Clean Is Better

So I went last weekend to do some more hours at the Bavarian Garage and we got busy! We had a car waiting for us right when we walked in. I worked with Nick, one of the mechanics and we did work on few different cars. We first changed the "halo ring" part of the headlights on a early 2000's BMW, which required us to take the entire bumper off, which was ridiculous but had to be done. We also did an oil change and a brake flush on that same car. Then we moved on the to the next car and replaced the radiator, water pump, and thermostat which took us around an hour. The I worked with Jojo, the "Big Dog" around the shop who has had over thirty years experience working on BMW's at the dealership. He showed me how to change the brakes and rotors on the last car and he did in amazingly fast, he did the rear wheels in about 15 minutes. What I learned that day from Nick the mechanic was that the main goal of the shop is to keep everything clean, he says "clean is better!". The main goal for the shop is to keep there customers cars running cleanly and effectively, to do all of the work for the owners. It was a great experience meeting and working with Jojo and I'm looking forward to my next visit.

Blog 6: Second Interview Preparation

1. My mentor is Pedro Miranda and he is the owner of the Bavarian Garage. A BMW maintenance and repair shop.

2. My five questions I will ask:

      1. What made you want to work on BMW's and open up your own shop?
      2. Where did you start your journey to becoming a BMW specialist?
      3. What was the most challenging part of getting where you are now?
      4. How did you open up your own shop?
      5. What was the biggest factor that helped you to succeed in opening your own shop? 

Blog 5 - Mentorship Reflection

1. My experience getting a mentor was not very difficult for me. One reason is that contributed to an easy search for me was the seemingly never ending supply of mechanics shops to ask around my house and at one point I even considered making my own grandpa my mentor since he has had plenty of experience and know-how to teach me lots about auto repair. I have always loved cars and motorcycles, it's in the blood of my whole family, which also made it easier because many of my uncles and cousins are mechanics themselves, and know plenty of other mechanics for me to try and ask. But before I made my final decision to make my grandpa my mentor, I had came up on a great opportunity. My step dad is a barber and cuts peoples hair from all over the place, he happened to be cutting our friend Nick the mechanic's hair and told him about it and he told me to speak to PJ or Pedro, the owner of the BMW shop he worked at and to ask him about it. So I asked him and he was willing to let me come in a and learn, and things went on since then and he has been great so far. 

2. I would say that the most important article I have read so far has been, "What That Car Really Costs To Own" because it answered a lot of the questions I had about BMW's and there cost to own. It gave good statistics on many different cars which gave good insight on how much it would be. For example, they gave a table that showed the ratio of an assortment of cars' costs in the time of five years, the ratio was comparing operating costs with carrying costs, carrying costs consisting of depreciation, interest, and tax while operating costs consists of fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair costs. This gave a great look on how each cars expenses change over time, and really showed me how much a really nice car costs to own over a good amount of time.

Mentorship

            Hello everyone!! So Friday I went to my mentorship, which is at a BMW repair/maintenance shop in Covina. It is called the Bavarian Garage. I went in to interview one of the mechanics there at the shop, I know all the mechanics there so it wasn't hard to find one to ask questions, it was hard to get them to give good feedback and not goof off! They are all very nice dudes but are also crazy and like to have fun too. But I finally found one that answered with good answers. It was a good experience even though I didn't get hands on that day. I cannot wait to finally get my hands dirty and crank on one of the cars. I consider myself very lucky to be able to work with mechanics of such caliper, most of the mechanics there are very smart and know these expensive cars inside & out. I am hoping to learn a lot this year so that I can use my own knowledge on my own vehicles and not have to pay some guy to do the job, and possibly come up on a job opportunity. Have a great three day weekend guys!! 

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

         1. I plan on interviewing my mentor, Pj or one of his employees, Nick because they are both very knowledgeable of my subject and are capable of giving strong and reliable answers.

         2. Additional Questions:
                                1. What do you think is the most expensive item to maintain in a BMW?
                                2. In your opinion, is buying a BMW worth all the money?
                                3. What would you say is the biggest/most common cause for repairs in the shop?
                                4. If you had to choose between a BMW and an American made car,
                                      what would you choose?
                                5. Would you prefer a turbo charged or a super charged car? Why?
 

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. Topic: BMW Maintenance and Repair

2. Research Question: What are the most important factors in keeping a BMW or any Automobile maintained?

              

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

         

1. Summer Mentorship Log

2. Contact Name & Number:

  Pedro Miranda:: 626-372-05689

3. Questions Raised:

   About how much do these people pay to have they're alternator replaced?

  

   What will I learn in the time to come?

   Will I learn more about the electronic tuning needed to be done to a car with a new engine?

   Will we eventually take out a transmission from one of the cars?

   Does it cost more to have an older BMW or a newer BMW to be worked on?

4.  What is the most important thing gained from this experience?

   The opportunity to watch how an engine is pulled out and how to use the lift to get it out.

5. Senior Topic:

    My senior topic is going to be automotive repair. Doing my mentorship hours here led me to further confirm my topic choice because I loved being there and it was a great experience to be able to work in a top notch shop.