Something I learned about the world of work....The less actual work that the job involve the more it pays and vise versa....The Harder..Heavier and Dirtier the less it pays....and the guy in the white shirt saying..."Nobody wants to work".....is getting paid more than you...
This is true in every industry to some degree. The hard workers are exploited and the manipulators are rewarded for the hard workers efforts. This is why managers that manage workers get paid better salaries. Basically the whole work system is setup in a way that exploiters gain the most and workers that are the man producers of value get paid the least. Manager jobs are usually boring and unrewarding so having a skilled worker changed to a manager roll is actually counterproductive yet still pays more.
@@johnleca I mean the work industry in general. You'll never get paid well worked as an employee for a company since the people above you will always be profiting off your work. You need to become independent and start making contracts with the companies that need your work, to cut out the middle men that are corporations.
A service writer I worked with used to tell the customers "We didn't build it, we didn't buy it and we didn't break it, we're just trying to help you by fixing it."
If their paying you your not actually helping you anymore than their not helping you by giving you the business.... If a shop couldn't get customers no one there would have a job.
Before anybody gets a degree in automotive engineering they should have to spend at least 6 months working at a repair shop to see how stupid these cars are really engineered
Common sense has been lacking in automotive design ever since the feds began mandating everything, things began to get better in the late, late 1980’s to early 2000’s, then things began to slip the the cracks in the late 2000’s. One of the last vehicles ever made which could easily be rebuilt at home was any GM product with the 3800 which was a pushrod OHV V6. If I could have it my way, cars would still be made like they were in 1966 when common sense was still a thing.
@@bryanbittinger9794I’d argue cars are worse than they have ever been, some are gulping oil like it’s going out of style before reaching 100,000 miles, some are failing completely before 100,000 miles. Soon, all these late model vehicles will be piled up in scrap yards like they were in the 60’s and 70’s by the end of the decade.
But working people just keep on voting Republican and refuse to form Unions ,Join Unions or Support Unions....And They refuse to hold Politicians accountable...When is the last time YOU Called or Wrote to or confronted any of your elected representatives????
Since 2004 I always bought Hondas; saved on gas, repairs, headaches and easy to sell or give away. If I bought a Honda since the 1970s, life would of been a little bit easier.
Cars are just as expensive now as 50 years ago. I have a 54 year old mustang my father a mechanic bought new. Costed him 3,319 dollars or as he put it 2 years wages if you worked at McDonald’s. A modern mustang of the same trim is still roughly two years wages if you work at McDonald’s at least in my state. You might want to learn how inflation works
@@stevebell4906 Oh yes, like voting for the Democrats has really helped... The same people who had a president who signed NAFTA, let China into the WTO, had a President who let Russia walk into Ukraine the first time in '14, and the same people who are totally cool with people hopping the border to bring down wages further while the Republicans go after Unions... The same people who push "diversity is our strength" in workplaces which has been said by corporations is done to make the workplace non-homogenous so no one unionizes. Get a grip dude, this isn't the 1980's anymore, the Democrats hate you as much as the Republicans do
I was a mechanic for 30 years, when a young guy says, I want to be a mechanic I tell them, pick a car make you like and go to work in dealership as there is no way you can keep up with all the different makes and models out there, also if possible specialize in one area, the tranny guy, tune up guy, whatever. You have to be more of a computor scientist now than a nuts and bolts mechanic.
Agree, apprentices destroy vehicles. Service writers rob everyone, even mechanics. Let alone any mechanic that fully understands CAN BUS. I went EV ten years back and it has never been in a shop. Welcome to the twenty first century.
I've been at it for 38 years, and intend to work for the next 10, then my youngest son is taking over. Once you understand the basics, all these computer systems work the same. ;)
....... Jesus Christ saves He had mercy on me he can save all who all seek him today He made away through calvery repent of all sins today Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Holy Spirit can give you peace purpose and joy and his will today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
After 18 years of this mess I finaly jumped ship. I genuinely miss turning wrenches.. But I dont think ill ever go back... Pay being the biggest issue... I was making 50K a year in 2010 which was above average Money.. I left the Industry in 2022 as a master tech with Inspection and emmissions license, and I was only making $60k a year... ( 55-70 flag hours a week). I bought an $8k zero turn mower and a $3k trailer, and Grossed $150k in 2023.... A job a 10 year old can do should not pay 3 times a 18 year Vet Master Mechanics pay........
Got My mechanics certificate in 1985. I still do the work on my own vehicle and a short list of family and freinds. In 2000 I got a job in a factory repairing heavy machinery for more pay. While I was there I retrained as a welder, I ended being a team lead building in house custom industrial machines until back injuries and kidney cancer sidelined me. Now I'm kind of broken down with lots of joint issues and arthritice. Thats one thing most people don't understand is how much of a beating your body takes doing trades jobs, and how crippled up you get when your old.
Slide into being the caretaker for a big place, I get a small house and utilities and just have to keep it looking nice and still have lots of free time.
@@markseehawer3762 I retired at 60 and miss working but I don't miss HAVING to work. "Crippled up" is a pretty good description. Now it hurts for days to do anything, and just hurts less to do nothing. 😄 I now have to question if I will physically be able to finish things I start. It's a hard realization when you hit that point. I think this may be why some old men are angry.
This is why society in general has become a "throw away" society, buy something, it breaks, you throw it away and buy something new. Tends to work the same way with people.
@@tw8464 I mean trickle down economics is the reason why the US won the Cold War so decivly as the Soveit tricle up economics is what destroried it... It's just society doesn't create wealth from the bottom up it's just not how Human society has ever worked... Iff it did newborns would lead society and older technwould domante the world... Like I said all Comunist states did try trickle up economics and they all gaveit up or heavly modfied it with 5 ytyear plans that have only rui9ned their society... Just ask Red China how their 5 years planes whent or the soveits how did being conseritvy comunists worked? Also Blaming tghis on trickle down ecnomics is just wrong as very clearly with hind sight trickle down economics has massivce improved the auto industry in terms of bvaule for money... Whicjh by the way cars back then cost way more for common features today and only had cerry picked ones not all of them we take for grated... Like if you want a model A get one for all intents a perpises theuy are still being bult though sear support by fans, the after market and Ford OEM/their aftermarket... But you don't do you? Why is that?
@@jackeroo75 I mean that mind set started after GM came out with iyt's diract compactor to the Ford Model T... Ford was massibvly lossing money do to GM getting all the costumers using all the same tactic people hate manufactors for today... Ford didn't want to play that game as they wanted to do what people say they want... But the public forced theor hand and Ford played alone and thuse started the car industry as we know it today. Whbich before Ford the car industry was so much woese then today hince why Ford wanted to fix it... They did but thepublic voted with their wallet and broke it again like two seconds after it was fixed... Ford ever since has played this tug of war game with it's soul and the whikms of the public... Ford waxes and wans butnever has it faikled the game... Ford takes it';s self way more serouly then that... Hince why Ford never sold to anyone unlkike 90% of the resty of car makers today.... and they alwqsy made a progfuit and never gone bankraupt despite many close calls... Us ord fans love Ford because we actually believe in it's century long mission... Do it right.. Which I own a 2020 mustang premium ecobpoost almost maxed out I got in march of 2021 when the car market was exploding for $10k off MSRP and having gone to Boozard Ford an awesome car dealer I didn't get any fee or tax that wasn't required.. I also got an insane extened warranty backed by Ford for $1450 extra... Was worth every penny... Also over the last few years my Mustang has been perfect had only one recall on a computer module that was just because it's brake fluild warning wouldn';t always show... That's it... Pretty good for the Ecoboom eh? Which I wwhenyt Mustang because every single gen has a massive aftermarket and though all my reasereach the car is totaly normal to repair and perfec tly reliably if you take care of it... like not iover boost it with no cation... The main cause of the Ecoboom... So yeah it isn't the car makers per say it's the market it always was... Hince why their were alwaus bad cars and goiod cars... You just have to do research which let's be honest most people hate to do... So they over spnend their means and have to get their car out of the grave which is soly their fault... Kinda like a pet owner complaining to animal services how the pet market is broiken... When their tried feeding a rabbit steak or a Cat latace... So yeah Ford atleast is also a victim oif this 100 year mess...
70 year old mechanic here . Absolutely right about the way cars are built. Built to FAIL. And not made to repaired. Too many electronics, too much plastic. None of these newer cars will be restored, they end up in the junk yard because they would cost too much to repair. People are definitely partly to blame for ACCEPTING this. As an examples you cannot order a plain Jane work truck with a manual transmission anymore Want to save the planet, start making things that LAST. I could go on and on but this video pretty well covers it. It is sickening to go my my local wrecking yard and see HUNDREDS of newer cars all being gutted and recycled because they were too expensive to fix. Excellent work Eddy. thank you for posting !
And it's unfortunate because you can make them repairable with plastic and electronics. The whole advantage of silicon is that its cheap, but these companies see that and just want more margin
In the US at least the government worked with the corporations to buy most older cars and destroy them because there wasn't enough demand for their newer unreliable products.
@@lampostsamurai2518 It shows that Capitalism doesnt work as it is advertised by the Oligarchy and the polticans, media and economists that they own. If it did, then the Market would give the customer what they want, but they don't, neither in housing or in cars. Its actually easier than make such a thing than deliberately trash products.
"Want to save the planet, start making things that LAST" This. But climate protection is only important when the little guy has to change. For things that really have an impact, but friends with money behind them, we don't see those
My cousin was a gifted mechanic who LOVED his 90s Ford Explorer. Customized it, did all the work on it, took it apart over a weekend for fun. (Still drives it too.) Became an engineer, went to college to design cars, and got his dream job directly out of college because he had spent so much time working as a mechanic Now he's out there somewhere making life a little easier on the mechanic's end, hopefully.
He's likely being told to engineer cars to break easily and be difficult to repair. This is a trend in manufacturing now, especially with phones. They're built to be replaced soon. All for greed.
That was my issue. I went to college to become a tech, worked at a Nissan dealer for 2 years just changing oil and tires. I quit and became an HVAC tech.
Almost all trades were like that. No one hired any new guys for decades. I know small construction businesses that had the same guys for 25 years and never hired. Now they are all 50 years old and can’t find anyone to replace them. My bil had the same guys for 15 years and never hired. Well, when you don’t constantly hire apprentices and develop your workforce, your labor force gets decimated.
You know, there are plenty of trade schools. I got AA's in Diesel and Auto mechanics but it did not pay enough to be worthwhile. Here is the problem really. 40+ years of "Trickle Down". Republicans, working with their wealthy donors, have kept the majority of the workforce losing ground in wages to the true rate of inflation. People have tried to get by, now it takes two people to put a roof over their head when pre Reagan, it only took one. We import tons of cheap crap from abroad, to fool the "poors" into thinking they can live on the low wages we pay them also. The truth is, wages do not support a person being able to pay a shop $150/hr to get their car fixed. In the last 30 years, I took a car once to a shop to fix, and they could not fix it. I do it all myself. I am afraid, that is what the vast majority of the workers in America can afford now. I do not have new vehicles, they are a nightmare. I was hearing where a screen for a couple year old Lexus is like $14,000.00. Car won't be operable with it out either. Detroit needs to make some simple cars for the masses, it is ridiculous now.
@@AJourneyOfYourSoul same thing going on at the plant i work at, guys at 40 years retiring, didnt hire anyone for 15 years, no experience what so ever and they are wondering why the plant is always down. Well sir, not much experience left is a start.
Seriously? The issue is most mechanics get paid only for what they get done, if you're teaching someone, you're not making money. At one place I worked at, they realized I was willing to teach people, and fully took advantage of that fact. One week I ended up with a paycheck that had only 18 flag hours. The entire other 22 hours of that week I spent training people, for free...... eventually I had to go get a different job because it was costing me to go to work. The system is the problem, not the people
Re the people aspect: i used to work in IT where it’s exactly the same. One of the reasons i got out is because i got tired of being paid peanuts to have customers treat me like utter crap. Most people are NPCs who go around completely blind to the workings of anything more complex than a stapler. They don’t have a clue, and they don’t want one.
I worked in IT for 20 years I got out because it was all being outsourced to india, with networks going onto the cloud and routers and switches becoming logical and centrally managed by the same outsourced contractors, it didn't seem that there was going to be any future in it
Rust and plastic parts. I'm a HD Mechanic, but it's much the same. Disconnect a harness and the plastic junction falls apart. Not easily repaired and the price of a new harness is totally out of relation to what it cost to manufacture, $600, $1100, $2300. Plus the hours to install in the worst possible places in the dash and behind the engine. Plastic engine parts, had a new Mack truck losing coolant, try and find it. Finally one day it came in smoking hot and I pressure tested it and there is a very fine mist coming from the thermostat/water regulator housing. Made out of plastic. Called the parts guy and told him had a problem with part made out of a new space age material and his voice dropped and he replied "Oh joy". Hilarious. Overheating because the plastic impeller slipping on the water pump shaft when it got hot. Vehicles die when they get hot because the plastic fuel pump gear is slipping when it gets hot. Vehicle gets towed in, by that time it's cool and everything is fine. You can't find anything wrong, you look like an idiot. Doesn't matter if it's dozer undercarriage and leaky pin seals or asbestos free head gaskets that just don't cut it. Dealing with irate customers is another story entirely. I stop now.
Worked at a dealer as a tech for 4 years on flat rate, got all my certs and was 2 classes away from a master tech license when I finally snapped and had enough, and this video summed up exactly why I left the automotive industry and jumped into the heavy equipment industry. Construction equipment is way easier to work on, I don’t work with service writers, I don’t have to worry about the “We GOt WAitERs” and “OH i GoT GRavY TicKEt, HEre OIl ChAnge” I don’t have to worry about customer complaints (unless they don’t understand how to use the equipment). Sure there’s definitely a learning curve but once you get past the first year of just understanding how it all works. It’s incredibly worth it, most of the guys I work with are ex automotive techs that had the same problem.
I never went back to this Dodge dealership when I never saw that Older man who was the service clerk that time I went there. He was straight forward didn't sell my anything else besides the one I went there for and overall he felt genuine. He said he was a mechanic for 40+ years and worked with different brands. Next time I went there it was this younger man I was talking to and he just wouldn't shut up about selling me anything and every service they are providing. He just saw my truck with high mileage and just told me if you don't do this your car will break not knowing I took good care of my truck and replaced all the worn out parts that needed replacing. And the worst part is I just went there to get my AC fixed cuz the compressor was blown. It really is night and day when talking to a real mechanic vs a sales rep. I don't go to dealerships anymore just small mechanic shops for me now.
or the kid was trying to make a living and your broke ass took advantage of a good mechanic, I worked at a shop and hated customers like you, you'd take advantage of the old heads who were nice and grew up with the mentality of "you'll be poor and like it" and then you got introduced to someone who didn't have that mentality and got upset. Don't be broke and get upset when someone does their job I remember telling one of the old heads "hey bro you need money, just start upselling on the small stuff" and when he did *every single customer that used to take advantage of him would throw a fit* people like you need to learn that a mechanic isn't a friend, you are hiring a professional, not someone you can boss around
Sadly, I’ve had issues with smaller shops trying to upsell me bc they see I’m a young woman and they think I’m stupid. Ironically, after a month long battle with several shops in my local area, I finally bit the bullet and went to the nearest dealership. Was finally treated seriously and they found that the issue was something that I had been dismissed for even suggesting to the other mechanics. I suspect the change in treatment was that the service writer at the dealership was a woman.
I have no less than 10 abandoned cars sitting in the back lot of my shop, most of them from 2011-2019. Almost all of them need a motor/transmission at about 130k miles or so, most of them Hyundai or Chrysler (big surprise I know). I'm seeing a HUGE increase in timing chain failures, CVT failures and piston ring/turbo failures over the last few years. Heck I can't even get a Theta II GDi engine to save my life and I have 2 Sonatas that need a motor currently. My daily driver is a 2000 Chevy Prizm and my back up is a 93 Toyota Previa and at this rate they're going to stay with me till one of us dies lol.
@@fredwilliams7893i had a 2.7, 2007 4x4 tacoma , maintained religiously , coolant flushes , oil changes , gearbox etc. Driving down the highway ,lost power CEL. Lost compression in cyl3 . Couldnt find an engine anywhere , even my buddy who is a regional manager for a major oil change company couldnt get me one from his distributor. Sold it for 7k cash to some goons that ran it through an auction " because it still ran". Ill never buy a toyota again . Back to early 2k vw tdi's for me. At least i can keep them going forever
My father was a mechanic in the 40s and 50s when cars were super simple, and even then it was a struggle to earn a living. He later self-taught himself aviation electronics and got a job with an airline repairing the cockpit instruments and radars. He was able to work in an air-conditioned building, wearing white dress shirts, for about double the pay and fantastic benefits. Sometimes we just have to find a whole new way. I install water heaters, earn good $$$.
I fix those heaters with the Honeywell blinky light. People dump brand new heaters and buy a replacement out of desperation. I pick them up in the alleys, fix them up and use them in my rentals.
Like a school teacher they get paid peanuts.I told my niece get into upper management and make the big bucks, go on junkets to hawaii etc, vegas, complain they got tooo many junkets. 250k and up.. look it up and feel used
@@peter-pg5yc Agreed, car mechanics get absolutely chewed up by the industry. Any car mechanic with half a brain will move on to diesel, or factories, or go freelancing and earn 3x the money.
