Dodge, Kia, or Hyundai: Who Would You Work For?

[Taylor Martin]

I may have found my straight out of college job (I have to think about it since that'll happen in May... holy smokes) as a parts delivery driver for some local Orlando dealerships. They all have a copy-pasted list of requirements, the key one being they hire people who are younger than 21 (I'll be 20 by the time I'd be working). I also don't have to use my car (a big plus, as I want to keep my car alive as long as possible. Driving it 8 hours a day would be brutal).

There's nothing particularly different about any of them, but I figured I'd ask you.

A Dokidai (Dodge-Kia-Hyundai and accidentally great name) for your time:

(Bonus points if you can guess the three cars I created this abomination from)

[zipfuel]

@taylor-martin go check consumer reports for brand reliability and then go work for whoever is worst - so you know you'll have some job security . Of course Hyundai/Kia have the longest warranties so their dealers are probably busier.
Also worth considering what car you'll be driving all day, you are guaranteed some little economy box with the Koreans but maybe a white-goods grade ram with Dodge (unless they're still limping along some darts)

[jminer]

@taylor-martin Front end is from a Challenger, Door is from a Soul, I'd guess the roof from a Stinger and no idea on the back half of the body.

I'd work for whichever one hires you

[AestheticsInMotion]

@taylor-martin anecdotal, but I've spent a lot of time around shipping/receiving dealership employees all over the state of Washington. The guys at the Korean automakers were generally the least happy.

[MisterButtercup]

Front to back a Challenger, a Soul, and a genesis.

Good luck with the job search!

[i86hotdogs]

I can't speak for dealership jobs, but between working at plants for Ford and FCA (or stellantis or whatever they call themselves now), I'd work for Ford over the latter. Perhaps it was plant specific, but the FCA plant I was at didn't have their shit together. Always behind in production, never seemed to have a plan for it, and never seemed to WANT to plan for it. Lot of micromanaging and very biased favoritism throughout the building.

As for your situation, I'd look at the turnover of employees at each place. If people come and go every few years, I'd infer it isn't a great place to work. I would even look at the turnover of other positions at said place. A toxic work environment can kill whatever passion you had for the job.

[Taylor Martin]

@zipfuel I wasn't very clear, I'd likely be driving a van around, not an actual car made by Dodge/Hyundai/Kia. It's not about the van/truck I'm driving, it's that I'm not driving my car and still getting to drive something!

[Taylor Martin]

@jminer said in Dodge, Kia, or Hyundai: Who Would You Work For?:

I'd work for whichever one hires you

Excellent point.

I'd guess the roof from a Stinger

The roof is kinda cheating, but it's the warped roof of the Soul EV, so I'll give you half credit for getting Soul right.

[Taylor Martin]

@misterbuttercup Ding ding ding, we have our winner. Have some bonus points:

https://media.giphy.com/media/2iYnVCY4v9CGk/giphy.gif

[Taylor Martin]

@aestheticsinmotion

The guys at the Korean automakers were generally the least happy.

[Taylor Martin]

@i86hotdogs All sound advice! I haven't done much digging, I mean, it's a midnight job search, but it's nice to know that things are out there that 1.) allow me to drive and 2.) will hire a sub-21 year old.

[rctothefuture]

I've worked at all 3 dealers, what do you want to know?

Dodge is the most entertaining, as dropping off a Hellcat supercharger is more fun than a timing chain kit for a 1.8 gdi. FCA will always keep you employed in the parts department. Hyundai and Kia are a bit goofy. Finding and getting parts for a model over 6 years old gets very tricky and you'll find yourself getting PN#'s that match, but the part won't match at all. Pisses off all sorts of folks, but thats the Korean quality for ya.

[i86hotdogs]

@taylor-martin You win regardless if you get to drive a VAN

[Rider]

@taylor-martin Definitely Dodge. I have a very "Ok, we gave it 700 horsepower... can we give it 800 horsepower?" attitude.

The Dokidai looks like a Challenger, Soul and an... Accent?

[Taylor Martin]

@rctothefuture So it sounds like Dodge is both the most fun and easiest to manage? Also sounds like a more stable gig (I'm not looking for advancements, just something to pay rent after college). What about the people? I know it's hard to say what it'll be like in Orlando compared to wherever you worked, but I'm guessing that'd go to Dodge too, huh?

[Taylor Martin]

@rider Challenger, Soul, and Genesis (technically Hyundai, so it was tricky).

[Tripper]

@taylor-martin Whoever is paying the most. Bonus points for benefits and or a bright future.

[rctothefuture]

@taylor-martin all depends! Any manufacturer is going to have problems, so you'll have people upset over weird shit that breaks on their cars. Luckily dropping off parts, you won't deal with that too much.

At the shop? Dodge dealers are usually pretty relaxed. A lot of the time, the parts guys (counter and managers) are hardcore Mopar guys, usually older and have a dream of retiring and buying a '70 Cuda' convertbile and will wax poetic about old Mopar PN#'s were simpler before [insert company here] took over. FCA customers are all over the board, but again you'll deal with shops so you won't have to worry too much about it.

