Hi, Well I tried searching and came up with little to none results. What are some of the best schools to go to be a mechanic? I would really like to expand my knowledge and maybe join the industry. I am just sick and tired of all these fake ripoffs out here. Although some are great, but not enough of them. So if you know any of the best mechanic schools just write them down. Mods, I did not know where to put it so please move if in the wrong section.
Thanks!

 

Universal technical institue,they have schools across the country and stay away fro lincoln tech.I would only hire a lincoln tech grad as a general service guy.

 

Yea, I am obviously not going to attend lincoln tech or any of those. I want some of the best. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!

 

i went to UTI .. great school .. excellent traing .. they even have manufacture specific training .. i did the BMW one .. you might also want to look at Wyotech

 

Yeah wyotech or Uti. Already had my certificate at age 19, but at my local community college. Also when you get done with this class. Your going to love cars more. Also when you do get your cerficate. Don't act like you know everything.

 

^^Yea, I know, I never act like I know everything(atleast I hope I dont come off like that). Any other schools? Where did you guys first work at?(like auto shop wise). Any of you work or live near the Philly area?
Thanks!

 

uti...

 

i went to, and graduated from uti.afterwards i went through the volkswagen training program and i will tell you this, save yourself 30k and go to your local community college. the school will pump you up and make you think that once your done employers will be kicking down your door to give you a job, this is not the case. employers want someone with experience, and unfortunatley uti grads w/o experience are looked down upon. hence the term ''Un- Trained Idiot'' did i learn how to work on cars, yes. was it worth 30k???? no. everyone's situation is different but if it were up to me id rather go to a community college. the material you will learn is still the same and when your done youll be in the same boat as someone who graduated from a ''technical'' school except youll have alot more money in your pocket. i graduated in 01' so ive been in the field for awhile now and thats the real deal.

 

Very true,try and find out if your local cc has a auto program and see if it is sponsered by a car manufacturer.Luckily for me i started out in my uncle,s machine shop building small and big block ford,s,chevy,s and mopars.Then he told me to go to lincoln tech(btw this was looooong ago when it cost 1800.00 for the course)to get some techinical back round.What a big mistake that was.............and yes im old cause that was back in 1978.

 

Well I am 16 and like working on motor vehicles. I am just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. It is very hard to find places that dont rip you off when it comes labor and it is VERY rare to find someone to do a good job/quality work. We all know how expensive Infiniti shops are. And they are inconsistant with quality(but some great dealerships out there).

So I was thinking on going to school for tuning/mechanical/electrical studies. Then go from there on expanding my knowledge. I would like to open my own shop for repairs to start out with and then go to tuning, dyno, paint, and wash cars. So pretty much a one stop shop. Although I would have a specialist for each field so it is top notch quality. Then branch out. What do you guys think? No shops in philly except Philly Dyno Works that I know of.

So go to my local community college, take courses, then find a job to gain experience?
Thanks guys!

 

Yeah go to community college, practice while in school. Don't get overwhelm on how much work one part might be able to take. Those are some of the downfalls to works on cars.

 

I am looking and my community college doesnt have any with that major. I will look for some more schools though.
Thanks!

 

PM me if you have any questions

I garduated UTI when I was 18 (2006).. when I went it was still $20k (paied the registration fee when I was in highschool) and lucked out at the time I went because I recieved two years of financial aid and always test for the scholarship program (they'll offer it to you once in enroll) I got some $$ out of that also see if your highschool (especially if you have an autoshop) will help you $$ out.. in the end I paid around +$10,000.. which is the main reason why I took it.. seemed like a quick way to some easy $$ but trust me if I can do it over again I'd dump it so quick..

majority of your classmates will be idiots/morons until 4-5months into it.. (then they all drop out).. The school was suppose to be for guys that already had a basic understanding of automotive and you had 3 weeks to get up to speed with everyone and on you go about learning.. now its more of a $$ thing.. if you have $ you're in.. the amount of info covered in todays classes are no where near the amount covered before.. IMO You're better off paying $10-$25 per class at a Junior College..

Lastly what are your goals? I can tell you time cards and pay scale of some very very large dealers and believe me.. the average tech makes $30-$50k... also it depends on who you know as well.. wonce you become a tech it isnt fun and games.. its how to work the system to get you the most amount of hours per day.. you're always checking the clock and the books to make sure you can even get paid for what you do.. and if you get a ****ty service writer that cant sell free candy to a 5 year old then you're seriously out of luck.. I'll tell you now that techs are getting paid less and diag isnt diag anymore.. you do the same 30 sets of problems every day over and over.

the upside is if I know more about cars then I would ever need to in my life time lol.. information becomes very very usefull and will probably earn itself back after a life time of working on your own cars =) and you can ID worth $$ mods to junk that are a waste of $$..

btw dont go to Wyotech lol its not any better and you're in the middle of nowhere..


just to clearify tho.. I've learned ALOT at UTI.. and its excellent once your class size gets smaller and you guys can start flying through projects and do some pretty cool stuff.. =) lastly theres a up and down side to the manufacture programs.. upside is that it'll provide traning on that specific make very well. Downside is not many guys come out of there ready to wrench and make $$.. and you're stuck with the dealer that paid for your schooling for 2 years.. in that two years they can literally screw you on pay and you have stay there or eat the bill.. bascially someone who's seriously interested in it will come out of regular training and make alot more $$ then the guy that went through the manufacture program by the time he graduates the program.

its not about how well you can work on cars.. its about how many hours you can make by the end of the week and how many cars you fix correctly.

- Eric

 

workin on cars is a pain in the ***. Also being flat rate hour paid its tough and a bad month can really hurt. Give it some serious thought before you sign up for school its a lot of money.