I'm gonna pass on this one. Bring this truck elsewhere. I'm not working on it
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- čas přidán 23. 06. 2022
- Customer didn't want to pay diagnostic fees so they replaced a bunch of parts without knowing whats wrong. Now with their tail between their legs, they expect me to fix it... I don't think so... You can tow it to another shop
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Show us what you're working on!
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#keepwrenching #wesselmotorworks #wrenchingwithkenny #mechanic #automechanic #autorepair #automotiverepair - Auta a dopravní prostředky
It's stunning the amount of people that think mechanics should just do everyone favors and work for free
I remember back in the day when I would change a rear main crankshaft seal and it was only about $20 for the rear seal and oil pan gasket (including other materials) but they wondered why there was $75 labor. Why is the labor so high ? 😆
it's why i left. i only work on my cars and close family cars.
@@rickylafleur5823 these people will have college degrees too. NONE of them ever have not ever will work for free themselves. Do it yourself college kid
@@duaneadkins1261 Because if you were a good mechanic you would have done it for parts plus 5 bucks labor. People who have never turned wrenches have no idea the amount of work involved.
My Ex father in law was absolutely the same way-😊
The biggest secret to repair work is to know when you don't want to get involved.
i concur
BASED AF. Thanks
AMEN
If they ain't kicking rocks in the parking lot when they leave, you didn't charge them enough
Will if you can't afford to fix your car learn how to do it you tube has plenty of info
A "friend" used to repeatedly call me to fix something on his car. He never once gave me anything for my time and expected me to also use my employee discount for the parts. After longer than I care to admit I finally gave up and said "no more"! He got rude and said I was a bad friend. I said he was done using me for free service and taking up my weekends.
I wouldn't have waited that long
Bad friend😂😂😂 meaning they can’t walk all over you anymore 😂😂😂😂 did you really need that loser as a friend anyway 🤷♂️
I would've told that guy it's time to take his POS to the junkyard if I were you 😂
I think everybody meets that guy at some point, lol. I retired my "businesses" quite a while ago. 😉 What typically turned me off when whenever you needed something, they weren't any help.
Like the saying goes, "A friend in need, is a blood sucking leech"
That same guy will prob do that to dozens of people before he dies.
Leave him behind you
When my father was self-employed and people wanted him not to charge for something or to charge less, his explanation was, "I'm running a business. It's not charity work."
Great quote!
@@WrenchingWithKenny Something is foul with this truck.
Someone's not being honest and all I see are headaches.
Get it out of there and be happy you did.
I hear what you say I used to be a trucker but I still own my 1999 W 900 but I parked it the week after. The election screw this country and screw the military. I hope all trucks shut down and let him see. Who really is the backbone of this country
Didn’t get to many return customers I bet 😂
@@rangerjones5531 That'd be a terrible bet for you to make.
I've been hearing the same story for 30+ years. Shove it out and take care of the customers who appreciate your time and knowledge.
In order to fix the vehicle properly he must diagnose it, now the man has to get paid for doing the work of diagnosing the problem. You don't work for free do you? Why the hell should he?
It's "take" this truck elsewhere you ain't no English teacher yes I added irony.
People think it is easy to fix if so fix your shelf😂
Yes he's letting the other paying customers cars sit while he works for free for hours on this one is definitely put food on the table 😂. The nerve of some of u freeloaders..
Glad to see someone else in the biz can see the issue.
Some jobs have to be declined. If you smell trouble, trust your instincts!
I would quote him five hours diagnosis. If he buys it then it’s worth my time. If he declines I’m in the same boat. If he refuses to pay….the scrapyard will pay $800 for that truck.
@@AlphanumericCharacters that's why people don't trust mechanics.
@@warrenlewis3977 Missed the point by a country mile didn't you Einstein 🤣
@@mjhmech4903 The point is people don't and shouldn't trust mechanics.
After seeing that THEFT light, I would probably have reported the VIN to the police to make sure it wasn't a stolen vehicle. Who has a car, but only replacement keys that don't work?
I'm not a mechanic and i like to work on my own stuff but when i can't diagnose it I gladly pay for diagnostics. Knowledge and experience is priceless and a reputable mechanic is very hard to come by today.
For 22 years only my wife knew I was a mechanic 😂.
I let everyone know. Rake in the sidework. If they don’t want to pay diag then I tell them to pound sand. I will listen to ten seconds of whining or complaining that I want to pay for diag and I hang up on them. One guy called me back and said we got disconnected. I told him “no, I hung up on you” then hung up again.
@@AlphanumericCharacters 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@AlphanumericCharactersside work can end up costing you massive amounts of money or at the least, serious stress.
@@merl-lv7dp only if you're doing it wrong. If you're smart about it there's no reason side work should cost you
@@merl-lv7dp I don’t know how it could cost me massive amounts of money but stress….absolutely. But I never had boundaries in the beginning. Nowadays I make everything perfectly clear in the beginning. I am not a shop. If you want the service you get from a shop then you take your car there and pay shop prices. No hard feelings. I have a set time period that I do side work. If I run out of time your car may sit for a week. If parts break….you pay for them. You order the parts or go to the parts house and deliver them to me. You buy precisely what I say to buy or I don’t install it. I assume no risk. I am labor only. A shop is more than that. They provide full service.
It works out great. My customers don’t get any kind of labor warranty and they have to do some legwork but they save a ton of money and get high quality workmanship. Even with these boundaries I have not had a single complaint in the three years of doing things this new way. Some folks don’t like the no warranty thing or having to wait weeks and take their car to a shop.
Good for them, truly. They want services I don’t provide so they go elsewhere. I have very little stress related to it all. Not like my main job.
One of my commercial customers had an older Chevy truck that wouldn't crank. He decided to 'save money' by having his employees and buddies work on it. They spent 3 weeks putting about $2k in parts on it, plus whatever labor/beer he paid the guys, and nothing had changed. We'd talked about it on the phone a few times and every time I told him it was probably just a bad battery connection, but he said that they'd replaced the cables. He finally asked me to try to fix it. When I got there there were several guys standing around the truck ready to see me get stumped. I turned the key once, grabbed a wrench and tightened the ground bolt on the intake manifold, got in my truck and left without saying a word. A few minutes later he called and asked if I was making a parts run. No, I'm going home to finish what I was doing before you called. But....what about my truck? Oh, it's done. He got in the truck and it fired right up.....WHAT THE HELL???!?!?! This is why you pay me to fix your trucks, so you can save money. 20 minutes later one of his guys showed up at my house with a $100 bill.
