Gonzo

As I've said before... "Ya just can't make this stuff up!" These "jewels" are one of a kind people. But, they're everywhere at the same time.

Most people are honest, but there are those that aren't ... Funny though...it's usually that type that think ALL mechanic are dishonest. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Jewel of Denials I think everyone should experience working with the general public at some point in their life. The variety of people you meet is absolutely fascinating. They come from all walks of life and from every part of the globe. If you’re a people person, working with the general public can be wonderful experience. For the most part, that’s how it is, but every now and then you find that one, you know the one, the one we all know as our crazy relative or neighbor who seems to over exaggerate everything they say and nothing seems truthful. Their stories are real gems, that’s for sure, and their stories are usually as long as the Nile River. At first you’ll listen intently but it doesn’t take long before you have to wonder at what level of sanity you’ve just left. I’m usually the guy behind the service counter that at some point leans back in the seat and waits for the story to end. Then, I can start asking questions or write down what seems to be important. Deep down I’m already thinking that I’ve got to write this one down because nobody is going to believe it. Denial and finger pointing seems to be the favorite thing when it comes to their car repair. One of my all-time favorites is this guys. Let me tell you his story. A rather tall gentlemen comes into the lobby and asks, “Can you guys replace a wiring harness?” To which I answered, “Yep, not a problem. What kind of car is it?” That question was soon overlooked and not answered. The seriousness of the problem was his major concern. Me, I’d like to know what kind of car it is and what brought you here in the first place. Although, this unknown car seems to have more than “car” issues to deal with, most of which he’s already self-diagnosed. However, even with the self-diagnosis the issues with this car seemed to be getting stranger and stranger as the story went on. First off the front end was wrecked and repaired by a shoddy bodyshop. Although the “crappy” repair job (as he put it) wasn’t his concern. It was that the battery was dead, and it kept going dead, which he attributed to the headlight and turn signal wiring as the cause. According to his technical knowledge if I fixed the wiring under the front bumper the battery drain would disappear. The story just kept getting deeper than just the wiring harness or the dead battery. “The car hasn’t been started in three years,” he tells me. “That’s not a problem,” I said, “I can get it started and then check for what’s causing the battery drain.” He was all for it until he mentioned one more thing, “OK, I’ll check with my neighbor.” Now, why in the world does this guy need to check with his neighbor? I had to ask. “Is there a problem with the car that you have to ask the neighbor about it?” Oh there was all right, the car IS his neighbor’s car. “Oh, so you’re just checking up on the repair costs for your neighbor then?” I asked. No, he wasn’t. He was doing this on his own. Why you ask? Well, that got a bit strange too. Turns out the car is in his garage, and it’s been there for the past three years! OK, I’ve got to ask, “Why has your neighbor’s car been in your garage with a messed up front end, a dead battery, and not been started in three years?” “Because that’s where I parked it after the wreck,” he tells me. You mean to tell me this guy has had a borrowed neighbor’s car in his garage for the past three years? Apparently, yes. Now that’s some nice neighbor I’d say. I mean really, for three years his neighbor never questioned when he was going to return the car he borrowed to go down to the grocery store? I’m not sure if either one of these neighbors are playing with a full deck. This guy even wanted his neighbor, whose car it was, to pay for the damaged front end that he caused! Of course, he denied having a wreck and getting it slapped back together by this so-called bodyshop, or that the car had some sort of battery problem to his ever-so-generous neighbor. How did I know that? Because he asked me not to tell his neighbor about it. I haven’t met that guy yet, and if he’s anything like this guy, oh man! Glad I’m not living next door to this guy. Borrow my hand saw, or couple of wrenches sure, but my car and then not tell me about it for three years? I’m shocked. I mean seriously, admit ya done wrong, and go on. Quit trying to deny it. Then there are the typical denials that happen on a regular basis. Dad buys son a car, son tears it up and then tries to say “It just happened. That telephone poll just jumped right out in front of me.” Right, I’m sure it did. Especially when the right front tire is wedged under the car from sliding over the curb and the front bumper has the shape of a telephone pole left embedded in it. Insurance frauds are another denial that I see too often. Where the owner is trying to get more out of their insurance company than what they should. Like the time this guy got into a wreck and even before it left the crash site it wouldn’t start. Upon further investigation the problem turned out to be a severely worn out timing belt that finally snapped. The timing belt was so worn out that it literally crumbled to pieces as you touched it. (I still have the timing belt on the wall.) Somehow, someway, this guy got his insurance company to foot the bill for a new timing belt. Why? Because it wasn’t like that before the wreck. Ya mean it wasn’t worn out and about to fall off before the wreck? How long did ya expect the original belt to stay on there, dude? I’m sure the sudden stop from the wreck probably put the final nail in the coffin for the old tired and worn out timing belt but seriously, that is strictly a maintenance issue that you’ve neglected. Which of course, he denied that he ever missed any scheduled services on his car. The insurance company bought his story, and I changed the belt. Everybody was happy in the end. Although, I’d hate to see what this guy’s insurance premiums look like now. Ah yes, there are a few gems out there that can make ya chuckle or leave you wondering what in the world just happened. But, at least ya can smile, write up the work order, and go on. If nothing else, you can at least look forward to the next jewel of denials. View full article

