Gonzo

Owner’s Manuals The Tell, No-Tell Book of Knowledge. Hardly a day goes by that I'm not changing oil in a car. It's a simple task to perform… you know drain the oil, change the filter, and pour in the right amount of fresh oil. These days along with the usual oil change you also have to reset the oil reminder system on most cars. The procedure varies from model to model, as well as from year to year. Since I’m right there by the car I might as well find the owner’s manual, and look it up myself. It’s that little booklet that’s buried in the glove box under all those extra napkins, broken sunglasses, and assorted paperwork. (Funny, the one thing I never find in a glove box is … gloves.) Well that little book does (in most cases) have that information in there. A lot of times I might even use it to find the exact amount of oil I need to add, but for some reason not one of these various manufacturers can come up with one method of putting the information in a convenient spot. It’s a war of words between the writers of these manuals and my slowly diminishing patience. The information is in there, but it’s hardly ever clearly placed where you can find it. You’d think it would be a fairly simple task, just flip a few pages and find the answers, and you’d think with years of going through various owner’s manuals to find these reset procedures, or the quantity of oil that I’d have this down to an art. !!NOT!! There I am, just another day at the shop, another oil change, and just like the last oil change, I’m sitting in the car flipping page after page of that crazy book trying to find the right section. I do believe the definition of crazy is doing the same thing but expecting different results. That might explain the crazy mechanic in the car, if you walked by right about then. You’d probably noticed me shouting out a few comments about what I think of these poorly written exposés of motor world. The out pouring of obscenities and derogatory comments goes something like this, “Come on, you put it under capacities last time, where the heck did you move it to this year? Who in their right mind puts the oil reset under “interior controls”? Specifications section? Yea right… people! Let’s be specific… where in the world did you put it this time!?” Crazy is when you keep grabbing for the owner’s manual and expect a different answer than the last time you tried looking up things. (Wait a minute… is that me!? #!@#& owner’s manual!) But I’ll try looking up the information… over and over again. It’s like a maze of confusing references from one page to another. I mean really… there’s not that many pages in these darn things. Tell me, why do these owner’s manual writers make it so difficult to find such everyday information? I know it’s in there, probably one short paragraph describing a few steps you need to do to clear the warning light, but do ya think they’ll put a reference to that particular page in the index? HA! Good luck on that one. Of course, the real issue becomes my own stubbornness. Once I've rattled around in the glove box, found the owner's manual, and have started to dig through the pages of information I'm determined to find out how much oil goes in this car even if it takes me the rest of the afternoon to do it. I’m not letting some owner's manual get the best of me. I'm going to sit here and dig through this book until I find it! (Definition of crazy is in affect again.) Not that I like spending my afternoon reading a boring owner’s manual, but there really is a lot of useful information in there. Sometimes I do find a few things interesting. I call it “accidental reading” when I actually do run onto something I didn’t know before. (Usually while I’m looking for those reset procedures.) The other day I had one of my old regulars pull up with a van they had just purchased. They wanted to know how to fold the seats down to their storage position so they could go on a vacation with it. I just happen to be reading about how to fold the back seat in that particular car just the other day. (I was actually taking a mental break from trying to find the oil capacity page in the owner’s manual, besides, it had a really cool photo section in it.) That’s the only reason I even knew about it, and since I’m fresh with this new acquired knowledge I was more than happy to share it with my customer. Needless to say, he was totally impressed that I knew exactly how to do it. (If he would have asked me a few weeks earlier, I doubt I’d even know what to do other than looking in the glove box for his manual.) (It’s all about timing… you know.) Oh, I'm sure if you're a complete novice at driving, and you don't even know how to open the sun roof you should probably spend some time reading the owner’s manual. Of course, ya have to actually open the book. It doesn’t do much good just sitting in the glove box with all the other forgotten about items. Of course, a lot of new cars have gone to a cd or a website that you can view the manual. To me, that just makes it even less likely that I’ll look. I'll just go to my own computer and find the information there instead. It's less hassle than logging onto the web, and dealing with some website that starts you off with some bogus advertisement before you can get to the actual site information. I've lost count of how many times I think I've found the page with the information I needed, only to be directed to another section, which then leads to an entirely different section. It’s just a pain in the dipstick to read these manuals sometimes, and that’s probably why people don’t read them at all. You know what these manufacturers need to do? They need to spice it up a bit. Yea, like hiring a professional drama writer to write the owner’s manual for them. Maybe turn it into a novel… doll it up… make it interesting and not so boring. I can’t say I’d sit down in my comfy chair next to the fireplace with a copy of “Gone With the Owner’s Manual”, but it wouldn’t hurt to make them more readable… maybe then people might actually “read” them. And as for me, while I’m digging through the manual trying to find the reset procedures I might actually enjoy the read. Hey, a little entertainment while changing the oil… I’m up for that! View full article

