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Send us Fan Mail On this week’s meandering episode of Grease the Wheels, we sick AI onto some of the big ideas when it comes to automotive fixed operations. One of the best questions anyone has asked an AI in a long time is “what is the NADA, and what do they do?” The real meat of the episode revolves around Service Advisors, and the often woeful sink or swim training that they receive from dealerships. The esoteric question of, “is it better to have a brand new service advisor or get one with some experience (and baggage)?” Is a good one and almost completely revolves around what your dealership needs right now. If you have an urgent need, one with some experience is probably the best bet. If you are willing to put some time in to them and willing to risk that you train them so well that they get picked up by the competition — that is the other option. The bottom line is that training needs to get better, and most likely along the lines of the Technician oriented K-Plan. It’s a weird one!  GTW MERCH: greasethewheels.store This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we take on one of the hot button topics of the industry - ThatYotaGuy. We are a big fan of Austin’s work in the freedom of speech category, and refusing to yield when major corporations are telling you to take down media that you created and feel strongly about takes a tremendous amount of balls. We also get in an obligatory amount of Aftermarket Warranty bashing. This is a good one, and might be the first of many!  GTW MERCH: greasethewheels.store This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy does a deep, AI Driven Dive into the Cash For Clunkers Program. This is, what the economists called at the time, “pump priming” economic stimulus with some environmental goals attached. We also get into the metrics, what got taken off the road, and what was it replaced by. Lots of small SUV’s got turned into Toyota Corolla’s and Honda Accords. We also get into some of the more interesting casualties of the program, as well as some of the cars that resisted the hangman’s noose for far longer than anyone expected! It was interesting, but we will probably never see anything like it ever again - and that is a good thing because of some of the longer term effects on the used car market that we are going to be dealing with many years to come. This is some interesting stuff, but we want to know about your experience  with the program. What was coming in, what was going out, and what simply refused to die?  GTW MERCH: greasethewheels.store This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy has a sit-down with Gemini to get to the heart of the Technician shortage. We also get into some more nefarious ideas of price fixing when it comes to technician wages, which it wouldn’t give us an answer to, which became a major league red flag. The nuts and bolts of the technician shortage are stark and simple. The industry is getting older, the cars are getting harder to work on, and less people are willing to do this as a career path for many obvious reasons. We also get into some of the numbers when it comes to replacing this aging workforce, and what happens when you are the only Gen Z who can fix stuff. An inflection point for the industry is coming, but the fact remains, well run and managed shops are not going to experience the Technician shortage, while poorly run ones are going to continue to suffer and likely close as this problem becomes even more dire.     Also Uncle Jimmy becomes the Patron Saint of Shitboxes.  GTW MERCH: greasethewheels.store This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about the polar opposite of the Great Replacement Theory that is going on across shops all over this country. Quite Simply put, there is real hard evidence and thousands of anecdotes that tell us that Gen Z might not have the cognitive skills, mechanical aptitude, or overall gumption (to borrow an insanely Boomer term) to get the job done in the shops and dealerships across the world. The real winner here though are going to be the few and proud that do make it in this industry, because between an aging workforce and cars that just keep getting harder and harder to work on, these kids are going to be rolling in it! It doesn’t look good, especially considering the state of many of the other major trades across the blue collar world offering lower barriers to entry, and way smarter management! Long Story Short, if you have a solid apprentice, a good relationship with a tech school, or lube guys with even an ounce of brains - foster them and keep them in the business as long as you can!  