From Smashing Pumpkins to Shop Floors: Lessons on Mentorship [E233]
Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z
Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to ZApr 22, 2026
From Smashing Pumpkins to Shop Floors: Lessons on Mentorship [E233]
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Concept
mentorship (both ends)
Mentorship isn’t just one person teaching another. Even experienced people should keep learning from others, because there’s always something new to pick up.
Concept
repercussions of a decision
Sometimes a choice you make now can cause problems later. If you don’t get advice or context first, you might not realize how big the impact will be.
“Electric vehicle revolution” refers to the industry shift toward EVs and the resulting need for new diagnostic skills and equipment. EVs add high-voltage battery systems and different electronic control/communication networks compared with most gasoline cars.
A PicoScope EV kit is a set of tools that helps mechanics diagnose electric and hybrid cars. It’s meant to safely and accurately check the car’s high-voltage and electronic systems so you can find problems faster.
High-voltage batteries are the big battery packs in EVs that power the car. If something goes wrong, it can cause the car to act up or not charge, so technicians need the right way to test them safely.
A hybrid car uses both gas and electricity to move. Because it has two power systems, diagnosing problems can be trickier than on a regular gas-only car.
Communication systems are how the car’s computers talk to each other. If that “conversation” is disrupted, the car can show warning lights or behave strangely even if the main components aren’t obviously broken.
Autel is a company that makes diagnostic tools for car repair shops. They sponsor this episode, which is about diagnosing and fixing cars more effectively.
Instead of guessing what’s wrong, diagnostics means using tools and tests to find the real cause. That helps avoid unnecessary parts and speeds up the repair.
TPMS is the system that watches your tire pressure. When you get new tires or a sensor is replaced, the car may need to be told the new sensor information.
ADOS sounds like a special diagnostic or setup process used for newer safety features. The exact meaning depends on the system being worked on, but it’s typically related to getting safety sensors working correctly after service.
Independent Wrench Shops is presented as a community for independent mechanics. The goal is to help shops get steadier work and better pay without the politics.
This is a website/app that helps you quickly generate a resume and cover letter. The point they’re making is to use something tailored to shop/technician jobs so you don’t waste time.
That’s the website they point you to if you want to sign up. It’s part of the tool they just recommended for job applications.
Concept
rookie contract
A rookie contract is the first big agreement someone signs when they start their pro career. The point here is that getting paid doesn’t automatically come with the right advice or mentorship.
A “tool truck” is when tool sellers drive around and sell tools directly to mechanics and shops. They may offer payment plans and promises like warranties, even if the tools haven’t been used yet.
They’re describing a sales pitch where you can pay over time for tools and get a warranty. The critique is that people may end up buying expensive tool sets before they’re really established.
They’re saying that when people graduate with student loans, they can be pressured into taking on more debt for tools. That can make it harder to get started in the trade.
Deferred maintenance means you delay fixing small problems. Over time, those small issues can turn into bigger repairs that cost more and take longer.
Concept
diagnostic time pressure
They’re talking about how there’s pressure to finish fast. When you’re rushed, it’s easier to miss something during troubleshooting.
Concept
direct correlation between income and expenses
The hosts connect shop pay to personal financial planning, emphasizing that earnings should cover bills and avoid taking on more debt. While not a car-specific term, it’s a mentorship/business concept relevant to how shops operate and how techs manage their finances.
Concept
title insurance
Title insurance is something you buy when you purchase a property to protect against problems with the legal ownership records. It’s mentioned here as part of saving money for a home purchase.
A toolbox here means the basic set of tools a mechanic needs to do the work. The point is that you don’t always need to buy everything from expensive tool-truck sales—sometimes you can start with the essentials and build up over time.
Harbor Freight is a store that sells tools for lower prices. The hosts are saying it can be a good place to buy basic tools if you’re just starting out.
The idea is to figure out what tools are really needed for the kind of work the shop does, rather than buying a bunch of stuff automatically. It also suggests paying people for helping plan and decide what to buy.
Term
scan or Dan
This sounds like a subscription for car diagnostic tools. The idea is you use it to read what the car is telling you (like error codes) and learn how to fix problems faster.
