Eddie spent 35 years in the automotive business with Honda. You’re a mechanic. You have been working on cars and trucks for a few years and you just don’t seem to maks making any more money than last year. You ask yourself, «How can I earn a higher salary? I was shocked to see such low numbers, and I couldn’t help but wonder if someone had made a mistake. I can teach you the principles of being the best auto tech, and also teach you how to earn the highest salary mke an automotive technician, but that doesn’t mean you. To earn more than you ever did before, you need to become someone you never were. I’m going to quote some of my mentors in this article because these are people who have embedded in me the philosophies and core values you need to have deep inside of you to be a better you.
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Kevin has worked as a mechanic for Honda and its high-end counterpart, Acura, for three years. His work has taken him to dealerships in California and Oregon. Meanwhile, each task only pays a pre-set number of hours, no matter how long it actually takes to complete. Now he works in California, where the laws are a little more robust. But he still runs into challenges. Jesse is a also a mechanic in California, working for a Toyota dealership. And mechanics often have a lot of credentials, which they are frequently expected to pay for out of pocket. Kevin has also taken on extra education to get ahead in the industry, but that means taking on debt.
Salaries for Motorcycle Engineers
The loans are going to make saving for retirement difficult. Retirement is an important issue in this line of work, given the physical demands of the job that makes many stop working earlier. Ninety-six percent of mechanics are under age 65, meaning most either change careers or retire by that age. Many people manage to find other work in the industry once they have too many aches and pains to keep going, like teaching, working as service writers who help facilitate communication between customers and mechanics, or as parts employees who order and sell parts for customers and the shop, while some simply cut their hours back to part time. Some officially retire but keep trying to work on cars for money at home. There are other ways that mechanics end up in financial insecurity. Because each job pays a certain amount, the owners can give one employee all of the work that does not pay well, making it difficult to make a living. Another common way mechanics get underpaid is through service writers who offer discounts to customers. Shops can also give a customer discount by assigning the work to a mechanic who is less experienced and therefore paid less, taking it away from the person who may have originally figured out the problem in the first place. Service writers are paid based on customer satisfaction, so they are motivated to keep the customer as happy as possible, even at a cost to the other employees. Robert also lives in California. He is a certified smog instructor for the state in addition to being shop foreman. That lack of advancement opportunities depresses wages. His income has been eroded by fewer tasks thanks to that higher rate and an increase in unpaid obligations for his role as foreman.
#1 Aircraft Mechanic
Please, anyone considering this field, learn from what I have to say. This field is a black hole. The money isn’t there, the UTI commercials are a lie to get you in the door so they can profit from your student loans. I flagged
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Even so, it doesn’t have to be so bad. Speaking of taking the DIY approach, there are some repairs that you really can do yourself, regardless of your abilities. Get our newsletter Subscribe. Just make sure that the app you download will help you diagnose issues and perform diagnostics. I’m looking at paying salaries twice the local median income within the next 5 years to guys who really know what they are doing. Get your answers by asking now. Research in advance is best, but if you’re sitting in the waiting area for work to be done, look up the work being done on your phone while you wait. Finding someone you’re comfortable taking your car to before you leave the house—or before you need something fixed—will go along way. Bones graduated with a master’s degree in English from the University of Iowa in
Diesel Mechanics
If you drive, there’s probably little you hate more than getting your car repaired. It’s usually an expensive, time-consuming hassle no one looks forward to.
Even so, it doesn’t have to be so bad. Here are some solid ways to save as dl money as possible on your car repairs, and hopefully make the whole process a little easier. Whether it’s just ddo with mechanics who try to upsell you on unnecessary work, the inevitable toll on your xar, or being out of your expensive—and often only—means of getting around while you wait for the work and the billcar repairs can be a hassle some of us avoid more than going to the dentist.
Still, you’ll have to go eventually, regardless of your skill level. Let’s look at some ways you can make the whole affair as easy as possible. The most obvious tip comes first: If you find mecanics mechanic or a repair shop that you trust and treats you like an intelligent human being who also happens to be their valued customer, you stick with that shop like glue.
Find someone who deserves your business and reward them handsomely for staying in business. The good guys need all the help they can. Now, the «good guys» aren’t always your mom and pop mechanics.
Sometimes you’ll find them in a suburban dealership. Other times you’ll find them in a gas monry garage. If you hear someone tell you to avoid «X type of establishment» at all costs, reject their advice unless they have a specific place they suggest you go. Instead, here are some places to check out and cross-reference to find a trustworthy mechanic:.
If you need more tips, check out our post on what to look for in a good repair shopand this guide from Jalopnik to finding a good mechanic. Finding someone you’re comfortable taking your car to before you mqke the house—or before you need something fixed—will go along way.
Plus, you won’t wind up stuck and desperate to try anyone just because you have work that needs to be. Even if you’ve found a reputable garage or mechanic, that doesn’t mean you can’t shop around or get a second opinion if you think you’re being fleeced, or if your BS sensor is going off. We’ve discussed the best way to do this beforemecjanics the big takeaways are simple: Get written estimates, and make sure they’re valid for as long as you plan to do your shopping dar.
Then take your car to another mechanic—ideally another trustworthy one—for a second opinion. D sure you don’t share the first garage’s diagnosis and estimate with the second one.
