How do you become a Ferrari technician?

Which is why I'm back in school pursuring a BA in Business......It turns a pasionate hobby into a dreaded job, and I have had the pleasure to work in good and bad facilities and it doesn't matter; the last thing you want to do after work is go home and work on your own damn car.

 

I wonder whatever became of the OP. He hasn't posted on Ferrari Chat since 2008.

 

Probably gave up on the "Ferrari Tech Dream".....

 

I had a friend who skipped college to go work on the line at the Factory. I remember the day well when he told me, and I've heard nothing about him since. A friend of his dad's made it happen...

 

It has not always been that way. For a real car guy, what I did, do, was a great place to be. Any one I know that was good at this, I mean really good could have done a great many other things for far better money but those people I describe did it for the love of it. The business has evolved a great deal and not for the better but that can be said about many jobs and professions. That is a primary reason it no longer attracts smart, quality people.

Lets just leave it this way, I am not sorry for having spent most of my life doing it. It has gotten me to where I am. It has provided me with many experiences and introduced me to many people that would not have happened any other way. I was also very lucky in many ways to be in the right place at the right time to get many of the opportunities that got me the chances I got. I also consider myself a member of the luckiest generation doing the job, we are the last to experience the heyday of the business. All that having been said, I would not even consider getting into it now.

 

Hi everybody, Im a mechanic of twenty years experience most notably with restoration of Rolls Royces of all years and types.

I have for my sins been given a job as a mechanic in a garage which specializes in Ferrari 'classiche'.

So......I'm saying hello and hoping that I can be part of your community and learn from you guys. I have experienced myself over the recent years how invaluable a resource the internet is for help and pointers and knowledge. My skills are rock solid but at the moment my knowledge of these wonderful cars is small.

Looking forward to chatting and working with you Ferrari cats.

Neil

 

Welcome to FChat Neil!

 

Thanks, nice to meet you

 

Welcome to FerrariChat mate.

Enjoy.

 

I wonder how many automotive engineers have left design to become mechanics??

Probably doesn't make much sense on the surface (for most anyways), but there can be a desire to get down and dirty for some. I'm an Electrical Engineer myself and wonder what being an Electrician would be like for a little while.

To have an automotive engineer in your shop would be awesome!

 

Awesome for the engineer or the other technicians.

The engineer would catch some flak for just being an engineer. I can see the wrenchs fly already, with the accompanied shouting of "Why the F--- did YOU think it was acceptable to postion the starter so removal requires removal of the oil pan as well...."

 

I would love to get your input on some things. I will be leaving the military come the end of May and have always dreamed of working with exotic cars. I will be moving to the Dallas area. If you could email me that would be amazing [email protected] Thank you!

 

hello im a 17 year old who is very interested in becoming a master technician and im new to this forum thing but i was wondering if some of guys can give me some tips on this i currently take auto tech at my high school and have just got accepted into a votech high school for auto tech i really love working on cars and my dream is to be a ferrari master technician and i wanna be to fulfill this dream maybe some u can give me some tips

 

As a kid, I always wanted to be a car mechanic/technician, and Ferrari was the pinnacle of super cars(for me as a kid). At the age of 19 after completing my diploma in automobile engineering, I got my first job as a truck helper mechanic in a Leyland dealership, started my career at the bottom, cleaning parts and assisting the mechanics. Been a technician for the past 16 years. My current job....Master technician for Ferrari and Maserati at a dealership.
My advice.....be good in what you do and always learn and upgrade your skills. The learning never stops even if you are a top technician.

 

I can chime in on this one.

My goal growing up was to be a Ferrari or some kind of specialty high performance Auto Tech. When I was in high school I took all of the shop and Vocational Tech training possible. Eventually I did one full year of automotive trade school and started working in a repair shop.

I enjoyed it so much and had a huge passion for cars (still do) and working on them. I went between a couple independent shops with a very high reputation in the Detroit area and eventually was hired at a 'higher end' shop. At this shop I had the chance to work with a lot of classics, show cars, and even vehicles that made it to the SEMA show.

This job made me realize a few things. The first was that I was thankful that I was finishing up my Bachelor's Degree. It was very comforting to know that I had something to fall back on if I decided that I wanted my automotive passion to just be a hobby someday. The second thing that it taught me was that working on people's toys isn't all it's cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong, I am VERY thankful for the opportunity that I had, but there are times when the job is stressful. It's far different that working on a Jeep Grand Cherokee. There is more pressure on you and the owners expect perfection (as they should!!). Comebacks are simply not acceptable, so if you want to be successful in this type of work environment, you need to get to the point where you have a 99% success rate.