not many times. But, I've seen guys get whacked with an unsprung hinge.

ROFL and I thought I was the only one that ran across that.

Hood Props and Latches Just as soon as the manufacturers got away from using heavy springs to hold the hood up they went to these tiny hydraulic hood shocks. But, since these shocks don’t hold up all that well over years of use, coming up with a way to “hold up” the hood can turn into its own form of backyard engineering. So what do you do? Some of these car hood crafters find the proverbial discarded broom stick or something of adequate length to prop the bonnet up for them. It works; hey… it held the hood up right? When the job under the hood is done you’ll tuck it away in the garage, or find an appropriate spot under the hood where you can leave it for future use. Once the hood is closed what was once a problem is now not a problem; out of sight – out of mind. Needless to say, replacing the hood shocks isn't high on the maintenance priority list. I make it a habit to re-purpose old broom sticks myself. If I need a more unobstructed access under the hood, or those old hood shocks have the “dropsies” (Yea, tell me you've never had that happen before.) I’ll reach for a pair of vice-grips to clamp onto the shock rod instead of propping it up with the broom stick. Of course there are those cars out there that don’t use hydraulic shocks at all. A lot of manufacturers have gone with using a permanent hood “holder-upper” rod permanently mounted in the engine bay. What baffles me about them is the countless times I've opened a hood and the rod has vanished. Now I’m back to finding that broom stick of mine, or look around for the owner’s creative “holder-upper” tool they so carefully stashed somewhere under the hood. What I’d like to know is, “Where do these hood props go?” They’re attached. I mean seriously, how do ya lose a hood prop? I just don’t get it. I can see somebody misplacing the jack because they changed a tire in their garage and didn't put it back, but the hood prop? It’s mounted in there so you can’t misplace it. It has one function in life, that’s to hold up the hood. What? Did somebody find a better use for one? I’d like know! Once these props and shocks have become non-functioning the quick thinking car owner comes up with a solution. Some are feats of real engineering while others just grabbed whatever was handy. I’ve found everything from a shortened 2X4 stud, re-bar tree limbs, PVC pipe, yard sticks, walking canes, pool cues, batons, pieces from a swing set, ax handles, large monkey wrenches, metal chair legs, and even a full size crutch stuck under the hood. I've got to admit, some of these creations are quite unique. Some of them might be worthy of a patent. Heck, why not… someone is always building a better mouse trap you know. All this talk of propping the hood up gets me to thinking about the other ingenious home repairs people have come up with regarding the hood, and that’s how do ya get the thing open when it won’t open. These days every car manufacturer I know of has gone with an inside release rather than the main latch release out under the front grill or bumper. The real surprise about the hood release snafu is when someone drops a car off for repair and neglects to tell the mechanic that they “rigged” the hood release. If the inside release isn't where it’s supposed to be… well then…the search is on…. (Usually with a spattering of inappropriate comments to go along with it.) Once you find the remnants of the cable or handle then it’s a question of whether or not to pull the cable, wiggle it, or yank it for all its worth. (More “words” will commence in just a few seconds.) Oh, I’ve spent my fair share of time groping around looking for the working end of the release cables before. And, of course there’s always the one with the cable broken off. (Grrrr…!) That’s about the time I’ll look at the repair order to see what I’m really supposed to be doing. As usual, nowhere on the RO does it say, “Good luck finding the hood release cable!” or “You might want to fix the hood cable before you change that water pump.” Nope, not a chance… seems everyone including the owner has forgotten all about the hood being an issue. Leave it up to the mechanic to find out all about it, aye? It’s a thrill a minute around here folks! (Start the chant; “I love my job, I love my job. Repeat as necessary.) It just keeps getting better… how about those mystery hoods? The ones that give you no signs that the main latch has released. You pull the lever and nothing happens. On some cars you grab that sucker and pull so hard you think you’re going to jerk the cable clean into the trunk, while others you can feel the latch releasing with a baby soft tug, but the hood doesn't budge. It’s still even with the rest of the body panels. That’s when you have to go out and use the old “Fonzie bump on the jute box” trick to get it to pop open. Some pop right up, but eventually you’ll run across a stubborn one, usually with the telltale signs of a screwdriver being used to pry it up high enough to get your fingers to the secondary safety latch. (Grumbling and cussing has erupted again.) Needless to say, the objective of the day was to get into the engine bay for whatever repairs you needed to make. Not make a chore out of just getting the blasted hood open. But it happens… happens a lot. Once in a while the owner will politely tell me that the hood doesn't open up very well. I appreciate that. At least now, I’m aware of the problem and not confronted with the unexpected dilemma of an uncooperative hood. Sometimes I do have to ask the customer, “Say, how do ya get your hood open?”, even though I feel like an idiot doing so. Wasn't I supposed to be the expert here? I thought it was my job to tackle car related problems and make the necessary repairs? Honestly, what kind of impression are you making with that new customer who’s at the shop for the first time, and you have to go up front just to ask them how to open the hood of their car?! Needless to say, you've probably already spent way too much time trying to figure it out on your own… before you swallowed your pride and went up to ask. (Been there…done that.) Well, the next job is coming in, and I can already see the hood cable dangling from under the front bumper on this one. Oh joy, another day in the shop… great, just great… I best go find that broom stick… I’m going to need it. View full article

