Anybody here working as an auto technician?

[mikeb23ft]

Getting some kind of auto tech training is an idea I've flirted with for awhile. I currently have an undergrad psych degree from a major state university. I'm 26. I need a 'real' job, but sitting behind a desk doesn't sound like fun.

I've been thinking about going back to school for something, and with all of the time I've been spending on cars lately going to auto tech school has come up. I like working on cars, despite my limited tools and resources.

I don't know if it's the right career path for me. I could see myself more as a manager or customer service guy than turning a wrench as a pro. I know that high level techs at BMW dealerships make 100k+. That's after years of experience, but that's pretty damn good. I would imagine the salaries for other marquee brands to be very similar, too, if I have to get stuck doing Mercs or something

Any pros here want to chip in on whether or not you enjoy your line of work?

[TehPilot]

amp's make $$$$$$$$!

[Aahj]

Been turning wrenches for 10 years and started right out of high school. Absolutely loved it initially but now do it just to pay the bills. Last year, I opened my own one man garage since I had more free time on my hands as I'm not racing every other weekend like I used to. Not making the money I used to make at my previous gig, but business is picking up! No regrets here!

Aahj

[mr walker]

Check out The Car Lounge on vwvortex.com. I've seen a few threads over there recently where folks have asked the same question. The reason I suggest that website is because of the massive traffic it sees.

I worked for Honda/Acura for a couple years. I was 20 years old and ran a team. It allowed me to realize how hard I could work. Monday through Friday was 7AM-7PM, Saturdays were 8AM-4PM and mandatory. I was also going to school. I made money hand over fist (for my age and education). But I hated my life. I got blackout drunk one night, threw everything I owned in the back of my truck and woke up in a parking lot the next morning. I drove across the country and lived in paradise for 4 years. I haven't worked on a car for money since then. It's taken that long to rekindle any "passion" I once had for cars.

You can make A LOT of money working for a dealer. Keep in mind that you don't have to be with BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, etc. to do this. I urge you to look into all of the brands before making a decision. I actually typed out a small essay on why I'm glad I went with Honda/Acura vs. Audi (the company I originally wanted to work for). Instead, just search for B6 S4 timing chain replacement. Here's a pretty important question, and give me an honest reply: why do you want to work for BMW?

I'll leave you with this: remember, you're going to be doing this for a LIVING. If you're lucky your passion for cars won't fade, but when you pull that new M3 with 5k miles on it into your bay to diagnose an intermittent headliner rattle under warranty, YOU WILL NOT CARE THAT IT'S A COOL CAR.

Let me know if you have any questions about my experiences or whatever. If you don't mind me asking, what is your MBTI personality (after seeing your degree I'm assuming you looked into this at some point)?

[mikeb23ft]

Check out The Car Lounge on vwvortex.com. I've seen a few threads over there recently where folks have asked the same question. The reason I suggest that website is because of the massive traffic it sees.

I worked for Honda/Acura for a couple years. I was 20 years old and ran a team. It allowed me to realize how hard I could work. Monday through Friday was 7AM-7PM, Saturdays were 8AM-4PM and mandatory. I was also going to school. I made money hand over fist (for my age and education). But I hated my life. I got blackout drunk one night, threw everything I owned in the back of my truck and woke up in a parking lot the next morning. I drove across the country and lived in paradise for 4 years. I haven't worked on a car for money since then. It's taken that long to rekindle any "passion" I once had for cars.

You can make A LOT of money working for a dealer. Keep in mind that you don't have to be with BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, etc. to do this. I urge you to look into all of the brands before making a decision. I actually typed out a small essay on why I'm glad I went with Honda/Acura vs. Audi (the company I originally wanted to work for). Instead, just search for B6 S4 timing chain replacement. Here's a pretty important question, and give me an honest reply: why do you want to work for BMW?

I'll leave you with this: remember, you're going to be doing this for a LIVING. If you're lucky your passion for cars won't fade, but when you pull that new M3 with 5k miles on it into your bay to diagnose an intermittent headliner rattle under warranty, YOU WILL NOT CARE THAT IT'S A COOL CAR.

Let me know if you have any questions about my experiences or whatever. If you don't mind me asking, what is your MBTI personality (after seeing your degree I'm assuming you looked into this at some point)?

I took an MBTI 4 or 5 years ago and was an INFP, but I just took another one and was ENTP, with a 1% score on the E side of the I- 1/25/38/11. I think this change is a fairly realistic reflection of my actual life.

