Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 07:22:45 -0400
Reply-To: Mike B <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike B <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Ordering Parts Online
In-Reply-To: <51C539A1.8000200@turbovans.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Scott,
I have been repairing and restoring not only autos and engines, but
aircraft, houses and commercial fire alarm and security systems also for
well over 30 years. I have seen plenty of shoddy repairs in every
trade. I, too, could write a book and fill volumes with the
unbelievably bad workmanship that I have had to find, and set right.
This type of work rarely happens in aviation due to strict laws
regarding records, maintenance logs, technician signatures and quality
assurance inspectors, including both civilian and military aviation. I
have repaired everything from hot air balloons to 747's to F-15 jet
engine overhaul, retiring 10 yrs ago from the USAF with 21 yrs of
service all over the world. A version of these quality repair methods
could happen in the automotive repair world, if laws were enacted to
make it a requirement. The way automotive technology and lawsuits/
liability is going, maybe one day it will happen, but I doubt it will
happen soon. If someone is killed due to a mechanic's shoddy repairs
(like improper brake work, fuel system work or neglecting to inform a
customer about a safety-related defect on their vehicle), they will
likely be sued and found liable. So, even though you may feel like the
lone good mechanic in a world that's so obviously full of bad ones, you
MUST continue to do it right, and inform the customer of what you find
that wasn't done right by previous others. And yes, people do charge as
much money for shoddy repairs as people like you do for quality
repairs, but you're not the one cheating the customer. And yes, the
customer has every right to sue the bad mechanic when they go to court
armed with the evidence that you have found, but few will. The best
recourse is to revisit the shop with the evidence and ask for a refund,
or for them to pay your bill for having to re-do the job properly,
threatening a lawsuit if that becomes necessary. The late Bob Hoover
wrote on this subject, too.
Sadly, there will always be lots of bad "mechanics" out there
charging good money for bad work. Happily, us good mechanics will
always stay busy, often based on the bad guys shoddy work and sometimes
poor quality parts. As we used to say in the Air Force; Press on with
pride.....
Mike B.
On 6/22/2013 1:44 AM, Scott Ohana wrote:
> why order anything out of the UK unless there is no other source ?
>
> all kinds of problems with ordering like that..
> time delays, shipping cost, and how hard it might be to return something
> etc.
>
> Not an option all all for me, unless there is no other option.
>
> actually ...lol ..
> since it's fridae..
> I must say ...the amount of sheerly awful professional carrepair I see
> is appaling.
> on the order of 75 % of the time, the work was sloppy ..
> the job was not really done right ..
> and so on.
> I havehad numerous vanagon customers get work on other types of cars by
> shops..
> and even when I talk to the shop beforehand, hoping to tactfully inspire
> them to do really good, complete work ..
> they still are just plan sloppy, and not very repsonsible at all.
>
> and that ..brings another question to mind ..
> on all these lists ...'why' isn't anyone else metioning all the very bad
> vanagon work there is ...
> if you wonder what I mean .
> I mean, for example, an engine conversion job for some $14,000 where
> there were*missing* and badly rusted away fuel tank strapes ( syncro )
> where the trans at least has to be out to address that repair ..
> and not only was the customer not offered the option of having that
> repair done..
> they were not even informed 'sir..at some point you need to get your
> fuel tank straps replaced' ...
> ( and of course, the customer would say then 'why didn't you tell me
> when it was all apart !!! ??'
>
> so ..tell me dear vanagon owners ..
> people just do not notice things screwed on crooked or sloppily ..
> Honest ...I specialize in re-doing bad work.
> The most claring ones that come to mind in the last 10 months..
> 2004 Toyota Tacoma ...entire cylinder head and timing chainjob had to be
> re-done to the tune of almost $ 3,000.
> < here's an example of that awful professional work ..
> there the exhaust manifold is held on with nuts on studs, the nuts
> galled out and did not even reach the exhaust manifold at all, but they
> 'felt tight' of course. Someone paid $ 2,700 for that kind of work, I
> saw the invoice.
>
> also ...97 Ford Escort ..exact same thing ....desperately rusty head
> bolts where they screw into the block, floppy new timing belt etc...
> also ..
> 86 Weekender ...a fairly fresh 2.1waterboxer 'rebuild.'
> about 20 workmanship mistakes in and on it, worn out cam lobes, etc. ..
>
> so ....please tell me ..
> why isn't anyone else noticing or commenting on this.
> there really is a crisis here..
> I honestly don't know who people can trust to do really precise , exact,
> careful work on vanagons or any other car.
> The majority of work I see is horribly bad.
>
> so ..why ..is not one else commenting on that ?
> They don't notice it? .just like the person doing the sloppy work in the
> first place doesn't notice it ???
>
> sincerely ...
> I just can not grock this ....tell me. No one else on these lists can
> see really bad work , or what ?
>
> if I wrote abook about all the appallingly bad pro car work I've seen in
> my 30 plus year career .
> it would run for volumes and volumes...like encyclopeias did back when
> those existed.
> Literally thousands of horribly bad sloppy carrepair jobs.
> No one else sees that ?
> I see it constantly. I can give very detailed examples..ones that are
> just embarrassingly stupidly incompetent or sloppy.
>
>
> ?? ? ? ?
> sincerely. like really .
>
> On 6/21/2013 10:11 PM, Jason wrote:
>> DO NOT ORDER FROM ROCKAUTO.
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