To compound the issue is how manufacturers changed maintenance intervals to make it look cheaper to own the car: like "forever fluids" in the Subaru CVT. It's interesting that Subaru of Japan recommends regular drain and fills, whereas Subaru of USA calls it "forever".
the forever claims are only until the 60k factory warranty is up, that is what the consider the "life" of the vehicle. So, for everyones sake, change the fluids as you would any other vehicle.
The only mechanic shop I’ve ever trashed on told me I needed a new transmission mount because my bushings were worn out. “Did you actually look at it?” “Yeah of course. Your shifter is sloppy and the mount is worn out.” “The solid metal racing transmission mount that was just installed a month ago is worn out, is it? The solid metal bushings already worn out and floppy are they? Wanna go back there and double check?” Dude just shut up and took my money for the work they did do and handed me my keys without saying anything else. It was really weird because they’re already a massively profitable shop that specialized in Subarus, charges like $200 an hour for that specialization and race car experience, and thought they’d pull like… $300 of work off me. Why? No clue. But I never went back again which bums me out because I would if not for that.
I experienced this back in the 80's, that is when I quit as a mechanic. Went into construction, home repairs and remodeling. Turned out to be similar people issues.
@@geondy2 That’s why developers build spec houses. 3bedroom/2bath spec houses, at the lowest end of the single home market to get people into the market and help older people who need to downsize. 1,400 sq, ft. Or just rehab all those 1970’s early 1980’s ranch house neighborhoods.
I've had a tape measure clipped to my waistband for most of 45 years and yep, have dealt with some of the most miserable people imaginable that I wouldn't do work for again, but also some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet & even made some friends.
The overhead costs are destroying every type of business, and pay for trades is mainly bad despite the hype from people like Mike Rowe. No wants to be a mechanic, machinists or welder for twenty an hour.
You have 2 choices in life for the best chance of being happy. Work for yourself or work for the government. One will make you more money, one will make you more secure. Punching a time clock at a private car dealer will do neither.
@@banshee8989 Honestly, at this point being a private mechanic especially if you're willing to work on hybrids is an extremely secure position. You practically get the best of all worlds if you love working on cars.
In a lot of areas shops desperately need machinists so the jobs start at decent pay and if you advance your skills you have plenty of room to go up from there. Feels like the trade is dying off, hard to find a skilled machinist so there's a lot of job security in being one. Not too hard of a job either in my opinion, as long as you know what you're doing. If all you can do is load a program and push the go button you're gonna have a bad time lol.
I make $75k pushing buttons in a factory. I have the automotive certs, passed the L1 ASE easy and I wouldn't work on anybody else's car for less than $100k and year. A lot of trades are underpaid and automotive is probably the worst one.
Are most cars really not lasting as long or are they just more complicated to fix when they break? I know some older Toyotas lasted quite a while but I was always under the impression cars don't last much past 100k without issue.
Just quit after 40 years . Got paid 4 hour took 16 on a evap core on a Volvo . Lots of crap that goes on I don't need anymore . Easier selling lemonade on my front yard. And I make more$$$$$.
That’s institutional private finance at the core, grinding humanity into the dust. I hope all the executives have a good comeuppance before the implosion.
Statistically speaking thing, those cars that aren't taken care off, as you said, are usually owned by people doing what they can just to make it through the day. They're already stressed out and having the car break down just adds to that stress. so yes, while I advocate that everyone needs to respect each other better, we also need to keep in mind that people who are stuck in that survivalist lifestyle, are gonna have cars they didnt want but needed. It sucks. that people who actually need the car to be reliable are the ones who cannot afford them. And now that manufacturers are making these cars that break down quickly for the "affordable option" its so bad for the whole system. I currently bought a jeep 2008 commander out of desperation. and it broke down 6 moths in and now needs $400 grand in engine repairs, and I have no choice but to get it repaired since at least i can pay that off over time. I don.t have the cash flow necessary for something new, nor would I want to buy new knowing its gonna be the same thing anyway. Prior to my Jeep, I had a Toyota Camry that lasted 11 from the date i bought it. Used card got to 200000 miles before it finally went. I miss that car.
I know more of these type of people than I would prefer lol. I've been one of them. I can't be around that energy it brings me down. It is important to have compassion though like you said. A lot of people are near breaking point these days barely making it. At the same time, I also know many of these folk are just plain stupid & do so much damage to themselves. Thanks for your comment.
@@Salmon_Rush_Dieno problem is entirely self inflicted, or entirely out of the control of the victim. Usually bad luck compounds personal failings till they’re stuck, and stress compounds personal failings even harder.
As someone who works on his own stuff, has known two separate mechanics who own separate shop, and has taken family members cars to other shops in town, I can say most shops scam the crap out of you. They up charge for premium new parts and put on the cheapest referbs. Often do the minimal work overlooking necessary addition repairs and still charge for them anyway. They will sus out customers and see how much they can fake or upcharge. There are good mechanics but there is absolutely a reason people say they are crooks. They will rack up a bill big enough to steal your car if they like it enough.
That’s with any old luxury vehicle. Anyone who owns a used luxury vehicle becomes their own mechanic. Parts are expensive themselves and then paying for the labor? Gotta get underneath and turn that ratchet.
Just found a Defender advert from the late 90s in Australia where they throw in a Sidchrome tool kit when you buy a new one. I couldnt help thinking that the owner is going to wear it out.
So many vehicles with severely shortened lifespans ending up in junkyards and recyclers, instead of driving down the road for 10 to 15 years ...all in the name of getting 2% better fuel economy, and "saving" the planet. Sure, they're more luxurious, more comfortable, faster and arguably better looking, but I'd take a late 80's to early 90's Honda Civic, 5 spd. manual in a heart beat for relative simplicity and absolute reliability.
It was never about saving the planet. Planned obsolescence. Low tension rings, but promised more miles per oil changes. These vehicles are not poorly designed, they are designed to fail and designed to increase the chances that it goes to the dealership (stealership) for service. Where you go in for a spark plug but get told by their tech that after extensive diagnostic procedures they determined the engine, transmission and 400 sensors are at fault for your misfire and they can repair it in 10 months because of shortages for somewhere around $500,000. Or we can get you an amazing deal on this new vehicle with a warranty for just long enough to pay it off so we can do this again.
Everything done in the name of saving the environment has nothing to do with the environment and instead has everything to do with implementing Marxism.
Shouldn't you be ranting at the corporations who cut corners building these shit boxes rather than the environmental crowd? And the politicians who go out of their way to ensure public transit isn't a viable option so the people who don't have the resources for car ownership aren't in your hair?
Its a crappy job that's really not worth it anymore.. the pay is not that great, it kills your body, you need thousands of dollars in tools and like you said, the owners of these cars can be jerks. After 8 years, I absolutely hated this job....do something else.
That's so crazy to me. It reminds me of when I worked customer service on the phone. They say it's "your business" but you obviously have to do everything the way they want. You have to use your own computer in most cases and only get paid for talk time. If no one calls, you don't get paid even though you are sitting there for them. Totally ridiculous. Especially with cars becoming so complex, mechanics should be paid well hourly.
A relative of mine did an apprenticeship at the three-pronged German dealership, stayed on and became a fully qualified mechanic able to work on anything from Unimogs to million-$ performance cars. Hours were ridiculous, complexity insane. Chucked it in for a job as an arborist, basically pruning trees. Got paid $2 less an hour just starting in that job than he did as a fully qualified mechanic at the top of his game. Never looked back, now makes way more money and loves the work.
I received some advice during an education session at SEMA a few years ago: Bill the customer for parts on big jobs first. If they've already paid for something, they're likely to pay the final bill when the project is done. If they disappear, you at least have their money for the parts and you might be out on the labor cost. If it's your shop, impose your rules!
A combination of people who don’t know any better on top of engineers who don’t know what they are doing is why everything is a mess these days. I almost considered becoming a mechanic 9 years ago but since the writing was on the wall, I lost interest. Will be one on the side but as a full time career? Don’t think so.
I'm sorry for your suffering, Mark. I used to race MX and back in the late '80s I noticed when I bought a Suzuki RM250 that its designers had given no thought to maintenance. That's what started me joking about how the Japanese are so angry over WW2 that they've conspired to punish us through their vehicle designs. That RM250 was the best handling motorcycle I've ever ridden, but it was so frustrating to work on! Seemed like everything was designed to be in the way of everything else! Just maddening!! But I know you experienced this kind of thing way more than myself.
@@marvelaturraz5405That joke might not be far off the mark. But, it helps if you buy a Toyota made in Japan. Old doesn’t even begin to describe the longevity of these machines. I owned a GM for 3 long years and a Ford for 3 long years. There’s nothing quite like making payments and paying for repairs to turn you into an older Toyota fan! Love that my vehicle is clueless as to where it is, and who to report to. Hell, even the 6 CD player still works great, along with the speakers. Even the fabric interior will outlive me! All it requires is some TLC and a garage.
@@vickijohnson9367dad and I rebuilding an 81 pickup 4wd and it's been a blast!!! Certainly some tough cookies out there got an 86 4runner been beat to shit and mountain man'd , keys hanging from the radiator lol ganna be an experience but there's something so lovely about the metall to metall these real machines have they just grab on like nothing now a day
Not a mechanic but perform all maintenance on my '06 highlander hybrid except for body work from an accident caused by a drunk driver. Don't trust the mechanics which are influenced by their shop owners to do work fast. Once had an oil change at a Firestone repair franchise and they add the incorrect amount (less by 2 qts) of oil during oil change. Agree with the moderator, the manufacturers are much to blame making vehicles too difficult to maintain and repair. But the government is also to blame due to excessive regulations.
one example, emission-control mechanism like EGR and PCV makes intake-manifold dirty and recirculate hot-gasses which increases chance of overheating. It is required by regulation.
Former ASE Master Tech here. I figured this out by 1993. You can't make money fixing poor people's cars. They treat their cars like shit and then complain when they break down.. After 8 years at several dealerships, I went back to college in 1994 and never looked back..
Well, the American people are slowly being ground into dust by institutional private finance, and a reincarnation of FDR or Truman is no where on the horizon. The old cars are going to be almost everything, for quite a while. I say this from a finance perspective, perhaps we will get expanded fraud in finance, but it can’t last long at this point, Americans are losing jobs like flies dying on a cold winter day. Scrooge is winning this holiday.💸RIP🪦
I made my living at it from 1970 until 2008....mostly worked 50 to 90 hours a week. Loved my work. Even though many were worse off than me, I was never comfortable. I could have two or three good years, but have two slow weeks and lose it all.
Lots of stuff to unpack in this one. But the biggest eye opener for me was that I need to pay two people’s wages, even though only one of them ever sees my car. And that one is not the person I get to talk to, to explain what the problem is. I only get to talk to someone who never sees my car. Ever heard of the Chinese whispers game? It’s great fun, in the school yard. Not so much when the breakdown in communication is costing money. Of course, as well as the two guys, the manager gets a cut, the huge fancy premises gets its bills paid, the parts supply chain all get a cut and that’s why a problem you could fix yourself, at home, for 50 bucks costs over 1000, at the shop. I have always worked on cars, since I was old enough to pass tools to my father, or my friends fathers. I used to wonder why people would come to us, with their fancy cars, instead of getting the dealer to look after them. But gradually I came to understand. I’m a one man show, working out of my own property, with no “service writers” ( that’s a job title, now???), managers, cleaners, caterers, gardeners, or any other personnel. If I’m working on your car, you need to pay one man’s wages on top of whatever the repairs cost. No wonder I’m busy! I have no customer waiting area, no coffee machine, no lot where you can abandon anything. All I have is what I need to have, to fix your car. I charge you for my time, whether that’s over or under book time. If a job is gravy, you get a smaller than expected bill. If the sh1t hits the fan, you get a bigger one. It’s still way cheaper than the dealer. Every now and then, I get burned. That’s life. It happens to everyone, from the lowest street cleaner to the top brain surgeon. As long as your good days outnumber your bad ones, you’re doing okay. If it starts to go the other way, it’s time to do something else.
Man You've explained that better than I've heard anyone explain it. I'm a service tech "mechanic" and luckily the company I work for is very fair when it comes to compensation for flat rate and also an hourly rate on top of it. Our service writer or service manager was a mechanic for years and years and years and still is. He is always looking out for his guys. But that being said I've been in positions where I've lost money significantly because of the things you laid out in this video. Also you're correct about having someone else talk to the customer about the services because I always catch myself giving people breaks and helping them out for lower than I should even charge. I just want to fix things, learn something all the time, and be productive. Thank you again
My “daily driver” is a 2007 Prius. Meticulously maintained by a local mechanic, unless it’s something in the hybrid system, then he is honest and says he can’t do that in his shop. He also loves working on older and classic cars, so I trust him also with my 21,000 mile 1993 Corvette 40th anniversary. I’d rather support a small business than a large dealership.
ASE Master Tech since 1986 here (yes I'm older and smarter than you). This video is spot on. I tell folks to A) don't buy this overpriced junk on dealer lots and B) Buy a 2016 or older car made by a Japanese company. Go for the 5-6 speed if you can drive one and don't worry about what the neighbors drive.
The problem with B) is a very real scarcity of these very same Japanese vehicles. If they all get bought then jillions of poor schlubs are now sh*t out of luck. This whole situation as so eloquently described in the video is artificially contrived by the automobile industry and was deliberately, intentionally planned and carried out by the car makers.
I've never understood buying a NEW car. I prefer vehicles from 1980 or older. Most people will never understand why because most people don't fix their own stuff. I've never owned a vehicle I couldn't work on. I've never owned a house I couldn't fix. Currently own a 66 chevy and a house that's over 100 yrs. old. Them folks can keep their new stuff. It aint worth the money to me. 😄
@@dingusdingus2152 It's not all the carmakers' fault. Much of the fault is the our government's requirement for ever increasing fuel economy, and emmissions requirements. To meet these, the engines and transmissions have to be super lightweight, meaning shoddy, and the cars have to have advanced computer systems, meaning expensive, to make them run so cleanly. These changing requirements make the manufacturers change their powertrain design, meaning expensive, much more often. So, how do they compensate for these ever increasing costs? By making CRAPPY vehicles, that are like consume electronics. When they break, out of warranty, you are supposed to throw them away, and buy new.
@jfredmuggs56 what you been smoking, kemosabe? How do you suppose the government agencies formulate the regulations and requirements? The employees of the agencies, on an individual level, couldn't care less about air quality, cafe, vehicle safety etc. These are bureaucrats dude. People to whom nothing is more abhorrent than the idea of increasing their work load. No, all these regs are implemented at the behest of the car manufacturers, who have armies of lobbyists in Washington who make the plans with the bigwigs behind closed doors. How convenient it is that all the regulations requiring this or that just happen to result in huge profits for the carmakers and their shareholders year after year. Just a fluke, a random coincidence, you know? And if all us poor schmucks get pissed off and start bitching about it, the car companies can simply duck and say "hey it wasn't OUR idea, we have no choice but to be in compliance with these onerous rules..." Well don't believe a word of it. Ever since the very first turd on wheels rolled off the assembly line more than 100 years ago, the carmakers have fine tuned their business model and have got it down to a science. So don't blame the government, it has no financial incentive to screw over the driving public. Look instead at who laughs all the way to the bank whenever some dumb rube's new car lays down on them at 60k miles and costs more to repair than to buy another new one...
A fairly estimated time to repair is sensible. Just paying a guy by the hour for these things isn't. Being paid by the job is more reasonable, otherwise a tech can take all day, getting paid eight hours to change out a set of brake pads that realistically takes an hour. I do understand manufacturer-dictated repair times for warranty tickets being WAY unfair though. Eight hours to do an evaporator is nuts when our most experienced tech, who knows all the secrets, is going to take twelve hours of real time to do it.
@@dougthompson1598that's why you have managers to get after them and speed them up or get rid of them. Hourly works in every business. Even if you keep the hourly labor rate. I literally have to turn 2 hours and the company has made more money than I make in a day as a hourly tech. Now do I only turn 2? Hell no. So they are making a profit
@@ce1622 doesn't need to be though, and just another reason people won't go into the field. Nobody wants unreliable pay. Why should I have to wait 3 weeks to get paid on a warranty job that pays 5-6hrs. I'm currently hourly but I'm watching these things and it makes no incentive for me to want to continue in this business
I agree, and you're on the mark on how difficult it is to be a good and thorough mechanic working flat rate. NOTHINGS CHANGED IN 30+ YEARS. I'm retired Ford Senior Master and five years as shop foreman. It nearly killed me. Frustrated, alcoholic, and body broken.
Sorry to hear that, I hope you can move on from the alcoholism and leave the frustration/stress behind 🫂 Busted my alarm working in IT. After 200 hours of at home physio exercises I got 90% function back. It was worth every second, with perseverance you could fix a lot more than might seem possible
I've been a mechanic for 30 years, and cars are brutally honest about their owners. My shop has finally raised the labor rate, the neglected, rusted cars coming to the shop has greatly reduced in volume. A larger number of clean higher end vehicles are coming in for maintenance or repair due to the labor rate increase, yet not the volume of jobs as in the past. Great video
Am 53 and have never owned a vehicle that was any newer then 20-30 years old, my current vehicle is a 2003 Buick park ave ultra with 325K on it currently, I do all my own repairs and maintenance on it, parts are plentiful and relatively easy to change out when needed
Those 3800s will last for ever...the 3.1 I had in my last 02 Century was pretty solid too. I had to give the car up due to a pile of rust but the engine and transmission were given to a friend...still in use to this day lol. You'll never find a new car that's as comfortable as those buicks.
