Misadventures in car repair

[MadScience]

Originally Posted by TomsBeast

This is real standard stuff for anyone with a toolbox and skills beyond shadetree-mechanic status.

I don't even consider myself to have shade-tree status, but I own a collections of extractors and tap handles. And I would most certainly make use of them in a situation like that.

I gather you did not own this vehicle from new? This sounds like the sort of thing that happens behind the shed on a buy-here-pay-here lot.

[oldbonesclimber]

I too am fed up with Stealership Service Departments. Fortunately I have a friend who is a Master Tech and helps a lot. When you are out of town you are at their mercy. We need to start a list of quality service shops and others that will help in need. In the upcoming weeks I will remove my 6.0 from my van and personally Dealerproof it, with a little help from my FMT. I will keep costs as to the whole process as to what can be done on a NON RETAIL basis. I had a saying when my son was doing repairs. " If you don't have the time to do it right , when are you going to find the time to do it over "

At $140 an hour my time seems a Bargain.

Paul

[1der]

Originally Posted by wadewaydo

......This country is not investing in the trades. Companies are not investing in their employees. The training is not there. Neither is conscience...... And the band played on.....

BUT $1 TRILLION

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/18/stoc...-not-over.html

key takeaways from the article:

It's sad but true. Companies are obsessed with controlling earnings per share, which is the key to maintaining higher stock valuations. It is easier to control earnings per share by purchasing stock, and companies get addicted to that process. Buying back stock often provides an incremental boost to earnings per share growth, and when companies stop doing that, accomplishing that goal becomes more challenging.

So the critics of corporate buybacks and dividend raises are correct. It is a form of financial engineering that does not do anything to improve business operations or fundamentals.

It also plays into the hands of the people who were critical of the tax cuts, arguing that obsessing over ways to boost stock prices helps the investing class but not the average American.

PLUS: Exec compensation is stock option driven which creates incentives to drive up stock price through buybacks (utilizing the repatriated profits)

Its a cluster/.

[LindaDV]

My son the mechanic says, do you want it done fast or done right? Flat rate is the scourge of car repairs. The stories he tells, transmission rebuilds that get billed but never done. He is skilled at his job, especially diagnosing the problems. They don't want to pay for diagnosing, just fix it! He is in an independent shop now after being fired at a dealership for being honest! He works with a parts hanger who doesn't know how to do that, even after Mike tells him what he needs to do! Whoops, now I got started, where to stop.

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by LindaDV

My son the mechanic says, do you want it done fast or done right...

Your son has the right idea, LindaDV. Diagnosing is the hardest thing to teach, and learn. Some people have it, others will never get it. I'm always willing to pay for that service. Parts hangers have their place, working under a master mechanic.


Here's the problem as I see it: You have a dealership who sells cars, these days the profit margins have evaporated. 30yrs ago, the service department was a money loosing operation, but not anymore. As I understand it, as a stand alone profit center, some service departments carry the rest of the operation! Parts and service make up 40%-60% of the dealership's profits, according to one report I read.


You have your service manager, your service writer, your shuttle driver, customer coordinator. An EPA and OSHA compliance manager, and a General Manager that all draw salaries that the customer pays for through shop rate. The service writer wants to upsell the customer an oil change, a 30k service, blinker fluid and filter change, seat heater temperature calibration "looking at the service records on your car, it looks like those brakes haven't been done in over 3yrs Mrs Smith, and that's a safety item. You wouldn't want your son to drive anything unsafe while he's away at college, would you Mrs Smith?" This guy gets a bonus from the overall bill, if he sells over a certain amount. BTW, if his 'numbers aren't up with everyone else's' he get's put on notice. Sell or look for another job. All that is fine and well, except the car was brought in for a problem, no heater which turned out to be a head gasket. The slick service salesman (let's call them what they are) recommends a new oil pan, and new oil filter/oil cooler housing (in my recent case) to address an oil leak. WTF? How about figuring out why those two things are leaking. I did. And a new $400 oil pan would never have fixed the problem, neither would a $400 oil filter/oil cooler housing (parts only). BTW, a new aftermarket oil pan is less than $100.



Let's not forget flat rate, and that scheme. The table in the computer shows 4.5 hours for a head gasket job. The service writer talks you into a new timing belt and water pump "as long as we are in there" (car has 83k, manufacturer says it's due at 90k) you agree, good choice! Not so fast... The table calls for 4.5 for the head gasket job, and 3.5 hours for a timing belt and water pump. In order to remove the head for service, the timing belt must be removed, and put back on. The water pump takes an additional 15 minutes (if you're slow like me). But the dealer charges 4.5 hrs + 3.5hrs. The tech does the entire job in 4.5 hrs, gets paid for 8, the service manager and writer get to slide another car in the same bay, both make their commissions and/or bonuses off off 8hrs (not the 4.5 hours it took) it's been a good day. Everyone is happy, see how easy that was? <sic>



Further, everyone in this little cartel is incentivized to throw parts at it. The service manager gets a monthly bonus based on getting over a certain $$$ in parts sales. That's right, a bonus from the parts his service writers recommend replacing. The parts manager gets his cut, too.



My guess on this particular car? The service salesman, looked up the history and saw a leaking oil pan repair that had been back more than once. They screwed the pooch the first time, the second time, and now wanted to get paid to fix it again. If I can prove that, I'll act on it.


Until the customers get fed up and go elsewhere, nothing will change.