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There is this odd thing called “pride”.
I try to always do my best no matter what vehicle I work on, but to be honest, a car that is just going to get flipped without the owner wanting it to be the best it can be, I´ld probably do what you did Eric.The cars we have in the family and those that my friends have, I try to pursuade the owner to fix the things that isn´t 100%. If they don´t, experience says, that it´s coming back to bite them at some point and at a much higher price tag.
I take great pride in my work and I´m probably a stickler. I also don´t change 1 caliper on a car, or 1 shock. I always change the pair when it comes to calipers and preferably all 4 when it comes to shocks. They are afterall all worn the same, and the performance should be at least the same on the same axle. I know it´s a more expensive approach but it does give you a better driving experience.
I also don´t repair brakepipes by just cutting out the bad part and putting in an extra joint that could go bad, I swap the entire pipe in its full length.Maybe I am just too detail oriented….. dunno.
What if the person loves there car but can’t afford for certain things for it. Like for instance i take really good care of my cars interior & engine compartment and exterior. But since i live in Nevada and with the extreme heat. It Caused my Accords paint to fade out so bad on the roof and pillars. i so badly want the exterior refinished of my Pearl. But the money for my cars paint i need it for my college classes.
NIghthawk, just because it´s shiny doesn´t mean it´s well taken care of. And just because it´s faded, it doesn´t mean that it isn´t well maintained mechanically. As a tech, it´s easy to see if the car is loved or not. We get to se everything under the car, under the hood, the state of the oil and so on.
My car needs a bit rust repaired as well as a full respray, but mechanically it is spotless. Just like you, I just don´t have the hondos right now That doesn´t mean that my car isn´t loved nor taken care of.
I make sure everything on my vehicle is well maintained actually i think i over maintain it. When ever i have a problem or suspect theres a problem if there ever is. I seek my Factory service maunal and if i cannot find the issue. I get the Honda TSB’s and go from there. Hate to say it but going to the dealership is the last place i go. They just don’t have the same care and love for the cars they service. Its like that at every Honda Dealer here in Las Vegas Nevada. I only go there for oil filters. And small replacement parts like clips and grommets. I mean Overall its just metal plastic and glass but i want my Accord to last forever. And plus it was my dads car so i want it to last for the rest of my days.
I have to say that this is a great topic to talk about. I have come across vehicles that are not treated the best they can be (that is me being nice) sometimes when I work on other people’s vehicles. I do it as a side job so I only work on friend’s and extended friends (you know like friends of friends). I see some of these vehicles and it is not really the owners fault… in a sense. Some of the people that I do work for don’t even know how to do an oil change. No they are not lexus owners or audi or other cars like that im talking about regular Hondas or Toyotas. when you ask them what have they done to the car they tell you things like oh I take it to jiffy lube to get the oil change when the light comes on. First thing that I see messed up is the drain plug right? (kidding of course though sometimes the case sadly). I have heard a lot about these scams that go on in fast oil change locations and know that a lot of the basic things like PCV valve or fuel filter have not been serviced. In these cases I feel like I need to help these guys because they just don’t know. I try to educate them in what they need. Now if the owner does not care about what I have to teach them, then yes I do say ok well ill do what you ask me but if you get other problems, know that they could have been prevented with my suggestions. An example would be when replacing a fuel pump. I advise that fuel filter get replaced and injectors get cleaned as well as the tank. When an alternator goes bad that all cables are checked, When a water pump fails, flush the system out with flush fluid and get radiator flushed by pressure. Things like that. Another scenario I have run into is that they can not afford to fix their car. I am on the poor end of the economic status and as such many friends and coworkers are the same. I help with what I can and try to educate as much as I can as well. If you give the man a fish, you would have feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you would have fed him a life time…..
I just want to put this out there for all the detractors of what I said in this video. As for ‘unloved’ vehicles, it’s not that I do bad work, I just don’t go the extra mile for these vehicles. I still do the repairs, and as you’ll see at the conclusion of the TL engine series, the car leaves better than it showed up. I also fixed the ‘real’ problem with the engine.
If it was a ‘loved’ vehicle, I probably would have taken more time and care to complete the job. In both cases the vehicle would have been fixed. In one instance more time and effort would have been put into it. Some might say that is a bad thing, but when you think about it, if your work isn’t going to be appreciated, why bother to go the extra mile?
What is an unloved vehicle? It has nothing to do with how much money the owner has as some have mentioned. I’ve seen plenty of well looked after vehicles owned by people that didn’t have a lot of money. It’s really about pride of ownership. I think that is something that is evident with vehicles that are either taken care of or not. In the case of this TL, it wasn’t looked after at all. From what I could see, the owner wanted to invest the bare minimum so he could turn it around and sell it.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=165895]I just want to put this out there for all the detractors of what I said in this video. As for ‘unloved’ vehicles, it’s not that I do bad work, I just don’t go the extra mile for these vehicles. I still do the repairs, and as you’ll see at the conclusion of the TL engine series, the car leaves better than it showed up. I also fixed the ‘real’ problem with the engine.
