best place to learn

[matt11583]

ive liked workin on cars for a long time now but i dont kno how to do alot of stuff yet...no1 in my family works on tehm so i never really learned as a kid...i kno the basics like tuneups n brakes, but i want to learn more....i like doin it and i kno how everything works...i jus want to learn how to do teh actual work....where would be some good places to learn..my school doesnt offer a mechanic class or anything like that....any ideas....and srry if it is in teh wrong forum...didnt kon where to post it..feel free to move it

[AlmostStock]

The best experience is hands on. Help friends when they work on their cars. Don't know anyone who does? Start hanging out on cruise night or join a car club and make some new friends. Hint: If you ask someone about their "hot" car, they will be more than happy to tell you all about it.

[MagicRat]

I agree.....pick up some older service manuals, often flea markets or book stores have them, for just a few bucks. They are handy even if they are for different cars than yours.

Also, keep an eye out for old high school auto shop textbooks, too .
Finally, as posted abouve, get some friends etc who can do this stuff. Most car enthusiasts will show you how to do stuff in exhange for a bit of help on a project.
It helps reinforce the knowledge you read about. For example, even when I read all about welding, removing broken bolts and replacing ball joints, it was much more informative to actually see it being done.

[Speedsteve]

Originally Posted by matt11583

ive liked workin on cars for a long time now but i dont kno how to do alot of stuff yet...no1 in my family works on tehm so i never really learned as a kid...i kno the basics like tuneups n brakes, but i want to learn more....i like doin it and i kno how everything works...i jus want to learn how to do teh actual work....where would be some good places to learn..my school doesnt offer a mechanic class or anything like that....any ideas....and srry if it is in teh wrong forum...didnt kon where to post it..feel free to move it

Have you no Educationsystem in the US?

In Germany you go to Mercedes, Ford, VW and so on. With something luck you can have Jobtraining as a Carmechanic. You get approximately 500US $ in the month. The training period is 3.5 years. 4 Times a Week in the workshop and 1 Day in the Jobschool. After the 3 Years you have a big Examination. After this Examination you can work in the complete Carindustry. But - we have a high Unemploymentrate! Many people are unemployed after the training!

I have:

10 Years Poly-technical High School with Qualification

3 Years Education as a Sheetmetalworker ( Daimler-Chrysler ) for Cars with Qualification

2 Years study as a Mechanical Engineering Technician with Qualification

1 Year as a Driving Instructor with Qualification

1.5 Years Education as a Psychological Advisor with Qualification

And now? Unemployed!!! And I am not so special! The biggest Part of our unemployed Peoble ( over 5.3 Millions unemployed Peoble - Germany has 82 Millions Residents ) have one or two Education or / and a final degree as a Engineer, Architect, Doctor or so.
Hard Times!

.

[ALTVR]

yeh i agree with speedsteve, you should really be looking out for the big car manufacturers in the US. i was in your exact position about a month ago, so i went to a BMW dealership (in the UK), and they took me on as an apprentice... its about a 3 year course and you get paid aswell, so just keep looking and applying, i reckon its the best way to go.

[daveid]

did you already have a lot of prior knowlegde before getting on with bmw?

[Speedsteve]

Originally Posted by daveid

did you already have a lot of prior knowlegde before getting on with bmw?

O.K. I am not ALTVR but I answer for the German Education System.
Standard is - you go immediately after your school time in the Education. Prior knowledge is unimportant! You must only showing your interest in cars.

.

[karnovking]

make sure you are positive you want to do it. I pissed away six months tuition at an auto school to find out it sucks and I am much happier working my "day job" and playing the old fashioned back yard mechanic at home.

My suggestion is to just buy an old beater and fix it up in the back yard yourself. that way you can take your time on it, since it is not your primary car. And if you f*ck something up, no big deal.

[ALTVR]

well i didnt have ALOT of knowledge on the mechanical side of cars, but roughly knew how they worked and stuff... i dont think it matters if you dont know alot about cars when you start, because you're there to learn, and some people who even work at bmw didnt know anything about cars when they started, now they are top mechanics in the place. ive learnt so much, and ive only been there for about a month now, so in 3 years it wouldve all been worth it.

[daveid]

and how exactly did you get into to it? Like how did you apply? I love muscle cars and i like working on cars but i figure that the muscle car thing can be on the side of a car career. I know like every part in an engine an what it does for the most part, and have done mainly preventive maintance stuff but i want to get into an apprecticship but dont know the best way around doing it.Thats why i was just wondering how you acually applied for a thing like this.
thanx for the info.

david

[bjdm151]

Here in the states there are pretty much two options, apprentice at a dealership or go to a tech school. An aprenticeship can be good, but there are usually many more options available once through a school that offers these programs. Do some research on UTI and Wyotech, the are both good schools that have excellent ties with many manufacturers.

Oh yea, learning the english language will help find a job also.

[ALTVR]

Originally Posted by daveid

and how exactly did you get into to it? Like how did you apply? I love muscle cars and i like working on cars but i figure that the muscle car thing can be on the side of a car career. I know like every part in an engine an what it does for the most part, and have done mainly preventive maintance stuff but i want to get into an apprecticship but dont know the best way around doing it.Thats why i was just wondering how you acually applied for a thing like this.
thanx for the info.

david

well as it was a BMW dealership, i thought id have no chance of getting an apprenticeship with them, because i didnt have that much experience on cars. so one day i just thought, what the hell, i'll go down to my closest BMW dealer and see what they say. so i went there, asked if they needed any apprentice technicians at the moment, they said yes. went back for like 3 interviews & 1 test (kinda alot), passed the interview stage and the test, and they took me on. have to say i was kinda lucky to get an apprenticehsip with them... but its excellent now!

so GO FOR IT, ask in dealerships you probably think that wouldnt even give you a chance, you never know what to expect.