Are there any schools in the U.S. that teach how to be a Volvo/European car mechanic?

Call Volvo directly at:
1-800-458-1552 (Customer Care)
1-800-25-VOLVO (Technical Info and more)

Inquire of their VISTA certification program. You will probably have to go to a school in a nearby large city (I think Chicago is the closest one to me where they can train VISTA techs). -but your schooling will never be complete. Set aside a few weeks of every year to learn about the new models, new procedures and equipment, and familarize yourself with a big stack of service bulletins.

In the end, it can pay off quite well. The head Volvo Mechanic at my local dealership got a free trip/vacation to California last year for both himself and his wife, so that he could compete in the National VISTA tech finals. After winning the US Nationals, he and his wife got a nice vacation to Sweden, where he placed 2nd in the world. Basically, these competitions are done by taking a new Volvo car, creating a problem with it, and putting it and a service tech in a fully equipped bay. Setup multiple cars, each with a tech and a bay, and the fastest tech wins.

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 245, NA 229K

just curious...

Yes, I am big of The Birthday Party and Nick Cave. And of course Volvos.

Cool, now I got that song stuck in my head.

Another point, in my home state NSW Australia you must be trade qualified and licensed to practise mechanics. Also workshops have to be licensed and have a minimum amount of gear to operate, this weeds out the pretenders. How so over there?.

Yes, actually. At least in our state, Connecticut (the regulation state!).
To legally sell cars, and all that implies, which is the use of special "Dealer" license plates and the legal transferral of ownership, your facility must be inspected by a State DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) inspector and must pass on all points. The DMV has a "Dealers and Repairers" unit specifically to deal with these issues.
The dealer license number goes onto ALL paperwork for the state. Office personnel must be trained in a DMV procedures class. The facility must have certain items or services to become and remain legal, and the state can reinspect at any time, but at least annually.
The main items are environmental now: you must have safe waste oil facilities, with a berm completely surrounding the tank capable of containing the entire contents of the tank. You must have a contract with an approved company for disposal of oil and anti-freeze waste, and oil filters. They expect to see at minimum one fully equipped lift bay and full set of mechanic's tools. They want to see proper, legal invoices and records for service work. They require locked storage for titles, and license plates or temporary plates (whichever type the dealership is allowed to issue). And the shop location must be legal in accordance with town Zoning standards, meaning that type of business must be allowed in that location. Then they require proper insurance coverage, and once that's all in place, you can get "DEALER" license plates. And you can only get a certain number based on the size of your business- i.e. how many cars per year you sell. The place I worked at (and went through all this) sold over 100 cars per year, and was allowed initially just 6 plates.
Been here, and did this!
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 225K, 88 744GLE- 209K, 91 244 183K. Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 229K, 88 244GL, 146K, 87 244DL, 235K, 88 245DL, 236K

Actually there are plenty of schools for volvo and euro car mechanics, I am actully starting school for it soon.

Check your local tech school to see if they are NATAF (I think that is it) certified. Go to Volvo SAFE program website and email them for details.

It is mostly about computers, but alway's keep in mind that a good mechanic doesn't always need to use the computer, and they are not always right anyway.

Universal techinical institute and Lincoln Tech are both nationwide schools, but check your local tech school like i said, it saved me from moving to california or chicago.

If you have any other ???'s send me an email and I can see what I can answer.

Good luck,
Chuck

It's ALL about computer diagnostics now. I think what attracts a lot of people to working on older cars like 240s, or old American iron, etc., basically doesn't exist with the new plastic stuff. If you want to be a tech just find the best tech school near you and go there. But there is a lot of change going on in the industry and you might want to do some research before you jump in. Mechanics need increasingly expensive and sophisticated equipment, and this is hurting the small guys. But if you pick wisely and don't go into it purely for the "love" of wrenching on cars you should have good job security. A few articles I found at random:

http://www.dealer-magazine.com/articles.asp?article_id=388

http://www.careauto.org/media_activity/washtimes_article.html

http://charleston.net/stories/072203/bus_22mech.shtml

Auto mechanics is a trade and unless you are working on cars full time nobody can teach you, The school of hard knocks and experience is the only one i know of. The Brickboard is a good starting point tho, nobody knows it all. Regards Jack McIntyre.

Maybe you should address your question to Volvo Cars North America.
They will probably concentrate on the newer models though.
("That's where the money is!" --Al Capone)
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

i'm not sure, but as a teacher in maine, i often talk of the benefits of driving a brick. most kids scoff at the suggestion, however, some kids (a few) drive them and know exactly what i'm talking about.

steve
so. china, maine