I left the dealership I was working for to play construction worker for the summer and take in side jobs.  So far so good, but It' will soon be time to go back to the dealership....   Things are not so hot there, nore any other dealers around....  

Originally Posted By prybar: Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By prybar: Happened again today..... Been here three fucking hours 1 LOF, ! warranty radio and fought the parts department for half an hour to get the right parts ordered. In the mean  time , Old Man gets another 100K service.. We are a small dealership with only 5 other techs. I'm staring at 4 empty bays. He's old maybe he'll break a hip "accidentally". I fell for ya, your advisor should try harder to spread the work out more. BUT....... there are certain truths to business, and one of them is you have to keep the people you can't afford to lose from leaving, even if it means you lose a few others.  If he is a senior tech, knows his shit, brings in the most money, and the shop would suffer financially without him, I would feed him too.  It sux, but it's reality.  This may not be the case at all in your shop, I don't know.  But instead of bitching, sit back and try to figure out what he's doing so much better than you, that get's him all the work.  If after a few days of objectively trying to figure it out you come up with nothing, then start looking for another job.  Because if a 5 tech shop is only doing 1 car a day, then does it really matter if the advisor likes you? Oh, and BTW if one of my technicians ever gave me an ultimatum that I had to do something or he was going to talk to management.  He better be a 150hr/week tech that is the model of perfection, and hope that management is in love with him, because if not that would be his last day on the job.  You can talk to me man to man, you can even call me outside to fight and I won't tell a soul, but if you want to pull office cubical bullshit you ain't working with me. But it's irrelevant, as I do my best to make sure the good work is spread around..... but everyone has to do their fair share of the shit work too. Then again, maybe the old guy gives great head Mike See, that's the thing, if it wasn't for the "gimme" jobs, he wouldn't produce shit. He's all sbout "common problem cars". If it doesn't fall within that realm it gets passed on to others. He's a Master Tech, same as me, but electrical problems, complex diagnosis, even heavy work gets passed on (guess who gets that shit). In our shop, electrical repair pays straight time, I've yet to see him get any. He also has one of the highest comeback rates of anyone here. I'm at a loss, tomarrow I'm moving to our other shop (same building/different area) just so I don't see this shit anymore. BTW: his comeback rate has been explained as "at his age, we expect him to forget some minor things." He forgot to put fluid in a manual trans, it burned up as soon as the customer got on the interstate. Someone else got to warranty it for him because he "was to busy with other jobs". AND I have proven to management that I can produce 30+ hrs a day.

Well, if you are capable of turning 30hr's in a day without fucking up, and know your ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to more complex problems, I'm sure that there is a nearby shop that would be lucky to have you.  I think it's time you start to look around.  Start "looking" now while you have a job, before you get really pissed and quit.

May the service gods be with you



HINT:  As someone who runs a service department, and is heavily involved in hiring, please take what I'm about to say objectively and don't get upset.
  Mechanics in general are like a group of old jewish women who sit around and bitch all the time, about nothing.  Advisors and Service managers hear bitching all day long (from techs, from customers, and from management), and really don't give a shit what you are whining about, because "the boy has cried wolf too many times".  Wrenching on vehicles and figuring out hard problems is physically exhausting, but is orders of magnitude less than the mental exhaustion an advisor feels at the end of the day.
   So every time you bitch to your advisor about how there's no work, or how hard your day is, he might empathize with you (it's what he does all day), but on the inside he is really thinking "Shut the fuck up man, I had to make excuses for your fuck ups all day, and right now your the last person I want to hear shit from".  
   When I first started where I work, we had a group of really experienced techs, who were really good at their jobs, who bitched constantly.  Currently, only one of them is left.  One retired, one quit because he thought everyone was out to get him, one was fired, and one blew his brains out all over his bathroom (somehow that was "my fault" fuck him he was an asshole).  So, the one that is left is our senior tech, who knows his shit and gets stuff done, and all of the other guys we hired with zero experience, and turned them into the kind of techs that we wanted.  I would rather have to give technical advice all day, and deal with rookie mistakes all day from a bunch of newbies with good attitudes; than have to deal with the whining and crying of really good senior techs.  

Moral of the story?  When you start interviewing for new jobs, DO NOT bitch about where you are currently working, no matter how bad it is.  You need to convey that you are a team player, who has no "social problems", and are simply looking for a better opportunity.  When asked "what's the most common job besides an oil change that you perform on a daily basis?"  Please say something other than 4WA, induction service, or any type of flush.  Come across as a person who likes to fix cars for customers, not someone who only likes to write up cars for gravy work.  Keep your mouth shut, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH.  We all know techs bitch and everyone accepts it, but when you do it in the interview, it sets the tone that you are probably looking for another job, because someone in the past, got sick of your bitching.

Mike

I did some sandbagging yesterday and pulled out those hours today.  I think 15 total for the day, somewhere around 55-57 for the week.  

Dead slow today.  I spent much of the afternoon watching videos on Youtube.  

Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By prybar: Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By prybar: Happened again today..... Been here three fucking hours 1 LOF, ! warranty radio and fought the parts department for half an hour to get the right parts ordered. In the mean  time , Old Man gets another 100K service.. We are a small dealership with only 5 other techs. I'm staring at 4 empty bays. He's old maybe he'll break a hip "accidentally". I fell for ya, your advisor should try harder to spread the work out more. BUT....... there are certain truths to business, and one of them is you have to keep the people you can't afford to lose from leaving, even if it means you lose a few others.  If he is a senior tech, knows his shit, brings in the most money, and the shop would suffer financially without him, I would feed him too.  It sux, but it's reality.  This may not be the case at all in your shop, I don't know.  But instead of bitching, sit back and try to figure out what he's doing so much better than you, that get's him all the work.  If after a few days of objectively trying to figure it out you come up with nothing, then start looking for another job.  Because if a 5 tech shop is only doing 1 car a day, then does it really matter if the advisor likes you? Oh, and BTW if one of my technicians ever gave me an ultimatum that I had to do something or he was going to talk to management.  He better be a 150hr/week tech that is the model of perfection, and hope that management is in love with him, because if not that would be his last day on the job.  You can talk to me man to man, you can even call me outside to fight and I won't tell a soul, but if you want to pull office cubical bullshit you ain't working with me. But it's irrelevant, as I do my best to make sure the good work is spread around..... but everyone has to do their fair share of the shit work too. Then again, maybe the old guy gives great head Mike See, that's the thing, if it wasn't for the "gimme" jobs, he wouldn't produce shit. He's all sbout "common problem cars". If it doesn't fall within that realm it gets passed on to others. He's a Master Tech, same as me, but electrical problems, complex diagnosis, even heavy work gets passed on (guess who gets that shit). In our shop, electrical repair pays straight time, I've yet to see him get any. He also has one of the highest comeback rates of anyone here. I'm at a loss, tomarrow I'm moving to our other shop (same building/different area) just so I don't see this shit anymore. BTW: his comeback rate has been explained as "at his age, we expect him to forget some minor things." He forgot to put fluid in a manual trans, it burned up as soon as the customer got on the interstate. Someone else got to warranty it for him because he "was to busy with other jobs". AND I have proven to management that I can produce 30+ hrs a day. Well, if you are capable of turning 30hr's in a day without fucking up, and know your ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to more complex problems, I'm sure that there is a nearby shop that would be lucky to have you.  I think it's time you start to look around.  Start "looking" now while you have a job, before you get really pissed and quit. May the service gods be with you HINT:  As someone who runs a service department, and is heavily involved in hiring, please take what I'm about to say objectively and don't get upset.   Mechanics in general are like a group of old jewish women who sit around and bitch all the time, about nothing.  Advisors and Service managers hear bitching all day long (from techs, from customers, and from management), and really don't give a shit what you are whining about, because "the boy has cried wolf too many times".  Wrenching on vehicles and figuring out hard problems is physically exhausting, but is orders of magnitude less than the mental exhaustion an advisor feels at the end of the day.    So every time you bitch to your advisor about how there's no work, or how hard your day is, he might empathize with you (it's what he does all day), but on the inside he is really thinking "Shut the fuck up man, I had to make excuses for your fuck ups all day, and right now your the last person I want to hear shit from".      When I first started where I work, we had a group of really experienced techs, who were really good at their jobs, who bitched constantly.  Currently, only one of them is left.  One retired, one quit because he thought everyone was out to get him, one was fired, and one blew his brains out all over his bathroom (somehow that was "my fault" fuck him he was an asshole).  So, the one that is left is our senior tech, who knows his shit and gets stuff done, and all of the other guys we hired with zero experience, and turned them into the kind of techs that we wanted.  I would rather have to give technical advice all day, and deal with rookie mistakes all day from a bunch of newbies with good attitudes; than have to deal with the whining and crying of really good senior techs.   Moral of the story?  When you start interviewing for new jobs, DO NOT bitch about where you are currently working, no matter how bad it is.  You need to convey that you are a team player, who has no "social problems", and are simply looking for a better opportunity.  When asked "what's the most common job besides an oil change that you perform on a daily basis?"  Please say something other than 4WA, induction service, or any type of flush.  Come across as a person who likes to fix cars for customers, not someone who only likes to write up cars for gravy work.  Keep your mouth shut, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH.  We all know techs bitch and everyone accepts it, but when you do it in the interview, it sets the tone that you are probably looking for another job, because someone in the past, got sick of your bitching. Mike

