Auto mechanics - a dying profession?

Gardenlover

Gardenlover

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With the push for electric cars, the need for auto mechanics will decrease.
 

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Still other needs that fail on vehicles. Then there is the conversion from find the problem thru trial & error to using diagnostic equipment to pin point the failure that will take human hands to repair. Different not a bad thing IMO.
 
I think that maybe true, I guess they will call them electrical car engineers and automobile computer engineers. The same thing will happen to the USPS. I was the spouse of an postal worker. Now so many pay their bills digitally, that reduces the amount of mail that processes in the postal system.

I see this leading to the demise of the postal system. I can see the area of mechanics falling to the same fate as technology. The jobs and welfare of people all over the world are subject to decline as technology moves ahead at a speed no one could calculate.

It will not make a difference, I think, in my lifetime. We should all be concerned about out childrens\ and or our grandchildren.

Most of us at this age will not feel the effects of what is happening, we will be gone. I must say, I am grateful. I do not want to see what the future holds for for our children.
 

I would imagine the combustible engine will still be around for a long time. I have trouble imagining that they could build a big enough electric earth moving equipment to make new roads and also jet engines to power over 900,000 pounds of plane and equipment. It's not always about the power, but building enough thrust. I just see the first fully electric planes being blasted off into a zillion pieces as it lifts off.

It all may happen someday, but it won't be in my lifetime.

 
Automobiles really wiped out buggy whip manufactures. I doubt that it will matter much if your car is gas or electric, when it won't go; it won't go. Today nobody has to 'tune up' an engine. Just replace the timing module. It's faster and cheaper to replace a part than it is to rebuild it. I doubt much will change with electric cars.
 
They can push all they want for electric cars and even if they succeed, there isnā€™t enough electricity to supply all of them.
This electric car transition wonā€™t be an instant thing and there will be many who will just refuse to get one. Not sure if they will eventually enforce it but either way car mechanics are definitely STiLL going to be needed.
 
Been There said:
I would imagine the combustible engine will still be around for a long time. I have trouble imagining that they could build a big enough electric earth moving equipment to make new roads and also jet engines to power over 900,000 pounds of plane and equipment. It's not always about the power, but building enough thrust. I just see the first fully electric planes being blasted off into a zillion pieces as it lifts off.

It all may happen someday, but it won't be in my lifetime.

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I probably shouldnā€™t be interested in this but this is actually very interesting. This is one huge excavator. What a machine. It took months to assemble. I wonder if thereā€™s a moving trailer for it? Lolā€¦ Iā€™m kidding of course.
 
Blessed said:
I think that maybe true, I guess they will call them electrical car engineers and automobile computer engineers. The same thing will happen to the USPS. I was the spouse of an postal worker. Now so many pay their bills digitally, that reduces the amount of mail that processes in the postal system.

I see this leading to the demise of the postal system. I can see the area of mechanics falling to the same fate as technology. The jobs and welfare of people all over the world are subject to decline as technology moves ahead at a speed no one could calculate.

It will not make a difference, I think, in my lifetime. We should all be concerned about out childrens\ and or our grandchildren.

