Automobile technician vs mechanical detailer

The differences between automobile technicians and mechanical detailers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an automobile technician and a mechanical detailer. Additionally, a mechanical detailer has an average salary of $41,030, which is higher than the $39,815 average annual salary of an automobile technician.

The top three skills for an automobile technician include oil changes, preventive maintenance and engine tune-ups. The most important skills for a mechanical detailer are customer vehicles, CAD, and solidworks.

Automobile technician vs mechanical detailer overview

	Automobile Technician	Mechanical Detailer
Yearly salary	$39,815	$41,030
Hourly rate	$19.14	$19.73
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	75,140	24,721
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	High School Diploma, 40%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

Automobile technician vs mechanical detailer salary

Automobile technicians and mechanical detailers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Automobile Technician	Mechanical Detailer
Average salary	$39,815	$41,030
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $59,000	Between $30,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between automobile technician and mechanical detailer education

There are a few differences between an automobile technician and a mechanical detailer in terms of educational background:

	Automobile Technician	Mechanical Detailer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	High School Diploma, 40%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Drafting And Design
Most common college	-	-

Automobile technician vs mechanical detailer demographics

Here are the differences between automobile technicians' and mechanical detailers' demographics:

	Automobile Technician	Mechanical Detailer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 97.8% Female, 2.2%	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between automobile technician and mechanical detailer duties and responsibilities

Automobile technician example responsibilities.

Inspect cars, service and repairs specializing in BMW repairs, manage shop, price and order parts, customer service
Position: ASE certify automobile technician.
Service Toyota, domestic imports to rental trucks, preventative maintenance
Earn certifications through manufacturer and ASE classes/testing.
Perform extensive diagnosis and repair of automotive electrical systems.
Specialize in electronic and mechanical fuel injection systems and automatic transmission diagnosis and repair (foreign and domestic).

Mechanical detailer example responsibilities.

Manage document collation for field distribution of MEP plans to shop and field.
Heat treat of metal.operate CNC lathes, CNC mills, CNC grinders.
Do mostly foreign and domestic cars, SUV and commercial diesel truck.
Maintain equipment, rebuild spindles, install motors, gearboxes, perform preventative maintenance.
Provide professional automobile detailing services with a variety of cleaning techniques and products to ensure the desired level of superior cleanliness.
Operate and troubleshoot production line machinery and computers.

Automobile technician vs mechanical detailer skills

Common automobile technician skills

Oil Changes, 15%
Preventive Maintenance, 9%
Engine Tune-Ups, 8%
Diagnosis, 6%
Shop Equipment, 5%
Automotive Repair, 5%

Common mechanical detailer skills

Customer Vehicles, 18%
CAD, 17%
Solidworks, 13%
Shop Drawings, 12%
HVAC, 9%
Plumbing, 8%

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Automobile Technician vs Mechanical Detailer

Updated January 8, 2025

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