You left out how service advisers are so much better than mechanics because they work at a desk and have clean hands.

Originally Posted By Pthfndr: Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By prybar: Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By prybar: Happened again today..... Been here three fucking hours 1 LOF, ! warranty radio and fought the parts department for half an hour to get the right parts ordered. In the mean  time , Old Man gets another 100K service.. We are a small dealership with only 5 other techs. I'm staring at 4 empty bays. He's old maybe he'll break a hip "accidentally". I fell for ya, your advisor should try harder to spread the work out more. BUT....... there are certain truths to business, and one of them is you have to keep the people you can't afford to lose from leaving, even if it means you lose a few others.  If he is a senior tech, knows his shit, brings in the most money, and the shop would suffer financially without him, I would feed him too.  It sux, but it's reality.  This may not be the case at all in your shop, I don't know.  But instead of bitching, sit back and try to figure out what he's doing so much better than you, that get's him all the work.  If after a few days of objectively trying to figure it out you come up with nothing, then start looking for another job.  Because if a 5 tech shop is only doing 1 car a day, then does it really matter if the advisor likes you? Oh, and BTW if one of my technicians ever gave me an ultimatum that I had to do something or he was going to talk to management.  He better be a 150hr/week tech that is the model of perfection, and hope that management is in love with him, because if not that would be his last day on the job.  You can talk to me man to man, you can even call me outside to fight and I won't tell a soul, but if you want to pull office cubical bullshit you ain't working with me. But it's irrelevant, as I do my best to make sure the good work is spread around..... but everyone has to do their fair share of the shit work too. Then again, maybe the old guy gives great head Mike See, that's the thing, if it wasn't for the "gimme" jobs, he wouldn't produce shit. He's all sbout "common problem cars". If it doesn't fall within that realm it gets passed on to others. He's a Master Tech, same as me, but electrical problems, complex diagnosis, even heavy work gets passed on (guess who gets that shit). In our shop, electrical repair pays straight time, I've yet to see him get any. He also has one of the highest comeback rates of anyone here. I'm at a loss, tomarrow I'm moving to our other shop (same building/different area) just so I don't see this shit anymore. BTW: his comeback rate has been explained as "at his age, we expect him to forget some minor things." He forgot to put fluid in a manual trans, it burned up as soon as the customer got on the interstate. Someone else got to warranty it for him because he "was to busy with other jobs". AND I have proven to management that I can produce 30+ hrs a day. Well, if you are capable of turning 30hr's in a day without fucking up, and know your ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to more complex problems, I'm sure that there is a nearby shop that would be lucky to have you.  I think it's time you start to look around.  Start "looking" now while you have a job, before you get really pissed and quit. May the service gods be with you HINT:  As someone who runs a service department, and is heavily involved in hiring, please take what I'm about to say objectively and don't get upset.   Mechanics in general are like a group of old jewish women who sit around and bitch all the time, about nothing.  Advisors and Service managers hear bitching all day long (from techs, from customers, and from management), and really don't give a shit what you are whining about, because "the boy has cried wolf too many times".  Wrenching on vehicles and figuring out hard problems is physically exhausting, but is orders of magnitude less than the mental exhaustion an advisor feels at the end of the day.    So every time you bitch to your advisor about how there's no work, or how hard your day is, he might empathize with you (it's what he does all day), but on the inside he is really thinking "Shut the fuck up man, I had to make excuses for your fuck ups all day, and right now your the last person I want to hear shit from".      When I first started where I work, we had a group of really experienced techs, who were really good at their jobs, who bitched constantly.  Currently, only one of them is left.  One retired, one quit because he thought everyone was out to get him, one was fired, and one blew his brains out all over his bathroom (somehow that was "my fault" fuck him he was an asshole).  So, the one that is left is our senior tech, who knows his shit and gets stuff done, and all of the other guys we hired with zero experience, and turned them into the kind of techs that we wanted.  I would rather have to give technical advice all day, and deal with rookie mistakes all day from a bunch of newbies with good attitudes; than have to deal with the whining and crying of really good senior techs.   Moral of the story?  When you start interviewing for new jobs, DO NOT bitch about where you are currently working, no matter how bad it is.  You need to convey that you are a team player, who has no "social problems", and are simply looking for a better opportunity.  When asked "what's the most common job besides an oil change that you perform on a daily basis?"  Please say something other than 4WA, induction service, or any type of flush.  Come across as a person who likes to fix cars for customers, not someone who only likes to write up cars for gravy work.  Keep your mouth shut, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH.  We all know techs bitch and everyone accepts it, but when you do it in the interview, it sets the tone that you are probably looking for another job, because someone in the past, got sick of your bitching. Mike You left out how service advisers are so much better than mechanics because they work at a desk and have clean hands.

HAHAHAHA...... and I see you subscribe to the "Mechanics work so much harder than advisors because they get their hands dirty" school of thought.

I don't think I'm better than anybody, and I wrenched for years before I moved up front............. I do like my clean hands though.

