Archive for July, 2008

Guide to Buying an Automotive Auto Body Franchise

Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Automotive Services
Samantha McCartney asked:


If you have already decided that you want to buy a franchise you are heading in a great direction. Becoming a franchisee is a great way to become a business owner with a great chance to be successful! To add to that, if you have decided that you want to open an auto body franchise, you have made another great decision. It takes time and thought to choose the right franchise for you, so make sure it is something you can do, and are interested in. With that said, if you still want to open an auto body franchise you are on a great path to becoming a successful franchisee!

Just by looking at these facts you can see why choosing an automotive auto body franchise is a great choice. There were 220 million vehicles on U.S. roads alone in 2003, a figure that had been growing steadily about 5% per year. We can use this figure to project that there will be more than 275 million vehicles on the road in 2008. More cars on the road means more work that will need to be completed on cars. Thus you can count on a steady flow of business. Altogether 12% of Americans had minor damage repaired on their vehicle in the last year alone! Or to restate that one out of every 8 americans had minor damage repaired. So you can see that you have a great market to grow in with an auto body franchise!

Even though an auto body franchise can be very successful it is important that you find a great franchise to invest your time, money and efforts into!

You need to find an auto body franchise that provides a variety of services. This is important in gaining and getting repeat customers. If you don’t offer enough services it will not be a top choice for your customers.

Find an auto body franchise that provides quality services and products. If you are not provided with quality products how can you deliver a quality product to the customer? Customers are looking for a great deal, but also that they get a quality job done for their money. If it’s not done right you will feel the effects on your franchise as they choose to go elsewhere.

Look for a franchise that has a quality system in place for everything. Make sure that you agree with the all components of the operating systems. This is important that you know how different situations and problems will be handled.

Try to find an auto body shop that has built a name for themselves, a GOOD name! One reason franchises are successful is because you buy a name that is already established. Especially when it comes to cars people really pay attention to the company name. If you buy a company that has a bad track record you could be setting yourself up for failure.

When looking for an auto body franchise keep these things in the back of your mind since there are many to choose from!



Jared

Is it ethical for a gynecological nurse to pressure a couple into having children based upon her own beliefs?

Thursday, July 24th, 2008
Automotive Services
mrs_squier81906 asked:


I went to a new gynecologist and when I told the nurse-midwife who was examining me that my husband and I did not want to have children, she immediately started telling me that not wanting children was “unnatural” and that I WOULD change my mind before I turned 30. I said that my husband and I have genetic conditions that we would prefer NOT to pass on and quite frankly have NEVER liked children under the age of 3 or 4. I’m also planning on going to school for automotive service management once my husband finishes his bachelor’s degree. Its pretty hard to look under the hood of a car with pregnant belly! This nurse (who was Catholic) also had the audacity to tell me that I didn’t belong in “the boys club” and should stay home and do my “duty”.
My husband and I are conservative Southern Baptists and we found this VERY inappropriate. A doctor in the practice apologized for this but we feel that their should be some type of ethical rules against this. This is a VERY personal decision!
This nurse also gave me incorrect information on the few birth control options available to me. I’m taking a medication that reduces the effect of hormonal birth control; have had problems with severe bleeding from implants and get a mild skin reaction to latex condoms.

The doctor who apologized to me finally recommended my husband having a vasectomy to save me from going through surgery.

Andrea

Could infrastructure industrialism save America?

Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Automotive Services
STEROID JESUS asked:


I believe that if America revives its industrial industry with the primary purpose of repairing America’s crumbling industry:

#1 We could create a new vocational Educational movement in America’s public schools - training and education towards architecture

#2 We could create millions of Jobs…Americas Bridges, tunnels, Roads,etc are in BAD SHAPE according to proffesional review.

#3 America could see an unprecidented rise in industry, union power and probably repair the urban/rural job market and community spirit that has been steadily due lost to outsourcing under the Bush economy.

Right now 2/3’s of America’s economy is generated by CONSUMPTION - America is not providing the amount of services it used to. Pretty soon, the only jobs in America that will be safe are civil service, automotive and engineering since America’s population is expected to grow by 100 million by 2060.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to revive our industry? Sort of Like WW2.

Diane

is automotive job got demand in nowdays.i just study until second level?

Friday, July 18th, 2008
Automotive Services
Yogen 137 asked:


i just study until second level n now im working in bosch car service centre…..my salary is not enough for my spending…so i just think that this job got a good career in future or not….is australia really looking for people in this industry…..wat u people think i should study unitl get a good career in tis automotive…plz help

Douglas

I want to work on cars but i want to work with wiring harnesses and stuff like that or fix car computers?

Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Automotive Services
Shandina asked:


what are the mechanics that deal with wiring and computers and stuff?? and how do you become one just take the automotive service technician course and just wright in you resume that that is the kind of mechanic you want to be? please help

Chester

Is being a mechanic a difficult job?

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Automotive Services
Christian asked:


I was thinking of going to school to become an automotive service technician and I wanted to ask people who have experience in this field. Would you describe it as hard, frustrating work or not? Also, what kind of hours do mechanis work?

Earl

Find the Best Automotive School

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Automotive Services
Bobe asked:


 

Whether you’re dreaming of beginning a career in the pit crews of NASCAR, thinking about getting a tech job at one of the major car or aftermarket companies, or just exploring the many possibilities within the industry, follow the information provided, to make informed decisions about your future.

A degree from a good automobile repair school helps to know the trade, makes you more comfortable with the norms and technicalities in the automobile field. It also gives higher-level openings such as master mechanic or mechanic positions depending on your experience. Whether you’re dreaming of beginning a career in the pit crews of NASCAR, thinking about getting a tech job at one of the major car or aftermarket companies, or just exploring the many possibilities within the industry, Automotive Schools contains the right information for you to make informed decisions about your future.

Automotive School Programs:

Automotive Technology

Diesel Technology

Collision Repair & Refinishing

Motorcycle Technology

Marine Technology

Aviation Maintenance

Applied Service Management

High Performance

Street Rod & Custom Fabrication

General Automotive Courses with Top Level salary estimation:

Automotive Technician - $58,000-108,000

Automobile Mechanic - $60,000-100,000

Diesel Technician - $60,000

Auto-Body Technician - $60,000

Paintless Dent Repair Technician - $50,000 - $300,000

Automotive Electrician - $20/hr

Motorboat Technician – greater than $21/hr

Motorcycle Service Technician – more than $41,000

Aircraft Mechanic – greater than $29/hr

Alternative Fuels Technician - $60,000-100,000

Ways to choose a Good Automotive School:

Mentioned below are some ways that may help you in choosing a good automobile repair school:

School Reputation: You need to find out the reputation of a school. This factor is important, as it will have a good impression on your curriculum vitae (CV). There may be several reasons for a good reputation of an automobile school. Generally the most common reason for having a good reputation is graduates from that particular school have performed exceptionally well in the automobile field. You may even cut short your list of schools whose reputation is not known or questionable.

Degree Program: Mostly all schools offer an associate’s degree to help you start in the auto industry. These degrees are short time courses, which on completion allow you to join the respective field as soon as possible. Many schools also provide a master’s degree to help ambitious people to attain positions that are more respectful. Do a good research on the degree program you want to join and check that the program teaches all the skills and techniques required in the field. You also need to ensure if the school provides an ASE (Automotive Standards of Excellence) certification or not. It is extremely important as it allows the company to know your skills in a particular area. Also, see if the school is offering internship or employment opportunities.

Resources Offered: You need to check for what resources the students get from the school. Generally, all automobile schools offer various resources to their students. Please check if the school is offering job placement assistance. Make sure that the school has a good program for graduates or students who are searching for a job. The school also needs to have programs like creating good CV, providing job listings and teaching interview skills.

Cost of the program: This is also an important factor while choosing an automobile school. A good school needs to be affordable too. You need to carry out a research on the cost of the program and need to know what all features are included in the cost. For instance, some schools provide everything in the listed price, while some schools may provide only the course for the listed amount leaving the books, tools and other necessary things required for the program. These need to be bought separately.

These are some ways to choose a good automotive repair school. Do thorough research and choose an automobile training school, which will give a boost to your auto career. Learn the differences between automotive diplomas, degrees, and certification.

 



Cory

Automotive GPS to Never Again be Lost

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Automotive Services
Lei San asked:


If you are the type of person who wants to preempt and avoid another directions-catastrophe in the making, the trick to fix things may simply be just a car GPS system. Take your pick: a stand-alone GPS system, a handheld system or a computer or personal data assistant type? Whatever form they take, they are a big help in keeping drivers focused on the right road (or dirt path for that matter, where appropriate).

Regardless of the car GPS system you plan to avail of, note that it is possible not to have monthly fees for the automotive GPS service or other GPS-related subscription fees. What you may expect however are extra services and features that can be added, which will certainly require additional fees for you to enjoy. An example of this situation would be real-time traffic reports, or new weather updates, or high-end satellite radio, which all cost extra.

