Why people don't keep older equipment running

[ovrszd]

I use two different private repair shops.
One is in New England, and one is in Florida.
I have several vehicles that I drive somewhat regularly.
One is 23 years old (Suburban), another 33 years old (Jeep).
Neither private mechanic has EVER suggested that I should have repairs done elsewhere!

That's because they know you and trust you.

 

[sixdogs]

That's because they know you and trust you.

Agreed. When someone is a known quantity, the risk is more quantifiable to the merchant.

I recently had someone that called me out of the blue and wanted me to do only 10% of the work I normally do so he could save money by doing the rest himself. That's OK but after conversation I realized he did not have the tools or the experience to do work that my reputation would be blamed for when or if the job failed. What he wanted to do would not work and I would be blamed for the failure, even though he did the work. For me to do that job would almost certainly not work so I just declined it. No problem.

Overszd's son is right to decline high risk jobs that offer low chance to have a successful outcome and paid for the experience. Really, that's what we all do anyway.

 

[buck12]

My eldest Son is an auto mechanic. One man shop. He's the Service Writer, Technician, Parts guy, Mechanic, Billing Clerk, Bill Collector.

He loves old iron. Until someone brings it in with a "small" problem. It's rarely a "small" problem. With old iron it turns into a "large" problem. Fortunately for him he personally knows his customers 99% of the time. He knows which ones can handle the truth and which ones can't. He's a good Service Writer and works out the bugs before the auto pulls in the shop.

If Richard001 thought fixing his fuel smell problem was a "small" problem he would have fixed it himself. When he took it to the shop he knew it was going to involve touching a LOT of fittings that hadn't moved since 1997. He didn't want to mess with it.

The shop now knows the auto and customer. They don't want to mess with it either.

Yesterday I watched my Son talk to a customer about a problem in their vehicle. They were wanting him to "take a look at it". He politely visited with them for about ten minutes discussing what the problem "might" or "could" be. Then he suggested a shop 15 miles away saying they were better equipped to deal with the issue. The customer left disappointed but not mad. After they left my Son said "that was going to be a sh*t show and cost more than the owner would want to pay. Then 30 minutes arguing over the bill would ensue. Then my Son would eat half the bill just to get it over with. Sometimes better to simply say the auto is too old and he don't want to work on it anymore.

That’s the same kind of local shop I use. He has grown from one may to several employees but the owner is there every day. He is reasonable on price but not cheap. Most important he is honest and knows his stuff. While in college I swept floors, changed oil, etc and saw first hand how a good shop be run. That has been 30 years ago and he still gets my business.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I just do not understand some dealerships...

My father, who has plenty of money, but does NOT dress or act like he does, walked into a fairly big local dealership nd was going to buy a log trailer. He had cash in his pocket, and for those that do not know, these trailers are around $20,000. I know that is not a huge purchase, but still it is the equivalent of a guy walking in and buying a L2501, and you delivering it the next day. It's a sale...

The salesman would not even talk to him about them.

He got so mad, he never ended up buying one.

I ended up buying one a few years later and told the salesman what happened, and he said that he learned to never judge anyone. His dealership was just up the road from the other one, and according to the truck driver that delivered my log trailer, he said he could not keep up with that salesman because he was selling so many tractors and equipment.

It is a smart salesman who does not judge.

 

[fried1765]

I just do not understand some dealerships...

My father, who has plenty of money, but does NOT dress or act like he does, walked into a fairly big local dealership nd was going to buy a log trailer. He had cash in his pocket, and for those that do not know, these trailers are around $20,000. I know that is not a huge purchase, but still it is the equivalent of a guy walking in and buying a L2501, and you delivering it the next day. It's a sale...

The salesman would not even talk to him about them.

He got so mad, he never ended up buying one.

I ended up buying one a few years later and told the salesman what happened, and he said that he learned to never judge anyone. His dealership was just up the road from the other one, and according to the truck driver that delivered my log trailer, he said he could not keep up with that salesman because he was selling so many tractors and equipment.

It is a smart salesman who does not judge.

I had a 80+ year old friend with a somewhat similar experience.
He was (recently deceased) a multi-millionaire xxx.
Had always bought Lincolns, but decided he would like to try a new Mercedes.

The agreed deal was presented for his signature, but mysteriously then included a "prep" fee of nearly $1,000.
My friend said NO!
We had an agreed price.
Salesman said EVERYBODY pays that fee!

My friend walked out, drove a few blocks, and bought a new Lincoln.
Mercedes sales mgr. called that night, to explain that there must have been some mistake.
Friend said: No mistake, you folks did not honor the deal we made.
Dealer: Come on back tomorrow morning, and we'll take care of you.
Friend: I just bought a new Lincoln.
The Mercedes was $100,000 car.

 

[Hay Dude]

I had a 80+ year old friend with a somewhat similar experience.
He was (recently deceased) a multi-millionaire xxx.
Had always bought Lincolns, but decided he would like to try a new Mercedes.

The agreed deal was presented for his signature, but mysteriously then included a "prep" fee of nearly $1,000.
My friend said NO!
We had an agreed price.
Salesman said EVERYBODY pays that fee!

My friend walked out, drove a few blocks, and bought a new Lincoln.
Mercedes sales mgr. called that night, to explain that there must have been some mistake.
Friend said: No mistake, you folks did not honor the deal we made.
Dealer: Come on back tomorrow morning, and we'll take care of you.
Friend: I just bought a new Lincoln.
The Mercedes was $100,000 car.

Had similar experience buying a car for my daughter. We agreed on a price, then the salesman tacked on some BS fee. I got up and walked out. The guy started yelling at me as I walked out the door :laughing: I turned around and walked calmly back in and said with a firm voice that his sales tactics were deceptive and his word was no good to me. Therefore, I am leaving.
There was a young couple just within ear shot of me and I could tell they were unimpressed with the dealer, too. After I hit the road, as you would expect, the manager called me and asked me to come back, he would waive the fee. I told him he needed a change of philosophy at his dealership.
Now when I bought my truck, I had a completely different experience. The dealer was up front. They did not pull any last minute crap on me. They treated me well.

My wife makes real good money, but dresses like a typical stay at home mom. She emailed about an MB450 she wants to buy 500 miles from home. She said 的m inquiring about an MB450 you have on your lot. My name is _______________ and my zip code is 19317. She supplied the zip code so he could add in a delivery charge.
She got a reply from the salesman: Thanks Mrs ______________ for your inquiry regarding the MB450. However we CAN NOT sell you this car for $19,317. This is a $80,000 car!

What an idiot. Like we don稚 know a Mercedes 450 is an 80k car.
This rocket surgeon thought the zip code was the price my wife wanted to buy the car for! :laughing:

 

[beenthere]

I suppose walking in the salesman's shoes for awhile would be an eye opener too. I couldn't do it.. hard time even selling stuff on Craigslist..

 

[Industrial Toys]

I know a guy who get's bent out of shape when sales peodple don't move heaven and earth for him or insist on closing and going home when this guy shows up at closing time. Too hard a living to put up with those "special" customers.

Me. I just prefer to deal with someone that knows more than me about the vehicles. RARE!

 

[dnw64]

Me. I just prefer to deal with someone that knows more than me about the vehicles. RARE!

Yeah, I like it still mooing too (well, in that case, anyways - I prefer my beef dead for more than 1 minute).

 

[Industrial Toys]

I was looking for anti-vibration Marretts and was talking to a girl on the phone at the hardware store, trying to establish the size of the ones they had. She indicated that one was the size of a yellow or orange marrette, the other a red. Man was I impressed. Makes me realize though how low the bar has gone for expecting anyone to know much about anything.