Originally Posted by Fizzboy7

Let me get this straight. Dealer mechanics have to buy their own tools? What the hell! What job requires the employee to buy all the stuff needed to do work? Do policemen have to buy their own patrol cars? Do chefs pay for their own food when cooking for a restaurant? Do retail employees pay for their own cash registers? Do car wash employees pay for the water used to wash cars? Something is totally wrong here...

Originally Posted by Stroock639

a friend of mine has worked as a tech for toyota and now for cadillac/gmc/buick, what i've learned is it's better to be a tech for the company that makes crappier cars! he's always telling me how many more big repairs need to be done to the GM cars than the toyotas. it also greatly depends on the specific dealership / stealership you work for.

Originally Posted by jadu

with the amount of electronics in cars nowadays, I am not surprised. A quality multimeter and OBDII reader can be over $1000 for only those 2 tools. Adding special shop tools will also ring up the price. you might as well be a full blown electrical engineer or having an engineering background to work on these newer cars nowadays. labor intensive, you have to mechanically inclined, and have a descent knowledge in electronics to know how use a multimeter or oscilloscope, not to mention good work ethics, willingness, listening and communication skills. having all those is hard to come by.

since it's tax returns, the cost of tools should be tax-dedutible as a non-reimbursed cost for work related expense. at least techs can recoup some of their money there

Originally Posted by Htony

Musicians claim their instrument on tax return not mechanics? You see big dish on a roof of most dealership? Trained tech can connect the vehicle under repair to head office main system with vast data base.
Then follow the instructions on the display monitor. Tech Stream loaded Panasonic Toughbook can cost thousands and it needs annual, update thru subscription. Toughbook alone can costs couple $$$ depending on specs. Quality Fluke MM alone can costs over thousands, professional OBD II reader/scanner costs over 4 Grand which needs annual updates to keep up with newer model vehicle brand and models, etc.

Originally Posted by Htony

Musicians claim their instrument on tax return not mechanics? You see big dish on a roof of most dealership? Trained tech can connect the vehicle under repair to head office main system with vast data base.
Then follow the instructions on the display monitor. Tech Stream loaded Panasonic Toughbook can cost thousands and it needs annual, update thru subscription. Toughbook alone can costs couple $$$ depending on specs. Quality Fluke MM alone can costs over thousands, professional OBD II reader/scanner costs over 4 Grand which needs annual updates to keep up with newer model vehicle brand and models, etc.

Originally Posted by Sulu

You cannot compare a mechanic buying tools to a policeman buying patrol cars.

Tools to a mechanic are very personal items and I can see them being partial to a particular brand over another; so it would be similar if policemen had to buy their own boots, or if chefs bought their own knives. In the IT consulting world, contractors are expected to provide their own computers.