For years now there have been fewer and fewer young people wanting to became car mechanics (or auto technicians in the current terminology) and it seems that this has led to fewer and fewer independent auto repair shops. I know here in Richmond, VA I can't seem to find an independent garage specializing in Cadillac repair and service.
I noticed the total lack of Cadillac specialists when I owned my Sevilles. I just had to find a decent independent shop and trust that they selected the right parts and did a decent job. There's guys out there who do Northstar stuff, but few actual shops that focus on Cadillac.
Perhaps its because they became Olds knockoffs during the 1980s.
Meanwhile Subaru, German, and Swedish car specialists are in every town.
For years now there have been fewer and fewer young people wanting to became car mechanics (or auto technicians in the current terminology) and it seems that this has led to fewer and fewer independent auto repair shops. I know here in Richmond, VA I can't seem to find an independent garage specializing in Cadillac repair and service.
I know a kid that i worked with that became a auto technician (ASE) and never found a job or pay was to low. So now he tells all his friends don't become one because 1. No jobs 2. Low pay. Just saying...
I know a kid that i worked with that became a auto technician (ASE) and never found a job or pay was to low. So now he tells all his friends don't become one because 1. No jobs 2. Low pay. Just saying...
Judging from what I've read here over the years, I think there are two different answers. One is the wage we want to PAY for work performed and the other would be the wage we want to BE PAYED for work performed.
When I owned my Cadillac the dealership here was so great that I never felt the reason to bother with indy shops. I always had a loaner car and the prices were reasonable for what I considered excellent service.
I don't think the wage is the problem - I think it's the work itself. No one wants to do it, and you can't pay them enough to do it. The turnover rate is high, and there are lots of people leaving the industry after quitting, sometimes even taking a pay cut in the process, rather than hopping job to job within the industry for more money. No one likes working on other people's garbage for 10+ hours a day, including weekends.
It's kind of like truck drivers - it really doesn't pay all that bad, but even that's not enough to attract new employees or retain the ones they have. No one wants to do it.
Truth there ^^^. I have spent a LOT of oddball time as a paid grease monkey, gas pumper, engine mechanic/builder and general vehicle "tech" - part time and full time, high school weekends, college breaks, Navy inport time, retired time........... For me it was not for a living - yes, I liked the money but the experience and parts discounts was primary. I can honestly say that I would NOT want to be a 40-hour "mechanic".
You know how you can tell if you've found a good independent (or even dealer) shop ??? When you get the car back everything looks EXACTLY as it did when you dropped it off.......... maybe a few shiny new parts, but otherwise untouched.
For me it was not for a living - yes, I liked the money but the experience and parts discounts was primary. I can honestly say that I would NOT want to be a 40-hour "mechanic".
For most forty hours a week (or more) of anything is a drag and more often than not drudgery, that's why it is called work! Not many pursue or enjoy what they do for a living with a passion and the enjoyment that comes with it .... those that do are truly lucky in life!
That's a grim viewpoint...I'm glad I don't share it. Your employer gets 1/3 of your life - I'd be miserable if that 1/3 was a drag and drudgery even though it didn't have to be, highly compensated or not. To each their own.
If this is the way a typical American views the labor market, we are a sad, weak, drone population and the health of our society has a very dark future. Perhaps the GOP isn't as crazy as the die-hard liberals make them out to be!
Don't kid yourself, Drew, it was those jobs that bought split level houses, two cars in the garage and all kinds of gadgets that have entertained American youth of all ages for several decades. For most of the American workforce "work," while in this day and age perhaps not drudgery, is still a necessity of getting and maintaining those things that are "wanted!"
While "work" no longer involves the physical exertion that it has in centuries past it still is less than a "fun" experience for most of the labor force. For those with inadequate education and less than acceptable language and mathematical skills (and that amounts to about half of working age adults) their choices are limited to both mind numbing and physically repetitious jobs with little or no upward mobility.
Granted over the last fifty years "work" has become less physically demanding, their has also been a steep decline in adjusted hourly wage for workers in U.S. Today it takes a two income family of four to maintain a basic lower middle class average income, whereas prior to the 1970's most middle income families were support by one wage earner.
But, Drew, I am glad you find yourself doing work that you apparent really enjoy .... and that this work supplies an adequate income for you!
thank you, I do, but the point went right over your head. I recognize that many aren't fortunate enough to hold a job they enjoy. At any rate, the point is that those who are smart or skilled enough to successfully leave a job they dislike will - and that's what is happening with all of these auto techs. The job sucks, and those who care to help themselves are quitting - leaving behind positions that are filled by those with no passion or love for the job (what you claim is the definition of work, unfortunately). It's the answer to your question. Those who thought they loved it found out the hard way that it's a shitty full time career - and have such a sour taste in their mouths that they are leaving the industry entirely. Those drones who are willing to go through the motions for a paycheck are filling the voids. Wages aren't the issue - you can't pay the disappointed techs enough to retain them.
We have, however, changed the definition of "middle class" somewhat.
Today's new homes are much larger, more elaborate, and more expensive -- though construction quality may not be so great. Cars, even after adjusting for inflation, have risen in cost and complexity too, and the modern middle class expects all of it.
Still, people I know who have achieved middle class normalcy (call it two cars built after 2000, a kid or two, and a 1500 sq ft home in a respectable if not upscale neighborhood) have gotten there through the most convention means possible -- college education (post-graduate in most cases) followed by white-collar employment.
It's almost impossible to be an independent shop anymore because of the investment in special tools required to work on todays cars as well as the way the electronics and programming is handled. To program a device requires on-line access to the factory web site. The source of the program data is no longer a CD or DVD. It's all proprietary and done on-line from a password protected data base and the dealership is merely a pass-through. The days of a grease monkey tinkering around on your car on instinct and with a canvas bag of stone tools went away a lifetime ago.
^^^ Actually here in Virginia it's the card carrying Tea Party member and their fellow travelers who loudly declare their right to everything and just as avidly pursue a "cash only" lifestyle! I imagine Alaska has its' share true blue Americans. Republican or Democrat these freeloaders are what force those who actually pay their fair share of income taxes to pay higher taxes. It is estimated that if this so called "gray" economy were to pay their fair share of income taxes that there would be no annual deficit in the Federal budget.
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