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Thread: The Official BMW STEP FAQ

  1. #26
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    What you are saying is true, but I have to add that it also takes a certain kind of person to work on a car. That kind of person has to have the right mindset to be able to work at a dealership environment. Somethings on BMWs DO NOT pay well and you can get screwed on a job. It happens all the time, with any tech. No matter what, you will eventually get a shit ticket and will have to take a hit.

    But the whole update thing is one of the best parts. You get paid to go to school (dealer training) and learn about the new products/features coming out. You get to see some of the new cars before they are even out yet, and if you are the first tech in your dealer to go, you technically know more than the rest of the shop does about that certain car. Updates have their benefits, it keeps you on your feet and makes you aware of changes that you might not be aware of.

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    Nick, you're too enthusiastic. It kinda scares me.

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by kellie View Post
    Nick, you're too enthusiastic. It kinda scares me.
    Well after my pay increase due to the new pay plan and the possibility that my dealership will be sponsoring me or "compensating" as they call it. I think I have a lot of reason to be enthusiatic. I came to my dealer to fix BMWs but I also brought my enthusiasim and interest in cars. Not to mention my passion for driving. I never expected that I would end up at some mom and pop's dealership and end up being PICKED by my management as a promoter for the new Performance Parts. My dealership picked me because I am enthusiastic. I have a purpose to go to work everyday and do my best with every car I touch. I have value that my dealership recongizes, and admires. They make fun of me for it sometimes, but thats how people are in a shop you know?

    Like I said, it depends on the type of person you are. When I first started training (not STEP) all I wanted was to make it to STEP. When I did, I took it to the next level by graduating and releasing my passion and interest to the dealership I work at. Nothing happend for a while, it got slow, people started complaining, the shop needs to be remodeled, etc....But 18 months later, out of nowhere I get called into a management meeting and I am asked to be a promoter for these new parts. Is that not worth all the trouble? It seems to me that everything I have been doing is starting to pay off, I notice that people around the shop (including management and sales) say Hi to me more often, they ask me how I am doing? They ask me about my car, and misc questions that they do not know about new cars.

    All I'm trying to get across is that STEP worked out for me. And that it is COMPLETELY possible for it to work out for someone else. Its really hard to describe what the dealership environment is like unless you work there everyday. But if STEP is something you want to do, do it. Dont be discouraged as to what others will say, instead take it with a grain of salt and remember it. This entire thread is about information. Whether is be posetive or negative. I'll I'm doing is defending the posetive because being posetive about your job and training will keep you happy and make the entire STEP experiance worth it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by StickSeven View Post
    Sucker Technicians Education Program-STEP.

    I dont really regret joining step because i am making a decent living, but its just funny how they try to sell it to you, telling you you're gonna be so prestigious and make so much money and so on. blah blah blah. mechanics are mechanics. BMW techs make more, but we have to deal with more BS, between all the paperwork and covering every step so you can just get paid by the cheapskates in the warranty dept. on top of that it seems like the alotted times for each job are going down as additional crap that we're required to do increases.


    sorry i had to vent. it all depends on the dealer you work for, too. i'm at dave walter in akron, OH. anybody in the vicinity?

    I live up in Middleburg Hts. Not too far off at all.


    I just got accepted to the BMW STEP program (kind of). Allow me to explain the situation:

    I attended Ohio Technical College under the Complete Automotive Program. I have played a crucial role in student services, and served as a tour-guide for prospective students. I befriended much of the administration, and worked my butt off learning everything I can seeing as I wasn't one of those kids that have been "working on cars with my pops ever since i was 12...". I felt I had a lot of slack to pick up. I ended up graduating OTC with a final grade average of 94%, and my GPA for my AS Degree was a 4.0. I had interviewed for STEP, and did well, but did not test in such a great way. It was then required that I pass the A6 and A8 ASE. I already had my A6, but not my A8. So I tested just as they requested, but I didn't get my results until the class orientation (just this past friday). Unfortunately I failed the test. I don't know how it will affect my placement, and I really hope it doesn't, but you never know. I get to go to class on Monday, but a decision will be made by the man that interviewed me several months ago if I can stay in the program or not. The atmosphere is quite exhilarating, and very professional. Despite the hardships, I plan on taking my training far beyond a flat rate technician. I'm not sure what direction that would be, but I hope to find something that will work out for me.

    The main reason I joined this forum is so I can get more exposure to the people that represent BMW. The true enthusiasts, and fellow technicians. I worked at an independent BMW repair facility in Cleveland Heights during my Technical Training. Though my co-workers were awesome people, I don't feel the boss properly represented BMW. I will not go into detail or smash him out here, but ultimately, I just want to make sure that BMW is actually represented and comprised of more "good people" than "tough/know-it-all people".

