Planning for the Future: The Changing Face of Auto Repair
Change is afoot in the auto industry, and you don’t have to look very hard to find it. Stellantis is on rocky ground. Honda and Nissan are in talks to merge. And the seemingly on-again-off-again shift to EV propulsion dominates the headlines on a daily basis. That’s all to do with new cars, of course, but the field of auto repair is going through its own changes. Today’s cars require a different skill set than yesterday’s cars did, and tomorrow’s cars will advance requirements further.
I’ve worked as an automotive technician since I was 19 years old. In 2010, I finished my own automotive training at Skyline Community College in San Bruno, California. The curriculum in my last two semesters took a deep dive into the world of engine diagnostics and covered everything from the lowly feedback carburetors from the mid-1980s to early batch-fired fuel-injection systems to the then-new direct injection, as well as everything associated with onboard diagnostics. But 14 years is a long time in the car business. So how are modern technicians trained?
Recently, I paid a visit to a busy automotive program. As I happen to work at a community college that houses a well-funded training facility, it required little more than walking across campus one day on my lunch break to gather some facts.
I noticed something interesting as I approached the two looming brutalist-style buildings that house the program—a fleet of vehicles mostly made up of Toyota’s most popular models: Camrys, 4Runners, Corollas, Priuses, and Tundras packed into every corner. A few other Japanese and Korean imports were sprinkled sparsely around the Toyotas, and all of these cars, trucks, and crossovers were no more than five years old.
The walls within the building were adorned with Snap-on and MAC banners, but also with simple acronyms like T-TEN and MAST, which are the manufacturer’s sponsored training programs: “Toyota Technical Education Network” and “Mazda Automotive Student Training.” Mazda is new to the game—MAST kicked off in 2019—but Toyota has been building its network of T-TEN programs since 1986. They work with 38 different community colleges across the country. Honda, not one to be left out, also has a network of 28 schools that host its Professional Automotive Career Training (PACT.)
My friend and coworker, Louis Krebs, is the shop coordinator for the program. He handles the logistics that keep everything running and manages the Toyotas the students use to learn. He gave me the inside scoop on where things stand.
“They (Toyota) have deemed our fleet of 38 vehicles should be no more than 3 years old. Toyota will send us an overabundance of Camrys, Corollas, Tacomas, and 4Runners because those are the most popular things they sell. They want technicians to be very familiar with the popular models. I don’t even have anything anymore that’s got a carburetor or distributor or anything with plug wires.”
The majority of the Toyota fleet Krebs teaches on had been damaged in transit or were victims of some mistake in production that made them impossible to sell. So rather than send them to get scrapped, Toyota divides them between the schools they’ve partnered with. Students are then trained on those vehicles and more than likely go to work for one of the many Toyota dealerships across the country. And even those students who choose to work for independent shops or even another car company will be well prepared for whatever comes their way because they’ve been trained on machines made by the world’s best-selling automaker.
OK, but if everyone learns with new vehicles, how will anyone know how to fix all the classic cars still kicking around? Well, the good news is, despite carburetors and distributors being outdated, they are still taught in theory, pulled from a shelf and from time to time used to explain what the the world used to look like—and if you happen to run into one, here’s how to deal with it. Drum brakes, too, still get attention, as they’ve only recently been phased out.
But if you consider the average age of vehicles on the road today, right around 12 years old, it’s hard to justify the space required to store vehicles that aren’t prevalent in modern society. Here’s the thing, though, a technician with a solid foundation in diagnostics shouldn’t have any issues dealing with older vehicles. And that’s exactly what these programs provide: a solid foundation to become a quality technician. It’s more than just learning to take things apart and put them back together. Students are taught how to think critically so when they’re faced with something they might not be too familiar with, they’ll have little trouble making a solid diagnosis and repair.
Of course, there is more to this story than just how techs are trained. The humble independent auto repair shops are constantly faced with new challenges to overcome. Not only are they in competition with corporate-owned dealerships, but they’re also up against franchised quick lubes and tire shops, to the extent that many small shops have stopped taking on jobs they used to do, like oil changes or mounting and balancing tires. Not to worry, though, independent shops aren’t going away anytime soon; their business model just has to evolve with the rest of the industry.
