Questions and Answers
Career Question
Q. Mr. Ciulla, You have a fine web site about About.com. I am certain you probably receive a lot of email asking similar questions to mine. I apologize for any annoyance in advance.
My question for you is: How could I become a factory certified Porsche/Benz/BWM/Volkswagen mechanic? I really enjoy working on cars -- especially German imports. How could I make it my job?
The local community college offers a two-year degree in automotive technology. However, it would appear the local Ford factory has designed the curriculum. So I'm afraid I'd only learn about Fords. Any guidance you could provide would be most appreciated.
Thank you,
RodA. There is no need for an apology, this is not an annoyence. If it was, my toolbox and I would be rolling down the street.
The only way you can get factory training on the vehicles you mentioned is to actually get a job at a dealership that sells and services the car. The factory does not accept students in general, just registered technicians from the dealership.
It probably won't be easy getting into a dealership, especially if you limited mechanical experience in general but if you talk to the Service Manager and explain your desire and show him you are committed to this, he may hire you as a "C" mechanic and from there you can advance up the ladder.
This is, basically, how I started. A Service Manager at a Nissan/BMW dealership felt I had the potential and drive to be good at what I wanted to do and gave me a break. I started out doing oil changes and general grunt work. After three years I had attended several training classes for both Nissan and BMW and passed 6 out of the 8 ASE certification classes and became the shop foreman. Two years after that I was offered the job of Service Manager when the guy who hired me left. I turned it down because my first love was being a line mechanic.
My advice is to keep plugging away, if they say they are not hiring at this time, come back a month later and apply again. This will show that you have the drive and perseverance that they look for in a technician.
Please, keep me posted on how you make out and how you're doing.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
