auto techs?

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dealer-technicians-more-you-know-less-make-adrian-vigneault

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In my opinion new car dealers are run by slimy con artists working paying employees on a pyramid scale with the majority of their employees, the techs at the base
The even back in the wwII era when only Dr.s could buy a new car, dealers only survived by doing repairs, today it's still their bread and butter.
I never have any problems with the techs, it's their managers that are thieves. You go in for your new car benefit of a free State inspection and the service writer is calling for my wife, doesn't want me, just my wife because she brought it in.
He says the water pump is going bad, there's some bit of a stain coming from the weep whole in the pump indicating the pump is going, get it done before the care breaks down and it's costs much more then. According to these "salesmen" my wipers, battery, tires, trans service, belts and brakes are always a hair away from failure. I tell them I would like to see what you're seeing and they say, "you won't be able to get here in time" we'll take a picture for me and send it, "my camera doesn't take good pictures" one time they sent me a picture of a car that wasn't mine.
The dealers have millions available from their banks set aside in preferred interest rates. They make you believe you're getting a deal on your poor 730 FICA score with a 8% loan when they're getting 5% from the bank, thereby pocketing the difference between the 2. They pay the title clerk $18/hr, 80% of what they pay to the average mechanic out back and charge you $250 for document prep that takes 30 minutes at most.
I've been to dealers that give away everything from BBQs to laptops for ANY new car purchase but yet I never get anything because they said I negotiated a very tight deal, they're only making $50 off me on this deal!
My favorite bullshit story by a dealer - One dealer gives you a free set of tires If the tires wear out during your warranty period. The catch: you must get all your service work done by that dealer, all oil changes, all scheduled maintenance required by the manufacture including a 4 wheel alignment once a year.
This dealer said he lost money on me because they escrow the money for the new tires at the time of the car is sold.
Theses dealers that cry poor can't be doing that bad when they're always building mega buck showrooms, acquiring more real estate (always the premium acreage), always have multiple dealerships (sometimes they're not close to each other) and when the Education Foundation of GM has 2012 study of the children of the top 15,000 dealers attending the top 12 colleges in the country at a rate exceeding 65%, then they're not doing all that bad
 
Its a Bad place to work at .
Dealerships.
Been there. Done that.
Garbage gets treated better.
No Shit.
 
I worked one summer break while I was in college, as a line mechanic at a local chevy dealer mostly for the experience and to learn a bit on their dime,
it became very obvious that it was financially impossible to make a good pay check ,
on the pay scale and flat rate they paid even back in the 1970 times frame, it made me realize ,
getting a job with AT&T and letting them pay much of my college costs was a smarter route
 
I worked one summer break while I was in college, as a line mechanic at a local chevy dealer mostly for the experience and to learn a bit on their dime,
it became very obvious that it was financially impossible to make a good pay check ,
on the pay scale and flat rate they paid even back in the 1970 times frame, it made me realize ,
getting a job with AT&T and letting them pay much of my college costs was a smarter route
Its all screwed up Grumpy.
No idea how I will ever Retire.

Diesel work is more stable.
I actually like overall .
Work has died off in my hometown area.
Chicago its going Decent.

Just see where the Race Mechanic job leads to.
 
if you look at the average salary from 25 years ago for a tech, its about the same as it is today... i know guys who lef the dealerships in 1990 making 23-28/hr... and i hardly know any techs at dealers who make that money... however the dealership used to charge 45-60 bucks an hour back then... nowadays no dealership charges les than 120 an hour... so the dealer has doubled the customers cost while not incresing the salary of the tech in the last 25 years to any measurable degree. its disgraceful
 
As long as there are people who are willing to accept and work for inferior wages employers will exploit these people whenever possible.
Many immigrants coming into this country classify themselves as "mechanics" and "machinists" or "tool and die makers" - (another field that used to pay good wages however anymore is just sweat-shop piecework pay. ") Immigrants must show they can offer a valuable service and not be a drag on the American economy.
 
If you start to think , as a tech,
well if the dealership gets $120 an hour and they only pay me as a tech,
$25 an hour, be aware running a business is also a real ,bag of crap, in most cases,
,you can,t imagine the government mandated licensing, business permits,
taxes,record keeping requirements,
the IRS,OHSA,AND EPA, local building and zoning,FICA,
insurance issues that running a shop mandates.
And dealing with the public at large if you have your own shop is also a huge P.I.T.A. most of the time,
partly because a significant percentage of the customer base has insane expectations, and most have zero idea what is actually required to do repairs
and honestly thinks that damn near everything should be covered under a factory warranty,
and partly because they have zero knowledge about what takes place during a diagnoses or repair!
most people now do not work at jobs where they are forced to both work with their hands and logically diagnose both,
mechanical and electrical systems, and at the same time, maintain the tools, skills,
and parts inventory required to repair or replace defective components and sub-systems.
The majority of customers Ive dealt with, can,t begin imaging how time consuming,
it is and the amount of precision tooling it requires to for example just correctly assemble an engine.
many have the attitude that , frankly leaves me shaking my head, wondering if theres ANY working brain cells in some peoples heads
statements like.....

