ETCG's Top 5 Pet Peeves About Auto Repair Customers 

nailed it

Get customers like that at my shop all the time. Totally clueless but think they know it all.

It's true that customers can be like that. But there are alot of repair shops in the Netherlands that completely fuck you over and try to fix stuff that's not broken. Works both ways I guess.

@@Anoalekontrieger then don't enable assholes. don't go to the bad shops. stupid customers allow them to exist. find a good shop and don't act like a victim.

@@amcgee-dl3cj How are you going to know if it is a bad shop unless you do what they tell you and find out you wasted your money?!?

Maybe the customer doesn't want his new wheels he spent 1K on scratched to schit by the burned out chimp on the tire changer machine? I've had tire techs get pissed when I told them not to use hammer on wheel weights(which shouldn't be used-EVER as they corrode/damage the wheels....so yeah, customers who bitch have their reasons to bitch as well as you mechanics...

M O'Brien say fffffffyouuuuuuuu that what I want say 😝

@@bblando65 You're an idiot. Most wheels out there, especially steelies, are designed to use hammer on weights. You went to a place that didn't give you proper service? Bad luck, go somewhere else. If you're not happy to have some "burned out chimp" change your tyres, then buy your own tyre machine and balancer and do it yourself.

Yeah people telling you you are doing it wrong is pretty rude. However you better believe I watch techs like a hawk when they have my baby. 4th gen Acura TL with a manual transmission. That car is a unicorn that I take care of and maintain very well. The only time it goes to a shop is for an alignment and I have a talk with the tech before they take the keys. I don't threaten them, I don't belittle them, but I do tell them what that car means to me

@@bblando65 isn't it kind of your fault if you see a "burned out chimp" and still have them work on your car. oh boy when i see a customer like you coming i all of a sudden get really busy with other work in the shop.

My pet peeve is when a mechanic tries to sell a transmission job when I bring my vehicle in for AC service. Please understand you're in an industry rife with scam artists selling people new Johnson rods and specialized Kanuter valve services, so I've been conditioned to not trust any service techs. If I ask you to fix my radio and you start talking about tie rods, I'm going to tell you to kick rocks as well. I'd rather be stranded on the side of the road then think I got taken on a quart of headlight fluid ...again.

Number 1,5 and 7 Brian...every time...this is a constant in our world , I dont get the logic that we as mechanics and business owners should have to eat repair costs AFTER we do them for a customer because their spark plug job turned into tracing a misfire that turned into a bent valve after they say "just get it done Idc I need it" Im literally dealing with this right now on a customer estimate ..

Remy Scott, You really should change your attitude. Get a second opinion but don't ignore safety issues. That's how people end up in hospitals and morgues! It could be innocent people!

which attitude, not being a trusting rube? All I'm suggesting in not ascribing malice to people's motives. Not everyone who rejects a mechanic's advice is an uncaring jerk who wants to risk their life and the lives of their loved ones or those of strangers on the road, perhaps we're just jaded. There exists a trust deficit between customers and mechanics, though I'm not assigning blame in this case, simply stating there is two sides to every story. And I'm playing the side of the customer ETCG1 is complaining about. Fear is a powerful selling tool that gets overused, it's why we tune in to tonight's special news report on "the one thing in everyone's household that is KILLING OUR CHILDREN!". "Why won't you pay me hundreds of dollars to fix a part you didn't even ask me to look at? Don't you care about the children?" My attitude is that of a skeptic, and I will get a second opinion.

The attitude that you would get ripped off so, you would kick the guy to the rocks. I sold cars for 21 years and have been fixing them for 10. I have been lied to by customers my whole career. I have found some of the public to be very dishonest, both selling and repairing. I don't assume you are. So, find somebody trustworthy and you won't need to kick anybody to the rocks. Most of us just want our customers to be safe and not end up stranded.

Gideon Penick Not a tech, but I run and manage a fleet of pest control trucks, and years ago I had a garage actually pull the check engine light bulb out because he puzzled on how to remedy the code.

