Buying tools is ridiculous, no?

[malykaii]

Any fellow auto mechanics ever feel cheated in this industry?

Show up to your first day at work. Get paid minimum wage, yet you need tools. Bang, now the girl at dairy queen makes more than you per hour.
She screws up a batch of ice cream costing the boss $50 while if you crack a headlight changing a bulb, your boss makes you eat it.
She needs gloves for sanitary reasons, and gets them. You,need gloves so the customers don't complain of dirty steering wheels, on you.

Yes, I know the pros of having your own tools, blah blah, but no one ever felt cheated?

 

[jd_1138]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

But the DQ girls are cuter than you. lol

Yeah it's a thankless job. And the customers suffer too, as some of them receive shoddy repairs by the underpaid and overworked techs. Only real winner are the owners of these dealerships.

But when the zombie apocalypse hits, mechanics and doctors are going to be in high demand.

 

[TheRobotCow]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

I surely do. Well I work for a Toyota dealership and they make TONS of money. But we lube techs get paid minimum, are given ****** tools(Gm performance tools from O'reilys really?!!!?!!!!?!) oh and when we place an order to replace a lot of missing tools/tools we don't even have they cancel it since it costs too much?!!! Not only that, they give us some ****** fluids to use(don't even use the Toyota branded stuff). Well my toolbox didn't even come with much just wrenches and sae sockets. That means my partner and I had to buy our own tools. I could go on forever about how that place is a clusterf***. Haha but yes I feel your pain.


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[Childiaugz]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

Not a mechanic, but former machinist.

Shop i worked at had provided ****** and abused tools. There was no expectation to buy your own tools, but it was really frustrating not having the correct tools to use.

Invested like $10,000.00 in the finest tools available, then realized I should just go worked at fast food for the same amount of pay! So that's what I am doing.

And people still can't fathom why manufacturing is going overseas.

/rant

 

[AmishFury]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

it's almost a better deal just to be a lube and tire monkey for a major retail chain...

 

[Ruger_556]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

If you're getting paid minimum wage to do anything it's your own fault... I haven't worked for minimum since I was 15. This career requires that you spend money to make money, if you don't like it do something else

 

[jd_1138]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

(don't even use the Toyota branded stuff). Well my toolbox didn't even come with much just wrenches and sae sockets. That means my partner and I had to buy our own tools. I could go on forever about how that place is a clusterf***. Haha but yes I feel your pain.


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Wow, that's nuts not using Toyota oil. I wonder if they're charging the customers for Toyota branded semi-synthetic. Not that the brand of oil matters too much, as long as it's of a baseline decent quality, but still not buying Toyota bulk oil sounds just bizarre for a dealership. That's like McDonald's employees walking over to Burger King for lunch. You want to stay within the system if you're a successful dealership. And not cheaping out to save a few bucks.

No offense, but you need a new job. They sound like a bunch of asshats to have to work with and put up with.

 

[TheRobotCow]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

Wow, that's nuts not using Toyota oil. I bet they're charging the customers for Toyota branded semi-synthetic.



No offense, but you need a new job. They sound like a bunch of asshats to have to work with and put up with.

The only Toyota oil we use is 5w-20 the 5w-30 an 0w-20 I'm not sure of who supplies it.
They truly are! And I'm leaving soon too. But they wonder why no one really stays that long hmm......


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[ihateminimumwage]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

Hookers and mechanics are the only jobs where you work on your back and get fucked by the hour. Only one has to go into debt on the tool truck...

Find your niche, and don't get good at what you hate to do, or you'll never get out of it. There are plenty of specialties between cars, trucks, etc.

If you're frustrated now, find something else you want to do. Life is far too short to be miserable, I'm still watching so many friends continue to go through the motions miserable, because "The devil you know..."

 

[shampoop]

Automobiles are a great hobby. Terrible career in america though I've discovered. Leaving the industry was the best choice I've mad in my life. Unfair compensation was by far the #1 reason.

 

[Cato]

I'm not a mechanic but my brother in law made a good living working as a mechanic for Hertz. He made about 85K a year.

Those of you who are making min wage ought to be buying Harbor Freight tools and trying to get hired at a government agency as an mechanic. At least there you'll get benefits and job security.