Also Uncle Jimmy names his new punk band, “Evap Core Arachnophobe”  GTW MERCH: greasethewheels.store This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease The Wheels, we talk about one of the major unsung heroes of the entire industry - the men and women who teach us seemingly un-teachable lot what’s going on. Weather you are an associate professor at a small state school, to a hyper-focused product expert working for a manufacturer, the knowledge that you have and your ability to parlay that knowledge through our often dense skulls is what keeps the entire industry moving forward. Every little tip, trick, or procedure that you can impart on the next generation of technicians is going to keep them safe, keep them profitable, and keep the entire world moving forward. We thank everyone in this space from the bottom of our hearts, because you make such an incredible difference! Also, if you are looking for help when it comes to teaching Video MPI - Uncle Jimmy has you covered, just check out the second link in the description!  GTW MERCH: greasethewheels.store This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we get into some of the statistics of the “should technicians get paid for Video MPI’s” debate — and if this were an election, they would call it a landslide. Even the majority of Management and instructors are on the side of “pay the technicians for Video MPI’s”. When it comes right down to it, the foreword thinking management that wants to pay for Video MPI’s is actually giving themselves leverage as to their quality, branding, and brand voice that is utilized in direct digital communications with their customers. This gives them a massive advantage over companies who don’t, and thus, get what they pay for. We also read off some of the better comments from Technicians themselves (who were 100% united behind the idea that they should be getting paid for them) as well as echo some of the ideas and systems that we promote at Surfwrench! It's not hard to find if you want to metaphorically throw rotten fruit at this tool, search "Video MPI" over on LinkedIn and look for the dude getting lit up.     Also Uncle Jimmy uses feminism to bludgeon the OP, and decides it might just be time for a combo of LinkedIn/GlassDoor for Mechanics. GTW MERCH: greasethewheels.store This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease The Wheels, Uncle Jimmy starts a proper war on LinkedIn. We love LinkedIn, from the endless networking with people who want to sell us stuff, to some of the most ludicrous and overhyped job titles we have ever seen. Everyone is an expert, a guru, a wizard, or mogul - at least in their own head! What started as a post about not wanting to pay technicians for Video MultiPoint Inspections quickly became an entire week’s work for one of these self-ordained “Fixed Ops Leaders” who has spent more time as a service advisor and Gym Manager than he did in Fixed Ops Leadership. The results were very heartening as well, most people agreed with us in the idea that technicians should in some way be compensated for the time that the spend doing Video MPI’s if they are on the flat rate system. If you are salary or a hybrid hourly with a production bonus, you don’t really have much of a leg to stand on. This was a properly fun drubbing of someone who thinks they know best, but we want to heart from you! What do you think is a proper amount of compensation for a Video MPI as a flat rate technician?     Also Erik takes a week off to try bourbons and beat the life out of race cars.  This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this weeks episode of Grease the wheels ,we talk about one of the very real threats that dealerships and their staffs face on a daily basis: security. For some reason, the criminal element loves car dealerships. It’s probably the tens of millions of dollars of inventory sitting on the lot or the fact that their harbor freight saws-all’s are simultaneously cheap and effective and catalytic converts are not cheap. There are tens of thousands of property crimes that happen every year at car dealerships. There are also tons of ways to protect yourself as well, from documenting all of your equipment with photos for insurance reasons, to packing heat as the Texas do! We get into how to defend yourself, your property, and equipment, as well as some fun stories about the things that have gone down in dealerships. We didn't even get to cybersecurity, because there are just so many other ways for people to rip shops and dealerships off. Everyone has a story when it comes to this kind of thing, and we would love to hear yours!    Also Uncle Jimmy talks one of the worst payment security situations we’ve ever heard!  This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes a bit deeper on the way that the Slate Electric Truck company is setting up shop. We get deeper into the idea that different levels of shop certification mean different types of work getting funneled to those shops. We also get into some of the broader market ramifications as well as how AI thinks this is going to go. There is a lot going on here, but it is going to be so fascinating to watch and we are rooting for them from the bottom of our hearts.     