Can't think of pulling the bulb without pulling the cluster. In my state when an OBDII car goes in for inspection it must have an operational check engine light. I think the bulb removal is an old yarn from the OBDI cars.

To be fair.. I've had a few that do literally turn on for no reason.

the only time i have seen that it is a different computer having a problem. in some cars if the abs/ trac computer is down the check engine light will come on and if you dont have a scan tool that can only read the ecu then no codes will show up.

Who's fault is it that the most everything about the "check engine" light and the diagnostics capability that is present in newer cars is so misunderstood by the general public, perhaps the media? I do not have enough fingers and toes to count the times I have been told that "the computer in that car tells you what is wrong and how to fix it,why do I need to pay for a diagnosis"

Robert DIY nothing more irritating. So you want to just look at them and tell them it's not your fault their car is a POS, but you don't....

Robert DIY ..we call that eversinse. Ever since you serviced my car the heat doesn't work right. Jeesh

Robert DIY yes! I can relate to that 100%...for me in IT when I repair someones computer let's say replace a program then a week later their computer has no power they blame the technician when it was user error or unrelated to original issue. When they insist that is most annoying especially when you must not show you want to throat punch them.

Robert DIY what's funniest? Was rear bumper!

I installed car stereos and alarms years ago. We got blamed for everything. For example, one day, a lady walks into the store and slaps an invoice on the counter. I ask the lady what it’s for. She said that it was a repair bill for her transmission. I ask he why she brought it to us. She said that she had an alarm installed 6 months ago, her transmission just failed, we were the last people to work on her car, so we must have done something to make it fail. Where do people come up with this nonsense?!?! I have to imagine that the conversation, with her mechanic, went something like this: Lady: What caused my transmission to fail? Mechanic: It’s hard to say. Sometimes, things just break. Lady: I had an alarm put in the car. Could that have caused it? Mechanic: Who knows? I guess anything’s possible. Lady: I knew it!! Those damn alarm installers broke my transmission!!!

this should be looked at as an income opportunity. you have to have your storage policy clearly in place so when this happens your getting paid for it.

Amen!!!

Instant karma.:)

MGTOW

If it were not for technically illiterate ladies we would not be in business.

So this is sexist and also objectifying whomever "your woman" is.

@@jakleo337 there aren't technically illiterate guys?

@@Aashishkebab Oh, Yes, many of them. But men are more likely to spend money on repairs than women, Women think mechanics are ripping them off, and resent spending money on things they can't wear.

Some little demon stole the wheel lock out of the trunk on that VW. Oh and that tool to remove the bolts caps is gone too. Big firgging suprise!

Thanks for the input Charles. I like you.

Yes very well written, I agree 100%

Not being vague has actually little to do with technology.

LMAO! That's epic.

MCN some customers are Very Stupid 🤦🏻‍♂️

scary and her comprehension operates a vehicle

oh my god i can only think of the missed entertainment value of not getting that on video. how epic would that have been. better than watching monkeys throw poop at the zoo.

That stupid bitch 🤦🏻‍♂️

Or they forgot the password to log into AOL desktop

lmfao

I fix computers too. i wish i could get even something out of a customer. They'll say "can you check it out". That's it. When i ask what''s it doing. They say idk it's not working right. I just don't get people....

Seen worse: "The computer do not work at all, nothing come up on the screen!" Trouble? homepage got resetted back from google to msn. Also: "the screen is black, nothing come on the screen"... bios show up, loading windows, mouse pointer, welcome and finally black screen but with a movable mouse pointer...

My internet's Broken

did you "fire" that customer?

as a mechanic i never really minded waiters unless you get the dwellers who keep looking in the window every 2 minutes. im just glad i dont have to deal with other mechanics. i think i would be too stressed out with some greasy weirdo messing with my vehicles.