 

[stikman56]

For what I make per hour compared to what I spent on tools, I'm very happy with the "arrangement".

 

[jd_1138]

I'm not a mechanic but my brother in law made a good living working as a mechanic for Hertz. He made about 85K a year.

Those of you who are making min wage ought to be buying Harbor Freight tools and trying to get hired at a government agency as an mechanic. At least there you'll get benefits and job security.

Yeah you definitely have to be flexible and gain skills and move on when you are not being treated right.

 

[TheRobotCow]

It's a fantastic hobby! It's great to work on a car that you love with tools you love with people that also enjoy doing the same. I've always wanted to get into tools but never could and being a lube tech really let me dive into tools! I knew i would be spending a lot of money on tools before i got hired lol. I'm a tool junkie now and i love it. I'm always finding out about new tools and many tool brands.

I see some of the techs at work and you can tell by their expression that they don't like what they're doing and they're stuck. For what i would love to do in automotive i'd have to move, but it's just not possible for me. That's why i'm going back to become an RN, i know i know it's a completely different field but i'm very excited for it!
Life is too short to work for people you don't like doing something you don't like. I'm glad i realized this before i'm stuck 5 years down the line and hate myself for not doing anything about it.

 

[CJM8515]

Dealers flatout can **** big time depending on how they are run, and there are a lot of poorly/bad run dealers. Both on the repair and the sales side. An indy shop can be MUCH better but hours and bottom line REALLY are effected by your work. Screw something up or take to long to do a job and it hurts sales/service in some cases.

This thread topic is precisely why I decided towing was a smarter choice. No tools to buy really, not much can break if you do the job right, no flat rate bs, no dealer crying you are taking to long, etc. I also got a degree but for now Im stuck in job hell limbo.

 

[jd_1138]

It's a fantastic hobby! It's great to work on a car that you love with tools you love with people that also enjoy doing the same. I've always wanted to get into tools but never could and being a lube tech really let me dive into tools! I knew i would be spending a lot of money on tools before i got hired lol. I'm a tool junkie now and i love it. I'm always finding out about new tools and many tool brands.

I see some of the techs at work and you can tell by their expression that they don't like what they're doing and they're stuck. For what i would love to do in automotive i'd have to move, but it's just not possible for me. That's why i'm going back to become an RN, i know i know it's a completely different field but i'm very excited for it!
Life is too short to work for people you don't like doing something you don't like. I'm glad i realized this before i'm stuck 5 years down the line and hate myself for not doing anything about it.

RN is not totally different when you think about it. You are dealing with math and formulas for how much of a medicine to inject into an IV line in a patient. And there is math in auto repair -- fluid capacities, torque specs, etc.. And there are a lot of machines in modern medicine -- pumps, ultrasounds, x-rays, etc..

The laws of physics never go away.

Good for you to go into a more lucrative field. Yeah the medical field is very busy. We have an aging population.

 

[shampoop]

Those of you who are making min wage ought to be buying Harbor Freight tools and trying to get hired at a government agency as an mechanic. At least there you'll get benefits and job security.

Yeah you definitely have to be flexible and gain skills and move on when you are not being treated right.

Can't believe how much time I spent searching for other jobs while being a mechanic. Seriously spent so much damned time searching for better jobs at better shops. 80k at hertz sounds unbelievable! Seriously. If it's true, it's an exteme outlier. Just about every night I was looking for a new job at a new shop. It's deceiving implying that if you really try, 80k/year is reasonable.

 

[jd_1138]

Dealers flatout can **** big time depending on how they are run, and there are a lot of poorly/bad run dealers. Both on the repair and the sales side. An indy shop can be MUCH better but hours and bottom line REALLY are effected by your work. Screw something up or take to long to do a job and it hurts sales/service in some cases.

This thread topic is precisely why I decided towing was a smarter choice. No tools to buy really, not much can break if you do the job right, no flat rate bs, no dealer crying you are taking to long, etc. I also got a degree but for now Im stuck in job hell limbo.

Wife worked at dealerships for 22 years. She started at Olds and when they went out of business, she went to 2 different brands.

