Meeting people as a mechanic.

[Gasser64]

I keep coming back to this question but...

If you're getting work that makes you want to puke, why don't you turn it away? Sounds like you have plenty of other work, and won't be bothered by the loss of the nausea work.

[LaserSVT]

I have gotten all kinds of various fun-ness as of late.

Customer calls: How much for a tune up?
Me: What kind of car?
Customer: I dont know. Why does that matter?
Me: Because it tells me how many plugs you have, if I need wires and if I have to charge you 1. hours or 4 hours.
Customer: Well only one has a missfire so just replace that one and charge me the lower rate.
Me: Thats not how it works. Thats not how any of this works!


Customer: My cars making noise in the front. What is it and how much?
Me: Dunno, I need to look at it first. What kind of car.
Customer: Its brown.
Me: Argh *go out, find car, bring it inside and get it in the air,
Me: Cars ball joints are literally about to fall off, you have no brake pads left and your rotors are missing the inner surface because the calipers piston ground through it. Its a death trap and you need everything and it will be about $1900
Customer: Well cant you just throw pads on it?
Me: No! Look outside. You see how your wheel is hanging out by a foot? Thats because the ball joint is no longer attatched.
Customer: Well cant you just tape it back together?

Customer: My BMW M Roadster has no brakes, can you look at it?
Me: Tried to pull car in, there is no brake pedal. There is no fluid because the grommets on the res have eaten away and all the fluid is gone.
Me: You need new grommets. They are $15 and then its another $80 to refill the system and bleed it.
Customer: I will just go to BMW
Me: BMW will insist you replace the master. It will run you at least a grand.
Customer: *goes to BMW anyway, gets $1100 quote and comes back* Can you replace the grommets?
Me: Yes but its now $200
Customer: Why?
Me: Stupid tax.

Customer: My transmission clunks when it shifts.
Me: Your carrier bearing is gone and your driveshaft is bouncing 3" every time it changes gears.
Customer: That cant be it, what else could it be.
Me: Carrier bearing. Its gone. Driveshaft is bouncing.
Customer: I will just bring it to the dealer then.
Me: They will want $145 to tell you the same thing and then $300 to fix it or I can just fix it for $105.
Customer: I will just go to the dealer anyway.
*comes back three days latter* Dealer charged me to tell me $150 and said it needs a carrier bearing. So since I paid them $150 you can fix it for free right?
Me: *Blank stare*
Customer: Well!? You said $105 and they charged me $150 and didnt fix it.
Me: How is this my problem?

Customer: My cars leaking coolant
Me: Okay, lets see whats wrong..... where is your radiator cap?
Customer: I lost it but can you find the leak?
Me: yeah, its missing a radiator cap.
Customer: Yeah, I know that! I aint stupid! But where is it leaking from!?
Me: Your. Radiator. Cap.

Customer: You remember me?
Me: No.
Customer: You replaced my brake light bulbs 3 years ago.
Me: Okay
Customer: Now my front window wont roll up as of this morning. What did you do wrong?
Me: Apparently I didnt charge enough to replace your brake lights.

Customer: I have a 2003 F250 that needs new rear brake pads and I have the pads so how much to change them?
Me: $88
Customer: But my cousin said he would do it for $20
Me: Then why are you here?
Customer: Because I thought you would do it for free!
Me: Why on earth would you think that?
Customer: Because you didnt charge me to put air in my tire last week.
Me: *stares in Texan*

Customer: My oil pressure gauge doesnt work so I got a sensor from Autozone. Can you install it?
Me: Yes but it will break in under 6 months and I wont warranty it because I didnt supply the part and would never use a Duralast oil sender.
Customer: Okay, install it anyway.
2 months latter
Customer: The oil gauge stopped again.
Me: Yup
Customer: I need you to warranty it.
Me: Remember our conversation two months ago?
Customer: Oh, you were serious?
Me: *dies a little inside*

[Forever_frost]

Which dealer? Make sure you fill out a customer survey if they have one and give the managers name. If you couldn't tell being a mechanic or a service writer is really thankless work

When I get good and bad service, I fill in the reports Ford sends me. I also take pizza and cokes up there for the techs. What burns me up is I took pizza and cokes to the guy who cut up my car. That's a kick in the nuts.

