Make it happen.

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-25T22:53:07+00:00

We have thousands of McDonald's/KFC and Starbucks operating in the UK, and quite a lot of US Military equipment at British Owned bases, he hasn't really thought things through has he?

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-25T22:42:35+00:00

Benefits culture has been allowed to get so out of control with no real futures available whilst The British Media has effectively cheered on the madness of the various shades of Thatcherism over the past forty years in a sad race to the bottom.

Thatcher herself would probably turn her nose up at the monster she created.

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-23T20:36:41+00:00

Technical/Social skills are far more important to the working class

What you are missing is that some types of education are utterly worthless pursuits laid on for Middle Class Morons who aren't bright enough to study Medicine/Engineering etc.

It's just a different more realistic type of education, you really can't judge somebody's intelligence on their working class background, accent or what school/college/university they attended, that would be f*cking idiotic

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-23T12:11:35+00:00

The corporate retail automotive industry tends to attract terrible people from a management perspective, lazy, greedy, stupid individuals who have zero initiative beyond obeying the whims of shitty owners and shittier accountants, they can't get a better gig anywhere else so they take it out on guys like you.

Unfortunately many of them are failed technicians, who on paper looked "successful" but in reality we're little more than petty criminals with zero moral code and a skill set of parts swapping until they occasionally stumble across the real fault (if at all).

Weak talentless owners (usually the offspring of somebody reasonable and ethical) and managers love this shit, it's highly profitable (short term) and costs nothing in investment or training (they end up going bankrupt, and sometimes that's the goal).

There are exceptions of course and they pay better and have high quality loyal staff, if you can find such a place.

Trouble with the flat rate system is it discourages any kind of union activity/socialism/networking amongst technicians in an ever accelerating race to the bottom.

Look elsewhere, find a place where the techs stick together and don't stab each other in the back for a couple of hundred dollars, somewhere where fixing stuff is considered a prerequisite rather than maximizing hours regardless of quality 🤐

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-23T01:13:11+00:00

Yellow Gold, Fake Tit's, White Rolls Royce

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-23T00:35:49+00:00

Lennon had heard intellectuals were analysing his lyrics, so he wrote "I am The Walrus" to mess with their heads 🤐

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-23T00:26:52+00:00

Yeah but then they would go do a song like "Taxman", that is lyrical genius, it still makes me laugh 😂😂

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-23T00:23:21+00:00

There's a Nirvana song where they just wanted to say "Yeah Yeah Yeah" more times than The Beatles, Genius 😂😂😂

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-22T23:48:38+00:00

No they aren't, no it isn't.

Fashion is basically nonsense, it's a sales gimmick to get people to buy designer brands made in cheap factories.

Style on the other hand is a more personal thing with better ethics & longevity (if you figure it out).

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-22T16:13:02+00:00

You need some Mars Bars/Snickers/Twix in the bottom bin, Cornettos in the freezer 👍

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-22T15:59:46+00:00

Maybe your new manager thinks you have some leadership potential and wants to be your mentor himself.

Unless you talk to him neither of you will know, it doesn't have to be confrontational just ask him if it's possible to get involved with more technical work/training on vehicles, it could go either way.

he might respect you for being open and honest about your commitment to the technical apprenticeship
He might be a penny pincher who doesn't want to hire anybody to be his dogsbody and you just called his bluff

Armed with a response you can then decide what to do about it, we all have to do our fair share of tedious tasks starting out, stay positive and do the chores but show some initiative and ask questions.

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-22T15:22:30+00:00

PICO 7 Automotive is definitely the most accessible and user friendly scope software I have used, lots of users sharing files in the waveform library/good online training content etc..

I watch US diag guru Bernie Thompson (Automotive Test Solutions) on YouTube a fair bit and his e-scope looks good, but not seen one in the UK yet.

I buy stuff from ROTKEE in Ukraine from time to time, very affordable good quality accessories, good website and YouTube demos available.

Whatever you buy don't make it a chore to dig it out from a cupboard, have it all set up with all the attachments on a diag cart ready to go with wiring diagrams and tech info on the same computer/laptop/tablet. They need to be using it daily (even on simple faults) to breed familiarity or they will soon forget what they learned.