I went through the process of losing passion for something that I loved as a music major in school, before I changed to psych. After awhile I just wasn't feeling it anymore. I didn't even play (guitar) for a long time after I left. I understand that getting burned out on something is a possibility, but I need some kind of job or career that I can pursue.

[BrassDrummer]

Let me put my two cents in here, sense I am a BMW Master Technician

I see people saying that you can make upwards of 100K at BMW dealerships and all the high end dealers. Let me tell you that those days are long, LONG gone. The 200 plus hour pay periods have gone with the economy, and not most guys are struggling just to get their 80, and can most times pull out 100 hours in two weeks, depending on how good their service writers are at selling services.

BMWNA cut every single one of our warranty times by 20%, and we will most likely never see that come back. With that, the way we calculate our customer pay time was also cut by 20% (We use the warranty time as a base. So CP jobs are Warranty*1.7)

As for our clientel, we deal with at TON of small intermittent noises, squeaks, rattles etc. We have customers who complain about wind noise with their sunroof open, and a squeak coming from their a/c vents when they're driving 34 mph around a left hand turn with their drivers window half way down and the rear right passenger window all the way down on tuesdays when its raining. Those kind of complaints will NEVER make you any money.

I find myself constantly inside the warranty department trying to explain my stories to the warranty clerk because they have never worked on cars before, and don't understand what removing the intake camshaft entails on a car with VVT. And no, you do NOT get paid for that.

The biggest thing I hate, and absolutely cannot stand, is how you are treated at the dealers, and how the customers are treated at the dealers because you simply need to make a pay check. A car comes in and it is leaking from the Valve Cover gasket, and has warranty, but the customer did not complain about it. We simply cannot do anything about it, because we will get hit with the possibility of an audit. So we simply let the car go, leaky valve cover and all. As long as we fix the customers complaint, thats all they care about.

We get yelled at when cars aren't done on time, even though we never told the service writer anything about when it would be done, and they promised the car ahead of time, or when we need more time on a repair because a head bolt broke off and we either need to try and repair it, or a possibility of needing to replace the block due to weak threads (BMWNA specs). We make a vast majority of the income for the dealer, but we are still some of the lowest paid people in the shop, with a variable income depending on how busy the shop is.

The automotive industry is set up for the 70's/80's, but we're in 2012. Car's aren't all maintenance and services, but we still get paid like it is. The industry needs to change, or it will eventually lose all of its qualified techs.

I have been working in the automotive industry for about 4 years now, and I am completely burnt out, and pursuing a BS degree in Computer Engineering. Don't get me wrong, I love working on cars, and there is no feeling like taking apart an engine, finding out what caused it to break, putting it back together correctly, and starting it up on the first crank. But the industry kills technicians.

[der affe]

^ very well put!

[bimmerteck]

The industry needs to change, or it will eventually lose all of its qualified techs.

x2 -from a tech that already abandoned ship for another industry. ;)

[giantkeeper]

Shadetree it on the weekends for supplemental income. You'll satisfy your urge to wrench and keep things relatively simple.

[whterice]

Let me put my two cents in here, sense I am a BMW Master Technician

I see people saying that you can make upwards of 100K at BMW dealerships and all the high end dealers. Let me tell you that those days are long, LONG gone. The 200 plus hour pay periods have gone with the economy, and not most guys are struggling just to get their 80, and can most times pull out 100 hours in two weeks, depending on how good their service writers are at selling services.

BMWNA cut every single one of our warranty times by 20%, and we will most likely never see that come back. With that, the way we calculate our customer pay time was also cut by 20% (We use the warranty time as a base. So CP jobs are Warranty*1.7)

As for our clientel, we deal with at TON of small intermittent noises, squeaks, rattles etc. We have customers who complain about wind noise with their sunroof open, and a squeak coming from their a/c vents when they're driving 34 mph around a left hand turn with their drivers window half way down and the rear right passenger window all the way down on tuesdays when its raining. Those kind of complaints will NEVER make you any money.

I find myself constantly inside the warranty department trying to explain my stories to the warranty clerk because they have never worked on cars before, and don't understand what removing the intake camshaft entails on a car with VVT. And no, you do NOT get paid for that.

