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[quote=”Tech 1″ post=167127]Flagging “45” is nothing to complain about, believe me it get worse. Strange you are slow moving into summer as two things break cars,heat and cold.( and cold helps the body shop out also,so does the rut)[/quote]
45 in one week or two weeks?my last job it was sitting around 60-70 some in two weeks…in 2 year period, i had 4 times hit hired than 80…
Gm dealer suck with their menu price to play with tech wages. This is normal in CAN dealers….GM dealers say “we are more competitive with indy shops”
my thoughts are …never can compare to indy shop….[quote=”MBDiagMan” post=167035]Things don’t always go smoothly. It sounds like it will take an increase in service business before things can get back on the straight and narrow. It sounds like you have some time invested there. It would be a shame to have to start over. It’s been a number of years since I have unlocked my toolbox every morning trying to make flatrate, so maybe I am remembering the good things and not the bad, but when I have gotten in a situation like that before, I have just tried to work my way through it and things usually change. I wish you the best with it.
Just so you can put it all in perspective, I will tell you what is going on with me. This past Friday was to be my last day at work before my job was over due to declining business, non auto related. I had recertified for the job hunt and lined up a tech job at the local small town GM dealer and was supposed to start June 13. The dealer has a great reputation in town and the employees seem happy.
Tuesday morning I got up to find that my lovely and wonderful wife of 42 years had died in her sleep.
My grandpa told me a story once about the guy who felt bad because he had no shoes until he saw a man with no feet. No matter how tough you think things are, it can always be worse. Be happy to have a job and work hard to make the situation better. Some times it is easy to get the idea that no one recognizes your good work, but if you keep your head down and turn out some quality work, it almost always pays off in the end.
Best of luck in turning things around there.[/quote]
I am so sorry my mechanic brother in arms. At least you had her for long time…42 years…beautiful long years…i had been fighting a lot with wife latey but, i think most of times…it’s good..sometimes it isn’t…
Take care of yourself out there…at least you got one more person watching out for you….up there.
In CAN, VW had similar training course that i attended and we were first group to go through.
Each Vw dealer chose their apprentice to sponsor for training….”sponsor” only name….no money involved, no tool…when i got hired at one place…some techs had free tools from 15-20 years ago.whatever…i guess i wouldn’t have become mechanic unless VW was in production…i am kind of stuck like that…bosch product vehicles.recently tons of brands have bosch parts everywhere in their engine bay…
p.s. personally I started with Sears Canuck Craftsman mechanic 400pcs tool set.I never got around using all those guys….
end up upgrading to tool truck tools eventually.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…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 lessthis 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.[quote=”Dtech494″ post=165117]Just a bit of advice by someone who has been there.
Don’t rush to sell your tools. And remember that if you’ve been working on cars for a while you are at a professional level of proficiency.
Try something else for a while but don’t dive into debt funding a new career.
Remember that the level of politics is the same in IT. Also your job is on the line if you make a mistake or make changes that are not reversible or that someone above you deems incompetent.
You will be expected to know how to fix and configure software or hardware that is not in front of you, you will be expected to fix it even though you cannot touch it test it yourself or even have any access to it in order to check it.
You will spend every free minute of your time studying it, learning it figuring out how to install it, set up, trouble shoot it.
That training becomes obsolete when the new version is released.
You will find that many of your peers have several years of college or university. Many are content, many are content to work for less money than we as mechanics earn. Some of the new candidates will be brilliant, more qualified etc, they become targets of their peers who will look to prey upon their mistakes.
So If you are considering the leap make sure it is into a field that you are passionate about because you will likely find that you will have to devote a great deal of effort to develop your career. Do something you enjoy doing.
By the way I did not intend to make IT as a career sound negative. I merely intend to point out things that one would not consider or even know without working in the field of IT.
I am telling this based on my own experience. I had stopped wrenching for a year of school and 8 months of IT work experience.
