skm

Great article. I actually printed it out and handed it to the the young rip off guy at work. Asked him if that is not what I have been preaching to him on a daily basis for the last year and a half now. He agreed, but today find him doing the same crap taking on jobs he has no business doing and lying to customers. When I called him out on it his response was "I got to make the dubs" A lost cause no schooling doesn't even know the difference between a ford DOHC 3.0 and a OHV 3.0 engine . How can he be allowed to even touch a car . It is sad when nationality and religion gives you perks in your job. Me over 25 years of experience ase master , l1, master emission repair license , state inspection license. Him no schooling , no training , knows nothing about cars. same 50% commission pay SAD!!! Maybe one day people will realize that the biggest promotion for this business is word of mouth , Honesty being number 1 !

I have a problem with used tires... I think if you are to sell used tires they really need to be checked properly. How do you check a tire properly?? Is there even a way? How do you tell if a tire is any good if it is not mounted on a rim? For me I replace tires because there is a problem with the tires, so why would I then sell that tire to someone else? I will not sell any used tires! To me it is just a HUGE liability. Once again though to each his own, that is just my opinion and my opinion only.

LOL they may very well be HAHA

no he is Haitian , in his mid fifties been here since he was a teenager.

Very good Gonzo, one thing stuck out at me "know their limitations" I tell the young guy at work all the time "know your limitations" as I push the oil drain towards him. Leave the other work to the ones that know what they are doing. You are only doing a disservice to the customers by pretending and killing the business one customer at a time. The business is only as strong as it's weakest link, as a dog sled team is only as fast as the slowest dog.

Great topic.. Where I work for now, we have a guy I would not call him a tech all he does is engines and trans swaps, a butcher at best. His bay is a disaster even his tool box is a mess on top and in the drawers. There is no organization at all. All wrenches thrown in one draw, all sockets in another etc.. no racks or anything like that. His cart is always full of tools. (most tools cheap no name tools) His bay always covered in oil etc. He will come in and decide to clean the way he does this is gets the oil absorbent (kitty litter) and throw it all over the shop like some sort of religious ritual and leave it there never sweeping it up. Not to mention he relives himself on the floor in the corner, in antifreeze drain pans, in the parking lot next to cars, or in a coffee cup and pours it into the used antifreeze container (55 gallon drum) I have mentioned this to the owner numerous times he has seen it himself, but continues to employ this guy ! This guy is there about 2-3 hours of the work day most of the time he is gone doing side jobs somewhere I am sure. He also has his "student" a guy that he pays to work two days a week who knows nothing about cars at all . also something I have brought up with the owner on almost a daily basis being it is a liability to him. I tell him all the time customers would be more willing to have their cars worked on if they see a clean tidy shop, they will get the impression that we care about their cars since we care about our appearance . This is a daily battle for me that is why I am looking for my own shop to open . sorry got a little off topic.

I could not of said it better myself. If you are using google to figure out how to fix a car, I think that it is just showing that you do not know what you are doing. I mean I use shopkey pro but only for looking up diagrams etc.. A scanner my brain and experience is all I need. Google and youtube are for the DIY people and let me tell you some of the stuff I have seen on there is way off base and very butchery.

I have an expedition now that I have to replace all the lines on it.. I need to figure an estimate for him.. I usually only see one line at a time except on the older gm's with the abs unit down low in the left front or the expeditions. I usually send them out since it is so time consuming. This happens to be one of my good customers so I agreed to do it . I just need to figure out what would be fare to them as well as myself. Usually doing one line I charge and hour and a half plus parts, but as this post has grown I think I am pretty low on brake line repairs.

I hadn't either till I came across this.. Here it is illegal to use compression fittings.. It is funny I use a manual flaring tool and yes it is a pain to loosen the clamp once you crunch down on the line. Almost every "tech" that has come through the shop I have had to show how to use a flare tool. I guess people just really don't care or know the laws, one or the other

very interesting.. that would mean that the tire size because of the tread design would be ever so slightly different, more noticeable at higher speeds by the wheel speed sensors.. Hmmm why wouldn't MB make a patch to flash the computer to allow for a slightly bigger margin of error?

I personally don't think a faster lift is any advantage, for one sometimes you need to lower the car at a slow rate to align something as it comes down in that case a slower lift would make it easier. Also as the car comes down the tech can go through his head weather he has tightened everything etc. As far as the saving time well, really? I have more problems with customers pulling up out side the bays asking silly questions etc. maybe taking away a techs cell phone will save that extra minute and 5 seconds. Is 15K worth 65 seconds? Not by my bank account.