The biggest thing I hate, and absolutely cannot stand, is how you are treated at the dealers, and how the customers are treated at the dealers because you simply need to make a pay check. A car comes in and it is leaking from the Valve Cover gasket, and has warranty, but the customer did not complain about it. We simply cannot do anything about it, because we will get hit with the possibility of an audit. So we simply let the car go, leaky valve cover and all. As long as we fix the customers complaint, thats all they care about.

We get yelled at when cars aren't done on time, even though we never told the service writer anything about when it would be done, and they promised the car ahead of time, or when we need more time on a repair because a head bolt broke off and we either need to try and repair it, or a possibility of needing to replace the block due to weak threads (BMWNA specs). We make a vast majority of the income for the dealer, but we are still some of the lowest paid people in the shop, with a variable income depending on how busy the shop is.

The automotive industry is set up for the 70's/80's, but we're in 2012. Car's aren't all maintenance and services, but we still get paid like it is. The industry needs to change, or it will eventually lose all of its qualified techs.

I have been working in the automotive industry for about 4 years now, and I am completely burnt out, and pursuing a BS degree in Computer Engineering. Don't get me wrong, I love working on cars, and there is no feeling like taking apart an engine, finding out what caused it to break, putting it back together correctly, and starting it up on the first crank. But the industry kills technicians.

This pretty much tells it like it is. Does it hurt to have it as a backup? nope. I have done both mechanical and service advising and both arent worth it. Being a mechanic you lose the love for the game. You like turning wrenches on your car now? better get that project done asap cause once you become a mechanic the last thing you want is to fix your own shit. And the hassle of people finding out your a mechanic hahahahahaha "hey can you fix this? or Hey whats this sound?"

Service advising hahahahaha complete joke of a job. I got paid very very well and I dont think I will ever go do it again. It is simply the most thankless job a person could have. You can go so far out of your way to fix something or to help a person out and they only ever want more. I am sorry I dont stock multiples of every part this car manufacturer has ever produced. Your car is drivable and your new passenger headrest that doest squeak will come in on the next shipment at the end of the week.

[mr walker]

Let me put my two cents in here, sense I am a BMW Master Technician

I see people saying that you can make upwards of 100K at BMW dealerships and all the high end dealers. Let me tell you that those days are long, LONG gone. The 200 plus hour pay periods have gone with the economy, and not most guys are struggling just to get their 80, and can most times pull out 100 hours in two weeks, depending on how good their service writers are at selling services.

BMWNA cut every single one of our warranty times by 20%, and we will most likely never see that come back. With that, the way we calculate our customer pay time was also cut by 20% (We use the warranty time as a base. So CP jobs are Warranty*1.7)

As for our clientel, we deal with at TON of small intermittent noises, squeaks, rattles etc. We have customers who complain about wind noise with their sunroof open, and a squeak coming from their a/c vents when they're driving 34 mph around a left hand turn with their drivers window half way down and the rear right passenger window all the way down on tuesdays when its raining. Those kind of complaints will NEVER make you any money.

I find myself constantly inside the warranty department trying to explain my stories to the warranty clerk because they have never worked on cars before, and don't understand what removing the intake camshaft entails on a car with VVT. And no, you do NOT get paid for that.

The biggest thing I hate, and absolutely cannot stand, is how you are treated at the dealers, and how the customers are treated at the dealers because you simply need to make a pay check. A car comes in and it is leaking from the Valve Cover gasket, and has warranty, but the customer did not complain about it. We simply cannot do anything about it, because we will get hit with the possibility of an audit. So we simply let the car go, leaky valve cover and all. As long as we fix the customers complaint, thats all they care about.

We get yelled at when cars aren't done on time, even though we never told the service writer anything about when it would be done, and they promised the car ahead of time, or when we need more time on a repair because a head bolt broke off and we either need to try and repair it, or a possibility of needing to replace the block due to weak threads (BMWNA specs). We make a vast majority of the income for the dealer, but we are still some of the lowest paid people in the shop, with a variable income depending on how busy the shop is.

The automotive industry is set up for the 70's/80's, but we're in 2012. Car's aren't all maintenance and services, but we still get paid like it is. The industry needs to change, or it will eventually lose all of its qualified techs.

I have been working in the automotive industry for about 4 years now, and I am completely burnt out, and pursuing a BS degree in Computer Engineering. Don't get me wrong, I love working on cars, and there is no feeling like taking apart an engine, finding out what caused it to break, putting it back together correctly, and starting it up on the first crank. But the industry kills technicians.

It's funny because I had written nearly the same thing out in my first response, but deleted it for a shorter version. This guy speaks the truth.

