New Job as Tech.

[WSMC633]

Some good advice in this thread. Especially about not going into giant debt to the tool guy. When I started I had all CMAN stuff, As time went by I upgraded as stuff wore out etc. Get good quality for your basic stuff. Wrenches, sockets, ratchets, Screwdrivers. Fill in other stuff as need be. Like others have mentioned, if you borrow something more than once probably you should go ahead and get it. Also when you do borrow something, return promptly, and cleaner than you got it. You'll be amazed the good will that will build.

The Beautiful Tool trucks are very seductive, but remember you don't need every variation Drive sockets, (short, Mid, Deep, 6pt, 12pt, Flex, Impact etc. etc.) You just need the tools to do the work you'll be assigned. Ask the other guys around the shop most used tools, that will also help you decide on stuff.

Remember it's a job, not a Ego Tool Box Fashion show. Everyone wants a giant shiny box full of every 1st rate tool. If someone gives you **** for having a small box, who cares? It's your life, not theirs. I think it's more important to have some money in the bank, own everything outright and worry about bigger things in the world then paying off the Tool guy.

Hope you're enjoying your New Job!

Oh yeah.... Buy some nice safety Glasses and Wear 'em They've saved my **** many times!

 

[gravygrabber]

full size trucks are a different story, regardless, all the flip sockets I've seen are 19/21mm and 3/4 / 13/16

Cornwell of all tool companies makes or made a 17mm/19mm flip socket. A friend I worked with had it and I could not for the life of me find one made by Snappy or Mac so I gave up and just used other stuff. The friend decided to quit working on cars and was selling all his stuff off. I was right there to buy that flip socket since Hondas are 17mm/19mm until the Ridgeline and new Odyssey came out a couple years ago. That was in 1998 and it hasn't broke yet nor have I seen another one like it.

 

[gravygrabber]

Buy used SO tools on Craigslist. That's what I do. I rarely buy off the truck only when I have to.
Don't let the dealership get to you. It's a dog eat dog world and other techs can smell fear. Don't be cocky or talk alot. Wear an Ipod or something and get the work done as fast as you can without screwing it up. Have good handwriting and communicate well with your service advisors. If you have a problem let them know asap.
I wish you success my friend. There is money at the dealer still but it's a tough job. I've been doing it like 12 years and I'm ready to start my own shop and get out from under the dealers grip.
My biggest pet peave is that the service advisors are making twice as much as the techs with no technical training whatsoever. It's like a nurse making double the docter's pay. It makes no sense. Same with parts people. It seems like the money has moved from the shop to the other depts. in the last 20 yrs or something.

Here's a typical situation I see quite a bit.
Customer buys a new car and wants say an ipod adapter put in. The finance guy adds it into the deal for $500. The part costs the dealer $100. The finance guy gets his percentage $250 and the parts dept. gets their markup $100, the parts guy gets the order for the adapter and he hands it to me across the counter and gets his percentage, $50. It takes me an hour to install it but the most the sales dept. has allowed for install is half hour so at 28 an hour I'm getting $14 dollars to install the damn thing. Anything left over goes back to the sales dept. as extra profit. Meanwhile I lost 30 minutes of pay because the sales dept. has capped the time and you can't beat it without doing a million of them. This is my biggest problem with dealers. The people with the least knowledge make the most money and they feed you along with just enough pay to keep you coming back the next morning but never to walk away.

Sorry for the rant, seriously good luck man. Do yourself a favor and apply for mechanic at the state or city you live in and get a gravy government job. Those guys don't do **** and make bank.

 

[norry]

Customer buys a new car and wants say an ipod adapter put in. The finance guy adds it into the deal for $500.

Holy Cow! How the other half lives, I guess

 

[muskaman67]

hey guys, i have yet to buy a tool box yet. i was wondering if this would work out for me. do you think once its loaded all the drawers will roll smoothly and the tool box be able to roll around ok? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryID=870&pricetype=
i like it cause its a good price that way i wont feel as bad droppin a grand or two on a box.

 

[Rnz520]

that will work more than well enough, great deal, go ahead and buy it.

 

[WSMC633]

When I opened my shop, I needed a bigger box that I could roll around the shop. Since I was spending Cash on specialty tools and 2 more sets of tools I needed an economy box. That HF box is what I went with. I also have the top box on it. It's totally packed with tools and I drag it all over the shop. So Far so Good. Great Deal for the Price. Feel free to hit me with any questions.

 

[muskaman67]

do you guys think the drawers will slide decent once its loaded up with tools?

 

[Britwrench]

Reality is, you are starting a new job at a starter-entry position with a one-brand dealership on cars known to have fewer problems than other makes.

You won't need that many tools to start with or for the new year or so.

As for wearing an I-pod at work, right, show no interest in the job....

 

[olds88]

...with a one-brand dealership on cars known to have fewer problems than other makes.

B.S..... my Snap-on dealer says the Toyota dealer is the busiest dealer shop in town... and my personal experience says otherwise as well.

 

[Britwrench]

B.S..... my Snap-on dealer says the Toyota dealer is the busiest dealer shop in town... and my personal experience says otherwise as well.

