Parts and Service Writing Automotive Careers

If you love cars, why not turn your passion into a fulfilling full time career in automotive service? Aside from positions in actual auto repair, there are countless career opportunities in the service sector of the automotive industry. These include part specialist and service writing careers, both of which can be high paying.

A part specialist is found in both the retail automotive stores as well in whole sale parts suppliers. There are also parts specialists in many industries including recreational and transportation. With parts training courses, you can get a Career with a Wholesale Parts Organization.

There are also positions available in the wholesale market for professionals with Parts Training and there are many high quality training program that train motivated students for these career opportunities.

But what does a parts specialist do exactly? The day-to-day job duties of a parts specialist may include:

  • Taking, placing, and following up on orders
  • Monitoring customer purchases and trends
  • Building relationship with client, owner, manager and employees
  • Promoting company products and services
  • Advising customer of product changes
  • Preparing and updates sales contracts
  • Handling warranty issues, returns and labour claims
  • Checking and maintains customer inventory levels
  • Organizing and participating in customer outreach
  • Identifying potential new customers
  • Preparing for and calls upon new customers
  • Selling to new customers
  • Keeping up to date on market opportunities and threats
  • Completing call reports, time sheets and expense reports
  • Maintaining customer information files
  • Implementing credit and collection policies
  • Managing time and scheduling effectively

Automotive Service Writing careers, meanwhile, are some of the fastest growing job markets in the automotive industry, and Service Advisor training programs prepare students for these exciting career opportunities by spending a lot of time on current industry software applications, including:

Reynolds & Reynolds – A dealership system used for service and parts pricing, parts inventory cataloguing, service writing and customer management.

Automotive Business Management Systems (ABMS) – the standard software package used in most small dealerships and repair facilities.

Snap-On Shop Key – the industry standard estimating tool with parts look-up and labour estimating guides.

International Parts Corporation (IPC) – one of the most widely used electronic parts catalogues, IPC lets you locate parts throughout the world.

If this line of work interests you, consider finding a training program that offers the chance gain hands-on experience. Workplace experience is an excellent way to make contacts, develop relationships and build a professional image within the industry.

Tips for Passing Your MOT

Everyone knows that owning a car can prove to be very expensive, although its usefulness can often outweigh the financial outlay. However there are ways to save money and one way is to make sure that your car doesn’t fail its MOT for something trivial. There are checks you can do to avoid having to re-test your car and thus saving you money.

First, you should check that all lights are fully functional; this may be difficult to do on your own so you may wish to ask a friend or family member to assist you. This includes checking the headlights, the brake lights and the aim of the headlights to see if it is correct. The people at the garage will also check the condition of the lights and that they are the correct colour, so these are things that you should look out for and correct if necessary, before carrying out the MOT.

This may seem trivial, but it is also important to check that the horn works. If you’ve been lucky enough not to have needed to use it for a while, it may have stopped functioning since the last time and you should give it a push to ensure that your car doesn’t fail its MOT for this reason. Another area that is tested is that of the mirrors, so ensure that they are fully functional and are in good condition.

In addition, you will need to check your washers and wipers. These are important to give the driver a clear view of the road ahead and they should be checked that they work; otherwise you could fail the MOT and have to be re-tested once they are fixed. Another area of the car that is tested is the doors, so if you know you have one door which is a bit faulty, it is best to have it looked at and fixed before paying for the MOT.

In terms of the fuel system, the fuel cap should be tightly fastened and there should be no leaks for obvious safety reasons. Additionally, you will need to check your windscreen for any chips or cracks. In the area in front of the driver a chip can not be any larger than 10mm by law and 40mm for any area that is covered by the wipers.

In addition, you should also pay attention to the car when you are driving to ensure that the brakes are working fine, the steering is responsive and that there are no other concerns you may have about the car. If there is any doubt, it may be worthwhile to have them checked out before going for your MOT. If anything were to fail, instead of paying the price for one MOT, it will be two.

Whether to Buy a New Car or an Old Car

For those looking to purchase a car, you may be pondering over whether you should purchase a brand new car or a second hand model. Both choices have their own advantages and disadvantages and it will largely depend on your own personal situation as to which option will be the right one for you.

Clearly purchasing a new car will appeal to everyone and if given the choice a person would always choose something that is new over something that is old or has been used before. However, the main disadvantage of buying a new car is the cost. Given the type of technology, it is understandable that cars are expensive and therefore, when they are brand new they are considerably more expensive than older models. In addition to this disadvantage, all cars will lose significant value once they have been driven off the forecourt of a car showroom, as they will no longer be brand new and will be classed as second hand.

However, with anything that is brand new, you can expect within reason that it will be fully functional and should not require any work done to it for quite some time. Additionally, some companies will offer free servicing packages, so if anything does happen to stop working, you will not have to fork out any extra money. Another advantage that is only offered with some new cars is one year’s free insurance, which will benefit the younger and more inexperienced drivers with more costly insurance packages.

Despite the appeal of a brand new car, most people will opt for a second hand model, with the main reason being the cost. Given the sums of money required for a brand new car, it is just not feasible for many to purchase one. Used cars are considerably cheaper and depending on how old the car is, some bargains can be found. This is evident with some people turning car trading into a career, by spotting good value and selling the cars on for a decent profit each time. When deciding to buy a used car, it is important to look at the budget you have and from there you will have a better idea of what sort of car you can afford. The newer the car is, the more reliable it is likely to be but it will also be more expensive.

The main disadvantage of purchasing an old car is the reliability issue. Like with any used technology, there will be more issues than if it was brand new and therefore will require more maintenance. However if looked after in the right manner, a used car can prove to be a solid purchase and provide good value for money.