Kia and Hyundai are really hard to narrow down. In my experience, all Kia and Hyundai Parts counter people are nice, the managers are tough as nails. You'll find that you're doing less motor and drivetrain parts for a Kia/Hyundai vehicle. Usually it's straight up replacement for major components on a Kia/Hyundai. You'll find most Kia/Hyundai shops have a younger crowd, usually 20 somethings who are getting into the industry (techs, writers, counter people). So if you want that kind of vibe, go that route.

Don't expect much appreciation no matter where you go. Dealer parts people are the bottom of the barrel for appreciation, right there with detailers. You will not get the fresh hot pizza, you might get some left overs if people remind you. You will get told "What do you know, you work in parts!" from technicians who give you the wrong VIN#... It's a thankless job, but your customers you deliver too will appreciate you. You'll enjoy being out of the shop way more than being in it.

Also, Rule #1 of a dealer. NEVER DO WHAT YOU AREN'T PAID TO DO. Too many guys starting out at a dealer will want to "impress the boss" and do things they shouldn't be doing. Don't grab the Parts or Service Manager lunch while you're out (You'll hear "While you're out, take my card and grab me a Big Mac"). Don't pick up customers because the shuttle service is busy. Stand firm, go to your boss if you feel that you're being taken advantage of. Sometimes you'll get forced, but never roll over and take it easy. Once they know you'll do something, you're always doing it.

[Taylor Martin]

@rctothefuture said in Dodge, Kia, or Hyundai: Who Would You Work For?:

NEVER DO WHAT YOU AREN'T PAID TO DO

See, if you hadn't have told me that, I probably would've. I'm usually open to doing things that are somewhat above my paygrade, so long as it isn't an inconvenience. But you're right, it's a slippery slope.

I'm pretty used to being at the bottom of the totem pole. I went to a digital arts school (still am, but since it's online I'm not going anymore), and one of the degrees is film. I'm in the Creative Writing degree, but I wanted to dabble in it all. So, I volunteered on sets as a PA, which is about as thankless a job as you can get. I don't mind being on the bottom, so long as at least 1 or 2 people acknowledge what I do.

When you say "shops" do you mean the dealerships? Or do the dealerships have the parts and I'm delivering them somewhere else? Also, when you worked for all three, what did you do?

[zipfuel]

@taylor-martin I guess the dealerships do bigger pieces and more volume at a time so they use a proper van.
I see the auto parts warehouse delivery gophers around here driving the tiniest little shitboxes possible: like Chevy sparks/aveos/echos etc. There was one particularly epic 1980s civic hatch that was still delivering for the warehouse near my office into the 2010s - when you have the parts at cost clearly you can keep things running forever!

[MattHurting]

@taylor-martin If you have the van, you also have a place to live.

[Taylor Martin]

@matthurting I only recently found these sketches and holy sh*t they're amazing.

[rctothefuture]

@taylor-martin I know that one by heart!

So when you do Parts deliveries, you will be going everywhere. Other dealers, indy shops, even a guys garage (if your dealer does that) to deliver parts. Most of the time it will be dealer to dealer, but it can be anywhere that needs your parts. When I worked at a Valvoline, I had the local BMW dealer drop off filters as we never got them in stock from Corporate.

I worked in almost every aspect of a dealership. New and Used Car Sales, Service Writer, Service Admin, Warranty Lead, Detailing Manager and Marketing. I've worked at Toyota, Kia/Hyundai, Dodge and for 2 days at Mazda. I've got stories for days.

[Taylor Martin]

@rctothefuture Well I gotta ask why you only ended u working at Mazda for 2 days... what'd they do?

Also, you say you worked in marketing. That's something my writing degree may actually be good for. What does that job entail? I'm guessing it's less marketing the car and more marketing the dealership, though I think it'd be an absolute blast writing commercials/making print ads for cars.

[rctothefuture]

@taylor-martin so I was supposed to be a service advisor at Mazda. Day 1 I get there and they didn't have a desk or computer for me, so I got paid to do "Ups" in the drive. Basically get peoples info on an iPad, check them in, check tire pressure and escort them to their S.A.

Day 2, the boss shows up and says "We don't have any room for you, so I called the Dodge dealer and they'll take you. They got a desk and computer for you, so head over there tomorrow. You'll get paid for today." (very rare to hear that in the industry!)

Marketing was not all that it was cracked up to be. I thought it was going to be what you wrote. Instead, all print and tv/radio ads were handled by the group ADAMM (Auto Dealers Association of Metro Milwaukee) who work as a conglomerate for local dealer groups to put ads on local radio and tv. They also run the Milwaukee Auto Show!

Anyway, my job was to run the Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube page of our dealer. I would work with the Internet Sales team to create daily posts, post trivia, and make local dealer level videos. There were contests when Scion was still around to make the best "dealer level" ad to win an iPad. One of the young sales guys took it a little too far...

Anyway, I also would help people with quotes and get them into the dealership when we weren't doing that stuff.