I love to help my guys out in the shop when I have time, turn rotors, lube up brake pads, get parts, easy shit that doesn't step on their toes..........and doesn't get me too dirty!  But when you are at work 1.5 hours before your techs arrive, and don't leave until 2hrs after their gone, it's kinda hard to empathize with the "Wheres all the work?". whine....why?....because I don't get to go home like you guys do when theres no work, and I am also a 100% commissioned employee.


Mike

Oh, and get it fucking right next time that "A desk, clean hands, and a motherfucking computer with the internet"......BIiitttccchhhh.

Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By Pthfndr: Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By prybar: Originally Posted By mktopside: Originally Posted By prybar: Happened again today..... Been here three fucking hours 1 LOF, ! warranty radio and fought the parts department for half an hour to get the right parts ordered. In the mean  time , Old Man gets another 100K service.. We are a small dealership with only 5 other techs. I'm staring at 4 empty bays. He's old maybe he'll break a hip "accidentally". I fell for ya, your advisor should try harder to spread the work out more. BUT....... there are certain truths to business, and one of them is you have to keep the people you can't afford to lose from leaving, even if it means you lose a few others.  If he is a senior tech, knows his shit, brings in the most money, and the shop would suffer financially without him, I would feed him too.  It sux, but it's reality.  This may not be the case at all in your shop, I don't know.  But instead of bitching, sit back and try to figure out what he's doing so much better than you, that get's him all the work.  If after a few days of objectively trying to figure it out you come up with nothing, then start looking for another job.  Because if a 5 tech shop is only doing 1 car a day, then does it really matter if the advisor likes you? Oh, and BTW if one of my technicians ever gave me an ultimatum that I had to do something or he was going to talk to management.  He better be a 150hr/week tech that is the model of perfection, and hope that management is in love with him, because if not that would be his last day on the job.  You can talk to me man to man, you can even call me outside to fight and I won't tell a soul, but if you want to pull office cubical bullshit you ain't working with me. But it's irrelevant, as I do my best to make sure the good work is spread around..... but everyone has to do their fair share of the shit work too. Then again, maybe the old guy gives great head Mike See, that's the thing, if it wasn't for the "gimme" jobs, he wouldn't produce shit. He's all sbout "common problem cars". If it doesn't fall within that realm it gets passed on to others. He's a Master Tech, same as me, but electrical problems, complex diagnosis, even heavy work gets passed on (guess who gets that shit). In our shop, electrical repair pays straight time, I've yet to see him get any. He also has one of the highest comeback rates of anyone here. I'm at a loss, tomarrow I'm moving to our other shop (same building/different area) just so I don't see this shit anymore. BTW: his comeback rate has been explained as "at his age, we expect him to forget some minor things." He forgot to put fluid in a manual trans, it burned up as soon as the customer got on the interstate. Someone else got to warranty it for him because he "was to busy with other jobs". AND I have proven to management that I can produce 30+ hrs a day. Well, if you are capable of turning 30hr's in a day without fucking up, and know your ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to more complex problems, I'm sure that there is a nearby shop that would be lucky to have you.  I think it's time you start to look around.  Start "looking" now while you have a job, before you get really pissed and quit. May the service gods be with you HINT:  As someone who runs a service department, and is heavily involved in hiring, please take what I'm about to say objectively and don't get upset.   Mechanics in general are like a group of old jewish women who sit around and bitch all the time, about nothing.  Advisors and Service managers hear bitching all day long (from techs, from customers, and from management), and really don't give a shit what you are whining about, because "the boy has cried wolf too many times".  Wrenching on vehicles and figuring out hard problems is physically exhausting, but is orders of magnitude less than the mental exhaustion an advisor feels at the end of the day.    So every time you bitch to your advisor about how there's no work, or how hard your day is, he might empathize with you (it's what he does all day), but on the inside he is really thinking "Shut the fuck up man, I had to make excuses for your fuck ups all day, and right now your the last person I want to hear shit from".      When I first started where I work, we had a group of really experienced techs, who were really good at their jobs, who bitched constantly.  Currently, only one of them is left.  One retired, one quit because he thought everyone was out to get him, one was fired, and one blew his brains out all over his bathroom (somehow that was "my fault" fuck him he was an asshole).  So, the one that is left is our senior tech, who knows his shit and gets stuff done, and all of the other guys we hired with zero experience, and turned them into the kind of techs that we wanted.  I would rather have to give technical advice all day, and deal with rookie mistakes all day from a bunch of newbies with good attitudes; than have to deal with the whining and crying of really good senior techs.   Moral of the story?  When you start interviewing for new jobs, DO NOT bitch about where you are currently working, no matter how bad it is.  You need to convey that you are a team player, who has no "social problems", and are simply looking for a better opportunity.  When asked "what's the most common job besides an oil change that you perform on a daily basis?"  Please say something other than 4WA, induction service, or any type of flush.  Come across as a person who likes to fix cars for customers, not someone who only likes to write up cars for gravy work.  Keep your mouth shut, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH.  We all know techs bitch and everyone accepts it, but when you do it in the interview, it sets the tone that you are probably looking for another job, because someone in the past, got sick of your bitching. Mike You left out how service advisers are so much better than mechanics because they work at a desk and have clean hands. HAHAHAHA...... and I see you subscribe to the "Mechanics work so much harder than advisors because they get their hands dirty" school of thought. I don't think I'm better than anybody, and I wrenched for years before I moved up front............. I do like my clean hands though. I love to help my guys out in the shop when I have time, turn rotors, lube up brake pads, get parts, easy shit that doesn't step on their toes..........and doesn't get me too dirty!  But when you are at work 1.5 hours before your techs arrive, and don't leave until 2hrs after their gone, it's kinda hard to empathize with the "Wheres all the work?". whine....why?....because I don't get to go home like you guys do when theres no work, and I am also a 100% commissioned employee. Mike Oh, and get it fucking right next time that "A desk, clean hands, and a motherfucking computer with the internet"......BIiitttccchhhh.

Boo F'ing Hoo. Don't like the hours or having to deal with rude, thankless, bitchy, whiny CUSTOMERS, then get a different job or go work someplace else.

I have also worked up front. Don't do it out of choice, not because I couldn't hack it.

But you do come across as someone who thinks they are better, and / or somehow more important to the business than good mechanics.

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By mktopside: But when you are at work 1.5 hours before your techs arrive, and don't leave until 2hrs after their gone, it's kinda hard to empathize with the "Wheres all the work?". whine....why?....because I don't get to go home like you guys do when theres no work, and I am also a 100% commissioned employee. That comes with the territory of working up front, dude. I'm biased, but I can pick on service writers/advisors all day.  Yeah, they catch a lot of shit from all sides, but if they aren't ready for that and able to cope and adapt to it, then they have no business being up front in the first place.

They can deal with the bitching all day as far as I'm concerned, I have yet too see one BLEED!!!

As far as the hours they put in, with the amount of work we have had lately, they spend most of their time on the golf course.

I spend it in my bay.

There are two kinds of techs out there.

Those who leave early when there is nothing to do.

And those of us with mortgages that stick around on the off chance that something "good" might come in.

I don't know of any service advisors that spend any money on their jobs like I do.  

From my perspective, I don't WANT to do their jobs.... but they CAN'T do mine.  

