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Unrealistic expectations in auto repair - RANT!

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  • M. Sage

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    Jan 21, 2009
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    When dropping off a 40+ year old car that hasn't even been touched in 10 years, you have to do a few things.

    1: Attach a blank check to the car. Otherwise, don't even waste my time!

    2: Do not attach a time frame to the car. It will be done when it's done; it's not easy finding parts for ancient vehicles and there will be layers of "broken" on project like this.

    3: Do not call every day asking "is it done yet? Is it done yet?" See #2. Again, I'll fix one thing and find two more things. That's how it goes.

    If you have an ancient jalopy that's sat in a barn for a decade or more and can't abide by those three simple rules, don't bring it to me. Either fix it yourself, sell it to someone else, or tow it to the junkyard.

    Oh, that brings me to #4: When you try fixing the car yourself and fail, the first three rules still apply.



    The last two weeks at work have sucked. I don't want to see that little British POS car again... but I know I will, since it ain't fixed because the customer's budget and time frame were wildly unrealistic!
    Capitol Armory ad
     

    MadMo44Mag

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    That's why when I had my shop I drank real heavy.
    The work was fine but the customer side SUCKED!!!!
    I am sure I am preaching to the choir.
     

    M. Sage

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    I'd rather not say exactly. It would suck to have this get back to me, but think late-60s (up until 1980 or so!), British, small, iconic and notorious for being unreliable.

    MadMo: There's a reason I've resisted every offer to put me in the front office of a shop. I can deal with cars, but people drive me up the wall sometimes.

    And today I took up a job on a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, too. I'm a glutton for punishment this past few weeks... at least the Rolls runs.
     

    dee

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    Thats why I love working fr the government although some police officers can be that way. They will bring their car in for a/c but the brakes are metal to metal and there are other problems but still they call every day or come buy and ask the question.
     

    dee

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    And it gets worse for them when they bother us cause we get paid by the hour not buy the job so a brake job can take up two days if the person is enough of an ass.
     

    M. Sage

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    Whew. The car finally left again today. He brought it back early this week, complaining that it idled too high (it still does, but it needs new throttle plates to fix it; not my fault or problem) and that the tach, gauges and lights weren't working. But (even though he told us that the car hadn't run in 5 years, and the last registration was 10 years old - his story changed today to 2 years... but I'm inclined to believe 10) he said that they were working "before", whenever that is.

    Damn car came in on a flatbed with a battery that no longer functioned in that capacity, a seized starter and a positive battery cable that was positively melted beyond recognition.

    So.. how did those gauges and lights work again?

    Still needs a lot of work, but I guess he wants a divorce bad: the car's for his wife. I had to take the damaged driver door weatherstrip out to get the door to close, so that'll be fun when it rains.. The steering column is also sticky, so steering is "interesting", since the steering will not return to or even toward center on its own from any position. If you've never driven a car with a seized steering joint, it's fun: you get to constantly make tiny corrections to keep the car tracking straight. And nothing beats manual brakes and worn out synchros (it has 'em, they just don't work well) to add to your driving enjoyment.

    Oh, and I can't wait for the phone call on Monday: "My engine still idles at redline!" It doesn't. The tach reads about 2300 RPM high. The engine does idle at 2200-2500 RPM hot, but that's because of the throttle plates...

    ... they'd have been better off buying a Miata.

    For what it's worth, I can meet slightly unrealistic expectations from time to time: Today I banged out 5 hours of work on one car and still had time to change the oil on my boss' truck, put new plates on the problem car, inspect a transmission problem and goof off a little bit... in a 3 hour work day.
     

    cowboy45

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    May 1, 2008
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    Put an ABBA record on the on hold music and it surely will calm him down.HAHA! MAMA MIA has got to be a classic where they buy strange autos.
     

    Big country

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    It's gotta be a Jag, Portia, or a Ferrari. I quit working on shit for other people when things went computer and people got to be a Pain in the ass. I feel your pain when I was working on 18 wheelers those drivers would not leave you alone. Is it done yet? No. Is it done yet? No. How bout now? No! Hey man I got to get on the road is. NO! IT IS NOT DONE YET IT WILL BE DONE WHEN IT'S DONE, IF YOU HADN'T RAN OVER A PALLET OF BRICKS THIS WOULD BE DONE BY NOW. K? :mad: And then they would go away until someone called for them.
     

    M. Sage

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    Heh. In the consumer end, the "is it done yet? Is it done yet?" folks are the ones who, when it finally is done, waste your parking space for a week afterward. They just wanted it done, not back.
     

    M. Sage

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    Oh, we get that sometimes, too since we're spitting distance from the airport. Cars with no issues get dropped off and the owner takes off on a week-long trip by plane.
     
    Every Day Man
    Tyrant

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