Beyond the realm of community college training programs and how they are preparing tomorrow’s techs, I got in touch with shop owners who have some valuable first-hand knowledge of the current industry.
Alex Troche is a friend and the owner-operator of Rob Baker’s Garage in Millbrae, California, a modest two-bay shop attached to a gas station that has stood at the corner of Meadow Glen Ave. and El Camino Real since 1968. Troche, a millennial, took over the shop in 2016, and if his Instagram tells us anything, it’s that he’s still willing to work on vehicles as old as the shop itself, a fact he confirmed in our conversation.
“I do work on some carbureted vehicles,” Troche told me. “Carburetor-specific work is done on vehicles older than 1976. But I do service and maintain smog-era carbureted vehicles. Just don’t have some of the diagnostic equipment used in tuning them. But the rest of the vehicle still needs service and repairs that can be done without issue or limitations.”
Beyond the fact he’s worked on machines built so long ago they could collect a pension, Troche had some useful insight into other areas of the auto repair field. According to him, one of the biggest issues that everyone will face is a consistent supply of quality parts. Recall that automakers aren’t required to keep parts supplied for vehicles once they’re no longer in production. This means the vast majority of older vehicles are left at the mercy of the aftermarket once the OEM stock dries up. But even still, Troche has continued to service everything that comes through his door. Especially vehicles from the ’90s and early aughts, which make up 80–90 percent of his business.
“It’s difficult seeing parts suppliers cut back on what used to be regularly stocked components,” Troche said. “Having your ’90s and early 2000s brake rotors or ignition parts being stocked at outlying warehouses instead of your local ones can be a shock. Selling a job while it’s on the rack and starting teardown immediately isn’t as knee-jerk of a process as it once was. You have to take a little more time to ensure the parts are going to come within a reasonable amount of time or else you are pulling that one out and another in to fill the time between order and delivery.”
One of the worst experiences for a shop is a comeback, especially if it’s due to a new part that has failed prematurely. The last thing any business needs is a damaged reputation and for customers to lose faith in their abilities, especially if it’s due to a decline in the availability of quality parts. It’s an issue that has reverberated across the industry and left a lot of people to wonder what the best course of action is.
Rob Fuller, Datsun virtuoso and owner of Z Car Garage in San Jose, California, has simply quit working on certain cars. Nissans and Datsuns made from 1979 to 1989 are now turned away because quality parts just don’t exist, and Rob has refused to put his name on something he doesn’t believe in. And in cases where something did fail, he has kept track of it and made sure to avoid those products next time around. His trick to having reliable parts for his classic Datsun work isn’t really a trick, it’s a humungous supply of NOS parts for 1970–78 Z cars. And his advice to anyone looking to take on servicing less popular classics is to start stockpiling parts now before the good stuff is all gone.
But parts sourcing is just part of the problem Fuller is dealing with. Like the rest of the industry, he is having trouble finding technicians to help handle the mammoth amount of work he has scheduled. But the issue isn’t just getting someone on the payroll, it’s finding someone who shares his same dedication and passion for the work. Someone who is willing to put in the 10,000 hours it takes to perfect the work.
Despite training programs’ focus on building a solid foundation for techs, Fuller has had his share of bad luck finding good help. “Striving to be really good at understanding and problem-solving isn’t something I’m seeing in the labor force,” he said. “I’ll have people work for me two years, teach them a lot of rad stuff, and then they leave. And two years later they’re doing something completely different with their lives. Since our world is so automated and our world is so convenient, sometimes the things that are hard to do aren’t really getting done.”
You can tell from even the most brief conversation with Rob Fuller that Z Car Garage is way more than just a way to pay the bills. There’s a piece of his soul in the business and everything that goes along with it. And with a two-year waitlist for classic Datsun work and the normal services they handle on modern Nissans, he has no plans to close up shop. His plan is simple: No matter what the future throws his way, keep learning and moving forward. The same thing he’s done for the past 30 years.
“I’m not an old timer who’s stuck in the past,” he said. “I’m an old timer who wants to learn from the past, present, and future.”
