i dont want to sound like im giving up but...

[golde30]

FUCK YOU... People like you cost me money out of my paycheck each week for playing this little game, then most of the time they bring it back cuz they fuckered it up worse than it was before by using the wrong tools....

isnt this better for business then? b/c they fucked it up worse and now it needs more repairs = more money no? whats the problem here?

[fwappy]

A common oil leak area is the oil cooling lines and the oil cooler itself.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Yeah, but I'm the Service Manager, and I have to run a whole 20 bay shop. People come in all antsy in a hurry asking for URGENT inspections on their car like, "Can you check this out, I'm kinda in a hurry, its an oil leak, can you guys get it back to me by noon" as if they are instantly more important then the 14 customers that came in before they got there, thus Im out there shifting cars around so I can get them inspected and sold. I just do not appreciate someone who knows they are not going to get their car fixed waste my time by implying the will to get it fixed in the begining. I dont get flag, its a Salary + Commission pay job, but my techs, myself, my shop, has to adjust on the fly for people who play this game.

Don't get me started on idiots who atempt to "scan" their car for diagnosis at AutoZone.

[Farbin Kaiber]

isnt this better for business then? b/c they fucked it up worse and now it needs more repairs = more money no? whats the problem here?

No, vicious cycle, then they come back and are only willing to commit to paying what they where quoted when they declined suggested repairs.

[bolognablake]

Did you double-gasket the oil filter?

[euroshark]

1) pay to have it fixed(btw im on a budget)
2)pay to have the problem found and try to fix it myself
3)scrap the project( i dont want to, the 318 just doesn't cut it anymore)

I don't wanna sound like a prick, but I'll go ahead and paraphrase what my dad told me when I bought my Alfa Romeo and experienced my first of many minor issues: Don't be a sissy. If you don't know what's wrong, use your brain and figure out what's wrong. You will learn how to fix it if you want to learn how to fix it.

As far as "giving up" on a project goes, it feels like shit. I gave up on my first Euro 6er because it had tons of rust and electrical issues, and I still have a tiny hole in my heart

But seriously, stick it out. Be smart. Don't give up.

[roundel]

yeah thanks guys im getting back to it today i just got frusturated with the car just because i think i have spent too much time around it in the past two weeks i am getting back to it today

[Jscotty]

I think that we all have had situations that frustrated us only to later discover that the problem was not really that bad, and once you fix it, you like the car again.

Be honest and truthful if you take your car to a mechanic. Tell him that you can't find the source of the leak and you need help finding it. If they charge you $50, you should be happy to pay it. Information is not free and its wrong to steal it. You never know- they might not even charge you.

I got hosed like that a few times as a contractor. Once I did an estimate for a deck and the homeowner asked me to write up a list of all of the materials so that they knew exactly what they were paying for. Then a couple of weeks later I saw the brother-in-law and a couple of mexicans doing the work.

[euroshark]

Information is not free and its wrong to steal it.

I disagree. There is a TON of free information on the internet, and 100% of the issues I have run into with any of my 7 or 8 past cars have been solved using some common sense and searching the internet. In the outside chance something you run into isn't anywhere on the internet, it should be in a manual... Or you can talk to a mechanic.

It is my opinion that there are very very few mechanics out there who are smarter or much more skilled than most of us. The only difference is that they have a piece of paper that shows that they were taught how to do these things by an instructor, and they deal with most problems over and over, whereas you might only run into them once or twice.

- Sorry if I offended anybody who is a mechanic / tech. I seriously considered going to school for it too but decided not to because I figured I wouldn't want to work on my own cars after working on other peoples cars all day long

[delatlanta1281]

It is my opinion that there are very very few mechanics out there who are smarter or much more skilled than most of us. The only difference is that they have a piece of paper that shows that they were taught how to do these things by an instructor, and they deal with most problems over and over, whereas you might only run into them once or twice.

Nope.
There are those that are destined to change oil and those that are destined to diagnose and fix cars. Then there are those who should never ever be anywhere near a rack or a set of jackstands.
It's easy to teach someone how to turn a wrench, but in order to work on cars, you have to be three things,
1. able to handle all types of tools in a strong quick and effortless mannar.
2. You have be able to creativly solve problems every day without frustration or go backs/ wasted time.
3. You have to WANT to work on cars and deal with car owners.

Karbin was right, I can gaurantee that last thursday people came into his shop wanting their cars fixed by Friday regardless of who was in front of them in line. What most people don't understand is that just because you walk into a shop that doesn't appear busy. Most of the time there is no time to get your car done. They are waiting on parts, out on a test drive, waiting for a call back from a customer, or heaven forbid at lunch.


PS,
th internet isn't "free" Info isn't "free". If you have to ask a shop how to do something, you shouldn't be working on the car or whatever it is in the first place.

[euroshark]

Well, agree to disagree I suppose...

I've never asked a shop / mechanic how to fix anything on my cars, and the only thing I can remember consulting a manual for is the torque specs and sequence for my cylinder head. The internet costs money to access, I'll give you that, but it's worth every cent. All of the info on my M30 swap came from the internet, and all of the problem solving, ingenuity, and mechanical skills were learned by me in my garage over the past 6 years.

I suppose my statement

It is my opinion that there are very very few mechanics out there who are smarter or much more skilled than most of us. The only difference is that they have a piece of paper that shows that they were taught how to do these things by an instructor, and they deal with most problems over and over, whereas you might only run into them once or twice.

might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but I'd say that if you are mechanically inclined, intelligent, and have a healthy level of common sense, you probably don't need a mechanic for anything on these old cars.

[Jscotty]

If you search the internet to find the information and you spend the time to decypher the facts from the fiction, then essentially the information is not free. You are actually utilizing your time to hunt for the solution.

[euroshark]

lol.

I'd rather use my time to find the answer than use my money to have the problem solved.

If I pay Bimmerhaus $48 per hour to fix something, they will fix it and I will pay them for it. If I learn how to fix it, I can do it myself and I will know how to do it again if I need to.

I hope I didn't strike a nerve with some of you guys... I didn't say we could all live without mechanics, I was just trying to encourage the guy!

[JK_E30]

th internet isn't "free" Info isn't "free". If you have to ask a shop how to do something, you shouldn't be working on the car or whatever it is in the first place.

Like I said, I only did it once because I wanted to know exactly whats wrong and what I needed.

And yes I should be working on my car in the first place. After hearing the shop wanted $900 to do a clutch swap, I laughed. I laughed again when they wanted $1300 to replace control arms, tie rods and control arm bushings... not gonna fly with me.. Ill do it myself thanks.

Now if I would have taken the time to inspect the problem further, yes I would have figured it out. Yet, like most I have a full time job and I also go to school on weeknights and doing homework etc on the weekends. As you can tell this doesnt leave much personal time.. Thats the reason I did it this one time.

[delatlanta1281]

Euro, good point on the age of our cars, there should only be a couple things that are out of the realm of the adjectives you described. For me electrical is one.


Makeitrain,
I get it. I wasn't referring to you. 900 for a clutch seems pricey, but I know that my brother would pay it if he didn't have my friends and I.