Most of us at this age will not feel the effects of what is happening, we will be gone. I must say, I am grateful. I do not want to see what the future holds for for our children.
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The USPS is being relegated to the low rungs of the ladder, by private companies who out perform them on many things. UPS, Amazon, and here in Canada, Purolator Courier is beating Canada Post in the package delivery sector, and many companies now longer "mail " anything. They courier it. I buy and sell 24 karat gold coins as a side line business. I would never use Canada Post for my deliveries. I use a private courier service that provides a door to door service to and from any residential or business location in Canada. In less than 24 hours I can receive a shipment from Alberta, at my door in Toronto, for a cost of $20. JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
The USPS is being relegated to the low rungs of the ladder, by private companies who out perform them on many things. UPS, Amazon, and here in Canada, Purolator Courier is beating Canada Post in the package delivery sector, and many companies now longer "mail " anything. They courier it. I buy and sell 24 karat gold coins as a side line business. I would never use Canada Post for my deliveries. I use a private courier service that provides a door to door service to and from any residential or business location in Canada. In less than 24 hours I can receive a shipment from Alberta, at my door in Toronto, for a cost of $20. JimB.
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You bring up an excellent point. Months ago I made a big purchase which was shipped via Canada post. It took weeks to get here and was badly damaged when it finally arrived.
I sent it back and asked if theyā€™d ship it via courier at my expense. They shipped it out courier service and it arrived in days in perfect condition. I never paid for the service, the company did but I wonder why they wouldnā€™t use that to begin with. It would seem especially important with expensive potentially fragile merchandise.
Some things in life are definitely improving, shipping being one of them.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
You bring up an excellent point. Months ago I made a big purchase which was shipped via Canada post. It took weeks to get here and was badly damaged when it finally arrived.
I sent it back and asked if theyā€™d ship it via courier at my expense. They shipped it out courier service and it arrived in days in perfect condition. I never paid for the service, the company did but I wonder why they wouldnā€™t use that to begin with. It would seem especially important with expensive potentially fragile merchandise.
Some things in life are definitely improving, shipping being one of them.
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In the 1990's I was an owner/operator for Dynamex Expedite which was based in Cambridge Ontario. I had a Ford E 250 one ton cargo van, and all of my deliveries were DIRECT door to door emergency shipments, and 90 percent of those deliveries went to the States from either Ontario or Quebec. No matter what it was, from a single CD in a plastic bag, or a complete nose landing gear set for a Lear Jet that was stuck on the ground in Kentucky, it just HAD TO GET THERE, as fast as possible. The emergency freight business is still around, especially in the automotive manufacturing sector.

I once drove 2 skids of ashtrays from a plant in Richmond Hill Ontario to a BMW plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The BMW plant was about to run out of the ashtrays, which were made in Canada. BMW did NOT care what it cost for the delivery, they didn't want to shut down the assembly line, for a lack of parts.

I also did some "On board courier " flights for Dynamex. Things that were so valuable that the customer paid Dynamex to have me "hand carry it " on the plane, and hand it off to one of our drivers at the airport, to be driven the final few miles to the customer's location. By doing it that way, the valuable thing would not get lost in the cargo freight system of the airline. Obviously the shipment had to be small enough to allow me to carry it onto the aircraft.

One of the out of the country on board courier flights went from Toronto to Perth Australia. It was a package of diamonds. I was paid for all of the hours I was gone, and my hotel and food was covered too. The hand off took place in the airport, and I took photos of the person who received the goods with the package in their hands. The receiving person phoned long distance to their client in Toronto to confirm delivery had taken place. One of the best week's money I ever made with that company. JImB.
 
In my family we have a Motor Mechanic, and a Hairdresser... guess who never get their cars fixed, or hair done?.. yep the family...:rolleyes:

When my litttle brother was learning to be a mechanic he started off at 13 working on Saturdays and after school at my Brother-in-laws garage... by the time he was 15 he could strip a car and put it together. He was only too happy to work on the family cars then if needed, but most of us didn't have cars... but not once he got to be a fully fledged mechanic with his own business
 
jimintoronto said:
In the 1990's I was an owner/operator for Dynamex Expedite which was based in Cambridge Ontario. I had a Ford E 250 one ton cargo van, and all of my deliveries were DIRECT door to door emergency shipments, and 90 percent of those deliveries went to the States from either Ontario or Quebec. No matter what it was, from a single CD in a plastic bag, or a complete nose landing gear set for a Lear Jet that was stuck on the ground in Kentucky, it just HAD TO GET THERE, as fast as possible. The emergency freight business is still around, especially in the automotive manufacturing sector.

I once drove 2 skids of ashtrays from a plant in Richmond Hill Ontario to a BMW plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The BMW plant was about to run out of the ashtrays, which were made in Canada. BMW did NOT care what it cost for the delivery, they didn't want to shut down the assembly line, for a lack of parts.

