Repair info

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by khilton305, Jul 2, 2022.

  1. khilton305

    khilton305 Bobtail Member

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    So I just got out of the passenger car repair business after 10 years as a technician and moved on to the heavy truck repair business. The shop I went to is very under equipped and I’m trying to help them become more efficient. One of the things I’m battling is to get the repair information software. We demoed the Mitchell truck series and the boss was really happy with it. Well the problem is the dealer did some kind of bait and switch tactic on us and told us initially that the subscription would be $90 a month which was fine. After the two week trial, we decided to activate the service and then we were told that we were actually going to be paying $280 a month. Boss was not happy with this. So back to the drawing board. I’m looking for a service that gives us wiring diagrams, basic repair info, fluid capacities, torque specs, etc. i don’t need anything extra except for those basic necessities. What are you guys using for this? I can’t seem to find anything else that suits my needs for the right price. I’m sure that’s a typical price but my boss doesn’t understand that. I’m open to other options if you guys have any.
     
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  3. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    Most dealers seem to be pretty open about selling service info.
     
  4. khilton305

    khilton305 Bobtail Member

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    I would think so. Not sure what happened in this situation but the price did change after the demo. In my opinion, the service info pays for itself. $280 is a great price. However, I can’t convince my boss of this. So my next option would be to find cheaper software that he would agree on. That may take a miracle. For now, I have to google stuff which can be really inefficient
     
  5. LoneRanger

    LoneRanger Road Train Member

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    Id be weary of a shop not willing to spend a few hundred on repair manuals for trucks. It would also mean they might not be willing to spend money on tools to get the job done right.
     
  6. Inderjit

    Inderjit Medium Load Member

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    What are you using for diagnostic software? The software
    suppliers usually have something set up for an extra fee.
     
  7. Goodysnap

    Goodysnap Road Train Member

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    As an independent shop the frustration of not having the proper service information is all to real. This is one of the reasons I made the switch from Indy. That and up here in the rust belt got sick of working on old rusty junk.

    The cost of obtaining proper service information must be passed on to the customer. Most often in the form of increased door rate. All part of doing business. Bad thing is trying to work on all makes gets very expensive for info and diagnostic tools and it can be really hard to be profitable.

    Best to specialize in what you like to do and what your good at.
     
  8. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

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    No disrespect, but exactly what advice other than management could a car tech offer a diesel shop?

    7-10k a year for good info is well worth it. Any shop not willing to invest in the ability to quickly diagnose and find info is screwing their customers.

    I used several different resources depending on systems. J Pro, Diesel Laptops, and Manufacturer software.
     
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  9. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    Pretty much everything we use are still paper manuals.

    Nice thing with the digital world is you can put an entire 700+ page book onto a disc that takes up a fraction of the space.
     
  10. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    Can always just throw parts at it based on the code and hope it works :rolleyes:
     
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  11. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

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    I do that at times. Had a blown tire couple weeks ago. No diagnostics at all, didn't even hook up. Just put a new tire on.

    Sumbeech if it didn't hold air. I got lucky
     
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