Originally Posted By mktopside: HINT:  As someone who runs a service department, and is heavily involved in hiring, please take what I'm about to say objectively and don't get upset.   Mechanics in general are like a group of old Jewish women who sit around and bitch all the time, about nothing.  Advisers and Service managers hear bitching all day long (from techs, from customers, and from management), and really don't give a shit what you are whining about, because "the boy has cried wolf too many times".  You are not running your department Wrenching on vehicles and figuring out hard problems is physically exhausting, but is orders of magnitude less than the mental exhaustion an advisor feels at the end of the day. Then the advisor is not booking work right    So every time you bitch to your advisor about how there's no work, or how hard your day is, he might empathize with you (it's what he does all day), but on the inside he is really thinking "Shut the fuck up man, I had to make excuses for your fuck ups all dayAs someone who runs the dealership you are failing your employees by letting this go on, and right now your the last person I want to hear shit from".         would rather have to give technical advice all day, and deal with rookie mistakes all day from a bunch of newbies with good attitudes; than have to deal with the whining and crying of really good senior techs.  Another example of not wanting to deal with problems in your service department Moral of the story?  When you start interviewing for new jobs, DO NOT bitch about where you are currently working, no matter how bad it is.  You need to convey that you are a team player, who has no "social problems", and are simply looking for a better opportunity.  When asked "what's the most common job besides an oil change that you perform on a daily basis?"  Please say something other than 4WA, induction service, or any type of flush.  Come across as a person who likes to fix cars for customers, not someone who only likes to write up cars for gravy work.  Keep your mouth shut, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH.  We all know techs bitch and everyone accepts it, but when you do it in the interview, it sets the tone that you are probably looking for another job, because someone in the past, got sick of your bitching.Totally agree Mike

Why is it that management takes the approach as shown above, would you let the same problems go at your house and not deal with them there either? You said you would rather have rookies than to have whining and crying senior techs, why do you not deal with the whining and get to the bottom of the problem? If someone is complaining, find out what is the cause. If the problem is the tech,tell them enough, if the problem something else deal with it instead of letting it fester and effect everyone  It sounds like typical management style to stick your head in the ground and "let things work themselves out". They must teach this in "management school"


This is not an attack, merely my opinions. Yes I have wrote service at a major indy chain and dealership writers could never hang out in the real world.Having to sell everything,not having warranty to cover their non selling butts.

Management should be required to be previous techs. It would be even better if they could remember where they came from,but we all know that never happens.

Originally Posted By jeep450: Originally Posted By mktopside: HINT:  As someone who runs a service department, and is heavily involved in hiring, please take what I'm about to say objectively and don't get upset.   Mechanics in general are like a group of old Jewish women who sit around and bitch all the time, about nothing.  Advisers and Service managers hear bitching all day long (from techs, from customers, and from management), and really don't give a shit what you are whining about, because "the boy has cried wolf too many times".  You are not running your department Wrenching on vehicles and figuring out hard problems is physically exhausting, but is orders of magnitude less than the mental exhaustion an advisor feels at the end of the day. Then the advisor is not booking work right    So every time you bitch to your advisor about how there's no work, or how hard your day is, he might empathize with you (it's what he does all day), but on the inside he is really thinking "Shut the fuck up man, I had to make excuses for your fuck ups all dayAs someone who runs the dealership you are failing your employees by letting this go on, and right now your the last person I want to hear shit from".         would rather have to give technical advice all day, and deal with rookie mistakes all day from a bunch of newbies with good attitudes; than have to deal with the whining and crying of really good senior techs.  Another example of not wanting to deal with problems in your service department Moral of the story?  When you start interviewing for new jobs, DO NOT bitch about where you are currently working, no matter how bad it is.  You need to convey that you are a team player, who has no "social problems", and are simply looking for a better opportunity.  When asked "what's the most common job besides an oil change that you perform on a daily basis?"  Please say something other than 4WA, induction service, or any type of flush.  Come across as a person who likes to fix cars for customers, not someone who only likes to write up cars for gravy work.  Keep your mouth shut, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH, DON'T BITCH.  We all know techs bitch and everyone accepts it, but when you do it in the interview, it sets the tone that you are probably looking for another job, because someone in the past, got sick of your bitching.Totally agree Mike Why is it that management takes the approach as shown above, would you let the same problems go at your house and not deal with them there either? You said you would rather have rookies than to have whining and crying senior techs, why do you not deal with the whining and get to the bottom of the problem? If someone is complaining, find out what is the cause. If the problem is the tech,tell them enough, if the problem something else deal with it instead of letting it fester and effect everyone  It sounds like typical management style to stick your head in the ground and "let things work themselves out". They must teach this in "management school" This is not an attack, merely my opinions. Yes I have wrote service at a major indy chain and dealership writers could never hang out in the real world.Having to sell everything,not having warranty to cover their non selling butts. Management should be required to be previous techs. It would be even better if they could remember where they came from,but we all know that never happens.

I agree, totally.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: I don't know of any service advisors that spend any money on their jobs like I do.   From my perspective, I don't WANT to do their jobs.... but they CAN'T do mine.

Ahhhhhhhhhh.........another rabid tool whore I see........


They don't spend anything on their jobs. Most don't have any technical experience.

Hell two of them don't even have any prior experience in the automotive business.

And some how they end up making more than all the techs in the shop.


My last job, the Service Manager was the lowest paid person in the building, and he KNEW that his job and success was dependant on the work we turned out.

In related news, I went to Best Buy this morning to get a DVD, and a 2008 M3 sedan was getting a subwoofer install. At Best Buy.

This car will undoubtedly go back to the dealership with something fun like a CAN Bus fault, and who's to blame? That's right, the dealership tech who's stuck with it.

We've actually had Audis that won't run if you change the stereo (there's a TSB on it). We had a Lotus Esprit that the stereo shop (the same Best Buy, BTW) ran a sheet metal screw into the main power cable and melted most of the wiring harness. And part of the dash, making a total write-off.

So, if the owner of that M3 is reading this:

You're a retard!

Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: In related news, I went to Best Buy this morning to get a DVD, and a 2008 M3 sedan was getting a subwoofer install. At Best Buy. ...snip... So, if the owner of that M3 is reading this: You're a retard!

Originally Posted By Pthfndr: Boo F'ing Hoo. Don't like the hours or having to deal with rude, thankless, bitchy, whiny CUSTOMERS, then get a different job or go work someplace else. I have also worked up front. Don't do it out of choice, not because I couldn't hack it. But you do come across as someone who thinks they are better, and / or somehow more important to the business than good mechanics.

  The "you picked your job so you're not allowed to complain about it" argument goes both ways and can be extended to infinity.  I don't think I am better than anyone, and I know full well that without technicians to perform the work I don't get paid.  I guess I just have a different perspective having worked both sides of the fence.
  I don't mind the hours, I haven't played a round of golf in 10 years, and I passed my last kidney stone in the urinal in the bathroom at work.  So I don't k
now how much the adviosrs work where you're from, but where I work we're there from open to close every day.  