Doesn't Toyota (per dealer) sell more cars than anyone else and their service customer retention rate is higher too?

Busiest? Do you mean service and maintenance or unforseen (unscheduled) repairs?

I don't work on any Japanese cars, but everyone I know, including myself,
that has owned a Toyota/Lexus experienced very few problems.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

As for wearing an I-pod at work, right, show no interest in the job....

I disagree. I use my iPod ll the time at work. Between leaving the house in the morning and returning home i rarely turn it off. Music helps me concentrate.

 

[MadMark]

I also find it useful for aligning co-workers (when they're bent out of shape and require straightening out.) and aligning the nut behind the steering wheel in cases of operator failure.

Boy, if they would only let me bring a pipe to my job, the more degrees they have, the more they could use a good realignment.
Actually an axe handle might be better where I work.

 

[LGMechanical]

The whole ipod idea is kinda odd to me. What if the boss is calling you from across the shop or even worse a co-worker gets pinned under a vehicle and is shouting for help but you can't hear ****. I try to stay alert in the shop.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Boy, if they would only let me bring a pipe to my job, the more degrees they have, the more they could use a good realignment.
Actually an axe handle might be better where I work.

They won't let you have a steel pipe at work? Seriously? A jack handle is basically the same thing.

The whole ipod idea is kinda odd to me. What if the boss is calling you from across the shop or even worse a co-worker gets pinned under a vehicle and is shouting for help but you can't hear ****. I try to stay alert in the shop.

I have mine quiet, i can hear someone call me when listening to it.

 

[nissan_crawler]

As for wearing an I-pod at work, right, show no interest in the job....

Plenty of people at work have them. very, very few auto shops can compare the level of professionalism we have.

The whole ipod idea is kinda odd to me. What if the boss is calling you from across the shop or even worse a co-worker gets pinned under a vehicle and is shouting for help but you can't hear ****. I try to stay alert in the shop.

Then turn the ******** thing down. I can hear somebody halfway across a 60,000sq ft bay with mine on.

 

[gravygrabber]

Doesn't Toyota (per dealer) sell more cars than anyone else

It's true but that's because they sell their cars at fleet deals too. Honda actually sells just as many if you don't count Toyota's fleet sells. Honda doesn't sell fleets.

 

[gravygrabber]

The whole ipod idea is kinda odd to me. What if the boss is calling you from across the shop or even worse a co-worker gets pinned under a vehicle and is shouting for help but you can't hear ****. I try to stay alert in the shop.

That's true to a point. I never have mine up loud enough to not hear someone or something around me.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

It's true but that's because they sell their cars at fleet deals too. Honda actually sells just as many if you don't count Toyota's fleet sells. Honda doesn't sell fleets.

Their loss.

 

[gravygrabber]

Their loss.

Yeah as a company they tend to do whatever they feel like doing not what all the other car makers do. Take trucks for instance, everyone wanted Honda to make a truck and back in the day when Toyota was pushing them out like crazy Honda said they didn't care they weren't making it. As the years went by and they have seen the errors in their ways they come out with the Odyssey/oops I mean Ridgeline. (Odyssey framed truck lookalike POS)
Even though I worked for Honda forever I bought a Toyota FJ because it's a real truck frame with a real transfer case not a unibody POS with AWD electric clutch rear end.

 

[olds88]

Doesn't Toyota (per dealer) sell more cars than anyone else and their service customer retention rate is higher too?

Busiest? Do you mean service and maintenance or unforseen (unscheduled) repairs?

I don't work on any Japanese cars, but everyone I know, including myself,
that has owned a Toyota/Lexus experienced very few problems.

Oh OK, so a Toyota service department is 20 bays of lube techs and 10 that specialize in timing belts and thats it. Thanks for the update.

I guess lube-techs are in charge of zip-tying floor mats as per the unintended acceleration recall.

 

[CarCrafter]

This is the best advice in this entire thread. Part of the reason our economy is in the shape it's in is because people buy things they can't afford. Get by with what you have cash to pay for and borrow where necessary. Learn to live on less than what you make. Don't try to be what you're not and learn from the old guys in the shop who have wisdom and experience as their tools.

Thanks for the compliment.. You must be another Dave Ramsey fan??? Buying cars we can't afford and mansions we could hardly keep up with, and filling it up with plasma TVs, furniture, and stainless appliances, its the AMERICAN way !!

 

[CarCrafter]

The people with the least knowledge make the most money and they feed you along with just enough pay to keep you coming back the next morning but never to walk away. .

And the people with the biggest investments into their jobs make the least and get crapped on the most. How much do you think the finance guy has invested into his position? When and if they fire his ***, all he needs is a cardboard box to clean out his desk. When we leave, most of us need to call a flatbed to haul our boxes home on top of what we throw into the back of our own truck. Go figure....

 

[CarCrafter]

Just as a side note - as you add to your tool collection it would be wise to start and maintain an inventory. The shop that I work in covers my tools if the building is destroyed or is broken into ONLY if I have a list of my tools filed with the office. I had to spend a Saturday on my time going through and updating my list. I have been taking digital pictures as well and attaching it to the list so there is no question.

