ANDYRACER

Just wondering what keeps you in the job?
I had a job as a mechanics for 2 months and hated every minute of working on someone elses car.

I always see car mechanic's as a hobbie and not a job, someone telling me that i have to do it day in day out really sucked the fun out of it?

Anyone else feel the same?

Rab

I did. So in 1998 I took a job on a ship instead. Same shit realy, only much bigger. And now I even get to shout at people

I worked for Land Rover, so spent alot of time getting covered in freezing cold mud....

blacky.

the lack of wages mainly

i make enough to pay the bills & have a little funn every month but not enough to retrain it anouther trade

Rab

blacky, why not get someone else to pay to re-train you?

blacky.

easyer than it sounds iv been looking for a couple of years now

Rab

Check out some of the goverment sponsored schemes, as they're good. Have you tried the oil industry as a diesel fitter or something? They sometimes pay for your survival tickets, then make you work for them at 38k a year for 6 months work

vroooom ptssssh

Have to agree it takes all the fun out of working on cars when you do it for a living!

I used to enjoy getting my hands dirty.

Rab

Aye, working on 500bhp cossies day in day out must be a real drag

MONSTER

I knocked it on the head when I was 20, I only work on my own car now.

thebigyin

same here, served time and binned it at 20 shite job.

RAT8OY

Best of respect but I was on Ł110 a week and managed to spend two years loosing a days wage out of that to study for a construction HNC. Had to take a second job working at Morrisons untill 10 at night to cover the bills then come home and start the homework!

I then moved to London to make the most of the qualifications leaving family and friends behind!

Christ I bet he salt water is welling in your eyes as you read this! LOL!

No such word as cant!

blacky.

iv looked but with me having a bisibility off shore is a no no
i will find something just waiting on a few things at the mo

Brian

iTrader: (2)

Same as me i left because the money was crap now i work less hours and get payed tripple what i was on in the garage

Now only do my own cars and a few of my mates cars

Brian

vroooom ptssssh

Cossies are a dodal, it's when f**king Subaru's come in thats when the spanners get thrown out the pram

rsnissan

iTrader: (9)

shite job... i would hate it

cosmagedon

iTrader: (1)

I'm 20, and been workin as a crane fitter since i was 15. Tbh its bloody hard work but the money is mega. I hate working on cars as your always bent over or working in tiny spaces. If i were a car mechanic i would have jacked by now, but with the cranes, there far more interesting and every day is a different thing.

Im trying to save now tho to do my offshore tests. I like the time off you get in that industry. And the money

Are there many working as offshore mechanics on here?

B19 JUB

i must admit that after working a 5 sometime 6 day week on fords makes u lose interest on working on ya own car come the weekend.i like two days of clean hands lol.still love working on cars as a job,money is pants though even as electrician status

babscossie

the only way to earn good money in the car game is to have your own company. still alot of work and stress but at least the money makes up for it.

James

moneys not great but i do ok i guess compared to most jobs in my area. i'm 21 so still time to jack it in!

cossieDavedree

i gave up mechanics when i was 22,,, fed up with dirty skanky old man hands all the time, plus i couldnt grope my bird unless she made sure my hands were safe lol

kev 3dr

iTrader: (1)

Im hopefully changing careers after christmas !!!
Been a commercial vehicle technician 16 years and its finally taken its toll on me at the age of 32 !!!
Good thing about my job most days have been different with being a tanker specialist and doin everythin from changing a bulb to the assisting of opening and commisioning of new chemical plants etc !
But I want to get my passion back for working on cars especially after recently selling my 3dr in boxes :-( !!!!

joshF

i did it 6 months, didnt enjoy it as a job

prefer just to do it as a hobbie,plus my boss wanted me to be able to do what all the other mechanics do after 6 months

westus1

iTrader: (6)

i used to enjoy my job to but after 11 years i would gladly walk away and never look back
still do the occasional good, exciting job but just seems like the same crap day in day out
quite fancy the offshore stuff myself

Elwood

Me three. I didn't like the "push" of trying to sell consumables like brake parts to get the bonuses.

cossie604

iTrader: (2)

So its not just me that has trouble with them bags of wank then?

