Gonzo

There's a shop not too far from me that had the word "FORD" in their business name. Ford actually contacted him (lawyers that is) and told him to remove or face huge court costs and fines. He changed it shortly after that.

It takes more than quality parts to keep customers in the shop. It also takes quality workmanship as well. These cheap parts suppliers just confuse the average consumer into thinking that the parts shouldn't cost so much. Then add the idea that a lot of these components can be changed with just a few hours (or minutes) of labor time. The thing they both don't take into consideration (cheap parts suppliers and consumers) that it might take longer to locate the fault than actually making the repair. This is where our expertise is at its highest value. When you have a cheap part, cheap repair shop, cheap customer all wrapped into one job there is going to be a problem. A BIG PROBLEM. Which.... always ends up with the consumer making the assumption that "all" mechanics are bad, and that the cheap part got the job done even though they might have to change the same part over and over again... because by now... they've figured out the symptom they are having relates back to the same defective part. BUT, they hardly ever make the connection that it's the part that is the major let down. It would be an awesome deal if a lot of the "good" shops got together and made a TV commercial stating what a good shop with quality parts can do, and informed the public the major differences in using a reputable shop and not just taking the word of some goof ball behind the counter at Auto Zone with a two-bit code reader.

Still ... it doesn't mean I'm going to be buying parts from them. Profit or no profit,AutoZone parts have never been a product that I could endorse or bolt on a car. Price still matters to the average consumer. I think they should relabel some of these parts as "get-ya-by" parts or "get-ya-to-buy" parts. Cause it seems price is still the preferred option on how to shop for car parts.

O'Reillys called me the other day and told me they are no longer doing PCM reflashing in their stores. They said there were too many problems with the system and the company that supported their equipment isn't going to update the equipment. So, they told me they are going to refer all their customers to my shop. Yea... I think....?!?!? Had a couple of calls already but they are expecting it to be free because they bought the computer at O'Reillys. Ah... 'fraid not. All I can say is get used to Mr. General Public. Part stores are changing their standards and a lot of the things they used to do are going to revert back to repair shops ... again. Check your local O'Reillys and see if the same thing is happening in your area.

They really didn't give a reason for low sales. Ya think people are getting tired of going back for repairs? Could it be the cheap parts and cheap labor...then again, it could be any other reason you could think of too. How about Auto Zone...??? Profits up or down?

Don't get started.....

Way back when door ajar systems first came out and they were not on the scanners "radar" you had to actually disconnect each door. I had a guy come in who insisted on watching. He watched me look up the wiring diagram and how it was connected to each door and how the light worked. I told him, "Pick a door. Because no matter where I start I'm not going to be correct, and I'm charging you for each door I tear down." He said that was OK and to start with the driver's door since it was used the most and that he NEVER opens the rear doors. I checked the driver's door... nope that ain't it. He said, "Let's check the pass. front door next...nope not that one either. Well, since we were on the pass. side... do the rear pass. side... nope not that one either. I moved over to the driver's rear door and wouldn't ya know it... the door WAS ajar. "CLICK" the door shut completely and the light went out. If the lookie-see owner wasn't hovering over me the whole time I probably would have just walked around and slammed all the doors first... but he insisted that he didn't use the rear doors ever. His choice... his bill. LOL He called his wife and told her what I found, that's when she told him about the grandkids getting in the car the other day. (They have another car that they use for the grandkids and the kids mistakenly got in the wrong car.) There's a pet peeve that really strips my ratchets.... customers who think they know... but don't ... and should keep their dang mouths shut and sit in the waiting room. LMAOF I got paid for his remarks and all the work I put into it... so what's fair is fair. LOL

ROFL too funny Jeff.