"if I wanted it fixed by tomorrow ,I'd have called you TOMORROW!"
Or
"If you have almost 50 years experience do,ing these repairs,
I find it hard to understand why you can,t tell me exactly whats wrong,
and how much it will cost, and how long it will take, to repair my car with out,
you expecting ME to drive it over there for YOU to look at!

Or
" I think I can order the parts cheaper on line,
and you certainly don,t need the O.E.M. parts,
to repair that, so why does a simple repair like replacing a clutch take all day?"

OR
"yes I understand the manufacturer has been out of business for 15 years, what does that have to do with my life time replacement warranty?"
OR

"yeah, I had the shop pull it all down and inspect it, but their repair estimates absurdly high!
can,t you just ask them to pack it all up and drop it off over at your shop so you can give me a more reasonable estimate?"
OR
" can,t you just PATCH IT UP TEMPORARILY so I can get to work, while the parts are on order,after all,
its got 8 connecting rods, and only ones got a spun bearing"
OR

"why should I need to pay what that machine-shop charged YOU , to get the parts to fit correctly, they should bolt on as they were out of the box!
,that cost should be included in the labor charges and YOU didn,t do any of that personally"

OR
"yes I understand that buying and installing a crate engines going to be cheaper,and faster than re-building , that 454 chevy engine that threw a rod out through the oil pan,
but if they can sell an engine too you for X dollars, why can,t you buy and assemble that list of performance parts, to build a 454 that makes twice the power,that, we discussed for a similar price"


Ive built over 150 plus engines and while that might seem like a huge total , keep in mind thats over a time span of nearly 47 years and for about 15 years I was doing it as a semi business to make a bit of extra cash and both help some of the local guys, reduce their costs and improve my skills and buy my tools and get both those guys and myself help on my and their, projects and qualify for discounts on supplies and build the contacts in the local machine shops to reduce both my costs and get the guys I helped reduce their costs,and while ding so I was knocking out 8-12 engines a year,during that time frame,as I got older I cut back on the number of engines but constantly try to improve the quality even further!
I built a good reputation, based on building many durable high quality muscle car engines, that produce good power and have built mostly big block Chevy,396-555 engines, Chrysler 383 -440, and Pontiac 350-455 based engines with a few dozen 283-406 SBC, BUICK, CADDY 472-500, ETC. along the way.
if you divide the 150 plus engines over that 47 years you'll see a average of maybe 3-4 engines a year, which hardly qualifies as a serious business,Its been rewarding in that I'm forced to keep up with constantly evolving tech improvements and the necessity to learn the skills required,I may not be truly a full time pro engine builder, as I don,t depend on the profits from the builds to pay my bills every month, but it does count as extensive experience!


The way Ive always done engine builds has NEVER MADE ME ANY REAL PROFIT!
I generally charge local guys, I deal with about $15 an hour, and thats rarely even close to what any reputable machinist would charge , and they will be there helping and watching during the process, thats understood or I don,t get involved. plus they will buy all the meals and shop supplies we use, and we will be driving to the local machine shop as required, when I can,t perform some modification with the shop tools I own,(and yes theres always a few things I can,t do yet as I have not yet purchased some of the larger machine tooling, boring and line honing, block decking and a few other operations are farmed out due to lack of proper shop tooling)
I get a great deal of satisfaction, out of seeing engines I build produce very good power and last for years without breaking, but to do the work correctly takes far more time and effort than most guys can imagine.
I want the people involved to have a full understanding of the process, the time and effort required , and to understand I,m not doing this to make money,
but as what might best be described as an obsession with doing things correctly, and having pride in the results of my skills, and trying to pass on those skills and hard won knowledge.
I realized very early , that 99% of the people I help and deal with are totally clueless, as to the skills required and what components work the best, etc. so I,m forced to take the process a step at a time and have them be totally involved, explaining at each step what needs to be done, why it needs to be done and how its done, and have them pay for the supplies or parts and when required take parts to a machine shop with detailed instructions on what needs to be done, how long it will take and have them pay for the related cost and do the actual parts transport.
IT will generally take most guys far longer,

