ncautoshop

I didn't build it, buy it or break it. But I can fix it.....if you have enough money. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I was just saying if you were to badger a paying sponsor, they will likely be chosen over one upset member. You'd likely get the boot. At least my experiences in other forums has shown this. If every member was upset or a large portion of the membership was upset that might hold some water lol Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I guess that's your right. Bet you won't stick around long lol.I'm guessing your phone rings non-stop with courtesy calls all day? Mine does too! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I can say that I've chatted back and fourth with Elon from time to time and he's offered great insight - just because you don't like his post isn't exactly reason to call him out. He works a different type of market than us smaller guys as mentioned above. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I don't subscribe to identifix and don't intend to lol. I can say many situations this concept works well. However if you get a 6.0l powerstroke with an oil leak you could easily chew $1,000's searching for a hard start hot without proper diagnosis. I guess it all goes back to the disconnect between the management and the work. I've always heard that running a business and working in a business are two different things. It's become apparent lately that this goes both ways! The educational/training side is teaching techs to confirm the symptom, diagnose that cause, confirm the cause, repair the failure and confirm the fix. Meanwhile the management side is screaming "get it out, my money, my money! ". What really amusing is when it comes back, management always looks at the tech as incompetent. Truth be known there's a balance of both. It keeps customer, tech and shop happy. I can say from my perspective I wouldn't want to be a tech for many of the owners who have commented here! Keep it up and you'll not have anyone to load the parts cannon! I think Alfredauto has the right idea! Sometimes we have to take guesses but the customer needs to know it's an educated guess, and the shop staff should all be in agreement that's the best route. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I've got to disagree, many times we get an initial diag job, we spend 30 minutes with the customer, and a test drive, another 30 diagnosing a car. I do tend to take on jobs other shops turn down, so I may be biased. No job is the same, so we may complete in 10 minutes and bill accordingly. But on Initial visit most jobs I'm going to bill an hour.The more I think about it, the more I realize there's a significant gap between the technical side and management side. A significant gap between properly diagnosing/repairing a car and keeping happy customers. Until this gap closes, we'll always have trouble finding good employees and in some cases offering a decent product! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Was a conclusion ever reached? Or maybe I should say a repair ever implemented? Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Very good point. We also have to take into account good days and bad days lol. I'm currently having a slow day where I'm not thinking clearly so my performance is sub par. I'll hopefully pick it up tomorrow. Point being is everyone has good days and bad days, if the problem is consistent then maybe address it. But charging accordingly covers the bad days. I'm to the point, I charge what I work on diag. If I'm slow, well the customer is welcome to take it elsewhere next time. Doesn't bother me a bit. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

As a tech that runs the shop I've got to say something that may be unpopular. There's no way to standardize diag time, charge by the hour. Trying to "book hour " diag times only leads to come backs and poor quality work. No if ands or Butts about it! Sure, if their dragging their feet on a simple diag, but don't lock down the times. Explain it's an initial hour of labor, at the end of that hour the tech and writer have a discussion on the additional time requirements, call the customer and get it approved. Just last week I had an f250 that took 4 hours to find a broken wire. Billed the customer 4 hours. If you call an electrician and ask them to find the fault in a wall socket...Guess how long he charges you for? If we keep up this standardized time push, it won't be long until no one's willing to work in this field. If this comment is unappreciated - sorry just the way I see it! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Legacy industrial coatings is probably your best bet, and they'll likely suggest an oil block product. It will be expensive, but yes it's worth it. I used a sherwin williams product on top of rustoleum epoxy. Rexthane is what's typically what's used in extreme environments and man is it some tough (and expensive ) stuff. Ours has taken extreme temps, chemicals, drops, drags and every kind of abuse you could imagine and no issues yet. Wipe the oil right up! http://www.legacyindustrial.net Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

That sucks! I've made it a habit to stop and make sure the hoods closed. I've got one threatening a "law suit" because his car doesn't run the way he "expects" it to. Even though his invoice has 2 pages of disclaimers. He swears he'd rather spend $10,000 trying to force me to refund his money for unrelated services. Sad thing is he'd probably do exactly that! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I bought it for 24.95. Lots of good information. Also gave me some confidence to reevaluate my labor rate! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I just priced a subaru rear wheel bearing and just added 2 hours and explained there's a good chance we'll need bolts etc Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

https://youtu.be/ZI9aDHLptMk Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

