Becoming a mechanic...
- Thread starter lemonade
- Start date
Have you considered volunteering to help out someone running their race car or helping a race team? You're unlikely to get paid (at least until you get good) but it's an interesting way to learn and get some good experience.
It's not exactly a route into becoming a car mechanic (although it might open up an opportunity to become a race mechanic) ... but it will certainly give you a taster - a chance see if you are any good and whether you enjoy it. Having the experience will only look good on your CV.
It's not exactly a route into becoming a car mechanic (although it might open up an opportunity to become a race mechanic) ... but it will certainly give you a taster - a chance see if you are any good and whether you enjoy it. Having the experience will only look good on your CV.
If you want to be self employed and have a van why don't you train up to be an agricultural engineer? The jobs more interesting and once established the moneys good, £25 - £30 an hour. The experience you get will mean you easily turn your hands to cars as well.
yes you basically get your wage cheque and hand it to the nice man in the van
I think I'm the only mechanic in the world who hasn't bought into the Snap On hype.
I quite proudly say that I don't own a single snap on tool
personally i prefer Chicago Pneumatic for my air tools but thats just personal preference, snap on stuff is tucked away safe at the folks and for day to day use i cant really see past the halfords professional range.
and contrary to what people tell you, you can never have enough tools
my daily setup is all halfords
last thing i want to do is put any of my beloved snap on anywhere near a manky taxi
any dealership will expect you to have your own tools, obviously specialist model specific tools and diagnostics will be on site.
but bear in mind a good quality set of tools will last a life time, if your planning on staying in the trade then go for the best you can afford. i've still got some of my very first snap on stuff thats now 13 years old and like new. oh and local ads/ebay is your friend for job lots, try not to be suckered in by your local van offering epic deals on cabs you really dont need that ten grand double
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My personal stuff is almost entirely Halfords.
Had a big Snap on tool chest that I picked up from one of the guys who were leaving. It hurt me to part with £900 for the thing, I find out that they are £2,500 new!
Sold it on as our new site is going to have built in tool storage
.
Had a big Snap on tool chest that I picked up from one of the guys who were leaving. It hurt me to part with £900 for the thing, I find out that they are £2,500 new!
Sold it on as our new site is going to have built in tool storage
.
Soldato
I too use Halfords stuff, partly because if I have to abuse something to make it work then it's cheap to replace - but saying that, I've not broken any of it yet.
to put it into perspective,
my entire halfords collection umpteen roll cabs sockets, ratchets spanners etc etc etc owes me circa 1200 quid,
my single snap on roll cab owes me ten times that
both come with a lifetime warranty and both do the same job,
dont bow to workshop peer pressure and one upmanship and go down the brand route
but if your serious and your going to be doing homers i may be persuaded to part with my modis for the right price
my entire halfords collection umpteen roll cabs sockets, ratchets spanners etc etc etc owes me circa 1200 quid,
my single snap on roll cab owes me ten times that
both come with a lifetime warranty and both do the same job,
dont bow to workshop peer pressure and one upmanship and go down the brand route
but if your serious and your going to be doing homers i may be persuaded to part with my modis for the right price
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My advice would be not too, the money isnt great and the work is dirty, thats fun for a weekend on your own car but day in day out it gets tiresome. Then you have to deal with customers who have spoken to the guy down the pub who says you overcharge for everything and people on the internet who think they are full blown automotive engineers because they changed a oil filter once.
Also avoid snap-on like the plague far far too expensive.
If you do want too then avoid main dealers would be my advice, I have been on a LOT of courses and the main dealer folks are always noticeable by the vacant eyes and crushed souls.
A good local indy on a apprenticeship would be your best bet but you will probably start on minimum wage.
Also avoid snap-on like the plague far far too expensive.
If you do want too then avoid main dealers would be my advice, I have been on a LOT of courses and the main dealer folks are always noticeable by the vacant eyes and crushed souls.
A good local indy on a apprenticeship would be your best bet but you will probably start on minimum wage.
Soldato
Disagree with some of what you have said, I work at a main dealers had the best start ever. I was stripping and repairing axles and gearboxes in my third year where as all the others in local garages hadn't got a clue. Most small indy garages just replace with second hand stuff, not a problem but your not as hands on as i have been. This is of course my experience and not all main dealers are the same.
Again with the customer thing we dont get to deal with the customers too much as that is all dealt with by reception, where as in a smaller indy garage your going to be dealing with the customers more face to face, so main dealer aint that bad in actual fact.
As for snap on most of my kit is snap on, but i must say some isn't i have bought a lot of halfords and the quality is good, not as good as snap on and halfords (local to me) are a pain in the arse when you go back to change things.
Again with the customer thing we dont get to deal with the customers too much as that is all dealt with by reception, where as in a smaller indy garage your going to be dealing with the customers more face to face, so main dealer aint that bad in actual fact.
As for snap on most of my kit is snap on, but i must say some isn't i have bought a lot of halfords and the quality is good, not as good as snap on and halfords (local to me) are a pain in the arse when you go back to change things.
That's mostly dodgy backstreet places, a lot of indys either refuse to fit second hand or offer no guarantee and customer must supply the parts. This is of course my experience and not all indys are the same.
Thank you for all the insightful posts. Gives a better perspective of things.
Will have to look up on agricultural engineer and MOT testing. Volunteering sounds interesting, but it could be quite difficult to find that sort of work i would imagine. Apprenticeship seems to be the way to go as you get more hands on work, can't stand college etc if i'm honest, the teaching is usually poor and slow and you will have class of immature chavs (slight generalisation). I'm thinking of maybe buying a cheap small car and working on it and learning myself and see if i can see myself as a mechanic, my background is actually in IT, but i'm frustrated by the industry, I was planning on doing mechanic apprenticeship after i left college but decided to go to uni, now i'm somewhat back to that inkling, was helping my dad with some car stuff a few weeks ago, and i really enjoyed it, i thought of prefer practical work then office style i guess.
Would motorcycle mechanic be similar? Might be possibly more easier to learn?
Will have to look up on agricultural engineer and MOT testing. Volunteering sounds interesting, but it could be quite difficult to find that sort of work i would imagine. Apprenticeship seems to be the way to go as you get more hands on work, can't stand college etc if i'm honest, the teaching is usually poor and slow and you will have class of immature chavs (slight generalisation). I'm thinking of maybe buying a cheap small car and working on it and learning myself and see if i can see myself as a mechanic, my background is actually in IT, but i'm frustrated by the industry, I was planning on doing mechanic apprenticeship after i left college but decided to go to uni, now i'm somewhat back to that inkling, was helping my dad with some car stuff a few weeks ago, and i really enjoyed it, i thought of prefer practical work then office style i guess.
Would motorcycle mechanic be similar? Might be possibly more easier to learn?
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Soldato
You need some qualifications before you can think about mot's.
The good thing is if you get a job at a garage then its only day release. I dont think you get a load of chavs lol there not clever enough to go to college lol.
You do get a few idiots in most classes but after a year they drop out as they cant handle it.
lol, i was actually thinking of buying a k11 micra (have a spot for them
) and then learn a few things from online tutorials and books like haynes manual, maybe do a project car, drop an sr20 and build a sleeper
True, I was generalising lol, had an old mate who enrolled in one ( i call him a chav lol), he dropped out after a year because the course was apparently too boring and theoretical.
Just been reading about MOT testing and seem your right, you need a few qualifications and certificates for it.
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