A guy I knew bought a 89 Mustang 5.0, that had lots of electrical issues. Everyone told him check his grounds. Temp gauge went crazy, he put a new water pump, radiator and thermostat. Oil pressure gauge went crazy, he paid for a new oil pump. Sputtered and drove bad, he put new plugs, wires, cap & rotor. Battery, alternator, etc. He replaced darn near every part on that car. He gave up and needed reliable transportation with good gas mileage for a new job he got. He wanted nothing to do with the Mustang and sore to just get rid of it. He wouldn't listen to anyone about the bad grounds and promised they were all checked and all good. I traded him for a little 4cyl Saturn I had. I brought that Mustang home and parked it next to my 90 Mustang 5.0. Without checking anything, I drove it to work for two days to get a feel for what was going on with it. That car seemed like it was possesed by a spirit. That weekend I popped the hood and took a long gaze at everything and noticed the large ground strap was missing from the cylinder head to the firewall. I had one in the garage, slapped it in. Car ran perfect!
reminds me of when i left my first shop. owner knew next to nothing about cars but always acted like he was a master tech to me. anyways, i was swinging back a week later for the rest of my crap and did the same shit lol. no start he had been on for days, corrosion on the contact to the starter.
You tightened that bolt and didn't even try to start the truck right there? Nice story. Didn't happen. You would not have been able to resist trying it on the spot to see the look on their faces if you had solved it that easy. And he sent you over a $100 bill. Uh-huh. Do they call you Commander McBragg? Sitting at your keyboard spinning lots of fantasies.
@@jeffro221 It was glaringly obvious to me that it was the problem so I didn't need to test it, walking away drove home the point. I didn't need to see their reactions and I don't care if you believe it, it had the desired effect and that's all that mattered.
A friend of mine bought a truck that wasn't running well. Lots of receipts about hard starts, rough running. He was having trouble with it. I happened to go to his house while he was working on it. I asked about grounds. He hadn't checked them. After installing a new ground, the truck worked fine. We were both amazed that whatever shop the truck had been to couldn't find that fault.
That theft light might be the real story
Looks like the key won't turn off the immobiliser.
@@ianhill4585 Could be. Funny how this guy took the car anyway. After he figured out its too much mental work for the same amount of swapping brakes and flushing some fluid…he realized its the customers fault.
I'm friends with my diesel mechanic, I don't ever ask for prices and he knows I want it done right and to take care of any issues he comes across.
He'll call me to tell me it's done and tell me what he found and fixed.
I know he'll be fair and he knows I'll always pay.
You are a perfect customer and the fact you can trust your mechanic shows that you've found a person with honesty and integrity. There are good people still out there - although few and far between. I am an honest mechanic and most people still don't trust me but they always come back because I do good honest work at a fair price.
@@markkukowski3710 I don't understand the concept of pissing off your mechanic, good ones with integrity are so hard to find in my area.
I try to be as accommodating as I can, knowing he can pick and choose his jobs.
I have a 30 year relationship with the mechanic that works on my vehicles...I will not let anyone but him work on my cars...A good mechanic is worth his weight in gold... 😊
That is the truth ❤️
If u have gold to give lolz
Ask any car owner, when you have a good relationship with a mechanic who knows how to work on your car you follow them to the grave.
When I was a young man, I remember telling my sister NOT to take her car anywhere else to get it fixed and I would work on it. Period. She dated this guy who allegedly "raced cars" and she told me HE was going to work on her car. OK , , FINE! , , It was a 67 Oldsmobile Cutlass W31. So she had a problem with the car and took it to her boyfriend because the engine wasn't acting right. I guess he tore into it for a couple of days and was tearing his hair out. She had to eat crow but she brought it back to me. It took me about 10 minutes to find a carbon track inside the distributor cap. I changed the cap, went in the house and asked her to come out and take a ride in the car with me. I loved driving that car so I lit it up and laid two beautiful strips of rubber in the alley. Then, I innocently asked her, "is this running any better now?" with big puppy dawg eyes. Her jaw dropped and she asked me what I did so she could tell her boyfriend, the "race car mechanic." I told her I changed a blown fuse under the dash for the radio. Boy, did I get a look. By the way, a few months later, they broke up!
Man! I wish I had that car today. The guy she married 40 years ago is a GREAT guy! I STILL wish I had that car! Cheers!
I love stories like this ❤
I am happy she got a great guy! Nobody wants their sister to marry a bum.
Brother in law bought a truck from a "race car guy." He bragged about the "special"engine he personally built for it to pull his race car. It used a lot of oil and had low compression. I tore it down and it had the wrong rings in it.
My sister had a 67 cutlass convertible in 1979
Wish it was still around also.
Those cars were awesome!!!
Sometimes you make more money by refusing a job . Great content !
All money aint good money
This is soooo true! Great video, Kenny!
A good lesson to all the up and coming mechanics. And a positive reminder to those who've been here awhile.
Ha ha.Yes you are right I do
Same curse being an electrician. For years my relatives took advantage of me wanting me to fix this or that, wire a house, shed, whatever for little to nothing. I mean I wired my uncles newly built 2400 square foot home. At the time it was around $2.50 per square foot to wire a home. He would have paid a company about 6k. I did it as a "favor" to him with the understanding how much it would save him. Yeah... he paid me $250.00. That was my last straw, haven't done work for family or friends since without giving my price up front.
You've discovered the Theory of Relativity!
I'm a retired IBEW electrician. I just tell everyone now that's its illegal for me to do electrical work, which is technically true.
I work for an independent owned shop and the owner is just like you ( which I'm so thankful for that ). He doesn't give people like that the time of day. They're just a can of worms to be opened.
Been there Kenny. Those are the customers that are more trouble than we have time for. That's the Right call.