I also did some "On board courier " flights for Dynamex. Things that were so valuable that the customer paid Dynamex to have me "hand carry it " on the plane, and hand it off to one of our drivers at the airport, to be driven the final few miles to the customer's location. By doing it that way, the valuable thing would not get lost in the cargo freight system of the airline. Obviously the shipment had to be small enough to allow me to carry it onto the aircraft.

One of the out of the country on board courier flights went from Toronto to Perth Australia. It was a package of diamonds. I was paid for all of the hours I was gone, and my hotel and food was covered too. The hand off took place in the airport, and I took photos of the person who received the goods with the package in their hands. The receiving person phoned long distance to their client in Toronto to confirm delivery had taken place. One of the best week's money I ever made with that company. JImB.
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Wow! That sounds like a fun job. Youā€™ve had a variety of very exciting good paying gigs in your lifetime. You certainly think outside of the box.

Looking back, I think I would have liked travelling in a smallish type of truck doing something similar. Iā€™ve always enjoyed travelling on ground as well as enjoyed my own company.

Then again, Iā€™ve had some very unique exciting jobs in my life so I certainly canā€™t complain.

You clearly enjoyed travelling also.
My brother in law travels a lot and makes somewhere close to $300,000 a year. Self employed too. Heā€™s a smart lad. The only real drawback to being self employed is that you have to pre plan for retirement by investing stashing away money that you arenā€™t going to use.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Wow! That sounds like a fun job. Youā€™ve had a variety of very exciting good paying gigs in your lifetime. You certainly think outside of the box.

Looking back, I think I would have liked travelling in a smallish type of truck doing something similar. Iā€™ve always enjoyed travelling on ground as well as enjoyed my own company.

Then again, Iā€™ve had some very unique exciting jobs in my life so I certainly canā€™t complain.

You clearly enjoyed travelling also.
My brother in law travels a lot and makes somewhere close to $300,000 a year. Self employed too. Heā€™s a smart lad. The only real drawback to being self employed is that you have to pre plan for retirement by investing stashing away money that you arenā€™t going to use.
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Thanks for the compliment, but sometimes that "It has to get there fast " can be a scary drive. Heading towards Georgia in February from Montreal, and the whole route down south is freezing rain for the next 2 days. I 95 was a hockey rink for 300 miles, so I was driving at 30 miles an hour and the only other traffic was the occasional salt truck. I was passed by an empty tanker truck so I called him on the CB radio to suggest he slow down. No answer on channel 19. A few miles later here he is 130 feet off the highway, jack knifed and swearing. I just wave.

The company name on the trailer was one of those that sells orange juice, so I guess he was trying to get south to fill up again. Made it to Savanah in one piece, delivered the parts to Lear Jet, then went to sleep for 12 hours. In over 2 million miles of commercial driving I have never filled in a accident form. I have been hit a few times, by others who were at fault.

I once had a delivery to a private airport in New Jersey just across the river from New York city, owned by Paramount Studios. I had a replacement hydraulic pump for one of their executive aircraft from Montreal. When I arrived and handed the part over to their technicians, they said I could park my van inside the hanger and sleep there over night . My van had a drop down bed. The techs also said I could eat any of the "crew meals " in the kitchen fridge if it was marked with an X. Filet, baked potato, salad, and a couple of beers, then a shower, and off to bed.

In the morning I was surprised to see 3 limos pull up outside the hanger. Guess who was flying to the west coast that day on Paramount Air ? Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and some guy named Stallone. All on different aircraft, of course.

The techs informed me that the part I had brought them was not actually needed, so I could take it back to the supplier in Montreal. Bonus, I get paid for both trips, with no dead miles. Happy day. JimB.


JimB.
 
Gardenlover said:
With the push for electric cars, the need for auto mechanics will decrease.
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That's a good point, won't need oil changes, spark plugs, gaskets, radiator, etc. If my old car wears out before I get too old to want to drive, I think I'd get an all electric vehicle (not a hybrid) so I could avoid a lot of types of repairs my cars have needed over my driving lifetime.

Would still need brake pads tho, plus presumably cabin temperature control stuff, tire rotations, etc. It would be interesting to look at the suggested maintenance for current gas cars and see which items could be crossed off.
 
