Looking down on the auto service industry?

And the customers see that kind of thing. It was painfully obvious that the better Toyota dealer in Metro West (MA) had only one "official keeper of the clue". All the other wrenches in the shop were minimum wage kids, still inclined to ask if you want fries with that.

But what's even more frustrating is the "stuffed shirt": the song-and-dance artist that sits out front to convince the customer that he really needs a new dumbsucker valve. Those are the obvious crooks, not the mechanics. Question them on a glaring falsehood, and they simply repeat the same lie. When I talk to a shop, I want to talk to the guy with grease under his nails, not some mouthpiece who only has a greasy attitude.

In the US, the dealerships are OJT, but the trainees' mistakes are charged to the customer.

I have an EVO now because there was no place in Metro West where I could get reliable work done on the Celica GT-Four. (The dealer sales department denied that there ever was such a car, and the service department actually asked me why I was bothering to repair the car, because "it's old". At the time, it was the newest car I owned (six months younger than the Ferrari).)

For a skilled technician, the place to be is an independent shop, where you can get a better grade of customer.

The dealers get people who think of cars as appliances. It took me over an hour of arguing to get a dealer to recheck the alignment: 'It can't be wrong, it's done with the computer'. What astonished them more was that it was off exactly the way I told them. The idea that you can tell alignment from driving the car was incomprehensible to them. (And if you don't get the mirrors on right, the computer will misalign the car.) If the shop supervisor (not the master tech) can't tell that the alignment is off, what kind of customers do they get? Those customers aren't going to be able to appreciate a good job.

The indie shops also get more of the classics. The modern cars are computer driven and diagnosed machines with limited repairability -- they're designed to wear out. The cars that can be repaired, reconditioned, and reused are getting older. Alas, so are the mechanics who can work without a computer menu to tell them what to do.

And dealer shops work on volume. The time it takes to do a quality job on a classic isn't in the "time budget". (MS Project is often used to justify stupidity -- but why would anyone use a project schedule tool from a company that never got any of their own products out the door on time?)

The profit margin just isn't there to staff an entire shop with experienced master technicians. But the best shops are the ones where the master technician is the supervisor: checking everyone's work, and passing on the knowledge to the next generation.

This apparently doesn't work with a generation afraid to admit that they don't already know everything. (Auto mechanics aren't the only ones that have the experience gap in the shop/lab/design department/etc.) (Last night, 7pm, I get a call from a kid that couldn't diagnose a basic network connection problem, but it was beneath his dignity to enter the diagnostic commands as I told them to him -- They can't do it themselves, but they won't follow instructions.)(Geez, I really am a curmudgeon. )

I guess I don't understand the younger crowd. When a shop tells you something that's blatantly not true, you can either assume that they're trying to rip you off or that they've made an honest mistake. But these days, they get really p*ssed when you suggest that they've made an error. (They'd prefer I thought they were crooked?)

I can really see why a master technician would be frustrated with a dealer shop.

But there are tonnes of out-of-warranty Toyotas around. A really good indie shop might have a slow startup, but won't be short of customers, once word gets around. Of course, limiting yourself to one marque woud limit both your potential customer base, and the opportunity to experience the joy of learning new things. (Isn't that what you liked when you were younger?)

Everyone gets "burned out" doing the same things over and over. Expanding into other marques might give you new variety -- and the satisfaction of overcoming new challenges.

Before quitting to do "just anything", think back on what you used to enjoy about your work, and see if you can find a way to get that back.

(Free advice: worth every penny. )

Olde Fogie: I saved up for college working in gas station repair shops -- before they became mini-marts.
(And when you could work on cars before getting an electronics degree. )

(I've had a *lot* of caffene this week -- can you tell? )

 

Why did it take 27 years to figure this out?

 

Because it took 27 years to get my kids through college. It took 27 years to recover from a bad marriage that left me with nothing but the kids. It took 27 years because I am not that bright.

Remember.....I am a grease monkee

 

100% agree. Between the increasing number of people leasing and the decreasing quality of the vehicles I think the manufacturers are setting themselves up as a rental company. Probably smart given that most people have no interest in any aspect of automobile ownership other than their own ability to carry the payment.

sduke, are their any particular cars you do still have a passion for? The reason I ask is because I get my service(all of it) done by an independent Toyota tech. He USED to work for my local Toyota dealer and left for the same reasons you state. He now does a very brisk business and works on only one kind of Toyota, the Land Cruiser. His shop is large metal building that he had built outside of his house. He does EXCELLENT work, is very honest and doesn't advertise AT ALL. I found him through the recommendation of a friend after being very frustrated with the service at both Toyota and Lexus for my cruisers(UZJ100s) and LXs. I assume he's doing pretty well as you usually have to book work a couple weeks in advance. He's more expensive per hour than the dealership, but he charges ACTUAL hours and not what the book says.

Good luck in whatever you decide, but for the sake of those of us without your talents I hope you're able to find a way to keep wrenching.