Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:15:35 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Finding trustworthy mechanics; was RE: heads- bus depot or
van cafe??
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you 'always' refer to who sent you....
it tends to create some relationship on the spot.
it's called 'networking' .....or I call it that.
plus...........he's less likely to screw you if he knows his friend would
find out about it, since you know his friend.
I've never had any problems with a machine shop about deception.. or
switcheroo's.
and shop-wise, I am a shop myself.....
I would have to say 'most shops' are not very interested in spending your
money the best way ....
what they primarily do is look for 'justifiable and very profitable jobs.'
I have seen an automotive trade magazine article.........this is how bad it
is ............advising shops to measure the height of every car they work
on .......and if they find it a little low, even though everything about the
car and suspension is fine............they should then say 'We found that
your springs have sagged ma'am, and they need to be replaced. It's 800
dollars, but we can have it done this afternoon.'
listen.........seriously .......I am learning more and more and more every
day.........'it's ALWAYS a scam'...........every time it's 'get this free
for signing up for this' ....or whatever.............there are always hidden
gotchas.
just read the fine print on any credit card contract........it says they
can do whatever they want, any time they want, without reason.
and they'll lead you into pitfalls , intentionally........so you end up
paying more. It really should be illegal. it's pervasive too.
I have yet to see anything where they lead you down one path....
but they are responsibly warning you about potential pitfalls.
No.......they act like there are none.........and then later.....'oh
well........blah blah blah."
in Car repair, to me, the primary concerns are .......
spending your money on your car or van wisely.
giving you good value for what you spend
*quality of workmanship* ..........sorry, but fully half to 3/4 of all
professional car work I see is somehow not right, sloppy , cheap parts etc.
courtesy, developing trust, and being nice to deal with if something goes
wrong.
I don't know how they started thinking it's 'normal' to scam people, or lie
to them for personal gain........but it's very common in this culture. I say
this country was not founded on freedom ( well, it was, FOR WHITE MALES ! )
..........
it's actually founded on greed and exploitation......and it runs back for
the full history of white men in the US.
I sure wish that when they say 'these are the most fantastic perfect tires,
the best you'll ever own.....and they're only 30 bucks each' ..........
you know, when are they going to start telling the TRUTH.
the Truth in that case is closer to 'we believe this is a good value in a
low cost tire' ..............thank you, was that so hard !!?
I think I made my point.
but seriously .........the regular consumer is to going more or less get
manipulated into 'justifiable and profitable repairs for the shop
'...........
you know.........'well , you need a radiator, a thermostat, new coolant and
all new hoses.'
that's an 800 + dollar job, and they often slam it out in a few
hours..........charge you more hours 'by the book time' than it really takes
them..........use lower grade parts.........but they don't TELL you that
part..........and they have their lesser techs do the job........often with
crappy workmanship.
I hope that doesn't happen to anyone on this list.......but it does happen
in the automotive repair world far too often.
last line........one of my 'sayings' ..........this is the common shop
talking :
"What, you want us to diagnose and examine the car carefully, explain the
various choices and 'levels' of dong the job ( minimum get you home repair,
medium best cost/benefit ratio/ or 'just everything like money is no
object ) ...........
tell you the quality of parts we're going to use......of give you that
choice............give you an estimate that is realistic, and not likely to
be 'upsold' ( upselling is when you call the customer back and sell them
more work........Say you get them to agree to a 500 dollar repair.....
and after you get in there............'well, it's worse than we
thought.......it'll have to be 900 dollars' .......that's upselling, or it
might be 'well, there's this other sort of tired part right
nearby..........we should do that too this time < sometimes it's legit,
sometimes it might even be intentional.........after all, they have your car
all taken apart, and their tone is that you must do it )
...so an estimate that they spend some time on making sure is
realistic......
then do the job within budget, on time, using decent parts, and perfect
workmanship......
'You want us to do THAT ????............we'd go out of business if we did
that !!!"
Your crazy friend,
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Fisher" <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 7:41 PM
Subject: Finding trustworthy mechanics; was RE: heads- bus depot or van
cafe??
>I stumbled upon the method of going into small owner/operator shops when
> they're busy and then watching (and most particularly listening) to the
> owner/mechanic dealing with other customers. You can learn a lot that way,
> particularly if you know a bit about wrenching and the other customer
> doesn't. If you're really dedicated you can catch them talking to an older
> woman. Some of those conversations will open yer eyes fer sure.
> As to machine shops, I asked my local VW Jedi who he used/recommended.
> When
> I got there the first thing I said to the guy was 'Hi, Jay recommended you
> guys to me...', letting him know he was coat-tailing on Jay's reputation
> and
> business, as it were. I've since decided after several years that those
> guys
> are pretty straight-up anyway, but a gentle nudge doesn't hurt.
>
> Cya,
> Robert
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