Pico Technology makes diagnostic tools—especially oscilloscopes—that help you “see” electrical signals in a car. That can make it easier to find wiring, sensor, or control-module problems.
A lab scope is a special tool that shows electrical signals as a graph. Mechanics use it to see what’s happening inside the car’s wiring and sensors, especially when normal scan tools don’t tell the whole story.
Term
diagnostic network
A diagnostic network is basically a group of people who help each other troubleshoot car problems. Instead of guessing, you can compare notes and learn from what worked for other techs.
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I was on the phone with a friend of mine, seemingly a
completely unrelated topic to what I'm going to talk about.
But I guess we're just kind of trying to trace back like the
history of vocal deliveries, namely as it relates to metal
core. I had brought up potentially Metallica in 1988 or
1989 with one. Anyways, that's not what this is about. I
wish it was. That would be a good topic. Stick with the
original idea. Anyways, we got talking and just, you know,
vocal deliveries and kind of vocal artists. Typically, I
don't much care for the higher registers, especially with
like the male lead vocalists. You know, I kind of favor
say Metallica over Megadeth because I don't much care for
Dave Mustaine's vocal register. I love their songs. I love the
band, but they're just not going to crack my top 10, probably
not my top 15 or, I don't know, 20 I'd have to think about it.
But I'm a bit of a hypocrite because I do like smashing
pumpkins. So that's what we were talking about, smashing
pumpkins. And I know this is all talking about music and
bands. And if you're not into hard rock, metal, alternative,
grunge, metalcore, deathcore, stuff like that, symphonic
death metal, then a lot of the bands I rattle off probably
mean very little. But smashing pumpkins, I think is well
known enough across most radio types or genres. I do like
them. And he's got a particularly high register
compared to most others and it's a little nasally, but it
seems to work. Maybe it's the quirkiness of it. I don't know.
Anyways, talking about smashing pumpkins a little bit and
my feeling like it's a little bit of a hypocrisy on my part
that I do like them even though the high register. And I'm
like, oh wait, I got this cool story and it's not new. But it
does relate to the topic I have in mind. Mentorship and
mentoring and being mentored. We hear a lot about it. I think
I'm going to try to bring up an argument that it's got to
come from both ends, both sides, both perspectives. You as
potential mentor and then you as a mentee. And I don't know
when you ever stop being a mentee. There's always somebody,
right? Somebody that you could learn from, somebody that
can mentor you. And maybe it's not professionally, maybe
it's personally, stuff like that. Anyways, the story with
Billy Corrigan, I think is really, really good because it's
a lack of mentorship. Even though he was somewhat
connected, somewhat, no one pulled him aside to explain the
repercussions of a decision he was about to make. And as a
young, broke person, he was ill equipped to make the quote
unquote right decision. I necessarily mean that to be
judgy. It's just a carried heavy repercussions, like the
breakup of the band, dissolving of the band. Billy Corrigan is
the lead singer of Smashing Pumpkins, kind of an
alternative grunge band. Very, very popular. Maybe not quite
along the lines of Nirvana, but they're in there with Pearl
Jam and Song Garden. Okay. They go to sign a contract and I
think it was before the album Siamese Dream, which ended up
being just a monster followed up with Melancholy and the
Infinite Sadness, another monster. Well, they take him and
by them, they, I guess, the record executives or the label
take Billy to, I think it was breakfast. I want to talk
turkey. They want to sign a contract and without getting
into like the details of the contracts that some of these
artists end up signing and they're not what you think they
are. You know, we have this idea that they sign these
contracts and then instant, multi, multi millionaires and
that isn't necessarily the case. But in this situation, you
have Smashing Pumpkins. They're talking to him about this
contract and what they want to, you know, how they want to
divvy things up between the band members and they want to
kind of keep it equal. They recommend that he split up
things evenly. The reason is they ask him who writes the
songs. Billy, by and large, wrote the songs. Then he could
get a writing credit. The problem with that is he gets more
money because of that. And I don't know if it's a problem.