When i asked a shop to put a re-manufactured engine in a full size van the shop owner told me no problem as long as I paid for the manufactured engine up front when it showed up and before they installed it. I had no problem doing that. The shop owner told me later that he ended all kinds of losses by requiring up front payment for a good portion of the work for expensive repairs on older vehicles.
One of the shops I work with finally got fed up last year and started requiring parts paid up front for any of those repairs near the value of the car.
@@AmandaHugenkiss2915 yep, and what's amazing is that our culture didn't used to be this way, i.e the avg person either/or/both ignorant & lacking integrity. THAT is the basis of the 'broken politics', or a big part of it. It's a big part of the combo in politics of superficial grasping of reality, etc.
I think that's why some techs just specialize in one make/model or manufacturer. I've repaired many makes but decided to repair mainly German cars since that is my interest and over time I have gotten more familiar with them. Additionally since most dealership or retail shops are very expensive to repair German cars that leaves some meat on the bone for me to attract customers looking to spend less.
Honestly a good niche, this is like my mechanic who does german cars. I think he does well, or at least I hope he does. He's pretty generous with his time.
Similar landscape to computer and phone repair but with higher stakes in automotive repair. Repair markets are suffering in the US generally. I’m a computer repair guy who has enough chops to fix medium issues in my car but I’ve noticed this trend get worse in the past 10 years in all repair. I’m SO grateful to skilled mechanics. I remember when cars started to get more digital. I’ve tried to save mechanics time and effort by translating the computer side of the car for them, but these days I can’t even help. It’s obfuscation writ large
The last computer I bought was a dell rugged 5404 from some corporate conglomerate. It cost me 60 bucks. It's got an i7 and all I had to do was install linux mint
That's ridiculous that the manufacturers don't have to cover warranty work. The other stuff is also ridiculous, but warranty work seems to let manufacturers off the hook for their shitty products. Damn
Great Video, and explained very well and properly detailed! I was a mechanic for a living in my younger years and switched to mobile truck tire technician work later on, I have noticed something lately working on my own vehicle(s) that there are way too many plastic parts than there should be that don't hold up properly, wear out quickly, and break very easily especially when it's cold outside and makes these plastic parts very brittle and even break more easily! Don't get me wrong though, plastic parts are mainly a lot of things you have to remove out of the way and put back on just to fix the real problem! Peace
Vehicles are simply over-complicated today, resulting in an expensive upfront purchase, and expensive maintenance and operation costs. I keep my 2010 F150 around for 20% of my trips and use my simple, reliable and inexpensive to purchase and operate, 300cc Honda scooter for the other 80% of trips. While not practical for all, it is certainly an option that many more should explore. Also, I live in Southwestern Ontario, where the Santa Claus parade had to be cancelled last week because the snowbanks were too high for spectators, but I've been riding again for the past couple of days with roads cleared.
Agreed. It's been blowing my mind lately the desire for simple cheap vehicles is being ignored. For example, lots of complaints about work pickups. They are all essentially luxury vehicles now that cost almost 100k on average. I know lots of guys who don't want an 80k luxury truck just to beat it to death in a few years using it for a work truck. So why hasn't someone capitalized on this niche?
The other issue is shop owners don't pay the technician until the customer has paid the repair bill and if that car sits, or is never paid for the tech gets screwed. The tech may leave long before any money is recovered for the abandoned car and he never gets a dime from it. Enjoy paying for your tools every week, living like a bum working 50 hours a week and maybe having crummy health insurance you pay 50% for. It's a horrible industry that no good hard working honest people should stay in if you're smart. Get out while you are young and find other opportunities that have a future.
Good grief☹. Coming from the customer point of view, it's obvious from this video and from what you've said that *the whole precedent of when and how mechanics are compensated has been bad for decades.* I get upset too (inside myself) when a necessary repair is a lot of $, but I've always willingly paid whatever it cost. But for years I've been cynical about how much the dealership is actually taking from my $1500. bill (for ex.), and how much goes to the actual technician. Beause we never get to even talk to the technician anymore, they have no idea *how thrilled I am when I drive away and my car is working well again.* Seriously---it always feels like I've just bought a new car!
Enjoyed this video very much. I'm 71 years old and have never owned a new car so I have dealt with mechanics all my life and I worked on motorcycles and cars to a limited extent back in the day when that was possible. I really appreciate your take on mechanicing these days and it sheds light on my current predicament which is that I own one of those older cars that you spoke of, a 1999 Ford Escort SE wagon. I bought it 17 years ago for $4000 off a used car lot, fixed it up and drove it ever since. Most new parts including remanufactured engine and rebuilt transmission. Now it's got a high idle issue that very experienced mechanics have not been able to figure out despite several parts replaced. Your video helps me understand better why my mechanic still has it after almost four months. It may be time to let it go to the auto graveyard.
I owned a Tool and Die shop in Michigan during the 80s-90, and we built tubular fabrication tooling , robotic weld tools, and robotic water jet cutting systems for automotive subcontractors. If you drove a car made in the 1990s, It had a side impact door beam, that was robot welded on our fixtures. There was only ONE maufacturer by Federal mandate forced ALL cars sold in the US foreign and domestic to have the current patented part, in every make and model's doors. Here is what I learned. In 20 years, the respectable, talented, inteligent engineers that built cars in the 50s, 60s, and 70s slowly retired, and died off. They were replaced by CAD/CAM design engineers, who, UNLIKE their previous engineers, who has started in "die repair"(required) in a stamping plant, and then "were allowed" to go to school part time for an engineering degree, after ALREADY SEEING, and KNOWING what practices work long term, and what doesnt work....or which tooling methods produce the best parts.....Everything was later done "virtual" on a computer screen, and fit wherever they could put things, to make room for modern tech, and "do-dads".....none of which got your car to work for decades at a time, but made it comfy. I literally SAW the transition DURING my career, of vehicles built tough, to last, and easy to repair.....to throwaway vehicles. ......At this point, Id rather spend my money on a restored car from the 60s, with disc brakes, as a daily driver, that a new turd off the lot.
I've not worked on this side of the automotive industry, but you are probably telling the truth. The U.S. manufacturers used to grow engineers, now it buys cookie cutter designers from "higher" education.
@Faber-cator of course you'd rather spend money on a restored 60s with disc brakes but, hate to throw a bucket of ice cold water on your head but the turds on the dealers lot is all that's available 😢
Dingus...you need to take some time to educate yourself. The last 25 years, Ive been a supplier to the vintage vehicle market, and they sell on ebay, or in "auto trader magazines" You dont find them at dealers, who will screw you. look for a four door, in a mopar, or ford. Chevys have too big a following and sell too high. I daily drove a 60s galaxie for over a decade, only spent money on maintenace, and its still worth 90% of what I paid for it. Sure, it's due for some motor work, (valve seals, maybe a top end soon, in 10k miles or so) but then you have to decide to fix it and move forward, or sell it and try another one. Alot of good 70s cars are out there too, and you dont have to pay thru the nose....but its helpful if you know how to do your own work. For example, a fuel pump replacement in a vintage car, cost 50 bucks for a mechanical pump and a gasket, takes 20 minutes....compared to a car from the 2000s... 500 bucks for an electric fuel pump, and its 4 hours to do the job, and you gotta have a lift, and drop the fuel tank.....no thanks.
@@Faber-cator there are always guys who will want specific rides and these are always available if they want to put the time and effort into tracking them down. Downside to doing this: you may find the ideal rig but it will almost always be many thousands of dollars over the original purchase price. Example: let's say you want a mid 70s ih scout ii, just about the best car that's ever been made. Suppose you live in new Mexico. You find one on Ebay but lo and behold they're asking $39,000 for it, and you got to go to Maine or new Hampshire to fetch the damned thing. See what I'm getting at? Buying a decent car that's rugged and reliable and owner repairable can be like hannibal crossing the Alps. I'm referring to the average schlub who doesn't know a timing chain from a food chain, has no shop or tools, and is the ideal innocent victim for the car manufacturers. I.e., probably 98 per cent of the car market. I have no need to educate myself; I have worked in a repair shop for many years and I am thoroughly familiar with the things presented in the video.
Thank you for sharing your story! It’s the same situation in my field too. I work as a low voltage electrician doing automation, and HVAC controls. HVAC systems used to be done by union pipe fitters (pneumatic technicians) from the plumbing trade back in the 50s, 60s and 70s. By the 80s, we were losing our experience with pneumatic HVAC systems and got electronic techs to do HVAC systems. By the 2010s, most electronic techs retired or died off (like all the pneumatic techs) and now we have computer techs from IT doing HVAC control systems. Nothing wrong with computer techs, but the older pneumatic and electronic techs designed HVAC systems that were far easier to repair than what we’re seeing today.
Acid test for a shop: Have your wife or girlfriend take the car in, and then put your phone number down so they call you. This is how I found out that what I thought was a reliable shop was actually scamming women. Guy tried to scam me $70 for an oil change that was absolutely not needed. He said it was extremely low on oil, but I checked the oil before it went to the shop, like 10 minutes before it left, there is absolutely no way it needed an oil change, he ate that $70.
@@marketingmasters3550 Well obviously if he hadn't done the test he wouldn't have known. Mechanics are less ballsy screwing with men or just generally people that clearly know how a car works
I can't agree with statements like "the problem is that people don't know whack about my field". People can't know everything and as deeply as a professional - and that's good because the professional gets paid for knowing the stuff. Sadly this difference of knowledge gets exploited too often. Had a similar situation with the IT department and know a few stories from construction - the "oh, s*t, he knows" faces are priceless.
My 1997 Geo metro is assembled from, at least, four different cars. It has at least 192K miles on it, (replace the odometer once.) and is still going. My newest car is 24 years old and has 160K miles on it (Honda Accord) and I repair almost everything on them myself. Parts are cheap but getting harder to find. I am always looking for a $500 car that doesn't run so I can fix it.
I remember making fun of the geo metro. Now I look at it and think "damn, that's a nice car" simply because it's honest and it just plain works. It's really sad that we are in a world where I'd look at a geo metro as a desirable car lol.
I think the real problem here is we live in a society built around having a very expensive and complex machine to be able to survive. When you have to take someones car off the road for any reason their ablity to function in society is greatly limited, getting to work, school, or even getting groceries becomes incredbile difficult
I'm loving the talking points throughout this video. There is one other thing I wanted to talk about and it is the people being rude. Usually they are either having a tough life or have made a presumption about the situation. It's easy to rise to a terse tone of voice with a challenge and ego but it feels better to remember anger is secondary and show some concern for your fellow human and ask if they're alright and try to bring everyone to the reality that we haven't wronged each other
Being a car guy myself, 1969 Coupe Deville, 1990 Cadillac Brougham, 2004 Acura RL, I never question my mechanic about the cost of repairing my vehicles, I respect my mechanic and i understand that working on cars can be a nightmare.
Possible solution for customers that "promise" to pay; Make them pay the repair estimate, or at least for an expensive replacement part or assembly, upfront. Also, the way it's going, seems to me, driving is eventually going to go back to being a rich person's priveilege, the rest of us will be back to walking, bicycles, street cars, busses and trains.
Vehicle ownership is expensive for most, but there are alternatives. It may not be practical for all, but open to many ...I'm about to go across the city on my reliable 300cc Honda scooter to do some shopping at Costco. I use my 2010 F150 for about 20% of my trips, and my inexpensive to own and operate, reliable, and easy to park scooter, with enough onboard storage for most trips. Also, I live in Southwestern Ontario, where the Santa Claus parade had to be cancelled last week because the snowbanks were too high for spectators, but I've been riding again for the past couple of days with roads cleared.
It already is. In my town, most poor people can't afford cars, so they work at factories (mostly food processing plants) that provide buses for them. They get paid peanuts, they can't quit because they don't have a car needed to go to another job. I can see the life getting sucked out of their souls and it's sad.
This is why I'm putting my money into my 67 Camaro and 57 Bel Air. I can still get hot rod parts and they were built to be easily repaired. No electronics to fail.
cuba! the way of the future! serviceability has been embargoed! what an upside down alternate reality warp we kinda slipped on into. at least its been tried.
The reason I initially wanted to learn about cars was to avoid being scammed. It is nice to have another perspective from the inside and from someone who is actually educated on the subject.
I have always considered 'cost of ownership' when buying a car. Like, how expensive will it be to fix? In 2017 I walked into a Ford dealership looking for a new car. I went in and asked for a manual transmission, manual windows, and vynil seats and rubber flooring. I ended up buying the one little new car they couldn't sell, a base model Fiesta for $11k out the door. It has been a darned good car. No vynil seats and no rubber flooring but simple everything else.
I mechanic for 40 years and retired around 2005 because of all the electronics and needing a $6,000. scanner. I'm glad I no longer work on cars. I drive a 1997 Honda Accord and have 3 of them. They only have one computer in them and I can still work on them. And EV's are the biggest scam out there unless you like to lose a lot of money. I feel sorry for the mechanics today,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
@@Elevatevisiondigital Because they always compare charging a car, and how much gas you will use. They don't tell you insurance for EV's will keep going up, or cancelled, your house insurance finds out your charging a EV car in your attached garage and will drop your coverage, or not pay for any fire the EV causes. You must have a charging station, you must change tires more often. There is always that fire issue and range issue, and cold weather or hot weather and how much weight you have, like towing a trailer. You must have a smartphone to know where the charging stations are. Parts and minor damage will take month and months, before you get the car back. In small towns you will need to travel 100 miles to find anyone to work on it. You will most likely need a backup car that is gas, unless you want to rent a car. They tell you nothing about all that, and the $40,000.00 price for the car and how much it is worth in 3 years. That's a scam in my book,,,,,,,,,,
i feel that one of the biggest issues with modern cars is cost, all the luxuries and features aren't free, safer cars aren't cheap, more powerful yet emissions compliant cars aren't cheap either, yet entry level cars are expected to check all these boxes off making them a rolling smartphone with countless features like backup cameras and whatnot on top of being larger which is more material cost. so in order for things to get done while keeping costs low, corners are cut and you get a modern car with all the bells and whistles but is a shitbox not even a decade later
Truly, id like to see a company try and sell a car with an AC, radio, and power windows and thats it. No cameras, no lane correction, no shit in the mirrors, no ipad dash, no heated seats. I feel like it would either fail really badly or sell extremely well
Just gonna say while its true most mechanics are good people and not looking to scam people its not entirely impossible, there was a big scandal in Japan for example when a bit chain of autostores was caught intentionally damaging cars so as to get more money for repairing them
Had a dodge grand caravan that stopped one day and wouldn’t start. Took it into the mechanic a few days later after trying to fix it and the mechanic proceeded to not even look at it for five months. Then he goes to look at it and says we’re trying to scam him because the car hadn’t ran in several years, and that the engine was completely rusted out. Told him is was running just a few days before we took it in and he kept accusing us of giving him a bad car. We lost several thousand dollars because of this and had to buy a new van, which put us $20k in debt. Don’t EVER tell me mechanics aren’t scammers.
Yea majority will scam you without second thought my dads been going to same guy who raises the price every time and the thing still has problems atleast once a year
Sounds like two idiots arguing. Arm yourself with knowledge (which is free and easy to learn) and dont be taken advantage of by a bad mechanic. They do exist but are not the norm
@@OtherDalfite and how am I supposed to know everything about the engine when I’m trying to build my own house right now from scratch while also learning how to homestead while also learning engineering on the job full time? The mechanic is supposed to help people with complex problems, or did you skip over the part where I said I had already tried fixing it? Of course you skipped over it, you’re too busy glazing mechanics for being predatory.
@Spobbles69420 lol glazing mechanics. I'm not a mechanic just so you know, but I know the field is underpaid and overworked. If you don't understand your own vehicle, that's entirely on you. Don't outsource your understanding of your own equipment to other people. You only have yourself to blame for opening yourself up to getting scammed. Get an older vehicle, seriously. These new vehicles aren't built to be worked on by DIY guys.
@@orbitalair2103 Kaiser Jeep was the best Jeep imho. A lot of volunteer fire departments in my area had them, abused them for half a century, and they're still running and serving their counties and saving lives. The lucky few that are retired tend to get bought for a dirt cheap price tag by one of the volunteer firefighters and turned into an off-road toy, or a practical classic truck for cruising around and hauling the occasional load of mulch or gravel.
From a customer's perspective, I don't mind paying extra for proper work being done, considering that most mechanics I've dealt with weren't entirely honest and/or competent. The last shop wanted to charge me $200 to put a belt on my Subaru. I told them I would do it myself for that price. I took the car home and did the repair myself in about 15 minutes. This is why I enjoy undercover videos where dishonest and incompetent mechanics are exposed for trying to rip us off. Not everyone who brings their car in for repairs is ignorant about their cars. 👍🏼
Good for you. I tried to do my own brake adjustments and... it didn't go well. I installed some parts wrong, and broke some others. Ended up paying over $1,000 to fix my own mistakes.
@@noseboop4354just need learn alot about it and than try to do it whan you understand what you need to do and how parts in order are put in place and what need to be oiled with what ! Tonn of videos over youtube ! I rebuilded whole engine learning from tutorials and transmithion sucefully !
@@elhombrebilingue also for every car can find on internet in google car manul with schematic of each part and also parameters for clearences etc. And remove and install instructions in detile !
