The 3 Biggest Scams We See In The Auto Repair Industry…
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- Опубликовано: 11 дек 2024
- There are some problems in this industry and we all have to work together to be better. Changing some of these things will be a good place to start. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
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My daughter just got a quote from our local Midas to replace the both rear brake calipers, rotors, and pads for $1500. The mechanic told me that most of the $ was going towards parts and $200 for labor - he also said they are using after market parts. I bought 2 sets of Nissan calipers, rotors, and pads for $326 online. My daughter and I replace everything ourselves in our driveway, it took us about 2 hours. We also watched your video on brake jobs before we accomplished the work. Thank You
I run a chain store and the job you describe is 800 bucks here. Lifetime pads, Lifetime calipers, 12/12 rotors and all labor. 1500 dollars they better be made of platinum lol
@@mdb831 even 800 is crazy high for a brake job
F*ck Midas. I brought my car for a synthetic oil change and tire rotation, but not only they put cheap regular oil, they didnt even rotate the tires! l put marks in the rims so I would know if they have been moved or not. I went for another oil change the day after at Mr. Lube and sent the used oil they put in my car for an analysis and the results came up bad... not only they didnt put synthetic, but they put the wrong viscosity and it's their cheap bulk oil. I complained, but BBB sided with those crooks...
Nice, is she ok to get greasy fingers? Both my 18 y/o twin boys sit next to me as I do the work because they hate grease
This is why I do as much of my own work as I possibly can. Car repairs are expensive when the mechanic isn't trying to screw you over. Thankfully, I have a good mechanic who has even let me borrow a specialty tool to do my own work, knowing that the end result is me not giving him the work, and that says a lot about him. I make sure to refer anyone and everyone to him.
I me 35 yr. certified tech .. Fired from a dealer for NOT ripping off customers!!..
I did all I could to assure that the job was done well and that pissed off the 'big money' a-holes in mgmt.
Dealer closed 6 months later.
So in other words they did you a favor.
And dealers stink!
I'm glad they closed!! A-holes need to pay for being a-holes.
Asshole dealer replaced rear rotors that were rusted on the inside outer portion of the rotors. I’m certain they wasted my time and money which could’ve gone to a more needed repair (valve cover gasket). Rotors and pads were brand new 25k miles ago.
Dealerships are scum. I buy used from private party and do all my work myself.
I’ve fixed many machines that have had thousands in parts thrown at them. When I have it fixed in an hour and charge the customer pennys, they are stunned. For me, it’s all about the satisfaction of solving the problem and making the customer happy. The big jobs that cost thousands in labor will always come around, when it’s quick and easy I don’t screw anyone to make more money. Honest mechanics have more work than they can handle.
Busier than a 1 legged man in a🍑 kicking contest 😂
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I dont mind paying for someone elses experience. If it takes 5 minutes for someone to fix somethng that baffles me or is beyond my skill level, I will pay for that persons expertise, not the time he took to diagnose and fix the problem. This is just selling yourself short. The world is way too complex these days.
The last line says everything just honesty and integrity it's all we all need to bring to all aspects of our lives so simple so useful.
Agree 100%!!
All my years in the trade I discovered early on that the "rip off" mechanics always made less each pay than the good, honest mechanics.
Dealer tech here, we had lifetime alignments for a few years. You are correct, management won't pay us if the customer returns later on. So you know what the customer gets. Dealerships steal from everyone, not just customers.
They steal from the Tech's the most. Do a warranty repair and you go over. They submit a claim to the maker for the extra time.
They under pay the Tech and keep the other Money. This adds up to 30-40 K a month. Depending on how many Guys you have
We call them "stealerships". The old saying "set the toe collect the dough" or doe. However you wanna look at it.
Quit working for them fvcks!
Nope, fuck that. This among many reasons is why I'm a mobile mechanic.
When the customer complains about something we as tech do it for free
If you work at a shop as a tech that won’t pay you to do an alignment under any circumstance, LEAVE
Run don't walk.
Don't even apply there!
Techs work for an hourly wage, how could they not get paid to do a particular job?
@crooked-halo no, we don't.
@@crooked-halosome guys are hourly most are not. Google flat rate pay system
I just had a water pump put on my corvair. I'm so glad my mechanic isn't a scam artist.
Good one! 😉
me too but on my 1968 VW bug
And there seems to be a lot of problems with the fuel pumps they're putting in Teslas.
That was great. Good one
I just paid $1200 for new fuel injectors on my Tesla at the quickie lube place!
As someone who likes to fix my own cars when I can, I've learned to greatly appreciate a skilled mechanics ability to diagnose, and absolutely believe it is worth the money. I'm good with taking a vehicle to a shop when I just can't figure out the problem, and once they figure out, if I can, I want to repair it myself. But, I'll absolutely pay them for their diagnostics with large helping of gratitude. At the end of the day, I'm just a parts swapper. I sometimes need the help of a qualified mechanic.
Took my car and paid way too much to have the dealership confirm what I knew it was. But the cost it might have cost me if I was wrong would probably have been way more. I understand to an extent that I am paying for experience and not time. Also I'm paying for them to have a lift and tools that I don't have even if I could do it myself. I feel like it evens out over the life of the vehicle.
Same thing happened to me. Went to the shop because my car was driving rough. Pulled the code and it said cylinder misfire. Thought it was probably spark plug or coil pack. I had just changed the spark plugs last summer though. Didn’t think they should be bad yet. Swapped the coil packs around and the code didn’t jump so I doubted it was that. Took my car to the shop. They told me it was either spark plugs or coil pack and charged me $160 for a diagnostic for something I already knew. Then said they could clean the fuel injection system, swap all the plugs, and coils for a total of $1,000. I was like, yall are out of your mind. Did the repair myself and swapped all the plugs and the car runs great now. Wish I just would’ve went with my gut and I wouldn’t be out $160.
When I go to a mechanic, I expect a diagnosis. Not just change some parts around just to rip me off even more if that doesn’t fix the problem.
@@TyGuyVideoBlogz Did you use the wrong plugs the first time? I did that with my wife's Ford Escape. I bought plugs that fit, but weren't right. Shop swapped them for motorcraft and it was better.
Not free diagnostics, but free pre-purchase inspections.
We have been using the same mechanic for almost 30 years. We go to his shop for regular maintenance(oil changes) and for big things(engine replacement). Whenever we are looking to purchase a vehicle, he will give it a thorough once over for free.
We feel that he is in business to help people and make sure they are safe on the road. When our daughter's car needed repairs and she was short on funds, he helped her prioritize what was an immediate or safety concern and what could wait. We have referred tons of business his way. Unfortunately, small shops like his are hard to find these days.
We enjoy your content. Keep putting it out there.
The only time I remember being scammed was by a Ford dealership who said I needed new bearings on the front wheels of my Ford Ranger. This was a couple months after my regular independent mechanic replaced them. I took the truck back to my mechanic (without having the work done at Ford) and he said there was no problem with them. I didn't have any bearing issues for many years after that. I just assumed that the dealership was just looking for ways of filling up their mechanics time without regard to honesty.
