I Chose The Wrong Career

"Collin" (coliin) 08/23/2014 at 15:00 • Filed to: BMW, E39, Dealerships

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27

After turning this:

into this:

in order to fix a window that wouldn't roll up, I called BMW to see how much the same repair would have cost me at the dealership. Not only did they want to charge $250 for the part that I paid $28 for, but they quoted me labor at $125/hour.

$125/hour?!?!?!?

Clearly I have chosen the wrong career path, and I should be opening my own certified BMW service center and charging people $100/hour to do these same repairs.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:03

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I stopped the center speaker from rattling on my dad's E90 for $10, I imagine BMW would charge $500 for that same thing.

Collin > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 08/23/2014 at 15:04

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It's not illegal, so I say we start advertising our services at (only slightly) less exorbitant rates.

qbeezy > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:05

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I know right. A hyundai dealer ship wanted to charge me 100 to take the trim off of my door and tighten 1 nut. 1 NUT. Did my self and then before that they changed my freshly changed full synthetic oil and put conventional in it.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:10

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Brilliant.

Simply.

Brilliant.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:11

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We had the same issue with our Honda Pilot. Our gen (07) is notorious for this issue (we have replaced all 4 now). Dealer told us it would be about $500 per window (including parts and labor). We spent $65 on the part (per window) and did it ourself no problem.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:13

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I can do the same job but I always break one clip somehow. Every... Damn... Time. Buying specific plastic clips is a nightmare.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 08/23/2014 at 15:22

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Depending on the design and type of plastic, that's the sort of thing that I could easily 3D print...

Collin > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 08/23/2014 at 15:23

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Somehow I didn't break any of the clips. We'll have to see how long that luck holds out.

*knocks on wood*

His Stigness > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:26

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Well I can tell you you're on to something, because a German Master Tech (Mercedes, BMW, VAG) can make a shit load of money. Even a regular factory technician can make a lot of money if they're competent.

I personally love working on German cars because they make so much sense!! I also worked on German cars first, which is key, because the Germans do things very differently than the Japanese and American's, and by that I mean they use logic.

tromoly > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:27

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Yeah, definitely. My brother is a mechanic at a Mini dealership (basically the same thing, Mini being owned by BMW and all), and next year after his initial two-year contract is up and his employer finishes paying his student loans for him, he'll be making $55k or so a year. After only two years of "professional" work.

Now that I think about it, I chose the wrong career as well. Crap.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BaconSandwich is tasty. 08/23/2014 at 15:27

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The plastic clips were quite flexible on the last car I worked on so 3d printing might not have worked. I ended up finding a clip that worked in my tool box that time.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Collin 08/23/2014 at 15:28

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You are a lucky man. Or at least a lot less hamfisted than me.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 08/23/2014 at 15:36

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I find PLA plastic does have some give to it, so it is possible to design things a little differently around that give. I haven't tried printing with ABS though. I imagine it would break easier.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BaconSandwich is tasty. 08/23/2014 at 15:39

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I don't have a lot of experience with 3D printed polymers, I might be including it in my university final year project so maybe I'll try out thinks like printing ABS and such. Always wanted to learn more about that kinda thing.

Collin > His Stigness 08/23/2014 at 17:24

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Seriously. If it's not easy, you're probably doing it wrong. Nothing has to be forced, twisted, or bent. You just have to do it the way that the Germans intended, and it will work perfectly. I can't speak for the newest German cars though. For all I know, working on the latest S-Class could be an absolute nightmare.

Working on modern American cars usually makes me want to punch a baby or take to heavy drinking.

Collin > tromoly 08/23/2014 at 17:25

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Student loans paid off and $55k/year sounds like a pretty great gig, especially working for Mini. I've been thoroughly impressed with that company at all levels.

Collin > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 08/23/2014 at 17:26

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Were they OEM parts?

His Stigness > Collin 08/23/2014 at 17:36

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Dude, you sound destined to be a German mechanic, because that's exactly how I feel. I was doing a bunch of a work to an E46 this past week, and at no point was I swearing, or sweating, or having trouble, because I know what I'm doing and the Germans know how to make a car. But when I work on a American or Japanese car, well, it's a different story...

But, and there is a but, you won't struggle on a German car as long as the parts are from an OEM. I replaced the flex disks on my W202 C Class, and the rear part was aftermarket because my boss didn't listen to me and the parts guy was an idiot, so they didn't get me the OEM part like the front was, and it was a bitch to install, and not to my surprise at all, it actually came apart a few weeks ago, after only being installed for a few months. I then made sure the replacement part was OEM, and again, I was not shocked when the damn thing popped right into place, with no hassle at all.

And for further information, it was a Uro part. Don't EVER buy a Uro branded part. Every single Uro part I've installed either hasn't fit right, or fails WAYY too prematurely. My coolant hoses are Uro and they're already leaking, it's ridiculous.

And, last point, the new German cars are the same as the old ones, just with more electronics, so the new S Class won't be any harder to work on than the older ones.