1: if you don't hear the sound, ask the owner to come demonstrate the sound for you. (I should do this more than I do but seem to forget) 2: document word for word what the customer says on the ro, and document word for word what the technician finds. 3: never speak poorly of another shops work unless you can absolutely not avoid it (safety concerns etc) 4: when there is an issue with a previous shops work speak to the customer about returning to the shop - heck I'll call the other shop, explain the issue and ask them to give the customer a call! The other shop needs to handle this to prevent everyone issues. You never know, when you call the other shop they may respond "yea they demanded they supply the part - and now they are upset because we won't warranty" 5:make sure you make attempts to reply to the review with the facts - but before you reply as mentioned above cool down - wait a few days and attempt to contact the customer independently again - don't back down but don't demand they take the review down. Politely ask them to after explaining the facts and maybe take a second look at the car. 6: never fall into the mindset "it's not my work or parts causing this issue" - we're all susceptible to the most basic element of failure. The human element. And sometimes there's not even an element to failure. Maybe a brake clip slid out and started touching the rotor. Could happen to Billy Bob under the shade tree or the most achieved ASE master in the US! Approach your customer with a humble attitude. If he's still a jerk write it off, forget about it and move on. These things happen. The only thing you can do is document every single bit of information you can, and have them sign off. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Oh I've got one that I disclaimed out the Ying yang, explaining it wasn't worth fixing - demanded a lower bill it must be under $1,00₩, left the car setting for months (a friend of a friend) - call him and explain he needs to fix it or pick it up. Says go ahead and fix it - as long as the bill is under $1,000 - explain that the car was poorly maintained and that $1,000 won't fix all the problems - he doesn't care just fix it under $1,000. Week later he's back, my radio doesn't work, my keyless entry doesn't work(it sat over a year with no storage charges) demands we fix it. I explain the cost and he finally agrees. Wants the clunk in the front fixed - sir we explained and noted on the bill the ball joints require replacement - gives me a butt chewing - you said you fixed everything for $1,000. No sir, we fixed the minimal required to make the vehicle driveable. The original bill was over $2,000! Stupid people....and by that I mean me! Should have sent him on his way on day 1! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

If your using the elite (non-web based) I'd recommend staying. The Web version is much harder to navigate and lacks some of the basic sms features. We had a computer failure and switched just to get back online. It's been a real pain, it is improving but will take years to equal what the non-web based system was. Our biggest complaints 1:quick books integration is a mess! 2: price matrix requires multiple steps - and it will not automatically calculate the price. (Sold some parts at cost before I caught on!) 3: work flow in the system seems awkward. 4: click the wrong button and your work order is gone, in their defense it does ask if you want to save first! 5: receiving payments is more fluid that the old manage, but don't receive a deposit - it'll make a mess of your quick books, customers bills won't make sense and an employee may not know a deposit was taken (it's not attached to the customers invoice) There's lots of nice features such as tire inventory, customer contact etc. It's not a bad program but switching is a long and difficult road! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I'll pm you asap Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

It's only three of us, my wife, a helper and myself. (we're looking for additional employees but trying to find good help isn't easy).Neither my wife or my helper seem to be able to stick to systems - it's good for a week and then they go in every other direction and I'm left trying to get us back on the right road. I guess we just can't find a set of procedures that fit us well! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Systems are where I struggle the most. As a small shop it seems like the whole system falls on my shoulders! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Agreed Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