Its sad that car industries are going in the direction of other technologies in which they prefer their product to not last long and not be cost effective to fix, but to buy new one. We as customers need to be wary of this. If a product does not last, and is not cost effective to repair, we have to bash the brand online and never buy it again. We need to get the respect from these people.
ChatGPT and I did a job last weekend to diagnose and fix my washer fluid not working, required removal of the reservoir and deep cleaning the gunk out. I have minimal mechanical skill (office job), but fairly patient, and little fear of trying. Probably was a 1-2 hour job for a mechanic but it took me 3, and saved me about $300-400. If folks figure this out then mechanics will only be needed for hard technical stuff, or where it's nearly impossible to do without a lift.
Faaaacts, that job sucked. Even adjusting the valves required taking the whole intake apart. I loved that car, but repairs were a pain. My dad's '09 Fit is even worse!
Bro I hate to be this guy but there ARE a lot of scammers out there. Mechanics, car salesman, anything dealing with cars has a lot of scumbags. Downplaying this because you yourself aren't a scammer doesn't erase reality.
@@jim9930 I've seen them where people just let them rust out, and they expect me to help them figure out how to rig something else that looks like it's already been rigged 7 different times and all by different people despite the frame being a stiff breeze and a cough away from snapping in half. Sorry buddy, that's your can of worms, not mine!
in the eastern road salt shit hole states and provinces, a 2 minute old car is old. out west where the climate doesn't suck you can plausibly drive a 40 year old car.
Good job explaining not only the hardships of mechanics and technicians in the industry but also the importance of service writers along with how flat rate works and the downsides. Very informative.
Your videos have really helped me in my career. I work in IT and your videos have convinced me to really take my career seriously so that I *never* have to switch to working on Ford Transit vans.
It's mostly the drivers If you drive your car like a granny And maintain it like it's built in 1970 You'll get a lot of miles. I've owned 3 chevy's and a Buick, no major problems My oldest (2000 impala) died in 2019 at 315k miles Rest are all 12+ yrs old no issues Cruze, equinox, enclave I follow a simple recipe Oil every 5k Transmission fluid, coolent and brake fluid swap every 40k Full induction clean and spark plug swap at 60k Keep wheels aligned, balanced, and properly inflated Don't rev over 2k until hitting operating temp Avoid reving over 3500 unless totally necessary Let engine run 2 mins at idle before shutoff if I drive for over 1 hour Avoid speeding over 65mph unless necessary Do at least 1 trip every 2 weeks at highway speeds for 30 minutes if car has had only short trips over 2 weeks Full rust proofing every 2 years, light rust proofing all seals and boots every year Simple easy peasy, your car will last long even in the harsh Buffalo salt winters
i have a buddy who's doing the same thing, you can get pretty massive upside with smaller consumer equipment and you'll find people who are willing to give away old lawn equipment with minimal repairs needed for a good deal on a new or refurbished piece of lawn equipment.
I had no idea that people truly abandon their car instead of pay the bill...even by credit card. I'm not focusing on your customer's financial situation(s) which are obvious. I just never imagined that they would just "give" you their car instead of, well, at least try to pay you for THEIR CAR. I mean, once abandoned, how do they get to work or go shopping or pick up their kid? LOL! I'm stunned.
Civilian car owner here. I can barely change a light bulb, let alone fix a car. Great video, and only heightens my respect for mechanics. I own a so-far trouble-free Subaru Crosstrek, and I treat her like a baby. All fluid changes done religiously, by the book, and I do what my mechanic tells me to do, no push back (Gregg's Japanese Auto in Seattle). I don't drive it hard because it wasn't meant for that, except for banging about on forest roads. Good point about keeping your car clean, that does indicate how much you care about your car. Anyway, this message has no point other than to say I appreciate the hard work mechanics and all technical people do to keep our world running smoothly. Thank you for your service, as they say.
Here is a funny. i have a 21 year old corolla had air bag issues, back to dealer 3rd time. the service tech told me car needed nothing well maintained. As i went to get my car the lady 1 row over was yelling being angry why was her same year car breaking down. It just got fixed more angry words.. It was a twilightzone event trully bizarre. I felt so bad for the service tech having to deal with insanity. San jose cars dont rust or rot . Its all about the upkeep and maintenance.
My cousin owns a junkyard. He gets abandoned or wrecked autos and just places them in his lot, charges a $20 gate fee to mechanics to enter with their tools and take whatever parts they want from the junkers, and they bring the parts to the booth he has there and pays him for the parts. Occasionally he gets a pretty good price for anyone with a tow truck to haul a whole car if they want that make/model. There is a car compactor on the property, and he employs six armed guards by day and has six Dobermans that he keeps in a side yard with heated doghouses, shaded shelter, water, and food by day and he releases them into the junkyard at night to keep out thieves. He wears a gold chain, makes a pretty good living, and has similar qualms regarding fixing cars.
@@Truthtellerwon And I won't go into a pick and pull because nothing pisses me off more than paying to wander around all over the lot just to find out they don't have the vehicle you need to get your part off of and they don't refund you the money you paid.......
I disagree with much of this video. I mostly owned BMWs previously, and I maintained every vehicle to the highest standard. People are tired with mechanics, shops, and dealer service areas, not the mechanics themselves. It’s the constant upsell of unnecessary maintenance, while not addressing important underlying issues. I eventually went to an independent mechanic owned shop, where they charged a flat hourly labor rate, and they did not try to screw you on parts and other nonsense. They were constantly busy and made money it seems. So you can absolutely make money without screwing over customers, blame the dealerships, they screw mechanics and customers.
Thank you. You pegged it. Some of these things were issues even in my dad's days as a mechanic (1940s-1980s.) I wouldnt encourage any young people to become mechanics. My dad had an excellent reputation at a dealership and later as a shop owner. Still, whenever he saw a young person with potential wanting to be a mechanic, he would do his best to dissuade them. Several took his advice and were glad they did.
The same thing applies to the agricultural business. Long time ago I priced out the major components you need to build a combine from scratch, no labor, just parts and it ended up being the retail price of a new one, but it didn't include everything. Just the major stuff which is about 10% of the parts you need. So it turns out the markup on parts is between 120-1500% not 150...1500%! I wish they built cars/machines with more of the same parts to cut down on unique parts on the shelf and make multiple cars/machinery become donors. "Engineered to fail" is the expression to describe the quality of parts today and I wish the system wasn't primed so people are encouraged to keep buying new shit. The last good cars, trucks, machines were made around 2013, after that it's been nothing but a decline.
there was a distinct humility on the run up to 2012. after we got past 2012 and not a dang thing happened the demons got unleashed. malfeasors felt vindicated that they were not being reckoned with. to those bad actors it was like a message from on high to carry on and make miserable garbage people are going to need to replace. decayed in half a decade.
This one poor guy who worked where I worked liked to brag about all the sweet deals he got on cars for him and his (third) wife. These include a Chrysler 200, a Ford EcoSport and a Jeep Compass.
Flat rate was great. When cars were simpler, up until the mid 70s. When smog and other emissions stuff, and OBD I came out, it was game over. Add to that the 80s steel that loved to rust (ok, some 70s too, like Vegas) just made labor more and more and more intense. Id say, keep the flat rate, but with a multiplier for rust. If a sawzall, or wire brush or welder has to come out to get a job done, then it switches to hourly rate and book time goes out the window. Same with warranty work. That needs to be hourly. And if mfgers complain that were too slow, consider it incentive to make better cars! Heck even book time on warranties would be ok, though some companies do give SOMETHING but its a percentage or some ridiculous times. Like, 15minute for an airbag recall, when it takes me 30 minutes to make sure it wont blow when I remove it. This is also why I only work on my own cars (which is more than a full time gig...theyre like rabbits and keep multiplying!)
An easier solution would be to keep flat rate. Once you hit say over an hour above book you start getting paid 0.5 whatever an hourly pay equivalent of that flat rate would be. Say a flat rate job is 2 hours and you get $100 ($50/hr). Well if you take 2hr 15 minutes you get $100. But once it goes to 3hrs now you get $100+$25. So a 3 hour (2 hr flat rate) job would pay $125. This keeps the incentive to hustle for flat rate jobs but also gives you some protection when you are out of luck. You could tweak this maybe make the pay higher but really something needs to be done. I don't want to say just straight hourly pay as flat rate can really play in a mechanic's favor, but as it is now it's broken. Warranty jobs should straight up pay the mechanic.
@@daytonasixty-eight1354 Exactly. Sadly, what were doing now is more than the industry, as in having a conversation. Its why I am seeing some shops pay different types of pay to get in good mechanics and build reputations. But very few, and its tough to get in with those guys.
What I find sad is how modern metallurgy _truly is_ better, but you'd never know because they're using cheaper and cheaper materials. My 1966 Oldsmobile JUST started to rust in one small spot above the rear passenger fender, where the chrome trim meets the body panel. 58 years in existence, I drove it every single day for 3 years before the transmission started pissing all of its fluid out at a faster rate than I could keep it full (a problem which has now been fixed, though the concrete garage floor was stained pink for I don't even know how long). Cost of repair at the local body shop? Less than $1000, and he matched the paint by hand. My dad had a 2020 Silverado RST, nice truck, had the 6.2 gas V8. Made a lot of power. Also started to rust out after a SINGLE winter. The only saving grace was warranty covered the paint correction that had to be done to keep it from actually damaging the metal. Almost 60 winters to rust, versus one. People wonder why "they don't make 'em like they used to" is a sentiment among older people. That's the exact reason right there. Lower quality metals with good attention to detail when it comes to actual production, versus 'good' quality materials with slapdash "who gives a shit we just want your money" production. The difference is night and day.
Well one thing did not change about mechanics in the last 30 years....they are always complaining lol. Old cars are too old, new cars are too new, rich clients are pretentious, poor clients are cheap, screws are too tight etc. It would be like the baker would always complain about having to use an oven or a cook about constantly having to chop vegetables for meals....it's just part of the job.
Part of the issue is that car manufacturers are making car repairs less and less accessible to the average third party mechanic shop looking to turn some wrenches and make a quick buck. Another part of the issue is that many third party mechanics are failing to develop the basic skills needed to perform their jobs at an acceptable level. The types of mechanics who are quick to say "they just don't make em like they used to, new cars are all just built to break," are the same types of mechanics who will laugh or get offended when you tell them that a multimeter, amp clamp, electrical toolkit, and OBD scanner are the FIRST tools that should be used on the majority of common vehicle failures on modern cars. If purely mechanical repairs on a 20 year old clunker are all you can reliably do, you're a bad mechanic. So many customers are ending up back at dealers after their local wrench monkey tried to replace a fuel pump without performing adequate recalibration, or has been reusing high pressure fuel lines, or didn't catch a simple sensor failure because they didn't bother hooking up to the car's OBD. If you're bad at your job and charging people for service as if you knew what you were doing, you're a scammer at best.
My 2018 Ford Focus ST has developed a coolant leak out of the quick disconnects coming out of my firewall in the engine bay. Noticed it a little over a year ago but its a slow enough leak so i've been on top of keeping enough coolant in the system. Talked to a guy in my car club that oversees the service department at a Ford Dealership and asked him about the repair. 300 dollars seemed easy enough but when I asked if the fix would prevent the issue from occurring again he said no it will fail again in 5 years. Absolutely insane
Same parts for the most part. Even the OEM parts are a lot of the same. I've been doing this since the 80's and the quality of parts has never been worse.
Im blessed to have just purchased a new 24' Toyota Camry SE. The last year of this particular generation and naturally aspirated. I hope that this will be the last car I ever have to buy seeing that im nearly 52 years old. I still cannot quite wrap my mind around not having to worry about doing major repairs for the next 8-10 years. I used to work in a shop back when I graduated from high school and customers were either great customers or really shady people in general. One thing I know that I love about Toyota is their top down approach to quality, in both manufacturing and design. The 8th generation Camry has all kinds of room under the hood for doing repairs. Thanks for the entertaining videos, definitely make some service videos on any Toyotas that may come through your shop.
Thank you for being honest. All I ever hear from people is that I should have picked this job over what I have. I told them the expectation that working in HVAC or mechanic work isn't full proof and has its own problem. So it makes me feel better to see an honest video about the job.
So many good points in this video. Self taught myself car repair through forums and youtube tutorials, I've spent more time researching and learning cars than most people with bachelors degrees in their respective field, but I would never get into the industry as a day job. People take cars for granted so much without considering how much effort and stress goes into some of these repairs.
Something I learned about the world of work....The less actual work that the job involve the more it pays and vise versa....The Harder..Heavier and Dirtier the less it pays....and the guy in the white shirt saying..."Nobody wants to work".....is getting paid more than you...
This is true in every industry to some degree. The hard workers are exploited and the manipulators are rewarded for the hard workers efforts. This is why managers that manage workers get paid better salaries. Basically the whole work system is setup in a way that exploiters gain the most and workers that are the man producers of value get paid the least. Manager jobs are usually boring and unrewarding so having a skilled worker changed to a manager roll is actually counterproductive yet still pays more.
i hear you but do you think that is changing now? i know people are telling me that actual work is going to be the winner now.
@@johnleca The only way for that to change is for more people going independent and working with contracts but charging a higher price of course.
@@SI0AX What to change?
@@johnleca I mean the work industry in general. You'll never get paid well worked as an employee for a company since the people above you will always be profiting off your work. You need to become independent and start making contracts with the companies that need your work, to cut out the middle men that are corporations.
A service writer I worked with used to tell the customers "We didn't build it, we didn't buy it and we didn't break it, we're just trying to help you by fixing it."
If their paying you your not actually helping you anymore than their not helping you by giving you the business.... If a shop couldn't get customers no one there would have a job.
"I didnt make it and i didnt break it"
@@95Sn95oh stop
You know the context in which this conversation happens
Don’t be a baby
With this attitude I hope you get returning customers.
And then...do people appreciate the honesty? Not usually!
Before anybody gets a degree in automotive engineering they should have to spend at least 6 months working at a repair shop to see how stupid these cars are really engineered
Maybe we should become the engineers
@@awesomeness7117 exactly now we're getting somewhere
Common sense has been lacking in automotive design ever since the feds began mandating everything, things began to get better in the late, late 1980’s to early 2000’s, then things began to slip the the cracks in the late 2000’s. One of the last vehicles ever made which could easily be rebuilt at home was any GM product with the 3800 which was a pushrod OHV V6.
If I could have it my way, cars would still be made like they were in 1966 when common sense was still a thing.
@@bryanbittinger9794I’d argue cars are worse than they have ever been, some are gulping oil like it’s going out of style before reaching 100,000 miles, some are failing completely before 100,000 miles. Soon, all these late model vehicles will be piled up in scrap yards like they were in the 60’s and 70’s by the end of the decade.
6 years
People aint got any money these days .. cars are more expensive than ever ... and we live in a car-centric society. Rock and a hard place for everyone
But working people just keep on voting Republican and refuse to form Unions ,Join Unions or Support Unions....And They refuse to hold Politicians accountable...When is the last time YOU Called or Wrote to or confronted any of your elected representatives????
Since 2004 I always bought Hondas; saved on gas, repairs, headaches and easy to sell or give away. If I bought a Honda since the 1970s, life would of been a little bit easier.
Cars are just as expensive now as 50 years ago. I have a 54 year old mustang my father a mechanic bought new. Costed him 3,319 dollars or as he put it 2 years wages if you worked at McDonald’s. A modern mustang of the same trim is still roughly two years wages if you work at McDonald’s at least in my state.
You might want to learn how inflation works
@@stevebell4906the purpose of a union is to increase prices
@@stevebell4906 Oh yes, like voting for the Democrats has really helped... The same people who had a president who signed NAFTA, let China into the WTO, had a President who let Russia walk into Ukraine the first time in '14, and the same people who are totally cool with people hopping the border to bring down wages further while the Republicans go after Unions... The same people who push "diversity is our strength" in workplaces which has been said by corporations is done to make the workplace non-homogenous so no one unionizes. Get a grip dude, this isn't the 1980's anymore, the Democrats hate you as much as the Republicans do
I was a mechanic for 30 years, when a young guy says, I want to be a mechanic I tell them, pick a car make you like and go to work in dealership as there is no way you can keep up with all the different makes and models out there, also if possible specialize in one area, the tranny guy, tune up guy, whatever. You have to be more of a computor scientist now than a nuts and bolts mechanic.
Pontiac doesn’t exist anymore man
@invisimine Oh really 🙄 Come on man you gotta share whatever it is your smokin 🥴.
Agree, apprentices destroy vehicles. Service writers rob everyone, even mechanics. Let alone any mechanic that fully understands CAN BUS. I went EV ten years back and it has never been in a shop. Welcome to the twenty first century.
I've been at it for 38 years, and intend to work for the next 10, then my youngest son is taking over. Once you understand the basics, all these computer systems work the same. ;)
As a computer science graduate myself I've found my skills have really helped in working on my Ford.
If you're going to abandon the car in a mechanics lot, at least have the courtesy to leave us with the title! AAAAHHHHHHHHH
A lot of times they don't even have a clear title
they dont have it either, the bank has it.
Man you mechanics are too nice, I'd get that shit towed.
If the bank owns the title, bill the bank for storing the car.
.......