Top Ten Pet Peeves Every day at the repair shop there’s another challenge to overcome. When things go smoothly the day glides by without notice. One day passes to the next, so on and so on. But, there are those occasions when one of life’s little obstinate reminders comes along to let you know that every day can’t be perfect. Usually, just to irk even the best mechanic off for no reason at all, except to be a royal inconvenience. You know, it’s those daily activities and tasks that create their own obstacles just to rub your wrenches the wrong way. They make ya wanna flip your pressure gauges into the next service bay. I know for a fact that there’s not enough morning coffee to ease the frustration when you are in the midst of working all day and some little insignificant problem comes along that isn’t part of the big picture you’re trying to solve. It just adds to the challenge of the day. You’ve already got to deal with the cars, the owners, the tools, the weather, and the usual soap opera stuff in the shop. Now ya gotta throw this into the mix. It’s just one of those tasks that shouldn’t be an issue but certainly can add to a tension headache and a darn good chance for a swift kick to the offending item. Hey, let’s face it, nothing’s perfect, but it sure would be nice when the simple things in the shop just stayed simple. Yea… like that’s going to happen. Here’s a list of my top ten pet peeves of the auto shop. 10# - You drive a car onto the lift, set 3 of the 4 legs, but the last one won’t line up or get past the tire, unless you hop back in the car and move it just a bit more. (I’ve figured it out… 9 out of 10 cars don’t fit the first time. So, 1 out of 10 cars is going to give me fits in a different way.) 9# - How come the air hose is always 6 inches too short to reach that last bolt? (It doesn’t matter how much extra hose you sling off the reel, it’s still 6 inches short.) 8# - Tool borrowers who borrow tools and don’t bring them back. Tool borrowers who bring them back…broken. Tool borrowers who don’t wipe the grease off of my tools after they’re done with them. (Ok…in general… “tool borrowers”.) 7# - Small cars with gym equipment, boxes full of random stuff, and or a pile of clothes behind the driver’s seat. When I try to move the seat back, so I can drive it into the shop … it won’t move….! (I don’t think I can slip between the wheel and the seat in some of these cars, even if I went on a diet… ain’t enough room, people! ! ! ) 6# - Pocket screwdrivers with extra strong magnets on the tip. Magnets are good, but not when you lean over an engine and the screwdriver attaches itself to the nearest piece of metal… every time! (The last one that did this is in my tool box… safely away from being the next projectile across the shop.) 5# - The last guy to use the oil recovery tank filled it up with the last oil change, and didn’t bother to empty it. (There’s a price on that guy’s head. He don’t know it, but he’s a marked man….) 4# - Service writers who don’t ask questions, but will write down anything the customer tells them, even if it makes absolutely no sense at all. “The car sounds like a ballerina with a sore foot.” This is NOT a good explanation of a faulty suspension component! (Let’s face it, I ain’t no ballerina, haven’t a clue what it would be like to have a sore foot as one.) 3# - Drop a car off, explain (in over abundant detail) about the problem they are having, but fail to mention the outside door handle is broken, and that I have to crawl in from the passenger side. (So, you want me to perform some Olympic gymnastics feat to fix your car? ‘Fraid not… fix the fX%#& door!) 2# - You ask if I’m a mechanic, then proceed to tell me how brilliant you are at my profession. Later on in the conversation I find out the cars you’ve worked on are all for relatives of yours… most of which don’t speak to you anymore after you’ve done your “magic” under the hood. (Oh I know, everybody is a mechanic. Might as well fess up… but I don’t need to brag about what I do… my work speaks for itself.) 1# - Engineered disasters, poor designs, and unbelievably impossible to get to bolts or components that only an idiot would have designed that way in the first place. Then show zero labor time to remove said part, which only makes it worse when I bid the job out to what it “really” is going to take. Then… as usual… the customer calls another shop, who uses the book time (only) never having done this particular job before, and ends up with the repair. Then, a few days later the same car is back with “other” problems related to somebody trying to get to those hard to reach bolts or components and has damaged something along the way. AND, of course… it’s all my fault don’t ya know………… (The battle was lost even before I started. Should’ve been a ballerina…) Bonus Pet Peeve Start an electrical short trace from one end of a circuit and 9 chances out of 10 the problem is on the opposite end. And it doesn’t matter if you try to “out think” it by starting on the other end … it’s still going to be on the opposite end. (Murphy’s Law… it’s a done fact…) I think I should have started this list as the top 100 instead of the top ten, because there’s a lot more of them out there. It’s just the kind of thing that makes ya wanna split your sockets sometimes. I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s those little things that accumulate as the day goes by that makes ya wanna snap off your Snap On ratchets. The mere thought of another half-cracked-silly issue that shouldn’t be an issue showing up makes locking up the tool box and try it all again tomorrow rather tempting. But, you know you’ll stick it out, you’ll get it done, grumble a bit of course, and as anybody in the business will tell you… it’s just another day and a part of this crazy world of auto repair. Yep, it’s just another one of those quirks that life throws at you now and then. Best thing to do is to shake it all off and deal with it. Go on about your merry way, and try to keep from bending another pry bar into a pretzel. Tomorrow’s another day. Yes, there’s always a tomorrow… and I’m sure there will always be another pet peeve just waiting to be a part of your productive day. Happy wrenchin’! View full article

ur scarin' me Jeff. But, the last car I had in did tell me that it knows you. LOL

Congrats Alex!