So, it's cost effective design it crappy and let us mechanics deal with the aftermath? Nice.... thanks engineers for the work and the ticked off customer who has to pay for your lousy design. Which of course, the customer thinks we're the ones ripping them off. Where's that engineer at? .........

Engineering Flashback Let’s just assume you’re one of the engineers who designs part of the modern automobile. Your job is to follow the guide lines and concept ideas the other engineers have put together. All you have to do is make whatever component or section you’re assigned fit into the space provided. You also have to keep the cost down and keep in mind the design restraints. Then, make sure it can be manufactured in such a way it can easily be installed and sent down the assembly line at the quickest pace possible. I’m sure it’s a nerve-racking job. So much pressure is put on you to come up with something that will work, easy to assemble, and cost effective. You’ve strained your brain to come up with something, worked long hours to design it, built the prototype, and checked the results. You’re positive it will work. Now, it’s all up to the guys and gals on the assembly line to get it put together and out the door. This time around, let’s pretend you’re the consumer. You’ve checked out this latest model and it’s just what you were looking for. It’s got the right styling, the right size, and it’s in your price range. So, you buy it. Ya take it home and enjoy the comforts of owning your brand new car. Then, several years go by. You’ve almost got it paid off and hoping for a few years without car payments. But, all of a sudden you’ve got car problems. You’ve followed the maintenance schedule to the letter, but something has still gone wrong. It’s out of warranty, which means it’s not going to be free, but you’ve got to get it repaired. You can’t fix it; in fact you don’t have any idea what is wrong. But, your favorite mechanic will. So, it’s off to the repair shop to have it diagnosed. Let’s change gears again. Now we’re the mechanic. You get the car into the shop, you run the needed diagnostic tests, and find out that a little bitty part buried behind the dash has failed. The only way to get to it is removing the entire dash. Before diving into the nuts and bolts side of it, you’ve got to call the customer. This is not going to be an easy call, because you know the labor cost alone is not going to make for a happy car owner, for sure. You give them the figures for the R&R and there is a moment of gasps and shock. Then, reality settles in, and the owner tells you to go ahead with it. Now, we’re back to being the engineer. Reports start coming in about how this little bit part that you designed and stuck inside the dash is failing left and right. The amount of backlash from all these repairs from all over the country are flooding your desk. What can you do about it? Probably nothing. Other than not designing anything like that again. So, you keep your head to the grindstone and persevere. Onto your next project. But, the memory of that little bitty part behind the dash haunts you day and night. In fact, you might even have flashbacks of the numerous reported failures, and you certainly don’t want to relieve that again. This time around you’re asked to design a similar system on the latest car from the concept team. Those flashbacks of that little bitty part you stuck behind the dash is still fresh on your mind. This time, you’ve changed the design a bit so that same issue doesn’t happen again. Or, at least you hope not. We’re back to being the consumer again. This time you’ve done your homework and looked at the new models to replace your present car. You’ve also kept in mind that huge repair bill for some silly little bitty part that could have been easily repositioned somewhere else. You’d like to avoid anything like that on your next new car. You talked in great detail about it to your salesman and he assures you there isn’t any problem like that anymore. If anyone would know about the inner workings of the modern car it would be the guy selling it to you right? With the salesman’s stamp of approval you write that check for your new car, and off you go to enjoy your new ride. It’s the mechanics turn to return to the mix. That new car is now a few years old and it’s having problems. This time it’s a different problem than before, but the cost of the repair is even higher. It seems our engineering friend forgot to think of how many things are overlapping and concealing the components he designed. Simple things like changing a headlamp bulb require an afternoon at the repair shop. The anti-lock brake system is incorporated with the cruise control. The air conditioning system is aware of the exhaust fumes from the car in front of you and automatically regulates the fresh air dampeners. Radar systems, GPS, and so on and so on. Nothing is even remotely simple anymore, and nearly everything costs more than it should. The mechanic has to spend even more time in training classes keeping up with what the engineers are designing, as well as dealing with the next shock and awe from the customer over the price of repair. And you wonder why a mechanic rolls their eyes back in their head when you bring a car in with a certain type of problem. Yep, they’re having flashbacks of pulling the dash to get to that little bitty part. The flashbacks of these engineering designs continue. I don’t know about you, but I think the only person who might really know what’s happening in the real world when it comes to your car is the mechanic. The consumer has to pay the bill, the engineers try their best to design it, and the salesman does what he does. It all adds up to job security for the mechanics, they’re the ones keeping those little bitty things behind the dash working. In all honesty, the consumer might want to ask a mechanic about that new car or even used car they’re planning to purchase rather than the salesman or the engineer. They’re the ones who deal with the aftermath of the salesman’s claims and the engineer’s designs. The engineer, the consumer, the salesman, or the mechanic. Who’s going to have the most flashbacks of these design debacles? Well, for me, it’s the mechanic. They’ve got to deal with the problems created by the engineering, the customer, and the salesman. Now, if the engineers wanted to really find out something about their little bitty part behind the dash, just put a few mechanics in the same room with a few of those engineers. That might make for one colossal flashback they’ll never forget. View full article

