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Old September 26th 03, 06:37 AM
Classic Auto Works
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I have to agree hole harted with Bob as I also do this for a living also .So
I see this every day and it has nothing to do with deep pockets .A lot of
customers can't find anyone to work on their car because most of the new age
wrench's don't know diagnostics or at least without a scan tool . They come
to you after some hack has been working on it and figure they have paid once
to fix it so really don't want you to charge anything . Prime case was a 34
Ford that belonged to a 5 Star hotel . They had spent 1500 or so and the guy
did zip and it sat in the parking garage for months since it still wouldn't
run .They brought it to me I told them since they were not car people and
didn't know how to do any maintenance it would save them time and money in
the long run to replace the distributor with an electronic one since parts
for the crab style are almost impossible to get .Took me 2 weeks to convince
them .After I finished I told them I had run the car up to 50 mph with no
problem other than the king pins were wasted .My bill was less than the
other guy that didn't replace anything but all they did was bitch about the
price .
Or maybe the big CEO who flat asked it I would cut my labor rate . Now this
guy has no problem dropping a 100 an hour at the dealer on his new car but
tried to nickel and dime me to build his Nomad for 1/2 that .
Then you have the ones who want discount parts and no labor to do a job and
want a 20 year warranty on your work
The list goes on and on so if it were not for my love of cars I sure
wouldn't put my self through the BS with customers on a daily basis. '
Now do not get me wrong a lot of my customers do care about my quality and
my work standard and say so in voice ,tips ,presents etc but for the
others you REALLY have to love cars to put up with their BS
Most of the cars I refuse are not because of the car it self but the human
that drove it in
Mike Shambarger
Classic Auto Works
> > I'm not trying to get rich or be a hard-ass, but I DO want to get paid
> > fairly for my 40 years experience - much of which came from working on

> most
> > of these "classics" when they were new or near-new, regularly plying the
> > roads.
> >

> <SNIP>
>
> >
> > I love what I do, but just because you look upon it as a hobby, doesn't
> > mean I should be providing my hard-earned knowledge and hands-on skills

> for
> > the enjoyment of it all.
> >
> > Respectfully,
> >
> > Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E.

>
> Bob,
>
> For many of the clients, it is also a passion, we recognize great work,

and
> just as great the experience in good mechanics. Why would we spend our

dough
> to restore these cars way beyond their market value otherwise ? I hope you
> have not had to deal with too many price-quibblers, but most of us do have
> to take into consideration costs (my pockets are not Horns of Plenty) and

I
> always ask about options (usually do it now, later, self, NOS, cored,
> rebuilt ..., but never about labor (hours or cost)) and the most

appreciated
> mechanic is the one that spends the time (his and mine) to explain in
> *detail* what went wrong, what I did wrong, what I should do ....
>
> Good mechanics are rare(er) but gems!!
>
> As to all those guys doing work on moderns, I would not let them change

the
> oil on any of my cars (old or new) if they look at my "rust buckets"
> sideways -- just bad karma I guess but I like the person to enjoy woking

on
> my car and if they grumble I take it elsewhere. Having said that I usually
> find a great guy (club, word of mouth) and stick to him. My father's old
> mech (70's) did work on our cars for over 30 years ....
>
> Keep drvin'
> Eugenio
>
>



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