Jesus Christ saves
He had mercy on me he can save all who all seek him today He made away through calvery repent of all sins today
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Holy Spirit can give you peace purpose and joy and his will today
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
After 18 years of this mess I finaly jumped ship. I genuinely miss turning wrenches.. But I dont think ill ever go back... Pay being the biggest issue... I was making 50K a year in 2010 which was above average Money.. I left the Industry in 2022 as a master tech with Inspection and emmissions license, and I was only making $60k a year... ( 55-70 flag hours a week). I bought an $8k zero turn mower and a $3k trailer, and Grossed $150k in 2023.... A job a 10 year old can do should not pay 3 times a 18 year Vet Master Mechanics pay........
I bet your mower runs great too. I don't recommend this trade to my kids, even though I enjoy it.
Got My mechanics certificate in 1985. I still do the work on my own vehicle and a short list of family and freinds. In 2000 I got a job in a factory repairing heavy machinery for more pay. While I was there I retrained as a welder, I ended being a team lead building in house custom industrial machines until back injuries and kidney cancer sidelined me. Now I'm kind of broken down with lots of joint issues and arthritice. Thats one thing most people don't understand is how much of a beating your body takes doing trades jobs, and how crippled up you get when your old.
Slide into being the caretaker for a big place, I get a small house and utilities and just have to keep it looking nice and still have lots of free time.
@@markseehawer3762
I retired at 60 and miss working but
I don't miss HAVING to work.
"Crippled up" is a pretty good description.
Now it hurts for days to do anything, and just hurts less to do nothing. 😄
I now have to question if I will physically be able to finish things I start. It's a hard realization when you hit that point.
I think this may be why some old men are angry.
If shops are charging so much today, but mechanics aren’t earning enough, then where does the money go? There’s the problem.
This is why society in general has become a "throw away" society, buy something, it breaks, you throw it away and buy something new. Tends to work the same way with people.
Yes. Employers treat their employees like junk and always have to retrain kids who do NOT care.
It is but remember the manufacturer do this on purpose. You can’t fix things like you used to.
Yep the entire "trickle down" "greed is good" 1980s mentality is bad for humanity
@@tw8464 I mean trickle down economics is the reason why the US won the Cold War so decivly as the Soveit tricle up economics is what destroried it... It's just society doesn't create wealth from the bottom up it's just not how Human society has ever worked... Iff it did newborns would lead society and older technwould domante the world... Like I said all Comunist states did try trickle up economics and they all gaveit up or heavly modfied it with 5 ytyear plans that have only rui9ned their society... Just ask Red China how their 5 years planes whent or the soveits how did being conseritvy comunists worked? Also Blaming tghis on trickle down ecnomics is just wrong as very clearly with hind sight trickle down economics has massivce improved the auto industry in terms of bvaule for money... Whicjh by the way cars back then cost way more for common features today and only had cerry picked ones not all of them we take for grated... Like if you want a model A get one for all intents a perpises theuy are still being bult though sear support by fans, the after market and Ford OEM/their aftermarket... But you don't do you? Why is that?
@@jackeroo75 I mean that mind set started after GM came out with iyt's diract compactor to the Ford Model T... Ford was massibvly lossing money do to GM getting all the costumers using all the same tactic people hate manufactors for today... Ford didn't want to play that game as they wanted to do what people say they want... But the public forced theor hand and Ford played alone and thuse started the car industry as we know it today. Whbich before Ford the car industry was so much woese then today hince why Ford wanted to fix it... They did but thepublic voted with their wallet and broke it again like two seconds after it was fixed... Ford ever since has played this tug of war game with it's soul and the whikms of the public... Ford waxes and wans butnever has it faikled the game... Ford takes it';s self way more serouly then that... Hince why Ford never sold to anyone unlkike 90% of the resty of car makers today.... and they alwqsy made a progfuit and never gone bankraupt despite many close calls... Us ord fans love Ford because we actually believe in it's century long mission... Do it right.. Which I own a 2020 mustang premium ecobpoost almost maxed out I got in march of 2021 when the car market was exploding for $10k off MSRP and having gone to Boozard Ford an awesome car dealer I didn't get any fee or tax that wasn't required.. I also got an insane extened warranty backed by Ford for $1450 extra... Was worth every penny... Also over the last few years my Mustang has been perfect had only one recall on a computer module that was just because it's brake fluild warning wouldn';t always show... That's it... Pretty good for the Ecoboom eh? Which I wwhenyt Mustang because every single gen has a massive aftermarket and though all my reasereach the car is totaly normal to repair and perfec tly reliably if you take care of it... like not iover boost it with no cation... The main cause of the Ecoboom... So yeah it isn't the car makers per say it's the market it always was... Hince why their were alwaus bad cars and goiod cars... You just have to do research which let's be honest most people hate to do... So they over spnend their means and have to get their car out of the grave which is soly their fault... Kinda like a pet owner complaining to animal services how the pet market is broiken... When their tried feeding a rabbit steak or a Cat latace... So yeah Ford atleast is also a victim oif this 100 year mess...
70 year old mechanic here .
Absolutely right about the way cars are built. Built to FAIL. And not made to repaired. Too many electronics, too much plastic. None of these newer cars will be restored, they end up in the junk yard because they would cost too much to repair.
People are definitely partly to blame for ACCEPTING this. As an examples you cannot order a plain Jane work truck with a manual transmission anymore
Want to save the planet, start making things that LAST.
I could go on and on but this video pretty well covers it.
It is sickening to go my my local wrecking yard and see HUNDREDS of newer cars all being gutted and recycled because they were too expensive to fix.
Excellent work Eddy. thank you for posting !
And it's unfortunate because you can make them repairable with plastic and electronics. The whole advantage of silicon is that its cheap, but these companies see that and just want more margin
In the US at least the government worked with the corporations to buy most older cars and destroy them because there wasn't enough demand for their newer unreliable products.
@@lampostsamurai2518
It shows that Capitalism doesnt work as it is advertised by the Oligarchy and the polticans, media and economists that they own.
If it did, then the Market would give the customer what they want, but they don't, neither in housing or in cars.
Its actually easier than make such a thing than deliberately trash products.
"Want to save the planet, start making things that LAST"
This. But climate protection is only important when the little guy has to change. For things that really have an impact, but friends with money behind them, we don't see those
My cousin was a gifted mechanic who LOVED his 90s Ford Explorer. Customized it, did all the work on it, took it apart over a weekend for fun. (Still drives it too.)
Became an engineer, went to college to design cars, and got his dream job directly out of college because he had spent so much time working as a mechanic
Now he's out there somewhere making life a little easier on the mechanic's end, hopefully.
He's likely being told to engineer cars to break easily and be difficult to repair. This is a trend in manufacturing now, especially with phones. They're built to be replaced soon. All for greed.
for decades nobody has wanted to hire apprentices so no wonder demand is skyrocketing on mechanics lol
That was my issue. I went to college to become a tech, worked at a Nissan dealer for 2 years just changing oil and tires. I quit and became an HVAC tech.
Almost all trades were like that.
No one hired any new guys for decades.
I know small construction businesses that had the same guys for 25 years and never hired. Now they are all 50 years old and can’t find anyone to replace them.
My bil had the same guys for 15 years and never hired.
Well, when you don’t constantly hire apprentices and develop your workforce, your labor force gets decimated.
You know, there are plenty of trade schools. I got AA's in Diesel and Auto mechanics but it did not pay enough to be worthwhile. Here is the problem really. 40+ years of "Trickle Down". Republicans, working with their wealthy donors, have kept the majority of the workforce losing ground in wages to the true rate of inflation. People have tried to get by, now it takes two people to put a roof over their head when pre Reagan, it only took one. We import tons of cheap crap from abroad, to fool the "poors" into thinking they can live on the low wages we pay them also. The truth is, wages do not support a person being able to pay a shop $150/hr to get their car fixed. In the last 30 years, I took a car once to a shop to fix, and they could not fix it. I do it all myself. I am afraid, that is what the vast majority of the workers in America can afford now. I do not have new vehicles, they are a nightmare. I was hearing where a screen for a couple year old Lexus is like $14,000.00. Car won't be operable with it out either. Detroit needs to make some simple cars for the masses, it is ridiculous now.
@@AJourneyOfYourSoul same thing going on at the plant i work at, guys at 40 years retiring, didnt hire anyone for 15 years, no experience what so ever and they are wondering why the plant is always down. Well sir, not much experience left is a start.
Seriously? The issue is most mechanics get paid only for what they get done, if you're teaching someone, you're not making money.
At one place I worked at, they realized I was willing to teach people, and fully took advantage of that fact. One week I ended up with a paycheck that had only 18 flag hours. The entire other 22 hours of that week I spent training people, for free...... eventually I had to go get a different job because it was costing me to go to work.
The system is the problem, not the people
Re the people aspect: i used to work in IT where it’s exactly the same. One of the reasons i got out is because i got tired of being paid peanuts to have customers treat me like utter crap. Most people are NPCs who go around completely blind to the workings of anything more complex than a stapler. They don’t have a clue, and they don’t want one.
I worked in IT for 20 years I got out because it was all being outsourced to india, with networks going onto the cloud and routers and switches becoming logical and centrally managed by the same outsourced contractors, it didn't seem that there was going to be any future in it
@@catfeline1530 I relate to these stories. Jobs went to India, even if those workers were not proficient enough for the job.
Brutal but accurate.
Bro you're giving people way too much credit. I also work in IT I've seen people load the staples in upside down, I wish I was joking.
Lol i had to fix a stapler yesterday cause it was left jammed in the common area
Rust and plastic parts.
I'm a HD Mechanic, but it's much the same.
Disconnect a harness and the plastic junction falls apart. Not easily repaired and the price of a new harness is totally out of relation to what it cost to manufacture, $600, $1100, $2300. Plus the hours to install in the worst possible places in the dash and behind the engine.
Plastic engine parts, had a new Mack truck losing coolant, try and find it. Finally one day it came in smoking hot and I pressure tested it and there is a very fine mist coming from the thermostat/water regulator housing. Made out of plastic. Called the parts guy and told him had a problem with part made out of a new space age material and his voice dropped and he replied "Oh joy". Hilarious.
Overheating because the plastic impeller slipping on the water pump shaft when it got hot.
Vehicles die when they get hot because the plastic fuel pump gear is slipping when it gets hot.
Vehicle gets towed in, by that time it's cool and everything is fine.
You can't find anything wrong, you look like an idiot.
Doesn't matter if it's dozer undercarriage and leaky pin seals or asbestos free head gaskets that just don't cut it.
Dealing with irate customers is another story entirely.
I stop now.
That is the stuff of my nightmares, plastics make it possible
yeah plastic where it should be aluminum or other material.
I replace plastic harnesses all the time. 98% of these cost 8-30$
@@makojuicedaniel9307 Not in the heavy duty world. Can't even buy the pins for that, if they were available.
@@makojuicedaniel9307 We had a modern wheel loader caught in a fire, repairable enough. The electrical harnesses were $16,000.
Worked at a dealer as a tech for 4 years on flat rate, got all my certs and was 2 classes away from a master tech license when I finally snapped and had enough, and this video summed up exactly why I left the automotive industry and jumped into the heavy equipment industry. Construction equipment is way easier to work on, I don’t work with service writers, I don’t have to worry about the “We GOt WAitERs” and “OH i GoT GRavY TicKEt, HEre OIl ChAnge”
I don’t have to worry about customer complaints (unless they don’t understand how to use the equipment). Sure there’s definitely a learning curve but once you get past the first year of just understanding how it all works. It’s incredibly worth it, most of the guys I work with are ex automotive techs that had the same problem.
How does you change fields
@ easy, just snap your fingers and voila, new field
I never went back to this Dodge dealership when I never saw that Older man who was the service clerk that time I went there. He was straight forward didn't sell my anything else besides the one I went there for and overall he felt genuine. He said he was a mechanic for 40+ years and worked with different brands. Next time I went there it was this younger man I was talking to and he just wouldn't shut up about selling me anything and every service they are providing. He just saw my truck with high mileage and just told me if you don't do this your car will break not knowing I took good care of my truck and replaced all the worn out parts that needed replacing. And the worst part is I just went there to get my AC fixed cuz the compressor was blown. It really is night and day when talking to a real mechanic vs a sales rep. I don't go to dealerships anymore just small mechanic shops for me now.
or the kid was trying to make a living and your broke ass took advantage of a good mechanic, I worked at a shop and hated customers like you, you'd take advantage of the old heads who were nice and grew up with the mentality of "you'll be poor and like it" and then you got introduced to someone who didn't have that mentality and got upset. Don't be broke and get upset when someone does their job
I remember telling one of the old heads "hey bro you need money, just start upselling on the small stuff" and when he did *every single customer that used to take advantage of him would throw a fit* people like you need to learn that a mechanic isn't a friend, you are hiring a professional, not someone you can boss around
Sadly, I’ve had issues with smaller shops trying to upsell me bc they see I’m a young woman and they think I’m stupid. Ironically, after a month long battle with several shops in my local area, I finally bit the bullet and went to the nearest dealership. Was finally treated seriously and they found that the issue was something that I had been dismissed for even suggesting to the other mechanics. I suspect the change in treatment was that the service writer at the dealership was a woman.
I have no less than 10 abandoned cars sitting in the back lot of my shop, most of them from 2011-2019. Almost all of them need a motor/transmission at about 130k miles or so, most of them Hyundai or Chrysler (big surprise I know). I'm seeing a HUGE increase in timing chain failures, CVT failures and piston ring/turbo failures over the last few years. Heck I can't even get a Theta II GDi engine to save my life and I have 2 Sonatas that need a motor currently. My daily driver is a 2000 Chevy Prizm and my back up is a 93 Toyota Previa and at this rate they're going to stay with me till one of us dies lol.
so the stereotype of mechanics driving old proven vehicles with NA motors and simple 4 speed transmissions is quite true
Sounds to me a lack in proper oil/fluid change intervals Ring and piston, cvts transmission etc. not always the cars fault
The Prizm is a great car, it's basically a Toyota Corolla disguised to look like a Chevy.
@@fredwilliams7893i had a 2.7, 2007 4x4 tacoma , maintained religiously , coolant flushes , oil changes , gearbox etc. Driving down the highway ,lost power CEL. Lost compression in cyl3 . Couldnt find an engine anywhere , even my buddy who is a regional manager for a major oil change company couldnt get me one from his distributor. Sold it for 7k cash to some goons that ran it through an auction " because it still ran". Ill never buy a toyota again . Back to early 2k vw tdi's for me. At least i can keep them going forever
Never had this problem till I moved to a diffrent state
My father was a mechanic in the 40s and 50s when cars were super simple, and even then it was a struggle to earn a living. He later self-taught himself aviation electronics and got a job with an airline repairing the cockpit instruments and radars. He was able to work in an air-conditioned building, wearing white dress shirts, for about double the pay and fantastic benefits. Sometimes we just have to find a whole new way. I install water heaters, earn good $$$.
I fix those heaters with the Honeywell blinky light. People dump brand new heaters and buy a replacement out of desperation. I pick them up in the alleys, fix them up and use them in my rentals.
Like a school teacher they get paid peanuts.I told my niece get into upper management and make the big bucks, go on junkets to hawaii etc, vegas, complain they got tooo many junkets. 250k and up.. look it up and feel used
@@peter-pg5yc Agreed, car mechanics get absolutely chewed up by the industry. Any car mechanic with half a brain will move on to diesel, or factories, or go freelancing and earn 3x the money.
@@jamesrecknor6752 A hot shower is Americans “highlight of the day, it’s all down hill from there”
American Beauty🌹
@@obsoleteprofessor2034that's actually sick😂 what do u do with all the heaters lol
To compound the issue is how manufacturers changed maintenance intervals to make it look cheaper to own the car: like "forever fluids" in the Subaru CVT. It's interesting that Subaru of Japan recommends regular drain and fills, whereas Subaru of USA calls it "forever".
BMW say their autos are lifetime but ZF who make it say absolutely not.
Bmw motorcycles are the same. “Forever fluid” in their shaft drive: they always fail.
Meanwhile, anyone with even a cursory understanding of engineering...
the forever claims are only until the 60k factory warranty is up, that is what the consider the "life" of the vehicle. So, for everyones sake, change the fluids as you would any other vehicle.
What the hell are “forever fluids”? I ask because I have a Subaru and I can’t imagine a fluid that DOESNT need replacing!😂
The only mechanic shop I’ve ever trashed on told me I needed a new transmission mount because my bushings were worn out.
“Did you actually look at it?”
“Yeah of course. Your shifter is sloppy and the mount is worn out.”
“The solid metal racing transmission mount that was just installed a month ago is worn out, is it? The solid metal bushings already worn out and floppy are they? Wanna go back there and double check?”
Dude just shut up and took my money for the work they did do and handed me my keys without saying anything else.
It was really weird because they’re already a massively profitable shop that specialized in Subarus, charges like $200 an hour for that specialization and race car experience, and thought they’d pull like… $300 of work off me. Why? No clue. But I never went back again which bums me out because I would if not for that.
I experienced this back in the 80's, that is when I quit as a mechanic. Went into construction, home repairs and remodeling. Turned out to be similar people issues.
@@geondy2 That’s why developers build spec houses. 3bedroom/2bath spec houses, at the lowest end of the single home market to get people into the market and help older people who need to downsize. 1,400 sq, ft. Or just rehab all those 1970’s early 1980’s ranch house neighborhoods.
I've had a tape measure clipped to my waistband for most of 45 years and yep, have dealt with some of the most miserable people imaginable that I wouldn't do work for again, but also some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet & even made some friends.
The overhead costs are destroying every type of business, and pay for trades is mainly bad despite the hype from people like Mike Rowe. No wants to be a mechanic, machinists or welder for twenty an hour.