    I really hope I can become a part of the BMW community, they are really awesome cars and I wouldn't want to deny myself the possibility of a good future.

    Thank you for reading my rant, and a pleasure to meet you all

    -Ronny
    Last edited by KwikyMAN; 09-12-2007 at 02:17 PM.

  5. #30
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    Ronny, when you go in for your interview to determine if you are going to be accepted, please say exactly what you just typed. Tell them that you want to represent BMW and you are going to take it on your own responsiblity to make sure YOU are that person and that YOU will hold BMW up to a high standard. People like you are the type of people that BMW is looking for. Not only do you hold yourself valuable as a technican, but you hold yourself above others by actually giving a shit about your job/career. People like you end up as something better than a technican. That is the exact thing I am trying to pursue and let me say its starting to work out. (see my post above)
    Last edited by shogun; 03-17-2019 at 09:42 AM. Reason: unnessary quotes removed

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    thats funny because although i work in akron, i Live in middleburg hts. Thats a weird coincidence. anyway, though i will be moving to north royalton hopefully by the end of june. i am trying to buy a house over there. right now me, my wife and our two sons are staying with her parents. we just moved out here from ny, so its been real crazy.

    you mentioned an independent BMW training facility in cleveland hts. ??? what is that?
    Last edited by shogun; 03-17-2019 at 09:44 AM. Reason: unnessary quotes removed
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    Quote Originally Posted by StickSeven View Post
    you mentioned an independent BMW training facility in cleveland hts. ??? what is that?
    I was wondering about that as well...

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    Quote Originally Posted by StickSeven View Post
    thats funny because although i work in akron, i Live in middleburg hts. Thats a weird coincidence. anyway, though i will be moving to north royalton hopefully by the end of june. i am trying to buy a house over there. right now me, my wife and our two sons are staying with her parents. we just moved out here from ny, so its been real crazy.

    you mentioned an independent BMW training facility in cleveland hts. ??? what is that?

    ah that's cool. I live up in the Islander, and shall remain there until I graduate this program. Assuming I'm allowed to stay in. Lemme know if you ever want to meet up though. I'm actually organizing a meet down in Columbus at the end of the month at IPS Motorsports. There'll be some nice cheap dyno runs and such, PM me if you want more details or just feel like meeting up.


    Quote Originally Posted by kellie View Post
    I was wondering about that as well...

    It's a shop called Larchmere Imports. We really got hit up with many older BMWs (e36, e30, e34, e32, e38 and the such). So the work was mainly suspension repairs, and major component failure replacement. A lot of just straight up labor work (which would've been GREAT if I were an experienced flat-rate tech. However I was an hourly apprentice. Though I did get valuable experience, I felt like someone else would've benefited in a much more significant manner. There is no limit to the work though. I ended up doing an engine swap on an E34 ('95), and used an engine from an E36 ('98) as the donor. I also did an automatic to 5-spd swap on an e28. I loved the work, but once again, it was the management that discouraged me from staying there. Once again, I won't go into detail as to the reasoning as I'd consider it to be subjective, but there's no question they have some great workers, and put out some great work.

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    Quote Originally Posted by nickdrivesm3 View Post
    Ronny, when you go in for your interview to determine if you are going to be accepted, please say exactly what you just typed. Tell them that you want to represent BMW and you are going to take it on your own responsiblity to make sure YOU are that person and that YOU will hold BMW up to a high standard. People like you are the type of people that BMW is looking for. Not only do you hold yourself valuable as a technican, but you hold yourself above others by actually giving a shit about your job/career. People like you end up as something better than a technican. That is the exact thing I am trying to pursue and let me say its starting to work out. (see my post above)

    I really appreciate your encouragement. I have said most of that in the original interview, which is why I feel like the interviewer decided to reserve me a seat to begin with. I feel I'm at a point in my life where it's really time for me to start a career and just start living. I just want to do it in the best way possible. I will let you know what happens tomorrow and what the final decisions are. Thank you again for your motivation and encouragement.

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by KwikyMAN View Post
    I really appreciate your encouragement. I have said most of that in the original interview, which is why I feel like the interviewer decided to reserve me a seat to begin with. I feel I'm at a point in my life where it's really time for me to start a career and just start living. I just want to do it in the best way possible. I will let you know what happens tomorrow and what the final decisions are. Thank you again for your motivation and encouragement.
    You're Welcome, Good luck sleeping tonight...

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    my mother-in-law works in the islander office building over there. Sure we could meet up sometime, but i dont think its really worth my time to go down to columbus for dyno runs, my car is an '83 E23!!! i think it makes 150hp or something silly like that. someday i'll have a BMW thats fast, right now though at least i have a comfy ride to work.