HoneyNut said:
That's a good point, won't need oil changes, spark plugs, gaskets, radiator, etc. If my old car wears out before I get too old to want to drive, I think I'd get an all electric vehicle (not a hybrid) so I could avoid a lot of types of repairs my cars have needed over my driving lifetime.

Would still need brake pads tho, plus presumably cabin temperature control stuff, tire rotations, etc. It would be interesting to look at the suggested maintenance for current gas cars and see which items could be crossed off.
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Be sitting down when you find out what the cost of a replacement battery pack costs for a Tesla. Can you say........More than ten thousand dollars ? One of the very obvious weak points with the all electric car is........Flooding. Especially salt water. All it takes is a small amount of water to fry the battery pack. JImB.
 
jimintoronto said:
Thanks for the compliment, but sometimes that "It has to get there fast " can be a scary drive. Heading towards Georgia in February from Montreal, and the whole route down south is freezing rain for the next 2 days. I 95 was a hockey rink for 300 miles, so I was driving at 30 miles an hour and the only other traffic was the occasional salt truck. I was passed by an empty tanker truck so I called him on the CB radio to suggest he slow down. No answer on channel 19. A few miles later here he is 130 feet off the highway, jack knifed and swearing. I just wave.

The company name on the trailer was one of those that sells orange juice, so I guess he was trying to get south to fill up again. Made it to Savanah in one piece, delivered the parts to Lear Jet, then went to sleep for 12 hours. In over 2 million miles of commercial driving I have never filled in a accident form. I have been hit a few times, by others who were at fault.

I once had a delivery to a private airport in New Jersey just across the river from New York city, owned by Paramount Studios. I had a replacement hydraulic pump for one of their executive aircraft from Montreal. When I arrived and handed the part over to their technicians, they said I could park my van inside the hanger and sleep there over night . My van had a drop down bed. The techs also said I could eat any of the "crew meals " in the kitchen fridge if it was marked with an X. Filet, baked potato, salad, and a couple of beers, then a shower, and off to bed.

In the morning I was surprised to see 3 limos pull up outside the hanger. Guess who was flying to the west coast that day on Paramount Air ? Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and some guy named Stallone. All on different aircraft, of course.

The techs informed me that the part I had brought them was not actually needed, so I could take it back to the supplier in Montreal. Bonus, I get paid for both trips, with no dead miles. Happy day. JimB.


JimB.
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Itā€™s nice to be treated well by others and especially great if youā€™re getting paid for getting treated well. Iā€™d love to meet Robert DeNiro. Maybe they were all working on a film together or going to a good party.

There are some great truck drivers but there are also plenty that shouldnā€™t be on the road.
My late brother got driven right off the road by one and died.

When I was around 20, I was driving from the mountains to Ontario on a motorcycle with a transport truck tailing me. This went on for hours and I was going fairly fast just north of Lake Superior. These roads are outrageously windy and hilly and this guy was right on my butt. I would have pulled over to the side of the road but he was so close I was scared heā€™d run me over. Finally after about 3 hours he turned off the highway on was on.

A lot of these drivers take caffeine pills, speed, do coke , amphetamines like Adderall, Dexedrine, or Vyvanse, methylphenidates like Ritalin or Concerta.

I suppose many employees with high stress / long shifts take drugs just to stay awake including pilots, police, doctors etcā€¦
Before anyone jumps on me, I know that many donā€™t.
 
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When my granddaughter joined the navy she chose to train in computer engineering. While active, her job was trouble-shooting and problem solving on her ship's communications computers and hover-craft engines.

Within a month after leaving the navy she was hired by the Mercedes-Benz Corp as a design engineer....the new way of saying auto-mechanic.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Automobiles really wiped out buggy whip manufactures. I doubt that it will matter much if your car is gas or electric, when it won't go; it won't go. Today nobody has to 'tune up' an engine. Just replace the timing module. It's faster and cheaper to replace a part than it is to rebuild it. I doubt much will change with electric cars.
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I still have buggy whips and know where to buy more.
 

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