Cool idea, I'll work on that one.

Now I know we're both getting old Joe. ROFL

Joe, ya make my zombie day reading your comments. Lol thanks

Sure Jeff, as long as you don't moan like a zombie... lol

Sometimes I wonder where I get these ideas for stories... must be a lot of late night TV or something. LOL

Zombie Cars “Brains, Brains, we need Brains!” Zombie cars? What’s a zombie car? Way back when we used points and condensers and later the basic electronic ignition systems cars didn’t need brains (ECM – Electronic Control Module), but that all changed in the mid 70’s on some imports and pretty much on everything else by the time the 80’s came around. Some of these brains were only cursory and didn’t actually control the car, but merely watched for emission issues, while others played a major role in the actual ignition spark or fuel delivery systems. Most of the engines in those early years of electronics still used the same basic distributor setups (with a few exceptions) as their earlier counterparts that used the old tried and true points and condenser type of ignition systems. On those older models it was rather easy to slap a different distributor in it or change it over to electronic ignition, (which worked quite well by the way). These days, well, it’s not that easy. These computer systems have become so involved into the engine controls and other related systems that it’s nearly impossible to bypass the fuel or ignition systems. However, there are still a lot of people out there with low mileage cars from that early era that have kept them parked alongside of the garage or hung on to them for some sentimental reason. Some (very few) are in great shape, others… well, they look like zombies already. What makes them zombies? The brain… the brain… they need brains! Just this past week I had several of these faded paint monstrosities lined up in the parking lot. (They never come alone… always in a pack.) For starters an old dilapidated 1986 Dodge pickup with a slant six. This old rusted, tilting to one side relic had been at another shop for a tune-up but, as the story was told to me by the owner, the other shop tried to start it when a fuel line ruptured and caught the old truck on fire. Luckily, they managed to get it out, but the damage was already done. The main harness from the firewall to the distributor, coil, charging system, blower motor, oil sending unit, temp. sender, and the starter wiring were completely melted into an unrecognizable mass of plastic and copper. It was my job to bring this dilapidated hulk back to life. The problem was the spark control computer was shorted out and unusable. Worse yet, the brain was discontinued eons ago and no replacement parts were available. This zombie needs a brain, and there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to get one. Seemed to me, a better idea was to do away with the electronic brain and refit the old slant six with a simpler ignition system than what it originally had. A lobototomy if you will. (Dr. Frankenstein would be envious.) Then there’s this 2002 Mustang that needs a new BCM (Body Control Module). Call the dealer, call the parts warehouse, call everybody! Anybody! Is there a brain for this car? Nope, discontinued. Seems this BCM is a rather rare brain out there in zombie land. At the same time this was going on in comes a 1982 Ford Bronco with the original Variable Venturi carburetor still on it. Ok, not a brain, but just as bad. Trying to find a suitable replacement these days is a challenge. Ten or twenty years ago this would be no problem finding parts or conversion kits for it, but not today. This is going to take a bit of time to get these zombies back on the road. This trend of bringing back the dead looks like it’s only going to continue with the economy in the shape it’s in. In some ways, I believe the manufacturers have thought this out long before there was a potential of these cars becoming zombies. Even though the car might physically still be in fair shape the components themselves are not readily available to bring these rolling dead back to life. In my youth it was nothing for me and a few friends to grab an old car out of a junk yard, throw a few shots of gas down the carburetor, add a few wires and a fresh battery and fire that old thing up. The rust would fly, the engine would clatter, and the exhaust would roar. Those days are long gone now. Cars could be dead for a very long time in that salvage yard or behind the shed and easily brought back to life in those days. Nowadays, the engine and other mechanicals hold up a lot longer than years ago. Even the body and interior can hold up pretty good, but the electronics are not as friendly with the ravages of time, temperature, and the weather. These zombies seem to be coming out of hiding more often than ever before. Reviving some of these early electronic zombies may happen, but on the other hand, it may be a futile effort. The truth of the matter is… these resurrections are not as easy to do as it was so many years ago. There are countless problems that have to be overcome to bring some of these rusted heaps back amongst the living, especially if you’re in area that requires emission testing. Just trying to bypass some of those early electronic brains when a replacement part can’t be found can be a real challenge. Some never make it and eventually die from the lack of a brain, while others wander aimlessly from shop to shop still searching for their elusive electronic gray matter. Even after you manage to find a brain for these living dead vehicles it’s likely something else is going to go wrong. After being cast aside for so long all the hoses, belts, and gaskets have dried up. Something will or is about to fall off all by itself. Just as soon as one of these zombie mobiles makes an attempt to join the living something will undoubtedly come tumbling to the shop floor. Whether it’s coolant, oil, a belt, or a pressure hose off of the power steering, something is not going to stay in place. Just like in every zombie movie I’ve ever watched, one of them always has an arm or leg falling off. It sure seems that these zombie cars follow right along with that same affliction. It’s safe to say, these relics of the early electronic era of the automotive world are in some respects the car equivalent to a zombie, half dead, half alive…and in search of a brain they may never find. So don’t be surprised if you’re at the next traffic light when an old faded-rusty-dented car with a shattered windshield, screeching brakes, and plumes of smoke that seem to follow it no matter where it goes, comes to a stop next to you. It’s just another car beginning its transformation into a “ZOMBIE CAR”. View full article