There are some real asshats in the dealership industry. She was fired at the last dealership job she had (was a title clerk) because the idiot sales manager delivered the wrong car to a customer and then pinned it on my wife to save his ***. And the elderly owner believed him. She was never given a chance to explain.

The idiot sales manager sold a base model Chevy Cobalt sedan to a young couple. A blue LS model, but the ***** handed them the keys to a loaded out blue LTZ model. And the young couple played dumb and were enjoying their upgraded ride for 2 weeks, when the idiot sales manager finally did a lot inventory and realized his mistake. Then he blamed my wife even though all she did was merely process their title for the car they bought -- a base LS model Cobalt.

 

[colin39]

I started wrenching in a bus dealership at 16 ,1987 i earnt £57.0 a week with no pay raises until i was out of my apprenticeship at 21. In that time i met my wife ,who worked in a factory bottling perfume and packing soaps, yardlys. We got an 1bed appartment ( flat ) i had a car which i filled with fuel, insured, had to pay road tax on and bought TOOLS, not the best but all of which i still have. Im now 45 and still buying tools , because shite changes 1st it was a 3 sidded insert tool on renault sumps then 12point spline then it was torx the e tools (reverse torx). We work in and industry that changes like mobile phones and computers so it dont matter how much we earn we will always be buying tools.
Amen!

 

[CJM8515]

Wife worked at dealerships for 22 years. She started at Olds and when they went out of business, she went to 2 different brands.

There are some real asshats in the dealership industry. She was fired at the last dealership job she had (was a title clerk) because the idiot sales manager delivered the wrong car to a customer and then pinned it on my wife to save his ***. And the elderly owner believed him. She was never given a chance to explain.

The idiot sales manager sold a base model Chevy Cobalt sedan to a young couple. A blue LS model, but the ***** handed them the keys to a loaded out blue LTZ model. And the young couple played dumb and were enjoying their upgraded ride for 2 weeks, when the idiot sales manager finally did a lot inventory and realized his mistake. Then he blamed my wife even though all she did was merely process their title for the car they bought -- a base LS model Cobalt.

Yep. I have seen patterns like that before. Dealers can be very bad places.

 

[TheRobotCow]

RN is not totally different when you think about it. You are dealing with math and formulas for how much of a medicine to inject into an IV line in a patient. And there is math in auto repair -- fluid capacities, torque specs, etc.. And there are a lot of machines in modern medicine -- pumps, ultrasounds, x-rays, etc..

The laws of physics never go away.

Good for you to go into a more lucrative field. Yeah the medical field is very busy. We have an aging population.

Honestly i'm going into it more to help people that are in need. In those times i know how much i appreciated all the aid from those in the medical field and I want to give back.
Working at this particular Toyota has been a good experience and I don't regret it. I just want to keep my car hobby fun and enjoyable. But one thing is certain; i'll keep buying tools

 

[TheRobotCow]

Wife worked at dealerships for 22 years. She started at Olds and when they went out of business, she went to 2 different brands.

There are some real asshats in the dealership industry. She was fired at the last dealership job she had (was a title clerk) because the idiot sales manager delivered the wrong car to a customer and then pinned it on my wife to save his ***. And the elderly owner believed him. She was never given a chance to explain.

The idiot sales manager sold a base model Chevy Cobalt sedan to a young couple. A blue LS model, but the ***** handed them the keys to a loaded out blue LTZ model. And the young couple played dumb and were enjoying their upgraded ride for 2 weeks, when the idiot sales manager finally did a lot inventory and realized his mistake. Then he blamed my wife even though all she did was merely process their title for the car they bought -- a base LS model Cobalt.

Wow that is such bs.

 

[goforride57]

The box is on wheels for a reason. No, I wouldn't bother for minimum wage unless I was fresh out of high school and just starting out. Yes, you got to start somewhere. Yes, been there, better to get paid to learn than pay to learn. One of the best decisions of my life was to wheel the box out of that dump. No, I don't feel cheated, still got the tools, and experience.

 

[jd_1138]

The box is on wheels for a reason. No, I wouldn't bother for minimum wage unless I was fresh out of high school and just starting out. Yes, you got to start somewhere. Yes, been there, better to get paid to learn than pay to learn. One of the best decisions of my life was to wheel the box out of that dump. No, I don't feel cheated, still got the tools, and experience.