I went back to wrenching because I wanted to buy a house for my family. I found wrenching to be better paying than entry level IT, I found wrenching less stressful, I found it easier to find jobs and easier to hold a job based on level of experience, more opportunity.
Each to his own. We are all different, have different experience and each our own preferences.
I kind of discovered Eric The car guy when I had my own low in my career, I have followed Eric and watch him progress and he has provided some positive light for me. Yes I was dis allusioned and wishing I tried another career, so instead of complaining I did something about it.I had always wished I tried something else so I did. Good thing I did not feel embittered to the point of selling tools, that would have been a mistake.
Fast forward a few years,I have opened my own auto repair shop. I am still finding some challenges with that as well but am sure I will learn and
grow as individual from those experiences as well.[/quote]some of my friends did tell me same thing about selling my tools. Thing about our trade is that…bunch of knuckle draggers working in this trade..
Embittered…i guess i am just trying to burn my old bridge…reminder of trade jobs.i am not sure where you are in life..i don’t want to be wrenching at all anymore…my previous dealership had so much bs politics and so much feeding to certain people…i don’t know of any other trade like that. Flat rate? what is that? they don’t do that for everyone…only certain tech has to fix it right…some fix 6 times for same concern without result…whatever…keep fed for them…i was one of techs had fix comebacks of those douche bags. forman always told me do him a favor..sure…sick of it.
i am not sure which part of IT you were in. i found that even public service IT paid better than my job after 12 years..
most of people with 2-4 years in IT makes same amount or better than what i was making.I am in CAN. we seem to have better pay in IT…i am looking around.
but thanks for your perspective from your own experience.I send in the application for few places…wait and see.
p.s. i see people with welder trucks sitting their house…after so many dollars…people are hoping and waiting for oil to come back..
slowly coming back…personally when i was trying to get hired on as apprentice…nobody would even look at me..I am CAN. some places are very much “by the book”.
they said i needed to go to mechanic for pre-employment course to make sure i want to do this or what…i went to school i was aware of what is what…and nobody had to hold my hands all day everyday.
I was sort of in the crowd of getting it…i had seen kids at pre-employment just horsing around with no real direction or motivation.
any farmer can learn fix whatever mechanical stuff. just wait…in future more electronics and more complicated crap to come…like european 6-8 lines of CAN bus…some more.good luck to you. hopely your experience would be positive…only you can make it what works for you.
most of places i know are techs supply their own tools. i personally would rather have my own so that i do not have to share to bunch of morons.
some would even keep special tool so that no one else can do that job except them. I had engine timing tool that was in my bay because i was one of engine guy and only one uses them…i rather be perfect…not eyeball crap. anyway back to topic.
i had worked with a tech who supplied a/c machines and such to the owner.
I know in asia that like a dealership would provide everything. their pay so low anyway…some i know around 25k annual.my dad owns an electrical contracting business…he told me that basic handtool for each worker but, powertool is company supplied.
way too much to invest on tools and knowledge…
north america is expansive to do anything for mechanic trade…heavy duty tools would cost even more money to their job.i used to work at dealership…i couldn’t refuse butchered vehicles…they were still warranty…even if there’s mangled head damage right at t-chain guide bolt hole inside cylinder head…i had two of those gabage work under warranty…
good luck to you all.
i used to work red triangle..we get see things like tampered vehicles…pretty often. some i would tells customer to “please leave i refuse to work on your vehicle.” that particular truck had torque coverter was crossthreaded and metal was falling out…basically not my problem..
just tow it or whatever…i didn’t touch your vehicle.i may sounds like ass but, when you are too nice..you will get bent..
[quote=”BustnKnucklz” post=164852]When does a technician tell his manager, or customer that the diagnosis is not worth the pay? At my shop we charge 69.99 for a diagnosis. Most diagnosis work takes me 5 minutes to two hours. (depending). 😉 Also at my shop the technician/mechanics have one-on-one with customers. I have a troubling and impatient customer that has stated plenty of times he doesn’t have money for expensive repairs. I only make commission for a pay check folks. So if customers do not pay. I do not eat. This guy has a 2003 Stratus that has been to 2 (two) different shops for diagnosis for a crank no start. He brought his car to me. I found a no spark error. I found that these last two shops have cut the crank sensor wires on this 2.4L Engine.