If I'm just getting a general check up and there's places open that I can go and wait( example public library) I'll go and let the shop phone me when they are done. If it's early in the morning like 9am. I'll just hang out in their lobby and be either on my phone or a Game boy. Just preoccupy myself.

It never bothered me that people wanted to hang out and watch repairs. I'd even show them shit about the car and teach them techniques to keep the vehicle on the road longer and healthier. I got large tips from customers on multiple occasions.

my situation exactly: i live alone, i have one car. my area has NO public transportation. i have no family or anyone else to give me rides. i have no choice but to wait, either that or walk one hour home and one hour back. i must have my car, my health depends on it because of all the medication i need.

Stray Mongrel 野犬 that can go either way, having a hawk is very distracting.

Alan Maier Most shops and dealerships offer "Loaner" or "Rental" Vehicles for those people.

Good point, but I lean toward the smaller independent shops where at best they may have a shuttle van. My preferred shop is a 1 owner small owner / tech shop... rather pay the small independent for a brake job or the like.

Absolutely. I tend to be a "waiter", as it's about 90 mins to get home from the dealer, so I'm not likely to be doing that trip twice a day if I don't have to. I just make sure I'm stocked up on cigarettes and bring a good book - a good, _thick_ book - and I'm all set for however long it takes. I've worked on my own car back in the day enough to know that repairs rarely work out in the time you think.

What burns me up is the waiters only wait 3 and a half minutes before they start saying "Why isn't my car done?"

Is this a subtle hint that Eric or the rest of shops should have Popcorn? Lol. jk.

Very true! Lol. I tried to negate that "blame everything on the Tech" nonsense, but doing quick once overs of other things with computers or cell phones, just so they could not turn around and try to scam me, by saying "this was working before" or some such nonsense. I ran my own computer business and did iPhone repairs and I can tell you one thing for sure, Cell phone customers are bigger scammers than a computer users are, any day. Cell phone folks, will try to blame everything on you. Replace a screen and it breaks moments after leaving your business. Nonsense, nice try scammer. Lol. Had a few try that and then try to blame the "quality of the glass", cause it was not OEM. I've compared them and the glass is the same and takes the same amount of force to break. This might not apply to newer screens using "Gorilla Glass" cause it is indeed stronger, but this was in the iPhone 4 days and they didn't use that yet. Gorilla glass was kind of a joke too. Another Tech I know nicknamed it "Monkey glass" and I agreed. It certainly was not all it was cracked up to be (pun intended). I eventually got out of that cell phone business, cause the customers literally drove me nuts. Wanted everything yesterday, but still wanted a deal. The only customer I ever agreed with (cause she was not trying to scam me) was a user who said that she was sitting by a campfire in the cold fall nights, with her iPad. As she walked away, the screen just snapped. I was like "Oh wow, really?! So it is possible for temperature differentials, to randomly snap a screen then huh?!" and she said, yeah. Just instantly cracked. Judging from what I have done with other glass (like jam jars etc.) and more extreme and rapid temperature changes I could certainly see how that is possible. It was one reason that when things came in, in the winter time, I would not work on them right away, but let them adjust to room temp first. Like I have done with ALL computer parts really, for over 22 years and was an important lesson my boss taught me many moons ago. I would never install a hard drive for instance if it just arrived by shipping cause it was usually very cold. Not a good idea to be spinning that up right away! Temps can really screw things up, especially here in the great white North of Canada.

@@MrBilld75 I stopped working on phones because they are tough customers and there is no money in it. Every kid with a screwdriver kit advertises that they fix phones and do it for $30. Let them. I fix Macs for a lot more than that!

@@joecoolioness6399 I hear ya! It's especially bad where I am, because we have a computer Science course at the college here, so literally every student with a screwdriver does it. It was just so hard to compete with that and believe me, I tried.

attorney and tax person also

NJVacoustic I can agree and attest to both of these haha

Ma'am, if you want me to fix the seat belt it's going to cost $XX.XX plus $100 for an interior detailing. Or you could clean it yourself and bring it back, it's up to you. My guys don't work in sewers.

