On this week's Memorial Day episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about the generations in regard to the conflicts they fought and the cars they had to fix. Fittingly omitting “The Lost Generation”, we examine the incredibly simple nature of early mass produced automobiles when they were being driven by “The Greatest Generation”. This is the generation who honed their skills by keeping things running through a Global Depression leading up to fighting Nazi’s and the Imperial Japanese. “The Silent...
Jun 03, 2021•44 min•Ep. 145
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we are exploring a favorite topic of ours and giving some real world potential fixes for the problem. The problem for this week’s episode is the technician shortage, with new facts and figures indicating that the industry could have up to half a million unfilled job openings in the not-so-distant future of 2024. Again, these suits with business degrees like to point out the lack of shop classes, while failing to account for the working conditions and w...
May 27, 2021•55 min•Ep. 144
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about the bus! The bus we are referring to in this case is the metaphysical bus of the blame game, often between irate customers and uncaring management. We’ve all been hit with it in our careers as mechanics or just people who fix things for a living, and more often than not it is undeserved. When auto repairs do not go as planned or customers have nefarious motives, the first person in the crosshairs to blame is always going to be the mechan...
May 20, 2021•42 min•Ep. 143
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we apply the arc of the extremely popular show “Bar Rescue” to the automotive sector. Folks, this one would get ugly in a hurry. First off, there are a lot of people in management in the automotive sector that think everything is absolutely fine despite their businesses actively falling apart due to either neglect, poor decision making, poor personnel, or all of the above. Therefore, in their heads at least, their shop wouldn’t need to be rescued. How...
May 13, 2021•52 min•Ep. 142
On this week’s Grease the Wheels, we talk about those people and places that you don’t talk about anymore, because they’re on the blacklist! The blacklist when we are talking about the automotive industry also includes the “do not hire” list, and there are a lot of ways to get on someone’s blacklist. Almost every shop has some form of a blacklist, whether it be related to customers or staff. Additionally, certain shops can become blacklisted by both mechanics and customers because of the quality...
May 06, 2021•52 min•Ep. 141
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we take a break from our sustained assault of the senses and take aim at another plague of the world today: passive aggressive attitudes. In the automotive industry being passive aggressive is about as common as breathing with some people. However, in a departure from form we actually give you ways to be more passive aggressive! The opportunities are absolutely endless, from everyday conversation to purposely leaving your annotated resume on your toolbox and lite...
Apr 22, 2021•43 min•Ep. 140
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we talk about the sense of touch! We also go into depth on having “the touch” and how to develop your own personal “touch” when working on cars. With the amount of components on modern cars that can’t be readily seen or accessed, having a good sense of touch is extremely important. “The Touch” is almost metaphysical, culminating in perfect harmony between man, tool and component with being able to nearly telepathically diagnose and repair cars. Uncle J...
Apr 15, 2021•52 min•Ep. 139
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we are talking about the sense of smell. There are a lot of smells that cars make and have in general. Right off the bat, the olfactory system is one of the major triggers for memory, so when you smell something and it makes you think of a very specific moment in time that isn't a coincidence. We also talk about some of the smells that our customers diffuse into their cars, whether it be body odor, dirty diapers, garbage, rotting food, or any of the ot...
Apr 08, 2021•56 min
O n this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we talk about the incredible amount of things that we as mechanics can tell about a car by the way it sounds. There are a ton of issues on cars, boats, machines, whatever you work on- where the first sign of trouble is going to be something not quite sounding right. Yet, somehow our customers (and producer) will ignore these sounds to the point where they become a catastrophic and completely avoidable failure. We also talk about one of the absolute ke...
