When looking for a new position or job, what is the most important factor that you look for?
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When looking for a new position or job, what is the most important factor that you look for?
View full poll questionHey Technicians! What’s your favorite vehicle to work on?
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Great review for Sales & Leasing Consultant; Nick Wade.
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What are some fun activities you like to do in the fall?
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Food Truck time to celebrate some special events! One tech celebrated 36 years of being here at Tom Wood Toyota. Another tech reported a first known issue found to Toyota and was awarded a special medallion.
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Air Tools or Electric tools?
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Minnesota roads can be unbearable in the snow, but this winter car workshop could be a game-changer for new drivers
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Happy anniversary to our Shipping & Receiving Clerk; Sam Lynch
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Great review for Service Advisor; Michael Manns!
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🎉 C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S 🎉 Congratulations to Garrett for being our BEAST of the week.
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If you could work on cars from any era, which would you choose?
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What's the most satisfying part of being an automotive technician?
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Thank you to everyone that joined us for the PenFed Racing Simulator Challenge on August 30-31. It was a pleasure to host Sabré Cook and showcase the Porsche GT3 Cup racecar while enjoying time with our amazing community and team. We hope you had a great time meeting Sabré, testing your skills in the racing simulator, and joining the scenic rally drive.
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Junior Technician, James, replacing a drive shaft on a 2022 Tiguan.
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What do you want to get straitened out this year?
Technician
Craig, I love fixing cars. I've loved gm vehicles since I can remember. Grew up in the back seat of a 1984 Buick LeSabre, first car was a 1981 Cutlass, and most of my vehicles since have been gm. Was there anywhere else I was going to go when I started wrenching? I became a full line tech when I left the army in 2013. I struggled to meet time. After nearly 2 years I joined the aftermarket, struggled there, decided it was me and went back to the dealership. I've always been bumper to bumper, so if I see a labor op more than 2-3 times, that's a high frequency repair. Those repairs always seemed to be moving targets. No matter how good I got at them, if everything went right, we had all the parts in stock, nothing went sideways, at best I'd come out an hour ahead (on big repairs) but the reality is I usually came out behind. There must be something wrong with me, right? Wrong. Had a conversation with a manager from the OEM last month, in which he told me, in reference to replacing an engine in a Tahoe, that we have to look at it from gm's side of the picture and does it make any sense to pay someone 18 hours for 7 hours of work. Seriously. As a generalist, I've only done one, took me 26 hours (if I recall correctly), twice what gm reduced the time to. Somewhere there's a specialist who can change that engine in 7 hours. I'm glad they didn't reduce it that low, but there are jobs even the specialists can't win at. We complain to our dealership and are told, "That's what gm pays." We complain to gm and they say, "You are dealership employees, talk to your dealer." Flat rate is supposed to encourage production, efficiency, and quality, but when the OEM consistently lowers times that can be beat there comes a point where one realizes "The System" is designed only to punish. Thanks to Illinois and their OEM must pay CP times, the OEMs have put significant pressure on the aftermarket labor time guides to bring times into line. High frequency ops are often within a couple tenths of warranty time. When the OEM is moving the goal posts, not even the aftermarket is a safe haven. Yeah, I love fixing cars, but when those who have power have decided you are defrauding them by beating the times they set, I have to ask, "Why would I keep putting myself through that?" Love of the craft doesn't put food on the table or shoes on my kids' feet.
Thanks for the response Russell, I hear ya, I started wrenching for a living in 1987 and up until the 2000s it was fairly easy for a seasoned tech to beat the book. Like you pointed out the book is way off these days and people do struggle to even meet it let alone beat in as a majority rule. When we estimate these days we go 20% over book as the book time was for newer stuff. Plus if you add in rust and bent or mutilated we will go higher. I believe a lot of independents know or are figuring out what it takes the seaned tech to do the job right and do it as fast as possible and still put out a great product. We are estimating by what the tech ask for plus what we have learned to help this problem. I do hope you find that home that is right for you and the industry does need you. Take care and let me know if I can do anything to help. (This thread does not let me know there are updates so feel free to email me at craig@craigscarcare.com and that goes for anyone that wants to bounce around thoughts and ideas.)
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