Yes, yes I have been working on cars too long. I think I'm actually hearing them talk. I've even answered them too. Could be I need to see a shrink. And... if I did... the doc would probably be in my next article. ROFL From week to week I really don't have any idea what I'll write about, but that's good. Keeps me interested in coming up with a new topic. Glad y'all like to read them. Thanks for all the comments.

The Car and the Psychiatrist As a professional mechanic I spend a lot of my time sorting out what the owner of a car is trying to tell me about it. Sometimes they make perfect sense and have a fair amount of knowledge about the condition. Other times it’s more emotional, or the problem is exacerbated with some obscure information they overheard from somebody else. This makes finding out the root cause of the problem even more frustrating for the mechanic. I’ve heard everything from, “I don’t want my daughter driving around in it if it’s going to die on her!” to, “The last mechanic already ran the codes, so I don’t need it diagnosed again. Just fix it!” Sorry, but none of this drama makes any difference in making the repairs. Of course there’s the ever popular and always disturbing answer to the one question that every service writer has to ask, “What’s wrong with the car?” They’ll start there story off with the day they bought it, the first time a tire went flat, what was fixed on the car last year, and about the time when Aunt Betsy broke the door handle off, because… you know… Oh you know… it’s all related to the reason the check engine light is on right now. I think it’s fair to say that I’ve heard all the good and all the bad, and some of the most absolutely insane self-diagnostics explanations you could ever imagine. But, what if you could get passed all that? What if I could just ask the car instead? You know, psychoanalyze the car. What would the car tell the mechanic about itself, its life, its history? Sure a lot of cars already have internal memories that store service codes that I can analyze, and there are also a few models out there that also collect other important data that could help in crash analysis or warranty issues, such as the highest rpm recorded, what gear the car was in, or whether or not the brakes were applied. But what if there was a way the car could show its emotional state? So when I ask the car what’s wrong it gives me its life history from its point of view instead of the owner? Let’s say, by talking to a car psychiatrist and telling them what they’ve been through. If that was possible it just might go something like this: The psychiatrist asks, “So tell me about yourself, and how this all got started.” The car answers, “Well, it all started after I left the factory. I spent a long time in a big rail car with my brothers and sisters. Seemed like we were even on an ocean, but I couldn’t tell because I couldn’t see out of this big box we were in. Then, I came to a place where a lot of people in blue uniforms washed me, checked me over, and put a sticker on my windshield. There were lot of people that test drove me and said nice things about me. After some time, a couple took me home with them. For a long time they drove me around town, but they seldom took me in for regular service. Oh, at first they did. I had my oil changed regularly, and I even got new wiper blades too! But it wasn’t long after my warranty ran out and those free oil changes from the dealer were all used up that I didn’t get my usual weekend scrub down. As I got older I started to have a few aches and pains. I tried to tell my owner about it. Why, I even turned on the service light for them. But they ignored that, too. My front end started to squeak, and my shocks were going bad. Things just started to go wrong, and those nice people who took such good care of me when I was new didn’t want to take care of me anymore.” “I see,” said the psychiatrist, “Then what happened?” “Well I went to a new home, but nobody took care of me there, either. I was falling apart Doc, I tried to tell them, too! I left oil spills on the driveway, but it didn’t do any good. Nobody wanted to take care of me anymore.” “So, you’re feeling neglected aren’t you?” the doctor asked. “Somewhat, and I’m not really doing so good these days. My valves are tapping, and my transmission is slipping. Why even with all the reminders and tell-tale hints I gave my owner it just doesn’t seem to matter.” The psychiatrist wrote down his comments and recommended a full diagnostic checkup. He informed the owner of his findings during the session with their car, and told them to head to the nearest repair shop before it was too late. He then sternly tells the owner, “If this was still horse and buggy days and you kept your horse like you do your car you’d be pulling your own wagon and not the horse!” Farfetched? Well of course it is. Who ever heard of a car getting psycho analyzed anyway. But, I think there are times the car could tell the mechanic a lot more about itself than the owner ever could. Maybe someday the technology will be so far advanced that all the zany, crazy, and weird explanations people give for the condition of their car might all be answered after a visit with the shrink. A shrink for the car that is. View full article

I reckin' I hit the ol' funny bone this time.... yepper I sure did. ROFL Thank ya kindly Joe.