That made me chuckle. LOL So true. It just goes to show how "professional" some people treat the craft of auto repair. It seems to me that a lot of people consider the use of an auto mechanic as something that is not that important.... because they can fix it theirselves. Or, at least they think they can. These places that offer such services are just grasping at any angle to sell their wares. What I've found out, over the years I've been doing this is that those people that are looking at car repair as something they can handle by themselves and then try... usually end up at a repair shop with an attitude. This attitude usually causes even more friction between the mechanic, the service writer and the new customer. They want it cheap, quick, and don't want to be told that all the work they did to their car was either wrong or not neccessary. It chaps my arse to deal with these "scanner" reading misfits. If I ever see a doctor offer his equipment for my personal use I for one would run like hell to another doctor.

Welcome, it's great to hear of a new start up business. ASO and the gang have a lot of insight on running a repair shop, and I'm sure you'll get more out of it than you can imagine. Just think of ASO as that extra pocket screwdriver you have. Always there when you need it. Good luck and all the best,.

Time, can't be fixed... it ain't broke, it what it is, always moving forward... it's the one thing in our lives we can't put in reverse. Use it wisely. Thanks for sharing

I can't top the pig or the fish story, but in the same regards I get the horse trailers in that a farmer has been carrying other livestock in it. They'll have some sort of wiring issue inside the trailer, and... you guessed it... he never cleaned it out before he brought it to the shop. It's one thing to smell it, walk around it, accidentally step in it, BUT, when it's on the wires and in the same spot that I have to touch... YUK! Having cow crap fall on your face while under a trailer is just one of those things I don't care to deal with. double D Gross.

Jeff, geez.. I thought I was the only kid that had to do that. I would spend my summers on my grandfathers farm and one of the jobs I had was cleaning out the silos. I would rather clean the cow pens with all that smelly urine soaked straw than the silos. At least I could use the tractor to haul the yuk out of the pens, but the silo you were in there with a shovel and pitchfork. Nasty job. Ya brought back some memories with your comment. LOL stinky one for sure. ROFL

