<VV> master cylinder R & R - Flat Rate crap shoot More ranting

[Joel McGregor]

I have to toss in my 2 cents.
I used to run a shop and we got more business than we could handle because 99% of the shops are crooks.  If you find an honest mechanic you should pay him more than he asks just because they are so rare that you need to be sure to keep him.
Haven't you read the stories about people who checked out shops by taking a known problem to them and finding out what they try to charge them for?  I read a report that someone did years ago (can't remember who) where they took a high mileage car, checked it out and fixed anything that needed it to make sure it was in perfect condition, and then traveled around the country stopping in shops with a plug wire off to see what would happen.  From what I remember they only found 2 or 3 that were honest.  Some cut the plug wire and sold them a new set and others ranged from wanting to rebuild the transmission to rebuild the engine.  It was about what I expected.
One of the news station in the Dallas area did the same thing and used a hidden camera.  It was great!
My own personal experience with the local Chevy and Caddy dealers:
Chevy dealer (all warranty work)
Out of six or so trips to have various things repaired every time they tried to charge me for something that should have been under warranty even after I told them I wouldn't pay for anything that wasn't warranty since I would fix it myself.
The Caddy dealer supposedly replaced pads and rotors and changed oil, trans fluid and air filter.  All they did was replace the pads.  The oils were not changed unless the oil they use is thin and black.  I guess new air filters come dirty too.
A friend of mine had something fixed under warranty on his Chevy truck (different dealer in Dallas) under warranty.  When he picked it up they told him that they noticed that his brake rotors were ruined because of defective brake calipers so they fixed that under warranty also.  Guess what?  The rotors and calipers weren't replaced.  I guess that was warranty fraud.
Anyone ever been to Just Brakes?  That whole chain is trained to rip you off by stressing what "could" go wrong.
I got into the auto repair business back when I was 16 because of an Aamco shop that told me I couldn't fix my transmission.  I'm glad they did that since it prompted me to start rebuilding transmissions.
Joel McGregor
________________________________________
From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org [virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of BBRT [chsadek at comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 10:05 AM
To: Charles Lee; virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: Re: <VV> master cylinder R & R - Flat Rate crap shoot

Charlie,

I understand you have had bad experiences. I too have and have observed
more. However, having said that, given an honest mechanic, would you believe
him? "Uh, Mr. Lee, your car is a POS. Did you drive it thru a salt bath?
Someone booogered up the holes. One bolt head is rounded off. Every fricken
bolt I take out is frozen and I have to drill and tap a new hole, modify the
fitting hole to take a larger bolt, dress the surface so it mates properly."
"It is usually a 1 hour job but it took 7 hours with a 15 min break in the
middle."

Are you happy with that? Would you believe him?

Is it worth it to the service tech to argue with every customer about how
messed up his car is? You should see the junk that comes into a garage...
often that the home shade tree mechanic tried to fix... A Fact:  New parts
don't always work as they should; they leak, they are the wrong part for the
application, the don't work correctly or not a all, or they fail soon after
installation.

Secondly, since you are in a consultant business, you surely know about
overhead and how much it costs for insurance, unemployment costs &
insurance, regular insurance, utilities, property costs including taxes,
EPA/OSHA costs, advertising, specialty tools, modern computer upgrades
yearly for multiple makes so the electronics can be observed to get you
closer to the problem, and subscriptions to troubleshooting services. I
asked my Son about helping a friend down here with his '90's something V8
running problem. He said, "Dad, there are so many sensors affecting a
reading on the OBD, that I can't diagnose it from the phone. The codes only
get you so close. You just have to go thru it and eliminate the most obvious
and usual suspects to get to the problem."

Often the FMR doesn't include diagnostic time. Yeah, it takes 30 min to do a
familiar job, but figuring out what to do takes?  That is why dealer techs
throw parts at a problem - not defending them - and they get incentives for
selling services... NOT defending them.

If you consider restoration costs... by the hour, to do it right. Do you
really think the shops are making a lot of money or the skilled techs are?

Price parts for a Corvair engine overhaul. Price parts for a modern car. I
don't care if the mark-up is 50% and you get it wholesale, it still costs a
helluva lot of money to do something now days.

Advice: Find a private shop. Find one that does good work, stands behind
their work and TRUST them to take care of your car. ALWAYS  take it to them.
Don't give them a hard time every time or over nothing.  Get their trust and
they will take care of you. Easy to say, but IF & WHEN you find the shop,
religiously use them.

Chuck S
Shade tree mechanic, race engine builder, carb modifications, select parts
fabricator w/ machine shop, welding, and metal bending services.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Lee" <Chaz at ProperProper.com>
>
> I would like to actually experience a mechanic who quotes a price based on
> expected labor time, and then comes back and says "It took less time so
> I'll
> charge you less."
>
> I do not want to hear mechanics who say they would do that "if it happened
> but it doesn't" because I'm fairly sure it must.
>
> Like the svc mgr at Fritz Ford admitted, easy jobs subsidize the hard
> ones,
> but that is just plain wrong, even if it does come out even eventually -
> not
> for the guy whose job was easier !
> Plus, I'm fairly sure that they DO charge more if it goes longer, but
> we'll
> never really know, will we ?
>
>
> Yes, I understand that there are honest mechanics out there and most of us
> are, but I would really like to meet one (who works on my car) !!!!
>

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