See what the second garage says the problem is, and how much they’re willing to charge you for it. If you like to play hardball, you can whip out the original estimate and see if the second mechanic is willing to undercut, has any mecanics specials, or willing to negotiate a lower labor rate or discount. You can even take the second opinion back to the original garage and see if they’re willing to work with you. Be careful though, that kind of thing can easily backfire, and while you can save money moost labor just by picking a shop with lower labor or parts costs, mchanics shouldn’t be your only consideration.
If you want a semi-objective opinion on how much a repair should cost, head back to those car forums we just mentioned and ask the community. You’ll probably hear some stories from mechanics who have actually done that type of work, and are willing to tell you how much a good shop should charge. You can also ,echanics out previously mentioned AutoMD for average prices, especially compared to doing the repair. There’s a huge market for simple OBD-II On-Board Diagnostics wherre, the built-in diagnostics and reporting technology built into most modern cars scanners you can use at home or with your smartphone to diagnose your own problems.
When a light goes up on your dash, or your car starts beeping like crazy, there’s usually an OBD code associated with it. These tools will take those codes whsre beeps and translate them into real language so you understand what’s wrong.
Many of them let you do your own health checks on your car, and others will even record data while you drive and help you figure out if there’s a problem before it becomes a serious issue. There’s a whole category of OBD-II code readers and scanners at Amazon, but you don’t even really need to buy a dedicated unit. A Bluetooth dongle and a smartphone app will do just as well, mske costs. If you don’t like that one, there are monsy others to choose fromand plenty of Android apps and several iOS apps to pair them.
Just make sure that the app you download will help you diagnose issues and perform diagnostics. Many are aimed at enthusiasts who want to keep track of their fuel economy and performance while they drive—which are great—but may not be what you’re looking.
Look for an app that will help you check your car’s health periodically, report issues early, decipher warning beeps or lights on your dashboard, and most importantly, tell you what the real mosg with your car is before you take it to the shop to be worked on. Speaking of taking the DIY approach, there are some repairs that you really can do yourself, cwr of your abilities. Whether it’s the basics like being able to check your own fluids, replace your own fuel and air filters, and change your own oil, or slightly more advanced repairs and maintenance like replacing your mechanocs brakes, rotors, mechznics even mecjanics your own fluids, learning to do your own work will save you hundreds—perhaps thousands—of dollars, and once you start you’ll wonder why you ever let anyone else do mecbanics work for you.
Obviously, the first step to doing your own work is to believe you can do it. Like our friends at Jalopnik have said, » Stop being a coward and fix your own damn car. Our guide to getting started with your own car repairs is a must-read, as is mechancs list of mpst anyone can do from Jalopnik. Then, check out this list of things better left to professionalsso you don’t spend a ton of money and time «fixing» something you actually shouldn’t meddle. Give yourself some time, get a few tools, and soon you—like me—can move out of the world where you just paying someone else to do everything and waiting hours or days for the privilege.
With time, you’ll find yourself in a bright new future where you can change your own oil in minutes instead of waiting for hours, or replace your own brakes instead of spending hundreds for someone to hold your car all day for a job that takes about an hour. Finally, know when to dispute your. Check it over before you hand over your credit card and make sure you’re not being billed for duplicate labor charges, duplicate parts, or if the total came out way over the estimate you were given.
It doesn’t hurt to ask for your old parts back either, usually before they start work after everything’s said and done, you’ll probably hear «oh, we disposed of them already» to make sure they’re on the up and up. Research in advance is best, but if you’re sitting in the waiting area for work to be done, look up the work being done on your phone while you wait.
You’ll have plenty of time to educate yourself, and you’re right there in case you need to talk to. At the end of the day, the more research you do in advance to find a great place, the more you learn about how car repairs work and how much they cost, and the more you can do yourself without ever going to the mechanic, the dl comfortable you’ll be about the whole car repair process.
Plus, if you do your homework, you’ll save hundreds—probably thousands—of dollars over the life of your car, just ahere being a smart, engaged car owner—preferably one that’s not mcehanics to get his or her hands dirty now and. The A. Alan Henry. Filed to: Cars. Share This Story. Get our newsletter Subscribe.
WAYS FOR MECHANICS TO MAKE MONEY ON THE SIDE
If you are an auto mechanic, you can make alot more money than just working for. There is a world msot money making opportunities available to you as a auto mechanic. Auto mechanics have unique skills not available to many people. You can turn your skills into money making ventures. This may or may not be something that you are interested in but take a look at the available opportunities.
HVAC Mechanics
There are many people who hate to take their car into the dealership for service. But if they know that you will do the work for them outside of the dealership they mdchanics be more than happy to pay you for it. For this reason you can market yourself to your area as an independent auto mechanic of sorts. This can bring in a bit of extra money for you in no time at all. Many new owners wants a review of a used car before they buy. You can these people who are in the market for a used car. They will come to wherf when they have found a car that they like and then you will check it out for them in order to ensure that everything is in order. This is a very big market that has yet to be fully wuere. This is very similar to becoming an independent mechanic, but instead you will be specializing more directly in the purchase of used cars. This can open up a lot of avenues as far as fixing mecyanics junk cars and reselling them for a profit.
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