That's the best part, he let the customer help finish and the customer took the truck Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Agreed. Shop didn't set correct expectations for sure, customer should have seen the level of shady as a concern but was focused on price and time frame. I've explained that price and time frame can't be our only deciding factors when making a repair decision - he's repeated multiple times "we'll he set his price and said it would be done I three days". That alone should tell you he didn't plan to surface the heads! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Saw this elsewhere and asked permission to share the video. The shop really made the mistake with the customer here - in the same respect if the shop didn't do what they said that's a big mistake! I removed some names to protect the folks involved. A few months ago I was needing head gaskets put on my Excursion (yes, 6.0 diesel). I had been driving it with them blown for a few months, it ran fine, just built too much pressure in the system (17-20psi). It never really got oil in the coolant, but it did push some out of the reservoir at times. Anyways, I needed headgaskets/studs. I was referred to a guy up in Madison by Snappy named Jerome, I talked with him a few times on the phone as I am very particular about my Excursion and I HATE paying a mechanic to do anything on it. Local guy near me is a Ford guru (trucks unlimited) that seems to know his stuff, but I just don't really like him (cocky, and gets mad when asked to diagnose a problem but not fix it, to further go into detail on that I got him to scan my Excursion with his snap-on scanner, offered to pay him to scan it, he said no, but gets mad when I want to fix the issue myself--injectors) Anyways, so works for himself, low overhead, which makes the price cheaper to repair. He quoted me $3k for the below: Installation Taking heads to be checked/machined at machine shop Headgaskets (ford OEM) ARP studs some various little seals and other stuff (which I question if he actually replaced--turbo drain line and such) Anyways, I SPECIFICALLY told him I wanted the heads taken to a machine shop to be checked for cracks, and machined if need be. He said OK. My mistake, I didn't get anything in writing before taking him the Excursion... Anyways, he said 3-day turnaround, I took it on Monday afternoon. He was nice enough to let me come up while the body was off to do some minor stuff to it (I replaced brakelines with SS lines, replaced the radiator with a Mishimoto, and replaced the water pump with a BP Diesel one). All this was done when he was not even working on it, so I wasn't in his way. Anyways, as of Thursday he still hadn't taken the heads off, but said he took them to be machined on Thursday evening and would pick them up from Greensboro (he led me to believe they would be machined at a shop in Greensboro) Friday morning. I went up Friday morning, when I was leaving I called to see if he wanted me to pick them up--he said he was 'there' so he had already picked them up (why drive 30+ minutes to Greensboro and not KNOW they were done?--he didn't actually say he went to Greensboro though). So anyways, I got there, felt like he was lying about having the heads checked, so I took pictures of the heads (they had just been scuffed with a scotch brite wheel, they had NOT been machined). This is where it gets uglyI asked him again where he took them, he then changed his story and said such and such, gave me some long drawn out story about how the guy at A1 had a new machine and he wanted to see it in action... I went out at lunch to go to Orielly's, I stopped by machine shop just because I felt he was lying to me, the guy at shop said he hadn't touched a set of 6.0 heads in 6+ months. I needed to take the Excursion to the beach (left on the following Monday), so I didn't even mention I knew he had lied about this, because honestly, I didn't want him working on it KNOWING I knew he was lying about doing a proper job. He told me Friday it would be done Saturday by 2pm. As of Saturday at 7pm I had not heard from him, so I decided to go up to the shop (granted, it is an hour away from my house), he called me back about 8pm and said it would be Sunday or late that night, I told him to come fix it that evening and I'd take it home Saturday night. He had told me on the phone a couple things that he was held up on, one was he couldn't figure out the Oil cooler lines, but surprise surprise, the oil cooler lines were hooked up properly when he showed up (I was at the shop waiting on him). Anyways, I helped him finish everything, bleed brakes, body bolts, etc. We got it running about 11pm or so, took it on a test drive, came back, tweaked the exhaust (was rubbing) and buttoned up a couple other things. Then came the time to pay.... I started videoing with my phone discreetly, got him to write up everything on a bill, then I blew the news that I knew he had lied, of course he denied it. I ended up paying him $2k instead of $3k, I honestly feel I gave him too much and I should not have paid for anything more than just parts, BUT I also feel he is a good mechanic and was just trying to take a shortcut. He had said before he'd offer a 1-year warranty, at that point I knew I wouldn't bring it back to him regardless, he was cussing, coming up with lies to cover himself, etc. He was not happy, nor was I. I had originally decided not to post this, but after talking with him again today (2+ months after he had done the work) and seeing he is not even willing to try and make it right and fess up to his screw up, I feel it needs to be said. If you take something to him, WATCH HIM LIKE A HAWK. I think he is a good mechanic but will cut corners that should NOT be cut (if these heads are cracked I just wasted $2k, but it might take awhile to show up). Some heads I might agree they might not need to be checked, but NOT a ford 6.0 head. Anyways, I found a coolant leak today, it was dripping off the backside of the passenger side head so I thought it was the gasket (I had a pressure tester on it and it was dripping pretty bad). I called, he called me back a little later (not knowing it was me), in the time after I first called him to the time he called me back, I found it was actually part of the EGR delete system that was leaking. I tell him on the phone who I was, that I thought the gaskets were leaking but I found he was off the hook (granted, I knew he'd not stand behind his work, but I wanted to give him a chance). He didn't want to hear anything (even when I said he was off the hook), told me I hadn't paid in full so there was no warranty, cussed a few times, and hung up. ADD ON: Well he just called me again while I have been typing this, said I need to pay the remainder of the bill or he will take me to court (I am not real worried as I never signed any work order, so if he writes one up and signs my name it will be forging my name). Moral of the story: Get a work order stating ALL work to be done, and most of all, DON'T trust mechanics unless you know them well! If you want to watch the videos and see if you agree he was lying feel free: (there are a couple out of order) https://goo.gl/photos/WZqDYw5zRg5ykobC9 There's multiple videos. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I hope you see this before you drive on it - it will not hold up to our type of use and abuse, that's what I used. If you can make it happen go to a sherwin williams and pickup a product called rexthane, it's a clear coat that's extremely hard. You should do 1 or 2 coats. When we completed ours you could easily scrape areas that's were well prepped up. The rexthane is much harder and much more chemical resistant. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk