mecp

ive owned a shop for over 15 years and installed for much longer than that. not certified nor do i wish to be. and i read in this post "put 2 installers in a new car blah blah blah" well in my area....i am the tech installer. other shops call me with their problems. and i try to solve them for them, hands on in their shop. while their "certified installers watch and get some pointers, and sometimes give some. if we all work together, we can do anything.

in my opinion...."there is no replacement for experience" would  i be a better installer if i was certified?

im not trying to blow my own horn. what im saying is, much of what we do is common sense and being able to read a circuit. looking at how it works, and what it would take to duplicate it. thought is a great thing....but i see tons of "installers" who cant think for themselves.

and a forum like this one will make a so so installer a great installer. if they read and learn.

xs

keep-up the tips and tricks here.

Here is a great example of how common sense and MECP do not go hand in hand. Pay attention to post #7.

http://www.canadiancaraudio.com/online/general-discussion/20704-2001-sunfire.html

My post is post#9.

ok i have a question. why do, especially the veteran installers hate on MECP? Here we have an organization that is try to educate and set some standerds for our industry, a industry  that has no standerds (well we have CEA2006 but it is optional) and is full of deceitful manufactors, retailers and installers. maybe mecp has some flaws but it is up to the people (the veterans) the people who know what this industry is all about to help shape the test to better the new comers. think about what some of these new cars are comeing out with CAN BUSS, FIBER OPTICS, DATA BUSS, MOST BUSS, and other systems that just love to #$%^ up our whole game. do we want uneducated kids, most who probably dont even know these systems even exist working on thes kind of cars or would we rather have them go to school and at liest get a clue. im not saying every person that goes to school will come out a great installer, but the ones that have an aptitude for this will be ahead of the game.

lets look at this as well. I can add any thing to all most any car from cruse control to a rockin ass system i dont care if you got a 2006 BMW 750iL or a 1991 ford escort, and my labor rate is about $50 an hour. now the tech who workes on this bmw and uses process of elimination at the comsumers expense to solve problems is making over $100Hr, even the guy at the muffler shop across the street working on the escort is giting $70Hr now i ask why? because the automotive repair industry is looked upon by consumers as an educated and knowledgeable industry. go in to any automotive repair shop and whts the first thing you see is all the certifications on the walls for the mechanics and the shop thats whi peopl have no problem forking over twice as much money an hour for there car.

would you got to a doctor that has not gone to school but has been cuting people open for 15 years? i hope the answere is no. so why would you take a car that just cost you between $30,000 and god knows much to a guy that just claims to know what he is talking about. i would fell much better seeing thoes certifications on the wall telling me that this shop is full of people that are educated and experinced, and i would not complain about shelling out a few extra dollors to have them work on my car.

so instead of saying that MECP does not prepair new installers for this kind of work lets let mecp know what might just make some good improvements to the test. and maybe add some criteria to get certified of even another organization to come up with more trials to pass so we can have multiple standerds in our industry.

Those are my sentiments exactly!! Like I said, I live in Kentucky and originally from Indianapolis, IN. I had to order my MECP books, study on my own, and take the test on my own. I cant afford to go way out to Cali or Florida or Jersey for weeks at a time let alone the cost of the school (I have 4 kids) so that was my only other option. And I've run into a few guys that say the same " I've been doing it for awhile so I dont need a certification..." and the shop that employ these guys felt the same....but what ticked me was that majority of their installs were CRAPOLA, I mean wires were just stuffed behind a deck like a ball of twine, fiberglass work was paper thin (light shining through) and this was supposed to be "the finished product before a little sanding and paint..." and the fit and finish of the custom work is greusome! This is the reason that there is a HUGE regression of work in the Midwest and the reason I have to move to California, not only for decent work but to grow PROPERLY in my experience in the industry. Now I think this is a time when "a little schooling" and certification  would serve the industry and market tremendously. That's just 2 more cents!