At the same time I was in college and drove to Lake Forest Sports Cars in Chicago. While there I interviewed Sean Welch, who is their head Service Manager. He explained to me the huge difference in his previous manager role at a Land Rover dealer and where he was at with LFSC (Ferrari/Maser/Lotus/McLaren/Aston). There is just no room for error and your speed cannot suffer due to the attention to detail.

With all that said, any job is what you make of it. I personally am thankful to have my Snap On box in my home garage so that I can work on my own toys now. Motor oil still runs through my veins, but I am happy to be out of wrenching side.

I am now doing what I thought I would never do (let alone enjoy). I sit at a desk all day working for Ford Motor Company and I LOVE IT! I am still in the industry (although this is the farthest thing from being 'hands on') but have the perks of only working about 40 hrs a week and good benefits (most shops will require 50-60 hrs a week in my experience).

I am not trying to talk anyone out of being a tech or pursuing their dreams. I would not enjoy what I have now without the previous experiences that I mentioned. Work hard and be willing to learn no matter what direction you take.


Bill

 

This is a great story, thanks for sharing it! I never wanted to wrench, but always wanted to work for corporate in the auto industry. I'm in technology marketing and product management, about 14 years ago, I lost my job working for a startup.

I had applied to Ferrari North America (I got a phone interview) and BMW North America (also a phone interview, but with serious interest). The BMW position was in the motorcycle accessories division, and I am a lifelong motorcyclist, so it seemed like a great fit and there was interest. Ultimately, the job was filled by someone else.

I realize at my age now, I'll never work in the auto industry, and that's probably a good thing. Once I get to retirement age, I'll consider selling cars (preferably higher end luxury cars) or work at Disney World in Florida (would love that) - I speak publicly quite a bit and greatly enjoy being "in the moment".

Good luck to OP!

 

I cant direct message you but i really need to know how to become a ferrari mechanic or an exotic mechanic, its honestly my life goal. If you have kik add me knockoff3000 or we can find another way to communicate

 

Looking at this from an "old school" perspective, the question itself is interesting. "How do I become a Ferrari technician?", not "How do I become a Ferrari mechanic?"

 

That post is almost 9 years old

 

Wondering what happened to all the people wanting to be Ferrari Techs? Any updates?

 

No

 

I am not a professional tech..... by choice.

I started working on my own cars at the beginning, out of necessity (i.e.. poverty)

During different phases of my college career I ended up taking in some service and repair work to help with the bills. Dealing with 'picky' customers who drove POS that wanted a miracle performed on cars that had never been cared for (and didn't want to pay for my time), kept me thinking that I should probably just keep my skills for my own cars and find a better way to earn a living that would eventually put me in a Ferrari.

I started with British cars, MGs and Triumphs. Then I got into Fiats. A couple of 124 Spyders, then my first new car was a '79 X1/9 that I got 175,000 miles out of. This was followed by Porsche 928's and 911s. Then Lotus' and a string of Ferraris.

As I moved up the ladder and met and associated with more techs, the higher up the ladder, the more meticulous and organized they taught me to be... and it makes sense. A mistake on the X1/9 would cost $100, but one on the CS could be $10K.

Think about what you really want. I love working on cars.... my cars. Somebody else's? I have to really like them.... allot! For me, having the skills to do my own work has added to the ownership experience, and apparently saved me some money (based on what I have seen quoted).

The guys that are on this site and work on these cars for a living, have a passion for the marque and perfection. I have a feeling that without those 2 qualities it would be difficult to do this for a living. I also have a feeling that dealing with 'picky' Ferrari owners takes what I experienced to a whole different level!

 

Hello Sir,

I’m aware this a extremely old topic, but I’ve actually been looking into doing the same recently. I’ve worked in and out of the automotive field but have very minimal schooling. Before I continue further with schooling I want to ensure I’m doing everything right to be able to pursue my dream of being a Ferarri mechanic. I see that you’re from Austin, TX and I will be moving there in the following weeks so I’m hoping you could provide some insight? Any information or help would be much appreciated! If it helps at all I used to work with Dave Hemls as a temporary mechanic assistant, but Ive had no luck being able to contact him as of late. Thanks for your time.

 

You should send Rifle a PM

 

My advice would be to stay away from any shop that pays their techs flat rate, especially on exotic cars. Flat rate=Hurry up, Hurry up=More mistakes. ANY mistakes on these cars can turn into BIG $$ fast.