HillBilly HoeDown “Time for an old fashion sing-a-long. You know the tune, now sing it like you know you do when you’re in the shower! Come on now… you can do it!” First a little Banjo pickin’ … ya got it… OK Here we go…. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Come listen to my story about a man named Jess A do it yerself guy who kept his car a mess Then one day while in a tinkerin’ mood . . . Out from the engine came a bubblin' crude . . . Oil that is, . . . black gold, . . .Texas tea The next thing ya know Ol’ Jess ain’t thinkin’ clear Kin folk said, Jess move that car out a here! Said a mechanic place is where you ought to be So he hauled the ol’ car to the facil-i-ty Repair shop that is, spinnin’ tools, movin’ tires The shop made the repairs and got ‘em on the road Now Ol’ Jess ain’t needen’ to be towed… Ol’ Jess decided not to work on his car anymore! Says it’s a lot easier comin’ thru the lobby door…. Front door that is, no tow trucks, no home repairs. Ol’ Jess yelled out what he had to say, “Workin’ on yer own ain’t the best way” “These here cars, are too complex for me these days” Said, “It takes a heap of schoolin’ just to fix em’ anyways.” Trainin’ , that is, classes, and OJT. Ol’ Jess always refers us to, all his family and friends, They all mention him, when they show up agin’ and agin’. But, now it’s time say goodbye, to Jess and all his kin. We’d like to thank you folks, fer kindly droppin in. You're all invited back again to this here locality To have a heapin helpin of our wrenchin’ abilities Auto repair that is. Engines, Transmissions, Brakes, and more… Y'all come back now, ya'hear?! A little more Banjo and repeat the first verse. Alright! Ya done well Y’all! ! ! View full article

Welcome! It's been a great life for me and my family. I've had a family member in my business ever since I opened. Been a blast even through all the ups and downs.

I read everyones comments and I would agree its a problem, a problem that has only gotten worse with the electronic age. I really think the problem starts when a person buys a car. Most people buy a car with the thought of how much it costs per month and what the insurance will run, and never give a thought to maintenance or repairs. When something does need serviced they first look at their personal finances and then go to the cheapest source first. Namely... Auto Zone. Like Joe said about answering the question, "So, what do you do for a living?" For me, I usually get one of those frowns and I start to grumble, because you know.... no matter how good of a tech you are the person who asked the question usually thinks your name is Mohammed and ya keep a can of grease around to rub my hands in. Hard to change peoples perception if they can't see the need in quality service.

I don't know where they get their info from, but when it comes to restoring a car some of them think it's no big deal. Like, I can get every part for every model with no hassles, and with one phone call. One guy (years ago) told me that I didn't know what I was doing because car parts are like going to a hardware store. Every part is there you just have to know which isle its in. I really wanted to find a 2X4 and smack this guy with it. Seriously, dude... I might be able to take a few boards, cut them to shape and make something out it, but, It's not like a can whittle a carb. out of a block of aluminum. geezzzz.

