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Harbor Freight Floor Jacks. Best period.
But KNOW that they have different lift heights. ‘
The small, lightweight aluminum one that goes for $70 only lifts around 14″. I had one, and it was just too short. I would get the heavy grey metal ones that raise a couple inches higher, also for around $70 with a coupon. It just weighs a ton is all, but it’s not like I’ll be lifting it everywhere, just dragging it. The paper catalog at the store should tell you the different lift heights.
Harbor Freight Floor Jacks. Best period.
But KNOW that they have different lift heights. ‘
The small, lightweight aluminum one that goes for $70 only lifts around 14″. I had one, and it was just too short. I would get the heavy grey metal ones that raise a couple inches higher, also for around $70 with a coupon. It just weighs a ton is all, but it’s not like I’ll be lifting it everywhere, just dragging it. The paper catalog at the store should tell you the different lift heights.
Just like any other job when you’re interviewing and talking about pay pretty much. It always depends on the person who’s interviewing you or whoever is in charge and it also depends on how you approach it. You’ve got to have a bit of tact and that sort of thing, and know how to appropriately and professionally discuss pay and things of that nature. If you’re just starting out with no experience you don’t have as much clout as say, a master tech. With a really good master tech, he’s going to have the upper hand and be grilling the shop and asking them a lot of questions.
There are a lot of terrible jobs out there, I’m talking about pyramid schemes and door to door sales and places with incredible turn-over rates because maybe the boss berates all the employees and the checks are always bouncing or the employees are not getting paid what they’re supposed to or whatever. People have to be able to ask the right questions and talk to the right people, namely the current employees, and try to get a feel for what’s going on. Questions like, “Why is this position open? What happened to the previous employee in this position? What’s the company atmosphere and culture like here? What’s the best and worst part about working here?” A lot of times they’ll dish out the dirt, and you can run as fast as you can the other way.
As for the automotive industry, you can check our Eric’s video on flat-rate and dealership politics to get a bit more of a feel of some of the issues of working in this industry.
If you’ve got absolutely no experience, you’ll be applying for lube tech jobs. The question is do you want to work for an independent, a dealership, or a chain, or if things in your area are really stark, any place that will have you so you can at least afford mustard and cracker sandwiches at night. Personally, I prefer independents, and I think Eric does too.
Having a few ASEs will definitely help you get your foot in the door, and that’s highly recommended to do so. But that’s all they are really, like college degrees, piece of paper, doesn’t necessarily mean you can perform the job better than someone without a college degree. And if your place will give you a raise if you get another ASE, that’s more than a good enough reason for me to get some ASEs. Well that’s really the only reason, lol. Some places even care if you have that ridiculous ASE A/C Refrigerant and Recovery handling license. It’s a joke of an open-book test that takes like half an hour and the EPA and the ozone layer and whatever sure, get it, or don’t, who knows.
Read, read, read. Read all of those books and magazines. I read this thing in a magazine after the fact on a nightmare car we had and if only I had seen that article a month earlier sitting in the shop it would have saved us a nightmare. Oh man, that was one of the biggest nightmares and it all could have been avoided if I had just skimmed through that magazine.
It’s hard to find even half-way decent techs where I am, so I feel like we can be paid a bit more. My place has been desperate to hire another decent guy or two, and it’s been slim pickings. Had to let go of one guy after his second week or so because he was not good. So a little bit more in our favor where I am, but other places may be saturated with techs looking for jobs, and if your place is like that, maybe consider moving. Some places pay techs much differently than another region, and all of that kind of stuff, like any other profession I guess.
Just like any other job when you’re interviewing and talking about pay pretty much. It always depends on the person who’s interviewing you or whoever is in charge and it also depends on how you approach it. You’ve got to have a bit of tact and that sort of thing, and know how to appropriately and professionally discuss pay and things of that nature. If you’re just starting out with no experience you don’t have as much clout as say, a master tech. With a really good master tech, he’s going to have the upper hand and be grilling the shop and asking them a lot of questions.