The fact I’m 24 working in a shop as the only service tech I get customers like this every week. And your an older gentleman that’s likely been doing this a lot longer than me and your taking the words right out of my mouth. It’s astounding! I love working on cars but I HATE how it’s done!!
It’s unreal how people won’t pay for diagnostics. I was always good at taking things apart and putting them back together, but I didn’t always understand cars’ systems or how to diagnose. As a young adult, I had a small budget, and I had a great relationship with a local shop. Many times I dropped a car off and said “tell me what I need to replace”. I’d pay their diagnostic fees and do the repair myself. A couple times I found myself in over my head and ended up towing a car over, and they were always great about that too. They were the most honest shop I’ve ever seen, and I had a lot of respect for them. They even once broke a nearly unnoticeable interior part, a non critical part, and told me to come back in a week when the part came in. I told them not to worry about it, it was no big deal, they said the part was already ordered and they wouldn’t send it back. A lot of shops would’ve either hidden the damage or blamed it on something, these guys replaced it on their dime(and to this day, I don’t think they needed to). I cultivated a relationship with that shop by being respectful of their time, respectful of their knowledge, and respectful of my own limitations. Not that hard.
Most aren’t honestctho
Usually diagnosis is free if you have it fixed there. Otherwise people are told what's wrong and they fix it themselves. The shop loses money.
@@JTScott1988 Agree some aren't honest. I went to Firestone for rough idle and occasionally dies at idle. They wanted to replace the intake manifold, idle solenoid valve, and a couple other things. They quote me about $2500. I took it home, did a little research myself and all what was wrong was a bad mass airflow sensor. That was not part of their diagnostics.
@@mikem1406 firestone has to be the worst culprit.
I used to work as an HVAC service technician. We’d get those calls from people wanting to know how much it would be to fix their equipment. They couldn’t understand that the price varies according to what’s wrong with it. Saying “it’s not coming on” doesn’t tell a repair person why it’s not turning on 😞
I have a rental house and one night after a thunder storm, he called and said the A/C stopped working, I went over, checked the circuit breakers and the breakers for the A/C had tripped. I reset the breaker and that was it. He wanted to call a friend of his and have me pay him to fix it.
I worked in the automotive industry from 68 to 75 then I went into the Army. People were always wanting work for free because, if you got your hands dirty, your time wasn't worth anything. I learned to say no very quickly and to spot people who were likely to try to stiff me. I kept fixing up cars as a hobby that saved me a lot of money over the past 50 years. That engine made me suspect that the timing chain was off. I got my first 283 for free because the timing chain had jumped. Good Luck, Rick
Hi Richard. It's Mrs Wrenching. Kenny is helping a customer today. Thank you for your service. Working on cars keeps you young. There is always something to do. Keep wrenching - Meg
@@megbollmann9329 I still work on my cars as necessary. My hobby is old garden tractors now because they are easier and cheaper. Good Luck, Rick
Anybody working in the trades has the same problem
You waited for Nam to end, then joined the Army.
Smart!!
@@davidmende4438 I wish that I could say that I was that smart but no. I was young and Gungho. I tried to join the Navy as a gunners mate in 1969 but I am color blind and nearsighted. The old Chief told me that I needed to get a degree in engineering to get a waiver and any branch would take me. I had to work my way through college as a mechanic to get that degree in engineering. My last 2 years I joined ROTC and was prepared to go to NAM after graduation. Siagon fell 3 weeks before my graduation. At that point the Army was full, so I had to wait until 1976 to go active duty. Good Luck, Rick
Same story being a PC tech, most people believe that since I didn't get dirty fixing it, it should only cost $20 if not for free.
I couldn’t even imagine being in that business with the amount of ignorant customers that would entitle, I know dudes that have to sit 8 hours diagnosing individual computer component failures (mainly motherboard pathworks), and fix solder joints smaller than fleas, all without a sweat, but would not keep their composure in front of some of these “customers”. And the sad thing is, I totally understand why they would do so. Makes me think back to the IT Crowd
People are cheap and want everything done for nothing.
"You're a computer technician. Troubleshooter with a briefcase...." -- Old Control Data Corporation ad, 1970's.
No matter who it is, friends, family, anyone, I let them know, I will be happy to look at their laptop or PC, but as soon I step foot in the door, it's $200.00. Then I can figure out how much it will cost to fix it. Most call me crazy or worse, then call me 2-3 weeks later after they have talked to the local repair shop.
@@markm5908 I'm hoping to start a side job servicing hot women's computers...we can work out payment arrangements... :)
I'm in the HVAC industry, and it's amazing how after you verify the problem, the customer doesn't wanna pay you to run and get the parts.
True!
Had a quote for a hard-start kit of $450. I went to Grainger's and got a new start-run cap and the kit for under $50. I installed it in under 30 minutes. HVAC makes $800/hour. Nope.
@James Plotkin So, are you gonna install a compressor, pull a vacuum to under 200 microns, and recharge your system, when the compressor goes out?
@@Infowarrior-45 BS scare tactics. His system will almost certainly work just fine
As a carpenter, people always just wanted to pay for the receipt for materials. That's fine. You go fetch and pay.
You nailed it. My dad spent 45 years as a mechanic and they had calls like that daily. Sometimes the customer would come in for a free estimate and get a general idea as well as cost. That same customer spent hundreds of dollars on random parts. Brought it back in. Dad did a diagnostic on it, found and fixed the problem in less than an hour. If this customer had just brought it in they would have saved so much money. A lot of times the diy mechanic made it worse.
The flip side to this coin is that I took my 1999 Toyota Solara 3.0 V6 to a Toyota dealership in the Chicagoland area to get a quote on the rear motor mount remove and replace. They wanted 6 hours of labor at $150 per hour or $900. I want to a different Toyota dealership 10 miles away and they only quoted 3 hours of labor at $130 per hour.
The second dealership is more correct in my opinion as I could probably do the job in 5 hours for $0.00 in labor. I already have a shop press so I could perhaps save a hundred bucks by just getting the bushing and not buying the Mount assembly.