Yep, the experience is priceless. I helped some master carpenters build a house once. And as a complete and total noob, I was paid horribly and treated like pond scum and made fun of. BUT the skills I learned have served me well. I was like a sponge and soaked it all up.

 

[mr.speaker]

Personally , this is the type of stuff that has made me hate my favorite hobby which is why I don't do it professionally anymore .

 

[reader2580]

My employer doesn't do vehicle repairs, but we used to have techs to repair machines. The techs got a tool allowance to buy tools. The tools belonged to the tech and not the company. It seems crazy that the company paid for tools, but the employee got to keep them if they left. It was probably all part of the union contract I suppose.

 

[twertsy]

My employer doesn't do vehicle repairs, but we used to have techs to repair machines. The techs got a tool allowance to buy tools. The tools belonged to the tech and not the company. It seems crazy that the company paid for tools, but the employee got to keep them if they left. It was probably all part of the union contract I suppose.

What a surprise............

 

[Kracin]

i'll be honest, i thought automechanics was the way to go. i heard about people making 70-80k just wrenching on cars and thought "wow that must be awesome". come to find out the only people making that money are the old timers with time invested who get dibs on all the good work and the people starting out get stiffed big time. i never considered a 10k investment in tools something that is going to dampen my living. if you consider that you'll make even 25k a year starting, you could have a sizeable investment of tools paid off in a few years, same as a car (which is another tool you pay for to get to work and get around). after which you will start making more and spending less on tools when you start accumulating enough of what you need.


after i finally figured out that auto mechanics was not where the money was at, and everybody seemed to ***** about their job all day i ended up getting into plant maintenance.... no idea why more people who want to be mechanics don't end up there also. not only is the starting pay typically almost 2x what an auto mechanic makes, but they also can easily top out and move around from company to company with ease later on, and can be more diverse with work.

yes you still need tools. but nothing near the type of collection you'll find an auto mechanic needs, and the bonus us. if a 10k piece of equipment gets damaged, the plant doesn't worry about trying to screw over its employees that keep it running. they buy the stuff they need, get it fixed, and move on.

they should definitely raise the pay of actual mechanics/technicians at most auto places, but imagine the kind of shitstorm that would cause, if all these people who don't even want to pay for an oil change (which is probably the simplest form of maintenance that can be done by the average person), imagine what kind of **** they would throw if they had to pay more for something like having headlights changed, or god forbid, a new head/top end seals done!.

 

[Kracin]

My employer doesn't do vehicle repairs, but we used to have techs to repair machines. The techs got a tool allowance to buy tools. The tools belonged to the tech and not the company. It seems crazy that the company paid for tools, but the employee got to keep them if they left. It was probably all part of the union contract I suppose.

that is somewhat like how it works where i am at now, there is no allowance, but there is an understanding that we bring what we need for the most part. and if something breaks or is lost/stolen it WILL be replaced because a 20-100 dollar tools is nothing compared to an hour of downtime on a large production line.

and when a tool is ordered for any reason, if it isn't something ridiculously expensive it usually goes through just fine, there is no tracking of who ordered what, just that you ordered a tool and it was approved. in the end people leave with what they have, nobody is going through your tools when you quit.

of course this could always change, there is no set contract on it, just an understanding and there are always those people who abuse the system and try to order things once a week. they usually get ribbed by all the other mechanics until they cool it off and everybody forgets they are a freeloader trying to order a bunch of tools they didn't need. the other deal is people will buy harbor freight, use it til it breaks then toss the tool on the order desk and order a new one in place. but order something like proto, armstrong, or knipex

 

[Jwych]

Luckily I work for an awesome company that pays and treats me pretty well!

 

[Kracin]

Dealers flatout can **** big time depending on how they are run, and there are a lot of poorly/bad run dealers. Both on the repair and the sales side. An indy shop can be MUCH better but hours and bottom line REALLY are effected by your work. Screw something up or take to long to do a job and it hurts sales/service in some cases.

