Back In The Day

[EricTheCarGuy]

Things were different when I started out as an automotive technician. In many ways I think it was better. What are your thoughts?

Topic

[Its me]

How little techs get paid these days and how much education and the amount of tools they need amazes me… Its like bizzaro world with everything going backwards.

To the uneducated consumer, they think that now computers tell you want is wrong and you just replace it…. :angry:

I have never been a great fan of Unions, but I recognize they are not all the same. If there is one professional field that needs a good union for better pay, conditions and

[Walt jr]

You nailed it, I was I involved with a huge dealer group from 97 to 04 and those were good times for both sales and service, the thing about dealers are they mostly come from a sales background and as soon as things slow down they try to reinvent their largest source of revenue (service and parts) and this usually involves less coin for their most valuable asset (techs) …resulting in making the situation worse for everyone.

[John Hugon]

In my opinion Eric is correct about doing as best as you can in school, specializing in electrical and diagnostic work….. a must in today’s environment.

Back in the day for me was only warranty work. You had to make your time (flag 40 hrs. a week) or be written up and after a period of time of not meeting those criteria; you lost your job. Things were not that pleasant for me from 1976 to 2012 when I was forced out. From 1969 to 1976 except for a tour in the military I liked my work and the Dealers I worked at.

I stayed close friends with six people I went to school with that became some of the best auto/truck techs in the industry. Today all six did not retire from the auto/truck tech industry. Two died from heart attacks (I believe from stress), three were terminated because they couldn’t make flat rate time, went on to other types of work and retired and one quit being an auto tech in 1977. I was number seven in the group and the only one that made it until I was told to leave.

I would not recommend my worst enemy to pursue a career in auto/truck tech dealer environment. I really can’t comment on independent shops.

I have many ideas what needs to change, but that’s not what this post is about.

[Sam]

I started working at a shop mid high school as a co-op program (1995/96 maybe) and that got me in the trade. I did my apprenticeship (Ontario Canada) which was a disaster of epic proportions due to me employer not wanting to “sign” me off to write my exams- and then he would have to pay more than minimum wage. After a few years I got this done and wrote my COQ test, got my interprovincial license and found a new job. That was in 2002, and since then the industry in my town at least has died. I worked in several Indy shops, and finally opened my open garage but the economy killed that idea so I left the trade for years. Now I own a powersports dealership and do limited automotive repair as well.

The biggest thing I found thats changed is $$. I hear daily “will you price match?, free estimate?, payment plan?, warranty?” My shop rate is half of the dealers around here and I still am getting undercut by the big guys just trying to keep their techs working. I realize I live in a dying town yes, but how can the big 6 bay service station drop from $99/ hour to $50/ hour just to get work? All about $$. How come a GREAT wage here is less than $20/ hour for a licensed tech with 15 years experience? $$.

I am trying to leave Ontario to move to Tennessee, and cannot believe the wages are similar. It’s amazing to me that the cost of living is 40% cheaper there but the hourly wage is the same. Crazy. If I can get a work visa or employer to sponsor me, my family is headed south.

Back in the day we had paying customers here who maintained their vehicles. Now we have the roads full of old junk, and the folks cannot afford to pay to have their cars fixed so we get either shops competing and dealing for work, OR the 50 backyard guys doing auto repair out of their driveways for $15/ hour. All about $$ in my opinion. Looking back this career path was not the smartest but those are the decisions we make I guess.

[Rich Bayer]

I went to auto tech school from 1999 to 2000 and started in the field right after that at a Chevy dealer that is long since closed. I was coming into things right when OBDII was still a “newer” thing to be understood and we were still dealing with OBD1 vehicles quite frequently. I ended up going into heavy equipment after that and I don’t regret it but I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I stayed with the dealerships.. Oh well.. Sometimes I really don’t miss dealing with that BS tho. I have a coworker now who’s daughter is looking to go the dealership route and we’re both preparing her and saying “You have to be really sure you want THIS and not diesel which can be a lot easier to deal with. There’s a lot more of the physical repair end of things in the heavy diesel field.” Not as much diagnostic unless we have a breakdown on a newer piece of equipment, then we use our grey matter more than the brawn.

We’re also suspecting a labor shortage in this field in the future since the kids that are coming up now don’t seem to want to get their hands dirty or don’t want to do anything for themselves. (Speaking generally here.. not singling anyone out.)

[Erin]

I was in a couple transmission shops from late 1997 thru early 1999. Both 50 hours a week. The first job paid $7 an hour, no overtime. I didn’t really care, at least my foot was in the door. Second shop at least paid O/T.
I lost the second job because after our sales manager quit, business slowed down.

What I experienced was this – The older mechanics were rude at best and belligerent at worst. The first shop owner was a crook. He would get used trans parts from cores that he would buy ($10 each)from whatever junkyard on wheels came around. I imagine he probably charged a fortune for those used parts. Shop was the pits. Sales manager was an ass.
Second shop was alright aside the master technician being a prick and the fact that sales took a nose dive. I decided it just wasn’t worth it. Spending money on tools, dealing with some disgruntled techs, etc, it just sucked. I LOVED working on transmissions but the whole environment otherwise was just stressful.

So here is why the field lacks techs today –
About every 10 years or so, the media pushes a new “growing field” that you MUST get into. Right now it is nursing. Early 2000’s it was I.T. SIDE NOTE – If there are so many nursing students out there since the past few years, one has to wonder just WHY there is still a shortage.

The lack of qualified professionals in any field is basically a peanut in a bigger turd known as bad economy. Let us take cars –
Yeah they mess up a lot. Yes customers are constantly looking for freebies, discounts, shortcuts etc… If customers are hurting for money, they price-shop. Shops have to compete for price so they cannot pay techs very well. The reason the customer cannot afford to pay a fortune is because HIS job had to make cut-backs and things go on and on like that… Plus if all someone can afford is a POS they surely cannot afford repairs. OLD POS need more work but how can someone pay for fixing it if their financial situation put them driving a hooptie in the first place?

So a new, young, naive kid gets into a profession. He starts off making next to nothing. This is after he was told from age 6 about how great a college degree is. But NOW he hears “Oh, well you have to do this or that, you don’t have experience…” Meanwhile he is buying expensive tools, getting dirty, getting yelled at by some sales manager, and watching the older techs have childish tantrums.

When he asks about this “good money” after college, people say, “Well, don’t YOU just have a false sense of entitlement you little s***?” Someday down the road it will pay off. Just like when he was 6 and hearing “someday education will pay off”.

When seeking work in any field, it is better to work for a big outfit. Going to some mom and pop place is always a bad idea because they are very good at circumventing labor laws. That is why I had to work at that one shop without O/T. Small shops WILL find a way to screw you where big companies have a reputation to uphold. Small shops are scraping by where the big outfits have their act together and don’t have to fuss over nickels and dimes.

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