if this is to off topic mods ok to delete. i will understand. but the thread about do you like your career as a mechanic got me wondering how many other dealer techs are here. most of the techs i work with past and present arent into hot rods or race cars. they work on cars for a living but have no intrest in them as a hobby. most dont even know much about aftermarket speed parts, hot rods, or old cars in general. so i will start, ford dealer for 20 years.
I rebuild transmissions, differentials, troubleshoot electrical and automotive computer related malfunctions and install aftermarket electronic accessories at our dealership.Come to think of it the only thing I don,t do is alignments.I love hot rods but lately seem to be too tired when I get home from work. Gettin old I guess.....
Started with Dodge for 4 years, Moved to GM been there for 6. Certified for everything but I avoid suspension like the plague. Specialize in Transmissions, and heavy line. Which lately doesn't pay all the bills so I also do whatever else I have to to make the hours. We do mostly Buick Pontiac and GMC, but I've got some Northstars and Bowties under my belt as well.
Saturn for 8 years bumper to bumper. as you may know saturn is done. so something else is comin soon , i hope
Ford, Lincoln and Mercury tech here for a little over ten years, mostly electrical, heating and air, driveability and suspension and steering. No trans or diesels for me. Ready for a different line of work, the new cars are horrible to work on. Brad
I'm a dealership body tech. close to 15 years. mostly gm, but been at a honda/nissan dealer for the last 4
Been at Chevy dealers exclusively for almost 33 years. Mainly Driveabilty, but do too much serious electrical work on the new crap also. The good old days are gone, the gravy has dried up and blown away. I agree that almost no one in my shop cares about or even owns or works on old Hot Rods. I too find it increasingly hard to work on my Hot Rods after work, getting old too! After working on the new crap all day, with electric everything and push button this and that, I love to lift the hoods on my old stuff and just stare at that good old distributor and carb! So simple and yet so effective and powerful.
chevrolet dealer 17 years. Specialize in transmissions, but being in a dealer you have to sometimes be a jack of all trades and master to none.(4l60s definitely do pay the bills as gtkane said!)
I work at a chrysler dealership in the bodyshop. A few like the old stuff but don't indulge. I have no idea why anyone would want to do bodywork for a living if your not into cars.
father started used car business in 1960. i started helping in 4 th grade. been around cars all my life. they pay the bills. father passed on in 1999. i still run the garage. do all my own repairs,build motors, sell cars and parts. have switched to old cars and trucks, muscle cars collector cars, project cars. years range from 1936 to 1980. lots of parts, some cars i take apart and sell the pieces. have a drag car, street rod, pro street car, love all old cars, but mostly have gm stuff.
i spent my first 10+working years at toyota stores, with a short stint at a ford dealer. was a tech for years, then a writer, then a tech, then a writer, then a manager, etc. etc. took me long enough but i figured out finally that the car business is an evil piece of shit that eats your soul. no such thing as gravy anymore, that's for sure. sealed trannys and lifetime everything else, only shit you're working on anymore are warranty squeaks, rattles, and driveability. i got out. i'll never go back.
haha. just pump 'em full of grease and send 'em on down the road for another few thousand miles and hope they don't come back....
did my first two years at a chevy dealer. it was gravy in those days but i hated the dealership environment. floated a for a little then went in to municipal fleet which was kushy, but i hated that too. stuck it out and today i'm my own boss.
Currently with a Chev/Pontiac dealer. Unfortunately, one of the Chev dealers that was cut. Pontiac is done. Will I have a job come October? I don't know. Spent 7 years previous at Nissan, and 2 more in buisness for myself in a parts store. Devin
I was educated (two years of state tech college) and enroute to becoming one, but so burned out by the time I was done with school I never even tried to get hired anywhere. Kind of a long story, but basically didn't want to work on other people's cars anymore. Some of it from a lack of confidence, some just plain frustration, and some I just plain needed to grow up. In retrospect, maybe that wasn't such a bad decision, though. Well, except I get so I don't even want to work on my own cars anymore, especially if I have to crawl under. (fucked-up GM engineering strikes again today... can anyone explain what difference it makes if the right manilfold on a van dumps an inch different from one to another, or why there even would be more than one manifold set for a small block for the same damned van they made for 25 years?)
I have 10 years fixing highway trucks..and when i get home i cant wait to work in my shop but all most all the guys i work with dont even work on there own cars od eh..
Not at a dealer anymore but got my start at a kia dealership, kinda wish I was still there. Constant work when you work on the finest of korean cars
that's funny. i always wondered about that. my dad used to drive a ton of miles for work every day and decided on buying a cheap little "cash" type car to get him from A to B. i told him to buy a used corolla ,etc. instead he buys a new rio, changes the oil every 3k, but that's it. T belt i believe is recommended at 90 or 100k, he doesn't do it and the belt breaks at 102k miles. interference engine. haha.he had a 2 year old car with a fucked up engine. nice cash car, should got a corolla old man. oh wait, guess who had to pull the head....... i slapped that piece back together and made him sell it. he bought a nice little accord instead. life is good now, all i have to do is brakes and tunes ups.
I've been at a Ford dealer for almost 10 years now. Alot of electrical (who doesn't anymore) suspension/driveline / vibration and whatever else guy. No trans(unless just replacement) or ford drivability, I do all the rest of the GM/Dodge/import work that comes in, at least thats not warranty time.
Kind of off topic, but I applied at Ford today for a position in parts, and in the application, there was a paper I had to sign about rules & regulations of the dealership and everything and it said NO FACIAL HAIR OF ANY KIND PERMITTED in it in caps. I asked the Service Manager if he was serious, and he told me in order to work there, I'd have to shave the neatly trimmed 1/4 inch of beard I have off. I mean...this is the same dealership with new Mustangs and huge burly bad ass duallies outside, and I can't have a BEARD!? Jesus christ. Is it like that at the Ford dealer you are at?
every dealership is owned independently, each dealer owner can push a certain level of their own beliefs on you if you choose to work there. i made a brief appearance at a ford dealer and i must say it was some of the best times i've had. aside from the fact that the cars are total pieces of shit-and i mean, a complete joke (don't get your panties in a bunch-i'm talking modern fords, and you know it's true) almost everyone there i worked with was really cool. the environment was great. most all the dudes were like me-big side burns, tons of tattoos and into hot rods and bikes. every box had a computer and everyone had internet access, and when it was slow, you just hung out and did whatever you wanted, or worked on whatever you wanted. when it was busy we got our shit done. it was the ideal environment. every dealership is different though. most all owners of dealers are total dicks and are NOT car people at all. all they want is $, and a lot are religious freaks-and almost all try to enforce their strict "laws", thinking that it is the way to maximize profit. almost all dealership owners and mangers are mindless (and spineless) yes men who have no clue about anything, let alone cars. it's ridiculous. the car business is pure evil.
I've been at the ford dealership for 4 years and went through the asset program. the 5.4 3 valve is my money maker.
Startted at a Ford dealership, stayed there 7 1/2 years. Did basic maint. and all accessories(snow plows, flatbeds, lifts) Went to a growing(was told) Dodge dealer to become Service Manager. Lasted 7 months and dealer closed its doors. Back at another Ford dealership doing the basics. It's kinda neat though this place has been in the same family for 91 years, but still wanna find something else.
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