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    Automotive

    Grease The Wheels Podcast

    A Master Technician, a microphone, 30 years of experience in the Automotive Industry: buckle up! Come along as we take a look at the current state of the automotive industry from the point of view of the guys and gals turning the wrenches. So no matter what you fix, how you fix it, or how many tools you have to fix it with: welcome to the Grease the Wheels Nation. Also once in a while we take a look at the makes and models of cars we work on through the lenses of history, economics, politics, our own personal experiences and the experiences of our listeners. Special thanks to The Wrenching Network, Curien, Surfwrench, and Murray the dog.

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    Latest Episodes:
    Episode 43: Help Wanted May 22, 2019
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    It is a simple and pretty well established fact that there are a lot more jobs available for mechanics, technicians, and every other assorted automotive service worker than there are people to fill them. Because of that there are a LOT of job postings, but often times there are a lot of reasons why they have so many openings. This gets compounded when we are talking about job postings at indy’s, because you're going to be working on EVERYTHING. With that being said, even if you like you job you should ALWAYS be looking for a better one- because we are in very short supply and the demand is very high. Yet, somehow, no one talks about the elephant in the room- what they are going to pay you. Also Uncle Jimmy talks about accidentally setting up a co-worker with a competitor that has an almost perfect pay scale for their factory trained technicians and gives a mechanics view on the breakdown of “cost of living”
    Episode 42: Dispatchers May 15, 2019
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    In one way or another, all of us have some form of a dispatcher who doles out what we're working on for the day. Human dispatchers have human downsides such as playing favorites and are at the mercy of customers. However good dispatchers can read a shops technicians skill levels and keep the work flowing efficiently. Make yourself available to the dispatcher for the stuff that needs to get done that no one wants to do- they will throw you a bone. On the other side of the dispatcher equation, you would think that an electronic RO system would be harder to mess with, however experience would say that there even easier to fuck with than the human kind. Also, Uncle Jimmy explains spontaneous human combustion and price fixing collusion by dealers.
    Episode 41: For The New Guys May 08, 2019
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    As the title would suggest, this is an episode for the new guys, instead of about the new guys, so if you’re just starting out you might want to pay attention here. First off, as much as a good tech school can teach you about fixing cars, it really can’t teach you a lot about how to get along with the other people who are going to be in your shop also fixing cars. One good rule of thumb is to have a solid attitude, because without fail you can learn SOMETHING from just about everyone in your shop. Some of the tips, tricks, shortcuts you can pick up from your fellow techs can make your life easier and make it possible to turn way more hours, thus making you more money. Also, no matter how much you know you need to be ready for a certain amount of hazing, and how you respond to this will go a long way to shaping your fellow techs perception of you. However, don’t let anyone give you a hard time about tools because as you grow as a technician and get put on more complicated jobs you will undoubtedly build up a sizable and well rounded toolbox.Also Uncle Jimmy talks snowflakes, and blowing 30k on the tool truck as a lube tech being only a slightly worse investment than a Greek accountant.
    Episode 40: Your Own Business May 01, 2019
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    A simple show of hands will tell that many of us someday wish to own our own shop. This is a very solid and attainable goal for many of us as we move through our careers- because it doesn’t take 30 years in the field to realize that whatever the shop charges is usually several times the labor rate that they are paying you. However, while it can be very lucrative, especially if you find a profitable niche market early on, you will find that you are quickly doing less of the ‘fixing of cars’, and more of the ‘everything else besides fixing cars’. In this episode we outline some of the things that skilled techs should take into consideration before you pull the trigger on going out on your own. Partnering with people who can help you run things will let you do more work in the shop and drastically increase your chances of success. At the end of the day, as technicians we are not afraid of hard work, so going out on our own is a pretty damn good option. Also, we don’t really have a funny Uncle Jimmy one liner because this is actually a fairly straightforward and helpful episode...for once. Weird.
    Episode 39: Reputation Apr 24, 2019
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    In an industry such as ours, reputation is almost everything. Your ability and attitude from the first day you roll into a shop determines your reputation, and it really is entirely up to you to foster. The goldilocks zone for your reputation is being a decent human being who can fix cars well. The worst case is being an asshole that can’t fix a sandwich. The grey areas are being a good tech that is an asshole, and a nice guy who isn't a good tech. Additionally, your reputation as a technician can be determined by the quality of the technicians around you- if a shop has bad technicians, the shop becomes a sub-par shop. As we have seen countless times, shops hiring bad technicians to replace good ones is the fastest way for that shop to grenade their reputation. This is because of the simple fact that no one operates in a vacuum anymore, as customers will check reviews of shops before taking their cars to them. With the high turnover rates of some shops, your reputation can spread a lot further than you might want it to, and might be a major asset when it comes time to Grease the Wheels. Also Uncle Jimmy talks about getting cockblocked by Manny, Moe and Jack.