If he was the creative force behind it, at some point, you
would say he deserves it. Maybe he did. Maybe that's, you
know, fine and dandy. But what happens is a 22 year old
starving artist who doesn't have an apartment, doesn't have
really his own place to live, being asked about, you know,
whether or not he should take on an extra little, what seems
to be a little bit of money, a few cents really per song, I
think, as it's played and per album, it ends up being a
massive amount of money. There's no one that pulled him
aside. There's no artists around knowing Billy, knowing
what he was going to be coming up against and pulling him
aside and say, hey, I want to talk to you about contracts.
Let's talk a little bit about this because, you know, so and
so label, they're going to come to you. They're going to want
to sign you. They're going to ask you about something and
let me tell you something. I did this and this is why or I
wish I would have done this because of this. Well, nobody
did that. And would Billy have listened? I don't know, but
there definitely was nobody to pull him aside and say, you
might want to just share everything equally with the
rest of the band. I understand you wrote all the songs and
maybe wrote the actual music and the riffs, but you're going
to unwittingly create massive tensions in the band and that
is exactly what happened. And maybe it's fine. That's the way
things work and he went on to do some things on his own,
never at the level of success of Smashing Pumpkins. The rest
of the band really didn't do anything of significance. I'm
not saying they didn't do anything, but it's nothing on
the level of Smashing Pumpkins. At least one of the members
and Billy Corgan have kind of gotten back together and Billy
had not had to, but after many years, decades, well over a
decade, kind of seeing things now from a mature
perspective and understanding what was lost versus what was
gained and that he could have split that off. That they are
members of the band. They do have contributions. Who knows
what level? I wasn't in there. I don't know of any real record
interviews saying that the bassist had this involvement and
the drummer had this involvement and I don't know. But I do
know that because of the amount of money he was making versus
the rest of the band, then also just the fact of being the
lead singer and the vocal one, not just vocalist, but the
vocal one, the talker gets a lot of the attention and the
rest of the band kind of fades into the background. Side
note, a band named No Doubt that the lead singer was Gwen
Stefani, who I think has gone on and had a fairly lucrative
solo career. One of their songs, Don't Speak, if I recall,
partly was a relationship that she had with one of the members
of the band, but it also had a lot to do with she was getting
all the attention and they weren't and they legitimately
felt like they were all equal. They were all part of the band,
but Gwen being the pretty girl, also the face or the, you
know, out front lead singer, all that got most of the
attention and it kind of hurt the band. It causes stress and
also being young and ill-equipped. It's hard to force
the issue to get the rest of the band involved, get them the
attention they may or may, you know, that they deserve or you
would like to share or try to share that spotlight and grab
the spotlight and point it on the rest of the band. And
anyways, Billy had since rebuilt a relationship with a member
and they, I think they've come out with another album and
stuff and I don't think it's all that great compared to what
they used to have, but still, I think more or less the idea
of being able to go back and recognize a really, really good
opportunity for a mentor to step in or Billy, I'd say it's
always 2020 though, right? Just a son of a gun. Could have
asked, right? Could have tried to reach out to others at that
meeting going, well, can I think about it for a day or two and
try to reach out to friends in the industry, namely other
band members or other bands, members of other bands. Find
out what they did and why and others that maybe were on the
brink of breakup or bands that had gone through a bunch of
different members and why and is that one of the reasons?
What kind of numbers are we really talking and was it worth
it and all that, right? It was just, it was a really good
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I have another example in a different realm,
believe it or not. It probably doesn't get
quite enough fanfare. I just think it's a great story
that there is a football player, a quarterback,
named Ryan Leaf. Rewind back to, I probably should look it up,
it was down between Payton Manning and Ryan Leaf as to
who is going to be the number one pick. And the Indian
apolis Colts had the number one pick, and I think as
everyone knows, they picked Payton Manning. Ryan Leaf was
projected to actually be a better quarterback than Payton
Manning. Bigger, stronger, faster, all the things. Payton
coming from the Manning family, his dad being Archie
Manning, and his football IQ, if you will, is off the charts.
Well, Indianapolis went with Payton, and then I want to
say it was a San Diego Chargers, but I could be wrong.