I believe it's 10 to 12 hours to remove the engine and trans axle for my car. It damn sure cannot be two-thirds the labor to remove the engine and trans axle together by just a changing out the rear motor mount.
The first dealership wanted an hour labor for the transmission mount behind the left tire which is a job I could probably do in 10 minutes.
So it's not a be-all-end-all that all shops are always looking out for the customers best interest in regards to value provided.
@@michaeldunagan8268Bro.... Everybody knows you don't take your car to the stealership to have work done, unless it's scheduled maintenance for a new car.
That's why there are variable shop rates: 1) if you watch 2) if you worked on it 3) if you're going to tell me how to work on it ....
I work on major appliances. Can't tell you how many times a customer tried to fix something and then call me to do the repair. Then have to put back together just to ba able to figure what was wrong to start with. Had one that swore had. Bad timer on washer had it all apart. Ended up being just lid switch.
44 years of doing this. I'm ready to retire.
@@michaeldunagan8268 How many times I told people all their car needed was a new muffler bearing when they wanted free diagnostic services. My time costs money
I love working on cars and follow all the big mechanic channels: ChrisFix, EricTheCarGuy, Scotty Kilmer and so forth but you're quickly becoming my favorite. You're easy to follow and it feels like getting to be an apprentice in your shop with the way you explain things.
Thank you soo much !! I truly appreciate that !! I really try to make it reasonably simple and explain my way of doing things .. If I can ever help you in any way , please don't hesitate to ask !! Thanks for watching my channel !!
You forgot the top 3!!! JimmyMakingitwork, fordbossme, southmainauto, rainmanray,
Definitely! Has all of the elements to make it enjoyable AND educational
@@MUSTANGGT12
Love Rainman Ray...
Also, watch Vice Grip Garage. That dude has a hilarious dry wit.
Scotty Kilmer........I'm not sure how to word my thoughts. Lol
I work in the electrical field. Master and business owner. I have the same problems. Just be glad you don't have to drive to their house to figure out the bs. I envy you and your shop.
Hi It's Mrs. Wrenching. He is helping a customer today who is in a pickle (Sunday). I'm an electrical department manager at a home improvement store. All I have to say is may the force be with you friend. 85% of our customers don't live where our store is & drive our electrical contractors crazy. The customers get 'sticker shock' when they actually come into a store to seen the price of wire🤦♀I'm sending you positive energy! Keep wrenching - Meg
@@megbollmann9329 yes, Mrs you know my pain
Just tell everyone you're a laborer. It's better they think you stupid than to want to you to repair anything and everything that draws current.😃
that is why as a mechanic i never go to someones home.
I do tree service and damn I'd love to be able to be in on place!
There was a huge sign on the office wall at Alaska Aircraft Sales, where I worked for years as an A&P mechanic. Shop rate $55. If you watch, $75. If you help, $100. We also had a cleaning charge.
I got tired of these people and bought some "Diagnostic Dice" off the tool truck. Great gag gift. I handed the correct one (4 individual die based on complaint) to a customer who always wasted my time and he rolled it. He never spent a penny in the shop but insisted on getting us to tell him what his truck needed to run again and then he'd do the work himself. He actually thought the "fix" from the die was correct and left. He came back a few days later complaining the dice were wrong. He had no idea just how much of a moron he was.
Fabulous
I have a buddy at work who replaced one of my valve seals for fun, all he wanted was a case of beer. He took a $2000 repair down to $120 and i appreciate the hell out of that.
He's inspired me to take on things more complex than just changing my oil. Next weekend after the parts arrive, I'm gonna do my wife's catalytic converter. I'm actually really looking forward to it, even though i expect it to be quite straightforward.
After awhile cars get really straightforward. Just nuts, bolts, and parts attached by nuts and bolts. Unless it’s an electric gremlin, cars are simple. Not easy at all, but simple
@@Jajaky speaking of the electric gremlin, my transmission wiring has some bullfuckery going on right now and I'm just trying to make the time to figure it out.
Yep till the bolts break
Cats never have to be replaced. Maybe after 500,000miles
@@willleslie2745 only replaced it because the car didn't pass local emissions test
As a retired tech and service advisor i would tell customer on the phone , the trouble is definately between the front and the rear bumper. For more precision ill have to see the vehicule.
Pretty sure it can be narrowed down to between the steering wheel and drivers seat.
@@lbicknell The Nut holding The Steering Wheel?
What’s a vehacle?
My father was in business for 34 years up until his passing. A friend of his called him, wanting some work done and asked how much he would charge him, being friends. Dad gave him a price and he replied, that's the regular price, were friends. dads reply was a simple one. He said "I don't work for my enemies. They don't even call me". I only work for friends. The guy never called him again.
That's a great response! I guess your dad found out where he stood with that guy. Thanks for watching 🔧
Good car mechanic is gold. Known mine 20 years. I drop it off, they'll tell me come get it, parked outside. Swing by and get it, stop by during business hours and pay them later that week. Never whine about the price. When they say its fixed, it is. Worth it.
Thanks for your reply & watching the channel
Sounds like the flywheels falling off or the crank is cracked in half
Either way, putting distance between you and it is a good idea.
Lol, the crank is cracked in half? I hope you’re joking
@@jamesgarner4127 Not even a little bit.
@@jamesgarner4127 tell me you know nothing without knowing nothing
@@beekeeper8474 ok man, you think a crank split in two is going to roll over? That’s funny
@jamesgarner4127 just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it's never happened. How about you search "ford small block broken crankshaft" theres a 2 part vid where they pull the sump of a car they state drove in, the crank is two pieces. Also, it's not an unheard-of event in the diesel truck world.
Just say no to micro-managing customers… You could put a cross on the roof , it might help get you out of Taxes
When I was a mechanic (I'm retired now) I worked at several dealerships and just as an example electrical diagnostics only paid half an hour even though it might take 2 hours to find the problem. I might add here working at a dealership you don't have the option of sending it down the road, you have to take the job, period. So this is one luxury Kenny has that a dealership mechanic doesn't.
After 22 years of dealership work, I know exactly what you're talking about. I don't miss warranty work at all. Thanks for watching 🔧
@@WrenchingWithKenny You are welcome. Keep up the good content, people need to know what a mechanic has to deal with.
