Old Mechanics Are There Any

[mik]

i thought this might be an interesting topic, i was in a ford dealer getting parts a couple of weeks ago,while i was waiting i had a look at the mechanics thru the big windows ,and admired the cleanliness of the workshop,how nice and spartan it looked, the flash looking hoists and the toolboxes on wheels, and how nice and bright the workshop was, but i was looking for some familiar faces (because 20 ish years ago i did work for this ford dealer} .......but i have to say there were none, and the age of these blokes, they all looked really young {maybe thats coz im an old geeza). I was just surprised that i couldnt see any that even looked close to late 20s. also i couldnt see half of the equiptment like big vane machines for tune ups an stuff but i did see a couple of tables with laptops on them and some hi tech looking wheel balancers. A couple of weeks earlier i was at a worshop of a different car dealer but where i bought my auxr6 from (not a ford dealer). I had an appointment to discuss some warranty work and to check out the exhaust and suspension while up on the hoist and it became apparent the young bloke just didnt no s... about my falcon(sorry i didnt buy from a ford dealer) and again the workshop no older type experienced blokes did they just dissapear when engines became computerised...????????? your thoughts.

[cookie_thief23]

I aint a mechanic, but i think its more likely that ford and other car companies dont want to hire older staff. i never see older folk at dealerships but sometimes you see them at smaller workshops or even running their own workshop.

[mik]

yep cookie guess its all money now, its hard job on body anyway i wouldnt want to be spannering under a car as an older fella these days,

[Tickford Kid]

Dealerships don't want to pay decent money to keep experienced mechanics in the trade. Thats why there are very little older mechanics left!
Thats a fact aswell. I'm a mechanic and I wouldn't work for a dealership again.

[stitty]

With what is being taught in mechanical courses in tech these days, i'm of the opinion that the younger generation should be better geared to work on newer cars and technology. With the introduction of scan tools/laptop interfaces, a lot of the old fashioned diagnostic procedures have gone under. A few of the "older" mechanics i know have regarded this period as a new apprenticeship of sorts. All of a sudden you dont necessarily need to know a lot about cars to know how to repair them.... although physically carrying out the manual side is a different thing.
Maybe larger mechanical shops have realised this and only employ young blokes believing they are likely to understand the technology quicker? maybe their tradesman get sick of working on the same type of vehicle day in, day out?
....my thoughts.

[gtfpv]

i cant answer this one but know what you mean where have all the older mechanics gone? i do think though to be fair to the younger blokes that they are still tradesmen and they work for dealers , because they can specialise in a brand . ford has patented a lot of diagnostic programd etc. so if i had a real fidly problem with a new model i would take my chances at a ford dealer . the odds are they would've come across it before.

[Psycho Chicken]

Because dealerships are a load of crap to work for. I'm outta there for good the moment I get my trade papers, if not earlier.

They don't seem to think they need experienced guys. Just slap some apprentices in there, a few guys with 2 or 3 years under their belt and some under the thumb guy who'll never leave as the foreman. If anything gets too tricky for them, there's always technical support a phone call/email away.

Well that's how I see my work. Not a Ford dealer, for the record.

[Gambit]

The mechanics at our dealership have just had a pay rise from $20 to $25 an hour which I think is pretty good. They had to pay them that tho cause we are/were losing to many to the mines.

We don't seem to use the diagnostic computer a lot at work as we don't do a heap of passenger cars. We do mostly mine vehicles with a lot of gearbox/transfer & diff jobs.

Keeps me interested to see what damage the miners who drive the things are always doing.

Originally Posted by Gambit

Keeps me interested to see what damage the miners who drive the things are always doing.

Well they are always keeping someone in work. whether they are buggering up machinery, vehicles, computers, microwaves, yada yada. they're not paying for it, so they don't care. :

well where I work anyway

[pursuit ute]

most of the older, smarter good mechanics do have there own workshops and love what they do

[BJ]

Originally Posted by pursuit ute

most of the older, smarter good mechanics do have there own workshops and love what they do

I have to agree with that. We had our own workshop for the last 15 years. Did my time at the Police work shops here in Melbourne as well as Repco. I then worked at Coffey Ford when they were in Ringwood, the last Dealer i worked for. All of the old bloks left and started the own workshops around that time. As for today The quality of Apprentices today in general if it is not dealer specific some dont have a clue. The main thing is the cost of training once the dealer has got his money back its out the door fella.