I’m seeking to shift careers right now…Tired of sitting during the brick you do accounting…I’ve been meditative about removing ASE certified, gaining the little knowledge as well as opening up the shop. Anyone have tips or the little outlooks upon what the similar to starting in to automotive services?
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this isnt a simple answer to be asking for online… I went to a tech high school for automechanics and am now a college certified autobody collision repair specialist…. you need to go to your local technical college and see for yourself.. it would take me 2 hours to answers your questions thoroughly..
There are a little bit of headaches involved as with any career. You definitely will not get board, unless business is real slow. If you are board in what you are doing, I say go for it! I have tried other jobs because of the slow periods, but they bore me. I got I-CAR and ASE certified,all my life I’ve worked in shops, and my heart always goes back there. Good Luck!
honestly you need to have a passion and the patience for it,ive been doing it for 16 years and owned two shops,there is alot of competition with backyard mechanics,there is also customers you have to deal with,getting educated is a start but experience and hands on will make you or break you,tools and diagnostic equipment will cost hundreds maybe thousands and your shop over head,rent,uniforms,parts,insurance,you need to work for some one first and see if its something you really want to do,owning your own shop is stressfull,many long hours,long days trying to make ends meet and finding good employees is another story itself.
well, one thing those schools dont tell you is the tool expense. they say that you can make ok money, but when your buying sets of 200 dollar wrenches, 400 dollars to 800 dollars or so on just an impact wrench alone(depending on the size). hundreds of dollars more on specialty tools, sockets, metric andstandard, of 3 drive sizes and a 2000 dollar to 8000 dollar tool box, and all of that is financed at 20 percent plus interest through matco. and trust me you will need to buy good tools so its not like you can help it. your working for matco now. my advice…. look into being a matco man tool salesman. mine is always on vacation and all us mechanics owe him lots of money. and wed all thought of being a tool man at one time or another. if you want to make even more money, look into becoming a snap on tool man. those prices are even higher! good luck. oh yeah and every tool man ive had was at one time a mechanic. so skip the mechanic part and go straight to becoming a tool man. look, i just saved you about 10 yrs of time towards your new career of tool salesman. no joke!
well i’m changing careers too i decided hang up my tools and sit at a cube. cars are gettin more difficult to fix, it seems like the manufacturers are making them so only they can fix them. the only way i will stay in the car business is if its restoring muscle cars
If you an fix cars and talk to people, you’ve got a leg up. The biggest headache is finding good help. Keep it small, one man operation. If a customer brings in a car and decides he can’t afford to fix it; buy it from him, fix it and sell it. You’ll make a lot more money fixing and selling than fixing for the public, GUARANTEED!!! Now i only repair cars for a few; no advertising except by word of mouth. But, I’m continually looking for desireable small cars and trucks needing repair to buy and sell. Much more profitable. Overhead is lower because you don’t need to lease a comercial building; do it out of your garage. (I’m lucky, I’ve got 4 bays and 3 acres on a state hwy).
Tools don’t have to break the bank. Harbor Freight sells quality tools for 1/10 the cost of Snap-on. Ray