So he could beat me up on that pretty good. They picked Ryan
Leaf. Ecstatic. There's a big difference, though, especially
back then. Payton Manning comes from a family where the
patriarch is an NFL quarterback. Maybe even Hall of Fame at
the time. Maybe he was already in the Hall of Fame. He had the
advice of his dad, but maybe even more important, if he
didn't, he had that Manning name to live up to. Imagine
that. So you tow a line, right? You start trying to stack
the odds that you're not going to tarnish that name, let
your dad down. Ryan Leaf had nothing like that. He also had
no mentors. No one pulled him aside and explained to him,
this is a great, great. I don't want to call it an interview
because what it is is Ryan Leaf took over like substituted
hosting duties for the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN. You could
find this on YouTube. It's fairly old now. I don't think you
have to give a rip about sports to care about these stories,
especially this one. He signs the rookie contract, right?
It's more money than he's ever dreamt of. Nobody pulls him
aside. No other professionals pull him aside. No other big time
quarterbacks from that day call him up and say, hey, Ryan,
let me take you to lunch. Let me take you to dinner. I want to
talk to you a little bit. Maybe a former San Diego charger,
you know, Hall of Fame quarterback, whoever that would
be, I don't know. Let me explain a few things to you, but
nobody did that. And maybe he wouldn't have listened. Maybe
we don't get that part. Maybe people did reach out to him and
he just, oh, I'm good. But he gets that first check in the
mail and it's massive by his cars and he likes flying him and
all his buddies to Vegas, staying in a penthouse suite on
the strip and party. And he does that between the draft or
signing the contract, I guess, and opening day of training
practicing personal trainer. So you have Ryan leave out
partying it up and he comes into training camp heavy out of
shape, not ready to go. He's now a big let down and he can't
really recover, right? It's been months of just kind of out of
it, kind of a vacation. And as he tells the story is he really,
really needed somebody to pull him aside and say, this rookie
contract, this is nothing. This is not important. This is the
money you need to use to work towards your second contract.
That's your focus. You're now playing and practicing and
working for that second contract. That second contract can be
the money that you can live on the rest of your life. Kid, what
you need to do is find a very whatever median house really
close to the training center, preferably two bedrooms and you
hire a live in chef slash nutritionist. They cook all your
meals, clean food, work with your personal trainer, maybe
doctors, team doctors, stuff like that. And you live at the
training center and you work out, you get in the best shape of
your life. You study film, you work with coaches, practice,
practice, practice, learn the playbook better than anyone else
in the organization. That's what you do. And you do that because
you need that next contract. And maybe it could be a max
contract, but that's the money then you can live on the rest of
your life. He didn't do that. And when the second contract came,
it wasn't for max money at all. It was, I don't even want to
say if it was the minimum, the minimum for you and me is
massive, but not for them. And depending on the situation of
what they have to pay for, it may not be all that great.
Anyways, like what they spend versus what they get to keep
might not be as good as we think. No one pulled them aside and
said, look, dude, example, A, B, C, D, E, all these
quarterbacks, they were fine. They would have done great, but
they didn't know this. I'm going to help you. Nobody did it.
And I'm not saying it's their fault because I don't know that
he asked. Did he ask anyone? Did he call up Peyton? Hey, man,
what are you going to be doing on the off season? Maybe Peyton
would have told them the pound sand. I don't know. Maybe some
other rookie quarterbacks or find the quarterback for the
chargers. Like you're going to be competing for the same job,
but there is a certain mentality on the league and not just
NFL, like all the professional sports leagues is go get your
money. That's your money. It's somewhat upsetting to me, but
also I get it with Rob Gorkowski, Gronk, the tight end for
the New England Patriots and then Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
arguably the greatest tight end to ever play the game. You could
make a very, very, very strong argument for that. Well, he had
an option in a contract where if he got so many receptions, he'd
get a big bump, something to do with a million dollars. Maybe
it was more. I don't know. It was a lot. One of his teammates,
and it could have been Tom Brady for all I know, knew that and
said, Hey, we got to get you in and get you another reception
so you get your bump. Oh man, I forgot all about that and they
went and got it. And the teammates were patting him on the
back like, I had a boy good for you. Go get your money. I don't
know if that's a great mentality or not. I'm just saying that's
the mentality. And honestly, I guess if that's the contract
and that's his money, if he reaches that goal and it's
within the constructs of winning games and not squashing
other players on your team, you know, hurting your team, go for
it, man. I mean, that's the nature of incentives, right?