I would off call them out and told your ford dealer how can that be when I just replaced them they are brand new. I did that when I was getting a new set of tires they told me I needed tpms sensors I told them I don’t need them because they are new if they push back I would of ask them how much battery life is left on each sensor , if they would of told me some lie like they can’t check battery life I would of then ask them what kind off shop they are running because they have tools to check battery life of the tpms sensors and diagnostics tools that do that in I either case call them out to get a reason as to why they think that so , so you know what angle they are coming from.
Good video. I am a retired GM Master tech of 50 years doing alignments. Before the Dealership life I worked for one of those tire stores. We had one of those life-time alignment contracts. They were called a 'coffee cup alignment'. You pull it on the machine and get a cup of coffee. Pull it off and you are done. I did not last long because I did the alignments. After doing alignments in a dealership, I will tell you that most {90%} did not need an alignment, they needed the tires aired up. Most of the time we sold an alignment with new tires. Darn good idea. If your car drives fairly straight down the road and steering wheel is centered, it most likely is pretty close. Many of the new vehicle require the alignment to be VERY CLOSE! If not all kinds of lights come on. If you hit a pothole, bumped a curb, or was in a collision, check that four-wheel alignment. Tires are expensive, good alignments save tires. In the winter trying to drive a vehicle with bad alignments and tires cause loss of control and wreaks. I have said enough, be safe and plan ahead for bad weather. DAT's Don's Automotive Tips.
Those tire store Lifetime alignments are always bs. Either don't sell them or if you are going to sell that bs pay the tech for his time. Which you and I both know would never happen.
If I had a dollar for guys who say "ive been a master so and so for 50+ years" I'd be very rich. Hey guy once you retire you aren't considered a tech anymore unless you're working at a shop until you're 70+ and thats if you started at 10 and had to work your way up. 😂
I once went to a very good alignment shop that had been around for over 50 years, because i had an issue. They resolved it, with minor adjustments. He then told me that 95% of the time, most people don't have any alignment issue. Usually it's under inflated tires. Also, you can prevent alignment issues by NOT pressing on your brake as you go over a railroad track. Definitely slow down as you approach but remove foot from brake as you roll over. Pot holes can cause misalignment as well as some suspension work, like new shocks and struts. For shops with the computerized system, readings can come up as Red, or misaligned for being 1000th off. The amount off is so miniscule that the tap of a hammer can often bring it back to spec
I don't doubt that. After being to a new fancy dealership (warranty work I wouldn't take it there otherwise) pretty much every single vehicle that came in it would say alignment needed on the screen. They had a fancy pad thing that when they drove the vehicle in it would (allegedly anyway) check the alignment.
Do an Alignment video in depth. Would love to hear your expertise.
Me too!
YT has many alignment vids. Some are for DIY.
@jonyoung6405
Ok? Looking at his knowledge and perspective. Not DIY which is always guys saying shops are ripping you off.
The fact that the 4th Alignment angle was mentioned makes me want to hear more from a master.
@@jonyoung6405 the honest places will refuse to attempt on a car with shot bushings.
rockauto is your friend, then get a wood block & a tape measure to set slight toe-in if it is a econobox FWD grocery getter. 1/16" toe-in to help it track straight & you're done. But you do need decent tie rods, struts/springs, suspension bushings intact, etc.
Otherwise you'll never get it set true.
@@willg2286 Sherwood did kinda say " shops are ripping you off", but ,,,, 1) Caster, Camber, Toe,....and of course the 4th Demetion
I’m glad that I was a mechanic back in the 70’s. Straight forward easy work. The flat rate left a little to be desired. The dealer was making money though. Not a problem. I could usually pull and build a transmission a day. I could also do one at home in 2 nights. But we had several small shops around here that were good at pulling and replacing transmissions that you could trust. They kept me busy for many years and I just flat priced the work to them. I gave them a decent warranty and backed it up. I left the dealer and worked at home for about 13 years. I gave it up when computers became standard equipment. I retired in 2012 and still do a few a year, but I feel bad about having to charge for parts at today’s prices. A TH-350 kit was less than $40 back then and was a quality product. Last time I ordered one it was $135 jobber price and quality is questionable. Sometimes technology isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.
If you live in a rust belt, you're lucky if you can get a toe and go. Any rear adjustments will be seized solid and caster and camber adjustment is going to be minimal at best. Oftentimes the jam nuts will be seized to the inner tie rods and they will need to be heated with a torch to move them and that in itself is breaking the rules !!!
We used to get those cars from transplants to los angeles from the midwest...i could always tell from the RUST under the car..the adjustments that havent been made in years...and the need for a torch, a pipe wrench, brealer bars and a gallon of PB blaster 😅
@Will-m2t9l and sometimes you have no choice but to replace the inner and outer tie rod ends...
I have personally seen technicians breaking parts before quoting me a repair: CV booth, brake hose, air filter, engine wires... This is criminal! I've also had a service adviser quoting me a «automatic transmission ECU flash» on my my car; it was a manual transmission.
Please make more videos like this, the information is so valuable!
My brither recently went to a tire shop for an alignment and rotation. They said that both lower control arms are bad and need replaced, and that they cant do an alignment until theyre fixed. Well, that shop was quickly busted for being untruthful, because my brother literally JUST had one of the control arms replaced by our trusted local mechanic.
Back in 1992, I had a tire issue on a 1991 Camry. I diagnosed the problem was a tire issue. I also paid for a comlete alignment which centered the rear toe. The car drove and wore tires perfectly for the next 22 years and 250,000 miles with no further adjustments.
One of the biggest scams imo is the auto parts stores offering free code scans. Scenerio I had several yrs ago. Woman had her car scanned and there was alot and I mean alot of codes in it. She was prepared to spend 4k on sensors etc the parts store said she needed. She came to me for a 2nd opinion. Long story short, her catalyic converter was plugged. Put a $400 converter on it and solved the problem. Thanks for sharing!
Disagree, I do all my own maintenance and repairs and I use the free code scanner. Last time the code was engine not coming up to operating temperature fast enough. I didn't need a PHD to realize that means the thermostat failed partially open. I've also used it to determine which cylinder had a misfire and other things as well. Cost zero vs dealership flat $150 diagnostic fee.
@Mike-jm5wt I think you missed the point of my comment, it is one thing if your mechanically inclined. Which in your case helped you. The point was they tried to sell this lady parts she didn't need because she was trusting the parts store with their "expertise"
When the dude at O’Reillys is selling a person (who likely obviously(?) doesn’t DIY car repairs), multiple sensors…”I have a box of sensors now. Now what?”
@@manfredstrappen7491 that could go many ways. The point is people get taken advantage of all the time from this. Thats what the video is trying to point out.
The parts stores are full of tech wannabes who couldn't make it as a real tech.
Retired dentist who practiced 40 years here...SAME, EXACT thing in our profession....90% of dentists are NOT honest. I've seen it all...
Can you give some examples?
@@ruthlessmofoNot a dentist but how about “Looks like you need a crown”, “Seeing a bit of decay that will need some work at some point” .
When my global fishing enthusiast dentist sold his business to a younger, newer dentist, the “new” guy looked in my mostly aftermarket mouth and said “looks like someone paid for a few fishing trips with your crowns”.