Originally Posted By jeep450: Why is it that management takes the approach as shown above, would you let the same problems go at your house and not deal with them there either? You said you would rather have rookies than to have whining and crying senior techs, why do you not deal with the whining and get to the bottom of the problem? If someone is complaining, find out what is the cause. If the problem is the tech,tell them enough, if the problem something else deal with it instead of letting it fester and effect everyone It sounds like typical management style to stick your head in the ground and "let things work themselves out". They must teach this in "management school"

  Because they are not valid "gripes".  I'm not talking about "Hey, my lift has been broken for a week and you haven't fixed it", that is a VALID gripe.  I'm talking about when the guy who consistently turns 80+ hours a week is complaining about someone getting 2 more 30ks than he did during a pay period.  
  I agree that advisors should have to have worked as mechanics. I did for many years, and currently there is only one guy in the building who holds more ASE certs than I do (<--- yea yea I know, they ain't worth shit, "Ask Someone Else").  However, we have gone through a fair amount of advisors over the years, and I've never seen a tech chomping at the bit to take his place.  

   We don't let bad attitudes "fester" and infect everyone. We fire those people.  The real shit situation is when you have a guy who is a great tech, turns lots of hours, but "bitches for entertainment".  We had two guys like this over the past few years, and we bent over fucking backwards to "accommodate their needs" so that they wouldn't bitch.  One of them up and quit one day, and told me that we "were out to get him" and he knew this because "the only reason we were being so nice was because we were going to fire him"........ Basically, he had run out of things to complain about, and the other guys in the shop were giving him shit about it.  We took away his entertainment, so he moved on.  
   The other guy was a very similar situation.  Except when he ran out of things to complain about, he started (what I believe to be intentionally) hurting himself at work on a weekly basis, so that he had something to talk about.  Now everyone can get hurt, but when you're costing the company money because you refuse to wear safety glasses, and it's the third time you've had an eye injury........... you do the math.  We paid for all his medical bills, and paid him while he was off "healing", but after he came back, and had a violent outburst in the service lane.... it was time for him to move on.

Originally Posted By jeep450: Yes I have wrote service at a major indy chain and dealership writers could never hang out in the real world.Having to sell everything,not having warranty to cover their non selling butts.

My COD to Warranty ratio is consistently less than 12%.  It is a factor of the demographics of where we're located, and the fact that the type of car we service is actually a pretty good vehicle.  It's sad that there are advisors out there that rely of warranty work to pad their wallet. I wouldn't want to have to wrench in a shop like that.

Originally Posted By jeep450: You are not running your department

Yes, actually I am.  It's a strange set up, but it is what it is.   There is not one single aspect of our service department that doesn't fall on my lap.....well maybe marketing, but I still have to do approvals on that.   I have a boss just like everyone else, but his involvement on a day to day basis is limited.  He's a great guy, and I'm very lucky to be in the position that I'm in, and not have to be micromanaged.  The flip side, is that when something is fucked up, I am held accountable as there is no one to blame it on but myself.  Yes, when someone in the shop nukes an engine because of a careless mistake, I get yelled at for it, and it comes out of my monthly totals..........which means I get paid less.  Mistakes happen, and even the best mechanics statistically will fuck up someone major every once in a while.  I don't take it out on them........ provided it's not a chronic problem, then it's "change" time.

Originally Posted By jeep450: Then the advisor is not booking work right

No, I'm booking all the work that I possibly can so that my techs can make all the money they possibly can.......... after all, that is the point of working correct?  While you guys are on here bitching about not having enough hours, I'm looking at my appointment screen online for tomorrow...... It's going to be fucking slammed, but each of my guys "should" have at least 12 hours of gravy work, and whatever else they can find.  

So, I may come across like a stuck up asshole, and I probably am.  But at least my techs will be busy as shit tomorrow, and right on through till after the new years if I have anything to do with it.  They can bitch, they can complain, they can talk shit about me behind my back, but I do my damnedest to sell everything they put in front of me and never ever ever want anyone to be able to say "my paycheck is small because of Mike".  

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: I don't know of any service advisors that spend any money on their jobs like I do.

Neither do I.  

Mike

I'm courios if every dealership has absolute Idiots doing thier oil changes? I take my '03 Toyota MR2 into the dealer to get the oil changes because its an asolute bitch on a mid-engine car and I can't do it myself (cerebral paulsey) but It pisses me off when I get it back and people can't even put on the damn splash gaurds right.

I have had several good experiences at the local Nissan Dealer Other than having to walk buy the sales vultures to get to the service dept. I had one literally tell my to trade in my pile O' Shit on a new frontier when he found out it had 200k on it. Now thats a smart way to make a sale.

Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: In related news, I went to Best Buy this morning to get a DVD, and a 2008 M3 sedan was getting a subwoofer install. At Best Buy. This car will undoubtedly go back to the dealership with something fun like a CAN Bus fault, and who's to blame? That's right, the dealership tech who's stuck with it. We've actually had Audis that won't run if you change the stereo (there's a TSB on it). We had a Lotus Esprit that the stereo shop (the same Best Buy, BTW) ran a sheet metal screw into the main power cable and melted most of the wiring harness. And part of the dash, making a total write-off. So, if the owner of that M3 is reading this: You're a retard!

I don't understand why people will pay that much for a car, and then skimp on something like that... In these instances, have you seen Best Buy pick up the tab on the repairs?

When I was selling at a Land Rover dealership, we had an '06 Range Rover Supercharged come into service.  Some guy had bought it at the independent used car mill down the street, and it had an aftermarket headrest DVD system in it when he bought it... apparently because the previous owner thought the $2500 factory headrest DVD option was too expensive on a $90,000 Range Rover.

I think it was towed in as a no-start, but I wasn't there when it came in.  It turns out that Bubba's Stereo and Bait Shop managed to completely destroy the main wiring harness running from stem to stern.  This Range Rover sat for almost 2 weeks taking up 2 bays... with one bay full of the completely gutted interior.  Dash, carpet, all seats, headliner, the whole nine yards.  Of course this wasn't warrantied by LR because it was caused by an aftermarket accessory, and the owner had no contact info for the stereo hack that installed this POS.  The dealer he bought it from didn't install it, so they weren't paying jack either.  $15k out-of-pocket repair bill on a car he had for less than a month.  

The best part about it was that this car was on the first bay all of this time... the one right by the window that every single customer looked at on their way to the cashier.  When someone would ask "What the hell happened to that thing?", that was the perfect time for keen salesmen to say "That's what happens when you buy from xxx motors down the street."

Then there was the time that my dad had a hitch put on at Uhaul, and they grounded the lighting controller to the plastic taillight... because that silvery chrome paint on the plastic must have been conductive...  