Cheers bud!

Thanks! :)

Where do you live? I'm staying away from there!!! Of the 8 techs and 2 trainees in my shop only one drinks and one smokes pot. LOL both service writers are pot smokers and alcohol drinkers.

Sometimes at the doctors it's like that though, they ask you questions like how did you get an injury and your like Idk I was just standing lol

NOVA Dash Cam that number 6th type of person bothers me the most.And I always wanted to say why??why don't you get it done by yourself ?

I don't have the tools to do it myself but I know a decent amount about cars, especially MY car (2014 Chevy Impala). Newer cars are too specialized. You ever heard of an active grille shutter? Is it possible for me to re-program something that is out of spec? Do I have service manual of repair requirements according manufacturer ? If you get in an accident, you "apparently" have replace the seatbelt tensioner. Even if the thing didn't break. Hell, I can't even fix a tire pressure sensor at home. Independent mechanics are useless in this regard as well. You spend more in diagnostics and labor then anything at an independent place unless they "specialize" in your brand.

What was that place, I'm from downriver myself

Zach Grobbel It was on the corner of Eureka and 11th. I believe it was called Groat bros.

man that would piss me off royally.

Be sure to post negative reviews on garage fly, yelp, google and the bbb to forewarn others.

SIT-N-SPIN This was over 10 years ago so I don't even know if they're still in business or not unless I do a web search and Google Earth to see of they're still there.

I'm the same

Shawn Bradley I can understand that , and it’s honestly a liability . The customer starts questioning why you are doing this , or that’s the wrong way. Next thing you know it’s a distraction , and they get upset. Don’t ever allow it.

When an owner comes back I stop working on the car. Usually talk for a few minutes. Eventually they ask how long it'll take and I say "Depends on how long we keep talking. The insurance folks frown on working with customers in the shop. They may not pay out if you get hurt." I'm not sure if that's true or not but it gets them out of my work space. Some laugh and some get irritated.

Haha, where the worlds of computer and car repair intersect. I don't charge for diagnoses if they have me do the repair, but hit em up if they then want to fix it themselves. Anyone can replace a part once you know which part needs replacing right?

It's ok she just mixed up "every 3 months" with "every 3 years" lol no big deal right?!

Patrick Simmons Yeah, if you miss just one service or oil change with a Hyundai or Kia they will permanently void your warranty, or at least part of it.

***** Because she admitted it plus the oil came out like jello...Plus no service record of it...

Patrick, are you on Hyundai's payroll? The young lady paid you to service her car and you take it on yourself rat her out to her carmaker? How would you feel if you went to the doctor and he called your insurance company saying that you hadn't been taking your blood pressure medicine so they shouldn't cover future strokes or heart attacks? There are situations where doctors are required to report things like gunshot wounds, child or spousal abuse, etc. but other than that I expect my doctor to be discrete with my health information. I'm not saying that the young lady was justified in abusing her car but who put you in charge of reporting service compliance?

Peace, I see now in your post it was your Service Manager who called Hyundai. In any case, it was a dick move whoever did it. Sorry I accused you.

Oh mate I know exactly what you mean... You ask people troubleshooting questions on the phone and flat out lie to you, then when you have to make a site visit and you see what stupid shit they've done they act like that's exactly what they told you ...

The thing is i dont care what they did, i wont wag a finger at them and tell them off, just tell me the truth. Makes the job simpler and quicker, they get there item back faster :-)

Ha! I'm sure you can see them coming a mile off now with your experience. You should get one of those giant foam hands to wag a finger with...

Probably my biggest pet peeve along with that ever so common line "it broke", no it didn't you broke it. I guess the fear of social stigma is far grander than expedient solutions, they'd rather spend a ton of money more, than tell you exactly what happened.

I dont do many repairs now, so im not too bothered. Still get the old "It just stopped working" or the sob storys. My frends are the people i help now, if i can, and for nothing as im not one of those frends that takes money off my mates. There are odd people like that, not what i call mates.