That could be a really long, long podcast episode on
incentives. There's a lot of psychology and game theory when
it comes to that behavioral game theory specifically. That's a
rabbit hole. We're going to avoid that. Ryan Leaf didn't know.
Didn't know to ask because I think most of us, maybe even
now, if we were, you know, excelling at whatever sport and
we make it to the league, we'd think we'd send that rookie
contract like all our worries go away. But the washout rate is
high. Players don't last as long as we think they do. The
average, you know, career, I think, and the NFL is, I think
it's below four years. It depends on the position and all
that too. Don't get me wrong. It's not so much. So anyways, now
the mentor for this type of situation is Ryan Leaf. I
think he works for the NFL and it's his job now to reach out
to players, to hold basically classes on what to do as a
rookie, what to do with your money, what not to do with your
money. So that's terrific. It's to give back. It's that
opportunity to fix things. Don't get me wrong. I skirted over
stuff with Ryan Leaf and some drugs and stuff like that,
depression. But I think the sequence of events leading up
to that was not so much that that was the result, okay? Not
I don't want to brush that aside at all. I have another
example. It's sports again, but these are the ones I can
think of off the cuff. Charles Barkley. You want to talk
about a physical freak of nature? People like to talk
about Giannis and they want to talk about Wemby and they
want to talk about Jordan and maybe even Will Chamberlain
back in the day. Charles Barkley was a freak of nature.
He was maybe 6'4". He wasn't 6'5". Played the power forward
position where most players at that time were at least 6'8",
6'9". Some of them 6'10". But a lot of them in that 6'9".
range. He's maybe 6'4". But he can jump. He can jump out of the
gym really. Jump and dunk and he probably weighed around
300 pounds. They called him the round mound or rebound.
That's not so much the important part. I just like to give
the guys do. If you've never heard of him or even if you
have that, recognize that he's one of the greatest to ever
do it by far. And when people start talking about just
athletic freaks of nature, it isn't Shaquille O'Neal.
This is Charles Barkley. Well, Charles is a rookie at the
time on the 1984 Philadelphia 76ers. Maybe you've heard of
this player, Dr. J. Julius the Doctor Irving and Moses Malone.
Two of others that are absolutely the best to have ever done it.
They are phenomenal players or were. Anyways, Charles is a
poor. Alabama had nothing. I think ultimately raised by his
grandma more than anything. They had nothing. I think it was
Leeds Alabama. God dang. Why I don't, that I don't know. But I
think it was. I think it was Leeds Alabama. Gets to go to
school because he's really good at basketball. Gets drafted.
Gets more money than he knows what to do with. Buys his
grandma a new house. Buys himself a house. Buys some cars.
And one day in the locker room, Dr. J comes and sits down next
to him and says, Hey, young fella, how many cars you own?