This Job Stinks! Sometimes it’s not the diagnostic issues, the parts, the software, or the procedures that put up a stink when it comes to fixing cars. Sometimes it’s the car itself that smells to high heaven. Oh, and I mean a real stink and a half sometimes. On occasions I get into a car that has been left out in the parking lot on a hot summer day with all the windows rolled up, and by the time I get around to moving it into the shop it wreaks as if something has crawled in there and died. Once in a while it’s left over food scraps in fast food bag that bring out the foul smell. Other times it’s some dirty skanky clothing, or a gym bag full of sweaty, soiled socks that puts off the foul odor. Sometimes it’s the heavy smoker’s car, or the putrid smell of stale beer that makes your nostrils wish they were somewhere else. Of course, you can’t forget about the lingering odor of the illegal smoking paraphernalia and/or residue that you’ll run across from time to time. Honestly, some people just don’t give a stink as to how their car smells. But, others go to the other far extreme. There’s always somebody who tends to keep so many of those air fresheners hanging off of the rear view mirror that you can barely see out the windshield. They must be trying to cover up the smell of the dead body in the trunk with those things, or they’ve decided to start a collection of green and blue air fresheners shaped like little pine trees for some reason. I don’t know which. (I’ll skip looking in the trunk for right now.) So these smells, these odors, these nostril bending stench makers almost always have one thing in common... the owner doesn’t notice the smell. Ok, Ok… sometimes it’s the baby barf in the back seat or the dog hair trapped in the evap. core that is stinking up the place…and the owner might mention to you that they have a dog, or baby on board… but even then… they seem to be oblivious to the stomach churning stench they are carrying around in their car. I’ve run across some really nasty smells from the interior of all kinds of cars in my time. Smells that could curl your toes. From putrid steaks in several bags in the back seat of a Cadillac to just plain “B.O” that lingers in the air. Even those whiffs of stale perfume that seem to permeate the interior of some cars can act like a sort of leech looking for a new victim to attach itself. Ya just can’t get rid of some of those smells so easily. Shortly after I went into business, so many years ago I had a late 60’s Ford Van come into the shop with brake light problems. The owners dropped it off early that morning, and were hoping I could get to it by that afternoon. Needless to say, it was a hot, dry August day with the midday temps well over 100 degrees. It was so hot you could see the heat waves coming off of the blacktop. Not a day to be spending a lot of time out in the blistering sun for any extended period of time. I was hot myself, sweating and very busy, but I did manage to get things caught up in time to look at this old van’s brake lights by mid-afternoon. I grabbed the invoice and the keys and made a dash out onto the tarmac with the scorching sun blazing down on my back. It was so hot that touching anything metal outside was enough to burn you. I quickly threw the door open, jumped in and fired it up. EGADS! WHAT‘S THAT FREAKIN SMELL?? In mere seconds, my eyes were watering, my nose was burning; I’m about to go unconscious from all