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Post by smithsautocentres on Jul 26, 2015 14:15:25 GMT 1
Hey everyone
I'm Nick and as the title suggests, many of my friends and family think I'm going through a mid-life crisis because having worked for the public sector for just over a decade, I've now decided to retrain and become a mechanic.
I'm starting a City and Guilds in September, hoping to gain some knowledge and experience, then build up that knowledge before eventually opening my own garage.
Whilst friends and family think I'm suffering a mid-life crisis, I prefer to think of it as deciding to actually do something I love rather than spending my life chasing higher salaries.
Spent my entire life tinkering with cars, especially with my old man, so now seems like the perfect time to make the move.
Anyway, if you have any tips for a newbie then let me have them.
Nick
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Post by Rhubarb on Jul 26, 2015 16:32:37 GMT 1
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Post by Karl on Jul 26, 2015 16:33:08 GMT 1
Good luck Nick smith autos
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Post by rhyds on Jul 26, 2015 16:34:00 GMT 1
Welcome!
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Post by beardedmechanic on Jul 27, 2015 9:00:48 GMT 1
I'm happy that you've decided to do something you love and I wish you all the luck mate, a bit of advice though, don't rely on college to give you experience or knowledge because that all comes from the workshop. Get dug in on practical work, and all of the rest will come. Id recommend getting a job in a garage for at least 10 years before opening your own. You will never stop learning, good luck.
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rpm
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Post by rpm on Jul 27, 2015 17:34:14 GMT 1
Good luck but its the wrong trade to earn a good living from.
if you want to do cars, why not try it part time first whilst keeping a reliable income. That way you can see if its sensible/viable.
dont forget trade insurance if driving cars on road tests etc. You can get part time trade insurance to begin with too
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2015 22:19:25 GMT 1
Looooool ..  |
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Post by beardedmechanic on Jul 28, 2015 8:20:37 GMT 1
Good luck but its the wrong trade to earn a good living from. if you want to do cars, why not try it part time first whilst keeping a reliable income. That way you can see if its sensible/viable. dont forget trade insurance if driving cars on road tests etc. You can get part time trade insurance to begin with too Don't quite agree with you on the earning a living part. |
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rpm
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Post by rpm on Jul 28, 2015 11:53:31 GMT 1
Good luck but its the wrong trade to earn a good living from. if you want to do cars, why not try it part time first whilst keeping a reliable income. That way you can see if its sensible/viable. dont forget trade insurance if driving cars on road tests etc. You can get part time trade insurance to begin with too Don't quite agree with you on the earning a living part. Simple. look at the outlay needed to earn 500 a week. Then look at electrician, plumber, plasterer, it expert, etc. then look at how often a customer will go elsewhere to save £10 !. Imagine telling a plumber he is a tenner dearere than another one ! Motor trade is a very expensive, over supplied badly thought of trade. Nobody wants to spend any money on their car. They are expected to run forever for no cost. much much easier ways to earn a better living. I could NEVER advise anybody to entering this trade |
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Post by beardedmechanic on Jul 29, 2015 7:59:02 GMT 1
Don't quite agree with you on the earning a living part. Simple. look at the outlay needed to earn 500 a week. Then look at electrician, plumber, plasterer, it expert, etc. then look at how often a customer will go elsewhere to save £10 !. Imagine telling a plumber he is a tenner dearere than another one ! Motor trade is a very expensive, over supplied badly thought of trade. Nobody wants to spend any money on their car. They are expected to run forever for no cost. much much easier ways to earn a better living. I could NEVER advise anybody to entering this trade Although everything your saying about customers is correct, you also get good customers and that's what its all about, getting a good customer base. In regards to wage etc, I cant really comment because since I started my time I've really been working for myself or my family and my income has always been substantial. Now I have my own workshop and although there are months like December etc that's tighter than others, I'm doing very well in the way of income. Put it this way I'm not worried at all about money, I'm living very comfortably and that's what life is about. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 12:11:21 GMT 1