Apr 01, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 137
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we talk about some of the things we have seen as mechanics. From the way that customers treat their cars like rolling dumpster fires to some of the terrible previous “repairs” we have seen literally everything. When it comes to the senses, we can tell a lot about a car by the way it looks. As technicians we have seen cars broken in every which way humanly possible, and it never ceases to amaze! We also talk about some useful tips for finding cars on a ...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 5 min
On this week’s Grease the Wheels, we are going back to our meat and potatoes of doing angry diatribes about service managers. As a disclaimer, if you have a good one thank them because this is a bit like finding a virgin on a maternity ward. Or if you have one that has potential to be good, please help to steer them into doing things the right way. We run through the job description of your service manager in depth and want you to gauge how well your's does their job. We also go into the technic...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 135
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we make you think of the Beastie Boy’s with the title while actively testing the limits on the definition of satire. How would you sabotage where you work without ever causing any physical destruction? You choke off the supply of people who are willing to work there. Breaking stuff, swearing at folks, stealing, and being a nuisance will only get you a bad reputation. However, if you actively dissuade people from going into the field you can do a lot more damage l...
Mar 11, 2021•44 min•Ep. 134
On this week’s Grease the Wheels, we are talking some used car horror stories so this is a good one. Why do people buy cars online without looking at them first? As mechanics we understand the level of carnage that can be going on with a seemingly normal looking car, but a lot of people don't. Even worse is when they call you for a used car pre-purchase inspection that is in-fact a post-purchase inspection. We get into detail with this scenario in the case of a person who bought a hybrid version...
Mar 03, 2021•42 min•Ep. 133
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, you get to hear a podcast from a host who hasn’t had power or running water for 7 days prior to recording! We’re not going to get into it this week (it'll probably have to be a two parter), but these few upcoming episode’s are going to be a special brand of insane that only your beloved Uncle Jimmy can provide. This week’s dive is on the definition of exploitation and its prevalence in the automotive industry. We crunch some numbers and figure out wha...
Feb 25, 2021•42 min•Ep. 132
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we are talking about some of the things that make us happy as automotive technicians. We come up with several metrics to figure out if you should stay with your current shop based on how happy it makes you. There are a million things working in any shop that can make you unhappy, so it really is surprising when places get it mostly right! We also talk about hoarder cars that would shame a petri dish, compost in cowls, and other general disgustingness that might c...
Feb 18, 2021•46 min•Ep. 131
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we are going over some of the general things that happen to mechanics and technicians all over the world. Spells where you can't fix anything, coming in to a mess you didn’t make, and having to put up with incompetence like missing labor hours; we want to know, is it just me? We go over some practical suggestions when it comes to going over repair orders in regards to getting paid for the work you did! Also, is it just me, or do the job postings for d...
Feb 14, 2021•46 min•Ep. 130
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we talk about some format changes that we are going to try with the podcast: where you guys send us in clips and we turn them into a show! We’re using an app called Speakpipe where you guys send us voicemails and we can download, edit and respond to you on the show. Erik the Producer’s Notes for Callers: The time limit on the voicemails is 5 minutes If the link doesn’t work or it won’t let you send it, we’ve gone over our limit for the month (let us know, we’ll s...
Feb 04, 2021•33 min•Ep. 129
On this week’s Grease the Wheels, we expand the idea of the flat rate system and ask, “what would happen if other occupations were paid flat rate?” In order to make flat rate work for you as a mechanic, you need to do the repairs well, and then do them fast. This is mostly because of the fact that you aren’t going to get paid for doing it the second time, and that learning curve isn’t fun when it's coming out of your paycheck. If this same system were applied to occupations ranging from cashiers...
Jan 28, 2021•38 min•Ep. 128
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we are diving head first into the deep end of video multi-point inspections. Right off the bat a lot of places are not paying for this service that they are expecting of their technicians, so they are going to get what they pay for a lot of the time. However, we can’t ignore the massive upside that this newfound “techs-eye-view” tool has given us in regards to the value of showing customer’s what is going on with their car. If everything on their car is good, let...
Jan 21, 2021•56 min•Ep. 127
On this week’s Grease the Wheels, we are talking about evolution: both as technicians individually and in regards to the cars we work on. When it comes to the cars, the amount of technological change from the first cars Uncle Jimmy was working on as a lad to where we are now is staggering and because of this, we have all had to learn a lot of things and hone some extra skills to be able to stay effective at what we do. We also talk about the incredible strides that cars have made in terms of saf...