I never understood how it is the rule at OEM dealerships that they don't pay the mechanic for doing warranty work.
There are still some trucking companies today *ahem* Swift, Schneider, * * ahem, and some Eastern European small companies that will not pay the driver at all or as much when the trailer is empty as when the trailer is loaded. I ask the recruiters if the truck drives itself when it's not loaded thus affording you not to pay me as a driver. I usually get crickets as a response.
Dealers are struggling to find techs now, they will take anyone now, but people now know the drama and bs in dealers and stay away, friend of mine left to go work at dealer, says biggest regret he ever made, they don’t care about the people working, numbers and drama.
Twice I've had the local honda dealer tell me "Well it's not throwing any codes so we can't help you". Once was for the intermittent stuttering power on my 2000 Insight which, that I can sorta understand, a fairly rare oddball car with special systems. But the other was for an 05 Accord where the cruise control would cut out/stop working (no, not the stuck on/off toggle switch; cruise control would turn on and off reliably with the switch, but it just tends to disengage after a while and refuse to activate again). Thankfully got the tech in the car on the road when it happened. But still; 'not throwing any codes, so we can't help you.'
When I had my shop open, it didn't take long to learn that terrible customers rarely get better. My rope was pretty short. I probably would have allowed the diagnostic fee question and if my answer wasn't appreciated in the moment, that was it. They had to find another shop. Eventually we get burned... sucks...
I've fired customers before, not very often, but when they threatened to sue me for something I made sure it never happened again. No one ever sued me. Some people. Keep the good stuff coming.
Fired customers? 😂
@@EGOODWYN86yup, you tell them to go elsewhere.
I like that, fired the customer. Been there myself.
If he needed to save money, he woulda been better off paying you the diag fee and then trying to do the job himself.
And it happens so often like this, parts cannons almost always cost more than diag charges.
Sounds like the customer bought a "pig in a poke" and likely got burned. The truck may well be worth fixing but the guy may not be the one to afford the fix. These jobs are highly risky for everyone involved and are seldom wirthwhile except to someone who can do the work themselves. This guy obviously can't and a shop can't afford to "adopt" his mistate.
A compression test would be a good start. Diagnostic fee. Bad compression??? You made the right choice! He will probably be into it for over 1500.00+. I guess headgasket, timing chain issues, and key programming.
Kenny, thank you so much for this video. It helped me get my 01 Silverado running. I had a crank/no start issue that I just could not solve. I checked every wiring harness, unloaded the parts cannon, and still nothing. Then I stumbled on this video and said, "Hey, I have a 'security' light on my dash, too. 🤯🤯🤯" And I'll be damned if that wasn't the problem. 😂😂😂 Thanks again, man!
Well that was some good luck. You're welcome! lol
It's a rabbit hole of problems I wouldn't repair it either great video
I took my 20 year old car to a mechanic I knew I could trust because it died on the road. He had it for four months trying to figure it out. I thought oh boy he's going to hit me with $$$$ for trying to figure out the problem. I checked in on him from time to time just to make sure he wasn't going push the car out his door. He finally found a short on a engine wire harness that went to the MAP sensor. He felt bad having it so long and charged me $800 which included changing the plugs. I think he lost money on that job but I'm thankful he didn't quit until he found the issue. I trusted mechanic will always do the right thing.
4 months? He should have paid you the $800
I usually pay for diagnostics when I need to pinpoint something wrong, and I'm troubleshooting something that I have no experience with. I paid some locals guys to vacuum/pressure test my AC. They charged me $60.00 and told me the exact part that I needed to replaced, (Which, was B.S.) but with parts and labor I was looking at $600 on top of the dignostic + tax, and dildo fees like disposal, and "core fees" to get my AC fixed at their shop. Instead of paying them $600, I ended up replacing a .05cent per dozen schrader valve, ordering a Chinese vacuum pump on Ebay for $30.00, and a Harbor Freight hose charging kit, + $20.00 worth of refrigerant, and did the work myself. The only thing that was wrong was the schrader valve(s).
Garages have ripped people off enough times, that nobody really trusts them. That's why customers ask in advance for a lot of things because they don't want to get bent over. Every time I have to go to a garage, I pinch my buttchecks closed extra tight, because I already know what is coming.
I worked on the HD diesel side of a shop for several years and if the service manager couldn't figure out the issue in the parking lot in five minutes, it was always $200 up front to start any diagnostic work. I think he charged $75 to pull the codes and print out the stuff from AllData, Mitchell or whatever service covered the specific make, and send them on their way. Heard so many arguments in the office when in the break room about diagnostics or how many hours something would take. So glad I only ever had to deal with the customer one on one when discussing the different options on something complex and they were usually regulars and had a small fleet.
I do my own work when I can, but I am no mechanic. I am also smart enough to know what I can and cannot do. If I can't do it, I go straight to the pros. No point in messing around. Learned that lesson the hard way in my younger years.
Maintenance and repairs plus tires and insurance and car washes are all part of the expenses that come with Car ownership. You just have to bite the bullet and be thankfull for honest mechanics.
Thats how it's done anymore. I've been an industrial maintenance technician & an automotive mechanic for 50 yrs. now, I'll tell ya somebody who will actually try to solve the problem first, is a rare find. My hats off to you!
I absolutely agree 100% with you!
Hopefully you do actually send it back.
Looks like he possibly changed the ignition on it. The one thinner key is what comes with a new ignition. You have to cut a chipped key and program them.
The customer sounds like one of those you absolutely knew even if you did program keys and get it started, he will say you broke the engine even though he has never himself been able to drive it.
I would have refused it also!
Hi, i thought the same, the thin key is a type of "Spare" in case you lock your original chiped key in the car or you leave that key with say a detailing shop or just give the key to kids to unlock and get the groceries out of the car - it unlocks the car but wont let you drive off
Brilliant content, absolutely my favourite channel, always honest, straight forward.
Its like asking someone on the phone how they like the shirt you are wearing. It needs to be seen in order to give an answer. You made the right choice on letting someone else fix it.
Great video!
