Date:         Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:51:29 -0400
Reply-To:     Bill Glenn <idahobill@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bill Glenn <idahobill@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 6 guys and vanagon x-country-UPDATE

On Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:20:39 -0500, John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET> wrote:

>Oh, man! The guys really got ripped off on that computer. But if that is
>all there was, and waiting for one of lower cost to be be shipped in was
>going to jam their time schedule - there wasn't a whole lot to be done
>but get on with it. But I sure do hate seeing/hearing of someone being
>taken advantage of just because.....!

John,
On what basis do you assert that these guys were taken advantage of or
ripped off?  Do you really have knowledge sufficient to make and support
such a statement?

For purposes of discussion, assume the following"
1.  The diagnosis was correct and the ECU was needed.
2.  The mechanic had a used ECU available, in-house.
3.  The price for the ECU was quoted, and accepted.
4.  The transaction, between a willing seller and a willing buyer, was
completed.
5.  The six guys, though lamenting the expense, were happy to again be on
their way, appreciative of the efforts of the mechanic.

Where was the rip-off?  Assuming the above, there was none. It doesn't
matter if the ECU was $100 or $500, as long as it was mutually agreed upon,
there can be no rip-off.  The fact that an ECU can often be obtained
elsewhere for less, such as eBay or the Samba, is irrevelant. That someone
may have paid more than you would have paid under similar circumstances, is
also irrelevant.  Price may be the only criteria important to you, while
convenience and customer service may have been more important in this
instance.

Further, did the $330 price include the diagnostic time needed to track the
problem to the ECU, and the time to install the replacement ECU?  If so,
that was not an unreasonable bill, particularly if an accommodation were
made in moving the work to the front of the line or working outside normal
business hours to get these fellows back on the road.  Neither of us knows.

Maintaining that a rip-off occurred implies something underhanded or shady
on the part of the mechanic, but you offer no proof.  Quite apart from the
legal issue of an unsubstantiated, possibly libelous statement in a public
forum (which I don't really think you intended), I fail to see what purpose
is served in second guessing, after the fact, the mutual decision these
people made.

Bill