer techs are “parts changers.” Cool story. Meanwhile we’re the ones dealing with new systems, nonstop software updates, warranty-time nonsense, manufacturer politics, and problems the independents don’t even see yet. This episode breaks down the whole myth and calls out exactly who’s spreading it washed-up ex-techs, YouTube University heroes, and shops that guess their way through a repair before sending the car to the dealer anyway. I go through: • Why dealer techs get st...
Want to watch the episode? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. New techs keep quitting because they’re being lied to and set up to fail. No mentors, no support, no plan, just empty promises. This episode breaks down why shops can’t keep the new generation of mechanics longer than a year. LOOK IN THE MIRROR FATBODY! Support the show THE BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57 Follow the Facebook page Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast Check out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly...
They don’t pay you enough to control you. They don’t own you. They just think they do. In this episode, we’re talking about side jobs, shop control, and the unspoken truth every tech knows: the dealer doesn’t get a say in what you do after you clock out. They want your time, your loyalty, your weekends, your silence… without paying you anything close to what that’s worth. So here it is. The reality behind why techs take side work. Why shops hate it but can’t stop it. Why the rules only exist whe...
Every shop’s got one the foreman stuck between techs and management, trying to keep the place running while catching heat from both sides. This episode digs into what that job really looks like the pressure, the politics, the burnout, and the bullshit that comes with being “the middle guy.” If you’ve ever been a foreman, wanted to be one, or dealt with one who forgot what it’s like to turn wrenches this one’s for you. WATCH THE EPISODES ON YOUTUBE! Subscribe to the channel DO IT OR ELSE Support ...
You can feel it, can’t you? Every year, there’s fewer and fewer of us left. The real techs. The ones who actually know how to fix shit not just swap parts, not just follow flowcharts. We’re watching the trade fade in real time. The old heads are walking out. The next generation’s walking in blind. And the people running this industry still don’t get it. They call it a “technician shortage,” but it’s not a shortage it’s an extinction. Because when the last real techs leave, the knowledge, the pri...
!! NEXT WEEKS EPISODE IS ONLY ON YOUTUBE, VIDEO EPISODE ONLY!!! This Episode was already out on Youtube days ago. Subscribe for the video episodes! AI’s coming for every white-collar job out there the office people, the analysts, the “safe” careers. And when that wave hits, guess who’s waiting with open arms? The same industry that’s been burning techs out for decades. This episode breaks down how the auto industry is about to win the AI war not by fixing flat rate, not by paying techs better, b...
