The Automotive Technology department will have an Automotive Career Fair in Building 20 where manufactures from Voss automotive network, Grismer tire, P&R Communications, Aamaco Transmission, Firestone and RTA will be available for students who are interested in starting their careers in the industry.
“It’s in partnership with Career Services,” Automotive Technology Chair Justin Morgan, said. “Our Career Services department is helping us set up and organize it.”
Morgan said a lot of students in the Automotive Technology department are graduating this May, so the career fair is a way to get their names out into the field.
“The idea is to get students to dress up and come out of their comfort level a little bit,” he said.
According to Morgan, a lot of businesses in the Dayton area are looking for qualified students and graduates. Those qualified can get jobs such as automotive repair workers, service consultants, service-managers and more.
“I have employers calling me on the phone all the time looking for students and graduates,” he said.
Morgan also believes students are anxious about their future when it comes to the automotive industry, which is part of the reason he wanted to have a career fair specifically geared for the department.
“I think students are apprehensive about starting their career because they are unsure of what they don’t know,” he said. “But there is a huge market for qualified people in the automotive industry.”
The manufactures attending the fair are going to look for at least two to three graduating students, according to Morgan. During the fair, students have the opportunity to sell themselves and explain why they would be a good fit for the company of their choice.
“P&R Communications last year for example — right after my class ended in May, they hired two of our graduates instantly the week after graduation,” he said.
Morgan said the best part about the career fair is in being able to help connect a student to the right job with the right company.
“My favorite thing is seeing students find something they are passionate about,” he said. “I just like to see students being happy, and find a job to do whatever it is that pleases them.”
In addition to the career fair, Morgan gave tips on things buyers should look out for when wanting to purchase a vehicle, including looking up the book value.
“It’s free and it’s online,” he said. “You can look up anything at KBB.com or NADA.com.”
In using these websites, you can look up all the options and miles, Morgan also suggested looking up what is called a clean retail value with tax.
“So if your car was $7,000 and they say 10 percent tax, it would be $7,700,” he said. “Then, if the retail value is only $6,800, you are basically over-paying by a thousand dollars.”
The second tip Morgan gave was on having a technician inspect the car before buying it.
“Whoever you use for your typical car maintenance with your family, have them do an inspection — usually they will do it for free,” he said. “Unfortunately, I will have people buy a car and then they almost have buyer remorse when they bring it in to be looked over.”
Morgan said after the car is purchased, you do not have anything to go back on, so it is important to make the choice you believe is right for you.
“Tell the shop or the dealership that you would like to have the car looked at by your mechanic,” Morgan said. “And if they don’t want to do that, then that’s kind of a sign that you probably shouldn’t buy the car in the first place.”
For vehicles over 100,000 miles, generally speaking, a bank will not loan full retail value which is important to remember when it comes to resale, according to Morgan.
“Credit unions will [loan full retail] but banks won’t,” he said. “So it makes it that much harder to sell the car later on.”
It is always important to inspect a vehicle in the daylight for past accident damage, because you may not be able to catch some dents and scratches in the evening, according to Morgan.
“Never buy a car in the dark, because you can’t really tell the paint defects and the flaws,” he said.
Morgan said running a carfax report is also necessary when buying a vehicle, so the buyer can see any title issues or accidents in the past that would reduce the value, and that salvage title vehicles typically will not allow you to get a car loan.
Additionally, it is also important to see maintenance records before purchasing a vehicle.
“Just check and see if the oil has been changed every 3,000 miles, and know when the brakes have been worked on,” he said. “In the owner’s manual you may be able to see past receipts on when service was done if it is not an online manual.”
Morgan also said to not take the longest term out on a vehicle, because if you are paying on a car for six years, for example, within those six years the value of the car will go down and you may end up paying more than you intended.
One last tip from Morgan included not trading in vehicles more often than needed.
“Try not to constantly trade in so many cars because that’s what they call being upside down in a loan,” he said. “People just constantly keep revolving cars every two to three years and now you may owe $30,000 on a car that may only be worth $15,000.”