The sentiment echoed across the board, though, was that the industry isn’t going anywhere. The passionate people who run quality shops aren’t just going to close up their businesses one day and abandon everything they’ve worked toward. They are going to move forward and find ways to adapt to a changing environment. This could mean more owners going to an appointment-only style business, which would give the shop more time to source hard-to-find parts. Rather than have a vehicle sitting around, everything could be ready to go as soon as it rolls through the door. And with the never-ending popularity of Radwood-era vehicles, we could see more specialty shops that handle the ’80s and ’90s stuff, especially as a broader swath of that era’s cars become collectible.
These are difficult times for making predictions for the auto industry—both the business of making cars and the business of fixing them. Both will go on, of course, and with respect to the repair side, it will require embracing community, continuing to pass on knowledge, and focusing on learning. And maybe the people who were only briefly involved in the industry will rediscover that spark later on, dust off their tools, and get back to fixing rad stuff.
The greatest issue is just getting people to become techs. Dealers and local shops struggle to fine people willing to get their hand dirty.
Generally if you can fix a new import you can fix most older cars. Figuring out drum brakes is not tough.
Another factor is many of us enthusiasts can and do use YouTube to see how to diagnose and repair cars. I have learned my C5 inside out off the web.
The major issue it computers. The independent shops have to buy tech for computers. This can run $20k for a small shop a year.
Shortages of parts and long back orders are still in place from Covid. If you can get a part often it may take months in some cases.
The real issue is hybrids and EV as much will be dealer only as so little info is available to independent shops.
So brace yourself for delays and higher costs.
One more thing. All mfgs are cutting cost much in engineering. This has led to wide spread issues for all brands even Toyota. I have never seen so many engine failures as the last few years. Many low mileage.
U-tube has been a valuable resource for me also as repair manuals even like Mitchell are sadly lacking in some cars, especially imports. My main problem with U-tube is sorting through those who know what they’re doing and those who don’t like the guy who generously lubed the Teflon rear seal on a Chevy LS engine. But my main problem is finding quality parts because so many, even OEM parts are sourced from China. I have learned through experience to always buy engine management sensors for GM vehicles from AC Delco or Delphi but never buy knock sensors from GM. And I learned through research to test them before installing.
If you want to keep technicians, how about providing a decent work environment. It’s hot in the summer. Cold( in some places it’s really cold) in winter. It smells. There are hazards every 2 feet. Risk of fire, lift collapse, tire explosions, say nothing about having to bring a vehicle in a crowded shop that costs 6 figures. Stress? Take some off of these guys. I did it for 47 years. Hated the last 46 years and 10 months. Oh, and exceptionally crappy pay too.
Ford and GM should read this. It is all about cost, no longer quality.
I think we need a return to quality by everyone. The current crop of failures going on give me less confidence in the new over-complicated stuff.
I really have to question the need for all this over-the-top complexity of today’s vehicles. Our 2023 F150 with twin turbos, digital-everything, 10-speed transmission only gets about 2-3 mpg more than our simple 1999 Silverado with the 4.3 V6 and 4 speed overdrive transmission. The 99 Silverado was cheap and easy to maintain and got us from Point A to Point B reliably every time we drove it.
Yes but the f150 could tow more than twice what the 4.3 could tow. that is why things are complicated. I have a 2023 f150 Hybrid and tow a racecar enclosed trailer. It replaced my brick simple V10 f250. The f150 tows better rides better and gets much better mileage. My f250 has over 250K miles and not even a water pump or alternator has failed. Just brakes and tires and oil changes. I have no confidence that the new f150 will do the same. But at 30K miles and about 10K of towing it is still perfect.
