- This topic has 15 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 3 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
Not to spend time on details, but my current job is wrapping up at the end of this month due to declining business. I am old enough that I will be taking away a pension and have no debt, but I won’t have enough money to continue doing the things I want to do. I am in excellent health, in great physical condition and even look considerably younger than my age. I like working on cars and machinery, so I plan on loading up my toolbox and taking it somewhere.
I have gained serious interest from a John Deere dealer, a Chevrolet/GM dealer and I expect that traveling around town to the local independents would lead to an invitation to unload my toolbox at one of those shops.
I am looking for comments and feedback regarding pro’s and con’s for each of these types of gig.
My education and background are electronics and automation. Along the way though, I’ve done fork truck work, both IC and electric, truck work including Cummins engine rebuilds, and car work. There is little opportunity in the electronics and automation fields without leaving my boondocks home where I enjoy life. My technical background makes the current agriculture technology appear exciting. There are so many things done by John Deere in addition to the tractors themselves, that I think it would be interesting and their selection of techs with such a background is limited in this area. My initial thought also was that on the tractors, things would be easier to get at, but I’m told that this isn’t really the case.
The Chevy dealer is an old business in this community with a good reputation. They seem to be anxious to offer lots of training and it sounds like Teams are the order of the day in their world. I have no problem with teams except who knows who you will have to team up with.
The right independent shop might work well for me except I expect it wouldn’t pay much more than working at MacDonald’s but I don’t know for sure.
SO…….. I hope this turns out to be an interesting topic of discussion for everyone. Your comments and comparisons are welcome and appreciated.
-
Replies
-
I have worked at dealerships primarily Chrysler / Dodge dealerships and I currently work at a small independent shop. Working at the dealership was nice in the fact that once you got used to working on the same vehicles all the time the work became routine. I don’t know how many Caravan clock springs or window motors in Jeep Grand Cherokee’s I replaced but It got to the point I could do them while sleeping. The dealership politics were a little crazy sometimes but it was nice to get the factory training and a steady work load. At the independent shop the atmosphere is much more relaxed as in no politics and I make more money. There are 3 techs and one apprentice. The only drawback is that we work on everything which requires you to have a few more tools than you normally would need at a dealership. At my current shop I could be doing a clutch on a Subaru in the morning and then in the afternoon I can knock out a timing belt on a Honda, a few oil changes and some front end work before I go home. We work on a next car up system so the faster you do your work the more you make. No shop favorites to get the gravy we are all just turning cars as fast as we can. I also like that I have more interaction with the customers and know most of them by name. Since we have more than enough work to go around there isn’t any back stabbing going on and most of us have worked together for the last 3 years. If I was you I would visit he shops and check out the vibe and see which one feels the most comfortable
Check out the shops, talk with management, and ask to see the shop and maybe talk with a few techs inside.
I’m at a chevy store for now. I don’t mind most of the work. We have good techs and we all get along all 10 of us plus lube lane lol. We don’t have specific guys, everyone does everything at our place. Though it’s different than most places.
The recalls are hit or miss. Some you make excellent money and some you get screwed on. But our management sucks and we have 2 out of 6 good service writers. Considering looking around myself, but hate the thoughts of moving jobs again. I think it would be neat to give the John Deere a shot
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Chevy place made a firm offer today and it was a good one. They do not do the teams business after all.
I m going to be talking to the John Deere folks again tomorrow or early next week. I had almost discounted the idea of visiting some of the Indy shops until reading feedback offered above. I might make a few stops and see if they look inviting and want to pay anything at all.
Thanks for the feedback and please keep it coming. It’s good stuff.
BTW, I passed my L2 this afternoon.
this is personal opinion. looks like you had been doing it long term already.
how about retirement plan? personally i look at long term. i know mentality that “once we are mechanic, we are always mechanic”
so what, we can always fix our own or restore vehicle for our own thrill of it.personally i want to leave this trade , i had worked in every sort of shops and dealerships…They are mostly same…
Most of them crooks. Some honest guys out there…i haven’t gone to every corner of globe. speaking from CAN perspective.managers in the past pushed me out because i rather be honest and having some kind of integrity to stand out and stand up .
Probably eric knows what i am talking about.
people you work with as important as size of business.I am not going to apologize for my view.
good luck to you though.No need to apologize for your opinion Kev. Especially when it is an accurate description of today’s market place.
Actually with the exit from my current job in two weeks my retirement is set up. Problem is that I want to keep working and I have an addiction to feed. The addiction is flying which is an expensive hobby. Now that I would finally have time to fly, with only my retirement funds I would not be able to afford it. A few more years working can put me in a situation where I can keep the plane and fly when I choose. If I were to sell the plane, I could kick back and fish every day if I wanted to.
Life is a compromise.
As far as working for crooks goes. If I were to find out that the company I worked for was doing illegal business I would be looking for another job. If they expected me to do anything less than honest, I would have my toolbox loaded up and out of there before they knew I was gone.
I worked in a shop many years ago when in frame overhauls were common. I saw some guys cut corners such that as far as I am concerned they were stealing. I did honest valve jobs and overhauls. I saw guys turn a head up on the bench, pour naphtha in the chambers and grind only the valves that leaked. They pushed the Pistons up far enough to get a ring groove cleaner on them, ring them and push them back down, with obviously no effort to mic the cylinders. It was pathetic. I will never participate in something like that.