Sometimes, though, even a "mechanic" will get lazy and just go for the low hanging fruit. We had a Chevy Astro which would just stop running, or be dead on startup attempt, even if running just minutes before. Always towed to local dealership, usually a fried fusible link at the battery. Spent $hundreds with them, only to reoccur again. My reading/research indicated starter overdrawing current, I installed a new one. Fine for a couple of days, then another tow. Another fried link. I stopped into the dealership later to check, and it was being diagnosed. Mechanic comes out to the service desk and says: "Star-Taire." I told them it must be something else... just installed a couple of days prior. No, "sometimes the FLAPS parts aren't good," they had a new Delco one, and I could get back the one I installed and return it. Fine.
So a little later, the mechanic was at lunch, the service manager went to check, said the van was ready, started right up. He handed me the starter box... In it was the NEW DELCO unit. I wondered what had been put on the Astro, and they let me under the lift for a look. Yep, the FLAPS part was easily identifiable. So, WTF? I had an interesting conversation with the dealership General Manager and the Service Manager; we reached a deal that got the Delco part installed, but I didn't get the parts store starter. I know this is getting long, but, "the rest of the story"... (Sorry Paul)
A week later I was towing a small trailer on I-70, 800 miles from home, when I got the ALT warning light. I stopped on the shoulder for as good of a look as possible. Underneath, I noticed that the main ground cable connection to the block was very corroded. Very. Had tools in the trailer, disconnected and cleaned as much as possible, reconnected. Voltmeter showed better, but still low. Drove on the battery 15 miles to a parts store, installed a new alternator in the parking lot. That electrical problem *never surfaced again, it had been the sketchy ground ALL Along!*
Have not set foot in that dealership since.
The Astro? Trust me, you don't want to hear all of that, I'd be typing for hours... I put more work into it than any other vehicle I have ever owned, by a wide margin.
Being a technician of any machinery is such a thankless job. Yet these guys are the ones the keep the world moving.
Crazy.
I bought a truck years ago for $500, was told the engine was knocking and was only worth the parts, after taking it to the shop I worked at, the knocking was a bad water pump. Best $500 I ever spent.
Truck still runs today
All I've ever done is change the oil.
You are correct 100%
Paying a diagnostic fee can well be worth it. These people had a perfectly good vehicle and assumed the worse
recentl,y bought a 350 chevy motor for 350.00 ,, the guy lied and said he was swapping it with an LS, thought it might have a blown head gasket because he had to keep adding coolant,, the water pump bearing was shot, so he really thought it had an engine knock, and he got over on me,, the engine is like new mechanically, only 62,000 miles on it,. best 350.00 Ive ever spent,, some new valve stem seals and a water pump and it will be good as new. the engine came out of a 2500 series dual cab long bed and was a fire dept truck. it even has a block heater, which is rare to see in texas. ha
I know what it’s like trying to save money, or fearing a mechanic may overcharge you for something, but that is Not what’s going on here. Something shady is going on here and this guy is trying to get a stolen truck running or something like that. Good decision to walk away. Maybe take a pic of that VIN for the local popo.
Something just isn't right about the whole thing !! Thanks for watching and commenting ! I really appreciate it !!
I certainly don't know the facts, but I also felt like the truck might be stolen. It would be interesting to know the real backstory.
I kept thinking it would be interesting to run the VIN and see if it comes up as stolen.
My favourite is when the “customer” comes strolling through the shop, (like he just bought the place) and wants you to come look at something for a few moments. I told him I will as soon as you talk to the service manager or service advisor because I am working on a customers vehicle right now. But but but, and then I direct them to the customer counter, and as soon as the work orders open up and I get the go ahead, I will do it but until then I am working on a customers vehicle now.
Whether it is driving in traffic, or a shops time, so many feel entitled to cut to the front of the line. And are shocked when that just isn't going to happen.
I worked for a dodge dealer for a few years, left not long into the pandemic, but I still fix people's cars on the side for some extra cash. It baffles me that people try to do this kind of stuff. I had a coworker with a 16 Chevy cruze that was leaking coolant that I diaged for him and found it was just a head gasket, he wanted me to fix it for him as a favor. To which I replied "no" he took it to Chevy, they said the same thing was wrong with it but me doing it was way cheaper. So he came crawling back. I fixed it. Made a couple bucks.
Worked in the auto industry for years as an auto repair technician and DIY'rs are the worst customers. I understand this man completely.
Yeah, that is correct as I only take it to a repair shop after troubleshooting and concluding that I lack the tooling i.e. a lift for example. I know what is wrong and will save them time by having the parts in the vehicle seat. If I am not certain of the root cause but have a good idea,I pass on everything I have done to include the symptoms, I then ask that they do a diag to either confirm or deny my diag and either use the part or parts provided or inform me of the part they think is bad.
I have done this recently and had an issue with the senior tech handing off the job to a subordinate who was only told to replace all the parts in the seat and skip the diagnostic when I had clearly handed the parts over and asked that they scan and confirm that it had an o2 sensor bad, but just in case I brought a set of upstream and downstream sensors as it seemed one was very slow to move but I wasn't sure it was a problem causing the idle issue.
Anyways the young tech was worried when the sensor would not budge and had the second shop manager call to state that the job may cost 3k to repair. I immediately respond stop everything (the damn car was only worth 6k lol).
I visited and found the senior tech gone and the young tech alone, I checked what his concern was and offered some tips on how to safely remove the frozen sensor without excessive damage to threads. Following the advice he was successful, the repair fixed the idle issue along with a throttle body cleaning and throttle body relearning.
By the way 40 years of heavy equipment and power systems xp, I hate cars lol
@@bartwilliams4478 A lot of time can go into removing an oxygen sensor from the mounting bung, even with a torch like most techs do with high mileage engines (I know because I've done it more times than I can count, especially with exhaust systems that are difficult to work with, surrounded by flammable cloth heat shields). On the note of the removing the sensor from the exhaust pipe itself, a lot of this is due to excessive rust and carbon soot creating a weld on the thread surface for the sensor mounting bung. $3K for a removal? Whether upstream or downstream that are zirconia or wide band oxygen sensors, I'd be asking what else the shop is replacing for that kind of money.
