The saddest thing I see, is when a son or daughter dies before them and the parent can't get rid of their kids loved car. One of our customers put a new engine in his deceased son's Wrangler, cost over $10k Canadian. Jeep never got driven and needed new brakes and a battery every year but the father couldn't bear to get rid of it, because it had sentimental value. I spoke to the customer and tried with respect to tell him that it wasn't worth keeping a car that he didn't even drive. Still it returned every year and the guy wanted to get everything done that it needed, it was hard to take his money. I also see this (mostly with women) when a husband dies.
That's sad but if he can afford it and it reminds him of his son, you are helping him with that which is a good thing. Millionaires and billionaires horde cars they do maintenance on and don't even drive them, this man has real reason to keep it. Tell him to get a battery tender and put coated rotors.
As a tech in Canada I deal with this way too often, and it doesn’t get spoken enough about. I’m fortunate to work for a great garage with management that isn’t afraid to refuse work or sway customers toward other options. As long as i work on cars in a rusty area, it’ll be part of the job 🤷♂️
It was always hard for me to sympathize with a lot of those people. A truly unexpected repair bill is a rare thing. In my experience, most people will maybe change the oil, but besides that they just drive their car until it breaks. They don't arm themselves with even basic levels of knowledge to at least be able to tell whether or not they're being taken advantage of. They get a big 'unexpected' bill when their procrastination and poor financial planning catch up with them.
You just described 99% of vehicle repairs in the public sector. They know something is wrong with their vehicle, they just don't care until they're forced to, then they blame the mechanic for their $2000 repair bill.
nobody changes their fluids or maintains their vehicles... ever. You have no idea how many comments from BMW bros that literally say "I dont' do anything for the lease until I trade it in, that's the next guys problem"
The big issue is that as mechanics we usually don't have all the information we would need to give good advice. Some cars clearly aren't worth fixing under any circumstances; but in many cases, the customer's financial situation and what they will actually buy as a replacement vehicle can significantly sway my opinion on expensive repairs. Too many people have no interest in buying what they can afford, they finance what they want and complain to us as if we told them to finance the 100K Mercedes or 80K Chevy Tahoe instead of buying a new Toyota Corolla for 24K. I have no sympathy for people who cry poor after they spend all their money financing expensive nonsense to impress people.
Well I haven't kept up on what they're doing with the Tahoe anymore but the ones I've seen are built like trucks and used like them. Guy I worked with a couple years ago used his to drive half his crew around to jobs, and he could carry some tools too. 250,000 on it. And my mom walked away from a nasty accident in one. We got it really cheap when gas was high back in the 2000s and she hauled two months worth of groceries in it. Back before they got so expensive they were well worth it. Unless you really did just need personal transport
When people go to doctor and pay 5k to get their health they are happy, when they go to the mechanic and have to put a set of brakes and pads for less than 500$ which threaten their life they are somehow unhappy with that and that why i dont care anymore if i make you cry or not
Lawyer up. Contact local authority. In Ontario that's omvic. Better berau of business and mto. These things at least here are taken seriously if you can prove they knew
i stopped having simpathy for customers when i started getting comebacks that i had to eat the labor on that they didnt want done then came back and had to be done anyway
I work for myself therefore I am the service writer the technician and the lender if they don't have all the money to fix something imperative I do have a heart and in 38 years I've only had three people not pay me and the total is maybe around 1200 between all three and I would still do it over and over again if I felt that in my heart
My general rule of thumb is if the repair bill is going to be more than 50% of the value of the vehicle, it's time to quit. And that includes the structure, if the frame is rotted to the point where it is a safety issue, the car is done. I would say that this even includes tires and brakes, if the car isn't worth $3,000 why would you put $2,000 worth of tires and brakes into it? But if the car is worth $4,000 and there is every reason to think you will wear the tires out before the car dies, it might make sense to put new tires and brakes on it and keep driving. New car depreciation is a financial killer. Lots of people cannot afford $10,000+ a year in depreciation, worse if there are financing charges.
I've talked to a customer about their a little over 10 yr old at the time minivan with a 3k CAD coolant leak repair. I was surprised when they wanted to do the repair as these vehicles were still available for 5k CAD in decent condition (probably around 2017-18).
Whether the car is a POS or not as it ages I have often been in this decision making process with a customer. One thing I quote a lot to them is I don’t know their personal circumstances or financial situations . If I give a guy a $1000 quote for front and rear brakes or a set of tires I would say $500 / month for 2 months and you ( the repair) should get you at least a year or more compared to $500/month for 5 years of which 3 or 4 years no repairs. If this POS is closer to being unsafe then I tell them I won’t do the repairs.
Fortunately I have never encountered customer owned vehicles that are not road worthy. Working on a small shop I've encountered some quite worn-out vehicles from a small dealer. I do like discussing with repairs with customers but that rarely happens.