Garret Brown yes this!! Then they lock their cars. It blocks all other traffic that needs to go through as well. It's possible they may be thinking "yeah I'll park here. I'll get mine in first since its already there". NOPE! I'll just take your keys, move your car outside, then bring in the cars that were here before you.

this more than anything... especially if it happens to be an automotive shop attached to a retail store and customers park in front of the bay and go in the store example... customer just wants us to check air pressure (another minor pet peeve since there is a gas station a short distance away with free air and we're busy with other things) she backs out after and leaves the vehicle in front of the bay door while she shops in the store when we have cars to bring in even worse is the customer with something on a trailer who parks their truck and trailer sideways blocking multiple bays then when you tell them to move they block parked vehicles

Garret Brown I get that the bosses son is worst for doing that sometime parks behind my ramp so I can't move

Glad I'm not the only one haha

Where I work at, we let those types of customers wait as long as we like until they leave. But, we do have to help them with air pressures and wiper blades, which requires them to park in front of the garage.

Jesse Apodaca amen

throw that bucket of chicken and see how fast she runs after it

lol....Come on now, I doubt two really fat people and a bucket of chicken would be that bad on a car.

I mean 600lbs on a car that probably has a max capacity of 800 lbs. I mean it will drive fine, but you will probably notice a difference

Alec Weber I wonder what the capacity on my Smart car is.... lol

Fred Flagstone Same thing happened to me! Except it was a caddy with air suspension! Four people that weighed 400 plus each and a trunk full of luggage and the wondered why the compressor was taxed trying to pump up the rear air springs!

RedesCat you are 1 in a million

I'm the same way. I don't care how fast it gets done, as long as it gets done right.

I'm kinda suprised this isn't the norm. Fixing a car isn't something like an oil change where you can reliably expect it to always take a certain amount of time. Why would someone ever think it would be?

nuh uhhh wrong u dont say "im not in no hurry take ur time" because a mechanic is very busy,if they know ur not worried about how long it will take to repair ur vehicle they will put ur vehicle at the end of the list and focus on the priority of the next vehicle that has to be repaired as soon as possible

Done right and done in a hurry, DOES indeed make a difference.

Samuel Gonzalez 😂😂damn!! I know that feeling!!!

Well this story seems fucking legit. If it was blowing cold air, then the guy had no reason to punch a hole in the refrigerant reservoir. This guy must be fucking acoustic or something.

I guess they never heard of editing or cutaways.

I usually like having some company while I work. Just not the people who complain it's taking too long or act like i'm breaking their car. Non car people usually get bored very quickly and try to leave. Lol I'm just a part time shadetree mechanic though lol

And being judged for your minor work inefficiencies. While you can't even touch on the major and obvious personality defects in these pricks who cause trouble for all of you in the entry level positions. I cannot bear this either.

Joseph Inman this!!! Holy shit, this gets me

We have a tow truck on premises for this issue. Takes less than 5mins to park it on the far end of the lot and see them flip out about it. Guess you really don't have to see the great big sign that says "No Parking, you Will be Towed!"

DataStorm do you rather someone rush through your car or take their time and do it right? mechanics and techs have enough stress dealing with service managers ontop of that customers don't understand the issues that come up while doing repairs that might delay the jobs such as parts being one of them, we're your car is parked should be no problem #cardio

Solutions/responses: 1- If you go somewhere that does additional work WITHOUT contacting you and getting an Ok first, find a new shop 2-If everything that was done isn't on the copy of the RO you get, find a new shop 3-Generally the tech won't tell the service writer where the car is and if the lot is that big he might not remember, however finished cars should always be put out front. 4-Having to wait for parts is almost never the shops fault, if their suppliers don't have it they don't have it. The shop I worked at we had like 8 places we used to get parts from and I've still had to wait days for parts before, it annoys the shop to trust me. 5-Possible he's having a bad day but if it's consistent bad service writer, contact higher ups or find a new shop 6-A good shop should ALWAYS give you a reason, for your example though sometimes tires don't wear evenly, I've had tires that looked fine with the car on the ground (like you said well above minimum tread depth) but when you get it on the life the inside edge is gone, or you have a tire that's out of round or cracking. But this is all stuff that should be relayed to the customer In conclusion: I think you need to find a new shop

