A Cautionary Tale on Chain Repair Shops

[Sonny Black]

look for that old crabby fart with all 9 fingers with crud under the nails...oh the tenth?....it has to be missing!
then you know your in the right place.

God I miss my buddy "old Joe":sad1:

 

[Budnicks]

There is a lack of experience & knowledge on the newer cars as well. Problem is, all these "qwikie lube" joints hire these young kids and pay minimum wage. They don't spend a lot of time training people to do a proper job.

I don't think allot/most of the people today that own these older 1950-60-70's or 80's even, muscle & classic cars/trucks, would actually take them to big chain stores, for anything much more than wheel & tire changes or maybe an alignment...Yes your right about the education aspects, they don't spend much time training the employees on the basics of yesterday anymore, it's a rarity more than the norm at these big chain outfits... But still, there's no excuse for idiots, like the one in the OP's thread, no freaken' common sense at all, should be a mechanic...

 

[satman72]

That's not the point. All these chain stores are basically wanting to move as many cars as possible, as fast as possible. Basically, get the car in, put 4.5 quarts of oil in, change the filter, get the car out. .......NEXT!!!!

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Well they sure as hell are not worried about training anyone on a 45 year old car that's just getting older. I dont know what training if any the chain stores provide. Alignment school in sure. And they still cant do one.
Anyone who takes their old car to one of these places gets what they deserve.you have a special car. It needs to go to someone who knows what they are working on.

 

[modernistsouth]

My signs for good shops are not necessarily grease traps at all. I look for the neat, very organized shops where no one is sitting at a desk and there may be a classic or two under a car cover.

 

[roadrunnerman]

The guy that works on my vehicles when i'm on the road and the wife needs something fixed has a garage that looks like Cooter's and he looks like Uncle Jesse. Plus he's a mopar guy. He owns a 69 Bee, 67 belvedere, 77 power wagon.

 

[Bruzilla]

I call BS story no offense

I wish I had the creativity to cook up a story like this, but sadly I don't.

As the owner of the shop the car went to was telling me what all happened to it, I couldn't help but remember when I was taking my 74 Road Runner over to the P&B guy and it quit running as I came off I-10 on the west side of Jacksonville. My daughter was trailing me and had to get to work, so my sister-in-law came over to give me a lift. I had an appointment to get to and didn't want to spend time troubleshooting on the roadside with no tools, so I told her I was going to have it taken to a shop. She told me there was a Jiffy Lube down the street and I just laughed at that.

I had her drive me to an old industrial area and I looked for one of those old school garages. I walked into the office of one and the owner looked at me and said "can I help you son?" I'm 51, grey hair, and if a guy can call me "son" he's the guy I want! He towed my car in, and when I called a few days later to check on it a kid answers the phone. When I tell him I'm calling about the Road Runner he says "oh, that old car. You'll need to talk to the owner. He won't let the rest of us work on it."

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Is this real!!!??? I can't believe there is an automotive shop this stupid.

I don't think you can really classify these as automotive shops. They know brakes, shocks, and CV joints, but while they advertise they are general mechanics they all work the same way. A car comes in, they diagnose the problem as best they can, they get on Alldata to look up what needs to be done, and if Alldata doesn't have the info, as they often don't for older cars, the "mechanic" will try to wing it.

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There are many, many clueless people out there, & somehow they claim they can repair vehicles....Most of them are just part changers.....Not able to diagnose the problem..... I have also had many "holy crap” moments from a few mopar owners doing there own repairs.... If you can't handle the repair yourself...It is so important that you do your research & homework when purchasing a vintage car..... The same is even more important in maintaining it.... Best thing to do....Get a manual, learn your car, & do the work yourself when possible.......

This is an area where I think us older guys are really lucky. We grew up working on these cars, and we were dealing with these issues since way back when. But for younger guys who grew up with EFI, CPUs, crank/cam sensors, electric fuel pumps, ABS, and other technologies, this old stuff is a mystery to them.

 

[satman72]

Where the problem lies, is that today, we don't have "mechanics". What we have is a bunch of "automotive technicians" who know ****. They plug into the computer and it tells them what's wrong, and they replace a part. And they do this without any understanding of the problem.

 

[HawkRod]

I think it is unfair to classify all new technicians as part replacers and all old mechanics as being competent.

IMHO, there are good mechanics and bad mechanics both old a new. The good mechanics understand the system they are working on, regardless of whether the "system" is a carb or a fuel injection system. The bad ones replace parts without truly understanding the problem.

Finding a good mechanic that is educated on the old cars is difficult, hence the challenge. I have had a few horror stories in my day, so now I do all my own work (old cars and new) except alignments and air conditioning. But if you find that true mechanic who "gets it", then be glad and pass along his good name to others.

