Meeting people as a mechanic.

[mstng86]

Larry but we called him Slick.

after the incident, right?

[BP]

after the incident, right?

You'd think but his last name was very polish and the end of it was ztlik.

[EW]

They tried to slide me a $20 bill but I refused, I'm not going to take your money for something that took me 5 minutes.

They are paying for your knowledge. You need to make them pay or tip or whatever. I'm definitely not saying I haven't done tons of stuff for free or less than it should cost but it is not worth it. I used to try and be nice to maybe score a future sale by helping someone out. I have not seen a return on that investment and something that looks simple and quick usually ends up being grief because terminals or fuse holder falls apart or any number of other BS problems.

[LaserSVT]

They are paying for your knowledge. You need to make them pay or tip or whatever. I'm definitely not saying I haven't done tons of stuff for free or less than it should cost but it is not worth it. I used to try and be nice to maybe score a future sale by helping someone out. I have not seen a return on that investment and something that looks simple and quick usually ends up being grief because terminals or fuse holder falls apart or any number of other BS problems.

This

[4king]

My record is 17 codes on my personal car, customer record was 24 in a V6 Saturn vue. Customer asked me if I thought an oil change would fix it because he hasn't done one yet. I asked him how long that was and he said he bought the car two years ago (yes I had to print all 24 of them and explain them all, and after the 24th he asks me if an oil change will fix it. YEP sure will boss!) He was happy and drove off to crazy land with all 24 codes in his hand

My 17 codes were after I switched from auto to 6 speed in my z28

As a manager I bonus off of increased sales and customer counts. My sales go up after i take over a store in both commercial and retail, thats my reward.

this is current state of my parking lot going on a month now. Sales are up 7% this week

[Baron Von Crowder]

I scanned a Crossfire last week, had 32 codes.

[Big A]

SVO had a car that popped every single code, he put air in the tires and they went away.

[LaserSVT]

Jeesh. I have many screwed up cars show here but 12 is the most I have seen.

[Scott Mc]

I scanned a Crossfire last week, had 32 codes.

That is low for a Crossfire.

[351Coupe]

That is low for a Crossfire.

Ugh. Don't say that. My stepdaughter drives a Crossfire. Guess who'll end up fixing it.

[4king]

Jeesh. I have many screwed up cars show here but 12 is the most I have seen.

Thats because you only see people who want their car fixed, I only see people who want the engine light turned off and nothing else.

No no I no need engine light you turn off for me
I'm sorry sir we can't do that
No I no need the light you turn off for me

[Gasser64]

Jeesh. I have many screwed up cars show here but 12 is the most I have seen.

Got a question for you about a price. Rather, how much you think I should pay. If you wanna PM me instead that's fine. My great aunt has an 03 nissan altima 4 cylinder that she bought brand new. 148k miles. So its an old lady car, so its still a clean car and still worth fixing the engine. If I couldn't see the odometer I'd have to guess it had more like 30k-60k miles.

Her husband was a diesel mechanic, but his health is in decline. Unfortunately, he started work on the engine but was not able to finish. He said that when it started giving her problems, he found that it had lost compression on cylinder 3. So he rebuilt the engine, and its back in the car. But again he was not able to finish it due to a sudden decline in his health. Who knows when he'd be able to fix it.

What's left to be done, is putting in the cams, putting the exhaust manifold back on, putting the oil pump back on, putting the 2 piece oil pan back on, valve cover back on, and of course setting the timing.

How much would you charge for this job? I was just hoping you could tell me, so that I don't over pay. How much would be too much, and what would be the lower end, as pricing goes? I have no idea how much this should cost, and I'll be the one handling it for her. I'm all the way in cleburne or I'd likely bring it to you, after reading this thread. But waco is a bit far for this.

[JC316]

Got a question for you about a price. Rather, how much you think I should pay. If you wanna PM me instead that's fine. My great aunt has an 03 nissan altima 4 cylinder that she bought brand new. 148k miles. So its an old lady car, so its still a clean car and still worth fixing the engine. If I couldn't see the odometer I'd have to guess it had more like 30k-60k miles.

Her husband was a diesel mechanic, but his health is in decline. Unfortunately, he started work on the engine but was not able to finish. He said that when it started giving her problems, he found that it had lost compression on cylinder 3. So he rebuilt the engine, and its back in the car. But again he was not able to finish it due to a sudden decline in his health. Who knows when he'd be able to fix it.

What's left to be done, is putting in the cams, putting the exhaust manifold back on, putting the oil pump back on, putting the 2 piece oil pan back on, valve cover back on, and of course setting the timing.

How much would you charge for this job? I was just hoping you could tell me, so that I don't over pay. How much would be too much, and what would be the lower end, as pricing goes? I have no idea how much this should cost, and I'll be the one handling it for her. I'm all the way in cleburne or I'd likely bring it to you, after reading this thread. But waco is a bit far for this.

You're going to have a hard time finding a mechanic to do this. They have no idea what was originally wrong, if it was fixed, and if the husband did the job correctly. There there is the matter of not knowing which bolts go where. It's a raging pain in the ass trying to finish someone elses work. Probably going to be expensive and without warranty if you can even find someone to do it.

[4king]

I don't care what mechanic it came from or how well he built it, unfinished work is unfinished and extra hassle.

Your cheapest option is a reman engine or junk yard engine.

Even if you find a mechanic to finish the work you could still be out that labor if something is not correct. Mechanic blames father, father blames mechanic. Now you're out that money and the car still doesn't run.

$800 labor either way, highly reccomend junkyard replacement. BTW your grandfather Will scoff at any mechanic who quotes him over $200

[Gasser64]

Thanks both for the replies.

...Now you're out that money and the car still doesn't run.

In that situation, what about just taking it to a different mechanic. Once the first mechanic puts it all back together, but he can't get it running. Just take it to another mechanic and say "Hey! My car doesn't run! Fix it!!" And have him start from scratch diagnosing the problem. There would be something, somewhere, keeping it from running, and a good diagnosis would put an end to that.

$800 labor either way, highly reccomend junkyard replacement.

So to be clear, you're saying just buy a junkyard engine, and the price for the swap will likely be around $800. Minus the cost of the engine, of course. Which I found for $400. So all in all, we're looking at about a $1200 repair. That sound about right to you?

BTW your grandfather Will scoff at any mechanic who quotes him over $200

What makes you say so? He's a recently retired diesel mechanic, so I'd assume that he would have some idea bout pricing. But I haven't asked him, so who knows. That would actually be my great uncle, (married to granny's sister) just to clarify.