I want to say a special thank you to social media. I was a mechanic back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and back then there was no social media so a person couldn't warn or sound off about how bad the auto repair industry is. For all those reading this "Stay out of auto repair field". Trust me on this. It's said "A wise man learns from his mistakes but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others." .
Well said. I agree with you on multiple fronts. I think the internet has allowed humans to communicate various things and warn eachother and expose certain things. There seems to be a great "awakening" amongst alot of people who want more out of life than to just work a ridiculously labor intensive job for hardly any pay I appreciate you agreeing. I mean I think being an auto tech will still work for some people and I still miss it. I still like working on cars and cars in general, but as far as a career, there may be better options
Hello. Just wanted to humbly share this bible verse to edify. God bless. "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." -Matthew 12:36-37 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a6_BgNOLp4k.htmlsi=VVMrv1BUjx4YXPjt
@@KERTER21 yeah thats not what that means though. its just a phrase that means Im expressing the thoughts I have about something. its not like, literally about my emotions? 🤣 Why would I think they care about how I "feel" and what does that even mean. It was a shitty workplace that I dont regret leaving at all. Shit company, shit shop. I even then went onto another company that was better. Either way, I want a family and actual money left over, doesnt seem like the right trade for that
@@KERTER21 You also have to be a moron to fail to realize that humans beings are emotional animals and often do things based on emotion. for example my bosses pathetic and childish inability to deal with frustration that lead everyone to think he is an idiot. Or other peoples inability to deal with their own frustration that leads me to be frustrated with the job as well. you can live in a fantasy world where emotions dont exist.. but good luck. EQ is important in business
Two days ago I got paid $500 to change a radiator hose to a semi truck on the freeway. Yes I am a mobile mechanic. $700 to replace an alternator to a 2015 Nissan Altima right in the customers garage. The only reason I would work in a shop is if I would be the owner. Pretty soon I will . 😎
@@juancamaney3562 God damn thats great man. Being self employed is the way to go, 100% if you are a skilled worker of any kind imo. when you can take your enterprises into your own hands
What really sucks is you can't go to anybody especially the media. Why every time you turn on your t? V? There is a commercial for a new car by some car manufacturer. Do you think to me you're gonna do nothing? So I'll take their money gladly.
Mechanics need a Union to go against the dealers. Without us, there's nothing mechanics. We make the world goaround others. Just sit there, count the money.
Too much BS politics in business today, especially in the corporate world. Quality goes down the drain today. It's challenging to find shops that still do quality; you need to shop around.
They didn't think you couldn't do suspension. They are giving you the low paying jobs on flat rate and giving the favorites the gravy easy money making jobs on flate rate. The reson they hide whos on flat rate is to give the money jobs to the 3 favs. Was there any tech that was able to talk shit to anyone but the manager and manager laugh? Thats your favorites. The reason they wanted you back is to have you do the shit wirk they don't like Now your gone they have to work. They will find a new apprentice and have them take your place. That apprentice will only ever be a probie and never be the Foreman tech. This is how almost every dealership runs. Except it's worse than your local shop. Best place to go is start mobile mechanic service with a tech friend, ir you can start your own shop with a loan and you get to decide what cut you and your techs get out of $240/hour not $16/hr where half of those hours don't count towerds your pay.
I sometimes wish I was a mechanic, so that way working on my own vehicles would be easier and less intimidating. Don't get me wrong. I know how to do a lot, but there is a lot that I have never done before, like changing axles, pulling and rebuilding engines, and transmissions, welding and fabricating, etc. If I was mechanic, I would be able to do all that. What did it for me was working in the paint & body shop at an auto auction after high-school in the Florida heat. After that, I told myself I needed find a career indoors. It's sad that they don't pay mechanics what they really deserve. When I have a serious mechanical problem outside of my ability to fix I have to search around, and it's not easy to find good mechanics. You can't even rely on the dealerships anymore.