There are a lot of terrible jobs out there, I’m talking about pyramid schemes and door to door sales and places with incredible turn-over rates because maybe the boss berates all the employees and the checks are always bouncing or the employees are not getting paid what they’re supposed to or whatever. People have to be able to ask the right questions and talk to the right people, namely the current employees, and try to get a feel for what’s going on. Questions like, “Why is this position open? What happened to the previous employee in this position? What’s the company atmosphere and culture like here? What’s the best and worst part about working here?” A lot of times they’ll dish out the dirt, and you can run as fast as you can the other way.
As for the automotive industry, you can check our Eric’s video on flat-rate and dealership politics to get a bit more of a feel of some of the issues of working in this industry.
If you’ve got absolutely no experience, you’ll be applying for lube tech jobs. The question is do you want to work for an independent, a dealership, or a chain, or if things in your area are really stark, any place that will have you so you can at least afford mustard and cracker sandwiches at night. Personally, I prefer independents, and I think Eric does too.
Having a few ASEs will definitely help you get your foot in the door, and that’s highly recommended to do so. But that’s all they are really, like college degrees, piece of paper, doesn’t necessarily mean you can perform the job better than someone without a college degree. And if your place will give you a raise if you get another ASE, that’s more than a good enough reason for me to get some ASEs. Well that’s really the only reason, lol. Some places even care if you have that ridiculous ASE A/C Refrigerant and Recovery handling license. It’s a joke of an open-book test that takes like half an hour and the EPA and the ozone layer and whatever sure, get it, or don’t, who knows.
Read, read, read. Read all of those books and magazines. I read this thing in a magazine after the fact on a nightmare car we had and if only I had seen that article a month earlier sitting in the shop it would have saved us a nightmare. Oh man, that was one of the biggest nightmares and it all could have been avoided if I had just skimmed through that magazine.
It’s hard to find even half-way decent techs where I am, so I feel like we can be paid a bit more. My place has been desperate to hire another decent guy or two, and it’s been slim pickings. Had to let go of one guy after his second week or so because he was not good. So a little bit more in our favor where I am, but other places may be saturated with techs looking for jobs, and if your place is like that, maybe consider moving. Some places pay techs much differently than another region, and all of that kind of stuff, like any other profession I guess.
[quote=”rspz23″ post=103417]I am a victim of this situation. I am now in debt because of school loans and tools because I thought I was going to stick around in the place I am working at currently. Now I have to invest twice as much as I did from the start because of the mistakes I made. I guess mistakes help you become a stronger person.[/quote]
Why do you have to spend twice as much now?
[quote=”rspz23″ post=103417]I am a victim of this situation. I am now in debt because of school loans and tools because I thought I was going to stick around in the place I am working at currently. Now I have to invest twice as much as I did from the start because of the mistakes I made. I guess mistakes help you become a stronger person.[/quote]
Why do you have to spend twice as much now?
“The gear oil, on an atomic level, is made of long-chain molecules that prevent wear by literally keeping the gear teeth from contacting each other. Over the thousands of miles of driving the shearing action of the gear teeth tends to chew up these long chain molecules. The fluid loses viscosity and breaks down, decreasing the ability to prevent wear.”
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“Running motor oil (10W30, 10W40, etc) in a transmission won’t wreck it outright, but it will require you to change out the oil far more frequently than you would if you ran a gear-specific oil.”
“The gear oil, on an atomic level, is made of long-chain molecules that prevent wear by literally keeping the gear teeth from contacting each other. Over the thousands of miles of driving the shearing action of the gear teeth tends to chew up these long chain molecules. The fluid loses viscosity and breaks down, decreasing the ability to prevent wear.”
—
“Running motor oil (10W30, 10W40, etc) in a transmission won’t wreck it outright, but it will require you to change out the oil far more frequently than you would if you ran a gear-specific oil.”