Which made me think of all the times he would do an exam, ask how good my insurance was, and then determine if and how many crowns, fillings he could do.
My wife went on Medicare and got free dental on her plan. She wanted a simple cleaning (free) they said "You need a deep cleaning" ($800). She went back to our old dentist for thirty years (he does not handle Medicare) and he said "They are lying, you teeth and gums are in excellent condition". They were just rying to boost revenue.
I have seen both ways, some are very honest, and some are strait up crooks.
Actually no the same then..95% of autoshops are HONEST. In automotive...80% of all customers are REPEAT business...and 80% of all new custmoers are REFERRALS. Guys dont give away years of valued customer for a temporary bump of a few dollars
I've been in shops that had scammy techs. Some of these guys would keep worn out brake pads from different vehicles in their toolbox, then go to the customer trying to upsell them something they don't need. The worst of the worst would take the money and not even do the repairs. I'm a firm believer in building trust with customers.
Lol damn, I've seen that, too. One of the worst things I've seen is using RTV on the outside of a leak to "fix" it instead of just replacing the gasket/seal.
Im am so thankful that i can do things myself !
I don't pay others for auto repairs or home repairs,
I learned way back in 1978 when i was 18 that auto shops can be useless and expensive.
Made my living as a handyman, with flipping vehicles.
Now retired and goofing off for the remainder.
I worked for a large gov't fleet for 30 years and on cars for almost 50. And sometimes I needed to take my car in to a shop anyway. I never tell them I have plenty of time wrenching, but I always look over what the "tech" did, carefully. And the sheer number of ignorant, incompetent, and negligent things I've seen so-called "mechanics" do, is absolutely mind blowing. Saw a guy adjust the valves on my engine so tight I had to fix them myself since they were all so tight they would have burned in a thousand miles.
Another guy changed my alternator (1985 Nissan 200SX), but never swapped the pulley (because it was too small) - so the belt slipped because the alt was out of travel and couldn't be tightened - and the moron gave it back to me like that. "Useless and expensive" you say?
I totally hear ya on this! I’ve been a shade tree mechanic since ‘86. I believe anyone can do auto repairs on most cars it’s just turning a wrench it’s not brain surgery. I lol hard when I hear the prices people pay auto mechanics for repairs that cost me a small fraction of what they paid.
Same here, but there are a couple things we still rely on shops to do; alignments and recall work to name a couple.
If you don't learn how to do auto repairs so that you can do the job yourself, at least learn what's involved in the job before you give the work to someone else. A naive customer is a sitting duck.
As a person that's been in auto parts business for decades, please don't go to the local parts store and and have them "Plug in my car and diagnose it". 90% of the employees have no idea what their doing. That hand held OBD II reader helps them sell O2 sensors and gas caps. Reading a code is only step one in diagnosis.
Reading the codes from the CEL is the first step in diagnosis. If your car is regularly maintained, that code, and the Internet solves 95% of the issues. It's really not difficult for most issues.
Isn't it amazing, our industry, that people think mechanics are thieves yet so many shops think mechanics should work for free...on anything. No profession on earth gives an employee a list of things they are expected to do without compensation.
I've got more, but have to save some for my own videos, lol.
Doordash expects us to work for free every day.
Only idi0t technicians whine and complain and put up with stuff like that. When I first got into the industry an old tech who took me under his wing told me "thats why toolboxes have wheels on them" when it came to taking 5hit...
Techniciams are top valuable and plenty places wilking to pay for a quality tech....either move to a better place or work for yourself....your skills are extremely valuable...unless you dont think so
I used to do my own maintenance on all my cars. As I got older, I tried the local Jiffy Lube for oil changes. I always double checked their work and the last time I used them whoever did the work only tightened the drain plug finger tight. I went back and the manager was there. I told him what had happened and that his shop was fired. He didn't seem to care.
Look into getting a vacuum extractor. Then, take the car to a professional shop every year or so to get the filter swapped out during a paid oil change.
I am 70 years old and still doing most of the maintenance on my cars. You can take the wrench out of my cold, dead hands.
Ok Mr Trump
@@connor3288 thanks for the compliment.
@@russellstephan6844 vacuum extractor??? Never heard of that before, that would explain why the drain plug on my new to me Jeep with a paid oil change 12 months ago looked like it hadnt been removed for years & years, I though the oil pan was going to distort before it finally came loose. Ill quit doing my own oil changes when I cant get back up off the ground, hopefully for a couple more decades.
Great video... Know a few Young kids, Getting out of high school looking to get into the auto repair field. Would love to see you maybe put a video together about how to do that and maybe talk with some of your tech about how they got into the trade. Im an older mechanic and can truly say you run a great shop and trust you to give some advice to the future generation of techs.
True story. I brought my Chevy Sonic into the dealer for an oil change, and the service writer came out looking like a surgeon who just lost the patient. "Oh sir, our tech looked at your car's automatic transmission fluid, and it's very dirty. You need a full flush. That'll cost about $500, but we recommend the $750 premium service which also replaces the filter". I replied "your mechanic should have his eyesight checked". The writer said "I don't understand sir". I replied "my car has a manual transmission".
That’s just golden lmao. Least he could’ve done was just said “the lubricant in your transmission is in need to a replacement” to cover both bases if he clueless lol
as soon as they call you 'sir', you know you are in trouble.
Is this a joke?
Rip off artists are born everyday.
@@djlancer88 It's not a joke. A true story. And every time my girlfriend brings her Subaru in, they want to do a "transmission flush". It's a pretty standard stealership ripoff.
I heard this second hand,from my GF.
Her nephew charged/billed someone $3,600.00 USD! For what you ask? Turned a screw,replaced a fuse. He also charged/billed his uncle $900.00 USD for changing out some parts his uncle purchased. My understanding is it took less than an hour. He kept the car all day to make it appear as though it took all day. The nephew was bragging about how much he was cheating people out of their money.
Where did this happen? Queens, NY.
She wonders why I want nothing to do with her family.
I live in south florida. It is only marginally better.
I enjoy this channel very much. The truthfulness. The diagnostics. It is worth my time. Honestly, not much is.
Thanks.
He the nephew would probably rip off JC if he could 😢 bragging about ripping people off even ur own family😔 one could say nephew,, yo better watch ur Background
I even said to myself: sounds like NYC 🤔
Then you said it's queens 🎯
Figured as much,there's so many ripoff artists down there they step all over each other!
The amount of time they take to "pull a fast one" ,it doesn't really take much longer to do an honest job.
But 10 seconds is 10 seconds I guess.
Bot
to be fair Ive charged people 1700$ for 1 minute of actual work. just me plugging in a USB, what they are really paying for is the 28+ years of experience and hundreds of hours of my time script writing that automated all of my work. What would take a normal person hours or days to do by hand is all done by the computer itself. I charge 200$ to do linux installs for customers that want to ship All in ones to africa. Takes at most 8 clicks of the mouse and twenty minutes of waiting. the cost is in the expertise
Tricky thing about O2 sensors is they can flag a code when the sensor is fine, and most shops won’t actually test the resistance of the sensor. A lot of the time the sensor could be fine and triggering a code because of an exhaust leak, even a cracked header, and man that’s real money compared to a sensor. I’d be pissed if a shop was charging $200 to fix an o2 sensor, only to have them call me saying they replaced the sensor but “upon further inspection” you need a $1000 header.