You have 2 choices in life for the best chance of being happy.
Work for yourself or work for the government.
One will make you more money, one will make you more secure. Punching a time clock at a private car dealer will do neither.
@@banshee8989 Honestly, at this point being a private mechanic especially if you're willing to work on hybrids is an extremely secure position. You practically get the best of all worlds if you love working on cars.
In a lot of areas shops desperately need machinists so the jobs start at decent pay and if you advance your skills you have plenty of room to go up from there. Feels like the trade is dying off, hard to find a skilled machinist so there's a lot of job security in being one. Not too hard of a job either in my opinion, as long as you know what you're doing. If all you can do is load a program and push the go button you're gonna have a bad time lol.
I make $75k pushing buttons in a factory. I have the automotive certs, passed the L1 ASE easy and I wouldn't work on anybody else's car for less than $100k and year. A lot of trades are underpaid and automotive is probably the worst one.
@@masonreppeto882 Just be ready for the bad guys out there that will try to put you through the ringer.
I have thirty years in the Industry and this is, by far, THE best video on the topic!
Are most cars really not lasting as long or are they just more complicated to fix when they break? I know some older Toyotas lasted quite a while but I was always under the impression cars don't last much past 100k without issue.
Just quit after 40 years . Got paid 4 hour took 16 on a evap core on a Volvo . Lots of crap that goes on I don't need anymore . Easier selling lemonade on my front yard. And I make more$$$$$.
And the only "come backs" are for refills ;-)
I like Volvo (older ones) but. Damn.
That’s institutional private finance at the core, grinding humanity into the dust. I hope all the executives have a good comeuppance before the implosion.
I mean yea its a tough job but I'm clearing $1500-2000 a week at 24 years old I don't think you could make that selling lemonade 🤣🤣🤣
@evelynsahoe8896 If he hired staff and turned his lemonade Stand into a restaurant he could
Statistically speaking thing, those cars that aren't taken care off, as you said, are usually owned by people doing what they can just to make it through the day. They're already stressed out and having the car break down just adds to that stress. so yes, while I advocate that everyone needs to respect each other better, we also need to keep in mind that people who are stuck in that survivalist lifestyle, are gonna have cars they didnt want but needed. It sucks. that people who actually need the car to be reliable are the ones who cannot afford them. And now that manufacturers are making these cars that break down quickly for the "affordable option" its so bad for the whole system. I currently bought a jeep 2008 commander out of desperation. and it broke down 6 moths in and now needs $400 grand in engine repairs, and I have no choice but to get it repaired since at least i can pay that off over time. I don.t have the cash flow necessary for something new, nor would I want to buy new knowing its gonna be the same thing anyway. Prior to my Jeep, I had a Toyota Camry that lasted 11 from the date i bought it. Used card got to 200000 miles before it finally went. I miss that car.
I know more of these type of people than I would prefer lol. I've been one of them. I can't be around that energy it brings me down. It is important to have compassion though like you said. A lot of people are near breaking point these days barely making it. At the same time, I also know many of these folk are just plain stupid & do so much damage to themselves. Thanks for your comment.
@@Salmon_Rush_Dieno problem is entirely self inflicted, or entirely out of the control of the victim. Usually bad luck compounds personal failings till they’re stuck, and stress compounds personal failings even harder.
As someone who works on his own stuff, has known two separate mechanics who own separate shop, and has taken family members cars to other shops in town, I can say most shops scam the crap out of you. They up charge for premium new parts and put on the cheapest referbs. Often do the minimal work overlooking necessary addition repairs and still charge for them anyway. They will sus out customers and see how much they can fake or upcharge. There are good mechanics but there is absolutely a reason people say they are crooks. They will rack up a bill big enough to steal your car if they like it enough.
Land Rover turning owners into mechanics for over 70yrs 🤦🏻♂️
That’s with any old luxury vehicle. Anyone who owns a used luxury vehicle becomes their own mechanic. Parts are expensive themselves and then paying for the labor? Gotta get underneath and turn that ratchet.
My Series III supports that statement, as does my IIA.
I need to place and order for parts for my 110. Notice I did not include D. It’s not a Defender
Worst vehicle in the market. Sucks that the sheep made it popular
Just found a Defender advert from the late 90s in Australia where they throw in a Sidchrome tool kit when you buy a new one. I couldnt help thinking that the owner is going to wear it out.
Fact is you either love Land Rover or you're wrong 💪😎🇬🇧
So many vehicles with severely shortened lifespans ending up in junkyards and recyclers, instead of driving down the road for 10 to 15 years ...all in the name of getting 2% better fuel economy, and "saving" the planet. Sure, they're more luxurious, more comfortable, faster and arguably better looking, but I'd take a late 80's to early 90's Honda Civic, 5 spd. manual in a heart beat for relative simplicity and absolute reliability.
And the same for all those 'energy efficient' and 'water efficient' appliances.
It was never about saving the planet. Planned obsolescence. Low tension rings, but promised more miles per oil changes. These vehicles are not poorly designed, they are designed to fail and designed to increase the chances that it goes to the dealership (stealership) for service. Where you go in for a spark plug but get told by their tech that after extensive diagnostic procedures they determined the engine, transmission and 400 sensors are at fault for your misfire and they can repair it in 10 months because of shortages for somewhere around $500,000. Or we can get you an amazing deal on this new vehicle with a warranty for just long enough to pay it off so we can do this again.
Everything done in the name of saving the environment has nothing to do with the environment and instead has everything to do with implementing Marxism.
I wouldn’t say better looking 😅🤷🏻♂️
Shouldn't you be ranting at the corporations who cut corners building these shit boxes rather than the environmental crowd? And the politicians who go out of their way to ensure public transit isn't a viable option so the people who don't have the resources for car ownership aren't in your hair?
Its a crappy job that's really not worth it anymore.. the pay is not that great, it kills your body, you need thousands of dollars in tools and like you said, the owners of these cars can be jerks. After 8 years, I absolutely hated this job....do something else.
That's so crazy to me. It reminds me of when I worked customer service on the phone. They say it's "your business" but you obviously have to do everything the way they want. You have to use your own computer in most cases and only get paid for talk time. If no one calls, you don't get paid even though you are sitting there for them. Totally ridiculous. Especially with cars becoming so complex, mechanics should be paid well hourly.
A relative of mine did an apprenticeship at the three-pronged German dealership, stayed on and became a fully qualified mechanic able to work on anything from Unimogs to million-$ performance cars. Hours were ridiculous, complexity insane. Chucked it in for a job as an arborist, basically pruning trees. Got paid $2 less an hour just starting in that job than he did as a fully qualified mechanic at the top of his game. Never looked back, now makes way more money and loves the work.
I received some advice during an education session at SEMA a few years ago: Bill the customer for parts on big jobs first. If they've already paid for something, they're likely to pay the final bill when the project is done. If they disappear, you at least have their money for the parts and you might be out on the labor cost. If it's your shop, impose your rules!
Agreed. If I owned a shop, I would not front a $3500 repair on a sh!t vehicle. Anything over $500 would require a deposit.
As a retired mechanic he specks the truth. GM Tech from 1973 to 2008. My hands are shot.
A combination of people who don’t know any better on top of engineers who don’t know what they are doing is why everything is a mess these days. I almost considered becoming a mechanic 9 years ago but since the writing was on the wall, I lost interest. Will be one on the side but as a full time career? Don’t think so.
I'm sorry for your suffering, Mark. I used to race MX and back in the late '80s I noticed when I bought a Suzuki RM250 that its designers had given no thought to maintenance. That's what started me joking about how the Japanese are so angry over WW2 that they've conspired to punish us through their vehicle designs. That RM250 was the best handling motorcycle I've ever ridden, but it was so frustrating to work on! Seemed like everything was designed to be in the way of everything else! Just maddening!! But I know you experienced this kind of thing way more than myself.
@@marvelaturraz5405That joke might not be far off the mark. But, it helps if you buy a Toyota made in Japan. Old doesn’t even begin to describe the longevity of these machines. I owned a GM for 3 long years and a Ford for 3 long years. There’s nothing quite like making payments and paying for repairs to turn you into an older Toyota fan! Love that my vehicle is clueless as to where it is, and who to report to. Hell, even the 6 CD player still works great, along with the speakers. Even the fabric interior will outlive me! All it requires is some TLC and a garage.
@@vickijohnson9367dad and I rebuilding an 81 pickup 4wd and it's been a blast!!! Certainly some tough cookies out there got an 86 4runner been beat to shit and mountain man'd , keys hanging from the radiator lol ganna be an experience but there's something so lovely about the metall to metall these real machines have they just grab on like nothing now a day
@@vickijohnson9367 I guess my family was lucky. Every GM we had was great and sorely missed.
Not a mechanic but perform all maintenance on my '06 highlander hybrid except for body work from an accident caused by a drunk driver. Don't trust the mechanics which are influenced by their shop owners to do work fast. Once had an oil change at a Firestone repair franchise and they add the incorrect amount (less by 2 qts) of oil during oil change.
Agree with the moderator, the manufacturers are much to blame making vehicles too difficult to maintain and repair. But the government is also to blame due to excessive regulations.
EPA is problem pushing efficiency over dependability... consumers are to blame for excessive tech in vehicles
Someone screwed up and actually drained all the oil. That 2 quarts is usually all you get and its the cheapest junk around.
one example, emission-control mechanism like EGR and PCV makes intake-manifold dirty and recirculate hot-gasses which increases chance of overheating. It is required by regulation.
Former ASE Master Tech here. I figured this out by 1993. You can't make money fixing poor people's cars. They treat their cars like shit and then complain when they break down.. After 8 years at several dealerships, I went back to college in 1994 and never looked back..
Well, the American people are slowly being ground into dust by institutional private finance, and a reincarnation of FDR or Truman is no where on the horizon. The old cars are going to be almost everything, for quite a while. I say this from a finance perspective, perhaps we will get expanded fraud in finance, but it can’t last long at this point, Americans are losing jobs like flies dying on a cold winter day. Scrooge is winning this holiday.💸RIP🪦
Agreed. Either go freelance and fix rich people's cars, or go into another industry like diesel, factories, or aviation mechanic.
@@noseboop4354 Diesel is not much better.
I made my living at it from 1970 until 2008....mostly worked 50 to 90 hours a week. Loved my work. Even though many were worse off than me, I was never comfortable. I could have two or three good years, but have two slow weeks and lose it all.
Hey don’t blame poor ppl we all struggling
Lots of stuff to unpack in this one.
But the biggest eye opener for me was that I need to pay two people’s wages, even though only one of them ever sees my car. And that one is not the person I get to talk to, to explain what the problem is. I only get to talk to someone who never sees my car. Ever heard of the Chinese whispers game? It’s great fun, in the school yard. Not so much when the breakdown in communication is costing money.
Of course, as well as the two guys, the manager gets a cut, the huge fancy premises gets its bills paid, the parts supply chain all get a cut and that’s why a problem you could fix yourself, at home, for 50 bucks costs over 1000, at the shop.
I have always worked on cars, since I was old enough to pass tools to my father, or my friends fathers. I used to wonder why people would come to us, with their fancy cars, instead of getting the dealer to look after them.
But gradually I came to understand. I’m a one man show, working out of my own property, with no “service writers” ( that’s a job title, now???), managers, cleaners, caterers, gardeners, or any other personnel. If I’m working on your car, you need to pay one man’s wages on top of whatever the repairs cost. No wonder I’m busy!
I have no customer waiting area, no coffee machine, no lot where you can abandon anything. All I have is what I need to have, to fix your car. I charge you for my time, whether that’s over or under book time. If a job is gravy, you get a smaller than expected bill. If the sh1t hits the fan, you get a bigger one. It’s still way cheaper than the dealer.
Every now and then, I get burned. That’s life. It happens to everyone, from the lowest street cleaner to the top brain surgeon. As long as your good days outnumber your bad ones, you’re doing okay. If it starts to go the other way, it’s time to do something else.
Man You've explained that better than I've heard anyone explain it. I'm a service tech "mechanic" and luckily the company I work for is very fair when it comes to compensation for flat rate and also an hourly rate on top of it. Our service writer or service manager was a mechanic for years and years and years and still is. He is always looking out for his guys. But that being said I've been in positions where I've lost money significantly because of the things you laid out in this video. Also you're correct about having someone else talk to the customer about the services because I always catch myself giving people breaks and helping them out for lower than I should even charge. I just want to fix things, learn something all the time, and be productive. Thank you again
My “daily driver” is a 2007 Prius. Meticulously maintained by a local mechanic, unless it’s something in the hybrid system, then he is honest and says he can’t do that in his shop. He also loves working on older and classic cars, so I trust him also with my 21,000 mile 1993 Corvette 40th anniversary. I’d rather support a small business than a large dealership.
2007? Still running? You must have taken good care of the car for sure.
Calling a 1993 a "classic" hurt. I'm also a 1993😂😂
My 2005 Prius still runs well at 250k miles
Battery. Dead car walking. Tho you can replace the cells in those
I personally don't like prius a family member has 300k on his but when thinking about repairs it's a very friendly car
ASE Master Tech since 1986 here (yes I'm older and smarter than you). This video is spot on. I tell folks to A) don't buy this overpriced junk on dealer lots and B) Buy a 2016 or older car made by a Japanese company. Go for the 5-6 speed if you can drive one and don't worry about what the neighbors drive.
The problem with B) is a very real scarcity of these very same Japanese vehicles. If they all get bought then jillions of poor schlubs are now sh*t out of luck. This whole situation as so eloquently described in the video is artificially contrived by the automobile industry and was deliberately, intentionally planned and carried out by the car makers.
I've never understood buying a NEW car.
I prefer vehicles from 1980 or older.
Most people will never understand why because
most people don't fix their own stuff.
I've never owned a vehicle I couldn't work on.
I've never owned a house I couldn't fix.
Currently own a 66 chevy and a house that's over 100 yrs. old.
Them folks can keep their new stuff. It aint worth the money to me. 😄
@@dingusdingus2152 It's not all the carmakers' fault. Much of the fault is the our government's requirement for ever increasing fuel economy, and emmissions requirements. To meet these, the engines and transmissions have to be super lightweight, meaning shoddy, and the cars have to have advanced computer systems, meaning expensive, to make them run so cleanly. These changing requirements make the manufacturers change their powertrain design, meaning expensive, much more often. So, how do they compensate for these ever increasing costs? By making CRAPPY vehicles, that are like consume electronics. When they break, out of warranty, you are supposed to throw them away, and buy new.
@jfredmuggs56 what you been smoking, kemosabe? How do you suppose the government agencies formulate the regulations and requirements? The employees of the agencies, on an individual level, couldn't care less about air quality, cafe, vehicle safety etc. These are bureaucrats dude. People to whom nothing is more abhorrent than the idea of increasing their work load. No, all these regs are implemented at the behest of the car manufacturers, who have armies of lobbyists in Washington who make the plans with the bigwigs behind closed doors. How convenient it is that all the regulations requiring this or that just happen to result in huge profits for the carmakers and their shareholders year after year. Just a fluke, a random coincidence, you know? And if all us poor schmucks get pissed off and start bitching about it, the car companies can simply duck and say "hey it wasn't OUR idea, we have no choice but to be in compliance with these onerous rules..." Well don't believe a word of it. Ever since the very first turd on wheels rolled off the assembly line more than 100 years ago, the carmakers have fine tuned their business model and have got it down to a science. So don't blame the government, it has no financial incentive to screw over the driving public. Look instead at who laughs all the way to the bank whenever some dumb rube's new car lays down on them at 60k miles and costs more to repair than to buy another new one...
I don't mind manual but nowadays I think good auto transmissions are just as reliable as manual.
That's a really crappy way to pay mechanics. Getting paid by the hour is the only thing that makes sense, not by estimated hours on a job
A fairly estimated time to repair is sensible. Just paying a guy by the hour for these things isn't. Being paid by the job is more reasonable, otherwise a tech can take all day, getting paid eight hours to change out a set of brake pads that realistically takes an hour. I do understand manufacturer-dictated repair times for warranty tickets being WAY unfair though. Eight hours to do an evaporator is nuts when our most experienced tech, who knows all the secrets, is going to take twelve hours of real time to do it.
@@dougthompson1598that's why you have managers to get after them and speed them up or get rid of them. Hourly works in every business. Even if you keep the hourly labor rate. I literally have to turn 2 hours and the company has made more money than I make in a day as a hourly tech. Now do I only turn 2? Hell no. So they are making a profit
Flat rate is dishonest and theft. Time and material is the only way
Flat rate has been standard for decades
@@ce1622 doesn't need to be though, and just another reason people won't go into the field. Nobody wants unreliable pay. Why should I have to wait 3 weeks to get paid on a warranty job that pays 5-6hrs. I'm currently hourly but I'm watching these things and it makes no incentive for me to want to continue in this business
I agree, and you're on the mark on how difficult it is to be a good and thorough mechanic working flat rate. NOTHINGS CHANGED IN 30+ YEARS. I'm retired Ford Senior Master and five years as shop foreman. It nearly killed me. Frustrated, alcoholic, and body broken.
Sorry to hear that, I hope you can move on from the alcoholism and leave the frustration/stress behind 🫂
Busted my alarm working in IT. After 200 hours of at home physio exercises I got 90% function back. It was worth every second, with perseverance you could fix a lot more than might seem possible
@@HiLasse Thank you 🙏 it's a new life.