I've been reading up on the P0219 code. One of the factors that seems to pop up is wheel slip. In other words... are all the wheel speed sensors working properly? Maybe, that could do it... or it could be a fault in the PCM. Hard to say... basically...I ain't got a clue. LOL

I shy away from customer supplied parts. I tell them that part of the expertise your paying for is the expert advise, and that as an expert I'm well aware of which parts from which supplier is the best part. But, if they do the old beg and plead I throw this at them. "Putting your parts in is like being at the rodeo. You say GO, and I rope the steer, when I've got it I throw my hands in the air and call time." AND, that's just how I'm going install your self-diagnose-self-purchased parts. I'm not even going to turn it on, I'm not even going to care about it. As long as it's installed properly my work is done. Now.... is that how you want it?" Not one has taken me up on the offer... so basically...I still don't install customer supplied parts, unless they are so rare and there is no other choice.

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Where’s Waldo? OK, I really do fix cars for a living. I take a car with a problem, locate the problem, and make the appropriate repair. Sometimes I haven’t a clue where to look when I start, but with a few proper tools, a little ingenuity, and a whole lot of experience I’ll find the problem. It’s like finding Waldo, yea that little nerdy guy in red and white. The one that hides in plain sight sometimes, and even as careful as you can be, you’ll usually have to look closely to find him. Except my “Waldo” doesn’t wear a red and white cap to give himself away. My Waldo is usually something to do with a component or part that has failed, or has decided to be difficult. I sometimes think that these weird repair jobs that end up at my shop are like an elaborate game of “who can find Waldo first”. I’m not always the first guy to try and find Waldo. A lot of times a customer will take their car to a relative or next door neighbor, and when that doesn’t work they’ll find the cheap shop or the closest garage in their area. Even more often I’ll hear a customer tell me they always go to a certain shop for all their repairs, so they think nothing of going to a specialist for any repairs. But, when that doesn’t work it’s time to ask for a recommendation for a shop that can make the repairs. Now this isn’t true of everyone, a lot of people have a family mechanic they have used for years, while others believe the dealership is the only place to go for repairs. Whichever or whatever way works for each and everyone is just fine with me. One way or another somebody has to find Waldo. When it comes to cars, Waldo can be pretty crafty. He can be hiding in thousands of places. He can be under the hood, behind the dash, in the trunk, or under the seat. He can be well concealed or under layers of components, carpet, plastic, or engine parts. With today’s cars he can even be inside a computer lurking about as a corrupted bit of information. I never know where he’ll show up, but I’ll do my best to find him. The other day I was on a Waldo hunt for a wacked out gas gauge. The fuel gauge was stuck on empty on this 03 Ford Van. It came from another shop after they had given up on it. The shop had already tried a new sending unit in the tank, but it only lasted a day or two before the gauge quit again. So where is that little beanie cap wearing weirdo hiding this time? I think I’ll start with a little behind the steering wheel work first. After doing the self-test on the dash it was clear the gauge was not responding, so I decided to break out the gauge simulator and hook it up to the fuel gauge. Even with the tester adjusted to 160 ohms (full tank reading) it never budged off of empty. Gotcha Waldo! You’re in the instrument cluster… ah HA! Got ya this time for sure ya skinny little twerp! I