A honest and reliable shop is worth paying. You have customer service when you do quality work with common sense like these folks. Wish i had someone like them in my area. Still looking. ( new area).
Eric at SMA mentions you so I decided to follow you.
One issue I have being a professional INDUSTRIAL (not car) mechanic is when I do have to take my car in and I say something like “I need a slave cylinder so go ahead and do that and a full clutch kit”. I’m willing to take full responsibility for my diagnosis. That’s when paying for a diag burns me up.
But, I also understand that most capable customers would do it themselves. It’s a 2-way street.
It would be nice that the few of us who know and are willing to pay if we are wrong were accepted accordingly.
That being said there are a LOT of automobile repairs that I see Eric do that just blow my mind. I’d gladly pay one or two hours for a guaranteed diag.
And be happy about it.
I charge a LOT for the work I do and I would expect to pay the shop properly too.
I took my old grand marquis to one of these big tire chain/repair shops to get some front end work done. I knew how to do it myself but was just extremely busy so figured I'd just let them do it. When they came back with a $1400 estimate I asked them to show me what was wrong. They took me out and showed me the upper control arms and ball joints. Both bushings were indeed bad. When the service manager told me that the upper ball joints and control arms were one complete unit I laughed. I pointed to the 2 nuts and said "all you have to do is take these off and the ball joint is $50, set my car down and pull it out". Needless to say I decided to order a complete new suspension front and back for $600 and did it all myself in the driveway on a weekend
Thats being silly though...i had a guy tell me all he had to do was swap idler pulley on a Lexus IS250 when I told him it is one part...he swapped thr pulley but Lexus only sells the thing in one piece...the pulley he bought didnt WORK and failed again...
Shade tree mechanics always think they know more than professinals who see it all day
A lot of times when a mechanic tells you bad news you have a gut feeling that they’re stretching the truth. Thankfully I have a great mechanic who is honest and at times has had to give me bad news but my gut is telling me he’s right and that’s ok. Things break and that’s what comes with driving a vehicle. Love the channel.
I'm quite familiar with the alignment adjustments, but one thing you fail to mention. MOST of today's front wheel drive cars have no other adjustments than toe-in. Camber and caster are built into the chassis, and it they are off, it means there are bent parts. Also note that rear toe is also adjustable on most front wheel drive cars.
On to diagnostics. Basically we need a definition of exactly what constitutes a diagnostic. Just plugging in a scan tool and reading the codes is not a diagnostic - although some do try to pass that off as a diagnostic.
A true diagnostic means to pinpoint the part that has failed. Just like you said in the video, the check engine light came on yesterday, so that means that the part that failed must have failed yesterday. As such, reading the codes is just the start of the diagnostic. Now, the rest is to pinpoint the failed part and determine why it failed.
Alsop note that just because the light came on yesterday, that does not mean that something broke yesterday. Odds are that it did, but there are codes that can only come up after extended driving. Like mixture codes. An engine can run too rich or too lean for quite a while before it sets a code that lights the light. Especially if it is a condition that has been slowly building - like a lean code that results from a deteriorated vacuum line just as one example. In general, if a mass air flow sensor gets out of range, it will not necessarily set a code, but rather set a rich or lean condition that is pesky to track down.
One thing is certain, though. There are a lot of "less than honest" shops out there that will oversell, overcharge, or make simple repairs and charge for more expensive ones.
On the scan tool thing, you're absolutely right. The scan tool is a begin point - it should point a good tech into the general area that needs to be looked at, it shouldn't be used as an end-all. That's parts-cannon thinking.
Couldnt have said it all better myself. It might be time for this guy to retire...once guys get cynical its over.
I used to train new akignment techs...99.9% of the cars today have ONLY toe adjustments (front and rear on most/some)...when I started in 2005 I did camber/caster all the time from 2010 up havent sen them at ALL unless aftermaket kit on a lowered car or I got 1969 mustang with centrics on it...car today do NOT HAVE any other adjustments other than TOE (and reset the steering angle sensor)...
And you are right about diagnostics...some retail kid a AutoZone with a code reader telling you must need an O2 sensor isnt diagnosics...diagnostics is taking all codes, symptoms etc and ising your diagnostic SKILLS to finding the exact problem.....
Also you are correct..an evap code didnt just comemon yeseterday because it is a slow setting code...when guys become cynical and negative, dont have a clue whats happening in todays cars...and then pass that cynicism to unsuspeting people..its time to RETIRE
Great honest review!
I can tell that your business is as honest as can be and I'm positive that's why you are so successful.
I rather pay more for a shop like yours to work on my car than pay less from another shop that can't fix the problem and makes excuses.
Sometimes being cheap is expensive!
Over the years I had to get pretty good at doing my own repairs (mainly because I was always broke 😂) as a result I'm pretty picky about who does my repair work. There's only 2 shops that I trust in my home town precisely because of their transparency. That being said if I ever break down in your part of the world I would be happy to have you do the repairs. Outstanding videos!
Enjoying your channel! Very informative and greatly appreciate the integrity and candid content. The Automotive Repair Industry has SUCH a Shady reputation. My most recent experience, keeps confirming that feeling. Had a nail in my tire, took it to the place I bought it from, they immediately said the tire needed to be replaced, then I reminded them that I had purchased their tire protection plan, then they changed tune and said it just need needed a plug. Soo Shameful!
My sister had a few thousand miles on her Prius and it was making some noise. Her mechanic said it needed brakes. I tried to explain the brakes on Hybrids last much longer than regular ICE vehicles. She didn’t want to listen and explained she had a flat tire one time and her mechanic sent someone out at now charge to help, she loves him and says they would never cheat her.
This free business reminds me of these AC companies that advertise these low ball tuneups so they can then explain you need this and that or a new system.
Your message is spot on. And with how complicated newer cars are nowadays, it would seem a lot more time, expensive test equipment, and higher level mechanics are needed for accurate diagnostics, than the repair itself. So, offering free diagnostics seems kind of old fashioned when cars were generally much easier to diagnose.
I do high performance work (I work at a mustang shop and have my own 89) and what I see the most is lies about motor specs. Everyone always claims to have a 306,331,347 etc. the cars never end up making power and when we pull things apart most of the time it’s a 302ci stock bore motor. It’s sad to see especially with how expensive all of this stuff is getting. Great video guys! Happy holidays everyone
“High performance” and “mustang” in the same sentence lol! That’s a good one.
@ say as you please, but the cars I build at my shop will put lengths on you or any of your buddies cars👍probably mine too
@@sixoid4104 A rather bold statement, considering you have no idea what model car he drives.
Biggest scam is dealership labor rates.
My dad and I had an auto body shop for nearly 20 years. We worked in a little industrial complex with 2 mechanic shops, an alignment shop, and an industrial welder.
I can't tell you how many customers the group of us passed to each other to work on just cars that came from the dealerships in the area. We all had handshake deals with these shop managers to fix their screwups.