This thread topic is precisely why I decided towing was a smarter choice. No tools to buy really, not much can break if you do the job right, no flat rate bs, no dealer crying you are taking to long, etc. I also got a degree but for now Im stuck in job hell limbo.

just like any place though, your quality of work can be affected by someone else's ****** decisions and promises. even where i am its the same.

it's always somebody in an office promising somebody over a phone that something will be done in X amount of time, which is unrealistic, and then if a problem comes up because there was something wrong with the job you were doing and not something you did, it's still your fault. can't escape it, just have to brush it off and CYOA

 

[03protege]

My employer doesn't do vehicle repairs, but we used to have techs to repair machines. The techs got a tool allowance to buy tools. The tools belonged to the tech and not the company. It seems crazy that the company paid for tools, but the employee got to keep them if they left. It was probably all part of the union contract I suppose.

I am sure a lot less tools go missing this way than if the company purchased/owned them, probably cheaper in the long run.

 

[OutsideMachinist]

What a surprise............

At some point its more expensive to not have the tools. Especially the more expensive ones. Down time and labor hours is money. More expensive than tools. Thats why grainger , armstrong, whoever can get away charging the ridiculous prices they do. Because they will get it to you right then and there.

 

[JDon99]

This thread makes me glad that I didn't go into auto repair as a career...

 

[tdkkart]

Personally , this is the type of stuff that has made me hate my favorite hobby which is why I don't do it professionally anymore .

One of the better pieces of advice my father gave me:
"Don't make you hobby your job."

 

[1950mercury]

I have a friend that works at a ford dealer as a diesel tech and makes at least 80k. He is in his early 30's and is good at what he does and busts his ***

 

[WhiffySpark]

Can't believe how much time I spent searching for other jobs while being a mechanic. Seriously spent so much damned time searching for better jobs at better shops. 80k at hertz sounds unbelievable! Seriously. If it's true, it's an exteme outlier. Just about every night I was looking for a new job at a new shop. It's deceiving implying that if you really try, 80k/year is reasonable.

80k is reasonable. I'm at 28 soon to be 30 an hour and i'm only 24. Been on flat rate since i was 17. Worked for some national chains and now i'm at a 3 store independent chain.

He'll buy high dollar specialty tools without second though... I've got him buying me a scanner for myself hopefully

 

[jrobb316]

I've worked for good and bad dealers. The key i've found is to promote yourself. If you just do your job everyday without asking for anything, you got all you're going to get. If you're new, pass ASE tests, ask for a raise. Complete self study tests, ask for a raise. Customer score is high for the year, ask for a raise. Gain a training level in whatever car line you're working for, definite raise. You have to take it, they're not going to give it to you. It may seem like a long way to the top, but once you get the ball rolling, the raises come pretty easy. More trained you are, the better chance you can give your employer the middle finger if they don't step up and go somewhere that does appreciate you.

As far as tools are, there are so many options out there now that if you get in massive debt on the tool truck there is something wrong with you. You can buy the basic bread and butter (sockets, wrenches, extensions) snapon stuff on ebay for less than half price new. I don't buy any of that stuff on a truck unless he has a 2 for 1 package deal and I need it. Special stuff, yes, you need to buy from them, and you need to keep a balance of the dealer happy vs your wallet happy. Cheap tools are for chumps, if you don't want to buy snappy, buy SK. Tools will outlive you, buy once, cry once. I consider tools an investment.

80K is reasonable at the right place. I've been close, but taken a step back now to start over and get trained in another car line. In a few years, if that, I will be a dual master tech and hope to open my own gig.

 

[malykaii]

Re: Buying tools is rediculous, no?

But the DQ girls are cuter than you. lol

Yeah it's a thankless job. And the customers suffer too, as some of them receive shoddy repairs by the underpaid and overworked techs. Only real winner are the owners of these dealerships.

But when the zombie apocalypse hits, mechanics and doctors are going to be in high demand.

1) absolutely!
2) hell yeah
3) I guess? More so doctors

 

[malykaii]

I didn't start this thread because I am in this situation... But I once was many years ago.

I like how someone says "if your making min wage, it's your own fault" really?!?! Tell me how a high school drop out changing oil is to make more? Go to your next job and lie about your skills? You'll get fired in a week. The problem is the industry, not the worker... Reason for me starting this thread.