    That larchmere imports place is a shop...i get it now. you stated before that it was an independent training facility. probably a typo.


    I'm sitting here on the computer right now because we are out of work down here in Akron. this sucks. I moved here from NY under the assumption that this shop is always busy and i would match my yearly salary in NY. I dont really know if thats gonna happen, now. scary thing is i am buying a house (closing date is the 15th!!) and i hope to god that i can make the mortgage. good thing is i'll have a big garage there to do side jobs on the weekends. I'm already trying to figure out if i can fit a twin post lift in the garage. you need thick concrete and i have no idea how thick it is
    Last edited by shogun; 03-17-2019 at 09:45 AM. Reason: unnessary quotes removed
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  12. #37
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    Ya im typing on this thread because its slow here also. Kinda sucks, but its the way it is sometimes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by nickdrivesm3 View Post
    Ya im typing on this thread because its slow here also. Kinda sucks, but its the way it is sometimes.
    Where do you work? san diego? out there should be real busy with a high line car like BMW, no? In the Hamptons we were swamped, but only during the spring and summer months usually. it was a seasonal area and most people moved back to NY city for the winter months, either there or Florida, etc.. WE did have spurts of work during rainy months. all the roads out there are old farm roads that just got paved and never really had any drainage systems, so they all flood out and these millionares are too stupid to realize that a car cant go through water (but somehow they're smart enough to make millions of dollars) and they would hydro-lock the motors in these cars.
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    It's dead at my dealership too. If there's no work in Ohio and no work in El Cajon, where the hell is it? I've flagged MAYBE 30 hours this pay period and there are only 3 days left. I've done every single online class there is, and watched ALL of the roundtables just so that I can get paid for my time at work. I'm saving the E93 SIP for an emergency, and I've done so many PDIs, I think my tool box is going to rust closed. It's ridiculous, and I'm starting to doubt my career choice.

  15. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by kellie View Post
    It's dead at my dealership too. If there's no work in Ohio and no work in El Cajon, where the hell is it? I've flagged MAYBE 30 hours this pay period and there are only 3 days left. I've done every single online class there is, and watched ALL of the roundtables just so that I can get paid for my time at work. I'm saving the E93 SIP for an emergency, and I've done so many PDIs, I think my tool box is going to rust closed. It's ridiculous, and I'm starting to doubt my career choice.
    Don't doubt the career choice, its still your career and don't forget you get to work on one of the nicest cars in the world. Try to remember and be greatful for the little things that you like about your job. It helps me keep my cool when its bad.

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    Sorry, it was indeed a type-o. It's an independent repair facility...not training facility. And yes, side-work is MASSIVE in this area. Although matching your salary from NY through BMW alone will be extremely difficult, the side-jobs can easily make up for it. Everyone here loves their American muscle cars. Hitting the drag strips is huge for them. Probably the easiest buck to make is doing some 3-angle valve jobs. Just gotta make yourself known in the right crowd. I'm not sure which service center gets more business, the dealer in Solen (sp?), or down in Akron. I've heard real good things about the dealer in Solen, haven't heard much about yours in Akron.


    If your mother-in-law also goes to Grace Church, there's a good chance I have met her at one point or another. And I'd enjoy meeting up and talking life/bmw's with ya sometime.


    And as far as the career choice, though the consistency of the pay for our work is lacking, there are many things to remember. For one, a kid like me is losing sleep over the lack of knowledge of whether I'll actually be able to stay in a program such as STEP to begin with. Not so much because I feel I'll be making millions in years, but I feel there's so much potential held within this path. If I were to just let it end at being a technician, I would be much better off going to work for Nissan or Infiniti as I already know those cars rather well. But the technology, infrastructure, and authority BMW holds far surpasses all of that. Saying that you're a Level 1 BMW Master Technician on your resume as you plan on applying for a higher level position (perhaps an R&D technician for Alpina) looks way more promising and involves way more than saying you're Mr. Goodwrench (no offense intended to GM technicians.). One lesson one of my instructors taught me is that BMW is self-promoting, and will help the technicians that are prepared for, qualified for, and have the desire for the next level. Sometimes it looks bleak, but allegedly with a strong positive attitude and a good nature, the next level is always within reach.


    BTW, I still don't know if I'm allowed to stay in the program yet...They're making me wait a week or two to find out.
    Last edited by shogun; 03-17-2019 at 09:46 AM. Reason: unnessary quotes removed

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    BMW is a great company, I've just been unlucky enough to get caught in a BAD situation at my dealership. 6 months ago, we were bought out by AutoNation and the dust STILL hasn't settled. If anything, it's steadily been getting worse and worse and worse. I'm looking into applying for a job with BMW NA, the only problem is that I don't want to relocate, and I'm afraid that will really limit the positions available to me. If I didn't mind moving to New Jersey, it would be another story.
    Last edited by shogun; 03-17-2019 at 09:47 AM.