3-4 weeks, on average, and the costs will be higher , because the machine work and parts used will be correctly clearanced and we won,t be looking at getting the least expensive parts , but rather the best parts we can afford,and having them correctly fitted, and we won,t even start until after a well discussed parts list, and machine work costs and time required is agreed on,and they have the time to be doing the build cleared on their schedule.
and the parts ordered, delivered and inspected and the list of parts is on hand and complete before we start, as I don,t want too spend weeks or months waiting on parts ,and I only want to deal with machine shops I trust and have experience dealing with that I know do quality work.
(vs the day or two most guys seem to think it takes to build an engine,)
and the total costs will be significantly higher than they might originally have expected,)
but in the end almost everyone has zero complaints,
in fact I have had a long list of repeat customers,
wanting to do their next engine build, who jump at the chance to do so, when the opportunity, and their bank balance allow it.
engine building done correctly may be an impressive skill , but its not going to be profitable.
for the few guys that care to really learn anything about the finer details of engine building, done correctly I went through most of the info in this thread and its sub links

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/tbucket-engine-project-dart-shp.3814/

your obviously free to register and post questions if you think I skipped over and missed and details you have questions on, after you read through the thread and sub links. but keep in mind I generally build higher end muscle car style engines and a few racing engines with durability being the prime goal, given a choice,unlike many builders, I'll gladly sacrifice that last peak 15 hp to gain an addition 10-20K miles of extra operational life expectancy in an instant
 
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Diesel. e Diesel I am going back to Chicago soon Grumpy.
Talked it over with my Boss today.
Bam Bam care is killing all.
Besides ....anyhow he was yelling that Mother Ficker Bama again .......

He is going to give me a good reference.

I am pretty sure I am the Only Diesel, Auto, & Racing Mechanic around.
Took pictures many of the Big Rig Diesel Engines I repaired overhauled .
Have to post a few sometime.
 
I am reading yesterday's links by You Grumpy .
Yes its real bad today as a Mechanic.
Most are better off getting a job at McDonalds.
More Stable work & income.
Yes I get treated like shit daily on the Job.
 
I like to think I helped a few Younger than myself Grumpy.
 
Its kinda Reassuring in a way Grumpy.
I am not alone.
Nation wide problem.
Pretty soon there won't be any real mechanics left.
All my age I knew gave it up.
 
I read most Grumpy.
The Young man Mechanic interviewed is dead on truth.
Tired my Friend.

You know I am a Fighter .

I am the only Auto- Diesel- Race mechanic around and online .
A Pontiac & Corvette Guy also.
 
back in 1967, fresh out of high school, I got a part time job while I was a freshman in college , at a local Chevy dealership as basically (starting position) a mechanics trainee, ( basically a mechanics parts cleaner, and parts counter, go-get-this-kid) most of the time and they "TRAINED YOU" by giving you the drudge work, and cleaning the shop, and making parts runs to other dealerships in your own car on your own gas most of the time, I already had a good back-ground from hot rodding but I figured the job would gain me skills, experience and some pocket change while I was in school and they allowed me to work the later shift, It sure made me realize that getting my engineering degrees was a far smarter route than putting up with the absurd "book" time/pay scale they paid you with, the service order writers would write up a job and if the "book" said it took 5 hours and , it didn't matter if it took you 3 or 12 hours you got paid for 5. naturally all the crappy, and low paid time intensive work went to the junior guys, and you ate the time it took to repair and replace rusted and broken bolts and stupid stuff like customer welded parts.
I only keep that job a few months then got a job with AT&T that paid more ($84 a week) back in 1967
yes theres no doubt at all that the fees youll see at most dealerships or professional mechanic shops can add up a good deal faster than most people imagine,
(these guys don,t work for free, and they can at times be well worth the expense simply because having an experienced mechanic with the correct tools handy can save you a great deal of time, effort and wasted cash]
But the costs are making learning how to diagnose and repair problems with your car and installing and adjusting newer components almost mandatory in this hobby.
now I can certainly tell you that finding a good skilled mechanic and local machine shop are damn near mandatory, simply because none of us knows everything about our car, so your bound to occasionally need help in some area when you first start out in this hobby.
but at the same time the cost makes learning how to do as much of the work as you can to reduce the costs
 
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The Wife wants me to quit as a Mechanic Grumpy.
Change Careers.
I can fall back on my Electonics Background .
I have my AAS Associate in Electronics Technology Degree.
Should have stayed in School and obtained my Bachelors .
But Engineers are struggling also.
My Sister is a Chemical Engineer..
The Brother in Law is A Mechanical Engineer like You.

My Edge Is I think outside the Box.
All that have tried to prove they are smarter have failed.
Every single Boss too including the present.
Its a Game Daily.
Sucks. Buts its Reality .
 
I am on the Job Search Sites Grumpy.
Mechanic Positions From Florida are showing up here in Illinois .
Chicagoland based searches I doing now.
Other positions I qualify for with my AAS In Electronics.
Work on my Resume today.
Add Recent pictures of Repairs made by me.
Hotrod Builds done by me too.
 
Really like to be back in a Hotrod Race Shop.
The last guy was a Real Azzhole.
He still owes me $300 cash.
Waiting ....stop by and Surprise.
 
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