this heat, and I certainly don’t want to pass out in this foul smelling contraption. It’s running, I ain’t stopping now, one quick gulp of that hot air from outside of the van and drop it in drive… back to the service bay where there is at least a cool fan waiting for me. After bringing the van to a screeching halt I bailed out of that thing as fast as I could with one giant leap to the shop floor. Still gagging from the unexpected stench I went around and opened all the doors to the van. Then I got the biggest shop fan to blow that smell outside. Even with the fan blowing right at the steering column that stench seemed to swirl around and around in the same area I was working in. But, I pressed on. My eyes have somewhat adjusted. I can at least focus now. Even though my nose still burned from it, I figured I wouldn’t be in there that long. Thank goodness, it’s a quick fix; the old Ford’s brake light switch was tagged as the problem. Super… now I just have to dive in there one more time to replace it. As soon as the part showed up I braved the stench one last time and installed the new switch. Mind you, the aroma wasn’t letting up… not even for a second. There was a point there when I didn’t seem to mind the smell, but all it took was a little wind shift from that big shop fan to remind me all over again. There was one last thing I just had to know, and that was of course… what was that smell? If you remember these old vans had a metal stand that the seat was bolted to. This made for a perfect under-seat storage area too. Storage yes, but I don’t think it was meant for what I found under there. Balled up into little separate packages had to be more than a dozen soiled, wet and gross…. Baby diapers… there was even a small trail of oozing Yuk traveling down the brackets and running to the rear of the van. Yes, potty panties for little ones… used, abused and full of you know what. That was enough for me. Get this poop mobile outside and let it bake for another couple of hours until the owners come. By closing time the owners made it in to settle up. (I didn’t say a word to them about the smell.) I watched as they climbed into their van, oddly enough there wasn’t any reaction from the odor, or any indication they even noticed a foul smell emanating from their mobile cesspool. They just started it up, dropped it into gear, and away they went. Unbelievable, my eyes are still stinging from the ammonia, and I’m not even in the van anymore. I can’t see how they could stand it in there with the windows rolled up and all. Gross! Well, one thing’s for sure, this is one time I can say, and I really do mean it this time! … This Job Stinks! View full article

Jeff, I appreciate ya for all your hard work. If nobody else will tell ya...I'll say it... thanks for being there. Now go have a beer. LOL

I see what your saying Joe. And, it's a very likely scenario. What can we do to combat the "total care" or "free maintenance" issues? I wish I knew.... Hopefully, things like customer loyalty still has some clout. I would think most of my customers that I have been serving for years that would go out and buy a brand new car would only go to the dealer until it wasn't free for them. That might take me out of the loop for a while, but I think it would all turn back to the independent shops sooner or later. Price still drives sales, and repairs. If it wasn't free... they would be at my door looking to save a buck.

