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Thoughts on being ase certified

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Printed Date: 07 May 2025 at 9:17pm
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Topic: Thoughts on being ase certified
Posted By: bobkyllo
Subject: Thoughts on being ase certified
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2020 at 7:00am
What are your guys thoughts on being ase certified for an auto mechanic?

I've been kicking the idea around for some time now. Dad and I run a shop so it's not like id be doing it to better my pay.



Replies:
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2020 at 8:11am
Well,.. . .it can't hurt, except the expense of getting it.  You can hang it on your wall, might impress someone enough to bring their car there?  I don't know, you know your clientele. 


Posted By: Steve M Ind
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2020 at 8:16am
I've been ASE certified for the last 35 years or so and for a while was even ASE Master certified. I'm a one man shop and even with the certificate hanging on the office wall none of my customers really seemed to care. As time went on the tests became more expensive to take and I wasn't giving myself a raise with each certification. In the last few years I've let all my certifications expire but will keep my "engine performance" and "engine repair" certifications up to date. I would recommend being certified in at least one area just for personal satisfaction if nothing else.


Posted By: DMiller
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2020 at 8:17am
I had ASE Cert up until '96, Got me a raise of $.25/hr back then where I paid the cost of the tests. Took me almost two years to recover the expenses then had to Recert and never really recovered the expenses. Did it help, never put much stock in it as saw others that passed the tests and could not do the work. Trust you abilities and clientele as they trust you.


Posted By: Red Bank
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2020 at 9:49am
Originally posted by Steve M Ind Steve M Ind wrote:

I've been ASE certified for the last 35 years or so and for a while was even ASE Master certified. I'm a one man shop and even with the certificate hanging on the office wall none of my customers really seemed to care. As time went on the tests became more expensive to take and I wasn't giving myself a raise with each certification. In the last few years I've let all my certifications expire but will keep my "engine performance" and "engine repair" certifications up to date. I would recommend being certified in at least one area just for personal satisfaction if nothing else.
I am in the same boat Steve. I had it current while I was at a trucking company to get more pay, but after going out on my own I have let it expire. But if you ever do any aftermarket warranty work the warranty company will insist you be ASE certified . I don’t know how much of that kind of work Bob does but it’s something to consider but my experience has been to pass on those jobs anyway, too many hoops to jump through


Posted By: shameless dude
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2020 at 10:20pm
if you quit on your own, it would prolly get you hired over the other guy some where else!.


Posted By: shameless dude
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2020 at 10:26pm
one day on my way home from work at the Sheriff's office, the brakes went out on my Caddy. I was able to limp it into a gas station/mechanic shop near-by. as I was waiting out back while the mechanic went after parts, I wandered inside the office area and there was a dude there trying to sell the owner ASE certificates and patches for his business. I was still in uniform and when that dude saw me, he grabbed his brief case and ran out the door. the owner of the shop said he was trying to sell him the certs and patches for his employees, so after seeing that I don't take the ASE certs hanging on any ones walls or seeing patches on shirts very serious. i'm sure that dude was successful in some sales.


Posted By: desertjoe
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2020 at 2:05am

 Well,,years ago,,I too had the ASE cert for HVAC while still workin for the Refinery. I was doing the Fleet Lubrication for a local company that specialized in Autistic people and they required I be ASE certified to satisfy the guvment. I had applied, took a very simple test, sent em $20 and I was IN,,,,,!!Clap Received one of them tags and one year later they sent me another application with a request for another $20,,so I quit em and forgot to notify the people at that place. They were terrible at taking care of their vehicles and I was spending too much time fixin their vehicles so I quit em.
 A friend that started working at the local GM dealer,,,HAD to agree to attend training seminars at GM's big Training Center in El Paso. Every year he would go to week long refreshers in sin city,,,er El Paso. He told me the dealer did not pay him more,,he just HAD to go,,,but ALL those certs he got were valuable for when he went to move to another dealer.Clap


Posted By: ac fleet
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2020 at 11:48am
Not worth the cost or the time wasted!---Either you can fix cars or you can't!--if you are good at it ,--real people will come to you. --- wall decorations mean nothing.


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http://machinebuildersnetwork.com/


Posted By: fixer1958
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2020 at 3:24pm
It's mostly hype to make the techs look like they may know what they are doing.
I am and have been for years. I don't pay for it.
Most anybody with half a mechanical brain could pass it with some studying.
Doesn't mean much to me but if you are job hunting it's a good thing to have.


Posted By: Jaime
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2020 at 5:50pm
Bobkyllo
I have been in the automotive business (making money) since I was in high school, back when the school’s taught and had trade shops. Wood working, metal shop, electric shop, And every motor heads favorite AUTO SHOP.  I was drafted shortly after high school.
After I returned home from the military I took a job with VW .  They sent me to VW and Porsche school. I received a certificate of completion. I bring this up because in our industry we seldom get recognition of any kind. When we do a good job a customer may say thank you, or nice job .  We tend to be loners at work, you and the car your working on, specially if it’s a small shop. 
In 1973 I was working at aToyota dealer and a salesman came in selling ASE certifications. I thought WOW what a money making scheme, wish I had thought of it.  I didn’t think it would last.  Well it has.  The dealer thought it was a great idea.  The cost was $10. Each certification..
We had the patches put on our uniforms and hung the certificates in the office for customers to see. I think we were proud of our accomplishment. 
As some have noted, it’s a personal choice, but in an industry where some people still think that just anyone can be a mechanic it’s nice to say yes I’m a certified technician. 
Retired but still proud of our industry.
Follow your heart.




Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2020 at 9:22am
i have thought about looking tfor that with the next guy i hire hoping that they would have some skill,   as for warranty work how wants it it doesnt pay but you have to do it with many of the products we sell


Posted By: Keith M
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2020 at 9:42pm
My Dad was a Master Mechanic ASE certified for years. He always said, That those certificates and .50 will get me a cup of coffee most anywhere. So as a mechanic’s son I never saw a increase in Dads pay. Maybe reentering the public job market they could be a factor. I’d look at my future plans about work and make my decision accordingly. Of course if your clientele would be impressed I’d figure that it. Big personal decision to make. Best of luck.


Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2020 at 10:07pm
It looks good to the customer, and if you plan on doing anything with aftermarket repair contracts, you'll need it. Otherwise like Keith says, your certificate and $.50 will get you a coffee...

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"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford



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