Collin > His Stigness 08/23/2014 at 17:53

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Legitimately, if I can't make this career as an auto journalist work, German mechanic is my backup. There's something about working on cars that's satisfying in a way that working on computers in brightly lit offices is never going to be.

If car writing does keep going well though, I'll still need to be able to do my own wrenching. My taste in cars tends to run on the side of formerly very expensive, now highly expensive to maintain. I mean, an S600 or an 850Ci? Bring it.

How long have you been a mechanic?

His Stigness > Collin 08/23/2014 at 18:19

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Even if you do make it as a journalist (I hope you do), leaning a trade like a mechanic is a very good idea, because you can save a lot of money, and fixing your own car can be very satisfying and fun. Although, once it becomes a job, it becomes less fun, especially when you have to fix your own car, because the last thing you want to do at the end of the day is work on your own car for free. But at least I'm able to, which is good.

I've actually only been a technician for about three years, which makes my accomplishments all the more impressive (if I do say so myself). Within the span on two years I've gotten nine ASE's, a VW factory technician certification, and a California smog inspector license, and I'll get my smog repair license too. I'm also already an accomplished diagnostician, which is the hardest part of working on cars, and in my opinion, the most fun. There's nothing more satisfying then figuring out what's wrong with a car when no one else can.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Collin 08/23/2014 at 18:35

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Yes they were OEM but it was the whole window regulator. So it included the motor and everything with it. I don't which part you needed.

Collin > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 08/23/2014 at 18:59

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I just needed the regulator, not the motor. It's kind of crazy how much less a Honda part with a motor costs than a BMW part without.

Collin > His Stigness 08/23/2014 at 19:07

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The good news is, since I can't afford to pay the dealership to do any repair work on my car, every time something goes wrong, I'll have to do it myself. Plus it's more fun.

So far, I've done the hard part. I'm in a number of press fleets and get press cars, and I've gone to several events. Now I just have to do the even harder part and get people to pay me real money to write about this stuff.

That's a lot in a very short time. Are you going to do STEP any time in the near future?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Collin 08/23/2014 at 19:34

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For the record, most technicians make less per year than the average American income. It's also physically and mentally demanding, more so than many jobs. Benefits suck. You will need to invest a lot of money into tools. It's probably only the top 10% of techs that make over $100k, which really isn't that much money these days. Service advisors at dealers can much more easily make over $100k for about half the skill, work, and training. Warranty pay goes down every year, more and more employers are capping their techs at less than $40 an hour while at the same time raising their shop rates to $120-$200 an hour. Every dollar is hard fought. Consider that many entry level pharmacist positions start over $100k, with great benefits. You can't tell me that a pharmacist had to know more than a euro tech, or that lives rest in their hands; any tech can kill a customer just as easily as anyone in any medical field by screwing up. Most newish German cars have anywhere from 20-90 control modules and 5-15 networks that they communicate on, and those are multiple types of networks. I would not in good conscience recommend that anyone pursue this as a career. That isn't to say I don't love my job, because I do. I also love that I can't be outsourced or replaced by a machine. But money can't be a motivator for choosing this line of work.

Rant over. Sorry, was not intending to write all that.

His Stigness > Collin 08/23/2014 at 22:12

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That's kind of how I got into it, I took it into to a local independent shop to get it serviced, they said it needed x-y-z, and I decided I wanted to do it myself, and I haven't paid someone to work on my car since. I just fell in love with cars and am so good at it, I enjoy figuring stuff out and fixing it, that's why I love diagnosing stuff, it's a challenge.

Wow that's awesome. How would one get into a press fleet or into press events? Does the right person have to read enough of your writing to get in?

I'd never heard of it till now. But if I had I choice, I'd love to go work for Mercedes and become a Mercedes Master tech. They're my favorite cars to work on, and own, so that's my first choice. BMW is my second choice though.

Collin > His Stigness 08/23/2014 at 23:57

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If only more people loved figuring stuff out and fixing it, life in America would be significantly better.

Mostly it's networking. Usually you have to find some outlet, even a minor one, to start publishing your writing, and then you find an event you can get an into, write about that, meet people at that event, hopefully find a way to get an invitation to a bigger event, meet bigger people, maybe start writing for them, use the fact that you write for the newer people to get invited to bigger events, etc.

What is it about Mercedes that you like better than the others?

His Stigness > Collin 08/24/2014 at 00:03

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Life here would be better because people would be smarter. But alas, people are just too lazy to give a damn. Most people couldn't even be bothered to find out how to open their hood.

That sound similar to most careers: networking. Too bad I suck at that.

Mostly it's the room. There's a lot more room in Mercedes engine bays compared to BMW and Audi's. It's not that Mercedes designs their cars better, but because they're so much bigger there's a lot of room in them to work, which makes things so nice. I also like driving them the most, and since a big part of the job is road testing, it's more enjoyable when you like driving the cars.