Scary.....

[crash2]

So after 27 years of working in the dealership I am contemplating going to an independent diesel shop. It was hard enough when I left bellevue after 18 years to go where I am now.. Kinda scarey when ya think about getting out of your comfort zone.

 

[WA-Wheeler]

So after 27 years of working in the dealership I am contemplating going to an independent diesel shop. It was hard enough when I left bellevue after 18 years to go where I am now.. Kinda scarey when ya think about getting out of your comfort zone.

Pro/con list. And it really depends on why your leaving. Make sure your getting what you want...whether it be more money...vacation....blah blah. My dad went independent like 12 years ago. He seems happy...ish.

 

[junkyard jim]

I've been there. Wanted to branch out with my own shop and got slapped down every time I turned around. Getting into a shop with a good rep is the way to go for reliability of income.

 

[ChopTop84]

Do you get a retirement at your current location? How about the new location? Can you cash it out and roll it into a IRA? Is it even convertible? My wife quit her job to go independent and I wont say we got screwed on the rollover plan, but we were not as informed as we could have been. Her previous company has a stanglehold on her retirement bennies. One plan we had to cash out in full and pay taxes on, with no rollover option, and the other plan cannot be touched until retirement age, not even to roll it over.

27 and 18, thats 45 years in the work force. no plans to take it easy at some point?

 

[Lucky Jeff]

27 total.. Crash ain't that old :haha:

 

[crash2]

18 of the 27 was at one place :redneck:

Retirement--not worried as we have a simple 401k plan that they stopped in 2009 and just started matching our contributions.

My ultimate goal was to either do my own thing or get out of the automotive bizz all together. With the wifes health conditions I am the sole bread maker and gotta continue to support the family so staying in the field is the only easy way to do it..

But the politics of GM has gotten worse and with a dealership you get the "well we have too much overhead so no raises" which is a pretty common theme in that part of the game.

Plus I absolutely love working on the Dmax stuff and know it very well and I HATE working on cars.....


But again I am enjoy my comfort zone and dropping from that is scarey---but hey no more working saturdays...

 

[hlb3]

If you aren't happy where you are and the new place is a reputable/well established shop and they are offering to pay you what you need (with no Saturdays), sounds like a good time to jump ship!

 

[PORTER]

Crash, you are a very good tech/fabricator that takes a lot of pride in your work. That being said, there are many opportunities other that a dealership that will treat you more than just a number and pay you fairly. On top of that you do work out of your own garage so income is always available. If you are thinking about it, that's the first step. I remember when I had to make a choice similar 19 years ago, turn down a great paying job or start up my own shop. Tough choice but 19 years later I made the right choice for me. Some people fail in this world, some don't no matter what they do. Good luck with whatever you do, shouldn't be scary just a fresh new start.

 

[Hampton]

It is what you make it.... good luck on a new adventure.

 

[crash2]

Crash, you are a very good tech/fabricator that takes a lot of pride in your work. That being said, there are many opportunities other that a dealership that will treat you more than just a number and pay you fairly. On top of that you do work out of your own garage so income is always available. If you are thinking about it, that's the first step. I remember when I had to make a choice similar 19 years ago, turn down a great paying job or start up my own shop. Tough choice but 19 years later I made the right choice for me. Some people fail in this world, some don't no matter what they do. Good luck with whatever you do, shouldn't be scary just a fresh new start.

Thanks mike ya I take allot of pride in everything I do and the shop is very reputable and very busy..

Kinda funny so I was waiting in there lobby to talk to the owner and the writer kinda snapped at me because he was just overwhelmed and I guess they have folks stopping in to talk to the owner about motor stuff(I took it as being very busy and no big deal). I got a call with a voice mail it was the writer simply apologizing (after he did in person also) for his smugness...

Thought that was cool and will take a couple days to weigh the good/bad..

 

[DHR Darren]

Even considering it tells me that your heart isn't at GM anymore.
You seem to care about your work so to me it is a no brainer.
In life nothing good lasts forever but nothing bad does either.

I say take the open door and if you aren't happy at the new gig there are always others.

 

[crash2]

Even considering it tells me that your heart isn't at GM anymore.
You seem to care about your work so to me it is a no brainer.
In life nothing good lasts forever but nothing bad does either.

I say take the open door and if you aren't happy at the new gig there are always others.