Oh man, I got, I think it was like seven at the time, maybe
more. And telling them what they are, you know, what brand, all
the things like his dreams are coming true. And I don't even
know if he had the money to actually buy them. But because
they knew about his contract and all that, they're giving him
the money, right? Lending the money. And Dr. J is like, how
many of them can you drive at one time? Yeah. But what are you
talking about? I can only drive one at a time. And he's like,
Charles, this money you got that they're giving you to play,
this has got to last you the rest of your life. You need to
get rid of those cars. You need to sell that house. Let your
grandma keep her house, but you need to sell your house. And
you need to move into something modest, get yourself an
apartment. And you need to take this money. I'll hook you up
with my guy, you know, a money manager or something like
that. And if you listen to Charles talk, that was a
powerful moment. He got another talking to you by Moses Malone
about get your butt in shape. This eating McDonald's and
300 some pounds isn't going to cut it. So start working out,
start eating better. Charles was never super slim. But he was
athletic. He was don't get me wrong. He was in darn good
shape. He wasn't gassing out. So he gets two mentors pulling
him aside saying if you want to be good, this is what you need
to do. And then if you want to be okay financially, this is
what you need to do. And if you listen to Charles in his
interviews, or his hall of fame speech is worth listening to,
even if you don't like basketball or don't like sports,
you could give a rip. The content is still there. The
pointed that he credits those two sitting him down,
explaining things. And don't get me wrong, like how's he
going to mouth off to Julius, the Dr. Irving? Like he was
synonymous with basketball. People would argue that he
should have been the logo, you know, the NBA logo. I mean,
don't get me wrong, Jerry West, very deserving as well. But,
you know, Dr. Jay is from the thing stuff of legend from the
playgrounds to the court to the ABA to the NBA, a champion,
and just a consummate professional. There's nothing
Charles is going to say to him, except yes, sir. And that's
what he did. And that's how he was okay. Like he got that
first contract, he got his second contract, and he didn't
have to really worry about money anymore. And he had more
contracts and all that. Don't get me wrong, endorsement
deals, like it ended up he was going to be okay, but he could
have been a Ryan Leaf story. He could have been out of the
league in a few years, sign in minimum contracts, barely make
it ends meet, spending money like water, never really
realizing his potential. Instead, he's a hall of fame power
forward. He went to the NBA championship, or the finals,
lost to Michael Jordan's bulls, but you could have made the
argument that on any given night, Charles Barkley was the
best basketball player in the world. He wouldn't have been a
bad argument. He went on to the dream team Olympics, 1992
dream team Olympics. He might have been the best player on
the team. He certainly led the team in scoring, also led the
team in elbows to the opposing team, namely Angola. Really,
but the point is, as leaders, as veterans, we need to be
looking down the line. We need to be looking at these people
around us, whether it's at our shops, whether it's at trade
shows, whether it's at conferences, training
conferences, we need to be striking up conversations with
these people because I think all of us know the direct
correlation between those stories I just said, and our
world of auto repair, and that's the tool truck. Those new
boxes, they get credit. Oh, it's only going to be a, you know,
this much a week, this much a month, you can have this big
beautiful toolbox, all these tools, lifetime warranty, they
haven't done anything yet. And honestly, the way the industry
is kind of shifting, we have to put less and less of that
financial pressure to equip themselves to do the job we're
hiring them to do. We have to take that off of them. That's
going to go to the shops. A lot of the tax breaks we used to
get, we don't get them anymore. There's very, very little
advantage. Short of, I get it, some independence with, those
are my tools, I can do with them as I wish. From an ownership
or management perspective, people tend to take care of
their stuff much better than our stuff, the shop stuff. It's
true. You know, everybody's going to have to wake up and
admit some truths and then adjust accordingly. But the fact
that there's a lot of these kids coming out of school, they
have their student debt, and then they get into debt with the
tool dealers. We're in a great position to stop them. Knock
that off. Don't do that. Go get the owner, go get the
manager, sit down. What do you need to do your job? We'll
help you out. Because what if they don't make it? Because
we're pretty bad at what? Mentoring beyond that and
development. And don't get me wrong, like, it's not all our
fault either. The job's hard. It's harder than we like to let
on. We really blow off a lot of work is just being easy. Like
that's easy stuff. That's gravy. Okay, to a lot of us, and I
don't know if I want to even put myself in that conversation,
to a lot of you, it is gravy. Some of those break jobs, they
are gravy. Maintenance jobs, maintenance services, that's
gravy. It's easy. I'm jealous. But for people coming right out
of school with minimal experience or their experience
is essentially their car and their driveway. And oh, now
there's a time limit, like there's a clock ticking, like
otherwise people start giving me a weird look or somebody
comes over and keeps asking me like how much longer?
Where yet? Pressure, pressure, pressure. It's not that easy.
And they wash out and they got these monster tool bills. I
mean, it's a direct correlation. This money you're getting,
this has got to pay your bills at home. You don't need to
take on more debt. You got to take some of this money and
put it away for some day. That's what you should be
thinking about. You're just out of college. How old are you?
21? 22? 20? Are you still living at home? Do you get along
with your parents? Stay home. Work out something where you
can pay a nominal rent or no rent, but you do stuff around
the house so you can live there and pile this money away so
that you can have a big, big down payment on a house. Maybe
you can avoid the title insurance. Save major bucks. Buy
more house for the money. That's where we could be
shining. This is where we could help them out. And young
people ask questions. The tool truck dealer takes you out,
gives you the grand tour, shows you what he can do, how much
per month, how much per week. Go to one of the veteran texts,
ask them, what do you think? And I got a level with you.
If they're really worth their salt, they're going to say,
don't do it. If you just absolutely have to go buy a
toolbox, go to Harbor Freight. Go to a lumber yard, you
know? Go to Home Depot. That's what they'll tell you. If you
have to buy a toolbox, that's what you just have to. Let's go
get the manager. Let's go get the owner. Hey, he doesn't have
any tools. He doesn't have any or she doesn't have any tools.
They don't have a toolbox. We hired them to do whatever jobs.
I didn't think they really needed a toolbox for that. Do
they? Yeah, I think they could. Some basic tools. If you have
some time, would you all sit down with me and we'll make a
list of what they need? I'll pay you to do it. I will
fairly compensate you or overcompensate you a little bit
for sitting down and working with me on this list. We'll hook
them up with what they need because that's what we do. Or
if that's not the way the shops run and that's I'm not
bashing it, I don't necessarily agree with it, but if that's
not the way it is and it's fine, sitting down and figuring out
the numbers. Like, kid, you don't need that toolbox. You
don't need all these tools. It's not as good a deal as you
think. Or we'll do this. We'll figure something out where we'll
take more of the burden off of you. Like the shop will buy it
and then you can buy it from the shop or something like that.
Let's help them out. It's like I want you to be a success. It
helps us if you succeed. And okay, if you wash out, you can't
do the job, which is not unreasonable. It's hard. This
job is not easy. There's a reason we have such a deficit of
qualified technicians or whatever word you want to say.
Text that can, technical and mechanical specialists that can
go there. I don't know what the short acronym would be for
that, but we don't have enough. We want to help them succeed so
that that number changes because it helps everybody. I
guess that's my pitch is to keep our eyes open and offer
advice. And I get it, kids. Maybe they don't listen, right?
Probably they don't listen. But at least you tried. And then
they can deal with the pain of hindsight. It's got to be 2020.
It's stupid time and just looking back. But that's the
nature of things. You know, it's great to learn from your
mistakes. It's way better to learn from someone else's
mistakes. And that's the pitch to them. It's like, hey, you
know, it'll be great if you learn from your mistakes. Really
will. It's better to learn from someone else's mistakes. It
isn't limited to just the toolboxes or tools. It's like
training, you know, get hooked up. It's like, hey, you want to
really spend your money right here. Here's an idea. Why don't
you spend your money with, get yourself a subscription to
scan or Dan or premium. That would be a good way to spend
money. And oh, by the way, we have these other resources, right?
We have these other resources that are free. You can go on
YouTube and you can go watch a whole bunch of auto videos.
One's that auto built or put out or created and
ones that users have made. Oh, by the way, Pico technology,
they do the same thing. They have some channels that they
put out the content and users put out content and it isn't
always just Pico. Like I'm not trying to tell you if you
watch a Pico, you can only use a Pico. The stuff applies
across the board to other lab scopes. Same with
Auto. The stuff applies. It's training. It's education. Boom.
It's free. Pay some a little bit of money to learn a lot.
Scan or Dan or like go hang out with some of these wonderful
vendors that we have like AES wave that they have resources.
They have a Facebook group that has tons of information on it
and support stuff like that, you know, a diagnostic network.
Great resources and Facebook groups. There's these Facebook groups.
Not all of them. Some of them suck. Some of them are really,
really good and the people that are in there super smart and helpful.
So, man, that's my mentoring for the day. Go sign up for some
information resources and of all things social media. You can go
onto Facebook and find these groups that are just phenomenal.
And if you want to know which ones I think are pretty good,
you could email me at mattfonzelpodcast.gmail.com.
You could also tell me what else to talk about.
Ideas for topics, whatever. I'll talk about anything.
All right. I think that's how I will leave you.
I feel like I should be doing like a Mount Rushmore of bands,
but that's almost impossible. I don't know.