To replace I have to remove timing belt. I told the customer that I wanted to replace the sensor before I can further diagnose. $490 estimate and telling him I want to install a factory part from Chrysler/Mitsubishi. He denies repair but paid for the scan. Comes back with the car still not starting but he has replaced the sensor. I look at the sensor he put on and its installed ass backwards. Literally bolted on backwards. So he takes the car back home and flips it around. I find out he installed a aftermarket part which is what I told him not too. (I find duralast parts to be very very chinsey). He says hes not getting fuel now, and he had a backyard mechanic replace the fuel pump motor but not sending unit. The unit is broken but he brings the pump to show me. (he thinks im his friend now because I communicate with him. :angry: He keeps messing around with it and now we wants me to get it running. When do I tell him that too many non-experienced people have hacked and tampered with this car? If I try to figure it out I will waste time and lose money fixing it. What would you guys do in my shoes.[/quote]
i think you are already past what i would put up with…at second visit..i would told him to go find other shop to ticker with that pos.
what is the point…? no money left for you to even discuss with..you know for a fact that they are bottom feeders excuse to come and waste your time, your shop time for stupid things.
[quote=”65chevyc20″ post=164847]I’ll relay my experience on here; take it as you will. I’ve been in and out of this industry for 8 years…I’ve worked in utilities, grocery, manufacturing and then I come back to automotive. I’ve never held a job longer than a year and this last job as a helper/lube tech I got fired from. I have 6 ASE’s and don’t know what to do anymore. I’m in Houston, work is steady here. I have a knee that will need medical attention if it doesn’t heal; due to alignments and racking cars.
Newbies should know that you have to LOVE cars to be successful in this industry whether it’s changing parts or diagnosing. I love diagnosing but I hate changing the parts; parts changing is so boring. I’ve lost my interest and am burned out working on cars; I’ve spent so much time and money into this trade I will never get back. I used to make good money for a couple months but dreaded every minute of it. Politics and greed inside this industry left a bitter taste in my mouth; I hope some of you have a better experience. I’ve gained a real interest in electrical and love drive-ability but unfortunately you can’t just make money diagnosing. I wish I could love this trade again but I don’t know how. LOL soap opera…fail![/quote]
my thoughts about same…so sick of politic and flat rate gabage…i used to love diagnostic, hate doing other idiots half fixed disaster…they don’t have mentality or responsible to fix it right…nope…golden boys get to do whatever f they want…
why should i bent backwards for industry nurture newkids that can’t figure out why spark plug wire won’t fit….no common sense or logic to figure…. :pinch: duh….i surely laughing on the sideline…once i sell my tools.
[quote=”ToyotaKarl” post=164803]Sorry your career and area have kicked you in the Jimmy… One thing is for sure, you have skill and knowledge you can use the rest of your life.
I have a friend who is in IT and has now found himself quite dated because he didnt keep his skills updated. Back in the day, Microsoft and a few other certain certifications could get you a good job… Now the young people he competes with have programming skills (certifications are still required)… He allowed himself to get complacent and lost his job… and now has to brush up on many skills to get back to doing what he wants to do…
Can you relocate? Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders!!
I wish you the best of luck getting into your new chosen vocation…
-Karl[/quote]
To you question of relocation..yes. since IT don’t require me to move my tools anymore…3-6hours whichever direction will do wonders
I have schooling that is way too long ago yet, most of kids play social media and putting up some pics now they say that they want to be in computers..
on the other hand, i had attempted programming in college and such…no talent in programming.
i tried so many times to stay in mechanic trade…even wife want me to stay because of money better…it’s all perspective to me.i am lacking paid-work experience…first certification that i should have got years ago i am mayb going back to take them through CAN govt funding to retraining for better caree