Originally Posted By mr_camera_man: Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: In related news, I went to Best Buy this morning to get a DVD, and a 2008 M3 sedan was getting a subwoofer install. At Best Buy. This car will undoubtedly go back to the dealership with something fun like a CAN Bus fault, and who's to blame? That's right, the dealership tech who's stuck with it. We've actually had Audis that won't run if you change the stereo (there's a TSB on it). We had a Lotus Esprit that the stereo shop (the same Best Buy, BTW) ran a sheet metal screw into the main power cable and melted most of the wiring harness. And part of the dash, making a total write-off. So, if the owner of that M3 is reading this: You're a retard! I don't understand why people will pay that much for a car, and then skimp on something like that... In these instances, have you seen Best Buy pick up the tab on the repairs? When I was selling at a Land Rover dealership, we had an '06 Range Rover Supercharged come into service.  Some guy had bought it at the independent used car mill down the street, and it had an aftermarket headrest DVD system in it when he bought it... apparently because the previous owner thought the $2500 factory headrest DVD option was too expensive on a $90,000 Range Rover. I think it was towed in as a no-start, but I wasn't there when it came in.  It turns out that Bubba's Stereo and Bait Shop managed to completely destroy the main wiring harness running from stem to stern.  This Range Rover sat for almost 2 weeks taking up 2 bays... with one bay full of the completely gutted interior.  Dash, carpet, all seats, headliner, the whole nine yards.  Of course this wasn't warrantied by LR because it was caused by an aftermarket accessory, and the owner had no contact info for the stereo hack that installed this POS.  The dealer he bought it from didn't install it, so they weren't paying jack either.  $15k out-of-pocket repair bill on a car he had for less than a month.   The best part about it was that this car was on the first bay all of this time... the one right by the window that every single customer looked at on their way to the cashier.  When someone would ask "What the hell happened to that thing?", that was the perfect time for keen salesmen to say "That's what happens when you buy from xxx motors down the street." Then there was the time that my dad had a hitch put on at Uhaul, and they grounded the lighting controller to the plastic taillight... because that silvery chrome paint on the plastic must have been conductive...

Carmax headquarters is right down the street from us, and we do a brisk trade in cars that the upper management buys and fixes (to keep or sell). So we get to see what kinds of exotic and near=exotic cars end up in the Carmax system.

My favorite (and it cost me a fortune when all was said and done - as well as the customer) was a 2002 Audi S4. He brought it to us for a PPI, which in this case means "POST -purchase inspection"). It looked clean and nice, with a smattering of decent quality (mostly UUC) aftermarket parts.

And then I test drove it. It should have been a big red flag when the left front brake line exploded under threshold braking. It should have been an even bigger red flag when the fittings were rounded off, and the other brake lines suddenly showed signs of swelling and bursting.

But the owner liked the car, and had waited long enough it wasn't so simple to return it, so we fixed the lines.

And then on the next test drive (which lasted longer due to the brakes not actively attempting to kill me) both turbos began smoking. Badly. We're talking James Bond levels of smokescreen. Turns out then when you got the engine nice and toasty from driving moderately hard, both turbos would smoke. Well, I think we just figured out why this nice three year-old car was sold to Carmax. So we put turbos on it. We agree to split labor with the customer, and give him parts at cost, since I was driving the car.

Finished it, and it drove very nicely. The customer wasn't furious, but OK with it.

And then it came back...

It had very clearly had a new timing belt and tensioner. That's part of the PPI on those cars. Well, someone hadn't torqued one of the bolts on the idler pulley sufficiently (not actually that rare - Audi published the wrong torque spec on it. If you don't have the latest revision, it about 1/2 of what it should be.) and the pulley had fallen out. Which meant the timing belt had come off. Which meant that the engine had bent a bunch of the 30 valves it had. It was, from the customer's perspective, entirely my fault.

So he got pissy and I spent a lot of effort trying to defuse the situation. I finally ended up buying a used, low-mileage engine, and he paid half labor. It was either that or lose a lot of customers, and fight a lot of lawsuits, real and threatened.

He kept the car and moved to DC, and judging by the attitude he showed me, he has a long career in politics ahead of him.

We later found out the car was a "show car" for a notoriously bad VAG shop in NJ.

I quoted 8-10 thousand dollars to put a factory radio back in to a CLK 55 AMG convertible.  Harnesses were destroyed along with some other junk...

Today I was busy all day.  I did nothing but internal work.  DVD install in a GL450, C class pdi, had to diagnose a broken radio in that and call Benz to "ask permission" to replace it.  Another PDI on a GL that had a leaking shock, and then a PDI on a C class that was good to go.  We almost never have problems with a PDI and I am suddenly finding stuff.... wierd.

11 hours today, and I picked up a "Man's prybar" off the tool truck.  Its a Mayhew and about 5 feet long.    

I also took a few minutes at the end of the day and hung old glory up over my tool box.  

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: I quoted 8-10 thousand dollars to put a factory radio back in to a CLK 55 AMG convertible.  Harnesses were destroyed along with some other junk... Today I was busy all day.  I did nothing but internal work.  DVD install in a GL450, C class pdi, had to diagnose a broken radio in that and call Benz to "ask permission" to replace it.  Another PDI on a GL that had a leaking shock, and then a PDI on a C class that was good to go.  We almost never have problems with a PDI and I am suddenly finding stuff.... wierd. 11 hours today, and I picked up a "Man's prybar" off the tool truck.  Its a Mayhew and about 5 feet long.     I also took a few minutes at the end of the day and hung old glory up over my tool box.

I have that same prybar..


Damn thing is so big I never need to use it.

I think the car "sees"  it and kinda submits.

Originally Posted By prybar: Originally Posted By saturnstyl: I quoted 8-10 thousand dollars to put a factory radio back in to a CLK 55 AMG convertible.  Harnesses were destroyed along with some other junk... Today I was busy all day.  I did nothing but internal work.  DVD install in a GL450, C class pdi, had to diagnose a broken radio in that and call Benz to "ask permission" to replace it.  Another PDI on a GL that had a leaking shock, and then a PDI on a C class that was good to go.  We almost never have problems with a PDI and I am suddenly finding stuff.... wierd. 11 hours today, and I picked up a "Man's prybar" off the tool truck.  Its a Mayhew and about 5 feet long.     I also took a few minutes at the end of the day and hung old glory up over my tool box.   I have that same prybar.. Damn thing is so big I never need to use it. I think the car "sees"  it and kinda submits.

I refer to that tool (especially in front of customers) as "Porsche special tool #1".

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: Carmax headquarters is right down the street from us, and we do a brisk trade in cars that the upper management buys and fixes (to keep or sell). So we get to see what kinds of exotic and near=exotic cars end up in the Carmax system. My favorite (and it cost me a fortune when all was said and done - as well as the customer) was a 2002 Audi S4. He brought it to us for a PPI, which in this case means "POST -purchase inspection"). It looked clean and nice, with a smattering of decent quality (mostly UUC) aftermarket parts. And then I test drove it. It should have been a big red flag when the left front brake line exploded under threshold braking. It should have been an even bigger red flag when the fittings were rounded off, and the other brake lines suddenly showed signs of swelling and bursting. But the owner liked the car, and had waited long enough it wasn't so simple to return it, so we fixed the lines. And then on the next test drive (which lasted longer due to the brakes not actively attempting to kill me) both turbos began smoking. Badly. We're talking James Bond levels of smokescreen. Turns out then when you got the engine nice and toasty from driving moderately hard, both turbos would smoke. Well, I think we just figured out why this nice three year-old car was sold to Carmax. So we put turbos on it. We agree to split labor with the customer, and give him parts at cost, since I was driving the car. Finished it, and it drove very nicely. The customer wasn't furious, but OK with it. And then it came back... It had very clearly had a new timing belt and tensioner. That's part of the PPI on those cars. Well, someone hadn't torqued one of the bolts on the idler pulley sufficiently (not actually that rare - Audi published the wrong torque spec on it. If you don't have the latest revision, it about 1/2 of what it should be.) and the pulley had fallen out. Which meant the timing belt had come off. Which meant that the engine had bent a bunch of the 30 valves it had. It was, from the customer's perspective, entirely my fault. So he got pissy and I spent a lot of effort trying to defuse the situation. I finally ended up buying a used, low-mileage engine, and he paid half labor. It was either that or lose a lot of customers, and fight a lot of lawsuits, real and threatened. He kept the car and moved to DC, and judging by the attitude he showed me, he has a long career in politics ahead of him. We later found out the car was a "show car" for a notoriously bad VAG shop in NJ. I'd be very leery of working with/for Carmax after an incident like that.