[Baron Von Crowder]

I don't know how people sit in their own funk like that. So disgusting. I mean, it takes real time and serious funk-transmission to accumulate the shit on that armrest, and I'm sure on most other surfaces. I shampoo even my daily driver seats a few times a year. Nasty motherfuckers.

They have only had the car a matter of months. I think they bought it this summer. She brought a pecan pie to my buddy for thanksgiving, and people were eating it saying it was the best they had ever had. I asked who made it, and nearly puked when I heard who, even though I didnt touch it.

[Baba Ganoush]

I don't know how people sit in their own funk like that. So disgusting. I mean, it takes real time and serious funk-transmission to accumulate the shit on that armrest, and I'm sure on most other surfaces. I shampoo even my daily driver seats a few times a year. Nasty motherfuckers.

[4king]

I pulled my interior door panel off of my 11 Edge a few weeks ago and noticed that the Ford Dealership, during warranty work in 2013, decided that it was easier to cut around stripped out bolts (that they stripped out) than to actually remove them. They cut into the door and around the bolts to take the black plastic panel off that's right behind the interior door panel. I was not impressed.

When I took it up to the dealership the new service manager took the door apart, looked at it, shook his head and apologized. He said

"Sir, I know why they did it, I can see how they did it but I'll be damned if I would ever let them get away with that kind of work. No one from that old shop works here any longer. Let me order that part and get you a rental when it comes in."

Car is 10,000 miles outside of warranty but .... I thought I'd share a dealership actually stepping up to fix what their techs messed up 3 years ago and I didn't know about until a few weeks ago.

Which dealer? Make sure you fill out a customer survey if they have one and give the managers name. If you couldn't tell being a mechanic or a service writer is really thankless work

[Forever_frost]

I pulled my interior door panel off of my 11 Edge a few weeks ago and noticed that the Ford Dealership, during warranty work in 2013, decided that it was easier to cut around stripped out bolts (that they stripped out) than to actually remove them. They cut into the door and around the bolts to take the black plastic panel off that's right behind the interior door panel. I was not impressed.

When I took it up to the dealership the new service manager took the door apart, looked at it, shook his head and apologized. He said

"Sir, I know why they did it, I can see how they did it but I'll be damned if I would ever let them get away with that kind of work. No one from that old shop works here any longer. Let me order that part and get you a rental when it comes in."

Car is 10,000 miles outside of warranty but .... I thought I'd share a dealership actually stepping up to fix what their techs messed up 3 years ago and I didn't know about until a few weeks ago.

[4king]

Hey this shit goes both ways at the parts store.

A few months ago the girlfriend's Neon would run like shit after it got hot and the CEL would come on.

So being the good BF I am I take it up to AutoZone and ask the guy to run the scanner. He goes out and can't find the OBDII port until I point at it in the same fucking place as every other OBDII car. He runs it and goes back inside and hooks it to the computer and it pops up some number (I don't remember what, 124 or something) but there was no text describing it. He tell me it didn't pull any codes.

When I ask them whats the code that popped up they said 'oh that's nothing, it does that for everything.' I then describe the how its missing and running poorly under throttle and the guy tries to sell me injector cleaner and tells me to take it to Firestone and pay them to diagnose the issue.

I tell them no thanks and go sit in the car. I sat there and googled the number that popped up and in 2 minutes I found that it was a cam sensor code.

I went back in and asked for a cam sensor. I installed it and the thing has run as well as 2005 Neon with moderate blow-by can be expected to.

The district managers personal cell phone number is on the front door of every autozone.

It is very typical that most part time help at an autozone is basically just a cashier, that being said as a customer of a company that solely defines itself on customer service it takes feedback to kick that store in the ass to get their people trained

[Torinoman]

Hey this shit goes both ways at the parts store.

A few months ago the girlfriend's Neon would run like shit after it got hot and the CEL would come on.