Great story Gonzo, That is what separates the field. The ones with the determination to follow through to the end and be able to look at PID's and wiring diagrams etc. to see everything involved and connect the dots. I for one always take all the failed parts apart even if they are glued, a hammer and a screw driver take almost anything apart. I always want to see what inside has failed

Where I work we never use to install customers parts, but since ownership change we have also changed that . I for one don't think it is a good idea. One was the car diagnosed properly? You install the parts the customer brought in and they say the car isn't fixed etc.. leads to headaches that you don't need. Also you can not warranty the job. You also know the customer is bringing you the cheapest parts they could find. You install the brakes on a customers are and they are back a few weeks later complaining the brakes squeal. Now this can also give the shop a bad name if other customers are standing around and hear it , or if the person then starts spreading the word that you put brakes on their car and now it is squealing and you won't fix it right. Just like anything else too many people are eager to make a decision with out getting both sides of the story. Also you have to remember you also make money as a shop owner on the parts markup , so they supply the parts and you are loosing money there as well. You have a person come to your home to fix your a/c do you think they are going to allow you to go buy your own parts? Or even a plumber or electrician. You know the answer is going to be no. I think allowing customers to supply their own parts is just asking for trouble. Life is too short and our field of work is not an easy one why add more problems to it? After all aren't we all in this business as owners, techs, or future owners to make a living, to be able to provide for our families and to one day hopefully be able to retire and reap the benefits off all our hard work??

mobile is not my thing.. I have been at the same station for 25 years . I am not about to start working on the streets my body will not take that.. Thanks for the suggestion though

LynxStarAuto, You are not being intrusive nor nosy. In fact I will take that as a compliment. yes I do procrastinate a bit especially coming to this time of the year when things tend to slow down for us.. But you are right . I am looking for a place I have the local tool guys, parts houses, and a few companies that stock our shop keeping and eye and ear open for me . I am trying to find a shop that is already equipped maybe where some one is ready to retire or just wants out of the business. I was planning on getting a commercial realtor involved maybe in February or March as people have felt the pressure of the slower season here.

I agree with you on the check engine lights and the amount of Techs out there that know how to use a scope or a scanner and diagnose them properly, As for where I work I know we undercharge for diagnostics, we use to charge and hour then we got a few "mechanics" who started telling people half and hour and of course they did not know what they are doing. I feel the same as you when customers come to me with a code someone pulled or say can't you just hook a machine to it and it tells you what is wrong.. I then tell them to think of a code as a number on a door, you open that door and there is a long hall way with doors up and down both sides of it. Behind one of those doors lies your problem I need to start ruling out each of those doors till I find the door causing the problem. It will take me some time to go through it all. That is why I charge you for diagnostics. I also tell them what my scanner costs and why it costs so much and that the one that pulls the code for 29 bucks tells you nothing just gives your the main door number, Also I have the knowledge to know what I am looking at in a data stream know what all the sensors and actuators do when the come in to play and how the computer reacts to things it sees. If they still insist after my explanation to them wasting my time I then do as you do and tell them to go else where, where they can get the code pulled for free and let them diagnose it.. they usually end up coming back ..

I have also found this to be true , even if it is a stupid dry sense of humor you use on them. The other thing I have notices is if you match the way they approach you . If they come to you rude and some what demanding I am the same way to them, for some reason it tends to get them to listen and understand. I have also found that the easiest way to get rid of a customer that is totally wrong and wants to basically get you to do something for free or the wrong way is to kill them with kindness especially if they are upset about something because they don't understand or think they are right.. I had a (Dr.) (don't know what they had their doctorate in but they made sure to put Dr. in big bold print in front of their name) get a state safety inspection from me the other day. Needless to say the older car failed for wiper blades, two motor mounts , an inner tie rod , left brake light and the 3rd brake light which was totally missing off the car. ( 2005 pilot) She came back to me 2 days later and said she had gone to the DMV and motor mounts don't fail and that her wiper blades were fine and that her tie rod had been replaced about 3 months ago, she had the receipt and credit card bill to prove it. I told her that she was given a check sheet with what failed and the motor mounts are on the sheet and that is a state issued check sheet and she was miss informed by the DMV. Then she said her wiper are fine I told her they are not they need to clean the window in three sweeps up down up .. now I also told her I gave her the benefit of the doubt since I retried the wipers while I was driving 40 mph down the street and they still failed. At this point she is telling me I don't know what I am doing and shouldn't be doing inspections, I told her I have been doing them for 25 years and I don't do them for the station or to make money they are done for the state and are called a safety inspection for a reason they are all safety related items , if she had a problem she could contact the state trooper in fact I would be happy to call him for her myself she said no she would take care of that. Then she started in about her tie rod end . I explained to her she has 2 inner 2 outer tie rod ends and she may of had one of the other three replaced but the one I failed is bad and that it is loose and must be replaced. Once again I told her that if it breaks she could crash and kill herself since she would loose steering of the car. Her reply was 'that is not the point I had it replaced already" so I told her that is the point it is a safety inspection. now she is yelling at me of course I have not raised my voice once to her. I then told her look everything I fail must be repaired if she wants me to issue her an inspection certificate she then. stated she has been recording the whole conversation and I was going to be in big trouble she was calling the police. I smiled told her to have a nice day, try not to let this ruin your day she began to yell about her tie rod again at which point I said " I guess that third brake light is working properly as well " she looked at me as if she was going to cry. I asked if she wanted and estimate for the repairs she told me I would be arrested later once she calls the police I told her the conversation was now over and if she wanted I could call the police for her and that she had wasted enough of my time and have a nice day. I walked away and she tore off out of the parking lot. Not one time was I mean or loud, which made her angrier and angrier. I have not yet seen her back, but that is fine I did my job and was paid for the inspection and that is one customer I would rather not deal with in the future anyway.