I nowhere said that the time they need to do their work was a problem for me. I often take a temp car from the shop so I can continue doing my stuff and they call me when done so I can swap back. If that takes 2 days, fine, then I have the swap car for 2 days. Its rare for me to not do that. If you read globally above, then you understand maybe my issues better: wasting my time, not communicating. I pay for the servicing. Not for disservice. As for parking the car in a big parking lot... great to have to go around a parking lot that has more then 300 cars on it (daytime, parking lot of a large shopping mall that's located there), not all from the shop, and the car's somewhere there. Having to spend 20 minutes looking for your car is useless at best.

#5 I can relate to. I'm a pretty good customer coming from an engineering background. I usually have a general idea of what's probably broken (just not the expertise/tools to fix the bigger things), and I like to be very descriptive of exact reproduction steps. Like if its a noise, "on cold start, when turning wheel, power steering pump seems to make a horrid sound"... and then they'll write "noise on cold start". Seriously? Your job title includes the word "writer"... don't get lazy.

How about not knowing how much a given service would cost.. I recently needed my egr changed out, no one would give me a price on the phone, they all wanted to inspect it first then that's an $80 charge before any service has begun. I can tell you real close on the phone how much a remodel on a house will cost because I have done a few, I know more may need to be done but you should be able to provide a ballpark price anyway and most just won't.. Its really frustrating trying to deal with most mechanics.

You just nailed my pet peeve- lazy service writers who are armchair quarterback diagnosticians.

Go to another place dude. I bet there are many mechanics who appreciate your attitude to your car maintenance. Good luck!

cant go anywhere else car still under warranty only dealer with in 100 miles

This is one of the many reasons I'm apprehensive about ever buying a car new

We have a few customers who write the concern on paper and have the writer/advisor attach it to the paper work so the tech can read it. It really helps.

you make a 2nd bill that includes all the additional stuff and the first bill that includes exactly what you and them talked about. that way you can say the original work cost exactly what we talked about and it's very obvious.

80miles_A_day had a woman call screaming "you were the last ones to work on my car and now the check engine light is on", I apologize and ask for her name to look up service history, and asked her "you're sure we're the last one to touch it' followed by an annoyed yes, I told her "the last time you were in was two years ago and we did an oil change, if we're the last ones to touch it you haven't had your oil changed in two years, I think I know why you SES light is on" she hung up

Yup changed the oil and now the cigarette lighter doesn't work. oops showed my age... Do they even make cigarette lighters anymore?

You pay extra for that.

I own a body shop. People who get into a minor collision, and then swear the wreck caused all kinds of ridiculous things get on my nerves

On this note, if its minor stuff, i don't worry about it. If i bring my car in and the belts need changed, and you do a mult point inspection, because you offer it and i pay for it, and i get my car back with results of the inspection, and i now know that my ball joints are bad, noticeable coolant lines are leaking, oil is covering the bottom of the car, you are then covered and i as the customer know what things may need attention and failures after that are on me.

I'm happy to be included in that group. Both good friends of mine. Thanks for your comment, and your viewership.

I always go with their parts recommendations. Saving $20 on a $400 repair that has to be done again 6 months later is not for me.

commodore665 motors do this to you? My mother had a VT Commie, Motors took the perfume deodorant type thing off and put it in the centre console. Ate away the tray under the drink holder

1 it happens if battery is d/c most shops use auto store 3 sometimes will do it while on a test drive after repair no biggie its out on a test drive anyway

-6 Don't muck around with the driver seat. I get it, techs need to get to the OBD port and the seat needs to go back, but they don't need to mess with the lumbar support and height settings. Takes way to much time to get it back where should be, particularly with power seats that lack memory settings.

