Is Your Mechanic ASE Certified?

Have you noticed the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence at your automotive service facility and wondered what it meant?  To become certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), a technician (mechanic) must pass at least one ASE exam and have two years of related work experience.  Technicians that pass all eight automotive tests earn a Master Technician status.  The certificate is valid for five years, and then the technician must re-certify by taking an updated test.  This helps demonstrate that the technician has kept up with the ever-changing technology in the automotive field.

Eight tests that must be passed in order to earn Master Technician status include: Engine Repair, Automatic Transmission/Transaxle, Manual Drive Train and Axles, Suspension and Steering, Brakes, Electrical/Electronic Systems, Heating and Air Conditioning, and Engine Performance.  Test questions are written by a panel of technical experts that either work or instruct in the field.  The questions are periodically updated by ASE in response to changes in vehicle technology and repair techniques.

So the next  time you take your car in for service or repair, look for the blue ASE sign that shows that this shop is serious about the specialists who work on your car.  Feel free to ask who is working on your car, talk to the technician personally, and look at what he/she finds while woking on your car.