I looked into attending UTI since I'm ready for a career change and like wrenching on cars.

IIRC, you have to attend UTI's regular school (at $30K for the year) before you can get into their manufacturer programs. Not as a requirement, but in a pay to play kind of way.
I did a lot of research on these schools (UTI & Wyotech mainly), including corresponding with former instructors. They are pretty shady places. You are likely getting harassed/annoyed into going away. The spots in those training programs are guarded for students of the regular tech school because it is an incentive to sign up to the outrageously priced regular school. Furthermore, the result after taking said school is you end up being an entry level lube guy and floor sweeper. If you've already gone to a tech school, you can get that job without the specialty classes. Dealerships will often send you to specialty classes anyway if you express interest and they are looking to train a new tech.I have a friend who was a service manager at a VW dealer who was interested in hiring me for an entry level job and told me I'd be doing at least 2 3day specialty classes by VW every year. Unfortunately, the job slipped from my fingers when the dealership went under after the owner comitted suicide.

Point is, try and get a job at a MB dealer at the level you would be at after UTI anyway. Show your ability and interest and you have a good chance of getting paid training instead of the other way around.

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1984 300TD