Its a great skill set to have especially if you own, or like to have and work on cars. But it is challenging. I think pay has gone up a little bit, but so has everything else. Paint and body is tough too. That is a skillset I wish I had. Its great to know how to do alot of stuff! being practical feels good
@ClaytonBridges I mainly just did lot of priming, sanding, tape and masking off. Basically all the prep work. We had to work in front of the two bake booths that we had. I also helped when it came to cut and buff. It was extremely hot. We had to do a lot of cars daily too. It was a very tough and dirty job for very little money but I learned a lot of skills along the way that I still use to this day. I just wish I had more experience and skill on the mechanical side of cars because I love wrenching on my own vehicles.
I person an thinking of keeping everything stock just with new tirm to freshin up the car because im gonna just the JBL ultimate partybox with a 1100w inverter so it will be automatic Bluetooth to my phone
@@1Himiko7Toga nice! not a bad idea. I pretty much have to put a headunit in any car, I cant stand the radio. these cars were super nice! itd be nice to see more retained in pristine condition
Honestly sounds like an extreme case of the PC culture environment. Dealt with it before. All you can do is find honest individuals who can brainstorm together. Goodluck
in the beginning you can get raises every 3 to 6 months. Because you learn so much in 3 months when you know almost nothing. And you can get a few bucks an hour raise in 3 to 6 months the first 2 or 3 years. you should be making good money after 5 years
Unfortunately that happened at every job until I got into the automotive industry. I received regular raises at every job I had. At the Toyota dealer, you could give yourself raises by completing trainings. I completed these trainings in the first few months and maxed out my pay. Then at the independent, I went and asked them what I could do to earn more money at around 6-8 months, and they basically said I need to pull more flag hours (which is ridiculous considering THEY are the ones who determine how much work I get? but okay I did it anyway) I ended up getting paid 17 an hour at my very last technician job until I was laid off for covid. I was a valet at a lexus dealership afterwards, because their valet positions paid the same as entry level technician roles. After that, I got a job working at my community college, and then now, I have a job as a videographer and a part time job at amazon. All of the jobs I have ever had outside of the automotive industry I have received regular raises, often without asking for it at all in every other job Ive had. That is just my anecdotal experience Maybe Im just not good at being a tech, maybe I wasn't providing the value they wanted. I dont know. I do know that all of my cars are 99% repaired and maintained by me, anything I dont do on my own vehicle is because I dont have the equipment (tires and alignments, A/C, etc) and thats been the case for over a decade now. and I also know that I saw signs at McDonalds advertising higher wages than when I was a technician either way, maybe there are some good places to work also, I have been looking at jobs as of now, in 2024, and alot of auto tech jobs are around 25 an hour, which is better. Minimum wage in Denver is 18.29/hr now. Pay is getting better it seems, but cost of living is also skyrocketing in mnay places
@@ClaytonBridges it's like this everywhere in automotive. You don't get a raise unless you lube those casters on your rollaway and actually start rolling your box. It's at that moment that they want to sit down and talk. I worked flat rate from 1997 to 2015 from Honda to Volkswagen to Saturn to MINI to BMW to Toyota to BMW to another BMW dealership.... .. I was with BMW on and off for 15 years between 2002 and 2015 and I was never given a raise unless I had my box half way out the door. I only stayed and accepted their offer once. Every other time, I left just due to the principal that it they will lose more trying to replace me than what I'm going to make either staying or leaving. So purely based on the harassment, disrespect, gaslighting, etc... .... rather just leave. They try to make you feel like you're not a good tech. lol
Dealership will screw you! Independent garages can't afford you with benefits! Fleet jobs, your looked as a expense! Nobody has your back! Just give up! It's not worth the aggravation. Punch your asshoke Manger out! Be sure to quit after you have 5 jobs all apart.
wow! that is pretty out there. Unfortunately I wanted to make sure I could get another job in the future, but unfortunately yeah alot of mechanic jobs arent so good. It seems like its improved maybe slightly in the past few years. Im just fucked now, no idea what I'm going to do with my life
I dont know if I truly could have, although I do regret not being a bit more honest about the way that he acts. He is what I believe to be genuinely sociopathic, and was pretty cool around the owner. Either way, Im not losing sleep over NOT helping them lol
yeah I probably wouldnt even work on customers cars if I were to go back. I think the automotive industry is at a weird point where nobody can actually even afford the cars they make anymore.. the shop owners dont make much, the technicians surely dont, and the customers already feel like theyre getting ripped off.. its not a good situation for anybody man when I was in tech school, we had several people come back as success stories, and they were all like, fleet technicians working on heavy equipment type of stuff.