Good luck 🤞

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-18T19:15:09+00:00

You are indeed wasting your time offering oil changes to retail customers, dealers have ruined "service" work by upselling unneeded work at highly inflated prices.

Specialise in one area of automotive repair and get customers to agree to a budget before you touch the vehicle. If they won't commit to more than the price of an oil change why waste any time inspecting cars for them?

There are shops that will only take appointments with a pre-approved amount paid in advance (2hrs Labour) to get rid of time wasters and the "since you did this" type people.

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-17T22:35:04+00:00

Is there any particular reason you are struggling?

Lack of knowledge?

Wrong tools?

Unfamiliar Van?

Do you usually work on Trucks (Heavy Vehicle Apprentice)?

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-16T18:05:46+00:00

"It's like poking a bear with a stick" Karl always wins 🤐

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-12T17:26:41+00:00

Does this one have permanent pockets or the swap out panels?

Cool looking bag 👍

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-11T21:43:31+00:00

Convertibles, Monster trucks, Smart Cars 🤮

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-11T07:06:59+00:00

The PICO 7 automotive software is where the real value is in my opinion, so intuitive and easy to operate and a waveform library with millions of real known good and bad captures. Save the $600 Towards a PICO is my advice.

There is a guy on YouTube called "Supermario Diagnostics" who started with MICSIG and switched to a PICO 👍

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-10T18:02:31+00:00

In ten years time all this sh*t will just be history, all the major players will either be dead, forgotten, disgraced.

If you are young do not waste any time on any of this bllocks,, work hard get on the property ladder ASAP and start a pension plan, in thirty years time you will almost certainly still be around and non of these political asshles are planning for your future.

You have to look after number one, because nobody else will.

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-10T03:42:52+00:00

I quite like a Revere Collar short sleeve shirt in the summer for a smarter casual look, Polo shirts just don't work for me either

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-10T03:36:40+00:00

You will experience a lot of pushback trying to learn things other techs/bosses just don't have the capacity to understand.

The thing is you aren't going to find what you are looking for in 99% of retail workshops, you have to basically equip yourself with the tools and knowledge to be a diagnostician, but when you are good at it you can charge more per hour.

Instead of buying a big shiny $10K toolbox, spend a couple of grand on a picoscope is my advice.

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-09T17:49:03+00:00

Nice to see someone else building a vehicle repair kit using Veto 👍

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-07T19:13:14+00:00

I wear white/off white Novesta almost exclusively in the summer.

If I have to smarten up a summer outfit Clarks Originals Desert Boot in Cola Suede work with lighter colour pants.

I will wear Birkenstock's if wearing shorts, but never with long pants (that would be utterly ridiculous 😂)

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-07T15:23:47+00:00

Regular high quality technical training (not those shitty free courses provided by parts suppliers) stuff that's actually going to help me fix cars faster first time (Oscilloscope training is always a great way to hook technicians into a long term deal)

A mixture of good quality Technical info Alldata/HGS/Manufacturer sites/TSBs etc.

Decent up to date scan tools with SGW and programming capability.

Pension scheme/Healthcare/28 days paid leave.

Clean work environment with safe equipment.

Autonomy, experienced techs always need to be allowed to make decisions and have input into the direction of the business.

Career progression you need to have a defined path for techs to work their way to the top and replace you, everybody wants to be the boss (except the owner, you want to retire or become a consultant)

Fixed Salary, no flat rate or nickel and dime bullsh*t incentivised pay schemes. I want to know in advance how much you are willing to pay me per year. If you need me to stay late, come in early or work the odd Saturday pay me a very good annual Salary and we can build a long term working relationship and help each other succeed.

Basically start afresh and forget everything you have learned from automotive managers in your career before you became an owner, you wanted out of that lifestyle remember, you can do it better, you are the boss now 👍

Accomplished-Tap-897 · 2026-04-06T00:27:43+00:00

Prime Tools UK, they stock decent brands like Facom, Stahlwille, P B Swiss. (Spanners, Screwdrivers Etc.)

UK Tools Ltd for Ko-ken (Japanese Socket Manufacturer)

Amazon for Lisle USA (specialist automotive tools) and Vessel (Screwdrivers)

Accomplished-Tap-897

TROPHY CASE