I say: Charge the customer AND do the good work
I do mechanical as a hobby, I'm not a mechanic. But one thing I do when fix or diagnosis is to take my time and work most things out for myself, if I can't then I go to my trusted mechanic I have used before for years.
Now when I sold my beloved 4wd here in Australia, the new owner wanted a check up on it, my mechanic instantly recognised the vehicle, and said it's fine and I guarantee it's been well looked after, 😂.
Well my mechanic did the checks and said every single, fluid, rotors, brakes, heck even down to the wiper blades was in perfect condition.
I later ran into the the new owner of my 4wd, and he said you sure did take care of this, I said I serviced it so often the engine oil never even got a chance to get dirty.
Now no doubt I'm going to get comments saying what a waste of money etc etc, but I always find when you take care of something it costs less in the long term.
If all auto shops were like yours, I wouldn't need to do my own work.
A Toyota dealer said my wife's Camry needed rear struts. They wanted $2500 for this! Went to my independent garage to have checked, said struts are fine. Would be $600 complete if needed. That was years ago and struts are still fine. That convinced my wife to never use dealers again.
I am retired now but have well over 45 years in the industry. Having dispelled some of the myths and lies of these tire shops is really sad. Yes we called them set the Toe and Let-R-Go shops. We can thank the major tire store for this garbage. They are going to up sell you and say oh if you don't replace X, Y, and Z, we can't guarantee the alignment. ("If in fact you have a worn part it is true, you can not align it properly." We call it setting the slop. The first bump you hit and the alignment is out of adjustment. However many times they have a disclaimer in their contract that they can get out of the lifetime alignment if you fail to authorize repairs.
Here in CA places like K Mart, Mark C Bloom, Pep Boys , Sears. Their mechanics were put on quotas for shocks. Many of these places were sued by the Bureau of Auto Repair (our regulater of repair integrity to safe guard the public). So mechanics (parts changers) who do not hit quotas were actually fired for not hitting quotas. This puts pressure on these kids( I say kids because most of them are young, first jobs) So just about everyone that comes thru the door gets sold shocks. What really pisses me off is they are told if the shocks are bad it can not be aligned. BS and people need to know that is untrue. Shocks are to keep your tires against the road and help the ride. They do not change ride height, do not affect alignment. Now I am not talking about air shocks or adjustable coil over shocks. That a completely different classification. I am talking about shocks. Now when we get into Struts that is also different. Struts can affect alignment when components in the strut are worn like bearing plate etc.
Also many of these tire shops may only have one well trained alignment technican working yet 2 or 3 trainees aligning vehicles. While they have some really nice alignment equipment. The people using it have no experiance. An experienced alignment technican knows how to get vehicles to drive true and straight when after adjusting to specs it still has slight pull. Maybe your area has severe road crown things like that. Experiance is a wonderful thing.
Anyway Great Video for the public and one area that customers are scammed badly and it really make honest quality technicians look bad and we do not like it.
Customers and general lay people pay close attention to this video because what he tells you unfortunately and sadly is true.
Great job Royal auto for keeping the public informed keeping repair shops honest and professional technicians proud for helping keep our industry honest.
So some government regulation is a good thing apparently. Who knew?
Great info for a large population of people out there.
I’ve been blessed since I was sixteen with skills taught by my dad.
Thanks from everybody else.
quick lube oil change, they wont use the correct oil, over tighten your filter and plug and make up other repairs that are need, i heard stories people go in for a $25 oil change and leave $300 later
My girlfriend used to go to those places prior to meeting me lol, she once paid over $120 for oil, filter and crush washer. Honestly doubt they even did the crush washer, probably used cheap ass filters and conventional oil. I change her oil now and use proper full synthetic of the right weight and use name brand filters. I also replace the crush washer since they're so cheap it doesn't make sense to skip it imo.
My step grandfather once had an oil change done elsewhere (not sure who) and they over tightened the crap out of the filter and didn't lube the seal. It was so bad when I removed it, the filter housing was starting to buckle. The filter was way too small (something you'd see on a 2.4L inline 4, not a 5.7L v8...) and the drain plug was way too tight, had to use my impact driver with a socket adapter since just me pounding away with my 12" ratchet wasn't getting me anywhere. I would guess it was torqued to maybe 60ftlbs at the least, maybe more. Sent the oil off to the lab and when I got it back, sure enough, wrong viscosity and conventional oil. Awesome. Did every single step wrong and he still had to pay labor for it lmao.
We have an interesting story with one and some power steering work. Maybe we can tell it on a video soon.
Strip out the threads in the oil pan cross threading them too. Defective cheap oil filters too.I seen it with a 2018 Ford Fusion,came in running bad with no oil in it finding the problem. It was the cheap oil filter they installed leaking at the seam why there was no oil in it.Put oil in it, rods pounding after starting it and this quick oil change place paid for an engine replacement. They do not tighten the oil filters which I have found loose causing an oil leak
“over tighten your filter ” OR undertighten the drain plug and leave you with a big puddle of oil on your garage floor (if you are very lucky).
You guys need to understand quiclubes are the BOTTOM FEEDERS of the auto industry...these guys dont even hire guys fresh out of auto school who want expereince....
they hire RETAIL type kids (Walmart, Target, etc) who have never touched cars before...dont tell me you guys are so slow you didnt know that 😅 Retail kids are CHEAPERS
I wish I had a shop like yours near me. I now do all my own auto repairs after being constantly ripped off and it is totally overwhelming trying to maintain my family’s 4 cars. I have paid thousands to shops that never replaced parts they said they did. It is truly scary the amount of stuff I am seeing now that I have learned about cars and know what to look for. But at the same time I have come to appreciate the challenges you all face with each different model and brand of cars you deal with. I 100% see now the need for paying upfront for that diagnostic fee. Your time is money and it allows you to take the time to give an accurate diagnosis you can stand behind with a guarantee. And the key is communicating with the customer and having that detailed list of what procedures have been done. I know it is tedious but it will provide you with many loyal customers. Most shops give vague explanations and unclear invoices and send you on your way.
All true and great points. It’s really tough to run a shop and have all the equipment, training, and well trained techs and turn a profit. My hats off to you.
You would be the shop of my choice for my car repairs if not 2000+ miles that separate us.
And the border.
Great, great job you doing.
Thanks, we appreciate the kind words!
Slimy mechanics was the reason I learned to fix cars best decision I ever made. I try to get as much knowledge about every trade so that I can protect myself from whatever repairs weather is the house,car, plumbing etc,etc get as much information on as much subject as you can,never stop learning
The personal character and trustworthiness of the shop employees are the most important part of the business. I'm ok spending a few extra bucks if I KNOW that I'm not getting shafted.
Problem is you don’t know, if you did you’d have fixed it yourself.
Glad I found you. Refreshing to listen to someone who knows what they are doing. Good job!
I have a 20-year old 4-cyl Accord and I'm occasionally pitched a fuel injector cleaning. Intuitively I can see that needing to be done, but when I've done it I've noticed no difference in engine performance or miles per gallon. Now I just say no, and there's no objection, like "Well, if you don't do it . . ." etc. etc. If someone tells me it NEEDS to be done, and tells me why in a way I can understand, I'll get it done again.