Anything that's not bread and butter they just wholesale.

We had a customer trying to buy a WRX. He looked at everyone in town (remember - corporate headquarters is here), which was 5. Every single one was on the lot with a clan Carfax, and every single one had had major paint work or had obviously been poorly modified and converted back to stock.
So he started having them ship in others. He used their "3 (iirc) body panels repainted guarantee".

When all was said and done, he looked at 12, from 5 states. Everyone of them was a basket case. Everyone of them had passed their "inspection". He had already financed one, and was apoplectic.

Eventually, he got the financing retracted, and bought an E36 M3 Sedan from one of my customers, which he still has.

You have to remember, if it's at Carmax, and it's anything other than a Camry, they've lowballed you. So you either REALLY need the money, or there's something horribly wrong.

A VP there bought a 965 (Turbo 3.6S, no less) they took in. OMG, what a POS. I felt so bad for that poor car.

Par for the course with carmax shit.  

People sing their praises, but when it comes to a vehicle that *needs* a specialist, they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.  Mis-labled, misdiagnosed, incorrectly serviced, etc...  

I do not have a high opinion of them overall, but dealing with their crap when they bring us cars to fix under warranty makes me not even consider buying a car their guys have turned a wrench on.  

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: Par for the course with carmax shit.   People sing their praises, but when it comes to a vehicle that *needs* a specialist, they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.  Mis-labled, misdiagnosed, incorrectly serviced, etc...   I do not have a high opinion of them overall, but dealing with their crap when they bring us cars to fix under warranty makes me not even consider buying a car their guys have turned a wrench on.

A local dealer stopped working on anything they brought them as a company. They recommended me. I did it once. Getting approval and paid was worse than any aftermarket warranty company I've ever dealt with.

Hell our own sales department is that bad when it comes to selling aftermarket warranties.  The service manager finally said "enough" and we either do CPO warranties, or we will not service those cars.  

They might have a nice kickback to the sales drones, but we are the ones who have to deal with the warranty.  After constant wrangling over even common repairs, our service manager had to go down to sales to put an end to it.  

The sales department makes more money by selling a used car with an aftermarket warranty, and they can also sell it for the same price as any used car lot.... they fail to realize that people will gladly pay a premium for a CPO car.  They don't want to lose the few sales from the penny pinchers rather than deliver a car that meets the highest standards with the best warranty.  Its just greed, pure and  simple.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: Hell our own sales department is that bad when it comes to selling aftermarket warranties.  The service manager finally said "enough" and we either do CPO warranties, or we will not service those cars.   They might have a nice kickback to the sales drones, but we are the ones who have to deal with the warranty.  After constant wrangling over even common repairs, our service manager had to go down to sales to put an end to it.   The sales department makes more money by selling a used car with an aftermarket warranty, and they can also sell it for the same price as any used car lot.... they fail to realize that people will gladly pay a premium for a CPO car.  They don't want to lose the few sales from the penny pinchers rather than deliver a car that meets the highest standards with the best warranty.  Its just greed, pure and  simple.

As a factory trained BMW/Porsche/Lotus() tech:

CPO=(mostly)win.

Crappy day.  Last job was installing a 12 volt power outlet in the center console of an SL63 AMG.  Its a lot more difficult than it sounds... and it turned in to a disaster.  I've got two broken parts and neither are available... not even from Germany.  The directions don't exist for removing the console woodgrain, and its different for this model.  So the little slider trim part around the shift lever snagged and broke.  I also have a short little jumper harness that broke at the connector.  I may be able to repair that.  

Had some good upsells today, the shop stayed busy most of the day for a change.  Must be Sara Palin workin' her magic.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: Crappy day.  Last job was installing a 12 volt power outlet in the center console of an SL63 AMG.  Its a lot more difficult than it sounds... and it turned in to a disaster.  I've got two broken parts and neither are available... not even from Germany.  The directions don't exist for removing the console woodgrain, and its different for this model.  So the little slider trim part around the shift lever snagged and broke.  I also have a short little jumper harness that broke at the connector.  I may be able to repair that.   Had some good upsells today, the shop stayed busy most of the day for a change.  Must be Sara Palin workin' her magic.

I've got a customer looking at a 2004 E55 AMG. How's reliability? Should he get an extended warranty?
38k miles, CPO.

I am neck deep in used car trades. This year we got 58 Impalas from a insurance company. Last year we had 276 of them. Plenty of work for now. 17 yesterday, 19 for today and it is early afternoon.

Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: I've got a customer looking at a 2004 E55 AMG. How's reliability? Should he get an extended warranty? 38k miles, CPO.

He has CPO, he is golden.  The 2004+ E class is an excellent car.  He may see a transmission connector leak, which the latest parts is proving to be a long term solution, and he may see an airmatic problem if he is unlucky....  the AMG cars hold up very well and I wouldn't be concerned at all.  Change the belt and tensioner, and maybe the supercharger pulley if it is noisy.  It may still chirp from time to time, that is the nature of the beast.  Have the navigation software DVD updated ASAP.  Make sure the drive will read the new disc because we are finding that they won't and you must replace the drive.  Be VERY careful when removing the drive.  The GPS antenna lead is not long enough to slide the drive out and you will break the drive or the antenna cable.  The proper way is to take down the trunk liner and unplug it from the back so there is no chance of damaging that connector.  


Today I knocked out that SL63 first thing.  I fabbed up a new jumper harness connector, then attacked the shifter gate.  After finding out that even the parts people at MB don't know this part exists, I was truly fucked.  I spent some quality time with a tube of superglue, and nobody could tell it had been broken and repaired when I was done.  

I had some really good upsells come through, and another DVD install.  I also had another leaking shock on a PDI on a GL450.  That will be replaced tomorrow when it arrives.  Great day... I got some "sandbagged" jobs booked out and flagged 26 hours.  Work has been picking up, at least this week.

I think we are turning over our loaner car fleet.  We have been doing a BUNCH of C300 PDI's.  

Oh, and I have an SLR service scheduled for monday.  This client will actually show up for his appointments.

One more thing:  Dude across the shop had an evap leak whoopin' his ass.  He asked to test drive the smoke pro.  Since I'd never used it, I helped him out.  You know how the US armed forces "own the night" with night vision?  I own evap leaks with the smoke pro.  It had a small trace coming from the top left side of the tank, but not the sending unit.  It looks like where the Evap lines hook to the tank.  He has some work ahead of him to get the tank dropped, but man it was cool how fast that Smoke Pro worked.  That would have been an all day ass kicker IF I had found the leak without it.

Installed shock from the GL450 PDI yesterday.

Installed Radio from C class PDI earlier in the week.