So being the good BF I am I take it up to AutoZone and ask the guy to run the scanner. He goes out and can't find the OBDII port until I point at it in the same fucking place as every other OBDII car. He runs it and goes back inside and hooks it to the computer and it pops up some number (I don't remember what, 124 or something) but there was no text describing it. He tell me it didn't pull any codes.

When I ask them whats the code that popped up they said 'oh that's nothing, it does that for everything.' I then describe the how its missing and running poorly under throttle and the guy tries to sell me injector cleaner and tells me to take it to Firestone and pay them to diagnose the issue.

I tell them no thanks and go sit in the car. I sat there and googled the number that popped up and in 2 minutes I found that it was a cam sensor code.

I went back in and asked for a cam sensor. I installed it and the thing has run as well as 2005 Neon with moderate blow-by can be expected to.

[4king]

Lol do tell!

It's not one you frequent


Same shop

I need brake pads and rotors for a 2014 fiesta

Ok is it a fiesta ST?

What's that mean?

Does it have fancy wheels and fancy seats in it? It should have a red emblem on the front or back that says ST

No it's just a fiesta


5 HOURS later he calls me back saying the pads and rotors don't fit. I ask againn, describe again, and make him give me the vin. Oh look it says fiesta ST and that brake setup is a special order. "But the customer is here to pick it up, I've already sold the job". Well tell him to come back in two days and the parts cost $200 more than you quoted.

The 08 and newer accords have 3 different pad sizes depending on the model. It's like pulling teeth to find out if it's an old, ex, ex-l or lx special edition.

(Btw the base lx comes with 16 inch wheels with hub caps, the ex has 17 inch wheels and bigger brakes, the ex-l has 18 inch rims and is the luxury package and has larger rear pads and rotors than the other 2)

[Labora]

I have a service writer whose desk is literally Infront of his bays, he called me for a fuse for an 01 i30, he couldn't tell me what type of car it was and he couldn't even describe what kind of fuse it was. I had to literally go down there and look at the car to tell him what kind of car it was because he couldn't figure out the vin number to input into his system.

Not to bash shops but damn

I could rant about lazy service writers/estimators/parts dept all day.

Customer: I need a LH Doors and Bedside for a Silverado.
Me: What year?
Customer: I don't know 07 maybe?
Me: That is a split year need to know what body style it is.
Customer:.....
Me: Do you know how long the bed is or what type of cab it is?
Customer: No. Can you just give me a price for them?
Me: No, call me back when you know you actually need.

Lot of people too lazy to even look at what is sitting out in the shop, just want to pickup the phone and order parts blindly. Then blame the vendor when they get the wrong shit.

[Stephen]

I have a service writer whose desk is literally Infront of his bays, he called me for a fuse for an 01 i30, he couldn't tell me what type of car it was and he couldn't even describe what kind of fuse it was. I had to literally go down there and look at the car to tell him what kind of car it was because he couldn't figure out the vin number to input into his system.

Not to bash shops but damn

Lol do tell!

[4king]

I have a service writer whose desk is literally Infront of his bays, he called me for a fuse for an 01 i30, he couldn't tell me what type of car it was and he couldn't even describe what kind of fuse it was. I had to literally go down there and look at the car to tell him what kind of car it was because he couldn't figure out the vin number to input into his system.

Not to bash shops but damn

[Baron Von Crowder]

Shit, I sell to repair shops almost elusively, people who you would expect to know things like what engine, 2wd or 4x4, if it has flares on the fenders, backup cameras, etc. I bet half my day is spent waiting on someone to walk back in the back to look at the car.

Saturday I did a water pump on a taurus my buddy sold that was leaking. It stank so bad inside, I had to roll the window down and stick my head out like Ace Ventura to drive it in and out of the shop. The passenger's floor board was completely full of trash and crap, you couldnt sit there. I didnt look in the back seat.

[Gasser64]

so I recently got back into the autoparts game. man I think people are dumber now.

What do you think of Standard Motor Products, also Airtex Wells? Are those good, or are they to be avoided? I ask because buying AC Delco or Motorcraft is often too expensive.