Easy - put a bottle of injector cleaner in every few fills of fuel.
Its not up to YOU to "feel" it...its what needs to be done..can you "feel" your timing belt needing to be replaced at 100,000 miles too?! When things break then you wil feel it
Very grateful to work at a shop with a honest boss, still can’t believe how expensive dealerships are and that people end up paying their prices.
Just be honest ! Honesty is getting more rare everywhere ! Lying is perceived as a way to make money !
A ‘justified’ way to make money; Lying is bad, unless it’s “just how business works”.
95% of the industry is honest
I remember going to my kia dealer and they told me thst my transmission oil needs to be changed! I asked mechanic did you chech the transmission fluid he said yes and said it was dirty! ironicly i changed mt transmission fluid already twice before i went to the dealer! Kia dealer never checked my fluid level, but eanted to charge me $289 to flush my transmission i declined the service! Kia/ Hyundai dealer are terrible and most lie, i dont trust them with any oil change service! i change my oil and service my cars! I even changed my timing chain on 2014 kia sorento 3.3 lt..i love and enjoy working on my cars! I love how honest and straight forward you are yowards your customer. Great channel, enjoy every vidoe you guys post. Thank you for bring an honest mechanic and shop!
I worked for a transmission shop for a short time in the 80s and the way they got customers in the door was a $19.99 fluid change.
They would then find other issues with your transmission which could cause major damage if not taken care of.
Big time scam!
be sure to get the flush
A couple of years ago I had a pesky heat soak electrical issue with my 4L60E transmission in my C1500. The problem had me pulling my hair out for a number of months. Finally, I built a break-out electrical harness so I could monitor all the signals going to and from the transmission. I could also inject signals and measure current draw on the individual solenoids.
Neighbors and friends asked me, "Why don't you just take it to a shop?"
Well, if I'm having issues finding the problem, they're going to have issues and just declare, "You need a complete rebuild!" No thank you!
The issue turned out to be a bent electrical connector pin in the 2-3 downshift solenoid. The contacts were touching while cold. But, upon heat soak, the plastic expanded enough to break the electrical connection. And once that happened, the ECM put the transmission in zero-power limp mode.
A new interior wiring harness and a 3-2 downshift solenoid fixed it perfectly! A few hundred dollars of transmission parts and electrical supplies to build the break-out harness adapter. And, of course, a few weeks of intense diagnostic effort.
I just got my tires aligned last week. Thankfully the shops all asked why I was doing it (Costco reported abnormal wear indicating misalignment or suspension issues when I got my tires rotated and balanced) and I was on my way. The sad thing is that the prices were all over the place. One store was charging $180 which is ridiculous. I was about to pay $220 for a lifetime alignment from a local Tires Plus, but I read a lot of reviews saying they take 3+ hours even with an appointment and generally don't put a lot of care and attention into anyone with a lifetime alignment- exact what you just said. So I ended up paying $120 at a different, higher rated shop and I'll just do it every time I get a new set of tires from now on.
The basic problem is that most people in ALL professions don't have sufficient personal integrity to do things properly when cheating and cutting corners is more profitable. Many people are sufficiently ignorant about cars that shops can do more of less whatever they want. The auto repair industry has had a problem with corruption basically since the beginning. Another good example is dentistry. We tend to take it for granted that if the dentist says work needs to be done, they are being honest. Yet dentistry is pretty much without any oversight, and the dentist knows they can make more money if they do unneeded work. You think dentists do a lot of unnecessary work to pad their profits? Me too. As I see it the only answer is more oversight, including "stings", with stiff criminal penalties for shops that are deliberately cheating customers.
Great channel! Nice shop too!
Running an honest business takes a lot of skills. Good mechanics never stop learning.
OEMs are scamming us with readers that needs special scanners and an expensive software subscription.
My current OBD scanner works well enough on my 2000 Avalon & my ‘04 Corolla.
I'm so glad you didn't say "blinker fluid." I was starting to worry that my mechanic lied to me about that when I had my car in to have the muffler bearings replaced.
I hope you didn't neglect to have the driveshaft phaser checked while they were down there.
I actually do service my blinker fluid! I drill holes bottom of lense plastic case to let the water that condensates in it out.
Seriously, it happens and causes bulb sockets to corrode, then you need a new socket. So service your blinker fluid guys.
@@Horatio1886build I hope you're using an EPA certified recovery machine for that!
Shops with good techs do a lot of mopping up of the mess other shops caused.
Great information on the video. Also, after the work is done, ask to see or take the old parts and have them show you the new OEM parts.
The diyer fails are really what i think we need to draw attention too not only because of the very obvious safety factor when they make their vehicle's into rolling time bombs but also the needless parts cannon swapnostics theyll waste money doing instead of just paying for a competent thorough diag check. Code numbers aren't part numbers
I love that you mention green isn’t always good. I very often intentionally set caster out of spec on vehicles I’ve found drive better with added caster. I’ve seen stuff all in spec and drive like garbage because of tolerance stacking.
I work here--- I can't stop watching these videos lately--- lol , think I 'd get enough of the shop --- duh , I didn't realize why yall were taking all the videos--- 😂 . These folks are really kind and good to us . Could be getting scammed if you can't see the garage area -- totally hidden. Love you Tink❤ , glad you're in the show !!!!
Yo man been cold as F down here lately. Cool place to work, seems like good boss to have!
I've only had the need for one alignment after 40+ years of driving. It was on an old beater that I owned when I was 20. I replace the tie-rods throwing the alignment out.
As for alignments, I listen to my vehicle! I check the tire wear, is it uneven, cupped, even? Is there a vibration when driving, usually felt in the stearing wheel. Drive the car on a flat surface, does it pull to the left or right? Did I hit a giant pot hole at high speed? If all is good then no alignment.
Thats silly...because if there is positive toe in on both front wheels the car will still drie straight...and by the time you see the tire wea...you will have uneven tire wear and have shortened the life of the tires.
The only way to see that would be with an alignment check...all the nonchalant, know it all"I dont need that" attitudes are what has fed me all these years!! 😂
Wow good to see honest shop owner's out there, I was raised in business to treat the customer that way. I would work fir u anyday always good to be around good people.thanks for the great videos.
Jiffy lube oil changes, i knew a guy that worked there, and he said they buy the cheapest non synthetic bulk oil they can get and charge customer for high end synthetic oil.
Great video. This is why I've taught myself to do most of my own work by watching lots of RUclips.
Biggest Scam: Selling nitrogen…then when the multi point inspection is serviced on next maintenance. Shop doesn’t refill tires with nitrogen. They refill with shop air. Customers should be aware of that scam. Sad, but true in most cases.
Agreed… Air is 78% nitrogen; how can you purge out all the air from a tire? Cannot vacuum down, so no matter what you’re going to be topping it off with nitrogen. For a road car completely worthless in my opinion…
I insist on Helium. It helps lighten the car for that edge in performance, plus when you replace the tire, the tire changer guy sounds funny when he tries to talk.
