Question To Fellow Mechanics In The USA

Hey all ,
I am a 9 year vetran of a Ford Dealer in Connecticut . We are currently in an extreme slow period that began shortly before summer of last year . As can be expected this has caused some dessent in the shop . Alot of the blame seems to fall on either the Service Manager or one of the 2 owners . while i always try to be unbias , as my pay check continues to shrink it is becoming increasingly harder to do so . Talking to fellow techs in the area about the state of thier bussiness yields no real results to compare our lack of customers to . While i can post this on the Ford PTS website , posts that bash , question or mock Ford and thier dealer network tend to be removed very quickly not to mention that it only has Ford Tech posting on it . I would like a broader view of the situation and welcome any tech be it , Honda , Ford , Chevy , Diatsu , Yugo (lol) , Mom&Pop , Public Works , Where ever you turn a wrench . I'm trying to stay optimistic about not only where i work , but the profession i have sunk 12+ years of life into . With 3 Area Dealers closed in the past 8 months compounded by our dwindling Customer base a change of trade might be needed , especially with 1 Small child and another on the way . Its hard to feed the family , pay rentz and other billz on a mere ~350 a week .

what is this I don't even

Meh.

I fail to see the question. Are you trying to ask if other mechanics are seeing the same thing?

I can't see how they could blame Ford's decline on your service manager. The entire American car industry has collapsed during this recession, which is hardly your manager's fault. I understand that it's tough, but there's no sense pointing the finger at individuals, since much of the world is going through the same thing.

On a side note, sorry if I'm being blunt, but it's extremely difficult to pick out exactly what it is you're trying to say. At least try to put a little more effort into your grammar and spelling, you might get more of a response that way.

The automotive/collision trade has been spiraling down hill the past few years. My dads a mechanic/bodyman of 25+ years. We used to live in Las Vegas 2/3 years ago before we went bankrupt due to shops closing because of no work, and not being able to land other jobs because the employers could barely pay their current full crews. We were forced to sell everything and move up with his parents(I was at the time 15/16yo), to have a roof over our heads and food so we wouldn't starve. Work has been on and off here in Utah where we currently are. The jobs that he has landed, I cant say I've seen last more than 3 months before getting laid off. Then its back to seeking employment for however many months after. My dad had been unemployed the past 7 months because of the economy, the whole reason of all of this, and just recently got a job doing body work.

Kinda didn't really understand what you were trying to get at, but I thought I would throw in my personal experience. That it is not just the companies but the entire trade.

I hope ***starts to get better, it needs to pick up big time. Lots of people are suffering badly. :(

useless replyditto I'm sorry you feel this way . the point is pretty clear , reread the post , maybe it might help . I agree 100% with most of this . as far the rest this post isnt really a question i suppose . i guess it's to justify my feelings twards my employer and dispell the general poor outlook in the shop in an effort to keep my personal morale up and to see if other shops , not just other ford dealers are in a like situation . I am not sure exactly how to clarify what i am asking . i tried to be clear and as to the point as possible . I'm not the most verbose person on the planet , hence why i deal with scanners , TSBs , Manuals , and Machines opposed to actual people . as far as spelling and grammar are concerned , it should be obvious i dont spell check or proof read making these postes while doing actual work stuff online , like asking engineering why they decided to change a 100+ year old design that worked fine for a new design that constantly fails (plastic tanks on an aluminum core radiator) . I know we're not the only ones hurting , but i dont believe what i am told from a government that sez they cant fix health care while passing Cash For Clunkers in 4 days .

I can see what you're saying now. Could something have been done to help bring more business in? Dealership owners could've made some sort of incentive like cheaper oil changes. I don't see how it could be the service manager's fault unless they expect them to commit fraud. As mentioned before, the economy is poor and people either started learning how to fix their own vehicles or know people that do. Everyone is starting to be penny pinchers so if they can find a cheaper means of repairing their vehicles then they'll go that route. You're starting to see a side-effect to no work already with people blaming each other for work being slow. I see the same thing where I work at least once a month when our workload tends to be slow toward the end of the month.

It's best you don't get involved with the drama because in these times you'll surely see the shaft if remarks or suggestions are taken personally.

Yea , we have been talkin about that but oil changes are loser jobs anyway . most Dealers take it the face on oil changes in a vain hope to generate more additional work , but everyone watching every dime its not easy . We've been doin free inspections with the idea that if you throw enough poop against the wall something will stick (thats a direct quote from the SvcMgr) . as far as chilling side effects go , dont even go there . We have parts on extended back order status and even discontinued on vehicle line that are 2 or less year years old because the vendor is either going bankrupt , not being paid by one or more manufacturer , or has already gone under and Ford hasnt found a new vendor . An example of this would be me ordering a Seat Bottom Cover for a 2007 Freestyle and parts telling me its Discontinued . Its 2 years old .
Thnx for the input , time to soldier on and try and break that 30 hour mark ; . ;

It's not just the dealerships. I work for an aftermarket shop and we have seen a huge decline in the past year. People that used to by high-end tires have been buying the cheaper brands. People are trying to get the most out of their cars now before they trade them in.

I deal with ordering parts for our vehicles and I've seen the discontinued parts come up on many vehicles, but nothing that's 2 years old. I could understand if they were a discontinued vehicle line, but even then parts are stocked up while those vehicle types were being pumped out.

Our fleet is mainly GM products so when that mess with GM came about some part manufacturers discontinued to keep themselves going broke and GM wouldn't go out to find a new vendor until they knew if they were going to keep going. That just created a nightmare for us since we raped the vintage parts warehouse of all they had to keep a stock for us.

yea the vedor issues are terrible . FOrd decided to update the Seat Tracks in the Navigators to use the current 2009+ deisgn requiring jumper harnesses to compensate for the change in design but to use the previous model years' (2003-2008) wiring harness and modules . I orderd it in August , it arrived wednesday shortly after i mad my last post . we arent talkin like huge wiring hardness , it changes a system that uses 2 connectors to a single connector . We have a Crown Vic with some failed Cats , 2006 or '07 , we've been waiting on them since freakin june !!!! still no word . we're actually waiting for Ford to tell us to use aftermarket cats , lol . poor dood is still makin car payments tho , hasnt driven it in almost 6 months .