NEVER Take a customers car to get lunch. My guys get one warning for that, the second time they are gone.

If you are paying top dollar, yes your points make sense. But if you are going to a dealership only to get warranty work, don't expect too much.

VQPower35 you got that right, I work in a commercial chain, where that happens everyday

VQPower35 Im not a mechanic. But when I was younger and worked with my father who is a carpenter #2 happened every day. Very annoying. Especially when you have to take a moment to think about something and the customer looks at you like "this guy must not know what he's doing" and then starts telling you how to do your job. VERY VERY frustrating. - Jacob S.

Yes! Very true. Service writers and stare downs can be the worst.

We musicians get stared at while working all the time.

reallyAZ nokidding This made me laugh..

phillip vashon I totally agree. I see a lady near me with a hatchback that uses a board. shocks are like $10 each.

It always sets the tone for a service when I see that on a car.

My rightside one got bent wayyy out of shape a while back becase I wasn't paying attention and had my breaker bar in the way. lol. Ironically it's safer now with the breaker bar as the prop. The head of the wrench fit's perfectly along the ball of the hood install spot.

Really? You're going to charge me like $60-80 to fix those and there's no chance in heck you'll have the part in stock anyway, so that means at least half a day if not a day or more wait. I didn't choose to put hood "shocks" on that model. Fixing that is the least of my problems on a 10-15+ year old car. Everything from worn sway bars to glazed headlights is going to come first. I've got a million other problems I can't afford to fix and you want me to do that first. I do, all that I can, myself. I buy and replace sensors, pull parts from junkyards, replace hoses and other easy to moderately difficut things I can do. I'm as cheap as I can be but there's still thousands in work I've got yet to do. For what it's worth I did find out about RockAuto doot com and the parts there are really cheap with everything from no name Chinese parts to Motorcraft and AcDelco parts if you care to pay the premium, and actually I found some hood "shocks" new old stock on clearance for $5 total USD for 2 shipped along with the $500 worth of other parts I bought, so I happened to personally replace them today while the mechanic I have do the difficult stuff for me replaced the shock/strut assemblies. So I'll accept that as a pet peeve sure, but to say it sets the tone for the whole service I feel is out of line, what it said about me is $80 can better be spent elsewhere on my car.

***** Order from auto zone or orielys or something.. they're pretty much 10-20 bucks each for most cars in existence, and is 9/10 times as simple as popping out a clip to change them.

I never liked that. People who ride shotgun on me, piss me off. If I end up doing a wait for the Mechanic thing, I try to not to make out like I am watching them. Walk around the parking lot, go grab a coffee, talk to someone else there, whatever. I would never want to make someone feel like I am "shoulder watching" them, cause of how much I hate it done to me.

i tell people who do that that they can do that but i bill for it. t&m. if they still stay and stare it makes me feel better knowing i'm getting paid for it but that's only happened once in more than 20 years.

Just as bad is the 4x4s that have have 300lbs of dirt caked under the bottom in for a oil change.

Yes or farm trucks that smell like sh1t and you know thats not mud. I won't work on them until they wash them

You would need a dump truck to clean out all the garbage in my aunt's car.

nikoshi1988 You are totally right. Sad thing is that I really used to like the older 745’s but I’ve learned to cringe every time I see a BMW anymore. You can stack the deck in your favor if they’re driving a beemer under 10 years old, 95% chance they are a huge prick.

People who want to wait for a "big" job to be done like an evaporator then complain it's taking too long.!!!

Ben Kittrell What’s the difference between a Porsche and a porcupine? On the porcupine, the pricks are on the outside!

BL y That’s a good one

LMAO! Hahahaha! Good one Bl y.