  18. #43
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    Thats exactly how I look at my job/career choice. I have chosen a path that can take me to a higher level. It is completely possible for someone (like me) with the credentials they have earned to take their career to a better level. Kellie has the right idea by still staying with BMW even though she wants out of the service business. I am looking for a similar type of job down the road but right now with the Performance Line of parts coming out, I have a great opportunity to use the service business to my advantage. Right now, not only am I wrenching during shop time but on my own time I'm trying to promote/advertise the performance line of parts coming out. Possibly one day I could end up as a Performance Rep for BMW of NA and get paid to fly everywhere and talk/promote new products. Maybe even get paid to drive performance cars to demonstrate the ability of these new parts.

    Like I said, your career is what you make of it. STEP provides a solid baseline of knowledge and experiance to make you go to a higher level.
    Last edited by shogun; 03-17-2019 at 09:49 AM. Reason: unnessary quotes removed

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    Quote Originally Posted by SR20Fastback View Post
    who is your guys' FSE now? we had jeff kline (or klien i forget how to spell it). he was a super nice guy, but he relocated to head up a store in arizona or new mexico something like that.
    Our FSE is a guy named Michael Pratt. He's really nice and went to STEP at Fremont, so we come from the same background. There's another guy too whose name I don't know. I've never actually been introduced to him, but he only stops by every few months.

    Quote Originally Posted by SR20Fastback
    i think there are experience requirements to become an intstructor though. and pay is average (i think its in the 60-75k mark), but you get a car every year
    And I'd have to live in Ontario. Nothing against Ontario, but I really love San Diego.

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by kellie View Post
    Our FSE is a guy named Michael Pratt. He's really nice and went to STEP at Fremont, so we come from the same background. There's another guy too whose name I don't know. I've never actually been introduced to him, but he only stops by every few months.

    And I'd have to live in Ontario. Nothing against Ontario, but I really love San Diego.
    Wait until you have to go to training, you'll hate Ontario.

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    Quote Originally Posted by nickdrivesm3 View Post
    Wait until you have to go to training, you'll hate Ontario.

    pfffft that is so crap!! i had the best time at training. met some guys from class, we went out drinking after at the free little happy hour thing at the hotel. got all the crappy ass budweiser and miller we could drink for free. hit up hooters for food and more beer, then went over to THE BEST strip club i've ever been to in my life (better than vegas even).



    i had more fun in those 4 days of school then most of my time working combined... and trust me we had a LOT of fun at work (practical jokes were usually just as important as actually flagging hours).


    oh and for kellie: gilbert and i were the ones that went to training from my dealer (i think it was st050 and st406) and he went with us to the strip club. imagine the face on the strippers when he told them WHY he didn't want a dance haha) ahh i miss gilbert and rudy. always could throw one hell of a bbq/bon fire party at the beach. then push me into the water and i cut my foot so bad that i should have gotten stitches
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    Ohh dealers, haha...i just read the last page...brought me back a little... 4 years, but they were interesting times... Harloff used to be a cool dealership, I was going to apply there while I was still at my old dealer..

    Every dealer is being bought out, times are a changin'... 2001-03 were good times for BMW dealers in SD, in my opinion...the mangers we had where I worked were great people in those years, miss those days..
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    So how about advice to guys that are currently in STEP and anxious as hell to get out of there and start working?

    I will say that i wouldn't go to a tech school without going through a manufacturer specific program such as BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche, etc. I say this because I have many friends that i kept in contact with from UTI, and I have much fewer friends that are actually working on cars, and even fewer that are working in a dealership making $15/hr plus.

    I will say that the probgam is definately not for everybody and there are many kids that are in my class that I wouldn't let change my tires on my 88 Jeep. Out of our class of 17 i think I would pick 5 that are actually mechanically inlcined and can think on there own and try to figure anything out and I would want to work with. Im not bashing anybody here because i don't know anybody. Im just saying I can understand were all of the horror stories are coming from


    It looks stock.

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    Damn, I make more than that working at a restaurant. You'd think they'd make more than that considering your average ASE certified mechanic can pull $30+/hour.

  25. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by wj94 View Post
    Damn, I make more than that working at a restaurant. You'd think they'd make more than that considering your average ASE certified mechanic can pull $30+/hour.
    That depends, there are a lot of variables for an "ASE certified" tech to make $30 per hour.

    I'm a lvl 1 BMW tech and I just got bumped to 26$. It took long enough, but now I really feel like I'm getting paid for what I'm worth.

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