If a car has already been mechanically restored, replacing the body make more sense than getting rid of the whole car. That leaves it up to the owner to locate a good rust-free body with a clear title.
@3:40 .... the newer vehicle will last 15 years if....if....they keep up the undercoating in a snow belt area. At least if the undercarriage is in reasonable shape to repair upon the older vehicle may just be worth spending short term money on instead of long term payments toward something else.
with the price of new cars this is going to be more and more of a problem as people try and keep what they have on the road..eventually the Canadian winter salt will win in the end.
best thing people can do to not be excessively enslaved to a car is buy toyotas new or old and do the lanolin fluid film undercoating or Blaster brand version of it and of course keep the fluids fresh. can you imagine people could still be driving intact cars from the 90s or older by now if the cars didnt rust away. you could possibly offer the service to them. 2 or 3 cans will last the car a year or two and repeat the undercoating process again. relatively cheap car protection to stop car payments. these new cars, it might not apply as much, too over-engineered to get a little better fuel economy. the repairs will be greater than something from decades ago.
Yeah, Lance, I have had a few customers excuse themselves and go cry over the amount when the car breaks down. Unfortunately it just cost what it costs and I have definitely had to tell a few folks it was not worth repairing. I’ve have learned it just comes with the job, hand them a tissue and advise them the best was I know how.
I have several customers that won't give up on rusty old vehicles, and honestly it gets depressing working on rusty junk too often. I have one guy still driving a 97 chev truck that should be scrapped and he has money to replace it. Another guy in his 80s with a 96 Lexus, my father in law with an 02 Toyota truck. My parents wouldn't stop driving their 91 Corolla even after they finally bought a new one in 2010, I had to refuse to repair in before they finally gave up on it. The mechanical part can be fixed but in the rustbelt, eventually you lose the battle with rust. You would need to be extremely active to make a car last forever in a salt environment as in washing underside and rustproofing it maybe twice a year. I am a big proponent of rustproofing, it is a must in the rustbelt, but eventually it rusts somewhere.
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The saddest thing I see, is when a son or daughter dies before them and the parent can't get rid of their kids loved car. One of our customers put a new engine in his deceased son's Wrangler, cost over $10k Canadian. Jeep never got driven and needed new brakes and a battery every year but the father couldn't bear to get rid of it, because it had sentimental value. I spoke to the customer and tried with respect to tell him that it wasn't worth keeping a car that he didn't even drive. Still it returned every year and the guy wanted to get everything done that it needed, it was hard to take his money. I also see this (mostly with women) when a husband dies.
That's sad but if he can afford it and it reminds him of his son, you are helping him with that which is a good thing. Millionaires and billionaires horde cars they do maintenance on and don't even drive them, this man has real reason to keep it. Tell him to get a battery tender and put coated rotors.
Kid in their arms? Dont care. I didn't get her pregnant.
Lol. True
As a tech in Canada I deal with this way too often, and it doesn’t get spoken enough about. I’m fortunate to work for a great garage with management that isn’t afraid to refuse work or sway customers toward other options. As long as i work on cars in a rusty area, it’ll be part of the job 🤷♂️
It was always hard for me to sympathize with a lot of those people. A truly unexpected repair bill is a rare thing. In my experience, most people will maybe change the oil, but besides that they just drive their car until it breaks. They don't arm themselves with even basic levels of knowledge to at least be able to tell whether or not they're being taken advantage of. They get a big 'unexpected' bill when their procrastination and poor financial planning catch up with them.
You just described 99% of vehicle repairs in the public sector. They know something is wrong with their vehicle, they just don't care until they're forced to, then they blame the mechanic for their $2000 repair bill.
nobody changes their fluids or maintains their vehicles... ever. You have no idea how many comments from BMW bros that literally say "I dont' do anything for the lease until I trade it in, that's the next guys problem"
The big issue is that as mechanics we usually don't have all the information we would need to give good advice. Some cars clearly aren't worth fixing under any circumstances; but in many cases, the customer's financial situation and what they will actually buy as a replacement vehicle can significantly sway my opinion on expensive repairs.
Too many people have no interest in buying what they can afford, they finance what they want and complain to us as if we told them to finance the 100K Mercedes or 80K Chevy Tahoe instead of buying a new Toyota Corolla for 24K. I have no sympathy for people who cry poor after they spend all their money financing expensive nonsense to impress people.