I've been a mechanic for 30 years, and cars are brutally honest about their owners. My shop has finally raised the labor rate, the neglected, rusted cars coming to the shop has greatly reduced in volume.
A larger number of clean higher end vehicles are coming in for maintenance or repair due to the labor rate increase, yet not the volume of jobs as in the past.
Great video
rust from neglect? how about rust from saving ya from zeibart. count your blessings
Am 53 and have never owned a vehicle that was any newer then 20-30 years old, my current vehicle is a 2003 Buick park ave ultra with 325K on it currently, I do all my own repairs and maintenance on it, parts are plentiful and relatively easy to change out when needed
Those 3800s will last for ever...the 3.1 I had in my last 02 Century was pretty solid too. I had to give the car up due to a pile of rust but the engine and transmission were given to a friend...still in use to this day lol. You'll never find a new car that's as comfortable as those buicks.
Stop working on cars without having the customer put down some money up front. At least 50%, but sometimes 80%
Ask for payment up front when people ask for repairs that exceed the value of the car.
When i asked a shop to put a re-manufactured engine in a full size van the shop owner told me no problem as long as I paid for the manufactured engine up front when it showed up and before they installed it.
I had no problem doing that.
The shop owner told me later that he ended all kinds of losses by requiring up front payment for a good portion of the work for expensive repairs on older vehicles.
Totally agree, if the repair is anywhere near some percent of the total value, require a large deposit. They don't like it, they can move along.
One of the shops I work with finally got fed up last year and started requiring parts paid up front for any of those repairs near the value of the car.
@@AmandaHugenkiss2915 yep, and what's amazing is that our culture didn't used to be this way, i.e the avg person either/or/both ignorant & lacking integrity. THAT is the basis of the 'broken politics', or a big part of it. It's a big part of the combo in politics of superficial grasping of reality, etc.
I think that's why some techs just specialize in one make/model or manufacturer. I've repaired many makes but decided to repair mainly German cars since that is my interest and over time I have gotten more familiar with them.
Additionally since most dealership or retail shops are very expensive to repair German cars that leaves some meat on the bone for me to attract customers looking to spend less.
You can also go upmarket and work on Porsche or Bentley cars.
Honestly a good niche, this is like my mechanic who does german cars. I think he does well, or at least I hope he does. He's pretty generous with his time.
Similar landscape to computer and phone repair but with higher stakes in automotive repair. Repair markets are suffering in the US generally. I’m a computer repair guy who has enough chops to fix medium issues in my car but I’ve noticed this trend get worse in the past 10 years in all repair. I’m SO grateful to skilled mechanics. I remember when cars started to get more digital. I’ve tried to save mechanics time and effort by translating the computer side of the car for them, but these days I can’t even help. It’s obfuscation writ large
The last computer I bought was a dell rugged 5404 from some corporate conglomerate. It cost me 60 bucks. It's got an i7 and all I had to do was install linux mint
That's ridiculous that the manufacturers don't have to cover warranty work.
The other stuff is also ridiculous, but warranty work seems to let manufacturers off the hook for their shitty products. Damn
Great Video, and explained very well and properly detailed! I was a mechanic for a living in my younger years and switched to mobile truck tire technician work later on, I have noticed something lately working on my own vehicle(s) that there are way too many plastic parts than there should be that don't hold up properly, wear out quickly, and break very easily especially when it's cold outside and makes these plastic parts very brittle and even break more easily! Don't get me wrong though, plastic parts are mainly a lot of things you have to remove out of the way and put back on just to fix the real problem! Peace
Vehicles are simply over-complicated today, resulting in an expensive upfront purchase, and expensive maintenance and operation costs. I keep my 2010 F150 around for 20% of my trips and use my simple, reliable and inexpensive to purchase and operate, 300cc Honda scooter for the other 80% of trips. While not practical for all, it is certainly an option that many more should explore.
Also, I live in Southwestern Ontario, where the Santa Claus parade had to be cancelled last week because the snowbanks were too high for spectators, but I've been riding again for the past couple of days with roads cleared.
Agreed. It's been blowing my mind lately the desire for simple cheap vehicles is being ignored. For example, lots of complaints about work pickups. They are all essentially luxury vehicles now that cost almost 100k on average. I know lots of guys who don't want an 80k luxury truck just to beat it to death in a few years using it for a work truck. So why hasn't someone capitalized on this niche?
The other issue is shop owners don't pay the technician until the customer has paid the repair bill and if that car sits, or is never paid for the tech gets screwed. The tech may leave long before any money is recovered for the abandoned car and he never gets a dime from it. Enjoy paying for your tools every week, living like a bum working 50 hours a week and maybe having crummy health insurance you pay 50% for. It's a horrible industry that no good hard working honest people should stay in if you're smart. Get out while you are young and find other opportunities that have a future.
Good grief☹.
Coming from the customer point of view, it's obvious from this video and from what you've said that *the whole precedent of when and how mechanics are compensated has been bad for decades.*
I get upset too (inside myself) when a necessary repair is a lot of $, but I've always willingly paid whatever it cost. But for years I've been cynical about how much the dealership is actually taking from my $1500. bill (for ex.), and how much goes to the actual technician.
Beause we never get to even talk to the technician anymore, they have no idea *how thrilled I am when I drive away and my car is working well again.*
Seriously---it always feels like I've just bought a new car!
Got my 2003 lexus GS, 240,000 miles, lots of love and proper upkeep, still going strong. My local mechanic Jeff is a champion, thanks man!
Enjoyed this video very much. I'm 71 years old and have never owned a new car so I have dealt with mechanics all my life and I worked on motorcycles and cars to a limited extent back in the day when that was possible. I really appreciate your take on mechanicing these days and it sheds light on my current predicament which is that I own one of those older cars that you spoke of, a 1999 Ford Escort SE wagon. I bought it 17 years ago for $4000 off a used car lot, fixed it up and drove it ever since. Most new parts including remanufactured engine and rebuilt transmission. Now it's got a high idle issue that very experienced mechanics have not been able to figure out despite several parts replaced. Your video helps me understand better why my mechanic still has it after almost four months. It may be time to let it go to the auto graveyard.
I owned a Tool and Die shop in Michigan during the 80s-90, and we built tubular fabrication tooling , robotic weld tools, and robotic water jet cutting systems for automotive subcontractors. If you drove a car made in the 1990s, It had a side impact door beam, that was robot welded on our fixtures. There was only ONE maufacturer by Federal mandate forced ALL cars sold in the US foreign and domestic to have the current patented part, in every make and model's doors. Here is what I learned. In 20 years, the respectable, talented, inteligent engineers that built cars in the 50s, 60s, and 70s slowly retired, and died off. They were replaced by CAD/CAM design engineers, who, UNLIKE their previous engineers, who has started in "die repair"(required) in a stamping plant, and then "were allowed" to go to school part time for an engineering degree, after ALREADY SEEING, and KNOWING what practices work long term, and what doesnt work....or which tooling methods produce the best parts.....Everything was later done "virtual" on a computer screen, and fit wherever they could put things, to make room for modern tech, and "do-dads".....none of which got your car to work for decades at a time, but made it comfy. I literally SAW the transition DURING my career, of vehicles built tough, to last, and easy to repair.....to throwaway vehicles. ......At this point, Id rather spend my money on a restored car from the 60s, with disc brakes, as a daily driver, that a new turd off the lot.
I've not worked on this side of the automotive industry, but you are probably telling the truth. The U.S. manufacturers used to grow engineers, now it buys cookie cutter designers from "higher" education.
@Faber-cator of course you'd rather spend money on a restored 60s with disc brakes but, hate to throw a bucket of ice cold water on your head but the turds on the dealers lot is all that's available 😢
Dingus...you need to take some time to educate yourself. The last 25 years, Ive been a supplier to the vintage vehicle market, and they sell on ebay, or in "auto trader magazines" You dont find them at dealers, who will screw you. look for a four door, in a mopar, or ford. Chevys have too big a following and sell too high. I daily drove a 60s galaxie for over a decade, only spent money on maintenace, and its still worth 90% of what I paid for it. Sure, it's due for some motor work, (valve seals, maybe a top end soon, in 10k miles or so) but then you have to decide to fix it and move forward, or sell it and try another one. Alot of good 70s cars are out there too, and you dont have to pay thru the nose....but its helpful if you know how to do your own work. For example, a fuel pump replacement in a vintage car, cost 50 bucks for a mechanical pump and a gasket, takes 20 minutes....compared to a car from the 2000s... 500 bucks for an electric fuel pump, and its 4 hours to do the job, and you gotta have a lift, and drop the fuel tank.....no thanks.
@@Faber-cator there are always guys who will want specific rides and these are always available if they want to put the time and effort into tracking them down. Downside to doing this: you may find the ideal rig but it will almost always be many thousands of dollars over the original purchase price. Example: let's say you want a mid 70s ih scout ii, just about the best car that's ever been made. Suppose you live in new Mexico. You find one on Ebay but lo and behold they're asking $39,000 for it, and you got to go to Maine or new Hampshire to fetch the damned thing. See what I'm getting at? Buying a decent car that's rugged and reliable and owner repairable can be like hannibal crossing the Alps. I'm referring to the average schlub who doesn't know a timing chain from a food chain, has no shop or tools, and is the ideal innocent victim for the car manufacturers. I.e., probably 98 per cent of the car market. I have no need to educate myself; I have worked in a repair shop for many years and I am thoroughly familiar with the things presented in the video.
Thank you for sharing your story!
It’s the same situation in my field too. I work as a low voltage electrician doing automation, and HVAC controls.
HVAC systems used to be done by union pipe fitters (pneumatic technicians) from the plumbing trade back in the 50s, 60s and 70s. By the 80s, we were losing our experience with pneumatic HVAC systems and got electronic techs to do HVAC systems. By the 2010s, most electronic techs retired or died off (like all the pneumatic techs) and now we have computer techs from IT doing HVAC control systems.
Nothing wrong with computer techs, but the older pneumatic and electronic techs designed HVAC systems that were far easier to repair than what we’re seeing today.
Acid test for a shop: Have your wife or girlfriend take the car in, and then put your phone number down so they call you. This is how I found out that what I thought was a reliable shop was actually scamming women. Guy tried to scam me $70 for an oil change that was absolutely not needed. He said it was extremely low on oil, but I checked the oil before it went to the shop, like 10 minutes before it left, there is absolutely no way it needed an oil change, he ate that $70.
You still let that idiot near your car probably caused tons of future problems.
@@marketingmasters3550 Well obviously if he hadn't done the test he wouldn't have known. Mechanics are less ballsy screwing with men or just generally people that clearly know how a car works
I can't agree with statements like "the problem is that people don't know whack about my field". People can't know everything and as deeply as a professional - and that's good because the professional gets paid for knowing the stuff. Sadly this difference of knowledge gets exploited too often. Had a similar situation with the IT department and know a few stories from construction - the "oh, s*t, he knows" faces are priceless.
My 1997 Geo metro is assembled from, at least, four different cars. It has at least 192K miles on it, (replace the odometer once.) and is still going. My newest car is 24 years old and has 160K miles on it (Honda Accord) and I repair almost everything on them myself. Parts are cheap but getting harder to find. I am always looking for a $500 car that doesn't run so I can fix it.
I remember making fun of the geo metro. Now I look at it and think "damn, that's a nice car" simply because it's honest and it just plain works. It's really sad that we are in a world where I'd look at a geo metro as a desirable car lol.
My 96 Metro made it to 215k by 2004. 50 mpg but lost a quart of oil per 60 miles at the end. A simple car that lasted longer than most expected
@@vahjayjayaddict but where did all the metros go? did cash for clunkers claim them? where r they? at
where they @?
I think the real problem here is we live in a society built around having a very expensive and complex machine to be able to survive. When you have to take someones car off the road for any reason their ablity to function in society is greatly limited, getting to work, school, or even getting groceries becomes incredbile difficult
I'm loving the talking points throughout this video. There is one other thing I wanted to talk about and it is the people being rude. Usually they are either having a tough life or have made a presumption about the situation. It's easy to rise to a terse tone of voice with a challenge and ego but it feels better to remember anger is secondary and show some concern for your fellow human and ask if they're alright and try to bring everyone to the reality that we haven't wronged each other
Being a car guy myself, 1969 Coupe Deville, 1990 Cadillac Brougham, 2004 Acura RL, I never question my mechanic about the cost of repairing my vehicles, I respect my mechanic and i understand that working on cars can be a nightmare.
Possible solution for customers that "promise" to pay; Make them pay the repair estimate, or at least for an expensive replacement part or assembly, upfront. Also, the way it's going, seems to me, driving is eventually going to go back to being a rich person's priveilege, the rest of us will be back to walking, bicycles, street cars, busses and trains.
Vehicle ownership is expensive for most, but there are alternatives. It may not be practical for all, but open to many ...I'm about to go across the city on my reliable 300cc Honda scooter to do some shopping at Costco. I use my 2010 F150 for about 20% of my trips, and my inexpensive to own and operate, reliable, and easy to park scooter, with enough onboard storage for most trips.
Also, I live in Southwestern Ontario, where the Santa Claus parade had to be cancelled last week because the snowbanks were too high for spectators, but I've been riding again for the past couple of days with roads cleared.
It already is. In my town, most poor people can't afford cars, so they work at factories (mostly food processing plants) that provide buses for them. They get paid peanuts, they can't quit because they don't have a car needed to go to another job. I can see the life getting sucked out of their souls and it's sad.
thats the whole plan, cars, specifically EVs, for rich people, 15min cities for everyone else.
Agenda 2030 - ending personal mobility is a key pillar of it.
@@orbitalair2103 oh the horror of not being forced into a system where you HAVE to own a car to do basic shit in your life.
This is why I'm putting my money into my 67 Camaro and 57 Bel Air. I can still get hot rod parts and they were built to be easily repaired. No electronics to fail.
cuba! the way of the future! serviceability has been embargoed! what an upside down alternate reality warp we kinda slipped on into. at least its been tried.
The reason I initially wanted to learn about cars was to avoid being scammed. It is nice to have another perspective from the inside and from someone who is actually educated on the subject.
I have always considered 'cost of ownership' when buying a car. Like, how expensive will it be to fix? In 2017 I walked into a Ford dealership looking for a new car. I went in and asked for a manual transmission, manual windows, and vynil seats and rubber flooring. I ended up buying the one little new car they couldn't sell, a base model Fiesta for $11k out the door. It has been a darned good car. No vynil seats and no rubber flooring but simple everything else.
I mechanic for 40 years and retired around 2005 because of all the electronics and needing a $6,000. scanner. I'm glad I no longer work on cars. I drive a 1997 Honda Accord and have 3 of them. They only have one computer in them and I can still work on them. And EV's are the biggest scam out there unless you like to lose a lot of money. I feel sorry for the mechanics today,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
What makes EV's a scam?
@@Elevatevisiondigital His dislike of change most likely.
@@Elevatevisiondigital Because they always compare charging a car, and how much gas you will use. They don't tell you insurance for EV's will keep going up, or cancelled, your house insurance finds out your charging a EV car in your attached garage and will drop your coverage, or not pay for any fire the EV causes. You must have a charging station, you must change tires more often. There is always that fire issue and range issue, and cold weather or hot weather and how much weight you have, like towing a trailer. You must have a smartphone to know where the charging stations are. Parts and minor damage will take month and months, before you get the car back. In small towns you will need to travel 100 miles to find anyone to work on it. You will most likely need a backup car that is gas, unless you want to rent a car. They tell you nothing about all that, and the $40,000.00 price for the car and how much it is worth in 3 years. That's a scam in my book,,,,,,,,,,
i feel that one of the biggest issues with modern cars is cost, all the luxuries and features aren't free, safer cars aren't cheap, more powerful yet emissions compliant cars aren't cheap either, yet entry level cars are expected to check all these boxes off making them a rolling smartphone with countless features like backup cameras and whatnot on top of being larger which is more material cost. so in order for things to get done while keeping costs low, corners are cut and you get a modern car with all the bells and whistles but is a shitbox not even a decade later
Truly, id like to see a company try and sell a car with an AC, radio, and power windows and thats it. No cameras, no lane correction, no shit in the mirrors, no ipad dash, no heated seats. I feel like it would either fail really badly or sell extremely well
Former ASE master tech. Started in the shop in 1972. SSDD. Some things never change.
Just gonna say while its true most mechanics are good people and not looking to scam people its not entirely impossible, there was a big scandal in Japan for example when a bit chain of autostores was caught intentionally damaging cars so as to get more money for repairing them
Had a dodge grand caravan that stopped one day and wouldn’t start. Took it into the mechanic a few days later after trying to fix it and the mechanic proceeded to not even look at it for five months. Then he goes to look at it and says we’re trying to scam him because the car hadn’t ran in several years, and that the engine was completely rusted out. Told him is was running just a few days before we took it in and he kept accusing us of giving him a bad car. We lost several thousand dollars because of this and had to buy a new van, which put us $20k in debt. Don’t EVER tell me mechanics aren’t scammers.
Yea majority will scam you without second thought my dads been going to same guy who raises the price every time and the thing still has problems atleast once a year
Sounds like two idiots arguing. Arm yourself with knowledge (which is free and easy to learn) and dont be taken advantage of by a bad mechanic. They do exist but are not the norm
@@OtherDalfite how am I the idiot for taking my car to a garage after I tried fixing the few simple solutions I could and the car still didn’t start?
