Extracareman

This looks like a very old post is someone looking for a scanner? I just went through all the research and purchased an Autel.

Thanks for the information everyone. After a lot of research we ended up getting the Autel Maxisys Elite, just got it today. I'll report back.

Hello, We're in the market for a new scanner and figured I'd ask fellow shop owners their ideas and experiences. I did search the board archives and didn't see much within the past year or so. We are a general repair shop servicing most anything, according to customer attitude. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance 🙂

I agree with Jay Huh, Wiper blades are very profitable on a percentage basis. As far as charging to install, no we don't but, that is only because we only sell the direct fit. The only two frustrations I've ever had with selling wiper blades are selling something other than ones that clip right on aka direct fit and more importantly the tech that hasn't broken a windshield yet, meaning he hasn't learned to put the arm down at all times unless he's installing the blade. I'm still trying to figure out if anyone has any long term experience installing these "Rainguard" blades. So, far they seem pretty good quality.

Cdhowell, Thanks, for the reply and that is certainly is an option. but, not what I'm trying to accomplish.

Thanks for the replies , but, what I'm trying to do is add a "Canned Job" a "Package" to our system that all we'll need to do is click on the job to print it on the invoice automatically. Meaning I know I can do it manually, but, there just has to be a way to have it automatically come up as a canned job. Below for example, is a draft of our pre-purchase inspection. It is 725 characters too much to fit in a pre-packaged job. I've spent hours looking into this with Alldata and they seem bewildered. I'm assuming and hoping there are other Alldata users out here that can tell me how they do it. Thanks Again Perform Visual Maintenance Inspection of the following components: Drive/ Serpentine Belts - Battery Cables - Air Filter (If easily Accessible) - Air Intake Tubes/Hoses- Cooling System Hoses, Rotate tires ( as needed), C.V. Axles- Boots, Brake Pad/Shoe Thickness ( front and rear) , Underhood Fluids (As Needed/ Possible), Note any Fluid Leaks, Shocks and Struts, Suspension Linkage, Steering Gear, Tire Condition and Tire Wear, Exhaust system, Wiper Blades, Note Fluid Leaks, Exterior lights, Test Battery, Note Timing Belt interval, Radiator, Transmission fluid (if applicable dip stick type only) , Note Transmission Operation, Tire Condition, Dash Warning Lights, Inspect for Signs of Rust and or Major Collision Damage.

Hi Twilight, Thanks for replyig to my post. Would you mind expanding on your comment?

Hello Everybody, We use Alldata Managment system and I'm trying to build packages using "Custom Jobs" then "Job Description". The problem is that it limits you to 255 characters which isn't nearly enough for most any job.. For example, I'm trying to make a custom job for a pre-purchase inspection but, again there isn't enough room to list everything we'd inspect during a prepurchase inspection.. Can anybody familiar with Alldata give me any hints on what I can do? How do you do it? Thanks in Advance

These Rainguard blades look good and they say "Engineered by Trico" they are exact fit, and sell for around $3-5.00. As we know you get what you pay for, so I'm questioning them. And yes, I also love good blades on my ride :-)

I take good wiper blades as a pretty serious issue when dealing with our customer's cars and they are way overlooked !, besides we can make few bucks on an honest sale. The quality of what I'm selling though is as important as anything else. I'll get them and report back, for anyone who may be interested. No, I have no interest in Trico ! :-)

Hello Everyone, Does anyone have any experience in installing Rainguard wiper blades and as to their quality? They say they are made by Trico, but that doesn't mean much if the quality isn't good. I'm thinking about getting a large stock of them. Thanks in advance

Hi Jay, If you're going to bend over backward's for a customer this sounds like the kind of customer to do it for. Don't you just love the customer that is so reasonable, you're willing to do anything for them? I don't mean that sarcastically at all. In this world were so many people to try to get something for nothing, it's just really nice to deal with really reasonable people. Next time though, don't be so fast to accept responsibility. Sleep on it and give yourself time to think. Most of the time, people are going to be pointing fingers at you deservedly or not anyhow and you pointing fingers at yourself gives you little chance to do whats right. What happened with the insurance claim? Make sure it is taken off your record with them if you can, follow up on that issue. Whenever something happens I try to first handle it in house and so far! knock on wood , it's worked out every time.

" Plus, one less leaky KIA on the road isn't necessarily a bad thing anyway" This was the first laugh I've had all day ...Thanks ....LMAO

Jay My name is Mike. I own a shop in San Bruno , California. I do believe this is my first post /reply on here. I appreciate and agree with your ethics here, so, I had to say something to get you to look from the outside in. There certainly is the such thing as being too honest. Like has already been said, its probably too late. But, the only thing I've heard that your shop may be at fault is that you worked on it 6 days before. All the dash lights came on when the vehicle stalled out including the oil light ( of course) . Your customer said "oil light came on and the car shut off” maybe the car shut off and the oil light came on. I'm not implying the customer is lying at all, but , we all have customers calling for an alignment because of a vibration or calling for ....actually , we had a customer call a few days ago for a serpentine belt because the car wouldn't move ( the clutch failed). Don't get me wrong, if you knew you were responsible by all means, do the right thing. But at the same time, give yourself a chance...If no one knows work it out with the customer best you can. Its been said but, paying for the car or at least partially, would probably make you a hero to the customer ( if you really feel the need ) and not get cancelled or higher premiums from your insurance. Might you be able to cancel the claim? ( sometimes it doesn't matter once you've file the claim, maybe your customer found out something else happened? brother changed the fuel filter? what have you . Where's the cat on that? Looking at it yourself you should be able to size up the probability of an oil leak causing the fire, one way or the other. If I missed something obvious here in the posts, that makes my post useless I apologize I did not have time to absorb everything said, just the basics. I've been in business for 23 years and have never had to file a claim with my insurance nor settle a problem ( dent, scratch, repair etc...) for more than a couple of hundred bucks. I'm sure that will change tomorrow now that I've said that , but for now .... Good Luck