Can an independent repair technician get a factory certification?

Can an independent repair mechanic get factory certification? Welcome to Mercie J Auto Care, where compassion and craftsmanship come together, I'm Rick Smith.

First of all let me help you understand a couple of things about our industry. We are not like the other trades, we don't have like a register of contractors, so the certifications for us are voluntary. We don't have licenses to work on cars, we have business licenses and we have licenses to handle refrigerant. So as far as actually working on the cars, it's not licensed, so you cannot be a "licensed mechanic".

We do have an independent organization called ASE which stands for Automotive Service excellence and that's what most of us go to to take tests and pass and become certified in certain areas. So I have Master certification which you have to be certified in eight areas for that then I also have what's called advanced level Diagnostics that's called L1 and I also have a diesel certification. They also have hybrid certifications and all kinds of stuff, whether it be buses, body work, all sorts of things, it's just not really in my wheelhouse.

Now let me help you understand a little bit at the dealer. The dealer can send their technicians to factory training. I had been working for Nissan for some time and I'd actually earned a reputation of being one of the better Nissan technicians in the valley. One day the director came in to overlook our facility and was talking to the service manager and he saw a report and he said why is Rick Smith shown as an apprentice when he's one of our top diagnostic techs. Frankly, they didn't want to send me to the training because the training was expensive and they needed me in the shop to make them money and I was more than skilled enough to do everything they need to be done. The manager ended up having to send me the training just so I could get the title of either technician or senior technician and then they had masters as well.

So the certifications are important because they show a technician's desire to be professional but they really don't determine the quality of them. So as an independent, I can't go to the factory training and so I can't get those certifications but I can pass the test that are done by ASE. I know that was a long answer, but I hope it helps you understand a little bit about certifications in our industry and until next time safe travels and blessings to you.