B service on  an '06 ML350.  Upsold only the air filter.  Two bulbs blew one right after the other when he came to pick it up.

Used car check over, came from the auction. has funky transmission and needs tires and brakes. I hope it goes away.

I helped snatch engine and tranny and dash from an SLK350 that got smashed and needs some frame straightening work.

I helped find a CAN issue on an E class.

I made a cash deal on some bushing tools I've been wanting.

Another C class PDI.  We ran out around 12.  Weather has people scared I guess.  

I pulled in the blazer and checked it over after my off road adventure.  Greased all the zerks.  Found I split the new rear sway bar link bushings already.

Originally Posted By Quintin: I couldn't get anything accomplished today.  Got a bunch of parts ordered, got an engine job I didn't have time to get started on this afternoon, I may go in tomorrow and start pulling it down.   The guy next to me is putting an engine in an Evo.  The customer supplied their own used engine from some outfit in Canada (Tiger Japanese Engines, or something like that).  We knew something was amiss when they delivered a 4G63 with transfer case, as if it came out of an all-wheel-drive vehicle, but with automatic transmission too. They claim the engine came from a '95 Evo III, however given the automatic trans I'm guessing it came from something like a Galant VR4 if the VR4s were available with automatics overseas.  I've been researching it tonight, and I don't think Evos ever came with automatics, here or abroad. In any case, I don't think that dog's gonna hunt.

Never. Ever. Ever.
Also, if it came out of a 3 there's going to be all sorts of fun getting some things to bolt up. I'm guessing it came out of a Galant or the like.
Make sure the engine is mounted the right way in the car, and also that it is the correct direction of rotation.

Fun.


Edit: if it's an 8 or 9, the only engines that bolt in without some measure of fabrication/modification are those that came out of an 8 or 9. Period.

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: Originally Posted By Quintin: The guy next to me is putting an engine in an Evo.  The customer supplied their own used engine from some outfit in Canada (Tiger Japanese Engines, or something like that).  We knew something was amiss when they delivered a 4G63 with transfer case, as if it came out of an all-wheel-drive vehicle, but with automatic transmission too. They claim the engine came from a '95 Evo III, however given the automatic trans I'm guessing it came from something like a Galant VR4 if the VR4s were available with automatics overseas.  I've been researching it tonight, and I don't think Evos ever came with automatics, here or abroad. In any case, I don't think that dog's gonna hunt. Never. Ever. Ever. Also, if it came out of a 3 there's going to be all sorts of fun getting some things to bolt up. I'm guessing it came out of a Galant or the like. Make sure the engine is mounted the right way in the car, and also that it is the correct direction of rotation. Fun. Edit: if it's an 8 or 9, the only engines that bolt in without some measure of fabrication/modification are those that came out of an 8 or 9. Period. My Wiki research shows that this engine most likely came out of a JDM Galant VR4, circa 1988-'92.  That's the only thing I can find that was AWD, with a 4G63 and an automatic. I listened in on a speakerphone conversation with the dudes at the outfit that sold this engine.  Their exact words, on the first phone call was "All you have to do is swap the flywheel, it will work."  A second call later that day, that's when we found out what this thing came out of (or so they thought), and that once they found out it's supposed to be going in an Evo 8, they said "Oh no, that won't work.  Well, it might, but it'll take some modifications and we don't know what kind of modifications it will take." I kinda feel bad for the guy that owns this thing, but then again I don't.  He paid like $2400 for this engine and trans, but they (Tiger Engines) said they told him what car it came out of.  We offered him a price on a new engine from Mitsubishi, which was horrendously expensive, but it would have been right the first time.  Oh, and someone just put a clutch in this car too, left all kinds of stuff loose underneath, and even without the engine running it won't go into first gear.  There's metal shards and chunks falling out of the hole in the bottom of the bellhousing.  And then we have no idea what shape the turbo is in either.

If it came out of the early Galant it will be mounted into the car backwards. That is, it will have the crank snout pointing at the driver's side. WILL NOT WORK.
My guess is that it came out of a Shogun/Montero/Airtrek or the like if the mounting direction is the same.

There were all sorts of cars that we never saw here in the CONUS that had the AWD/4G63/Auto combination.

Outlander Turbo
Airtrek Turbo
RVR RX3 (iirc)
and a few others, especially the trucks built to cash in on the fast SUV - Dakar craze.

Originally Posted By Quintin: The used engine is oriented in the correct direction to fit and bolt into an 8.  The engine mount on the timing cover side even looks the same.  Now that I think about it, it may not be from a Galant, the engine looks too new, if I was to guess I'd say mid-90 something.  The intake manifold doesn't have the "ECI-FI" or whatever markings that an older 4G63 had, like one out of a 1G DSM (or a Galant VR4).  In fact, it looks very similar to the one in the 8, just physically smaller and lacking a lot of sensors that are on the 8 engine.

Japanese Airtrek/Montero/Shogun.

You're going to need to find out how many bolts on the flywheel, and if the correct bosses and oil fittings are present to support the reverse-rotation turbo on the 8s. I'd tell this guy to get bent.
The automatics had slightly different pistons, valves, cams, cylinder head designs, intake manifolds, compression ratios, etc...
They were pretty detuned. Many parts are not going to be an easy swap. I seriously doubt that the port profiles on both intake and exhaust are going to work. There may be (don't remember) a problem getting the cam sensor to work.
You may or may not be able to change the cams to the 8 cams. I don't remember whether the engine in the trucks had the roller rockers or not.


Did I mention I'd tell this guy to get bent?

I will venture to say that the only things this engine will end up supplying is the long block, and really, possibly only the short block.

I'm in the automotive equipment trade. My customers are car dealerships and auto shops all over South Florida. Everybody is slow right now, and have been for some time. Oil prices are to blame. Hang in there guys, and thank Nancy Pelosi & congress for taking action in a timely fashion.

SLR got delayed for 2-3 weeks.

I started off with two gravy services... then it was slow for the rest of the day.

We are trying to buy a tahoe right now because of a $5k rebate. That along with my price is about $11k off sticker on the one we are looking at. The used car department put me at $6k neg on the trades, "but the $5k rebate makes up the difference" . No thanks, try again. I asked the salesman if he was going to loose a car deal over this?



Do you guys get a price break from the other car lines you work for?

TODAY  SUCKED.

Anything that could hold me up, did.  From computer whores, fucked up cars with fucked up problems, and the diagnostic laptops kept locking up on me.  

I had a C class that would not pass the evaporative emissions self test, but the smoke pro showed no leakage.  No flow, no pressure loss, no smoke.  

I'm frustrated.

Anybody thinking that a move to Richmond would be nice?


Oh, and how's that Evo project?

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: Anybody thinking that a move to Richmond would be nice? Oh, and how's that Evo project? Virginia's too cold - edit - are you looking for help though? And we found him a used engine through LKQ from an '03 Evo.  Should be here sometime next week.

Damn, I think it's too hot...
Of course, when I retire it will be to one of the following places:

1) Jarbidge, Nevada.
2) Sandpoint, Idaho.
3) John Day, Oregon.
4) Anchorage, Alaska.
5) St. John's, Newfoundland.

But I really like snow.

Edit: I think I am. Not totally sure, but definitely thinking about it...

No A/C.  Fuck that noise.