Meeting people as a mechanic.

[4king]

He is saying that he trust them to fix the he issue .not that he is going to do it himself. That's the way I read it.

His preface statement made it sound as though he trusts the mechanic he just doesn't want to pay them.

That is fine and I'm sure plenty of people try that, then they go up to lasers shop asking for him to just put some freon in the system. Which is why he doesn't do that because I'm sure they would immediately blame him for their new ac compressor being bad because he messed it up with his bad freon

[Forever_frost]

I just can't even



You realize that is all I deal with every day. If you can't understand why your ac doesn't work then what makes you think you are even slightly competent enough to fix it. If you knew how an air conditioning systems works you wouldn't need some one to tell you what to fix

You do realize they are going to call you tomorrow and tell you that you need a new ac compressor and all the goodies and they want $1200

With my luck you'll be in my store tomorrow telling me you just need the compressor on your 99 dakota and you don't need the vacuum pump cuz you never needed it before in the 20 years you have been working on cars

You misunderstand. I know I know shit about vehicles at all. If I can't fix it by shooting it, I let it go to someone who knows what they're doing. I maxed out my skill set changing out the studs in the wheel after the wheel came off and that was sitting there for hours with a Chiltons, surrounded by tools, identifying every part as I removed it and putting it back. No thank you.

I want them to tell me what's wrong, what it will cost to fix it so I can get the money together and then after it's repaired, to come get it. It makes no sense to pay them to see what is wrong after driving it up there to come back, pay them and drive home a vehicle that still has the same problem. That's just stupid.

[LaserSVT]

It's broken already?

Kinda. Audi issued a gas tank recall 4 years ago. Reinforce and put a helmet on one part if it wasn't broken or replace the tank if that part was broken. Mine was broken and they performed the reinforcement that does nothing for the already broken part. They should have replaced the gas tank the first time. It was done improperly on this car and since they screwed it up now they have to replace the tank and all its components on their dime. Good thing too as its a $4000 job. As a bonus I get a brand new Audi while they await parts from Germany.

[line-em-up]

Kinda. Audi issued a gas tank recall 4 years ago. Reinforce and put a helmet on one part if it wasn't broken or replace the tank if that part was broken. Mine was broken and they performed the reinforcement that does nothing for the already broken part. They should have replaced the gas tank the first time. It was done improperly on this car and since they screwed it up now they have to replace the tank and all its components on their dime. Good thing too as its a $4000 job. As a bonus I get a brand new Audi while they await parts from Germany.

I get the feeling that you could fall into a pigsty and come smelling like roses. :-)

[LaserSVT]

I get the feeling that you could fall into a pigsty and come smelling like roses. :-)

Karma. Every now and then the universe throws me a bone.
That and I am resourceful. If I need to make something happen I will.



EDIT: I have lost sleep over it though. Worried about the car and everything in it. Been a LONG time since I cared about a car this much. Oddly enough the last car I cared this much about was blue and I never saw it again after it went into the shop.

[inline 6]

So you broke the tank!

[line-em-up]

Karma. Every now and then the universe throws me a bone.
That and I am resourceful. If I need to make something happen I will.



EDIT: I have lost sleep over it though. Worried about the car and everything in it. Been a LONG time since I cared about a car this much. Oddly enough the last car I cared this much about was blue and I never saw it again after it went into the shop.

Don't fret. It'll all work out. At least you know how to work on the thing if it does break.

[LaserSVT]

Yeah but I ment like missing amps or subwoofer. Of scratches and dings. I just had every last ding removed. Car is razor straight.
I am sure its fine, I am acting like a worried parent. LOL Not that I am comparing owning an old car to having a kid, I just ment worrying about something you don't need to worry about. Or shouldn't anyway. They are a good dealer, I would imagine they are careful since they work on 100k+ machines all day.

[LaserSVT]

Customer calls me up few days ago wanting to know how much to fix an electrical problem on his Lincoln. It blows fuses. I tell him to bring it in so I can check it out. Diagnostics are $70 but electrical on a Lincoln could take time and I will only devote 2 hours to the issue, after that its normal hourly rate. He again asks how much to fix it and I repeat I cant diagnose a multiple blown fuse issue over the phone. Could be a few dozen things.
Fast forward to today and three calls latter of him asking again and again on total cost of repair and he drops the car off. As he is leaving he says "You think its my bang?" Your what? "My bang. Ya know, the vibes?" *blank stare* "The boom, the subs. You think its my subs?" Dunno but I will check that first since you mentioned it. I also asked him which fuse it blows and he says its only the brake light fuse. Meh, should be easy enough. Thought it was multiple fuses.

Pop the trunk and see this beautiful mess.





2002 Town Car and that box eats up every inch of that trunk. Top rate wire job too. I see the main power wire has been removed at the battery so I rule that out. Both battery terminals are all the way loose and you can see the black marks from the power arc. So I correct that knowing that will blow fuses. Get under the dash and for whatever reason he removed 11 fuses. Turn signals, fuel door poper, dome lights, climate control, brake lights and several others. WTF? I replace all of them with proper ones and couldnt for the life of me get any to fail again. Get back to put it all back together and I see 14 blown 7.5 amp fuses on the floor. Sure enough he had replaced the 20 amp fuse with 7.5s and kept poping them. As to why he removed the other 10 fuses.... who knows.

[JC316]

I was actually the moron today, well me and last few owners of my corvette. Was coming home the other day and the guy in front of me slammed on his brakes due to a tractor. I did the same and my brakes were basically non existent, felt like only the rears were engaging. Slowly made it home, let it cool off, checked the pads and rotors, found nothing wrong.

Took it for a drive and the brakes were fine. Odd. Next day it did it again, this time after a lot of traffic use. Hmm, must be the fluid boiling. Changed the fluid and what came out was roughly the color of a Coke. That's just piss poor maintenance, previous owner should have changed it, but I should have caught it LONG before now.

[bard]

Get back to put it all back together and I see 14 blown 7.5 amp fuses on the floor. Sure enough he had replaced the 20 amp fuse with 7.5s and kept poping them. As to why he removed the other 10 fuses.... who knows.

Used the missing ones as spares for the shorted circuit?

[LaserSVT]

Nope. Asked him today when he picked up the car why all the others were missing. "I dunno. I just started pulling fuses." was the response.

[asphaltjunkie]

Fruses.

[Gasser64]

Lazer, can you install a security camera and attach a picture of these cars and owners to go with every story?

Oh yes please! Just something simple, but where we can see and hear it. This would be awesome. I can only imagine the laugh riot we'd have around here.

Anyway, 2 more questions for you. One serious, one just curious.

You're in waco, right? Do you have a recommendation for a mechanic that does house calls, that would service the Cleburne area? I turn most of my own wrenches, but there are times when I just don't wanna.

Next question, how do you distinguish yourself from the boatloads of other mechanics shops out there? Do you have a big sign near the road that is easy to see? I know you said something about word of mouth and repeat customers, but a lot of these people you're talking about, are clearly just walk ins. How do you attract them?

[4king]

He is a car guy which makes him a very strong mechanic, I wouldn't hesitate to say he is probably one of the best in the dfw area at what he does. The fact that he is on here also means if for some reason ho doesn't know he is searching the Web for common issues. That's not saying all other mechanics aren't good, he just soaks it in because it is in his personality to be a car guy

You would be suprised the amount of mechanics that call my auto parts store just for second hand advice