What do you hate/love about mechanics?

Dislike:
-Fixes one thing but breaks another
-Doesn't listen when you tell him the symptoms (had a KW dealer once spend 13 hrs chasing a miss with their shop computer diagnostic thing before they actually hooked the laptop up and went for a test drive with me). I have been driving this truck for 5 years guys I think I know when I have miss under load but not in nuetral)
-Leaves a mess
-Price gouging
-Tearing your truck apart and then working on someone else's truck

 

The major problem I have had with mechanics has been with TA. Until not long ago, I have been using TA for most of my pm's. I had to rebuild a transmission a couple of months ago due to their neglect. I had the transmission rebuilt a couple of years ago. A line had cracked or broke and transmission fluid was leaking out. It was not noticeable when the truck was sitting, so it had to leak while going down the highway. The last time I did a pm at TA was shortly before the transmission went out. I had a pm at the TA near Mobile, AL. The so called mechanic did not even grease the drivetrain properly. Had he checked the fluids, I would have known there was a leak, due to the low level and could have repaired it without having to replace the transmission. It would be nice if these manufacturers would design these trucks where you could check the transmission fluid without having to crawl underneath the truck. Due to the lack of lubrication, a couple of bearings went out and destroyed the transmission. This is a problem that is difficult to prove, so I had to eat the cost of the repairs. I will never have another pm at TA. TA lost my mechanic and pm business due to the incompetence of this mechanic. I have had some bad experiences on the road. Like this instance, I remember those who fail to do a good job, just as I do the ones who do a good job.

 

I had a positive experience a couple of years ago with my wife's 4 wheeler. I paid a new mechanic to do some repairs. He broke something taking it apart. He paid for the broken parts himself and stuck with his original estimate. I kept going back to him until he relocated last year. I hated to lose him. He was fair on pricing and I don't think I ever had to take anything back to him. I do some repairs myself due to incompetence and price gouging.

 

I've been contemplating buying my own truck as well. Been pulling wrenches since I was 14 or 15 but professionally since I was 18. Been at it 7 years officially. Just really hard to give up a great paying field job with full benefits and pension. My 3rd cousin's been doing well with it as he just traded up to a brand new Western Star single axle service truck. Its kind of got me jealous lol.

 

Been there man. First mechanic job out of highschool I got working at a vac truck company. 9/10 times the service truck would be out at site somewhere and I'd get sent out from the shop to replace a valve or camlock on a truck working in town. Throw a bunch of tools I might need on the back seat of a half-ton and cross your fingers you selected your tools correctly. I hated that. So glad this outfit I work for now has me in a fully tooled up truck. So nice having everything a guy needs to get the job done correctly and efficiently.

 

First off I wish you luck. A good mechanic will always be able to find work. Heck, even other mechanics that you know and network with will throw you some overflow work. You know, the stuff where the driver calls in and is told that it will be 6 hours before someone can get to him. Meanwhile it is like 500° out and the truck will not start.

As for a lot of responses, they are pertaining to one shot wonder OTR drivers just passing through. The ones that are going to be your bread and butter are the local companies with one to 10 trucks. I remember years ago when I was running a loader we had a mobile mechanic that worked on our stuff. He did not have a shop but he had a decent truck. He did everything for us right down to changing the tires. Oh and this was in Tacoma Washington and we did not have a shop for him to work out of either.

Think about all the dump and log trucks in your area. You are going to get some calls from the OTR drivers but you also need the steady income from local trucks too. Give your business card to EVERYONE!

Remember to keep it simple too. We had one of our drivers call in that the truck died and he thought that he lost the injectors. Well, the boss sent our wrecker out with another truck on the hook to being the truck and trailer back. Once in the shop it would start then die. Turns out he was out of fuel. So make sure you always have fuel on board for this reason alone.

 

My main criteria when I get work done,.. is give me a proper estimate of what it will cost to get the work I need done. Dont add additional expenses or hidden costs at the last minute to nickle and dime me.

Dont have me bring in my truck on a Fri for a 4 hour repair and not even get to it until Mon knowing I needed to have it ready by Mon.

Stand behind your work.

After some trial and error with a few different shop,. I now use 2 shops exclusively for service and repairs.
I dont know about the other guys,.. but when I find a shop that does good work and finishes it on time,.. I will continue to bring it back to them.

Hurst

 

The way that has been working for me so far is that when i give an estimate i give one for money an always one for down time as well, but i try to work on an appointment basis that's what messes up with me cuz if someone just walks in and want to get work done i will turn it down if i have something im working on or someone that's coming in. Also every time i give an estimate i always try to put a buffer of $200 to $300 just in case no one that comes in is going to be mad if the bill comes out less than the estimate, but they always have problem if it comes out more. You always stay behind your work and if you mess something up then it's your fault, you got to eat the cost no if, ands or buts.

 

Hate anything electrical