(ARA) - Your car is a big investment. You don’t want to trust
its care to just anyone, but finding an auto technician you trust
isn’t always easy. And today’s cars, with their complex
systems, need to be serviced by well-trained professionals. Luckily,
finding a competent auto technician need not be a matter of chance.
A
good place to start when choosing an automotive professional is to
ask if the technician has been certified by the non-profit National
Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). The group tests
and certifies automotive professionals in all major technical areas
of repair and service. With some 400,000 currently certified professionals,
the ASE program is national in scope and has industry-wide acceptance
and recognition. ASE-certified technicians and parts specialists can
be found at every type of repair facility, from dealerships, service
stations, and franchises to parts stores, independent garages, and
even municipal fleets.
Certification
Benefits Motorists
ASE
certifies the technical competence of individual technicians, not
repair facilities. Before taking ASE certification tests, many technicians
attend training classes or study on their own in order to brush up
on their knowledge. By passing difficult national tests, ASE-certified
technicians prove their technical competence to themselves, to their
employers, and to their customers.
Because
the ASE program is primarily voluntary, ASE-certification becomes
a self-selecting credential that weeds out the incompetent. And while
ASE does not certify repair shops or police individual business practices,
it stands to reason that those shop owners and managers who support
their service employees' efforts to become technically certified will
be as concerned about the other aspects of their business as well.
How
Certification Works
About
100,000 technicians take ASE tests each May and November at over 700
locations. Technicians who pass at least one exam and fulfill the
two-year work experience requirement become ASE-certified. Those who
pass a battery of exams (and fulfill the experience requirement) earn
Master Technician status. The tests, developed by industry experts
with oversight from ASE's own in-house pros, are administered by ACT,
the same group known for its college entrance exams.
There
are specialty exams covering all major areas of repair. There are
eight tests for auto technicians alone: Engine Repair, Engine Performance,
Electrical/Electronic Systems, Brakes, Heating and Air Conditioning,
Suspension and Steering, Manual Drive Train and Axles, and Automatic
Transmissions. There are also exams for collision repair technicians,
damage estimators, parts specialists, service consultants and others.
ASE
certification is not for life. ASE requires technicians to re-test
every five years to keep up with technology and to remain certified.
All ASE credentials have expiration dates.
Finding
ASE-Certified Technicians
Repair
establishments with at least one ASE technician are permitted to display
the ASE sign. Each ASE professional is issued personalized credentials
listing his or her exact area(s) of certification and an appropriate
shoulder insignia. Technicians are also issued certificates that employers
often post in the customer-service area; and employers often display
the blue and white ASE sign as well.
Businesses
with a high level of commitment to the ASE program (75 percent of
service personnel certified) are entitled to a special "Blue
Seal of Excellence" recognition from ASE. These elite facilities
are among the best in the national. More than 1,600 businesses participate
in this growing program.
Choosing
the Right Technician
As
with other professionals -- physicians come to mind -- automotive
technicians often specialize. So it's wise to ask the shop owner or
service manager for a technician who is certified in the appropriate
area, say, brakes, engine repair, or air conditioning.
Visit
www.ase.com for more information about the ASE program.
Courtesy
of ARA Content