At least your company covers it. At the dealerships I've worked at, I've always had my own inland marine policy to cover my stuff. This costs me about $800/ yr through State Farm but covers me up to $35,000 of replacement cost with a $2000 deductible.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Some good advice in this thread. Especially about not going into giant debt to the tool guy. When I started I had all CMAN stuff, As time went by I upgraded as stuff wore out etc. Get good quality for your basic stuff. Wrenches, sockets, ratchets, Screwdrivers. Fill in other stuff as need be. Like others have mentioned, if you borrow something more than once probably you should go ahead and get it. Also when you do borrow something, return promptly, and cleaner than you got it. You'll be amazed the good will that will build.

The Beautiful Tool trucks are very seductive, but remember you don't need every variation Drive sockets, (short, Mid, Deep, 6pt, 12pt, Flex, Impact etc. etc.) You just need the tools to do the work you'll be assigned. Ask the other guys around the shop most used tools, that will also help you decide on stuff.

Remember it's a job, not a Ego Tool Box Fashion show. Everyone wants a giant shiny box full of every 1st rate tool. If someone gives you **** for having a small box, who cares? It's your life, not theirs. I think it's more important to have some money in the bank, own everything outright and worry about bigger things in the world then paying off the Tool guy.

Hope you're enjoying your New Job!

Oh yeah.... Buy some nice safety Glasses and Wear 'em They've saved my **** many times!

so , you are the guy borowing my tools

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Doesn't Toyota (per dealer) sell more cars than anyone else and their service customer retention rate is higher too?

Busiest? Do you mean service and maintenance or unforseen (unscheduled) repairs?

I don't work on any Japanese cars, but everyone I know, including myself,
that has owned a Toyota/Lexus experienced very few problems.

toyotas break a lot
get ready to do tons of axle boots and wheel bearings
oil pump , cam seals , water pumps head gaskets , strut bearings , window regulators , shorted ecus , van trans , broken leafsprings -recalls , no other manufacturers have as many recalls as toyotie - toyota has lots of loyal service customers , I think they threaten your warranty status if you go elsewhere

all cars are junk

 

[WSMC633]

Actually I'm the guy loaning tools these days. But thanks for the worthwhile comment.

 

[Elroy]

all cars are junk

That's the best statement yet. They all break. Some just more than others.

 

[caper]

all cars are junk

Yep,doesn't matter what brand they all have issues.Working in dealerships you realize that every brand has its problems.Get yourself some decent tools,not complete junk but you don't have to go overboard right away.If you decide to stick with the job you can upgrade the ones that you feel need it as you go.basic sets of sockets and wrenches,screwdrivers,a mid range impact.If your enjoying the job and want to get better tools later you can but if you go into debt right away and don't like the job your stuck with the debt and some nice tools you'll probably end up selling for 1/2 price.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Parts of being a dealer tech - which indys don't understand = is most of the gravy work is the used car department , which exposes us to all makes and models - from viper trucks - to boats - to hot rods and ford diesels
and a lot of the vehicles we see are rats

 

[caper]

Parts of being a dealer tech - which indys don't understand = is most of the gravy work is the used car department , which exposes us to all makes and models - from viper trucks - to boats - to hot rods and ford diesels
and a lot of the vehicles we see are rats

Yeah,not much gravy in the bays if your stuck with the ****** labor times given for warranty work.And people wonder why a lot of dealer techs do hack repair work.If you don't know how to rush you work for free cuz they ain't paying you to do it right just to do it.

 

[CarCrafter]

oh yeah.... Buy some nice safety glasses and wear 'em They've saved my **** many times!

I agree 100%... Life doesn't come with a rewind button and you won't like walking into things too much..

 

[GM_tc]

I've been working at a Chevrolet Dealership for a year now as an apprentice in the process of goin flat rate as a tech. I often see what tools the techs who have been there for a long time have and ask them about what tools they use every day. Its a starting point. Also look for deals on craigslist or ebay. A great site i've bought from is tooltopia.com.

 

[Hawk321]

Save your money and buy more Gearwrench or Cman tools...and invest more in special tools from OTC or KLANN.

 

[muskaman67]

thanks for the replies.

 

[sandog_79]

And the people with the biggest investments into their jobs make the least and get crapped on the most. How much do you think the finance guy has invested into his position? When and if they fire his ***, all he needs is a cardboard box to clean out his desk. When we leave, most of us need to call a flatbed to haul our boxes home on top of what we throw into the back of our own truck. Go figure....


This is not an accurate quote, as the finance guy, he probably has 80~100k in education to get to where he is. I consider that a substantial investment in his job.

 

[CarCrafter]

This is not an accurate quote, as the finance guy, he probably has 80~100k in education to get to where he is. I consider that a substantial investment in his job.

I highly doubt that is the case with every finance mgr in every dealership. Many were promoted from within, salesman with experience in the banking industry and what have you. If you want to compare cost of investment on education, what about ours? We weren't exactly born with the knowledge to adjust valves or rebuild transmissions.