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This is for all of the people who are new to the trade and are facing road blocks. Don’t give up there are so many avenues you can take with this skill set because transportation will always be needed in society.
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Experience Builders:
[/b]1) Go to scrap yards regularly and pull things apart to see how they look from the inside
2) Get an only car for under $500 and do experiments on it.
3) Stay up to date by taking courses and using books like Automotive Technology A systems Approach.
and Finally this goes without saying. WATCH ERICTHECARGUY + SIGN UP FOR HIS FREE FORUM.
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Unless there’s something I’m missing, I don’t know of any salvage yards that will let anyone come in and start taking things apart just so they see what makes them tick.
It’s very unlikely anyone at a salvage yard will question what you are doing. Furthermore, there is typically a door charge, around $2. If asked tell them you need a specific part that is located deep within the transmission, engine, etc. that requires dismantling. That’s what there salvage yards (ie – pick-a-part) are for. Sure they are not meant to train yourself. However, who is going to stop you?
It seems a bit uncouth to go into a pull a part yard and tear things apart on a fishing expedition. The next person along may have actually needed that part to get his their own vehicle up and running.
I’m also fully aware that a number of butchers frequent that type of yard. They spend 2 hours and destroy 500 dollars worth of stuff to get a part they could have gotten new for 20 bucks from a local parts house. Sad.
That’s all circumstantial. Yes, I see your points. And yes, they’re valid ones. However, it is a way for people to learn. And there is nothing wrong with that. Furthermore, “destroying” $500 for a $20 part. Well, I find that a bit ridiculous. I mean, first they only pay like $300 for those cars in the first place. It’s all profit. Secondly, that’s what those places are for. to scavenge parts. Be it a $2 clip. I went to one to get the intake coupler needed to pass local emissions. Honda no longer carried the part, and no part dealer could get it either. Not to mention most at the yard were cracked. But I found one. Cost me a total of $4. Sometimes, we go for those cheap parts due to unavailability. But I rather see a kid tearing apart engines in a junk yard, learning his passion. Than a disgruntled middle aged man flipping burgers at McD because he never pursued his passion.
[quote=”Thomson85″ post=67965]That’s all circumstantial. Yes, I see your points. And yes, they’re valid ones. However, it is a way for people to learn. And there is nothing wrong with that. Furthermore, “destroying” $500 for a $20 part. Well, I find that a bit ridiculous. I mean, first they only pay like $300 for those cars in the first place. It’s all profit. Secondly, that’s what those places are for. to scavenge parts. Be it a $2 clip. I went to one to get the intake coupler needed to pass local emissions. Honda no longer carried the part, and no part dealer could get it either. Not to mention most at the yard were cracked. But I found one. Cost me a total of $4. Sometimes, we go for those cheap parts due to unavailability. But I rather see a kid tearing apart engines in a junk yard, learning his passion. Than a disgruntled middle aged man flipping burgers at McD because he never pursued his passion.[/quote]
Great point. I really like that statement.
Thanks to this site. Mechanically I can disassemble anything on a vehicle and put it back together and my electrical skills are continuing to advance. Practice, practice, practice and things will improve.
[quote=”Thomson85″ post=67965]But I rather see a kid tearing apart engines in a junk yard, learning his passion. Than a disgruntled middle aged man flipping burgers at McD because he never pursued his passion.[/quote]
Couldn’t it be said that a passion isn’t always meant to be a career?
As I was told as a kid, you got it, or you don’t. That kid could be learning his passion til he is middle aged and still flipping burgers at McDongbags.I am cynical at times. People going out to learn on their own is a fine and dandy thing to do, but if they want to get into the field, maybe they need to learn to woe the person doing the hiring. It’s not that hard.
I got laid off June 11th, handed out ONE resume on June 17th. June 20th got my call back for my first interview. I now work there. Why? Because i learned to sell my self.
If there is a place i want to work, i will work there.Furthermore, “destroying” $500 for a $20 part. Well, I find that a bit ridiculous. I mean, first they only pay like $300 for those cars in the first place. It’s all profit.
This is still someones business, regardless what is paid for the vehicle.
20 years ago learning on your own would probably get you into the industry. Now days it is very different unless you have relevant qualifications or want to start your own business.
P.S There is a Salvage Yard here in Toronto, Canada that I go to all the time and I take vehicles apart from time to time I buy things to keep as models so I can go over them again. You know in professional sports the athletes train day in and day out. Also they watch a lot of video on other teams and players. That is something that I have picked up for automotive. You have to get the practice around the clock. Right now I a working to be at a stage where I don’t need to have to think twice about certain things. It should be automatic.
Here is the bottom line. Where the is a will there is a way. If a person dedicates themselves to a task totally with everything they have there are only a few things that can stop them DEATH & SICKNESS. It’s all based on your state of mind. What are you willing to do ? How badly do you want to do it ? That’s the reality.
As far as jobs you have to prepare yourself to be able to make money outside of your job. Employers don’t care. They will suck you dry and kick you out. Look at the state of employment. It’s the wild west. Everyone for themselves.
I have not held a job for over 2 years and I am doing way better now than ever before.
[quote=”drthrift035″ post=68730]Here is the bottom line. Where the is a will there is a way. If a person dedicates themselves to a task totally with everything they have there are only a few things that can stop them DEATH & SICKNESS. It’s all based on your state of mind. What are you willing to do ? How badly do you want to do it ? That’s the reality.
As far as jobs you have to prepare yourself to be able to make money outside of your job. Employers don’t care. They will suck you dry and kick you out. Look at the state of employment. It’s the wild west. Everyone for themselves.
I have not held a job for over 2 years and I am doing way better now than ever before.[/quote]
It’s not so much what you are willing to do, but what you want, and finding a way to get it. Willing just means you are settling for what they want.
I know a few places in the states have the right to work law in effect. So people willing to work for less and to have less rights get the job. I am the person who will move to a place to get the pay, the benefits, and the life i want. (Already moved 1200km away from home to get it)
Look at what you want, find out options to get it, and then start talking.What a yard pays for a car is irrelevant. It’s useable, for profit merchandise from a yard that has a ton of expenses to cover each month
Example. At the Pull A Part yard one weekend I ran across a Lincoln Mark VIII on which someone had removed the automatic transmission; a major job on these cars.
The gas tank has to come out first and that was apparently destroyed by someone using it as a work stool and caving the top in.
The rear yoke on the driveshaft was broken.
The wire harness to the transmission was cut instead of being disconnected.
The range selector switch was broken.
The transmission was partially disassembled and parts strewn everywhere along with fluid.So why was this done? Apparently to get a speedometer drive gear out of the transmission; a part that can be bought new for 10 bucks at any transmission shop.
Some moron spent half a day lying in fluid soaked gravel for a 10 dollar piece.So not only did the clown who butchered this car stiff the yard owner he also assured that someone who may have been needing any of those parts will have to keep looking.
Flip the situation for a moment and pretend you’re piecing a car out. You tell someone they can have a fuel injector for 10 dollars if they pull it. Later you discover they’ve cut, bent, and pretty much mangled everything under the hood while doing so; and also took off with the entire set of injectors. How would that feel? That’s what the PAP yards go through daily.
Both are valid points, and the industry is more demanding. However, people should not be discouraged from following the path that makes them happy. And yes, some people have it, and some don’t. I completely agree. Some people are just incompetent when it comes to automotive work; breaking anything they touch. I see this very often. And as far as the junkyard, it is someone’s business. I agree. I’m not encouraging people to go and destroy everything. But it can be an essential tool for learning. I remember going to junk yards as a kid to help pull parts, and I did learn a lot from doing so.
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