Recently retired after 38 years in the automotive service business. Started as a tech and retired as a Parts and Service Director, mostly in the Houston area. I was always heavily involved in working with high schools and community colleges wherever I was working. I finished my career with a dealer group in Austin, Texas and when I arrived there and started looking for a high school program to get involved with, I was shocked to find that the Austin school district had ZERO automotive programs! There were a few in the suburban districts, and I became involved with a couple of those, along with Austin Community College, which has a strong program. What I repeatedly heard from the instructors in both Houston and Austin was that school district administrators had placed almost no emphasis on technical training for about 20 years, with facilities that were outdated and poorly equipped, and this was a common issue all over the US. The emphasis everywhere was “college, college, college” and to hell with the trades. Basically we lost an entire generation of students to college prep rather than meaningful skilled trades education. Although there has always been a shortage of GOOD automotive technicians, in my last 10 years this became a huge issue, as the older techs retired or moved into other roles. In the last 5 years, I was encouraged to see a renaissance beginning in regards to technical training, with a renewed interest in all skilled trades. This was largely mandated by the private sector, as the lack of qualified people in the trades had reached crisis mode. Nevertheless, it will still take quite awhile for the situation to stabilize, and hopefully this will be a lesson learned by the American education system. College is no longer the end all be all to achieving career success!
Thanks for your very thoughtful posting. I’m glad you’re seeing encouraging signs in regard to tech education. It’s high time, not only in the US but in Canada too. A book you might enjoy, or may already know, is “Shop Class as Soulcraft” by Matthew B. Crawford (2009), about the joys of knowing and doing stuff. The author knows both worlds, academia and the skilled trades.
My experience with the educators is that they had no respect for the trades. I offered summer work & an introduction to the automotive repair industry for a high school student. They only sent dummies & incorrigibles to me. Their perspective of the repair industry & the trades in general was that it was for people of low intelligence. They would rather that their bright student spent the summer playing video games & not get their hands dirty.
And even if they HAD respect for the Trades (the instructor at my local school where I am on the Advisory Committee does), the more intelligent students seem to get steered away. Over 50 years ago I (an Honor Student) sat in the Auto 1 classroom for 4 weeks waiting for a not very studious classmate to finally learn the basic engine wiring diagram for a simple points & condenser engine. And yes, I passed first try, first day! For the last 20 years of me owning my own shop I had a deal with the instructor that he would send me any Honor Student for an apprenticeship that was in his class. Unfortunately, it never happened… Looking back, I thoroughly enjoyed my 50 years in Auto Repair Trade and as the article mentions – there are many excited, passionate shop owners where the BEST Technicians can find a wonderful career.
It cut both ways, too, even 50 years ago: “College prep” students just were not allowed to take any “vocational” courses, reserved for a special [lower] class, and if your summer employment experience was in the shop or construction instead of summer enrichment programs, that would compromise your college placement. As a result, physicists who can speak English, or design engineers who’ve actually turned a wrench, are at a premium now.
In my junior high school (7th grade, 1960-61), every boy had to take one quarter each of metal shop, wood shop, mechanical drawing, and “handicrafts” (plastics shop). That included the “smart kids,” who were also taking algebra.
I rarely see discussions of shop classes any more. Now retired, I have a woodshop in my garage. Classes are not cheap.
Education systems mirror the society they’re supposed to serve. And the simple fact is, there has long been a growing bias against the working class in this country — much of it coming from the working class itself.
I work in the auto industry, and in the last few years — especially since the pandemic — it’s become virtually impossible for non-union plants to attract and retain any Americans for work on the shop floor. Plants all over the Midwest now depend on a steady stream of Spanish-speaking workers. Right now, I’m at a Tier 1 supplier in West Michigan, and its second shift workforce has gone from about 25% Hispanic to 90% in just the last 3 years. I don’t know where working-class young Americans are working these days, but it sure ain’t in factories.
But here’s the great irony. AI will allow employers to replace most of those college-educated ‘knowledge’ workers in the next few years. The only jobs that won’t be impacted by this are ones where hands-on work in a specific location is required. Like auto techs.
As far back as the 80’s, while I was Service Director of a 3-carline dealer I was also on the board of a Community Automotive Training School. The biggest thing I pushed for was electronic engine training.
I’m an old mechanic that has old cars. I’m not planning for the future,I’m planning for the pasture………. 😆
Gary, I’m an old guy too. I still have my tools, scope, & distributor machine. I like the old cars. They had character. I’ve owned Model A & early V8 Fords, Mopar muscle cars, & Tri-5 Chevrolets. Today, I own a ’56 F100. I’ll work on the old cars for people that I like, but I will not for free. There has to be some trade. If I were to do repair work for free, I’d be busy all the time & have no time for my afternoon nap or a good billiard game. Also, I’d be taking work away from people in the trade who need it.