One of the first points I had made in my "work for Honda essay" was that their customers are less demanding. Yes, you still get the weird wind whistles and rattles that come from inside the dash only when there's a full moon. But I can't even begin to imagine how bad it must be working for one of the high end brands. I honestly feel for you guys. Of course, this all comes back to WARRANTY repairs. No customer is ever going to pay CP time to diagnose and fix that intermittent sunroof rattle.

You'll notice time and time again that people who work in the dealer world "complain" about the above: warranty rattles/squeaks/whistles/clunks/whatever. They have good reason to. Sometimes there are TSB's for these fixes; most of the time there aren't. You have to deal with these all the time, you get payed very little to repair them, and you can spend just as much time documenting or "justifying" the repair as you do actually fixing the problem.

On to dealing with the writers...even that writer who you're friends with will come back into your bay screaming at you. Why? Because he promised the car at an unreasonable time. So what if you're waiting for parts...that are out of state...even though the writer wrote it up as a wait ticket? Still your fault. This often times hostile interaction between the advisers and techs is what drives a lot of people away. Well that and warranty repairs, but we already covered that.

Lastly, I'm going to touch on how I think the dealer technician world is morphing. There is still money to be made in this job. But the gravy train days of the 80's and 90's are a distant memory like Brassdrummer pointed out. It's my belief that within the next decade you will see a lot of the older very experienced true technicians (not part swappers) retiring and few people will fill their shoes. I think in a shop with 20 techs, you will have 2 or 3 "master level" techs with a bunch of guys that just do service work essentially working below them. In an effort to keep this somewhat short, I'll just finish by saying that if you're not one of those "master level" guys you will be perpetually stuck in an hourly paying part swapping no mans land of mediocrity.

I hope I haven't crushed your dreams, but I think it's important that people interested in this field know some of the truths.

[Aahj]

I'm spoiled, I worked for an independent Honda/Acura repair shop as my first and only full time job for those first 10 years. Always happy and got along great with my co-workers. If you get into it, find a great independent shop with an employer that will take you under their wing. I was very fortunate to have this. The horror stories above are the same stories I heard from my other coworkers who also used to work for dealerships...stay away. Also, everyone at the independent shop I worked for was paid salary, not flat rate. So regardless of how or slow or busy we were, we were paid the same every week. This eliminates the cut throat competitiveness between techs.

Aahj

['e30love']

warranty blows!!! i work at hyundai i am still learning and getting my tools. honestly i love it, i get paid to work and learn. i have a master tech that likes my positive attitude and willingness to learn, and im blessed in the fact that he likes to teach me. like said before theres money to be made, but again warranty blows. those cocksuckers will only pay .3 for a fuel pump on some models etc. the highest payed tech here makes like 30/hr. the guy teaching me makes like 27/hr but just this week he made 120 hrs. he made like 89k last year, but this is one of the techs that flags the most hours. we have 1 service advisor that sells services like theres no tomorrow, but the other 3 can only sell warranty. thats were the arguments come between techs and advisors. they'll have a check engine light and tell the costumer it'll be done in 15 mins. you can see how that can get old. personally i really like it, maybe a couple years down the road ill see it otherwise.
good luck with what you decide is best for you. remember every job has things you'll love and things you'll hate, your attitude towards it makes the whole difference.

[DaveSmed]

The industry needs to change, or it will eventually lose all of its qualified techs.

x2 -from a tech that already abandoned ship for another industry. ;)

There is some excellent honest advice in this thread.

I started out wanting to be an automotive tech, but somehow landed a job at an airport working on ground support equipment for a major airline. Very cool environment to work in, taught me a lot about the real world of repair and diagnostics, and was a great experience.

I eventually tired of the commute and thought I could do better on pay at a local Toyota dealer. I started right around the end of October and quickly learned what Christmas time means at a dealer service dept.... When it comes to some gravy service for your car that makes the tech money, or buying presents for your family, people usually go with option two.

I ran like hell back to the heavy equipment field. I also made sure I went back into a fleet, which is important to me as it allows a great deal more freedom to fix things. (your not always checking/waiting for customer approval, if you notice something broken just fix it!)

[Diego]

^ these guys pretty much hit the nail on the head. Working as a tech is a real love hate relationship for me, when its awesome its awesome but when it sucks it really sucks. Your best bet if you really wanna work on cars and make a decent living find an independent shop and work your way up the ladder