Jan 14, 2021•37 min•Ep. 126
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we are talking about one of the things that can single you out the fastest in a shop: the can’t do attitude. As we have stated before, trying to have a good attitude in your shop is always a good thing, but we also implore you to have a “can do” attitude over a “can’t do” attitude. This will open a lot of doors professionally and will prevent your bosses from pigeon-holing you as the “the guy who only does this one thing.” We also talk about an extreme example of...
Jan 07, 2021•35 min•Ep. 125
On this week’s GTW we are a week late to the Christmas party, but that’s ok because we kinda can’t stand the music- at least the poppy remakes! We take a look at some of the craziness of 2020 and use that to set our sights on 2021, by taking a look at some of the most common new years resolutions through the eyes of an Automotive Technician. We also talk about that lovely Hallmark Christmas Movie motif of “christmas wishes” and talk about some of the wishes we have. Again, it is a week late so t...
Dec 31, 2020•54 min•Ep. 124
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we take a deep dive into what you should expect from your employers, the job, and your fellow technicians. We take a look at new guys, and how attitude can sometimes take you further in this industry than skill alone when getting over being “the new guy.” One of the things that is expected out of all of us is that when the cars we work on get more advanced that our skill-set keeps up. This is a rare example in the free market of getting paid the same amount of mo...
Dec 24, 2020•56 min•Ep. 123
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy completely destroys communism faster than the apprentice who forgot to put the drain plug back in his waiter oil change. While our notion that workers should get paid more does smack of some of Marx’s more heavily Sparknoted works, we know the simple market fact that all workers are NOT created equal. We all know different things, we have different levels of experience, and we have different levels of education- so the idea of paying us al...
Dec 17, 2020•34 min•Ep. 122
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we are actually dispensing useful information when it comes to getting you paid: we are talking about how to write a job story. For the purpose of this episode we are mostly talking about how to get paid the absolute most when it comes to warranty repairs. Now obviously you are going to want to document everything you do to the car in order to get paid for everything you did, but there are also ways to make time in this scenario. We also go into why documenting e...
Dec 10, 2020•46 min•Ep. 121
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we are taking a look at your favorite department that doesn’t have any of the stuff you need in stock: parts! No, we kid, we actually do a fairly good dive on why your parts department doesn't have the parts that you need. The meat of it comes when it comes to the type of personnel that shops are getting to apply for parts jobs in general due to the poverty-inducing wage that they offer for it. As with most automotive jobs, hiring managers are going t...
Dec 03, 2020•44 min•Ep. 120
On this week’s interactive episode of Grease the Wheels we are getting into the remote learning racket by creating a test for technicians. No need to study, this is entirely about how you approach and do your job. From being good about helping other techs, to showing up and getting right to work: there are many different ways to be a good technician. In this simple 10 question quiz Uncle Jimmy lays out the spread from a perfect employee to someone who should seriously exit the industry. Realisti...
Nov 26, 2020•51 min•Ep. 119
On this week’s Grease the Wheels, we are asking a simple question: what are your priorities? When it comes to work, for most of us in general, it's to make as much money as possible. Other days it is getting out of the building as fast as possible. We have personal priorities in addition to our career priorities, and often the two can cause conflict. Everyone in the building is going to have different priorities, and this isn’t even getting to the various priorities of the customers. Some of the...
Nov 19, 2020•39 min•Ep. 118
On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy completely Tarantino’s Henry Ford’s rapid expansion of the middle class by introducing the $5 a day minimum wage to his factory workers. First off, right around half of that was a wage from the work they did in the factory. The other half came from living in accordance with Ford’s own personal standards, in a move that would make the ACLU’s mouth water. Either way the results were profound, and Ford soon had more qualified help than he could reas...
Nov 12, 2020•46 min
On this week’s Grease the Wheels we take a look at the job at the top of the shop food chain: the general manager. The Boss. In some cases their name is on the building, in others they are the long arm of a very large corporate entity. Either way, the buck stops and starts with them. In brand new dealerships and shops the learning curve can be seriously steep and finding the right people for the right jobs is a major factor to success. However, we can't help but notice the trend that most genera...
Nov 05, 2020•38 min