got the new cluster approved and installed it the next day. Hooked up to the scanner checked that all the programming needed was done, typical stuff… mileage, tire size, etc… not a big deal (with the right scanner, an IDS in this case or the dealer parts department can set most of it up for you when you order it… Actual programming needs varies from year to year, so be careful to follow all manufacturer’s directions). I was so convinced that I had this one I didn’t think I needed to recheck my work. I was in for a surprise when the gas gauge didn’t move right away. I’ve seen this before; it can take a minute or two or up to even 20 minutes if the key was on while filling up the tank. I didn’t recall turning the key on when I was installing the new cluster, but by the time I had the van off the lift and backed out of the shop the gauge was working. Done, problem solved… Waldo you’re out-a-here! Boy was I wrong. Seems old Waldo had to come back just a few days later. The gauge is back on empty again just as it did with the first shop. Now what is he doing… that Waldo he’s a crafty kind of little nerd… is he messing with me? I’m about to go “mechanic” on his little butt. Back to the gauge tester again, this time the gauge reacted with every movement and changed with every setting I could put it thru on the tester. I knew the empty reading on this tank is around 15 ohms and a full tank is 160, so I should have a reading somewhere in between those reading from the tank sender. It was 16 ohms… oh come on… is this tank empty? I gave the tank a couple of knocks with my knuckle “rap, rap, rap” and muttered to myself very sheepishly, “You in there Waldo?” I got an approval to drop the tank down to check it further. I could tell the other shop changed the tank sending unit. They had butt connected the lead together (gee, ya could have just disconnected it), but I did notice something rather strange about the sending unit. The float was bent around the fuel pump and an edge of the bail was trapped against the actual fuel pump bracket. Waldo is up to something here, and it’s not the sender. I grabbed a flashlight and looked down in the tank. There inside the tank is the tray that the fuel pump rests in. It’s mainly there as a way to control the sloshing effect of the fuel and to help give the gauge a steady reading. The only thing was… the tray wasn’t staying in place. It had broken free from the bottom of the tank and was sliding back and forth as the van drove down the road. “Waldo… you’ve been a very naughty little fellow,” I said to myself. The only thing that made sense about the dash being bad was somebody must have tried to send voltage back up the sending wires to the dash, and it probably knocked the gauge out. It wouldn’t have been hard to do with the gauge and fuel pump leads all in the same connector. Somebody could have easily (accidently I hope) crossed the wrong leads, which created another “Waldo”. While the original Waldo remained in hiding inside the gas tank the whole time. Now I just have to tell the customer where I found him at this time. Great, just great…. Two Waldo’s in two places in one car. I think I’ll let Waldo explain this to the owner, “Waldo … Waldo… where’s Waldo?” Typical… I’ve got to go find him again. View full article

I've kept cars waiting on parts many of times. However, most of those cars are left inside. But, it never fails there's always one junker that gets left by a customer who fails to return phone calls and I then have to get rid of it myself. (probably a new story about to come out of that LOL) But, with that said, I pass by so many places that have piles of cars sitting around and I just can't imagine all of them are waiting on parts. To me, shop space and parking space is a premium commodity. Wasting space on storage of somebody's car is just crazy, maybe for one or two... but a dozen (as in the case of one particular shop I pass) is nuts.