Thanks for the comments kev. Please keep them coming guys.
i mostly working dealerships most of my career in automotive. tried out heavy for short time realize how quickly things can go sideways really fast.
you sound like my friend in chicago. he also fly and loves to spend time sky eh?
p.s. yep.Last GM dealer i worked at….some of golden boys. sure they make most money…
they love high produce techs…no matter what they did to get there…flush everything under the sun. or fix same mechanical repair 3-4 times.
those guys cherry pick jobs everyday and laugh at you getting crappy jobs…really a impressive setup for crooks and idiots of the world.
they don’t want to do it because they will lose money..other techs need to take over.
work there for 2 years…nice. normal day in most of dealership anyway.p.p.s. so sick of this kind of politic. funny thing though…even when i post resume for IT field that people email me for mechanic job.
i guess so hard to find techs willing work in this trade for lessi’ve been at John Deere for 10 years now. I really like it, it is easier than working on automotive vehicles. There are some tight places but not near like a newer car. John deere has some of the best repair manuals and diagnostic manuals that you will ever come across IMO.
The most important things to consider here are that you are working on machines that you have respect for, and working for a employer you respect. Satisfying both of those things at the same time is certainly a tall order. I’d tell anybody that, but with your situation it seems more important than normal to satisfy those two conditions.
I have been lucky so find such a situation for myself, and have now spent the latter half of my career with the same family-owned/managed dealer where I will remain for the foreseeable future. It has the stresses of auto repair, of course, but I make a good living and enjoy many substantial fringe benefits because of the above-average effort I put into helping my service department grow and run smoothly.
Thanks again for the feedback and comments. It was very good.
I went by the Deere dealer amd the service manager was gone at the time. I talked to the number two guy in the service department who I met before. He said that they had transferred a guy in and then a guy quit. He also said that their business is off due to weather keeping folks out of the hay meadows. When I visited with them the first time they had just fired two people and it was clear that there had been turmoil in the shop. The fact that someone else quit makes me think that there is ongoing turmoil.
The Chevy guy wants me to come by and seal the deal. I have only stopped by one of the Indy shops and it didn’t go anywhere. I hope to hit a few more before going back to the Chevy house. I think the Chevy house is a good outfit and their offer is good. Of course I don’t think you can really know what they’re like until after you’ve spent a little time there.
Again, thanks for the good feedback.
hello. i don’t want to cynical but, it sounds like what i expected…personally i had worked for all big3 dealers and euro and asian imports…same crap…different drums…
most recent job was at GM dealer for 2 years…let me go like as if i started working there day before. when they need you they are in rush…
when you need them… see ya.personally i am looking around noticed most of jobs in CAN had been mostly Gm dealers…quitting pattern i guess.
p.s. i would neither.
how difficult is it your area to setup your own show?my area was hit so hard that can’t even consider anything…some people have big guts and open few shops in town…
good techs won’t have problem finding good customers…Well, I haven’t been here in a while. I have been busy. My wife died on May 24th unexpectedly. I was scheduled May 27th to retire from my automation job. I had been looking for something to do preferably part time, but I knew it would end up full time. That is when I started this thread having no idea that my lovely wife would soon not be with me. Once she died and I had to deal with the grief, I very quickly decided that the best thing to do was bury myself in work and that is helping a lot.
As I indicated earlier in the thread, I decided to go to the Chevy house, although it is actually , Chevy, Buick, GMC. It is an impressive organization and a great shop to work in. Due to my electronics and software background, I do mostly electrical troubleshooting, but of course I get various work along with it, mostly a/c and Duramax.
The owner has gone to great lengths to hire good people with great attitudes and integrity at all levels,and in all areas of the organization. Probably the oddest thing about the shop is that no one locks their tool box. They leave them wide open when they go home at night. That’s a new one for me. The shop is well equipped and well run. The service manager is not only a great guy, but he is massively knowledgable, helpful and looks out for everyone.
The only down side is working every other Saturday, but what are you gonna do?
Once again, sorry about your wife MB.
Sounds like you found yourself a great place to work. And it’s very rare when you find a place where everyone’s box is left open. Thankfully, I work in a similar place. Everyone’s box is left open, and if someone needs something someone in the shop has one.
After being there a year and a half I have observed the flaws in management but still to date is the best place I have worked so far.
Yes the Saturdays suck but hope yours are filled with services. Ours, the back shop typically turns into the lube lane until lunch. But once in a while we get lucky enough to make money while we are there.
Cheers
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So far, I have always had something to work on. I get backed up with multiple jobs going and Saturday is when I try to catch up. This Saturday I am off so I will try to wrap up the loose ends tomorrow. The Saturdays also seem to produce quick waiter jobs for parts that were ordered or the customer wants to get it done Saturday.
All this sounds good, but much of my work is dog shop stuff, like crazy flickering dome lights. Fluctuating voltages and speed surging, current drains. Intermittent electrical problems. Charging system problems. All that said I have gotten more Duramax work than I expected, but all light work. Like having to initiate a regen, the exhaust injector dripping and causing the need for regen, DEF level guage not resetting after filling the tank. Then there was an old one that needed a filter housing and the IAT that is part of the intake heter. Got it apart and they couldn’t get parts right away. Put it in the backlot until parts come in.
Tomorrow I will get into a little mechanical work, a pinion seal on a dually. I actually rather enjoy the dog shop work for several reasons. First of all electronics has been my bread and butter most of the time since learning it in the Army in 1968, then getting an EET degree after. Of course getting at test points in a modern car is sometimes challenging. Another reason is that I don’t really need to make a lot of money. Many of the guys in the shop are young parents trying to put food on the table and shoes on the baby, so I enjoy seeing ways to push better paying work their way. This makes for even a better team experience.
All that said it is HOT in that Texas shop this time of year.
I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I’ve been off the forum for a bit dealing with work stuff. I hope things are better for you.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.