"ben91932" <benteaches@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:224e1c15-0a34-4f46-9a3f-16494ac2cf9d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> If the shop
>> manual shows that the camber is adjustable, copy and show the alignment
>> section to the shop that did the alignment so that they can do it
>> properly.
>>
>
> I disagree.
> I think the better way would be to find a shop that actually knows
> what they are doing without your help.
> Ask your friends, call AAA, and ASA, look at IATN and ASE, whatever
> it takes to find a true professional technician.
> A real professional will not be cheap, probably wont be fast, and will
> not offer discounts or coupons.
> If the shop doesnt know how to align a 20 year old car, then for gods
> sake, dont let them touch your car!
> Rant mode on:
> I hear a lot of grumbling on this board about dishonest/incompetent
> mechanics.
> If you get ripped off more than once it's your own damn fault. Dont go
> back. Dont go back to chain shops like precision tune or goodyear.
> (There are some decent honest technicians at chain stores, but by and
> large they are the exception rather than the rule) Dont go to a
> business that offers coupons or discounts or advertises heavily.
> There is a reason they need new customers! Every time you spend money
> at one of these rip'offs, you not only reward them for their
> dishonesty and incompetence, but you also endanger you and your
> families safety, and you take business away from the guys that charge
> an honest price for an honest job.
> Here in SoCal, good tech's at honest shops charge $90 to $110 an hour
> and are worth every single penny. Cars are more complicated than ever,
> and the days of the dufus grease monkey at the corner gas station are
> over, and the days of the average DIY'er are numbered.
> Auto repair is not a commodity like groceries, and the sooner people
> realize that quality costs money the better off we'll all be.
> A good honest independant technician faces the following:
> The need to spend appx $30,000 on his own tools
> The need for 2 years of education up front and several years of on-the-
> job training to get journeyman level skills (6-8 years on-the job
> training with no formal training)
> At least 40 hours per year update training just to stay current with
> new technology, often unpaid
> Intense competition from morons and rip'offs
> Wages that lag way behind inflation
> Oppressive environmental (and recently privacy) legislation
> and their reward for all this? a public image rating (because of the
> idiots and thieves) below new car salesman
> Rant mode off:
> Cheap ass car owners will always find a way to spend a fortune trying
> to save a buck, and then resent the guy who actually *fixes* his car
> at a higher but fair price.
>
> Ben
Good points, I agree, except that I think the tool cost estimate is vastly
understated if the cost of an alignment machine is factored in.
--
Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
|
