Maybe a good little read for the girlfriend or the wife? Or anyone with little to no knowledge of the automotive repair world and industry? Certainly some good insight for those with little exerpience with vehicle maintainance.



http://www.trustmymechanic.com/HonestMechanic2.pdf

 

i skimmed through it, and that thing is a joke

 

thanks for the warning, i didnt feel like viewing 142 pages

 

How so?

I skimmed through it but didnt gather that it was a "joke" I thought that there was some good BASIC information in it for people who have little to no knowledge of auto maintenance....but forgive me as I tend to forget forums tend to breed know-it-alls

 

A desk pogue.

I haven't read the whole thing, so I won't pass judgment on it yet.

ETA - This is interesting:

Um, newsflash, dealerships are trained and equipped by the manufacturer to do everything. Engine replacement isn't their line of work? WTF, over?

What I've gathered thus far is this thing is more a promotion for indys, instead of providing some accurate and realistic advice. This is one of many reasons I have a difficult time dealing with independent stores. No, dealers aren't perfect (and neither are independents), but really - who would rather have working on your vehicle? An independent outfit that uses whatever parts they can get their hands on with warranty and support at their location only, or factory trained and certified dealerships using OEM parts that come with a warranty that's honored at any dealership in the country?

Side note - Dealers don't send stuff they can't fix to outside independents, that ain't true the other way around.

 

hmmmm. you aren't going to win any friends around here with a statement like that.

 

This one made me lol. We just hang the extinquishers next to the calendars. I wonder how we would rate in his book.

lol again. If she had come back she would have probably seen scanned copies next to the fire extinquishers.

I skimmed through 14 pages and that's enough for me. I think it's just a self promotion thing. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone wants to promote their business. If they didn't they would be very good businessmen.

 

From all the experiences I had with dealers, and major repairs... they seem to take more pride in doing the big jobs rather than the small jobs. The reason I say this is because usually the one who is replacing an engine, or even in my case, completely taking apart the engine to replace a head gasket, usually takes their time and effort into the job. Hence, everything comes out usually better than the factory. Not to mention they pride themselves on their work, because most of the mechanics (or as Ford calls it in their lingo, "Automotive Technicians") at these dealers do not have the certification from for to do major engine work or overhauls. Most of them have just basic preliminary work experience, such as brake jobs, oil changes, suspension, and electrical. They tend to also get techs that differ in each field, like some prefer automotive mechatronics, for example, and will only work on electrical issues dealing with the vehicle. But CAN also do brake jobs, and other preventative maintaince items.

But I can tell you this, when they do work on an engine, there is usually only 1 or 2 techs than can be trusted with this job, only because they know what they are doing. Hence, they will do a really good job.

Well that is... unless you are like me, and write 2 page notes under the hood... will you get that kind of service.

 

Not trying to "win any friends" I have enough friends to where I dont need internet ones Although I have a very small post count, I have been around the block a few times and know how forums work....which is probably why I haven't really posted that much on here. Just thought I would post something up with what seemed to contain some basic auto maintenance pointers for people with little to no knowledge about vehicles, and then some come in and call it garbage because it happens to be REALLY BASIC.

Dont get me wrong, I didn't even remotely read even a quarter of it, so maybe there is some skewed stuff in there, and maybe some stuff that is biased towards the indi mechanic (which by the way there are several indi mechanics that I know I would trust more than the Dealership) but from what I saw it had some good basic info. Oh well I should have known better I guess.

No big deal, this is something u all can make your own judgement on if u feel like reading the whole thing, I didn't so I don't feel like I can rightfully call it garbage

 

This should be good.

 

Yup, another guy here calling it bS. I got a few pages in, and kept yelling bs, and laughing. Its a joke. Its not even written by someone with ANY mechanical knowledge. Its like those parenting books, but the author has no children.

"be nice to get a lower bill" ??? WTF ? I don't care how "nice" you are, I charge according to the service, not the person. Wouldn't be in business for 30 years making different prices per customer.

 

I dont have the exact excerpt of the part i read, but it talked about abandoned cars and how its the dealerships fault for trying to repair too much to where the customer couldnt afford the repairs, and how it will end up getting bank repo'd because there were more repairs needed then the vehicle is worth.

First of all, how is it the dealerships fault because someone can't keep up with maintenance on a vehicle? If you never do a transmission flush, sooner then later it will blow up. If you can't afford the $2000 transmission on a 1987 Le Baron, and the car is worth 900 bucks running in good shape, and you still owe $1200 on the loan with CarMax, that means its the dealerships fault?

Secondly, sometimes the dealership can't get parts for a vehicle because they are on restricted order, or on back order. For instance, the "Freelander" vehicle by Land Rover. 90% of them on the road today will need a replacement engine before they hit 125,000 miles. So naturally there have been alot of engines ordered, and Land Rover has just about run out of left over factory engines. So people will just let the car sit for a month or two until a fresh engine can be built, and shipped from England.... Does that mean its the dealership's fault for the whole line of "Freelanders" being pieces of crap? Does that mean its the dealership's fault for engines not being readily available within a week of placing an order?

I could carry on, but i really just dont care.

My credentials, are almost 4 years on this forum, 3 years of tech school, a years worth of Land Rover factory training, and a years worth of full bumper to bumper technician experience at Land Rover.

Oh but thats right, you've been "around the block"

-Patrick

 

Just proved my point.....u consider 4 years on a forum as a "credential" typical for the forums. People spend a quarter of their life on the internet forums and then feel that it gives them the right to talk down to people with less posts then they have.



I dont feel the need to tell everyone about my "credentials" I have nothing to prove to anyone, especially you, and especially on the internet, and I never asked about yours so I dont know why u felt the need to try and rub the fact that u have spent an *** load of time on the internet in my face....

I have dealt with enought dealerships to know how they work. And I would much rather work with an honest and good indi shop than most stealerships.

 

and it just goes to prove why you dont post much on here, maybe because you dont have any common sense about the english language. Nice run on sentence you used. Also nice spell check.

I posted my "credentials" so you would know that im not just spewing random stuff out of my *** like you apparently do. Maybe then we would agree on something....

have a nice day

 

Another lame forum attempt to make people think u are smart...attack a few mistakes I made in my typing. How old are u?....No common sense about the English Language? Oh this is too funny!
You went to a tech school and u are trying to talk to me about grammar? So I hit a few wrong keys while I was typing and didnt spell check woohoo big deal. For your information I have a Bachelor's degree of Science from a University...not some Jr. College Tech School (Who knows, maybe some day u will work on my Range Rover ) I have a formal education that required me to use my brain, so you aren't talking to some nimrod like yourself.
The reason I dont post much on here is because of *******s such as yourself who think u are all high and mighty because u type your life away on the internet and run your post count up. So please, explain to me how I spew random stuff out of my ***. I would like to know what u are talking about. Oh by the way...I fixed a few of the grammar issues you pointed out. Hope that helps u sleep better tonight. How long did it take you to find those errors anyway?

Patiently awaiting what u can come up with next to try and make me look as stupid as yourself