I Just Don’t Get It Help me out here. There’s something I just don’t get. How in the world do people leave their pride and joy, the family trickster, the old jalopy, or whatever they want to call it at a repair shop for an extended amount of time? Every day while driving to work I’ll pass numerous little shops, and a few big shops that seem to have the same cars sitting in front of their bays. They move them around a bit, you know, kind of like shuffling chess pieces or something, but they never seem to leave. What’s going on? Then, every once in a while I’ll get someone that comes into my shop with this same old story, “I had my car over at this other shop for the past month and they still haven’t found out what’s wrong with it. So, I got tired of waiting and had it dragged over to you.” Usually after they’ve finally decided that leaving their car at one of these phantom repair places wasn’t a good idea. Sound familiar? Well, if you’re a shop owner you’ve heard it before. What’s surprising is that it happens a lot more than most people realize, and what really surprises me is how somebody could be without their car for such a long time, then finally decide to pull it to another shop. I mean seriously, what did you buy the car for? Was your goal just to make the payments while it sat in front of this obscure repair shop rusting away? I just don’t get it. How’s this possible? I mean, does this shop have some sort of charismatic charm that convinces someone to leave their car there for months on end without ever getting it repaired? Or is it one of those, “I’m in no hurry. Take your time with it.” stories? For me, it seems every time somebody tells me they’re not in a hurry is when they call back in an hour or show up the next day wanting to know what I’ve found wrong. I’ve never dealt with anyone who has just left their car for me to casually work on it whenever I feel like working on it. Oh, they’ll tell me to take my time but, they really don’t mean it. I have the time. I’m in the business of repairing cars. I’ll make the time or I’ll hire more help, whichever or whatever way it takes to keep the customer happy. At my shop, the norm is that everyone is in a hurry and can’t wait even a few hours for me to get to their repairs, which seems to be the complete opposite at these main street rest stops that call themselves “repair shops”. Now, if all these shops are doing is providing a free space for an extended stay at the “Shady Rust Hotel”, well, that’s not what I’d call a really smart business decision. Maybe keeping the parking lot full is just their way of showing off how many cars they have to work on, or should I say… trying to work on? I’ve often wondered about the true status of those cars at these repair shops. I’m pretty convinced that it’s not because these stationary cars all have some sort of exotic part that has to be shipped in by a row boat from some far off island country. I really think the reason these cars are spending their day taking up valuable space in front of these shops is because the mechanics at these shops don’t have a clue how to fix them. Let’s face it, if they’re in the business to repair problems on customer’s cars (just like I am) then by all rights fix it! Make room for the next one! As one good ol’ boy mechanic from one of these “We’re always busy” shops stated to me the other day, “Well, I just keep trying different parts until I get’r runnin’. If’n I run out of idears I let er’ sit until I think of somethin’ else ta do. I’m only bringin’ ya this here car cause the owner was getting a bit riled up over it takin’ so long.” Seems like a poor way of diagnosing problems and even poorer way of taking care of their customers if you ask me. But, we should also look at it from the other side of the coin, the customer side that is. They’re just as much to blame for all this waiting around for a repair that probably ain’t going to happen. Obviously it’s not time that worries them, so it must be the cost factor they’re concerned about. Talking with one customer who had their car at another shop for so long that cobwebs had spread across the motor told me, “Well, he’s good and cheap. That’s why I left it there for him to give it a try.” I can believe the cheap part, but good... I don’t think so. When are they going to wise up about it all? That is, the shop that doesn’t have the skills to repair the car properly and uses whatever charm or magic they have over the customer to leave the car at their shop for so long. Along with the car owners who simply pinch pennies on their car repairs and aren’t concerned with quality. But, they’re willing to put their own kids in their family trickster that was repaired by somebody with questionable knowledge and skills. This car repair stuff isn’t some kind of kid’s game or something that should be left to chance. It’s a highly skilled trade with highly skilled individuals who dedicate their life to performing intricate diagnostics and repairs to their customer’s cars with sophisticated equipment and continual education on the latest systems being developed. Of course, I’m leaving out those parking lots that claim to be repair shops. For something that has evolved into a computerized and mechanical machine that is rarely understood by the average owner, and something that nearly every person owns, has been left to the whims of an unregulated and unlicensed repair industry. It just completely boggles my mechanical mind. It’s a wonder anything ever gets accomplished, or that good mechanics stay in the business and further their education to do even higher quality work than before. I mean seriously, you’ve got to have a license to sling plumbing pipe or cut hair, but hardly any kind of quality check for the person doing the repairs on your family jalopy that zooms down the road at 75mph. I just don’t get it. View full article