So that brings me to an idea: Should this forum post the names of shops in various areas that are "good guys"? This way, people could look up shops in their area that know and respect these old cars...

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Where the problem lies, is that today, we don't have "mechanics". What we have is a bunch of "automotive technicians" who know ****. They plug into the computer and it tells them what's wrong, and they replace a part. And they do this without any understanding of the problem.

Its not that simple. Plugging in to the computer is just the first step. And before I diagnose any trouble code the first thing i do is read the description of how the system or component in question is supposed to operate. Cause if you dont know how it works or what it does how the hell are you supposed to fix it.
i will agree with term technician though. I can't stand it. I call myself a mechanic.

 

[bobtile]

My son took his 69 Coronet to a shop to have tires put on. I got a call from the shop that they couldn't get the wheels off on one side,. Told them they were left hand threads. I said to take them off, you have to act like you're putting them on. Reverse the gun. They couldn't figure it out so I had to go to the shop and show them. When I got there, I was surprised to see that the "mechanic" was an older fellow. He told me he had never seen this before. I guess you can't blame everything on youth.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

So that brings me to an idea: Should this forum post the names of shops in various areas that are "good guys"? This way, people could look up shops in their area that know and respect these old cars...

I got an idea. Just gonna throw it out there. If anyone happens to be in the baltimore/Carroll county Maryland area and has car trouble keep this post in your back pocket. I will helpnin any way I van. I can help get you a tow and can provide a shop with a lift and tools and I probably have some parts laying around. So if you are on the way to Carlisle or something and your car takes a crap keep it in mind.

 

[satman72]

Its not that simple. Plugging in to the computer is just the first step. And before I diagnose any trouble code the first thing i do is read the description of how the system or component in question is supposed to operate. Cause if you dont know how it works or what it does how the hell are you supposed to fix it.
i will agree with term technician though. I can't stand it. I call myself a mechanic.

I feel that it is that simple. You are right in saying, that plugging in the computer is the first step. Unfortunately, many so called"technicians" stop at step one.

 

[Bruzilla]

I was thinking about the day I drove my Road Runner back from the woods, and my son and his girlfriend were driving my car behind me. The first thing they said to me when we stopped was how hard it was to drive behind me because of all the glare and reflection coming off the bumper. I thought that was odd until I realized these kids had grown up driving behind cars with plastic bumper covers and rarely ever encountered a car with a chrome bumper anymore.

So I guess the real problem isn't young or old, it's just ya' know what ya' know, and for most mechanics these days they know what comes through the door every day... 1990 and newer cars.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

1990 cars are now ancient. I had to take my 1993 DD to emissions testing last night. As soon asI pull in the clown makes a joke that I was in the wrong place, the junkyard is across the street.

 

[BeastlyBirdie]

My son took his 69 Coronet to a shop to have tires put on. I got a call from the shop that they couldn't get the wheels off on one side,. Told them they were left hand threads. I said to take them off, you have to act like you're putting them on. Reverse the gun. They couldn't figure it out so I had to go to the shop and show them. When I got there, I was surprised to see that the "mechanic" was an older fellow. He told me he had never seen this before. I guess you can't blame everything on youth.

You got lucky. Over the years, even when reverse thread was more common, you'd see broken studs. One of the first things I've always done on mopars is swap to right hand thread.

 

[Moparsmitty]

I mentioned before in an old thread that a friend of mine runs the auto program at the local college. I was visiting him one day at school and he told me that they show the students a couple of carburetors so that if they happen to see one, maybe they will remember what it is. They don't teach them how to repair them, just give them a rudimentary idea of how they work. He says "they might not ever see a carburetor again once they graduate". I said "thanks for making me feel even older".

 

[satman72]

1990 cars are now ancient. I had to take my 1993 DD to emissions testing last night. As soon asI pull in the clown makes a joke that I was in the wrong place, the junkyard is across the street.

I probably would have told him that the cemetary isn't much farther.

 

[wedge69]

Where the problem lies, is that today, we don't have "mechanics". What we have is a bunch of "automotive technicians" who know ****. They plug into the computer and it tells them what's wrong, and they replace a part. And they do this without any understanding of the problem.

YEP ! If thay can't plug a box into it to tell them whats wrong thay are SCREWED ! Bet 90% don't know what to do with a cut off pice of broom handle other than Poke there buddy with it !!
I have worked in this feild for over 30 years and have seen guys with every high tech tool in the box and still couldnt tell me what was makeing the noise in the motor. Thaay thought I was NUTS when I out that pice of wood to the motor and my ear and told them the fuel pump was going bad.
He sent it out with an oil change ! 2 days later it was towed in for what ? The fuel pump broke !!
Best way to get good advise is ASK the older guy with the busted knuckles !!