You nailed it, Gary!!!
After 42 years in the independent automotive repair industry, I want to say that the aftermarket parts industry needs a heads up. When you supply us with an inferior product, we are responsible for the comeback. Suppliers will gladly replace the failed part, but there is no compensation for our loss of reputation & labor time. Consider also our customer’s inconvenience. If your product fails for me, I am going to stay away from your brand. I learned to rely on OEM parts in many cases, & had dealers who would supply me. Customers would want me to use less expensive parts. I stated that there would be no guarantee on repairs where inferior parts were used & I really did not want to do the job. My honesty & reputation are important to me. I’ve had customers say to me “You are good, but too expensive”. People who work for less know the value of their work. I did not get rich in this business. My sons & daughter were encouraged to find their own interests, & do not work in the automotive industry.
One reason I own older cars (89 and 03 Subaru’s) is that they dont have a ton of complicated parts/electronics to keep them running. Biggest problem with my 89 Subaru, is sourcing parts. I did upgrade everything to early 90’s stuff, which has helped in the parts sourcing, but eventually even those years will dry up. Even with a degree in electronics, I’m hesitant to dive into any of the newer cars on the market. And so much is proprietary now
A relative closed his shop several years ago. To hard to keep up with the technology/electronics/ time to diagnose problems. Plus the cost of diagnostic equipment
What no one ever seems to address in these articles on the shortage of qualified technicians, training or older techs mentoring younger techs is simply……..the pay system. The automotive repair industry may be shiny and advanced looking on the outside, but internally has never gotten past the 1950’s
It’ll be interesting to see how long people can keep the last of the somewhat-simple vehicles on the road. I’m referring MY up to around 2014-2016 when everything wasn’t fitted w GDI and a turbo. We have a 2006 Suburban (5.3L NA V8 one year before the atrocious AFM), a 2016 RAV4 (2.4L NA) and a 2016 CR-V (2.4L NA). We plan to keep them going until the bitter end. I’m not interested in driving what is essentially a giant iPhone on wheels.
I am a retired GM dealer tech. Flat rate pay plans need to go by whatever means. Manufacturers pay less and less for every repair. Diagnostic allowances are ridiculous. Greedy dealers have everyone on commission top to bottom. Good luck getting your car fixed. Any kid that chooses this field is guaranteed a tough life of fighting for every dime.
Nothing has changed in 40 years. Schools push college and neglect those not going. The smartest typically don’t go into trades because it isn’t presented positively. Auto service needs people that can THINK and they need to be PAID. My training is 40 years old and had almost no electronics (computer carbs were just coming out and fuel injection in main stream cars was years away). I didn’t update as I spent my working years on an auto assembly line and didn’t work on anything outside of my own stuff. THERE is a contrast> You see why cars are put together the way they are and are so hard to work on. With my lack of modern knowledge, I can still beat many of the late model techs in diagnosis because they never learned the basics. Even basic A/C service is a problem. I wasted $500 at the dealer to NOT fix a problem with our Subaru not cooling after 10 minutes of running. I ended up buying a cheap gauge set and hanging it outside the car while driving to see when the pressure changed and whether the clutch was still engaged electrically. Did a YouTube search and found that the clutch is weak and starts to slip (non replaceable part) so I took a shim out and it so far is still running. When it quits, it will be compressor time. You also have to be able to read AND reason the what and why the scanner is telling you what it does otherwise you end up throwing parts at it AND a lot of the parts are garbage. The independent shop is at a disadvantage because keeping up costs a lot. Dealer techs have it hard because they have to cut corners to make money. Plus the customer doesn’t want to pay shop rate for 2 or 3 hours to diagnose a tough problem before the wrenches even come out of the drawer. Cars/trucks cost more and more to buy, more and more to fix and are more throw away than they were 20 years ago.
Thanking is indeed what’s crucial — in auto mechanics and across our whole culture — and should be praised whenever it shows up. It hasn’t totally disappeared, thankfully!