Just the Bartender It’s early in the morning, the shop is still full from the previous day and I’m just getting around to my first cup of coffee when the phone rings. An anxious, exasperated lady was on the phone. “Oh, I’m so glad I caught you,” she excitedly said, “Your name kept coming up when I was asking around town for the best mechanic to fix my car.” “Well, what can I help you with?” I asked while juggling the phone and the coffee pot. The story goes her car was at the dealership and it had been there for over a week now. From the sound of things, there was more than one issue that needed solved. She told me they had replaced the timing belt, water pump and an ignition switch, but her original complaint was still there. They wanted to do some more testing to solve the problem and I could tell she was getting a bit frustrated with them. What she really wanted was not necessarily to bring the car to my shop, but at least have some assurance from somebody else that the dealership was able to tackle the problem. After a few sips of my coffee and a bit more conversation, I assured her the dealership was more than capable of handling the problem. I told her if she still wasn’t comfortable with the amount of time they were taking to solve her car problems, she could certainly bring it to me. You could tell by the tone of her voice she was feeling much better about having the dealership handle the repair. She thanked me for easing her mind and said she would certainly take me up on my offer if she wasn’t satisfied with the dealerships results in a day or two. I sipped down the rest of my coffee and finished up the morning paperwork when it occurred to me that the whole time I was on the phone I wasn’t just a mechanic answering a customer’s concerns; I had taken on the role of the corner tavern bartender. You know, the guy or gal behind the bar who listens to all the patrons’ problems. It was just like at the local watering hole where you’ll find a bartender listening to stories from across the bar. They’ll often play the part of a concerned friend who listens to their plight even though they probably can’t do a thing about it. Especially after a few shots have been tossed back to loosen them up. That got me thinking, maybe it’s not so much what you do out in the shop, but more of what you do to help a customer when they’re not your customer. Maybe, what some folks need aren’t your skills as a mechanic, but more of your knowledge and assurance that it will all be fine in the long run. I felt kind of like a bartender with wrenches rather than shot glasses and high ball tumblers. I finished my coffee and headed out to the shop to start my day where I found myself confronted with another issue. One of the cars in the shop had more wrong with it than originally thought. Now I’ve got to make the phone call and break the news to the owner. That got me wondering even more about the last phone call. Is the owner of this car going to call someone else and ask their opinion of what I was about to describe to them? I’d say there’s a good chance of that. That is, unless I can break down the repair procedures and explain it in a way that makes perfect sense to them. Even then, there’s still a possibility they’ll ask their “bartender” for their input on the whole thing anyway. Being a mechanic, like in many other trades dealing with the general public, you’ve got to wear more than one hat during a day at work. Sometimes you’re the guy who diagnoses the problem, sometimes you’re the guy who makes the repair, sometimes you’re the guy who has to explain the whole thing to the customer… and, sometimes you’re just the bartender. On the other hand, some mechanics are so wrapped up into the technical side of the automobile that they have a hard time relating to the average consumer. They tend to forget the customers brought their car in not only for expert repairs, but also some expert advice. They’re the ones paying you for your time and knowledge. At times the car can be a challenge to repair, but there’s an even bigger challenge in making the customer feel at ease with all of your efforts. No doubt, it’s a skill that can’t be taught in a repair manual. It’s something every mechanic has to develop with time. Just like being a good bartender, you’ve got to be able to mix the cocktails and serve them with a smile, but to be a really good bartender you have to learn to listen, too. Not every phone call to the repair shop is going to turn into a paying job, but at least you can listen and do your best and be a good bartender. The dividends may not be immediate, but one thing for sure, that person on the other end of the phone won’t forget your words. Which may be all they need to remember the next time they have car problems. As a mechanic, knowing the ins and outs of the technical issues of today’s cars is extremely important to the customer. Although, sometimes all that knowledge and expertise doesn’t help when the customer is unsure of what’s going on. You might be an ace mechanic but, sometimes all you really have to be… is just the bartender. View full article

I just read Joe's latest printed article in Ratchet Wrench... funny how we both think alike. It played off of exactly what I wrote in this article. Nice article Joe. Well done.

....it's all clear to me now....its dark blue....