I totally agree Ben. Especially those beamer drivers. They act like they own the damned road and expect far too much. Now and then, you do get a cool one though, who drives an expensive car, but is a shadetree Mechanic themselves. They get it! My Landlord drives a nice Caddy, but he's restoring an old Austin Healy. Now, there's a guy who "gets it" and would not give a Mechanic the gears, cause he's been there too!

I don't know of any lock nut key set in existence, can you link one? What I have used at times is a lock nut remover but that scratches the nut and is somewhat time consuming.

Elias Bargee www.toolpan.com/ATD-Tools-3065--16-Piece-Locking-Wheel-Nut-Master-Key-Set_p_4268.html . www.tooltopia.com/steelman-78537.aspx . mobiledistributorsupply.com/24447-16-piece-locking-lug-master-key-set-oem.html . In addition to sets like these, there are also vehicle make-specific sets. I know there's one made for Audi/Volkswagen and probably others.

BigRalphSmith as a flat rate technician those kits are OK, but they take time to use and sometimes scratch the lug nut, or sometimes don't work at all, in my shop I charge an hour to use that. It's so much faster and easier, as with any lock, to simply have the key available in the first place

asesupertech24 Explain why one of the keys in the set would be any more likely to scratch or damage the lock as opposed to the key that comes with the locks. What's the difference? In fact, the keys in the set look like they are longer which means they are actually _less_ likely to damage the locks because the wrench is farther away from the lock and wheel. Also, why would one of these keys take longer to use? They work exactly like the ones that come with the locks. I see no difference between using your own key and the customers key except that you always know where your keys are which means time and effort saved in not having to deal with the customer about the key _at all._

The set you linked is for generic lock nuts. Most lock nuts have a unique design that will only fit the key made for them.

Or have $6000 wheels and tires, but refuse to repair the metal on metal brakes before purchasing/installing a $3000 entertainment system on a $1000 car leaking a quart of oil every 100 miles they also are not interested in repairing. Fortunately, I can now refuse this type of customer.

+patw52pb1 that to me sounds like dumb kids who care more about "looking cool" than having a sound running car. I too find that very strange.

That's exactly what it is! All you can do is advise them but in the end, it's their money and as long as they pay, I will do the job. Just make sure you note the problems on the receipt so when the car craps out, they can't say you never told them or it's something you did.

***** I've seen that same wing before mounted on the roof of a mini van.

I've had cars with sound systems in it worth at least double the car's value... A great car can be worthless due to its age and being an unwanted model, but why would that keep me from putting a good stereo in it? It's literally one of the most universal upgrades that can be taken from car to car to car.

Seems like if that is true, all you have to do is be those other guys that do the walk-in at 8AM, except that you are asking for more services than only the oil change, so no wonder it takes longer. Any grunt can do an oil change but you don't want that guy doing the rest of it. As far as the tires go, yeah you shouldn't have been told that, but you should have known that people eat lunch around noon. Ultimately, having more staff to do things like stagger lunch break, costs them more money so the cost is passed on to the consumer. A lot of people shop based on price then complain when the level of service is lower, yet that's exactly one of the ways they can manage to lower the price. Granted there is no excuse for that if it's a premium priced business, in which case you should have just walked out. There's no stronger message that they're doing it wrong than to lose your business. Lastly I would avoid those chain oil change places. They tend to have minimally experienced staff, a high emphasis on preemptive services that aren't necessary yet, and generally fiddling around with things trying to find some way to make more money. Even if you resist their ploys, it could be one of the reasons they don't treat you like a high priority, because they're busy on customers that are paying for high profit service instead of something like an oil change where they barely break even. Inspection though? UGH! It's like asking them to take money from your wallet.

Necessary evil in NY state. I go to mom and pop shop where my mechanic is now but they don't have the nice fancy computer NY requires for inspections so they can't do them so the chain is sometimes a necessary evil, plus they're open 7 days a week. I do alternators and water pumps and brakes and belts/hoses and shocks etc when I can. Sometimes you need experience to diagnose things.