And at the same time I never burn a bridge so if its not good then I always have the chance to return.

 

[ain'tstuckjustresting]

I wasn't really considering leaving the dealership I worked at when I was offered a job with a private contractor. My soon to be wife really pushed me to take the new job, I guess she noticed how much I disliked the BS at the dealer much more than I did. It was a big step going from near 100% job security to a complete unknown. What made up my mind was talking to the employees, almost all really liked the owners and felt cared for and valued something I didn't have at the dealer. They also felt the owners were honest and you could talk to them directly about anything, also something my job lacked severely. I took the job 9yrs ago and haven't looked back. Very glad I didn't stay in my rut because it was familiar.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[maxx]

I jumped ship from welding to what I'm doing now. The pay is not what it was before but I can't even describe what the sanity is worth. The last welding job totally sucked and I hated waking up and going to work.

 

[jprcrpr94]

Mike, we've talked about my situation in the past so I'm sure you already know what I think. There is always gonna be a level of unknown but if you are unhappy where you are nothing will change that until you make it change.I never thought I would be doing what I am now 10 years ago but I could not possibly be happier than I am now in my new career. It has made me a much happier person outside of work also and I find myself so much more relaxed now.

 

[WA-Wheeler]

Mike, we've talked about my situation in the past so I'm sure you already know what I think. There is always gonna be a level of unknown but if you are unhappy where you are nothing will change that until you make it change.I never thought I would be doing what I am now 10 years ago but I could not possibly be happier than I am now in my new career. It has made me a much happier person outside of work also and I find myself so much more relaxed now.

Go union :D

 

[crash2]

Lots of positive energy--thanks for the :awesomework: guys..

Know how hard it is to do a resume :haha:

I will know where I stand today..

 

[WHITE TRASH1]

Lots of positive energy--thanks for the :awesomework: guys..

Know how hard it is to do a resume :haha:

I will know where I stand today..

The previous employer part should be pretty fawkin short! :flipoff:




You do good work and have a stellar reputation so I don't see what is keeping you from bouncing out on your own or even to an independent shop. If anyone can make it out in the real mechanic world it's you. Go for it. :awesomework:

 

[boxboy]

You should go to GM and ask for a raise see what they do... just be ready to walk away you already have another gig so go for it.

 

[jprcrpr94]

You should go to GM and ask for a raise see what they do... just be ready to walk away you already have another gig so go for it.

I believe he already has and is one of the many reasons he is not happy there. Plus I don't believe Mike is the type to threaten a company for a raise. Hence the going elsewhere.

 

[ChopTop84]

In the corporate world I came from in Media, it was 1 weeks notice per year of service if you didnt want to burn bridges on the way out the door. That would be 9 weeks? or just over 2 months. My wife's company was 90 days notice if she wanted to keep certain benefits. If/when you write up your notice, you can negotiate things to get out early, or force them to keep you on for the full term of your notice or buy out your remaining time.

Try to time your exit at the beginning of a month, that way your medical benefits last to the end of the month, and then the 60 day window to switch your insurance kicks in if your new employer doesnt have something lined up already. We just hired a girl, and her exit date was a few days short of the end of the month, and her previous company was was able to dump her bennies in just a couple days, as their policy was "end of month", not 30 days from termination.

And dont forget to work in a vacation between jobs!

 

[crash2]

Its not about the $$$ and I would ever strong arm an employer for more $$$..

Had a meeting with Evan and Dan and it went very well....

 

[Rix]

Wellllll........I can agree on getting out of the car business anyway. :awesomework:

 

[crash2]

After a couple meetings with the owners I have made a decision to make a big change in my life....

 

[Lucky Jeff]

Good! You've got the skill and Evan certainly has the knowledge. You guys will do great things.

 

[Glenn]

Whatever you do, good luck. I hope it works out for you and your family. :cool:

 

[junkyard jim]

Ever work on Isuzu 4BD2TCs? :redneck:

 

[DHR Darren]

Good luck Mike, life is too short for "what if's".

 

[CHOP SHOP]

Exciting! Good luck! :awesomework:

 

[Jokenring]

You will see my work trucks roll through. Dan and Evan do all our work. I really like that shop. Dan is fair and honest and doesn't just replace **** to replace ****. They figure out the problem and fix it.

I think you will like it there. :awesomework: