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A Mechanic's Life - Tales From Under the Hood

3504 messages,  Last post on Jun 17, 2013 at 11:07 AM

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Messages Page 51 of 351

#498 of 3504 Re: So imagine your day starting off like this. [Mr_Shiftright] by thecardoc3

Nov 10, 2012 (1:13 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Nov 08, 2012 3:33 pm)
Spent some time trying to look that up, found lots and lots of stuff but nothing that I felt explained the concept.
 
Ran into a guy this evening, really didn't know who he was but it didn't take too long and I realized it wasn't comfortable having a conversation with him.
 
Eventually the conversation turned towards what I do for a living, he was instantly interested because he has an oler Corvette that he claims he wants to sell but the radio doesn't work. He thinks (suspects) that there is wiring damage caused by a rodent. He wanted me to go to where he has the car stored to check it out.
 
Sorry, that's not how it works. I'll do remote diagnostics/repairs for another shop and may choose to do that for a long time customer, but not for someone that I just met.
 
Well it turns out we had a dealing with him about eight years ago, and now that he knows who I am things changed a bit. Another shop brought a cadillac to me because of a TPMS issue. I'm not a tire shop, but having the tools to deal with TPMS simply was in line with my overall approach. Back then I was the only shop equipped to fully handle that "new" technology. They couldn't get the light to go out and though there was a problem with the car. I was slammed with work but made room for it.
 
The only thing I found was the tires were over inflated, otherwise the system was working just fine. Inflating the tires correctly extinguished the light and warning on the car. (Spec 30psi, the tires were at 36psi)
 
I recall the guy coming and picking up the car and being all irate. Heck all we did was confirm that the system was actually working correctly when it alerted for over-inflation as well as under-inflation. That was the first time we had seen a car do that. Back then there was no published proceedures for changing the pressure specs that the system looked for. It was basically set by the factory and beyond our reach. Today, some manufactuers do have ways for the tire pressure system to be updated for changes in tire pressure specs, but not back then.
 
This guy still holds that against us. Combine that with his story changing several times until he realized that I actually recall that incident and I was glad that he never became "a customer" and got to tell him so. At one point he claimed he had to wait at my shop for three hours, and I had no problem pointing out that the tire store brought his car to me, and an hour later he picked it up. Then he tried to claim that we charged him too much, except he didn't pay anything because we only looked at it as a favor to the tire store. Then he claimed that "he fixed it himself", yea sure he did. His Caddy isn't on the list of cars that I know of for which we can do an update for the TPMS spec. Even then we have to go online and register (request) the spec change with the manufacturer, and they release the adjusted software to us, and then we do the reprograming.
 
He's not a customer, at best he's a guy with a broken car and I hope he realizes that he's not welcome at my place.

#499 of 3504 Re: So imagine your day starting off like this. [thecardoc3] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Nov 10, 2012 (9:13 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Nov 10, 2012 1:13 am)
Here's a little explanation of the Buddhist idea of (pardon the translation, these are not my words) "idiot generosity".
 
I never thought I would apply Buddhism psychology to running an auto repair shop, but you know, it kinda WORKS!
 
IDIOT GENEROSITY
 
Basically there is nothing 'mystical' about this advice seems to me---you could re-word it, change the Buddhist nun to a guy in a white shop coat, and publish it in an auto repair Trade Journal. It's about handling people while handling your own welfare.
 
A repair shop owner is like one of those guys at a carnival in a cage hanging above a water tank---every customer is trying to hit the bulls-eye.

#500 of 3504 In any business... by isellhondas

Nov 10, 2012 (12:18 pm)

There will always be a small percentage of customers you simply don't want. It's a small percentage but a business has to know when to tell these people to go elsewhere.
 
These are the people who will blame a new scratch on the shop or tell you " It never leaked transmission fluid until you worked on the brakes...you MUST have done something"

#501 of 3504 Re: So imagine your day starting off like this. [Mr_Shiftright] by thecardoc3

Nov 11, 2012 (7:53 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Nov 10, 2012 9:13 am)
A repair shop owner is like one of those guys at a carnival in a cage hanging above a water tank---every customer is trying to hit the bulls-eye.
 
We are fortunate to have a core group of customers who carry our shop year after year and they don't do the kinds of things that force us to split our concentration when it comes to servicing their vehicles. The ones who come in looking to take advantage of us cause us to have to keep looking over our shoulder to ward off the surprise complaint instead of getting to enjoy fixing their car. Even then, we usually get the task done perfectly, only to still see them unsatisfied.

#502 of 3504 Re: In any business... [isellhondas] by thecardoc3

Nov 11, 2012 (8:03 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Nov 10, 2012 12:18 pm)
There will always be a small percentage of customers you simply don't want. It's a small percentage but a business has to know when to tell these people to go elsewhere.
 
There are some businesses in this trade who cater to those people at a level that they reward them for acting like selfish spoiled brats. They still can't make them happy and at the same time teach them to try and take advantage of everyone they meet. That's exactly what the guy with the Cadillac did back then and even when he basically stole from us, it was in his eye's our fault.
 
Frankly if he would have kept his mouth shut, I easily would have had him bring his Corvette in and repaired it for him. I don't recall names and faces and had easily forgot who he was. Yet I recall everything about individual repair events and the moment he mentioned his Cadillac it was total recall and I knew that he is poison.