Pay to Play Playing the diagnostic game in the auto repair business isn’t for everyone. Some repair shops don’t want to deal with any of those heavy-hitter type of diagnostic problems. They would rather deal with the simple, basic, and easy-to-fix problems that make quick money and take little effort on their part. Anything that’s going to take time to figure out they’ll send down the road to a shop that will work on those type of problems. I’m one of those shops that everybody sends their headaches to. It has its draw backs for sure, but the reward for me is getting in there, finding the problem, and doing what seems impossible to others. One of the major issues with being more of a specialty diagnostic shop is how the customer perceives what a mechanic can or cannot do. Most of the time they’ve already spent their limit at the guess-at-it-until-ya-get-it shops and aren’t keen on spending any amount of money on diagnostic time. Which, as in most of these heavy-hitter type diagnostic cases, is the majority of the work needed to be done. I hear it all the time from folks who still believe all mechanics are alike and price is their only concern. “I’ve already spent “X” amount of money and it’s still broke. Why should I spend more money just for YOU to look at the car?” It must be a bit unnerving to some, forking over their cash just to have their car “looked” at. Although, they don’t seem to think twice about it when they pull the check book out at the reception desk after their doctor “looked” at them. Whether they feel any better at the time they’re writing the check or not because they’re confident that a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up that prescription will fix them right up; good as new. However, paying a professional mechanic to do his or her “looking” is simply out of the question. The way I see it, “Ya gotta pay to play” folks. Wherever this idea that a mechanic can walk out to the parking lot, wave his magical ratchet over the left rear tail light and all will be in working order is totally absurd. I mean seriously, the car has one service light, but hundreds and hundreds of reasons why it might be on. A battery drain can come from anywhere, a shorted fuse can be caused by all kinds of things, and as far as intermittent problems well, the possibilities are endless. Not to mention when some jackleg gets under the dash and starts adding their version of electrical wizardry to the problem. Some people just can’t make the connection between a doctor’s office visit and a mechanic’s diagnostic time. They’re stuck on this “look” thing. For that small number of people out there who don’t see the similarities between a doctor visit and automotive diagnostics, it’s not likely you’re going to change their mind about it any time soon. The last example of the “ain’t playin’ the diagnostic game” told me that he would only let me work on the car if I could guarantee it wouldn’t cost more than $400.00 bucks. I told him, “I’d like to say that it wouldn’t cost more than that, but what happens if I get in there and find the part alone costs $500.00 dollars, then what?” His answer, “Then I’d forget about fixing it, and I’d pay you for your time. How much do ya think that would be?” I smiled and answered as I pointed to the diagnostic fee on the wall, “The diagnostic fee, just what I’ve been explaining to you all along. Ya gotta pay to play the game, and that’s the diagnostic fee. Otherwise, I don’t play.” He still didn’t get it. I then told him, “You want me to guess at how much it will cost when I haven’t a clue what’s wrong. At this point I don’t even know what color the car is let alone the extent of your problem. Furthermore, you’ve had somebody work on it before. They’ve wired around some sort of switch you mentioned to me earlier about, and obviously I’ll have to undo all of that to determine the exact problem. Does that make sense now?” As if to show how my lack of intelligence about his car was quite obvious to him, he answered sternly, “It’s dark blue.” Not another word was spoken. I’m completely flabbergasted. Looks like the two of us are not going to play, because he’s not willing to pay. Instead of going any further, I figured it was time to throw the towel in on this one and call it a stalemate. All this transpired about the same time he thanked me for talking with him and was heading out the door to find the next guy who would “look” at his car. Seriously, what’s free these days? If ya wanna play, ya gotta pay. Simple as that. I doubt if you went into the doctor’s office and said you weren’t going to pay for his time, the doctor would tell you to get lost or at least want to know why you didn’t want to pay for his services. I’m sure if you told him, “I ain’t payin’ ya just to look at me. I’m only going to pay you to fix me.” The doctor might think you’re just a bit touched and in need of a different kind of doctor. But, as it is... mechanics diagnosing a tough problem have to deal with the “I ain’t payin’ ya to look at it” game nearly every day. Maybe in the future, all this will change. It has to. Cars are getting even more complicated and have amassed huge networks of electronics and mechanical parts that shouldn’t be left to the untrained and stab-at-it-until-ya-get-it type of repairs. Like a doctor, a professional mechanic might have a pretty good idea of what is ailing a car, but testing and diagnosing it is the game we all have to play to sort out the real tough problems and not just make assumptions. You want professional service… Pay to play, then the game is on. View full article

As you mentioned, a career as a Doctor or Lawyer isn't something you can practice at home or as a youngster. (at least I hope you don't...LOL) Unlike tinkering on the family car. But, it seems a father who is a doctor or a lawyer the likelihood that their son or daughter will be the same when they grow up is almost certainly more of a possibility than going into a different career. Probably no different for most mechanics. Still.... schooling and OJT is the answer.

