john13

Sorry for your loss aswell David. The other guys are spot on. I am 44 and have ran my own shop with the help of my wife for 5 1/2 years I have been wrenching more than 27 years. I have worked by myself as far as wrenching goes mostly during this time. After employing a master tech...let him go..ego... and a guy my age who had 20 years under his belt.....back ground check= felon.....let him go....I hired a newly graduated automotive student who was fresh, willing and eager to learn.He has been with me a year now.

I recently ( July 30th) got hurt at work cut 4 tendons a nerve and one of two main arteries in my left arm. My 22 year old tech stepped up big time for me/us. He is still doing a great job I myself have to find a new role in my business. I can not work as I have for at least a year maybe longer who knows. That's hard for me however I may be of more value to my business at this point. I love working on cars and have for years now I may not agree with all this crapping stuff we deal with but I love it. Identifix will be beneficial for you and your business I promise..This is a great forum for advice...check a local tech school it did work more me..results may vary..lol..Be honest with your customer never BS them give them the very best you can mean while don't take no BS charge storage if you gotta! My name is John Brooks and my shop number is 706-485-9797 if I can try to answer any question you have just state who you are and your not selling anything....quitters quit and fighters fight! Keep up the good fight.

the absolute best resource for tech info....yes it is a subscription and it pays for itself in the long run. I am a owner/operator and have used identifix for 5 1/2 years now. When you are the only tech and you get stumped as we all have at some point you have someone to talk with ( you make a tech call) guaranted fix or you do not have to pay for the tech call..... You should try it,you will not be disapointed.....guaranteed! I have NEVER been let down.

John

How badly hurt are you? The reason I ask is, are you in good enough health to go to work each day? This may be a blessing in disguise. This may be the perfect opportunity to build your business by finding ways to maintain sales and build your business. Ultimately, shop owners need to understand that in order to grow, they need to rely on others around them. If the business is too dependent on you, it makes a situation like yours, devastating. How big is your shop, and how many people do you employ?

 

I am not an active mechanic in my business anymore. I once was. When I made the move to train and trust others, my business took on a different meaning for me. I was able to see things from the sidelines, instead of out on the field. I am more profitable with the pen, then I am with a wrench. Working on my business has become my focus. Entrusting great people around you is the key.

 

I hope this makes sense to you. Keep up the dialogue here, I know I speak for all ASO members when I say, let’s see if we can help you through this.

I am outta work for a mimium of 6 weeks I cut 4 tendons a artery and a nerve in my left forearm. No more wrenching for a while maybe a year. once the swelling goes away in my hand and I can move my wrist I feel I can go in and write estimates and stuff. I employ one first year tech. He graduated a local technicial college for auto repair and I have employed him for a year now. Our geographics is a country setting not a city or even a small city setting. So how did you move from the field to the sideline? Night school? Joining ASA? I have been on one side of the wrench for soooo long getting to the sideline seems so far away.

I am running a tire shop, but we also do some auto repairs. I hope to eventually do a lot of repairs, but right now we're only doing a few here and there.

 

My question is this- how do I get a scanner for my mechanic without spending thousands and thousands of dollars.

 

Our last mechanic had a $4000 scanner, and now we had to fire him for stealing money, so I am about to hire a new guy. I'm wondering how I can get this done without spending a ton of money. We are cash flow NEGATIVE right now, so I gotta get it done cheap.

 

I've seen stuff on the internet for $100, are these any good? What would you recommend?

 

thanks guys for the advice.

first what are you looking to do depends on what you should purchase...how do you wake up tire pressure sensors if you replace them or rotate tires etc? A code reader may work but they are very limited in their ability.. I have a modis a verus both are costly and something new to the market call a Launch through Mac tools which set me back 3 grand a big saving over the snap-on stuff.

I am new here so bare with me...I am an owner/ operator however I got hurt bad 3 weeks ago so now I can not work on cars for maybe a year now. I have an out of tech school tech for a year now and he is great but now I have to do something different....has anyone went from wrenching to pen pushing?