"DSK" wrote in message
...
Don't worry about it, there will always be mechanics. And of those
mechanics, half will be below average and 10% (or so) will be excellent.


Doug Kanter wrote:
I hope you're right. I just had some recall work done on the truck.
Against my better judgement, I let the dealership's idiots do an oil
change, too. Went to pick up the truck and found oil dripping underneath.
You're supposed to remove the skid plate, which is a major undertaking
involving 4 small bolts. The plate gets full of oil when the drain cap's
removed. The service writer's comment: "It don't drip for very long".

You're right, he's a moron. Guys like that should have no connection
whatever with any technical service.


.... I put my credit card back in my wallet and had them finish the job.
I got the feeling they wouldn't want to stop by and clean my driveway.

If you ask around discretely, you can find out which auto shops (dealers &
otherwise) pay the service writers a commission on each job. Avoid those
places like the plague. Believe it or not, our local Toyota dealer doesn't
do this (it's depressingly common practice). Which is good, because my
wife has really tried to kill this car... the fact that it's still driving
pretty well (95k miles) is a testament to it's original quality.

Regards
Doug King


Last Saturday, on the PBS Car Talk show, a doctor called to say that his
wife wanted him to get rid of his Camry, with 95K miles, because she didn't
think it was proper for a doctor to drive a car that old. The caller was
looking for ammo for his ongoing debate with the mrs. The car guys made it
simple: They said that in Los Angeles, where the caller lived (no road salt,
in other words), a Camry with such low mileage wasn't even broken in yet.