Rust in Peace Not every car that has ever traveled down a country road or city street is a good candidate for restoration. Some are just better left as a memory. I’ve seen these relics of the past come in all sorts of forms, from a basket case, to a slightly used and abused muscle car, to a very tired, old neglected vehicle. Some are “found projects” that bring out a gleam in the new owners eye. They could be a barn find, off of the internet, or at a car auction. And, as with most of these rusted-mostly forgotten rides there’s a reason it was left in the condition it is now. Sometimes, the story behind it all has more entertainment value than the car ever will. They arrive at the shop in all sorts of ways, with all sorts of owners. Sometimes the owner has already started on the project, and after years of fiddling with it they finally threw down the wrenches, or it could be a project they’ve always wanted to restore, but never could find the time. Every now and then I run into one of these characters, you know the type, the ones with the two car garages but only room for one car, because the other space is used for storing the tattered remains of a car under a tarp. Of course, sitting outside, dealing with the elements is the spouse’s new car. While the unrestored shell slowly disintegrates, leaving a fine dust of material on the garage floor. The last “basket” case was literally in baskets, milk crates to be exact. It was an old Honda, probably one of the first ones ever brought over. The owner bought it cheap enough, and wanted to see if I could make it road worthy again. Despite the fact that the engine was in scattered pieces in several milk crates, almost all of the parts were there. It actually turned out to be a decent little car after all the work was done. On one occasion a customer brought in an 84 Corvette he wanted restored. As the tow truck brought this guy’s new found deal towards the service bay, you could easily see there were a lot of damaged fiberglass parts everywhere you looked. Basically, anything that was fiberglass was going to need replaced. All the windows had signs of water damage, and the water intrusion only got worse as I opened the door. The car reeked of mildew and sewage. There were signs of water clean up to the headliner. I tried the hood release, nada… wasn’t budging. Both hood cables were sheared (rotted) off. Now the challenge was just to open the hood. I finally got both latches popped, and as the hood leaned forward I was in for a big surprise. Not only was the interior smelly and nasty, but the engine compartment was as well. There was dried plant material still hanging on the exhaust manifolds and intertwined in the coolant fan. The valve covers looked as if they were paper thin. I leaned over and touched this odd frail looking spot on top of one of the valve covers. My finger went right through it. Everything that was aluminum or magnesium had simply deteriorated away to almost nothing. Turns out the car was bobbing around in the Gulf of Mexico for several months before it washed up against a dock. Seems an extremely upset Ex drove it into the ocean, just before the divorce papers were signed. The cost of restoring this one was going to be astronomical. After a lengthy deliberation with the owner, he finally decided to send it back through the auction where he originally bought it. Older models will still be the norm for restoration. I doubt you’ll see a lot of modern cars restored in the quantity as the “pre-electronic” era cars. This does bring on a whole new set of problems, as those cars and trucks age even more and leave even larger piles of dust in the garage. Things that weren’t a problem before are now going to be an even bigger problem. Restorations are one thing, rusterations are another. It really comes down to the economics of it all. You have to ask yourself, “What is the emotional attachment worth? Or, what is that fantastic deal actually worth when it’s finished out? Sometimes the emotional attachment is much stronger than the bottom line, and you can bet the cost isn’t going to be a factor on those. But for those fantastic deals, or those bargains of the century, they soon don’t look as good when the owner gets a grip on reality and realizes the cost involved. The latest rusteration was a 1950 Plymouth the owner has kept in the family since his college days. The owner was well into his 60’s by now, and wanted to see what it would cost to restore it back to its original glory. For a time it was under a tarp in the garage, but as the kids grew older and space became a premium, the old car was left to fend for itself behind a shed. By the time I got a chance to see it, it hadn’t been started in more than ten years, the gas cap was missing, and the fuel tank was brim full of water. Mice had set up housekeeping in every corner of the interior. It wasn’t a classic model, just a plain Jane four door sedan, and definitely not a museum piece. More like rust on rust with a touch of broken glass and a few dangling chrome accessories. The fact that you could see through the rocker panels from one side to the other was the first clue that this car might be too far gone. The original flat head straight 6 was still in place, and after hanging a gas can on the roof to gravity feed fuel to the carburetor the darn thing actually started, sounded pretty good too. But, every freeze plug leaked (rusted through), the carburetor leaked, the water pump leaked, and there wasn’t a whole lot of good things to say about the overall condition of everything else under the hood. “Let’s see what a 4 door 1950 Plymouth sedan sells for in tip-top shape,” I told him. A couple of internet searches and he had his answer. Eventually, the estimated cost of restoration prevailed over the sentimental value. As he told me, “I think I waited too long to restore this car. When it would have been feasible to restore it, I didn’t have the money. Now that I have the money, it’s too far gone.” There are a lot of instances where the car is worth the time and money to restore, then sometimes not. I feel obligated to let them know whether or not their car is a good candidate for restoration. I’d rather lose a customer and gain a friend than make enemies out of us all over a restoration that’s gone bad. Sometimes it’s best for some of those old rusted relics to remain where they are, and let them … … … “rust in peace”. View full article

What's really funny is that I wrote this story so long ago and back then a lot of people didn't understand how the basic fuel gauge worked, so they kept me busy fixing these things. Even though a lot of them would go to the junk yard and start swapping parts trying to fix it. Sometimes that worked, sometimes a simple melted connector was beyond their comprehension. Fast forward to today. People still don't understand basic systems (even though they aren't anywhere near as basic as it was 20 years ago) but... there still trying to swap parts from the junk yard. Now I'm kept busy sorting out flash and theft issues after they've swapped a few components. Ah, how times have changed...and now... ya can't put gas in the wrong tank, because the two tanks are setup to be equalized. go figure.... what a world we live in.

I think I already ran this story a few years ago. I was going through some old stories and I reread this one and thought I'd update it a little bit. Still cracks the wife up, so.... I'm running it again. Wife happy...everybody's happy. LOL