I quit after the 1st orientation class at Lincoln Tech. It would have been a 2 year program with thousands of debt and tool debt. After seeing the clowns in my class that I was going to be working with...I said Fuuc that!
not a terrible move. Are you in Colorado? we have lincoln tech here too. Funny enough, we had a skills USA competition and the only other tech school in our district were Lincoln tech kids. I got first place in that competition, beating all the lincoln tech kids I have also heard theyre basically like a diploma/certification mill I had a great experience in tech school, I really did. But the shops I was at werent great. the very last place I worked at would've been pretty good, but my heart and head wasnt in it and I got laid off for covid I could've toughed it out and gone to better shops, and sometimes I think I should have
In my personal experience, only the screw-ups and dramas count. Even the extremely complicated and difficult jobs done properly ceased to exist once the customers picked up their rides. Any problems, rework or similar we got to hear all about it very quickly no matter what . There is no respect for our work, time or experience. The pay is a joke . The office jocks got far better conditions and had a superior attitude. Not only to meet and better book times , as a service mechanic we had to find extra work and price it all on book times. God help us if we didn't find enough of it!We were also expected to know practically everything about all makes and models ever made .
dude , even if you were the golden child / goose that lays golden eggs , the moment something fks up , they will throw you under the bus , dont believe in the corporate bs , 10+ years in construction
After watching the video. There are some major issues with employer and then some issues with you. Firstly your issues, you care too much and work too hard. Thats only great for the owner which you are not. Chill out and work at a reasonable pace to reserve energy for outside work. Finally the employer/bosses had the toxic mindset where you take abuse and become almost mind reader and be lucky to be there.
I’ve been a mechanic for 27 years. My first five years was basically identical to your experience. Luckily I found one of the greatest employers that ever lived. I stayed with him for 15 years until he passed away. By then I was highly experienced. Once you get decades of experience, you’ll have the power at the workplace. It’s a long road that must people that aren’t in the field will never understand.
I live in NYC and owned cars here while working for an airline all the way out at JFK airport. Traveling from the Bronx to the airport required you to have wheels as mass transit simply took far too long to get you there. Anyway, used cars were all I could afford. Going home local late at night (bypassing the hefty Triborough Bridge toll) was another must to save money. In doing so however, I discovered 21st Avenue in Queens, near the 59 St Bridge (now the Ed Koch Bridge) which I took on my way home via the FDR in Manhattan up to the Bronx. On 21st Avenue however, right by that bridge, are what seems to be dozens of yellow TAXI auto repair shops open 24/7! With a full line of parts in stock for all makes and models used by yellow taxi cabs and private livery cars too! Since I owned nothing but Toyota Camry's, I was able to have my vehicles serviced by them on the way home from work! And late at night (at any hour), while waiting on the premises, and at a very reasonable price. Brakes, oil changes, tune ups, timing belts, inspections, you name it. I loved it! I used those shops for all of my upkeep maintenance work and even on some emergency repairs where I was towed to them by AAA as well. They saved me money, time, and kept me on the road. And it was possible because I owned a vehicle make and model used by NYC yellow cabs. Before these places I was subjected to very expensive shops in the hood where I'd likely have to wait a day or two to have my vehicle returned, & etc, That being said, yes, you have to love what you do in order to stay in for the long run. And an asshole of a boss is tolerable, if it's just them being demanding with perfection & time. And yet compensate and recognize your efforts & dedication accordingly. Thanks for the ear.
I left the Automotive industry 19 years ago. One of the best decisions I ever made. It’s easier now to make money to pay someone than to fix my own stuff most of the time. I do all my own juice work. If it’s something I don’t want to do, I’ll drop it off for someone else to fix it.🤷🏻🤷🏻♂️👍
MY 430 HAS A ISSUE SIMILAR, it has a very VERY VERY bad clunk like someone hit the car from behind whenever I’m slowly driving or hitting the break .Don’t know anything about cars , how much do you think ONLY labor would cost for this at a shop
I have been working as a mechanic on ocean liners for many years and I can tell you that there are no young people who want to do that job anymore. The biggest problem is that young people are not informed about their future profession, and the second thing is that you have to love mechanics to be a mechanic.
