smart technican from Germany search a contact - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

bero58 · 11-29-2007, 10:15 AM

Hallo smartis,
My name is Bernd, from Germany.I am 45 jears old a work as a master of car mechanic for one of the biggest smart center at the world in Berlin, Germany.
I am search a contact to a smart dealer wich can speak german,because my english is not good enough for a big interview. I would like to come to the States to work for 1-3 jears for smart as a technican.I work since 8 jears for smart as mechanic,trainer for technic,damage repairs,calculation for repairs ect.
I hope someone of you can me help by my search to find a contact...
Many thanks forwards for your help and best regards from germany.
Bernd

**jwight** · 11-29-2007, 10:45 AM

Bernd,

Welcome! There are some 50 to 70 smart usa dealers opening in 2008; I'm sure one or more of them would be interested in someone with your experience on the smart car. Hopefully someone here can put you in touch with the right new smart dealer.

Old smart · 11-29-2007, 11:01 AM

Bernd,

I would concentrate on those Mercedes-Benz dealers that will also sell and service smarts (not all will). The M-B dealers are the ones who would most likely be conversant in German in their M-B/smart service locations. In the US, only M-B dealers can deal with smarts at the same location. Other dealers, including those who may sell Audi, Porsche, BMW or VW will operate out of a separate smart-only “smart Center,” and any German-speakers are likely to be located back at the parent dealership.

Peddlecar · 11-29-2007, 01:24 PM

Why not contact Penske Automotive Group. They may especially appreciate your ability to speak another language, and your experience with the cars.

bero58 · 11-30-2007, 07:32 AM

Have I done, but they have not interesting.They said i must come in the States and than we can speak.

**jwight** · 11-30-2007, 08:43 AM

Bernd,

This is not a bad idea; the Euro is very strong now and airfare to the USA should be lower than in the summer. If you arrange interviews in the same area you could do them all in one week I think. Would be worth it if you found a job with a Mercedes or smart car dealer.

Best of luck.

CruisingAZ · 11-30-2007, 07:42 PM

bero58, You would have to get a work visa to come here and do that. I can tell you that you are wasting your time. Work Visas are given to business where there is a demand for employees and that demand cannot be filled by citizens (Agriculture, etc.) There is no shortage of mechanics in the U.S. and the smart seems simple enough that it would not take someone here to long to be an expert on this vehicle.

mr_Cash · 12-01-2007, 04:02 AM

bero58,

welcome.

question on the smart.

how does the smart auto-manual transmission hold up compared to a standard 5 speed manual transmission?

does it last longer, shorter, or about the same?

which is harder to fix?

thanks.

**jwight** · 12-01-2007, 04:06 AM

No need for a work visa to job hunt; if a job is offered, the employer will sponsor the work visa. There's a need for experienced mechanics here and employers should hire the best person for the job. Go for it!

lhoboy · 12-01-2007, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwight

No need for a work visa to job hunt; if a job is offered, the employer will sponsor the work visa. There's a need for experienced mechanics here and employers should hire the best person for the job. Go for it!

I agree with jwight. If the dealer specifies on the H-1 work permit application that the position requires a service technician with 2-3 years SmartCar repair experience, the field of U.S. applicants is going to be extremely limited. Then the only thing that the dealer needs to demonstrate is that the wages of the foreign worker are consistent with those paid to their other U.S. service technicians. The down side is the H-1 process will cost the employer about $1600 in application and legal fees (I think every three years). The employee could offer to reimburse them that expense.