ROFL... good one Jeff

Mr. I Don’t Know Automotive repair has its ups and downs, just like any other trade does. Problems crop up on a car and mechanics fix them. There usually are only four types of repairs. One - Where something has failed due to normal wear and tear or accident related. Two - A manufacturer defect. Third – Mother Nature’s lends a hand, either from natural elements or one of Mother Nature’s numerous friends, i.e.… bugs, deer, snakes, rodents, etc.... Fourth - The most common one, and regrettably sometimes the hardest to solve … somebody has worked on it before without knowing what they were doing. You can sort out these different types of repairs at the front desk when a new customer arrives to drop their car off. It just takes asking the right questions. Most people when asked a few basic questions like; “What brings you here today?” or “What seems to be the problem with the car?” are generally straight forward with their answers. They’re usually very cordial, friendly, and quite sympathetic to the car’s condition and to the mechanic they are entrusting their pride and joy to for repair. Sometimes they’re just repeating what the last shop told them was wrong with, but that’s OK, it just might take a few more questions to get on the right diagnostic page. It doesn’t take long before you know what kind of repair you’re getting into. But, like anything else… there are extremes. Two fellas walked up to the front desk and were met with the customary hellos and what brings you here today type of greetings. They seemed like nice guys, nothing out of the ordinary, but instead of answering with a description of their problem it was, “I don’t know.” It kind of threw me for a second, but I gathered my thoughts and proceeded with the typical evaluation questions to see if I could get an idea as to why they were here. “Does it drive differently than it used to, or is there any warning lights on?” “No.” “Is this something to do with it not starting?” “I don’t know.” Just to lighten up the situation, I tried joking around a bit to see if it brought out a different type of response, “Do you need wheel bearings or a battery? Maybe the wipers aren’t working? I’m running out of ideas here fellas, how about some hints as to what might be wrong with the car?” “It has a problem.” “What kind of problem?” “I don’t know.” (I asked for that response, didn’t I?) “Well, I need some clues as to what part or section of the car that isn’t working correctly. It’s not like I can check everything. Well, I could, but that would be rather expensive.” “I don’t want to spend any money.” “Then why are you here?” “The other shop said you could fix my problem.” “That part I can do… I can fix just about any problem… BUT, what is the problem?” “I don’t know.” “Can I call the other shop and ask them? What’s the name of the other shop?” “I forgot their name.” This went on for what seemed hours. Back and forth with the “I don’t knows” and not once did I get any idea as to what I was supposed to be looking at. It didn’t matter if I mentioned something about the check engine light or whether or not his bumpers were on straight it was the same answer. “I don’t know.” I got a feeling this other shop that he unfortunately forgot not only the name of but where they were in town sent this guy my way just so they didn’t have to deal with him anymore. (At least it seemed that way.) This whole situation was getting way too bizarre even for my wacky standards. Time to send these guys packing. “Sir if and when you finally decide on what needs repaired and realize no matter what is wrong with it that you’ll being spending a few bucks to get it tested and repaired then and only then bring the car back. Since that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen today I’ll have ask you to leave because I have other customer’s vehicles in the shop that have problems and who are willing to pay for my services. You’ve wasted enough of my time already. “So, you’re not going to fix my car?” “No.” “Why is that?” (My turn) “I don’t know.” With that the guy and his buddy headed out the front door and drove off. Haven’t seen them again since. Just goes to show, if the information from the customer doesn’t lead in any direction or there isn’t any clues that a good detective/technician can use as a guide in finding a solution and they’re not willing to pay for your services… it’s time to move on. This was an extreme situation to say the least. Even in some of those real odd ball problem descriptions it does get pretty tough to find the right questions to ask in order to get the root of the problem, but it can be done. Sometimes just getting the customer to tell you the important facts can be harder than repairing the car. How often has this happened before and will it happen again? Hmm, let me think on that for a second. How about I give you my best professional answer on that one… … … “I don’t know”. View full article