I worked at a dealership for 14 years we had mechanics in the service department. Body men and painters in the body shop. So when did every one become techs?
bodymen became automotive repair tecnicians when unibody vehicals came along and changed the whole game, no longer was it just body and frame now you have crush zones different inner structures ,bla bla bla
computers hit cars in the early 80s, so it must have been sometime around then...or at least that decade....
About mid 80s when everything became electronically fuel injected. Everyone needed to become a tech because they had to learn all the new stuff. That was when I got out. Gene
when I had to go to college to be able to find a fault with the GM high speed communication circuit between your BCM and ABS module...
It's all about verbage. Technician sounds better and gives the dealership another reason to jack your ass on the bill.
potato potAHto mechanics became techs partly when the idea of "building value" became the main focus of dealership service department management----because cars became so efficient and the need for frequent service went away. ask me how i know..
Well, I don't work at a dealership...I work in a Nickel Mine, and my work title is "Heavy Duty Equipment Technician" Huh! I get a little pissed when people say I am"just a mechanic", or a "parts changer"....but most of those guys are welders and carpenters...
Somewhere around the early 1990s, when it got so you needed more than just a paperclip and a decent voltmeter to pull codes and troubleshoot the various sensors and so on. And even more so now that you need a computer degree.
i 've been a mechanic/tech,now workshop controller in a dealership for almost 15 years,and in the trade for 23 years.in that time the mechanic has gone from straightforward mechanical repairs to high end diagnostic fault finding.most of my day is spent handing out workorders to techs that involve everything from bluetooth faults,indash satnav and tv faults to mil lights on.so,not only is he a mechanic but now a computer technician,tv repairman and phone repairer,and all for $20.00 bucks an hour. The biggest beef i have from customers is,why can't you fix my car the first time as they slam the keys on my desk,my response is the human body has stayed the same since year dot but we see a new model every 12 months,and thats just 1 car line.from an aussie point of view,the new car repair business is in for a shock soon as the payrate is not matching the expertise required.
when gay tv shows written by non car guys wanted to make bodymen and mechanics sound like something amazing "real builds,real techs" quoted from chop cut rebuild
i agree, today's modern techs have a LOT of hats to wear. i don't know about $20 an hour. here, the high level techs are routinely paid around $30+ entery level techs though can be making as little as $12 or $14 an hour as they go through school and learn. it's pretty incredible. you have to be really wanting to become a technician to jump through all the hoops required with modern automotive repair. all it does for me is make my head hurt, and i'm glad i get to work on my old cars instead.
AMEN 20.00$ an hour? thats crazy!!! in the Mines I get 37.86$ an hour + 7.25$ an hour danger pay Bonus + 8.00$ an hour Nickel/Production Bonus. Total =53.11 per hour....You guys are getting rapped down under!!!
Technicians came about because some folks thought Mechanic was a bad word. I am proud to be one though. The most fun i used to have was going to dinners wth my school teacher wife. Sometime during an evening of discussing what ever we were discussing someone would invariably ask "What do you do for a living Don? " "Who, me?" i would answer. "I'm a mechanic!" That would always be followed by a soft "Oh" which I enjoyed immensely . I miss those days. Now i am just a Technician. Technician is a phrase coined by the over educated and under nourished. It means "Not an engineer." Mechanic had no such implications. It was simply a step apart from the crowd A curious mix of redneck and skill not easily understood by the rabble. I liked that and still do. At least when i go to Europe I can still say "Ich bin mechaniker." And I do with pride. Don
in that time the mechanic has gone from straightforward mechanical repairs to high end diagnostic fault finding. that pretty much sums it up...... "back in the day" most everything that went wrong on a car really was MECHANICAL..... = mechanic sensors, injectors, computer controlled climate, heated seats, heated mirrors, power windows, ect........ some dealerships have both mechanics and techs.... the mechanics change oil, head gaskets, tires, water pumps, ect... the techs diagnose electrical system faults, bad sensors, ect....
It happened about the same time that the garbage man became to be known as a sanitation engineer! I worked on garbage trucks for years but now with all the computerized crap that the government is requiring,you don"t use wrenches anymore,plug up the laptop and fix the problem. muffler alone,$5700.00 Its only going to get worse and more expensive.
When I lived in Banff, I worked at a gas station...I was a "High Altitude Petrolium Dispenssing Technician" lol
ha ha I think it was about the same time garbage men became 'waste techs', Stewardesses became flight attendents and bums became homeless. just playing around. Steve
I'm an ASE certified Technician, but i don't mind being called a mechanic. We use the skills of plumbers, electricians, steam fitters etc...not to mention the diagnostic/computer stuff. It's because of all the different systems on modern cars, that "technician" is a better fitting term. And yes, all those other professions will pay higher.
When I was in "Tech" school they wanted us to call ourselves "Automotive Diagnostitians" I was happy with mechanic or grease monkey.
I tkink all industry as a whole is going this way. Ive been in construction for 35 yrs, with the last 18 as a super on commercial projects. The paper work,OSHA regs ect. sure take the fun out of it. My son in law is a mech/tech, so I can ask him ?'s about the computer stuff on cars. I dont envy any of the classroom hrs. they spend every year.
I have owned and operated an independent auto repair shop for 38 years now. My techs are truly technicians. The days of the uneducated grease monkey fixing cars are long gone, modern cars are very complex and getting more so with each new model. Nowadays its all about computer skills, constant education and oh yeah, mechanical aptitude. But it also brings higher pay, better working conditions along with it. My techs are Technicians and deserve the title, it is not about charging more money for the work because of fancy names, it is about giving people the respect they deserve for their knowledge and ability.
Remember, Dolmetsch, when our trade was called MVMR? When my certificate came up for renewal in 1999, they issued me a new one with the new terminology - Auto Service Technician.
Bite your fucking tongue , No mechanic I know will be alowed to be refereed to a tech including myself . Mechanics are born , tech's went to school and paid someone to tell them they know how to fix something .
"hey, alright putty, no more grease monkey" "grease monkey, i don't care for that term... i've never seen a monkey that can take apart a fuel injector." "i saw one once that could do sign language" "oh yeah-cocoa! that chimps alright. hi-five!"
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