Well I haven't kept up on what they're doing with the Tahoe anymore but the ones I've seen are built like trucks and used like them. Guy I worked with a couple years ago used his to drive half his crew around to jobs, and he could carry some tools too. 250,000 on it. And my mom walked away from a nasty accident in one. We got it really cheap when gas was high back in the 2000s and she hauled two months worth of groceries in it. Back before they got so expensive they were well worth it. Unless you really did just need personal transport
When people go to doctor and pay 5k to get their health they are happy, when they go to the mechanic and have to put a set of brakes and pads for less than 500$ which threaten their life they are somehow unhappy with that and that why i dont care anymore if i make you cry or not
2010 Infiniti M35X need exhaust manifold and y pipe and rear suspension repair best to due Options please 114000 original miles
I cry with them and gently whisper..... "Sorry there isn't any discounts".
What do you do when the dealership sells the customer a car that shouldn't be fixed or on the road.
Lawyer up. Contact local authority. In Ontario that's omvic. Better berau of business and mto. These things at least here are taken seriously if you can prove they knew
i stopped having simpathy for customers when i started getting comebacks that i had to eat the labor on that they didnt want done then came back and had to be done anyway
They say mechanics dont get to talk to customers because they have big hearts. I guess im not a very good mechanic.
I work for myself therefore I am the service writer the technician and the lender if they don't have all the money to fix something imperative I do have a heart and in 38 years I've only had three people not pay me and the total is maybe around 1200 between all three and I would still do it over and over again if I felt that in my heart
My general rule of thumb is if the repair bill is going to be more than 50% of the value of the vehicle, it's time to quit. And that includes the structure, if the frame is rotted to the point where it is a safety issue, the car is done. I would say that this even includes tires and brakes, if the car isn't worth $3,000 why would you put $2,000 worth of tires and brakes into it? But if the car is worth $4,000 and there is every reason to think you will wear the tires out before the car dies, it might make sense to put new tires and brakes on it and keep driving. New car depreciation is a financial killer. Lots of people cannot afford $10,000+ a year in depreciation, worse if there are financing charges.
That's a good rule of thumb for sure.. got to have standards or set limits on what we do
I've talked to a customer about their a little over 10 yr old at the time minivan with a 3k CAD coolant leak repair. I was surprised when they wanted to do the repair as these vehicles were still available for 5k CAD in decent condition (probably around 2017-18).
Whether the car is a POS or not as it ages I have often been in this decision making process with a customer. One thing I quote a lot to them is I don’t know their personal circumstances or financial situations . If I give a guy a $1000 quote for front and rear brakes or a set of tires I would say $500 / month for 2 months and you ( the repair) should get you at least a year or more compared to $500/month for 5 years of which 3 or 4 years no repairs. If this POS is closer to being unsafe then I tell them I won’t do the repairs.
Fortunately I have never encountered customer owned vehicles that are not road worthy.
Working on a small shop I've encountered some quite worn-out vehicles from a small dealer.
I do like discussing with repairs with customers but that rarely happens.
If a car has already been mechanically restored, replacing the body make more sense than getting rid of the whole car. That leaves it up to the owner to locate a good rust-free body with a clear title.
The shop owner or manager is who fights with the tech over this very simple idea.
@3:40 .... the newer vehicle will last 15 years if....if....they keep up the undercoating in a snow belt area. At least if the undercarriage is in reasonable shape to repair upon the older vehicle may just be worth spending short term money on instead of long term payments toward something else.
Oh yes the tears! Oh so many we could ride a raft on.
with the price of new cars this is going to be more and more of a problem as people try and keep what they have on the road..eventually the Canadian winter salt will win in the end.
best thing people can do to not be excessively enslaved to a car is buy toyotas new or old and do the lanolin fluid film undercoating or Blaster brand version of it and of course keep the fluids fresh. can you imagine people could still be driving intact cars from the 90s or older by now if the cars didnt rust away. you could possibly offer the service to them. 2 or 3 cans will last the car a year or two and repeat the undercoating process again. relatively cheap car protection to stop car payments. these new cars, it might not apply as much, too over-engineered to get a little better fuel economy. the repairs will be greater than something from decades ago.
I have no sympathy for people driving a shit can but not planning ahead.
Yeah, Lance, I have had a few customers excuse themselves and go cry over the amount when the car breaks down.
Unfortunately it just cost what it costs and I have definitely had to tell a few folks it was not worth repairing.
I’ve have learned it just comes with the job, hand them a tissue and advise them the best was I know how.
I have several customers that won't give up on rusty old vehicles, and honestly it gets depressing working on rusty junk too often. I have one guy still driving a 97 chev truck that should be scrapped and he has money to replace it. Another guy in his 80s with a 96 Lexus, my father in law with an 02 Toyota truck. My parents wouldn't stop driving their 91 Corolla even after they finally bought a new one in 2010, I had to refuse to repair in before they finally gave up on it. The mechanical part can be fixed but in the rustbelt, eventually you lose the battle with rust. You would need to be extremely active to make a car last forever in a salt environment as in washing underside and rustproofing it maybe twice a year. I am a big proponent of rustproofing, it is a must in the rustbelt, but eventually it rusts somewhere.