Last one I worked on was a 2004 wrx, did a clutch on it. The amount of poor quality fixings that were shearing off on me was unreal

mad dog younge

iam 38 and been at it since i was 15. i work for myself at the min.i start work at 6am and finish at 6pm .and still find time to work on my own cars .i love the job ,and i make good money at it too

STUCOS

iTrader: (8)

Work for a main truck dealer, work shifts,which i hate but the money is quite good,most out guy's are on 35<40k a year

cheeRS stu

biscuittin

i'm a mechanic have done it since i was 16 ( now 33 )
i still enjoy it , but i do get a lot of the demanding job where i work which means i have to use my head alot
you do get a few poeple that pi$$ you off where there car is not done and they moan , but most dont have a clue what is involved
i'm very close to having enough after work jobs to open my own place
i still love working on my own car when i can .
maybe i've just found my place in life
its happy and i like it

LilFezza

I work as an aircraft mechanic, now those things can be a right pain in the arse. Especially when there isn't room in the hanger and its wet/freezing cold.

dumptackler

i couldnt work as a general kwik fit or main dealers mechanic, but in a motorsport place thats exciting!

Nobby_Turbocabby

im classed as an apprentice mechanic still just started my level 3 even though im the senior of 2 apprentices and second to the thrown as my garage as theres only 3 of us and i do 85% of the work!! I dont understand how people can say they have jacked it in at 20 and work on their own cars?? How can you fettle with a High Performance car and not 100% know what your doing?? IF working on your own car means a quick spark plug change then fair play but what if the worst happens lol? The moneys wank to be fair for the dirtyness and hardwork of the job lol!!

Stevie RS Boy

ive been doing it now for 14 years, its liek most jobs, has its good days and bad days, where i work in a small garage i get to do my cash work in the garage, use the garage for what ever i want to do, i still enjoy it, but never seem to have the time to do my own cars

thebigyin

i servedmy time in an rs dealer for 4 years,if you dont know what you are doing after that amount of time then you shouldnt be near anyones car.

coco16i

My old man used to do damaged repairables so its all i was brought up on and have been involved with cars since i was capable of doing anything on them !

Am 36 now and have only strayed away from the trade for a few months as took a welding job and was earning more than treble what i was usually earning... was down in that shite hole of a place they call Leeds though and could only stand it for so long !!!

The money is never going to be fantastic in this trade no matter how well qualified you are, i can turn my hand to any job on any make of car and am a mot tester and still about all i can expect to earn is Ł10 an hour.

Some of the perks make up for the lack of a decent wage though like getting to use the ramps when i want and free mot's etc so its not all doom and gloom, could probably pull my finger out my ass and make an effort to find something better paid but sort of content plodding away like i do just now as place i work is only 4 miles along the road and get to come home every day for my lunch which means i can let my dogs out if the wife is working away.

I think its a great trade to learn as gives you a very varied knowledge about lots of things, mechanical,electrical,plumbing,etc.

There are way better jobs out there to train and get into but a decent mechanic will always find a job no matter where they are in the world.

DangerousBryan

i did my apprenticeship straight from school for ford,left to work for my father in law after 3 years at another garage,did that for 3 years till he sold up and then became a courier for 10 years.
now back doing it at a local ford dealers,family owned and no pressure to get jobs done or sell things,picked it all up fairly quickly again including the diagnostics, now work on anything that comes in.
i currently have a v6 omega in bits for a cambelt, a daimler limo v8 with the heads off and a new galaxy in a million pieces for a new heater matrix and evaporator

sheerline

been a mechanic 25 years , not many young ones coming into the trade due to the poor wage structure , so i can usually ask for what wage i need as theres to many unexperienced lads doing it , most desent garages do pay good ive been head hunted a few times so i move were the money is ,at the moment i take home 460 a week 5 day week plus any money made on the side , for teeside this is a good wage , with no chew , i still find time to work on cossy and mk 1 , at weekends