[quote=”barneyb” post=102780]There’s lots of special gear oils for manual transmissions. Some work very well and some are a disaster. I used one of the latter and had to buy a new transmission. Use what the manufacturer recommends.[/quote]
Wow I’m very curious. What kind of car was it, what did it call for, and what did you use?
[quote=”barneyb” post=102780]There’s lots of special gear oils for manual transmissions. Some work very well and some are a disaster. I used one of the latter and had to buy a new transmission. Use what the manufacturer recommends.[/quote]
Wow I’m very curious. What kind of car was it, what did it call for, and what did you use?
Hire the very best service adviser money can buy, and hire the very best tech money can buy.
Read as much as you possibly can. Ratchet + Wrench is a great auto care business magazine, along with others.
My boss now was never a tech, and never turned a wrench professionally in his life. And I’m not sure he even wrenches at home either. But this man is a genius when it comes to cars somehow. He stays up to date and he knows how to program and flash computers and the strangest little things and he knows how cars work inside and out, and speaks with confidence and trust to the customer.
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is wanting to run before they can even crawl. Ever watch Shark Tank on ABC? They’re always wanting to franchise, lol! And then the sharks all start groaning and saying, “I’m out!” Better to have one amazing shop than five mediocre ones that would be a management nightmare. I know tiny tiny 4-bay shops that gross a million dollars a year, no joke. It’s all about quality, not quantity. Let Jiffy Lube take care of that.
Hire the very best service adviser money can buy, and hire the very best tech money can buy.
Read as much as you possibly can. Ratchet + Wrench is a great auto care business magazine, along with others.
My boss now was never a tech, and never turned a wrench professionally in his life. And I’m not sure he even wrenches at home either. But this man is a genius when it comes to cars somehow. He stays up to date and he knows how to program and flash computers and the strangest little things and he knows how cars work inside and out, and speaks with confidence and trust to the customer.
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is wanting to run before they can even crawl. Ever watch Shark Tank on ABC? They’re always wanting to franchise, lol! And then the sharks all start groaning and saying, “I’m out!” Better to have one amazing shop than five mediocre ones that would be a management nightmare. I know tiny tiny 4-bay shops that gross a million dollars a year, no joke. It’s all about quality, not quantity. Let Jiffy Lube take care of that.
No, if you get a comeback, you do that for FREE. And sometimes if you’ve messed up bad, you can even lose the time you had and have money TAKEN away from you, losing the hours you had.
TAKE YOUR TIME. Accuracy first, speed will come later.
When you first start out, you’ll be hourly, and any place who wants to pay you flat-rate either better be paying $50/fh or pay you hourly, otherwise you’ll barely make half of minimum wage, doing oil changes for .2.
I say avoid flat-rate if you can, or have a 30-hour guarantee or something.
No, if you get a comeback, you do that for FREE. And sometimes if you’ve messed up bad, you can even lose the time you had and have money TAKEN away from you, losing the hours you had.
TAKE YOUR TIME. Accuracy first, speed will come later.
When you first start out, you’ll be hourly, and any place who wants to pay you flat-rate either better be paying $50/fh or pay you hourly, otherwise you’ll barely make half of minimum wage, doing oil changes for .2.
I say avoid flat-rate if you can, or have a 30-hour guarantee or something.
What a strange world you lived in. It sounds like a movie.
According to this inflation calculator:
“What cost $10 in 1950 would cost $95.51 in 2013.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2013 and 1950,
they would cost you $10 and $1.05 respectively.”Oh that sounds awesome. I could only dream of spending a night in a hospital and paying only $100. It’d be cheaper than the Holiday Inn, and I could fake pain and get a morphine drip! Haha oh I’m sad again, because that hospital trip actually cost $10,000, and I’ve been contemplating selling my kidney on the black market for money. (I kid.)