Also Uncle Jimmy struggles mightily with the word, “proprietary’ This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Grease The Wheels, we address the 800 LB gorilla in the room with the arrival of a sub $25,000 old school Mini-Truck style EV called Slate. This is one of the coolest things out there, and not only because it comes in Uncle Jimmy’s preferred cab layout, having the correct amount of doors for a pickup truck. As a product, it is deeply interesting, and we would love to get our hands on one to use (and in Erik the Producer's case - mercilessly abuse). However, the most interesting thing about this project is the possibly paradigm shifting ways that they are going to service them — utilizing a network of independent repair shops to do warranty work. It also slaps the entire argument against right to repair right across the face with the vigor of Rick James seeing Charlie Murphy — with Slate making all of their software available to both buyers and independent shops, with the intention of users performing much of their own maintenance and customization work by themselves via a web portal that tells them what they need to know. We also get into the world’s recent love affair with America, Buc-ees, Ranch Dressing, and unlimited refills with our hosting of the world cup, and what happens when you tell Americans that they, “can’t do something”     Also Uncle Jimmy gives a positively Churchillian overture to the techs in the independent shops that are going to be fixing the Slate’s.  This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy does a deep dive on the WrenchWay 2026 Voice of the Technician Survey — and man, does it should like a synopsis of Grease the Wheels! This time though, none of the numbers are made up, although admittedly Uncle Jimmy was a lot closer to the mark than we really want to admit. There are deep, structural issues within the automotive industry, and this is coming from across the board. Incredible stats from pay, to getting new technicians involved in the industry and supporting trade schools, to an absolutely abysmal promotion rate amongst people actually in the industry. Techs are burned out, over worked, under paid, and between management and warranty times, it is not getting better. However, things usually have to get pretty bad before stuff changes, and that is the silver lining. The shops that adapt will thrive, the ones that don’t are dead on arrival! Let us know what you think!  iAlso Uncle Jimmy goes back to the drawing boards after an honest-to-god production meeting!    is Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy gets in depth with all of the things that tech schools DO NOT teach their students. There is a real disconnect between what techs know when they finish a program and when they enter the workforce. There really isn’t any type of instruction that can adequately prepare a student for the chaos of a modern auto shop. We also get inso some of the new guy metrics from WrenchWay, deeper into the technician shortage, and take a look at what AI is doing to people going into the trades. Also Uncle Jimmy brainstorms his merch line.  This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we use AI to be introspective and ask it what it thinks of the podcast. Overall, it mirrors many of the opinions of our listeners, which is kinda spooky. It also goes into some of our ongoing projects, which is even spookier! Moving to a multimedia format would be difficult with the way that the content is produced, but we do have some tricks up our sleeves when it comes to that. Also, the march and logo game is about to go off on one of the funniest tangents in the history of branding. Let us know your ideas for segments, all of your most unintelligible repair order lines, and much more over on our Facebook page!  Also Uncle Jimmy talks about why the show doesn’t have guests — except for that one time!  This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!

Send us Fan Mail On this weeks episode of Grease The Wheels, we ask Gemini why customers are the way they are. There is a good portion of the customer base who knows that their cars are going to break, knows that they can’t fix them, and trusts you to make the right call when it comes to diagnosing and fixing the problems that they have to get back on the road. There is another segment of the customer base that might not trust you 100%, but is still captive to their own lack of knowledge and likely financial constraints. Then there is the third category of customers who don’t know anything, think they know everything, and are some of the most unreasonable people walking the earth today. We also get into the idea of firing customers, the old of video when it comes to informing that second cadre into making the right decisions, and the idea that the service advisors are often the unwilling hostages in these situations. Bottom line, customers need to make the right decisions, and we need to frame those right decisions properly from top to bottom.  Also Uncle Jimmy forgets that the most important part of the ‘Psychology of Selling’ isn’t in the pitch - it’s in asking the right questions to make your pitch that much more impactful.  This Episode of Grease the Wheels is brought to you in partnership with Surfwrench Digital! For more on Video MPI Training Visit https://www.surfwrench.com/video-mpi-training-landing/ to learn more. Video MPI Training built in the shop, by your Uncle Jimmy. Use code “GTW” for 50% off your training access!