And now, a bit of history for our background. Even if GPS navigation appears unthinkable, say, some ten years ago, the network of “Global Positioning Satellites”, property of the US government, has actually been around since the 1970’s. Military purposes were actually the original behind the then-novel technology.

But where how does the public’s accessibility of this government property come in? Sure, the US Government has the last say on the GPS network, but fortunately it maintains the broadcasts in unencrypted form. This means just about anybody with a receiver can help him or herself to the free GPS data. Companies and some private high-tech folk alike use receivers in many different applications.

The use of a global positioning system is legally fine under federal law, since the federal government provides the service anyway, which is why companies cannot put charges on the car GPS service. As we have seen, the exception to all the free-loading is when you want to get turn-by-turn directions or a map of your pending travel route.

A definite perk in owning another car GPS product, a GPS-supported tracking system, in your vehicle is the security in knowing where it is at any given moment. In the rare (but very real) event your vehicle is stolen, if your system is connected to a national service, its current location can by identified and that information passed on to law enforcers.

The handheld units can be connected into your PC at home and the automotive GPS maps can be stored in your PDA for use in an upcoming trip. Signing up for the turn-by-turn directions feature greatly reduces the likelihood of losing your way and messing up precious vacation time. A lot of handheld units can be used for a variety of uses, as varied as geocaching to “looking” for ideal fishing spots.

One last idea about automotive GPS. Is a car GPS really up by one notch versus a cell phone GPS? It can surely help you sort out unfamiliar roads, help you give exact directions to someone coming to “rescue” you from your stranded vehicle or enable you to be located in the event you cannot seek help on your own.



Jane

Automotive Auto Body Franchises Have a Lot of Potential!

Saturday, July 12th, 2008
Automotive Services
Samantha McCartney asked:


Choosing to invest in a franchise is a great choice if you wish to be a business owner. Franchises have a better chance of success than independently started businesses. Once you have made the decision to become a franchisee, you need to figure out what type of franchise you would like to open. With the economy not doing so great you need to choose wisely. You want to choose a franchise business that has a good shot at success from the start. Automotive auto body franchises have a lot of potential; find out why.

Let’s start by looking at a few facts! There were 220 million vehicles on U.S. roads in 2003, and that has been growing steadily at approximately 5% per year. So, by using that information we can project that there will be more than 275 million vehicles on the road in 2008. With increasing number of vehicles on the road there will be an increase of vehicles needing repairs as well, which is great for automotive auto body franchise owners. Just to let you get an idea, every 17 seconds a reported rear end collision occurs, and every 8.5 seconds an unreported rear end collision occurs. The most frequent accident on the road is the rear end collision, at almost 29.7%, and 3/4 of these accidents occur at very low speed. That means that almost 30% of drivers on the road will need bumper repair, which is a great service offered by automotive auto body franchises. Not to mention that Nearly 26 Million auto reconditioning repairs are performed annually in the US and Canada! That is a lot of auto body repairs and a lot of profit for auto body repair shops!

Auto reconditioning repairs include body and paint repair, replacement of “bolt” on parts, and glass and interior repairs. Typical damage includes scratches, dents, chips and gouges. Auto reconditioning shops usually offer a wide variety of services such as paintless dent removal, bumper repair, windshield repair, auto body repair, window tinting, wheel rim repair, auto detailing, 3M clear bra installation, lease return inspections, headlight restoration and paint touch up. Some automotive auto body franchises even offer a mobile service, where they will come to you to complete the repairs. Also since auto body repair is affordable many people choose to have it done versus replacement which can be much more costly. With such a wide variety of repairs and services you are sure to have customer bringing their vehicles in for your great auto body services.

So, as you can see with the increasing amount of vehicles on the road an automotive auto body franchise has increasing chances for success. Each year the amount of vehicles on the road is only growing, which means you business will have many opportunities to grow as well.

Start looking today for an automotive auto body shop to invest in. You will definitely have a lot of room to grow as a franchise and become a successful franchise business owner!



Lawrence

Automotive technicians, what is an A, B, C tech?

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
Automotive Services
mm86 asked:


What repairs is each class capable of?
I know a C tech is mainly oil changes, tires, and little things like that. But what type of work would classify you as a B or an A tech?
(I work as a mechanic doing oil changes, tires, brakes, front end/suspension, alignments, trans services, rear/front diff services, tune ups, exhaust, and some other diagnostic work).
I have been trying to figure out what class I would be for future job refences.

Thanks!

Ralph