@@OtherDalfite and how am I supposed to know everything about the engine when I’m trying to build my own house right now from scratch while also learning how to homestead while also learning engineering on the job full time? The mechanic is supposed to help people with complex problems, or did you skip over the part where I said I had already tried fixing it? Of course you skipped over it, you’re too busy glazing mechanics for being predatory.
@Spobbles69420 lol glazing mechanics. I'm not a mechanic just so you know, but I know the field is underpaid and overworked. If you don't understand your own vehicle, that's entirely on you. Don't outsource your understanding of your own equipment to other people. You only have yourself to blame for opening yourself up to getting scammed. Get an older vehicle, seriously. These new vehicles aren't built to be worked on by DIY guys.
Or even worse, a jeep owner 😂
jeep was horrible before stellantis took over.
As a former Jeep owner, I must admit that this is 100% true.
@@orbitalair2103 Kaiser Jeep was the best Jeep imho. A lot of volunteer fire departments in my area had them, abused them for half a century, and they're still running and serving their counties and saving lives. The lucky few that are retired tend to get bought for a dirt cheap price tag by one of the volunteer firefighters and turned into an off-road toy, or a practical classic truck for cruising around and hauling the occasional load of mulch or gravel.
lol
i have used a jeep liberty 2002 for some months and it has this electric problems every now and then, it sucks im selling it
3:50 The missing Nissan emblem should be the 1st red flag
Look the bumper it has been replaced.
was definitely a black person
From a customer's perspective, I don't mind paying extra for proper work being done, considering that most mechanics I've dealt with weren't entirely honest and/or competent. The last shop wanted to charge me $200 to put a belt on my Subaru. I told them I would do it myself for that price. I took the car home and did the repair myself in about 15 minutes. This is why I enjoy undercover videos where dishonest and incompetent mechanics are exposed for trying to rip us off. Not everyone who brings their car in for repairs is ignorant about their cars. 👍🏼
Good for you. I tried to do my own brake adjustments and... it didn't go well. I installed some parts wrong, and broke some others. Ended up paying over $1,000 to fix my own mistakes.
@@noseboop4354just need learn alot about it and than try to do it whan you understand what you need to do and how parts in order are put in place and what need to be oiled with what ! Tonn of videos over youtube ! I rebuilded whole engine learning from tutorials and transmithion sucefully !
Every step need check and know exacly what you are doing !
@@noseboop4354 TH-cam is one hell of a resource! and 3/8's torque wrenches are 50 bucks on amazon.
@@elhombrebilingue also for every car can find on internet in google car manul with schematic of each part and also parameters for clearences etc. And remove and install instructions in detile !
Its sad that car industries are going in the direction of other technologies in which they prefer their product to not last long and not be cost effective to fix, but to buy new one. We as customers need to be wary of this. If a product does not last, and is not cost effective to repair, we have to bash the brand online and never buy it again. We need to get the respect from these people.
ChatGPT and I did a job last weekend to diagnose and fix my washer fluid not working, required removal of the reservoir and deep cleaning the gunk out. I have minimal mechanical skill (office job), but fairly patient, and little fear of trying. Probably was a 1-2 hour job for a mechanic but it took me 3, and saved me about $300-400. If folks figure this out then mechanics will only be needed for hard technical stuff, or where it's nearly impossible to do without a lift.
Rebuilding 1960 flat head straight 6 was easier than changing starter on my 2007 Honda Fit
Faaaacts, that job sucked. Even adjusting the valves required taking the whole intake apart.
I loved that car, but repairs were a pain. My dad's '09 Fit is even worse!
@@chrono_tigger Tune up of 2015 4 cylinder Nissan Versa Note calls for intake manifold removal
Bro I hate to be this guy but there ARE a lot of scammers out there.
Mechanics, car salesman, anything dealing with cars has a lot of scumbags.
Downplaying this because you yourself aren't a scammer doesn't erase reality.
What do you mean 20 year old car is old?
That's practically new for me.😂
@@jim9930 I've seen them where people just let them rust out, and they expect me to help them figure out how to rig something else that looks like it's already been rigged 7 different times and all by different people despite the frame being a stiff breeze and a cough away from snapping in half. Sorry buddy, that's your can of worms, not mine!
in the eastern road salt shit hole states and provinces, a 2 minute old car is old. out west where the climate doesn't suck you can plausibly drive a 40 year old car.
5 years is old now. Just bc your stuck in the 80s doesn't the world stops progressing
@@baconpranks6005 you sound ontarian
Good job explaining not only the hardships of mechanics and technicians in the industry but also the importance of service writers along with how flat rate works and the downsides. Very informative.
Your videos have really helped me in my career.
I work in IT and your videos have convinced me to really take my career seriously so that I *never* have to switch to working on Ford Transit vans.
It's mostly the drivers
If you drive your car like a granny
And maintain it like it's built in 1970
You'll get a lot of miles.
I've owned 3 chevy's and a Buick, no major problems
My oldest (2000 impala) died in 2019 at 315k miles
Rest are all 12+ yrs old no issues
Cruze, equinox, enclave
I follow a simple recipe
Oil every 5k
Transmission fluid, coolent and brake fluid swap every 40k
Full induction clean and spark plug swap at 60k
Keep wheels aligned, balanced, and properly inflated
Don't rev over 2k until hitting operating temp
Avoid reving over 3500 unless totally necessary
Let engine run 2 mins at idle before shutoff if I drive for over 1 hour
Avoid speeding over 65mph unless necessary
Do at least 1 trip every 2 weeks at highway speeds for 30 minutes if car has had only short trips over 2 weeks
Full rust proofing every 2 years, light rust proofing all seals and boots every year
Simple easy peasy, your car will last long even in the harsh Buffalo salt winters
I quit repairing vehicles and switched to lawnmowers and other small engine equipment, making almost twice the money and its like doing half the work.
i have a buddy who's doing the same thing, you can get pretty massive upside with smaller consumer equipment and you'll find people who are willing to give away old lawn equipment with minimal repairs needed for a good deal on a new or refurbished piece of lawn equipment.
0:45 Survivorship Bias. Poorly maintained/designed old cars don't survive long enough to be counted against newer cars.
I had no idea that people truly abandon their car instead of pay the bill...even by credit card. I'm not focusing on your customer's financial situation(s) which are obvious. I just never imagined that they would just "give" you their car instead of, well, at least try to pay you for THEIR CAR. I mean, once abandoned, how do they get to work or go shopping or pick up their kid? LOL! I'm stunned.
Civilian car owner here. I can barely change a light bulb, let alone fix a car. Great video, and only heightens my respect for mechanics. I own a so-far trouble-free Subaru Crosstrek, and I treat her like a baby. All fluid changes done religiously, by the book, and I do what my mechanic tells me to do, no push back (Gregg's Japanese Auto in Seattle). I don't drive it hard because it wasn't meant for that, except for banging about on forest roads. Good point about keeping your car clean, that does indicate how much you care about your car. Anyway, this message has no point other than to say I appreciate the hard work mechanics and all technical people do to keep our world running smoothly. Thank you for your service, as they say.
Here is a funny. i have a 21 year old corolla had air bag issues, back to dealer 3rd time. the service tech told me car needed nothing well maintained. As i went to get my car the lady 1 row over was yelling being angry why was her same year car breaking down. It just got fixed more angry words.. It was a twilightzone event trully bizarre. I felt so bad for the service tech having to deal with insanity. San jose cars dont rust or rot . Its all about the upkeep and maintenance.
My cousin owns a junkyard. He gets abandoned or wrecked autos and just places them in his lot, charges a $20 gate fee to mechanics to enter with their tools and take whatever parts they want from the junkers, and they bring the parts to the booth he has there and pays him for the parts. Occasionally he gets a pretty good price for anyone with a tow truck to haul a whole car if they want that make/model.
There is a car compactor on the property, and he employs six armed guards by day and has six Dobermans that he keeps in a side yard with heated doghouses, shaded shelter, water, and food by day and he releases them into the junkyard at night to keep out thieves. He wears a gold chain, makes a pretty good living, and has similar qualms regarding fixing cars.
20$ to go in ? That's steep the Pick n Pull charges a 2$ fee!
@@Truthtellerwon And I won't go into a pick and pull because nothing pisses me off more than paying to wander around all over the lot just to find out they don't have the vehicle you need to get your part off of and they don't refund you the money you paid.......
@@Truthtellerwon the problem with pick and pull is everyone destroys the parts you need to get to the one they need
I disagree with much of this video. I mostly owned BMWs previously, and I maintained every vehicle to the highest standard. People are tired with mechanics, shops, and dealer service areas, not the mechanics themselves. It’s the constant upsell of unnecessary maintenance, while not addressing important underlying issues. I eventually went to an independent mechanic owned shop, where they charged a flat hourly labor rate, and they did not try to screw you on parts and other nonsense. They were constantly busy and made money it seems. So you can absolutely make money without screwing over customers, blame the dealerships, they screw mechanics and customers.
I totally agree. Dealerships nickel and dime you on everything and the pile of papers from warrantees and insurance pay nothing to the mechanics.
Thank you. You pegged it. Some of these things were issues even in my dad's days as a mechanic (1940s-1980s.) I wouldnt encourage any young people to become mechanics. My dad had an excellent reputation at a dealership and later as a shop owner. Still, whenever he saw a young person with potential wanting to be a mechanic, he would do his best to dissuade them. Several took his advice and were glad they did.
The manufacturers being the problem is ABSOLUTELY true. The world needs vehicles that last longer than the loan.
The same thing applies to the agricultural business. Long time ago I priced out the major components you need to build a combine from scratch, no labor, just parts and it ended up being the retail price of a new one, but it didn't include everything. Just the major stuff which is about 10% of the parts you need. So it turns out the markup on parts is between 120-1500% not 150...1500%!
I wish they built cars/machines with more of the same parts to cut down on unique parts on the shelf and make multiple cars/machinery become donors.
"Engineered to fail" is the expression to describe the quality of parts today and I wish the system wasn't primed so people are encouraged to keep buying new shit.
The last good cars, trucks, machines were made around 2013, after that it's been nothing but a decline.
there was a distinct humility on the run up to 2012. after we got past 2012 and not a dang thing happened the demons got unleashed. malfeasors felt vindicated that they were not being reckoned with. to those bad actors it was like a message from on high to carry on and make miserable garbage people are going to need to replace. decayed in half a decade.
This one poor guy who worked where I worked liked to brag about all the sweet deals he got on cars for him and his (third) wife. These include a Chrysler 200, a Ford EcoSport and a Jeep Compass.
Garbage cars lol
3:15 Nissan with bad transmission, I've been there.
The CVTs on those Nissans are notorious for failure, should have went with the manual!
I was fortunate to find a local independent Audi/VW shop. I do most of my own wrenching, but I rely on them for the (literally) heavy lifting.
*the "Cigar Scene" ... **_made the Video_** hahahaha LOL*
Flat rate was great. When cars were simpler, up until the mid 70s. When smog and other emissions stuff, and OBD I came out, it was game over. Add to that the 80s steel that loved to rust (ok, some 70s too, like Vegas) just made labor more and more and more intense.
Id say, keep the flat rate, but with a multiplier for rust. If a sawzall, or wire brush or welder has to come out to get a job done, then it switches to hourly rate and book time goes out the window. Same with warranty work. That needs to be hourly. And if mfgers complain that were too slow, consider it incentive to make better cars!
Heck even book time on warranties would be ok, though some companies do give SOMETHING but its a percentage or some ridiculous times. Like, 15minute for an airbag recall, when it takes me 30 minutes to make sure it wont blow when I remove it.
This is also why I only work on my own cars (which is more than a full time gig...theyre like rabbits and keep multiplying!)
An easier solution would be to keep flat rate. Once you hit say over an hour above book you start getting paid 0.5 whatever an hourly pay equivalent of that flat rate would be. Say a flat rate job is 2 hours and you get $100 ($50/hr). Well if you take 2hr 15 minutes you get $100. But once it goes to 3hrs now you get $100+$25. So a 3 hour (2 hr flat rate) job would pay $125. This keeps the incentive to hustle for flat rate jobs but also gives you some protection when you are out of luck. You could tweak this maybe make the pay higher but really something needs to be done. I don't want to say just straight hourly pay as flat rate can really play in a mechanic's favor, but as it is now it's broken.
Warranty jobs should straight up pay the mechanic.
@@daytonasixty-eight1354 Exactly. Sadly, what were doing now is more than the industry, as in having a conversation. Its why I am seeing some shops pay different types of pay to get in good mechanics and build reputations. But very few, and its tough to get in with those guys.
What I find sad is how modern metallurgy _truly is_ better, but you'd never know because they're using cheaper and cheaper materials. My 1966 Oldsmobile JUST started to rust in one small spot above the rear passenger fender, where the chrome trim meets the body panel. 58 years in existence, I drove it every single day for 3 years before the transmission started pissing all of its fluid out at a faster rate than I could keep it full (a problem which has now been fixed, though the concrete garage floor was stained pink for I don't even know how long). Cost of repair at the local body shop? Less than $1000, and he matched the paint by hand. My dad had a 2020 Silverado RST, nice truck, had the 6.2 gas V8. Made a lot of power. Also started to rust out after a SINGLE winter. The only saving grace was warranty covered the paint correction that had to be done to keep it from actually damaging the metal.
Almost 60 winters to rust, versus one. People wonder why "they don't make 'em like they used to" is a sentiment among older people. That's the exact reason right there. Lower quality metals with good attention to detail when it comes to actual production, versus 'good' quality materials with slapdash "who gives a shit we just want your money" production. The difference is night and day.
@@lsswappedcessna Very true.
Yep, the system is outdated and exceptions are now needed.
Well one thing did not change about mechanics in the last 30 years....they are always complaining lol. Old cars are too old, new cars are too new, rich clients are pretentious, poor clients are cheap, screws are too tight etc. It would be like the baker would always complain about having to use an oven or a cook about constantly having to chop vegetables for meals....it's just part of the job.
Farmers and ranchers are never happy either and they are all about a doomsday mentality, then a bumper crop rolls in.
and they all think they are gods gift to man for knowing how to change a brake pad lol
no. its the cook getting upset at having to serve out chicken thats turning.
Part of the issue is that car manufacturers are making car repairs less and less accessible to the average third party mechanic shop looking to turn some wrenches and make a quick buck. Another part of the issue is that many third party mechanics are failing to develop the basic skills needed to perform their jobs at an acceptable level.
The types of mechanics who are quick to say "they just don't make em like they used to, new cars are all just built to break," are the same types of mechanics who will laugh or get offended when you tell them that a multimeter, amp clamp, electrical toolkit, and OBD scanner are the FIRST tools that should be used on the majority of common vehicle failures on modern cars. If purely mechanical repairs on a 20 year old clunker are all you can reliably do, you're a bad mechanic. So many customers are ending up back at dealers after their local wrench monkey tried to replace a fuel pump without performing adequate recalibration, or has been reusing high pressure fuel lines, or didn't catch a simple sensor failure because they didn't bother hooking up to the car's OBD.
If you're bad at your job and charging people for service as if you knew what you were doing, you're a scammer at best.
My 2018 Ford Focus ST has developed a coolant leak out of the quick disconnects coming out of my firewall in the engine bay. Noticed it a little over a year ago but its a slow enough leak so i've been on top of keeping enough coolant in the system. Talked to a guy in my car club that oversees the service department at a Ford Dealership and asked him about the repair. 300 dollars seemed easy enough but when I asked if the fix would prevent the issue from occurring again he said no it will fail again in 5 years. Absolutely insane
That flat rate pay jazz is simply criminal. Nothing more than employers off-loading business risk onto their employees. It's disgraceful.
My mechanic stopped buying parts from AutoZone and only buys from O'Reilly because brand new parts right out of the box were junk ! 🤷
It's everywhere now. It's hard to get good parts no matter where you go
@@joecummings1260 Dealer first
AutoZone has definitely gotten worse...
Even the guy working at AutoZone referred me to O'Reilly
Same parts for the most part. Even the OEM parts are a lot of the same. I've been doing this since the 80's and the quality of parts has never been worse.
99% of mechanics are honest?????
Yeah let’s research that number a little bit more….
As a former mechanic and shop owner, that number seems high to me too. All corporate shops are dishonest. It's as simple as that.
Funny 99% honest BS!
Its probably more than 90%
Im blessed to have just purchased a new 24' Toyota Camry SE. The last year of this particular generation and naturally aspirated. I hope that this will be the last car I ever have to buy seeing that im nearly 52 years old. I still cannot quite wrap my mind around not having to worry about doing major repairs for the next 8-10 years. I used to work in a shop back when I graduated from high school and customers were either great customers or really shady people in general. One thing I know that I love about Toyota is their top down approach to quality, in both manufacturing and design. The 8th generation Camry has all kinds of room under the hood for doing repairs. Thanks for the entertaining videos, definitely make some service videos on any Toyotas that may come through your shop.
You better rust proof it then cause you will get maybe 10 yrs before it breaks in half
Best of luck.
Thank you for being honest. All I ever hear from people is that I should have picked this job over what I have. I told them the expectation that working in HVAC or mechanic work isn't full proof and has its own problem. So it makes me feel better to see an honest video about the job.
So many good points in this video. Self taught myself car repair through forums and youtube tutorials, I've spent more time researching and learning cars than most people with bachelors degrees in their respective field, but I would never get into the industry as a day job. People take cars for granted so much without considering how much effort and stress goes into some of these repairs.