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PISSED!!!! Help me! Addition: All mechanics are crooks!



Chris,

I'm not cynical by default, I'm drawing from my experiences here... 
And my experiences have led me to be cynical when dealing with auto
mechanics.  Honestly, I only know one mechanic who I would trust to not
rip me off...  While my auto teacher's statement of "All mechanics are
crooks" is a bit broad, there is a reason that this was the first thing
he said to the class.  This guy was in the industry for over 20 years
before he became a teacher, and the class was as much about NOT getting
ripped off as it was about auto mechanics.

When you can count the number of "pleasant" experiences with mechanics
over 15 years of driving on one hand, there IS reason to be cynical! 
I've watched friends and family get ripped off time and time again. 
That's why I do 99% of my own work, and do most of the routine
maintenance on my friends' and familys' cars...  I also worked at a car
dealership (GM) as saw first hand the rampant abuse of people's
ignorance...

As another lister mentioned, this industry is ripe for consumer abuse. 
Even the one mechanic who I trust agrees with my teacher's statement. 
He said, unlike when they first started their careers, most of the
mechanics he knows get jaded with years of crawling under dashes, and
scraping knuckles, etc.  The longer these guys are in the industry the
more likely they'll be one of the "bad ones" simply because they don't
give a shit anymore...  That, and the fact that it's hard to run a
profitable business without getting "creative"...

He actually talked me OUT of becoming an auto mechanic...  I'm not
saying that every mechanic that stays in the industry for more than "x"
number of years is a "bad" mechanic, but there IS some truth to what
this guy is telling me...

The hard part is finding someone you trust, and for the average person
who doesn't know much about his/her vehicle, this is extremely hard to
do.  If you don't know much about your car, how are you going to know
if you're being ripped off or not?  Once a mechanic has someone's
"trust", IF they're the greedy type, they can basically do and charge
anything they want and they know it!  I'm not just saying this - this
has been PROVEN to me over and over again!!!

Contrary to what you may think, I don't go through life in my "simple
minded negative little bubble" being cynical about EVERYTHING...  I
generally have a very positive outlook, BUT I learn from my life
experiences and lessons.  There is a reason that that simple sentence
someone said to me years ago is still fresh in my memory - it proved
true to me (WAY) more often than not...

Mark.
   
--- Chris DeLong <green536@hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> Mark,
> 
> have a nice life living in your simple minded negative little bubble.
> Your 
> predisposed judgement of those you dont know will, hopefully, cost
> you and 
> put you in the stuck up society of idiots.
> 
> Cynicism would definitely be an understatement for your way of
> thinking.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >The first thing my high school auto teacher said to the class was:
> "All
> >mechanics are crooks..."  End of lesson 1
> >
> >That was about 15 years ago, and I don't think anyone since then has
> >given me a better piece of advice...  Even the ones you think are
> your
> >"friend" will end up ripping you off sooner or later...  Call me
> >cynical, but that's been my experience.
> >
> >Mark - really starting to ramp up the cynical j-curve
> >
> >
> >I don't know about you guys, but
> >--- Dave Ewing <rabbit16v@prodigy.net> wrote:
> > > Being a technician myself, it sounds like the disconnected a
> vacuum
> > > hose
> > > once you told them you weren't going to pay the whole $270. 
> Believe
> > > me,
> > > this happens, and seems to be justified by them because you
> didn't
> > > pay the
> > > whole amount.  They may have cranked on the air/fuel screw too!! 
> Man
> > > I hate
> > > it when a bunch of lunatics make the automotive industry look
> bad!!!
> > >
> > > Dave
> > >
> > > > OK, I got my car back from the dealer today. My dad said it
> seemed
> > > like it
> > > > was running alrite. I get in the car to see how much better it
> is
> > > and it
> > > > still does the same shit! Stupid fuck heads at the dealer
> wanted to
> > > charge
> > > > me $270 for the fuckin work. I only paid half that amount
> because
> > > the
> > > > dumbasses didnt get me to OK the work. They supposibly fixed
> the
> > > hall
> > > > sender, set air/fuel mixture right, adjusted timming and
> replaced a
> > > vaccuum
> > > > hose that was missing. The car idles better but seems to have
> lost
> > > alot of
> > > > its power. Ontop of that the car still hesitates real bad while
> > > accelerating
> > > > and also stalls when I come to a semi quick stop. Also my clock
> > > just
> > > stopped
> > > > working?!? Another thing that isnt working now since the car
> got
> > > back from
> > > > the
> > > > dealer is the vaccuum door lock that would lock all your doors
> and
> > > hatch
> > > and
> > > > gas
> > > >  cap just from locking the drivers door.
> > > >
> > > > Anyone know what the problem is?
> > > >
> > > > Nick
> > > > 2001 Jetta VR6
> > > > 1986 Scirocco 16v (Money Pit)
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
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> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
>
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> 
> 
> 
> Chris DeLong
> ICQ#45030867
> Seattle, WA USA
> '80 16V 'Rocco ragtop
> '91 GLi 2.0 16V
> '77 Rabbit 16V
> '80 'Vert (parting out!)
> '61 17 Window type II
> '91 Vanagon
> '78 Rabbit
> '84 Jetta
> 
> 
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