YES, please do an alignment video.
My beef I see, is the crap bulk wrong oil along with the cheapest oil filters they can buy. I'M TIRED OF FIXING PARTS CANNON REPAIRS WITH CHEAP CHINESE GARBAGE PARTS AND THE OEM PARTS THROWN AWAY.
So my question is what do you do when the shop misdiagnosed the issue and charges you for extra labor/parts? For example, the fuel pump on my wife's car stopped working. The car was towed to the shop and they checked fuel pressure and put another fuel pump in. That didn't fix the problem, so then they actually diagnosed the problem and found a burnt wiring harness. They charged me for a wiring harness and a fuel pump and labor to change both PLUS two hours for diagnosis. I argued that if they would have diagnosed the issue correctly the first time, they would have seen that the pump wasn't getting power and they would have just changed the wiring harness to begin with. I was told I could pay the bill in full or they would start charging me storage fees until I did pay the bill.
Need more info. Year, make and mileage. State or province you live in.
A good diagnostic tech is worth their weight in gold!
Bought a 95 Silverado that the guy had the trans rebuilt and still had no shift out of 2nd
After diagnosing properly found ignition switch caused the problem.
Many times its a bad connection or ground and may take more time to troubleshoot, worth every penny to PROPERLY diagnose the problem.
Great video thanks
Over 200k miles on my vehicle. Never needed an alignment. Chances are, If I got one, I would have an issue. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
if you ever had any suspension parts replaced over the years you probably had an allignment
100% agree on the lifetime alignment. Should've known better because nothing is free. Got mine from Firestone - the first alignment was good and then, miraculously, every time after that it was in spec, even though the car wasn't driving straight and tires were getting chewed up.
When I worked for an Infiniti dealership, they always told the customer that the oil should be changed every 3750 miles. The owners manual stipulated every 7500 miles unless extreme conditions existed. A customer would come in to have their oil changed close to the 7500 mile interval and the service writer would say, "The technician noted that your oil was overdue for change and is quite dirty. We strongly recommend an engine flush to prevent sludge buildup. It's only $150.00". Man, that used to wind me up. I would say something and the service writer would say, "they (the customer) already approved it, so do it".
No for me on 7500 mile oil changes and a definite no on an engine flush. The BG cleaner is about as far as I will go as I've seen the EPR free up sticky rings after repeated treatments.
I thought the manuals stated mileage was the minimum for warranty qualification?
@@wayneessar7489 There's a "severe duty" schedule and a "normal duty" schedule and the evidence of sludge will tell the tale. But I worked for Toyota many years and if you wanted to run your car in the ground and biatch like a baby you might get what they call a "good will" free fix. Or at least a partial credit. We're in a Walmart world where it's whatever you can haggle. But it still doesn't change the truth. “The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.”
D.L. Moody
Work hard. Be honest. Be kind to others. The Royalty way. F’in Priceless. Thank you Royalty!! Hey Sherwood III, did you get YT to shutdown that channel that was stealing your content???
Biggest scams: The engine oil flush from your quick lube or fast Eddie’s place.
Years ago I took my wife’s Suburban to Gray’s tire in Wetumpka…when it was their only location…to have the tires balanced and rotated. I asked Dave to have the alignment checked because I could feel it in the tracking on the front end. When I returned later to pick up the truck I didn’t see the alignment listed on the ticket. I asked Dave about it and he told me the alignment wasn’t out by much so he didn’t charge me for it. I could tell the improvement afterwards.
Biggest scam: that you need a scanner instead of the vehicle just displaying the code
any decent scanner that does what's needed is over a $1000 plus $100s of yearly fees these days. it's a cost of doing business that can't be bypassed. the car makers have repair shops bent over.
Exactly! No reason at all that the car couldn't do this in this day and age.
@@aBigMeanie : You can get your hands on some pretty sophisticated scanners now for not a lot of money. I bought one for under $400, its only a 7" tablet, not 10", but it does almost everything.. Everything you are ever going to need in your driveway.. This dude(Royalty Auto Service) did a review of it and didn't have anything bad to say, one of the reasons I bought it.. Xtool IP819..
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The one I got didn't work, and their customer service was very very good, and I left a review that said that, so then they sent me a lower end scanner to try, its $150 D5S. I actually played with it this afternoon for quite a while.. Its only a 5" or 6" touchscreen, it doesn't have all the bi-directional controls, but it has quite a few, the TPMS, Steering angle sensors, ABS bleeding etc... It has live data, you can choose your outputs and graph up to 4 of them at the same time, it doesn't do a data capture, but its ONLY $150!!!!! 3 years of free updates which gets you up to 2027 or 8 model years, and I'm not quite sure how often I'm going to need to work on a 2027 Skoda..
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The yearly fees are for companies that supply service data, wiring diagrams etc... YOU don't need to do that, YOU can go get all of that for YOUR vehicle from multiple sources, including the manufacturer for like $15 or $20.. About the price of a Haynes manual back in the day.
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I'm not knocking real mechanics with experience and knowledge, I'm just pointing out that YOU can have tools that are 95% as capable for not a whole lot of money now (many companies are making them, you can even get them at Harbor Freight).. They have come a long ways from a simple code reader with a tiny LCD display on it that simply gave you a number.
@@brianrosenlof388 they could up until the mid 00s, but auto makers removed that feature. Still, a code won't let you interact with the vehicle's systems like a professional scanner will.
The unfortunate truth: some things can't be reliably diagnosed without live data and access to snapshots, some other things can't be diagnosed without make specific functions that are yearly subscription fees, and even others, like newer Nissan, not even a rear brake job can be done without risking damage to parts that require proprietary software to back the parking brake motors off. Auto manufacturers will literally rob the shirts off the backs of their loyal customers to make an extra $0.03 per car.
I'm 59 and have been doing my own maintenance and repairs since 1980. Last year I upgraded my Autel A619 live data scanner to the Xtools D7 and boy what a game changer it is to have a bi-directional live data and accusations. I found an intermittent coil miss on cylinder one on our Lexus RX and what a difference. Wish I would have bought one years ago but I believe Xtools was first to the game for a high shop service level scanner for around $325.
I am fine with the “lifetime alignments.” Most shops do a toe and go anyway so might as well have them do it over when you need it. They justify the toe and go by telling you nothing else is adjustable. Also, difficult to find someone that’s not a parts changer so this has become the norm. Even dealerships are parts changers. Not even sure the manufacturers care if warranty claims are made on unnecessary parts changing unless it’s excessive (which it won’t be for a large service dept). Even if you wanted to pay for a data-driven diagnostic, most techs don’t know how to do it so you’d be wasting your money.
I am NOT a mechanic/automotive tech. But I can do a lot of repairs on vehicles on my own, from many things I have learned over my 60 years. One of my biggest pet peeves is an auto manufacturer (Dodge/RAM for example) paying the Techs LESS for warranty work, than their regular pay. For example, the high pressure fuel pump was recalled on my RAM truck (Cummins diesel). The truck was in the shop for many days. Why? Because the Tech stopped work after 5.4 hours. The job takes 10 hrs. and Dodge/RAM will only pay the Dealership for 5.4. I'm making the #'s up and using them for example only. The Dealership was straight up honest about it. None of the other Techs would complete the job until Dodge/RAM started paying appropriately. I had to make a complaint to Dodge/RAM myself, before the repair was finally complete. Dodge/RAM did not pay the Dealership for the extra time. The Dealership paid the Tech full hours to complete the job. That is why I still use that Dealership.