On the note of DIY's, I had a client years ago at a shop that requested we replace his radiator and spark plugs for heating/cooling and ignition issues. That was before I found out later that his thermostat was missing and the rotary style power distributor was tampered with. When I told the client this, he refused to believe he did wrong to his engine and demanded we still replace his parts for free. Our shop declined to service him and a tow truck was called at the client's expense. Had I done what he wanted, it would not have solved his problems, only exacerbated the issue further. This would've resulted in the client demanding a free repair or litigating the issue against us later on. It's why most professional shops don't allow for stuff like this to happen unless they know the client to be highly skilled and knowledgeable in automotive technology (i.e. another repair tech, ASE certified and what not). The unfortunate reality is a lot of the DIY's out there happen to be knuckleheads and fools with no clue as to what they're doing on their vehicles. Sad,but true in this day and age.
only because we cost you money most of the time fixing it ourselves or know enough if you are trying to rip us off. lol
@@chubbyninjagaming not all techs who refuse DIY repair demands are ripping off the customers. We just don't like working with people who refuse to pay the bill for an actual fix as supposed to throwing parts at the problem like they want us to; throwing parts at the problem can actually cost more money for the customer than save them. Who do you think they'll blame for it then when the mechanical issues persist? 🫤
I've said enough on this....
@@benitoloco892 I have worked as a power systems , heavy equipment, HVAC for 40 years nope not going to buy the 3K attempt , when the guy clearly went for the shotgun fix.
Good call.... I was in the business for over 40 years, self-employed and employee. There are more than a fair amount of people that think technicians owe them something and don't deserve to earn a living. They will spend money everywhere else except the garage. At this point I even stopped doing work for friends. After open heart surgery I am semi-retired now and won't do as much as change a blade on their lawn mower.
I don't understand "friends" who expect their buddy to work for free/super cheap.
40 yr. mechanic here....Thanks for your reply it really hit home, right down to the open heart surgery.
I’m in the arcade business and I can relate. I get calls at lease once a week about a video game or pinball machine.
Everyone wants me to drop what I’m doing and drive to there home and wiggle wires.
No. I don’t work like that. If you can afford a $18,000 full-size arcade machine or a $8,000 pinball, then you better be able to pay for a service call and the standard hourly rates plus parts.
And yes, I get a call about a pinball not working, get there and found that his so called friend or buddy “Suped up the game” and POW, there is smoke coming from the board.
But, can you make go??
No… it’s cooked.
Well said! Thanks for watching!
For anything in the computer industry (this includes home wifi, routers, modem) the term is "you let the magic smoke get out. It's going to cost more than the unit is worth to fix it".
I know a lot of people who fire the parts cannon at stuff, I've been guilty of it myself depending on the situation, it's never a good idea. Sometimes you get lucky but usually you just spend money. I'm a mechanic at a distribution center, a fleet mechanic to be exact, I work on trailers, tractors, loaders, vans, air compressors, whatever breaks mechanically I have to fix, so I've gotten a lot of experience, and I've learned always diagnose, at the very least try hard and ask for help but resist the urge to fire the cannon
Would definitely walk away. 30 years wrenching, I've learned my lesson.
I'd have walked away as soon as the keys became questionable.
😂😂😂 good one
Mechanicing is a lot like doctoring. Diagnosis is the biggest part of the success. Anybody can throw parts or pills at it. I spent a lifetime doing it 😅
Seems to be in every job. I design book interiors, and there have a few jobs I wish I'd walked away from. Not that I didn't get paid, but it wasn't enough for the headache of the job. Like Kenny Rogers said, you have to know when to walk away. Great video. More people need to see this so they can appreciate skill, talent, and training--and what it costs in years to gain wisdom and knowledge.
It took years for me to learn how to walk away. Thanks for watching 🔧
As soon as you turned the I just started laughing, I hate it when customers don’t give you the full story
If you get it running. He'll stiff you saying you ruined engine. Walk away
If the guy doesn't want to pay for your skill in finding the problem then tell him to fix it himself.
If I had a dollar for every" can I get you to take a quick look at this" only to discover that it always involves a complete diagnostic and repair with the cheapest store bought parts (usually incorrect) and trying to undo and correct their previous attempts to repair, I'd be one well off individual.
like the song says, 'i wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole'.
No way I would work on that.
If there was a cross over the garage and you had a white collar, he would be paying with his soul. 😂😂😂
😂
You're right about being able to see where the chip is on those keys, but it's on the opposite end where the key ring is. At least for an actual oem key
Love your honesty in dealing with your customers.
It definitely is going to need a engine from the sound of it
A used engine installed in that truck shouldn't be absurdly expensive, by which I mean probably in the range of $3K-$5K.
@@MrJeffcoley1 so 3-5k more than they have
@@ATSaale What is less expensive , fixing that truck or replacing it?
We can't tell because we can't examine it. But by the look and implications of the host of the video, whatever the fixes it's probably not going to be quick and easy.
@@MrJeffcoley1 Less expensive? Replacing it for something that isn't 30 years old and actually reliable in the long run
I love your attitude towards the situation, you are spot on. Mechanic work is not easy and they deserve to be paid for doing the job. Problem is too many people want something for nothing and don't want to pay the prices.
I only ride a motorbike, but I learnt by trial and error over the years, lots of tinkering on my early bikes, and lots of mistakes made, but over the years i've learnt to be able to do most things by myself, but I still have a great thing going on with my mechanic...he generally gets the few jobs I'm still learning, or the stuff I hate doing, and when he tells me the scary number after the work is done, I just pay him! People take mechanics for granted unfortunately.
When I find a good mechanic, I stick with them and give them my business, it's a mutual respect thing, because any guy thats happy to do the jobs I hate doing, is a hero to me at the end of the day.
I’m a hvac tech. I also walk away when I get to a service call for no cooling , I get there and the first thing I see is all the wires pulled out and just hanging there and of course the husband went to work and the wife says he tried to fix it and they want to know up front what it’s going to cost to fix it.