Growing Up With Wrenches Unlike kids of today, my childhood was long before video games and color TV. Most of my free time was spent climbing trees, playing in the crick (creek, to you city folk), riding my bike, and tinkering with anything that had a motor. Wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers were just part of growing up. I would tear apart an old mower just to see what was inside. Most of the time it would end up in a pile of parts. But, by the time my dad came to see what I was doing, he would stand there in disbelief and just shake his head. Then dive in and show me how to put it all back together. Good times for sure. There was no You Tube, no on-line help. Just dad and son, and I’m sure it’s the same way my dad learned his tinkering abilities too. These days it’s all about the computer with their programs and the internet with its billions of websites. There aren’t as many kids that I know about who spend their summer vacations building tree houses or turning an old horizontal lawn mower engine into a homemade go-kart like I used to do. Times have changed, but the need for those wrenches are still as important as it was back in my youth. However, now a lot of those early learned skills have to be developed through a trade schools or at a high school shop class. That is if the economy hasn’t budgeted the shop class out of existence. Growing up with wrenches was just something I did. Which is probably what led me to enter the automotive field as a career. It’s a good living, and you get to meet a whole lot of wonderful people every day. But, as it has been for decades, there’s still a big shortage of mechanics out there. As I see it, the big problem isn’t so much a people shortage, but a shortage in “qualified” mechanics. I look at it this way. Back in the day of carburetors and vacuum modulated transmissions a lot of guys and gals didn’t go to any school to learn the trade. Most picked up bits and pieces of how things worked through on the job training. The older mechanics would teach the younger ones and so on and so on. But, all of a sudden the average age of the “qualified” and “experienced” mechanic is well over 50 years old. Somewhere along the line less and less of the younger generations wanted to pursue a career in the automotive field. What happened? From my point of view, I see a few things that might have been the cause. First off, the computer age. Cars went from points and condensers to electronic ignition, then onto the full blown electrical nightmare we have today. The older generation of mechanics all had a similar background working with hand tools and could understand the basic principles of an automobile. But, as the industry changed to more and more electrical systems their knowledge base dwindled. The smart guy who wanted to stay up with all of these changes did what was needed, and that’s study as much as possible. While the other guy who was still stuck with the learn as you go method would just slap part after part on until they got it right, and yes, there are a lot of “guessers” still in the business today. Now, the car wasn’t as simple as it was before, and the average dad wasn’t able to tinker on his family car as past generations could. But, the change to the computer age isn’t the only reason that caused this shortage of qualified mechanics. Ultimately it comes down to the amount of time and effort to learn these new systems, the amount of investment one has to put into it all and most importantly their overall income. The average professional mechanic has well over $100,000.00 invested in personal hand tools, tool boxes, and testing equipment over the course of their career. But, the pay varies as much as the diagnostic fee does from shop to shop. So, maybe part of the problem for the new techs coming into the business is NOT making the decision to start a career in the automotive repair trade but, making the investment in the tools when the pay isn’t all that great. So, where does all this low wage, high investment come from? The investment into tools is an easy one to figure out. But, the wage side of it is a bit more complicated. Let’s face it, all those shops that feel the best way to keep work in the shop is by having the lowest hourly rate is the real problem. Nearly all consumers make the general assumption that all mechanics are the same and that price is their only factor to be concerned with. In my opinion, right there is the real problem. Instead of shouting about a shortage of mechanics, which by “body count” their certainly isn’t a shortage we should be talking about doing something for the consumer. By starting at the bottom with those low rate/low skill shops and pulling them up to a more qualified level of expertise. Look at the attendees of any one of the trade schools or college based courses and you’ll see that there is a turnaround in the quality of the mechanic field just waiting to happen. But, nothing like growing up with wrenches. It’s the tech schools and the attrition of the parts swapper shops that’s going to make the changes. The tech schools allow an individual not only to learn those same skills I learned growing up with wrenches but an even more importantly the skill needed to be a qualified mechanic and whether or not this trade is right for you. It not going to be easy to make sense of all the information and skills that the future mechanics will need to know. They’ve got to be a whole lot more aware of so many different systems than what a few hand tools can help with. But, there’s still a place for the right person with the right kind of natural mechanical ability especially if they have those growing up with wrenches skills. There still out there, but some of them don’t know they have those gifted skills because they didn’t have the opportunity to experience any of it in their youth. Then again, the trade schools have their hands full teaching the basic hand to eye coordination, as well as bringing the students up to speed with the latest greatest electronics, so someone with that natural talent will likely shine through. Eventually, all those shops and mechanics that try to undercut their prices will fade off into the distance. Fewer parts changers and guess-until-ya-get-it shops, because the cars are getting smarter every year and the mechanic will have to do the same. Maybe, the days of growing up with wrenches is a thing of the past. Now we need more and more trade schools, conventions, seminars, and podcasts to keep upgrading our skill levels. Hopefully, in time, the trade will have the respect and salary to go along with the advanced diverse knowledge the modern mechanic needs to have. Even if they didn’t grow up with wrenches. View full article