#503 of 3504 Re: So imagine your day starting off like this. [thecardoc3] by andre1969

Nov 11, 2012 (8:19 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Nov 08, 2012 2:40 pm)
I have had cars that the owner stopped making the payment on and get repo'ed that we had a repair waiting to be paid for. We have been ripped off for quite a sizeable amount of money that way through the years.
 
I think something along those lines happened to my previous mechanic. Back in December 2009, I noticed an '85 or older Buick Riviera sitting in their fenced-in back lot. A month or so later I noticed it was still there, and asked about it. The mechanic said it belonged to a woman who, after they did all the repairs (forget now what all was done), decided it was too much, didn't pay for it, so they kept the car.
 
It's nearly three years later, and the last time I was in there, they STILL had the car! In fact, they still start it up every once in awhile to give it a run...which IMO is awfully nice of them.
 
I wonder what would ultimately happen to a car like that? I'll confess to having a fascination of cars from that era, so the mechanic let me look at it one day. Too rough though, even for my tastes!
 
I'm in Maryland, and have no idea what the laws are covering something like that.

#504 of 3504 Re: So imagine your day starting off like this. [andre1969] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Nov 11, 2012 (9:26 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 11, 2012 8:19 am)
oh the garage should have lien-saled the car long ago. They'll just being lazy about clearing up this problem I think.
 
You get a "lien kit" from DMV and follow instructions. It's pretty easy. I've helped a few garaged do lien sales. I did the paperwork, placed the public notice and after the auction--which nobody ever comes to---I filed the lien papers for the garage. They got a title, sold the car to pay for the repairs*
 
* Note: there are rules regarding how much a garage may charge for "storage" and also a rule that if the sale exceeds the cost of the repair bill, that extra money goes back to the owner of the car. Also, the owner can contest the lien sale, but if they contest it and still refuse to pay, and don't file a lawsuit, then the lien sale goes on.
 
Threat of a lien sale is a good way to get non-payers to cough it up or shut up.

#505 of 3504 Re: So imagine your day starting off like this. [Mr_Shiftright] by isellhondas

Nov 11, 2012 (1:49 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Nov 11, 2012 9:26 am)
Back in the mid 70's a buddy of mine was at a local transmission shop having some work done when he spotted the nices little 1952 Chevy Hardtop sitting behind the building. He wandered over and took a closer look. It was dusty and looked like it hadn't been run for awhile.
 
So my friend asked about it and learned that they had overhauled the transmission (Powerglide) but the owner refused to pay for the job or pick up the car. They had just completed the Mechanic's Lein paperwork and told him he could buy it for the price of the rebuild which was, at the time, around 200.00!
 
He picked me up, stopped by the bank and we went back and picked up the Chevy which they had washed in the meantime! It was a So. Calif beauty, rust free with something like 60,000 miles on it. I drove it home for him and it ran like a dream!
 
He drove it for abut a year and finally sold it to a guy who kept bugging him for I think 600.00.
 
It got lowered to the ground, split manifold installed and lived the rest if it's life as a "cholo wagon"

#506 of 3504 Re: So imagine your day starting off like this. [isellhondas] by andre1969

Nov 12, 2012 (6:37 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Nov 11, 2012 1:49 pm)
I used to have a 1979 Chrysler Newport, that I bought from the junkyard in late 1996. In April 1997, the transmission failed on it. Luckily, less than a mile from a local transmission shop that had a good rep, so I had it towed there.
 
The guy that owned the place told me that, if I had happened to come by there about 5-6 months earlier, I could've had that car for free! I didn't understand what he was saying at first, so he explained. Turned out, the previous owner had brought that car to them, and when they said it needed a new transmission, he didn't want to put the money into it, so he just left the car with them. They swapped the wheels, which were the extra-wide 15x7 road wheels, and gave them to a friend to use on a horse trailer, and they threw some junky Ford wheels on that had the same bolt pattern, but the center part was smaller so they cut the opening out. And eventually, they sent it to the junkyard.
 
And as luck would have it, I happened in that junkyard on the very day the car came in, so I saw it, complete and solid, before they started dismantling it and then parting it out. Paid $250 for it.
 
It actually drove out of the junkyard, and made the trip home just fine, and the transmission never gave any indication of trouble. And the inspection never found anything, but then again, I don't think a transmission is part of a "safety" inspection. However, one evening after work I used it for my part time job delivering pizzas, and it acted up pretty quickly. I tried to get it home so I could get another car, and got within about 1/4 mile. So I just left it along the road, ran home, got another car, and figured I'd deal with it later.
 
That night, after I got off, I put some transmission fluid in it, and it went into gear just fine. So I made sure to just keep transmisison fluid with me. But, the second time, that didn't work!
 
The transmission shop only charged me $650 to put in a rebuilt transmission, which seems cheap to me...too cheap to total a car over. But then, maybe the previous owner was just getting tired of the car. And, it did need other work. I bet that transmission shop is happy that the previous owner didn't say go ahead and fix it, and THEN refuse to pay! Also wondered if they thought I was an idiot for pulling it out of the junkyard and then paying to get it fixed?

Messages Page 51 of 351

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