Simple. look at the outlay needed to earn 500 a week. Then look at electrician, plumber, plasterer, it expert, etc. then look at how often a customer will go elsewhere to save £10 !. Imagine telling a plumber he is a tenner dearere than another one ! Motor trade is a very expensive, over supplied badly thought of trade. Nobody wants to spend any money on their car. They are expected to run forever for no cost. much much easier ways to earn a better living. I could NEVER advise anybody to entering this trade Although everything your saying about customers is correct, you also get good customers and that's what its all about, getting a good customer base. In regards to wage etc, I cant really comment because since I started my time I've really been working for myself or my family and my income has always been substantial. Now I have my own workshop and although there are months like December etc that's tighter than others, I'm doing very well in the way of income. Put it this way I'm not worried at all about money, I'm living very comfortably and that's what life is about. You are lucky then which is great but not the norm , i have to agree with rpm mostly this trade is over supplied and the big companies are killing it for us , the small trader is reliant on joe public who as rpm said doesnt want to spend a penny on there car if they can get away with it , lots of small places would sink if not for mot's, its a poor state of affairs . |
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Post by beardedmechanic on Jul 29, 2015 12:35:08 GMT 1
Although everything your saying about customers is correct, you also get good customers and that's what its all about, getting a good customer base. In regards to wage etc, I cant really comment because since I started my time I've really been working for myself or my family and my income has always been substantial. Now I have my own workshop and although there are months like December etc that's tighter than others, I'm doing very well in the way of income. Put it this way I'm not worried at all about money, I'm living very comfortably and that's what life is about. You are lucky then which is great but not the norm , i have to agree with rpm mostly this trade is over supplied and the big companies are killing it for us , the small trader is reliant on joe public who as rpm said doesnt want to spend a penny on there car if they can get away with it , lots of small places would sink if not for mot's, its a poor state of affairs . Sure I get what your saying, companies like Arnold Clark etc drowning out smaller business's but its like I said to the guy who made this thread already, you need to be in the game for a good bit of time and earn a name for yourself for people to flock to your own workshop when you make one. The other alternative for new comers to this trade is to say " if you can't beat them, join them". That's totally their decision but I knew what I wanted and I did everything in my power to get there. If I can do it in sure anyone else can, I mean really when you have your own workshop its all about anticipating the months you know will be bad and having different types of work in or long term jobs etc to cover the periods when you don't have your regulars. |
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rpm
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Post by rpm on Jul 29, 2015 16:37:02 GMT 1
I think you maybe missing some of the point.
To be a mechanice, whether you work for somebody or work for yourself you need a lot, of expensive tools. To work for yourself you then need a lot of additional, expensive equipment.
To be working for somebody else you are drawing a wage, that is probably sensible, but balnce that versus how much your tools cost.
If you are working for yourself you are probably able to make some better money (unlikely to be a fortune), like a few people on here are able to. To get to that stage will have cost some serious investment by the time you include premises and other overheads.
Now compare that to other trades, as suggested and you are far more likely to earn the same or better money for far less outlay/risk.
To then compete against others chasing a smaller and smaller market, full of people with very limited funds available to spend on their car.
We have all got a lot of good customers as well as bad ones, but can you go out and charge what you want to for the work you do, or do you have to balance it against the local competition who are as likely to do the work for less just to get some work?
And on balance you can advise somebody to leave a decent job and compete in the motor trade ratrace? I honestly advise people not to join this trade.
If you enjoy working on cars, that is 1 thing, but to try and make a living from it starting from scratch? Its not worth the risk/outlay for the problems/returns.
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rpm
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Post by rpm on Jul 29, 2015 16:42:06 GMT 1
Simple. look at the outlay needed to earn 500 a week. Then look at electrician, plumber, plasterer, it expert, etc. then look at how often a customer will go elsewhere to save £10 !. Imagine telling a plumber he is a tenner dearere than another one ! Motor trade is a very expensive, over supplied badly thought of trade. Nobody wants to spend any money on their car. They are expected to run forever for no cost. much much easier ways to earn a better living. I could NEVER advise anybody to entering this trade Although everything your saying about customers is correct, you also get good customers and that's what its all about, getting a good customer base. In regards to wage etc, I cant really comment because since I started my time I've really been working for myself or my family and my income has always been substantial. Now I have my own workshop and although there are months like December etc that's tighter than others, I'm doing very well in the way of income. Put it this way I'm not worried at all about money, I'm living very comfortably and that's what life is about.I have to disagree slightly about this too |
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