1200coupe got me thinking... the guys that are into rallying, and do work on rally cars are generally the best service, workmanship and often best priced. They also love old cars like ours too

See if you can find these guys, they are the ones that work with cars all day everyday and still love em

Most mechanics are so sick of seeing cars day in and out for however many years they don't get excited anymore

With cars...either get a toyota if you dont want to fork loads for someone to fix it or learn to do it yourself.

i just found out that the new gurl thats starting work in my dads office has a husband who is 1 of the head mechanics for the neil bates automotive shop here in canberra. and apparently he used 2 own a 1200 ute and has a very soft spot for them.I think i have found myself a new mechanic. hopefully all of the dramas i have had previously will return no more. I was talkin 2 a good mate 2 day and he was saying how its not just in the car industry that these things happen. its starting 2 become a trend in every industry. You have 2 be a super handy man now a days!!!

I searched around for years till I found a girl with a mechanic in the family..... It was such a good thing that I married her.

But seriously a good mechanic is worth his (or her) weight in gold.
I have been lucky in that I have known a few & it always seems as though the good ones always work out of a crappy looking old tin shed-for-a-workshop setup.
Maybe it's something to do with the fact that all the latest equipment + flashy buildings cost big $$$$ & that cost has to be passed on somewhere. ie/ To you!

There's nothing like a knowing a mechanic personally though..... Hope this 1 works out o.k.

The mechanic i go to (but am now fed up and am going to change) the two times ive taken my car in there hes said 'When are you going to get rid of this thing? Its a death trap!'
The sh*t thing is tho, that he takes pride in his work and i dont get ripped off by him. They respect people who take their cars to them because they choose them over the next dude. Personally thats what i think, that if the customer has faith in that business then that shop should feel proud that they selected them and should show that thru their work.

Its not exactly hard not to say, 'Alrite mate thanks but i wont be coming back here'....

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i totally agree with you on that point there phunk, the problem is tho that some shops may miss interpret customers in what they want or they described. lack of communication between mechanic - customer is where it all falls flat on its face!

I feel for ya Tommy, ive had some bad run-ins with shops too because im young and not as experience as them they think they can overcharge me or replace bits that had nothing to do with the problem.

Dave

If other plp you know are gettin the same treatment cant you take them to the union or something?

The biggest problem for the auto industry is, No one likes paying. People go to the cheapest costing workshop. Which is totally understandable. If George at the corner workshop charges $90 for a service, Bob at the next workshop has to charge $80 for the same service, so he can draw in the customers. Its to the point where its pointless for workshops to be open. And unfortunately some workshop resort to shoddy work just to gain a buck.

My pet hate from when working in a workshop, is fellow workers treating customers like ####. Now I personally have a hate for arogant customers, but reguardless of whether I think a customers car is a ####box, should not reflect on the quality of workmanship. Its the customers car and maybe thats all they can afford.

Some customers treat mechanics like, " your just a dumb mechanic" and this leads to poor customer service and this is unfortunate. I believe its ok for a mechanic to perform unrequired work but your work carried out still needs to be quality and the customer has to be satisfied. None of this customer coming back and the mechanic saying "bad luck my car runs".
I have in the past and if I ever work in a workshop in the future, I probably will still perform unrequired work, but my work will still be quality. Like it or hate it. If your car doesnt charge the battery and its just a loose fan belt. I would consult you and quote you for an alternator overhaul. If you agree I would overhaul it like new and fit a new fan belt. I would even tell you your belt was on its way out and I replaced it for free. Your happy, I made a job out of nothing and still did the quality work I charged you for. Same goes for startermotors and starter relays.
Its wrong to charge for work you didnt do though. It might be wrong to overhaul an alternator when its not required. But alsong as the customer is happy - whats the problem. We all gotta make money. Feel free to report a workshop to The Dept of Fair Trading. But if you agreed to the work and received the work, you have no leg to stand on.

Customers need to learn respect - you go to the mechanic because you need them.
Then you will find more workshops will give quality work.
But reguardless, the next mechanic will still undercut your quote and this will continue to #### the industry

A goldcoast resturaunt I went to over the weekend tried serving us oysters with BBQ sauce we ordered 2 dozen oysters smoked kilpatrick .we got up and walked out they called the police ..we laughed and sat out side waiting for the police .The officer asked if we had eaten any thing ,I said no and he let us go because we didnt eat ,we didnt have to pay ...

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Just to clarify the point so that no-one gets it wrong.
Is this work that the customer has not yet been talked into, after all, it's unrequired?
Is the customer charged for this unrequired work, if they say that they didn't want it done? After all, it's unrequired.

Back when I was in the fleet job, there was a repairer [car dealership] that started adding an oil additive at service time to our fleet of vehicles & charging for it. This additive was not listed in the manufacturers service schedule, &, as the person responsible for the fleet, I was not consulted beforehand.
I declined to pay for it & I advise him, diplomaticly, that there were plenty of repairers in town that were clamouring for fleet work.
This was an example of 'unrequired' work, or in this case, unrequired material. The account was quickly adjusted & he continued to do business with us. After all, the additive was unrequired, but I still wonder how many customers were screwed over.

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Maybe read it again properly.
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Make note of the words in bold for the blind.
NO dodgyness to be found.
You come in, I check it out and And tell you your battery isnt being charged. An Alternator overhaul will cost XXX amount. No coning or bullshitting to be seen. If you not happy, work is not conducted.

Well. i'm so glad that you cleared that up & I appologise for the gross error that I made & the unwarranted slurr on your character. I am so truly sorry.

We all need more honest tradesmen who quote for unrequired work, without actually telling the customer that it is urnequired, & get the customers approval beforehand. As long as the customer has a warm & fuzzy feeling that they are not being shafted for unrequired work.

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