Thats awesome! I think anything wrenching on machines outside of customer owned vehicles is also alot better. I think you're right, there are some things you dont realize. For example, I thought I would be doing alot more of repair and replace on parts. I also didn't really realize how much of a mechanics job is just basic maintenance stuff. Which frankly isnt bad, but its ALOT of exposure to fluids, chemicals, messes, etc. I do love cars and I like the way things work, I still think about alot of this stuff to this day. But I also have to make a living in a reasonable way
I'm interested. Love the ocean and living on board. Was chief and first on a 103ft wooden fishing vessel.loved it. Would do it again at the drop of a hat! 50yrs old . Background includes auto/diesel/motorcycle and generator mechanic. Currently my thumb is up my .....
Hi Clayton. First of all, just want to say thank you for sharing on "How to's" on the Lexus LS400. I have a 1990 Lexus LS400 that's been sitting for a year in my apartments. I had to replace the fan bracket, and you were instrumental in helping me out with that. So I put everything back together after dragging my feet in doing so, but now I have another problem with it. I replaced the negative battery clamp, as the old one was looking corroded and put a brand new batter in it. After putting the positive terminal onto the battery, it sparked as it made contact as I would expect. However no interior lights or anything else came on. I tried to start it, but nothing happened, other than hearing the starter clicking. So the bottom line is, there is no power from the battery getting to the rest of the car. I cant even turn on my headlights and nothing electrical inside has any power. I believe that all the wires and everything else that was disassembled was put back together after bolting up the fan bracket. It seems there might be a ground short or maybe a fuse that fried or something because after trying to hook up the battery again, there was no spark when positive terminal made contact with the post. I bought the battery at walmart using the guide provided with the sales associate and saw with my own two eyes that it is in fact the correct battery- "just to eliminate that possibility of wrong battery". I have to get the car running and was looking very forward to it firing up and doing more work to it as time and finances became available. Not to mention, I love this car and do not want to give up on her. Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated Clayton. Thanks Man!
THIS 100% I tell this to people all the time. I was actually going to create a video on this. Cars are so complex and expensive to repair that everyone gets fucked in the process. The customers alraedy think theyre being ripped off, the shop owners dont make shit, and the techs dont make shit. I looked it up and the average shop owner in my state according to zip recruiter is making 80k
Most small businesses are pretty marginal propositions for the ownership. I doubt running your own garage is any exception. I've seen the top employee making more than the owner pretty commonly.
So I’m a shop foreman and I guide people in the right direction to fixing or diagnosing a vehicle. You as the tech need to take responsibility for your actions. Every time you replace a pump replace seals, clamps and reservoir
Sure, there is alot I can improve as a technician, and yes I am ultimately responsible for it.. I was in fact immature in alot of areas. I only had a few years of experience at that point. Regardless, the shop I spoke about in this video was a terrible place to work and Im glad I left. There is a certain level of professionalism I expect from an employer as well
What needs to happen to new techs is give them plenty of basic work to build their confidence and then slowly move them into the more complex work to merge them into the industry but that doesn't happen because the senior tecks grab the gravy and leave the headaches for the new guys You are not alone in your experience-this is very common
I quit panel beating one cause the wages were low. Two i could see no future long-term. Three a number of guys older than me were suffering bad health. One guy buggered his back struggled to stay in work eventually ended up unemployed. And he still is twenty years later. Others had breathing issues or skin issues. And arthritis was another major common problem. There was noone at our workshop who didn't have health problems ten or more year into there career. And once you don't have your health you have nothing. When looking at a career look at the long-term will you be able to do it at 65 or older as retirement keeps getting pushed higher. Since then I've never bothered with the automotive industry. I just do it as a hobby.
when you say panel beating you mean working in auto body? I specifically did not want to do auto body for that reason. insane amount of toxic dust and chemicals you get exposed to.
its weird that a shop charges 80 to 120 dllrs an hr to repair autos but only give a mechanic 18 to 30 am hr depending on experience because thier excuse is overhead
@fernandocerino8545 the shop gets more than the mechanic? Then let the boss do the work himself.as long as you feed the monster,it will grow.quit working for nothing but feed the government and shops