Lifetime alignments are worth it for me because I can do most other work myself, and the shop I go to is only a ten minute walk from my house which makes drop offs very convenient. They've always done a good job on my alignments.
That's my exact case. The tire shop is the only shop my car goes to. It was $20 extra 5 years ago and damned if I haven't ever used it (they check it every time I get tires put on), but when I do I'll be chillin'
No free daig at my place only to help a retired person out in need. Seen plenty of vehicles that other shops couldn't figure out. One example was a relay sticking once in a while took 3 days (about 3 hours total of diag) to finally find it and all my time was paid for. Vast majority of the time when a vehicle truly had a problem yesterday it shows up on a tow truck today lol
I think most shops are honest. Unfortunately, customers think everyone is trying to rip them off so when you tell them they should change their oil more frequently than every 10,000 miles they think you’re trying to scam them
Whats funny is people believe there is an engineer that comes up with these 10k oil change intervals when in fact it was done by corporate to get tax breaks from the government. They also lie about the mpg
Nobody thinks that you clown. Shops screw themselves by setting quotas that are impossible to reach like stupid city cops giving out tickets making the city money off petty stuff like traffic I violations. You just aren’t knowledgeable about wrenching so it appears that way. Ask any mechanic if they would take their car in for a repair at one of these shops 😂they’ll laugh right in your face
You guys are great you seem honest and genuine we need more shops like yours 👍.
I've done my own repair work on my vehicles since I was 17, more than 50 years ago. IF you can find a GOOD, HONEST alignment shop, stick with them. They are worth their weight in gold.
Excellent advice. Transparency is key in our industry.
Putting mineral based oil in an engine when the customer ordered and paid for synthetic. I caught my local Hyundai dealer doing that on my wife's car (there was a problem - I checked the oil level and felt the oil - it was not not synthetic which is "super slippery").
In retrospect I should have done an oil sample, and filed a fraud complaint and also sued them.
Investigate whether or not a vacuum extractor will work for your oil changes.
I used to jack all of my vehicles up to change the oil/filter. Now, I just suck the old out the dipstick tube and replace with fresh. If you're doing proper oil changes, you can get away with replacing the filter every year or so... And all my vehicles are up on jack stands for brake and such on that frequency. And that's when I do the filter.
You *_could_* do regular just oil changes with a vacuum extractor and visit a professional shop once a year or so for the filter change...
Just be sure you can get to the bottom of the oil pan with the extractor tube. My Chevy pickup truck has anti-slosh baffles in the oil pan. I couldn't get the extractor tube all the way to the bottom of the pan.
However, I didn't want to miss out on the ease of vacuum extraction. So, I took off the oil pan, cut parts of the baffles away, and welded in some guide channels.
That's not exactly a typical DIY effort, though.
But, look into a vacuum extractor and see if it will work for you! I really like doing quickie oil changes without having to mess with the jack stands and such. I don't even need to get into my greasy garage clothes!
I’ve never been able to tell the difference just by feeling oil. Perhaps you should’ve sent an oil sample in because maybe you overreacted. I’m not saying you’re not right but that’s one hell of a talent if you can tell the difference just by feeling it
@@calvinwalker4654 I've always been able to tell the difference; but I've also been told by others that I can feel things they cannot (and not just the difference of synthetic oil). Apparently I have more sensitive fingertips than many.
1st thing I noticed about Mobile 1 oil many decades ago when I switched to it a few months after it came out was how slippery it was compared to mineral oil (several cars ago).
My wife could also feel the difference when I had her feel the oil compared to some conventional mineral oil around for other reasons.
@@perryallan3524 bull
@@perryallan3524 I’m not going to lie. You had me putting oil on my hands like some crazy person, but I could not feel the difference. I don’t doubt that some people might have extra sensitivity. It’s a pretty cool talent, but not sure how you could use it in the real world other than after getting your oil changed
Honesty is good for "Your" heart! Thanks for all of the great videos.
I read all the comments, and I didn't see the one I am about to say. I've been after my mother to have me change her transmission fluid and filter and do a few other things done to her 2016 Mazda CX-5 this past Summer with 70K miles one it. Shes been bringing her car to the same shop for a bunch of years now and she trusts the guy that owns the place. I'm not saying that he hasn't done right by her 99% of the time. I saw in her service records that she had the tires Rotated and Rebalanced, Not just rotated! They just banged a 1/4-ounce wheel weight onto each wheel and rotated the tires and got paid for balancing the tires, when they didn't. The CX-5 is like new now because I spent 9, 10 and 11 hours every day for over 3 weeks going through everything that needed to be addressed to make my mother's CX-5 look and drive like the day she bought it 8 years ago. My Mom is 81 years old. The last words my Dad said to me 30 years ago were: Take care of your mother. Love You Channel!
Nobody else noticed the ICON box behind him...... love your videos
Here’s a scam that happened to me last year. My headlights weren’t working properly. Took it to the Toyota Service Center in my town to check it out. They come back after some time with the issue: needs new bulbs and ballasts. Gives me at an UNITEMIZED quote of nearly $1600 for the job. 😳😂I played along and was like “I have to figure some numbers out but I’ll call back in a few days.” So my dad and I did some research. He bought the bulbs and ballasts for around $80, and I found a RUclips video and did the work myself. And yes it did take some time as it required the front end of the car to be removed in order to remove the headlight assemblies. But what is really set me off even more, is when I went to the driver side assembly, the bulb and the ballast connector were not even locked in. 🙄 So yeah, I left a very detailed and professional Google review for them. But it’s nice to come across channels like you all, who are honest and try to help people. I really appreciate your content!🙏🏽🙌🏽❤️😌
Thank you
If your headlights were working properly, why did you take car to the dealer then?
@ I edited my comment. I meant “weren’t”. 😂
@@mu.draconis 👍👍
When I worked at a shop, I'd see things like: Repair Time - 4 hours to change the steering rack. That was the official time listed in the software. It took me an hour and a half. That's my biggest heartache with dealerships and repair shops; they charge too much money for their time and/or they charge for more time than actual-time-of-repair. "The book says two hours, we'll charge two hours (at crazy rates), even though the repair took maybe forty five minutes."
1. Warranty
2. Warranty
3. Warranty
Thank you, Green doesn’t always mean good. I’ve said this for years and glad to hear someone else say this.
Exactly, you can have one wheel toed in, one wheel toed out, still in the green - everything's ok, right? Nope, vehicle pulls. When I do an alignment, I always try to get it centered on every adjustment.
I love firestone lifetime alignment....if you own a car for more than 6 years. Worth it
Videos like this make the world better. Promoting the idea where customers *want* to pay for a diagnostic service rendered, and shops *want* their customers to succeed.
An alternative to a "day trader" world where people try to extract as much as possible while providing the least in return.