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How Do I Become a Mechanic?

#81
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#83
Mike N said:
I love what I do, and this is always what I wanted to do. I'm 42 and have been doing this professionally since I was 16.

I just dislike the corporate bs end of it, and it only seems to be getting worse.

My advice to you (since you seem hell bent on doing this) is to look into a program at your local community college. It's a lot cheaper than UTI and the like, and you'll get real hands on training (they'll place you in a dealership on an apprentice program), and you'll be able to purchase Snap on or Mac tools at a huge discount. I personally know a few guys that have gone through the program at out CC and not only did they like it, they actually learned something and became decent techs.

Otoh the UTI and Wyo Tech crowd I've run into are not only is major debt from those schools, most of them still couldn't fix a sandwich.
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I agree with all of this.
 
#84
Mike N said:
The system is seriously flawed, especially when it comes to warranty work. It's not flat rate it's flat rape. At least Ford and GM pretend to do time studies, seems that Chrysler just spins the wheel and guesses at times. The .0 for diagnosis is crap as well. Don't want to pay? Outside. May as well have the writer in the drive grab his diagnostic shotgun and fire a part at it, 'cause I sure as hell ain't gonna fix it for free. I didn't built it, I didn't buy it, and I didn't break it.

Problem with paying a guy hourly or giving a 40 hour guarantee is you'd see productivity drop off. If a guy can get the same thing whether he's busting hump or choking his chicken, where's the incentive to work hard? Plus, if it gets real slow in the shop and everyone is hourly, now the bean counters are going to gripe even more about gross margin.

So what's the answer? I don't know.
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When a persons salary is based on incentive you're just looking for trouble. As far as an incentive to work, why not make it like every other job, if you're choking your chicken you get fired. That's the bottom line. You can fix a car fast or you can fix it right. The two are inversely proportional. What needs to be done, is that we need to bring credibility to the trade. Why is it that electricians, plumbers and contractors need to be licensed and not mechanics? Any Joe Schmo can walk into a sears, walk out with a toolbox, and call themselves a mechanic. It's like me buying a stethoscope and calling myself the head of pediatrics at Mt Sinai. I've worked next to guys that can't grasp the concept of ohm's law and yet they're working on the fully loaded dump truck cruising next to you at 70mph. Just hope he didn't forget to tighten the wheels on that bad boy....oh did I mention I have seen them fall off at highway speeds? Not Cool.
 
#86
mike phillips said:
snap-on has been around forever an are made here in the u.s. they are a very good tool and are veeeeeery expensive to buy. example: snap on oex12b 11 piece combination wrench set 3/8-1 inch priced at $358.45 this is just basic stuff. specialized tools, big $$$$$$$$.
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I love my snap on tools. That's another thing to think about for the OP. I have a huge 3 bay matco tool box, top and bottom, full of every kind of tool you could imagine. If you average my tool payments out for the last twenty years....say 40 bucks a week plus the 15 k for the box...that's 60k or so. There's more things in my box that I never or hardly ever use than ones I use every day. But I needed it once and it's there if I need it again. Especially now that I only work on Chrysler products. That is another benny of working at a dealership. I could get by with a quarter of the box and a quarter of the tools. LOL it's funny, the other day I worked on a Subaru, not something I ever do but we were slow. Anyway, I actually had to blow the dust off of my 12, 14 and 17mm sockets.
Here's flat rate in the real world for you. It's my day off but I'm going in today to bang out a customer pay heater core on an 05 Grand cherokee. Sold if for 7.5 including diag. This job requires removing the steering column, dash assy. and HVAC unit but it should only take me 3.5 hours tops. I only wish I could do heater core's and blend doors in my driveway. I'd do three a day, charge half price and make a mint.

Truktec, I agree with you about making the tech acountable. You screw off, you get caned. I don't think that quality and speed are mutually exclusive. Not everybody can do both but some guys can. I make stupid mistakes like everybody but most time's they come from bieng rushed, haveing way to much to do and not enough time to do it. And then just when I think I've got it all lined up a couple writers come out and drop a handfull of waiters on my desk. I try to never critisize other guys because the black cloud can hang over me just as easily.
 
#87
68Goldfish said:
Truktec, I agree with you about making the tech acountable. You screw off, you get caned. I don't think that quality and speed are mutually exclusive. Not everybody can do both but some guys can. I make stupid mistakes like everybody but most time's they come from bieng rushed, haveing way to much to do and not enough time to do it. And then just when I think I've got it all lined up a couple writers come out and drop a handfull of waiters on my desk. I try to never critisize other guys because the black cloud can hang over me just as easily.
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I understand your point, and I'm not criticizing anyone. God knows I've made my share of mistakes too. The point I'm trying to make, and you admitted it yourself, was that most mistakes come from being rushed, having too much to do, and not enough time. It's only natural that things get screwed up when you're under the gun. As far as I'm concerned we're all in the same canoe floating helplessly down sh*ts creek!:D
 
#91
Truktek2 said:
I understand your point, and I'm not criticizing anyone. God knows I've made my share of mistakes too. The point I'm trying to make, and you admitted it yourself, was that most mistakes come from being rushed, having too much to do, and not enough time. It's only natural that things get screwed up when you're under the gun. As far as I'm concerned we're all in the same canoe floating helplessly down sh*ts creek!:D
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Well, scheduling is an entirely differant story. One that I battle every day. I'm sure that no matter how they pay the tech thier still going to ty and cram every car in all at once. I might as well make as much as possible while I'm in sh*t creek. :D
I didn't mean or think that you were criticizing anybody. Were all friends here. :)
 

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