Yeah....you gotta know when to walk away. Thanks for your comment & watching the channel. Keep wrenching 🔧
As a long time tech i have heard many weird comments from customers that have tried to five there own vehicles. just one was that a customer called to find out what was making noise in the engine and held their phone to the engine and wanted an estimate on paper to fix this thing! I explained that I could not tell what is wrong from a phone. They told me that we are a poor repair shop and would not ever come for repairs at my shop. ok. I thanked them for the call and went into the shop to tell my techs what had just happened. they got a good laugh out of that. never did here back from them. All I could think of was well good luck. You just never know what you are going to see or next. Kenney thanks for your videos, good job!
should have told them it needed an evaporator or something very expensive
A typical of people think that they don't have to pay for the knowledge a technician accumulated from extensive training and hands-on experience it always cracks me up .
Thanks for the advice!
Im glad u are getting rid of that piece of junk
Great video wish you were my mechanic here in Perth my local mechanic is retiring soon I'll miss his honesty and great sense of humour.
I could be wrong but when you cranked it over it sounded like it had a timing chain or valve train issue resulting with lower than normal compression. (It seemed to be turning over faster than it should be normally which I've seen several times before) that's why I suspect what I do.
Exactly, motor spinning way too fast.
2 problems I found by watching video. 1 the steering wheel cover says it all 2 the owner of vehicle 😆 🤣 love your videos btw 👍
"I don't want to pay for diagnostic " . That's when I tell them to have a nice day. Arguing with idiots never turns out to be profitable.
Your spot on! This piece of garbage would have been an "ever since you" vehicle. It would have lived at the shop. Thanks for your comment and for watching the channel. Keep wrenching 🔧
I would have refused to even look at it period after that conversation.
I have a great relationship with the shop that works on my vehicles.
I have them do the work I can't do or don't have time to do.
When I do get them to work on my cars I don't ask for charity.
I didn't understand why you wanted to pass on it until you mentioned that the engine could be cooked, seems like a Locksmith job at least
Absolutely brother! Walk away from that because something stinks. I mean, aside from the guys attitude towards diagnosticians. I like to ask those customers if they work for free. 😁
My mechanic works on all our vehicles (M3, Suburban, Acura).
Not cheap but fixed 100% of the time. 17 years. Thankful.
Great content kenny, your someone that I would gladly take my car to..people have no idea how complex a modern car is, its baffling how clueless people are, this guy didn't want to pay for diagnostics? and that he expected you to tell him over the phone what was wrong with his truck? unreal
I can relate to this one.
Years ago I was a service advisor in a dealership.
Had a customer we've never seen before have his car towed to fix. Won't run.
He's been told it's a fuel pump, so that's what he wants us to do.
I asked if he'd like us to check first and confirm that, as the part was $450 and non-returnable. Also the workshop manager would kick my arse for not offering to diagnose. I made it very clear on the work order that it had been offered and refused.
Come to later in the day, he turns up to pick the car up, and it's done but still not running. He was most annoyed, refused to pay etc.
I explained that I'd asked him to start with if we could check and reminded him that he refused.
He paid his $600 bill and had it towed away, still not running.
Presumably another repairer got to have a go at it, and wondered why we put in a fuel pump to NOT fix the problem.
People can't unstand you cant fix something if you don't know what wrong with it
I remember a customer wanting a diagnosis over the phone. The boss tried to tell her that the vehicle would need to be towed in and checked out. She didn't want to do that. The boss finally told her to hold the phone over the engine so he could look at it. This was way before smart phones with cameras.
😂😂😂 that's funny! Thanks for sharing that one! Keep wrenching 🔧
I worked as a mechanic back in the late 70s to early 90s and loved those customers. Our policy was usually if they had the repair made there would be no diagnosis charge, if not there would be.
It's the same policy now. Many customers still think the time we take to diagnose their car should be free. If a mechanic is taking time from a vehicle on a lift to diagnose a vehicle, they should be paid, period. Thanks for your input & watching the channel. Keep wrenching 🔧
I'm with you. I refuse to suffer the idiocy of others who want something for nothing. I must say, tho, that I have no problem with throwing new parts at a problem if there are a few miles on it. While it may not solve the problem, I now have newer parts & rest easier knowing that those are things I no longer need be concerned with. Kind of like preventative maintenance.
Very few people want something for nothing. What most people do want is something for something
@@maluminse6013 Yeah, the amount of people voting based on either keeping or receiving enhanced entitlements says otherwise.
Trust, fair pricing, and transparency is key in the automotive business. Diagnosis should be paid, I agree
I used to work in IT and customers would ask us how much to write a software package for them.
We’d say I don’t know, what do you want?
We would end up giving them a price to do a price.
Or a quote for a quote. They would expect a final price in the first quote.
The first quote is just to figure out what the hell you want DH.
I think you are right to side step that one. Looking a bit like stolen property 🤠
Owned a family garage that me and my father ran. Worked on cops car, ambulances and county’s vehicles. But when a new customer called in we used snap on and labor books that told us how much to charge. But when asked how much for a computer diagnosis we had a set rate with out testing and than with testing. We always let the customer know the price and if they wanted to proceed. We let them make payments. But we never refused a job unless the customer got rude or didn’t agree with the price. We would always tell them the price we are giving you is as close as we can get until we get it in a bay and look at it closer. But as any good mechanic knows on certain models they have known problems so those was easier.
Nothing like a gut instinct!
I thought I was the only one who got these people Kenny
I've seen the very same situation with electronics and computer repair over the past 35+ years. Most people are decent and understanding, but a few (a few too many!) expect special treatment or free support. Friends & family? Sure. As a favor for someone in need, or as a "pay it forward"? Certainly possible. But when they expect it, and won't work with you to identify or diagnose the problem, then you get disinclined to put forth the effort.
Kenny, you're being practical, that's all.
Absolutely true
😂
My son's friend just got a car given to him because of a similar situation.
His parents car broke down.
They replaced all sensors, a fuel pump, fuel filter, plugs and coil packs, a water pump and thermostat......the list goes on.
He mentioned to them that I am a mechanic, but they didn't care.
I went up and looked at it and noticed the ground straps were broken, all but 1, which was so corroded its not funny.
A new battery and new straps, he now has an 80k mile car with a lot of new parts on it. 😂