Personally I can't stand cell phones during work. I get to work place mine in my toolbox, I will check it periodically if I happen to go into my top draw for something that is all. What kills me the most is the other two guys there are always on them even when working on cars. There is no way you are paying attention to what you are doing while on the phone. Not to mention the one guy as soon as a car comes in he is googleing or youtubeing what is wrong with the car or how to fix it.. Drives me up a wall. just what i want to do, go to the doctors office he asks me a few questions then is on webmd figuring out what is wrong with me or what meds to give me. Really makes the shop look good. People drop/bring their cars in under the assumption that the staff knows what they are doing. I kills me . Of course the guy looking everything up on the internet should not be working on cars anyway, he has no schooling or training what so ever knows nothing about cars. Sure he can slaps some rotors and pads on a car so can my 12 year old neighbor if I show him a couple of times, that does not make you a mechanic . I am afraid that if something is not implemented as far as people needing to be certified to work on cars this field is going to be in really really bad shape very soon. People don't realize you can't fix a car over the phone or by using what you see on the internet.

Same here . looks like copper it fails. As i stated before until a amendment is made to the inspection "book" it fails

very interesting.. well we have to keep failing it until an amendment is made to the inspection rules and regulations. Who knows maybe one is in the works. Maybe I spoke too soon, I may talk with the state trooper and see what he says. I may get a piece of it and see how easily it is worked and flared . May give it a try.. thanks for the information

well easiest isn't always the best way.. It may be fine, I for one don't know since it is not approved in my state it is a failure as far as inspections go. I for one like the old steel lines at least I know that it is strong and safe even if it takes a little more effort to bend and flare. At least I have the piece of mind knowing that the customers brake line I just put on is strong and safe. Like I said I am not bashing it, but I'm not using it either. If it is something I wouldn't use on my own car I'm not using it on a customers car that is the way I look at it.

I am the same way. As soon as a customer tells me they can get it done at the shop down the road for x amount I tell them you better go back there cause that is a hell of a deal. They usually end up leaving the car or if they leave you will see them back a few hours later after they have exhausted all other options in the area. I also tend to match a customers attitude, If they come at me sort of abrasive or demanding I am the same way with them. The funny thing is when you match their attitude they seem to respond better.

sorry double post

I am sure you will see him for the third time.. I have mechanics/techs I have shown them something and a few days later asked them and they still have no Idea .. I have one of those cars now, 03 astro van where the customer has replaced almost every sensor on the van and he keeps getting a cam/crank sync code. Yes he replaced the timing chain and couldn't get the cover off so broke it in two and gooped it back together . I checked everything on the van and come down to the chain not timed right. He comes to me the middle of last week and asked me what I found I told him it has not changed since I checked it out a few weeks ago. It needs to be torn down and the chain installed properly. I also stated to him I am not willing to do it since there is so much mickey mouse stuff done to the van and he also would not want to pay for me to do it correctly including buying a new timing cover. He said what if he tears it down and the chain is aligned is there a chance the computer is bad. I told him I didn't think so of course anything is possible but I see a good cam and crank signal, and he didn't have the problem till he put the chain in so I really don't think so. He shows up Friday around closing time with a junkyard computer. He was going to install it this weekend. Guess he is in for a few more surprises as soon as he installs that computer and turns the key !!

Here it is illegal any copper it is too soft, even if it is dot approved just like the hyper white (blue hued) headlights they are dot approved . Here it is what ever your car came with has to be there (factory). Of course every time you get a different state trooper they change they way they want thing done, We have a box to check for fog or aux lighting and aim, I cross the box off if the car does not have fog lights. The new trooper said all cars have aux lights I argued with him saying aux lights are exterior additional lighting like baha lights etc. He said " what about the dome light" I asked him how you check the height and aim of it he just looked at me, then I asked him "isn't it illegal to drive at night with your dome light on' ? he said yes so how could it be an aux light? He wants it checked LOL.. He also wanted us to write down the tire size and temp/speed rating of the tire. I asked him what kind of sense does that make you can't fail a tire for a different rating. If you fail a tire cause it is bad they get a new tire and it is not the same temp rating you can't fail it. He replied that is correct, okay so why do need to write it down? no reply. AS long as they are the same size on the axle and not deviated by more than 1 size per axle it is fine he agreed but still wants the tire size . It is a royal pain in the ass