    Episode 38: Simple Truths Apr 17, 2019
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    On this Week’s GTW, we are talking a short run down of some of the simple truths of working in the automotive industry. Just because a problem is simple doesn't mean that it can't be catastrophic. There is never a good time for a breakdown, and customers are going to be annoying about it (unfortunately for them, our cars typically work and we can get home just fine). Also we talk about the Product Life Cycle of cars, and that cars are not meant to last forever. At the end of the day the mechanic is rarely the bad guy that various media and prevailing cautionary tales make us out to be. Also we talk how annoying it is when customers give service advisors gifts around the holidays and that cars are not the most important thing in life in the bigger picture.Also Uncle Jimmy talks about Volvo people and breaks the first two rules of Fight Club.
    Episode 37: Used Car Guys Apr 10, 2019
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    On this weeks GTW, we are talking the cheapest customers that you are ever going to get in your shop- the used car guys (and that’s a big statement considering our stance on working on your family’s cars). They are 100% about the profit and do not want to fix ANYTHING which leads to a lot of wire ties, duct tape, cutting rotors and other assorted “temporary fixes”. With a mantra of “buy low, sell high” even courtesy items such as oil changes are ignored in the name of the all mighty dollar. Be wary of these people, and if they want you to do substandard repairs tell them to go somewhere else- because at the end of the day they will shift the blame on a broken car to the guy who “fixes” them. Also, Uncle Jimmy talks about his favorite cryptids: Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and virtuous used car guys. More importantly, we want to hear about some of your dealings with used car guys, because everyone has a story about this!
    Episode 36: Customers Say the Darnedest Things... Apr 03, 2019
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    On this week’s GTW, we’re talking some of the hilarious, ignorant, and ill-informed things that customers say and do. From the completely clueless, to the people who are pumped full of internet “knowledge”- customers often say things about their vehicles and do things to their vehicles that are beyond logic. Sometimes they think their car is broken when it’s working perfectly fine, but more often than not they think their car is fine when its about 4 seconds from detonation. We also revisit dash cams on cars that we are working on and some of the major pitfalls that come with proprietary information, test drives, and judging customers based on how they take care of (or more likely a lack thereof) their vehicles. Also, Uncle Jimmy talks valve cover gaskets that look like the Exxon Valdez and cost almost as much to repair. More importantly, we want to hear about some of the things customers have said to you!
    Episode 35: Borrowed Tools Mar 27, 2019
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    On this weeks GTW, we’re talking one of the common shop friction points: borrowing tools. Despite some of the astronomical amounts of money we owe our tool dealers, very few of us can say that we have never had to borrow a tool. Because of this there is an almost industry wide mantra of, “ borrow it once, cool. Borrow it twice, go buy one for yourself” However, we have seen some cases where this can go bad, really quick. From small shops borrowing tech’s scan tools that cost the retail price of a kidney to update, to tools getting broken by people who didn’t know how to use them right- this topic is going to get your shop talking, and possibly make things a little bit smoother by creating that dialogue. Also, Uncle Jimmy talks about how round things roll, the basic tenets of karma, and doesn’t drop names because they’re not paying him for his endorsement. This week’s episode is sponsored by our friends at KB Tools. KB Tools is the official tool sponsor of GTW, selling name brands like Snap-on, Mac, Matco, Cornwell and many others. Their fast and easy to use site gets you the high quality tools you need quickly and for a lot less money than than the other guys. Use the code “GTW” for 10% off your first purchase at your new favorite tool dealer. So next time the new kid in the shop asks to borrow something, send them to KB Tools and have him tell them that Uncle Jimmy sent him.
    Episode 34: ASE's Mar 20, 2019
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    On this week’s GTW, we dish pretty hard on ASE testing. Realistically someone who has never picked up a wrench could study for the test, pass it, and be an ASE certified technician. We think that it is a bit of a scam- they make money on the test, they make money on the practice tests, they make money on the parts test- and what are they proving? Just because you can pass the test doesn’t necessarily mean that you know what you’re doing! We know that there are ASE certified techs out there that are absolutely brilliant at actually fixing cars, but we know for every one of those there is a technician with their ASE’s that cant fix a sandwich. Also Uncle Jimmy talks about body cavity searches and pat downs, having trouble spelling his name, and asks about some of your ASE horror stories. This week’s episode is sponsored by our friends at KB Tools. KB Tools is the official tool sponsor of GTW, selling name brands like Snap-on, Mac, Matco, Cornwell and many others. Their fast and easy to use site gets you the high quality tools you need quickly and for a lot less money than than the other guys. Use the code “GTW” for 10% off your first purchase at your new favorite tool dealer. You don’t need your ASE’s to know that KB Tools is our favorite tool dealer.
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