We'd have to start dividing up by genre and that could get messy.
I will just say, I think metallic is on that list and probably the Beatles.
It pains me not to put kill switch engage on there.
I want to just because they're my favorite, but Mount Rushmore of bands across the board is rough.
Maybe a subject for another day. I don't know.
Don't even know if you guys care.
Thank you so much for listening. Thank you to our sponsors,
Autel, independent wrench jobs and Pico Technology.
Thank you so much to the automotive repair podcast network for making this all possible.
Even what's her name? She should wear a name tag.
Tracy, who edits this. All right. So that's all I'll leave you.
Thank you so very much for listening in until next time. Take care.
You've been listening to diagnosing the aftermarket A to Z with Matt Bonslow
on the automotive repair podcast network.
Download our exclusive podcast app at automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com
because the best conversations in the industry start here.
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About this episode
The host connects music stories to real-world mentorship lessons, arguing that guidance must come from both mentor and mentee. He uses Billy Corgan’s Smashing Pumpkins contract situation and Ryan Leaf’s rookie-to-washout path (no one advising him on money and priorities) to show how missing mentorship can create long-term damage. Charles Barkley’s early financial and training talks from Dr. J and Moses Malone illustrate the opposite: timely coaching can protect careers. He then pivots to auto repair, urging shop owners to reduce tool-debt pressure, provide training, and point new techs to free education resources.
In this episode, Matt Fanslow starts in an unexpected place, music, vocal styles, and Smashing Pumpkins, before using a series of stories from the music and sports worlds to make a bigger point about mentorship. The central idea is simple but important: mentorship has to come from both directions. Experienced people need to step in and offer guidance, and younger people need to be willing to ask questions and listen.
Using examples involving Billy Corgan, Ryan Leaf, and Charles Barkley, Matt explores how young people often make costly decisions not because they are reckless or foolish, but because nobody pulled them aside and explained the long-term consequences. From contracts and money management to discipline and preparation, the lesson is that hindsight may be 20/20, but it is far better to learn from someone else’s mistakes before they become your own.
Matt then brings the conversation back to the automotive repair world, where the same pattern shows up all the time. New people entering the field are often hit with student debt, pressure to buy expensive toolboxes and tools, and unrealistic expectations about how easy the work should feel. Rather than watching them stumble into avoidable financial mistakes, seasoned professionals, shop owners, and managers should step in, offer guidance, and help reduce unnecessary burdens. Whether it is tools, training, or simply helping someone think more clearly about their next step, good mentoring can change the trajectory of a career.
In this episode:
Why mentorship matters more than most people realize
The Billy Corgan / Smashing Pumpkins story and the cost of not having guidance
Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning, and how early choices can shape an entire career
Charles Barkley, Dr. J, and Moses Malone as an example of mentorship done right
The direct parallel between pro sports, music, and the automotive industry
Why young specialists can get buried in debt before they ever gain traction
The problem with pushing new people toward expensive tool truck purchases
How shops can better support newer hires with tools, training, and realistic expectations
Why learning from someone else’s mistakes is often better than learning from your own
Valuable training and learning resources for developing specialists
Key Takeaway:
If the industry wants more capable, successful technical and mechanical specialists, it cannot just complain about shortages and washout rates. It has to do a better job of mentoring, advising, and protecting newer people from avoidable mistakes.
Resources Mentioned:
Scanner Danner Premium
Autel training videos and user-created content
Pico Technology training videos and user-created content
AESwave resources
Diagnostic Network
Facebook groups with strong technical communities
Thanks to our Partner, Pico Technology
Are you chasing elusive automotive problems? Pico Technology empowers you to see what's really happening. Their PicoScope oscilloscopes transform your diagnostic capabilities. Visit PicoAuto.com
Thanks to our Partner, Autel
From drivability diagnostics and TPMS service to ADAS and advanced safety systems, Autel helps technicians follow OEM procedures and repair with confidence. Learn more at Autel.com
Thanks to our Partner, Independent Wrench Jobs
Independent Wrench Jobs is a new, tech-only community to help you find better independent shops—fair dispatch, steady work, real leadership. No games.