If it was a ‘loved’ vehicle, I probably would have taken more time and care to complete the job. In both cases the vehicle would have been fixed. In one instance more time and effort would have been put into it. Some might say that is a bad thing, but when you think about it, if your work isn’t going to be appreciated, why bother to go the extra mile?
What is an unloved vehicle? It has nothing to do with how much money the owner has as some have mentioned. I’ve seen plenty of well looked after vehicles owned by people that didn’t have a lot of money. It’s really about pride of ownership. I think that is something that is evident with vehicles that are either taken care of or not. In the case of this TL, it wasn’t looked after at all. From what I could see, the owner wanted to invest the bare minimum so he could turn it around and sell it.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.[/quote]
Oh I agree with you entirely on that. If it is a car they will turn around and sell might as well just get it running for them. If the new owner takes pride in it, I’m sure that whatever was overlooked will be fixed. I was referring more to the Fixing it Forward things that you do where it is for a customer who may neglect the vehicle but still wants to keep it. Those who don’t know how to maintain a car or those who cant afford an expensive mechanic to do their repairs.
On a side note, Eric. You do a great job in all of the videos I have seen. I have done extensive research in cars over the past two years I have been studying to work on cars and I have never seen anyone else give as much effort as you to tell it and do it the right way. You go far and beyond to show the proper ways and even teach us tips and tricks. It is very hard to come across someone who does this pretty much anywhere and you have even gone as far as putting this out on the web for us to learn from it. A lot of people do not realize there is a lot of work involved in making videos, editing it and worse having to hold a camera while you try to do car work. Sure you have camera man Brian now but you didn’t when you first started. I want you to know that you have been an idol to me when it comes to car repairs and the automotive industry in general and I have a lot of respect for what you do. Once I graduate and get some money put away, I’ll be sure to come to one of the Meet Eric events you hold once a year. Thank you for all you do.“Rode hard, put away wet” <— LOL
I don't blame you for not treating that car with the best ETCG service. (not that I would be in any position to blame) The owner is flipping it so enough said.
This is interesting for me because I rarely have someone else work on my car but when I take it for its yearly inspection I wash it, vacuum and clean the interior so that it's absolutely the best it can be and presentable for the person who has to sit in it and work on it. Obviously, I keep on top of servicing and maintaining the car so that extra thing might make the inspection guy look at my car in a better way.
I want to make everything as easy as possible as far as putting the seat all the way back for when they have to get in. I feel like this applies to any industry, if you make things pleasant for whoever is working for you they are likely to do a better job.I wonder how the owner of that TL feels when they see the videos though. Are they on the forum?
Eric, back when you were working at a shop or even now, if someone were to bring their car to you for a particular service and ask you do torque everything to spec when you do the work and do everything "by the book" (and they offered to pay extra for the time it takes) would you have done it? Question open to all professionals.
I can say i relate to this, if someone loves their car or at least takes care of it i try to show good quality of work and show it a little extra love than i believe your average technician would. But if something comes into the shop with new species of mold growing on the interior and the owners idea of proper engine lubrication be that the crankcase sludge be of a specific consistency then i usually just do the repairs and send the car on its way.
I really agree with your assessment of this kind of situation. Almost all customer cars are unloved and I always feel like I do better work on them than the owner deserves. Being at a Mitsubishi dealer, the area where this shows is with the Evos (Lancer Evolution). We are a family-run dealership where every male family member owns a Evo and we get people driving Evos from other states past other Mitsubishi dealers to come to us. These are cars that 80% of them are modified and most of those modifications are not done at in my shop.
You really see the difference in love between these cars. All of them are driven very hard and have money hemorraged into them, but you can really see which ones are actually loved vs being driven hard and put away wet. It’s a real thing and a great ETCG1 subject, Eric.
I agree, 100% no matter what as a professional, do the job you are paid to do.
Here is an example of going the extra mile or not.
Customer A comes in with a noise complaint, unevenly worn tires. He/She gets all four new premium tires with an alignment. I’m going to put the tires on and roadforce them, make sure they are to spec, turn the tires on the rim, make sure they are in the best locations, align the vehicle perfectly, program the TPMS sensors so they are to the correct wheel, make sure the wheels are clean. They are going to think they are driving a different car than when they came in and appreciate it.
Customer B comes in with noise complaint, and of course it’s been happening ever since we changed the oil 3 months ago, but they are just now mentioning it, worn out unevenly worn tires, and they only want to replace the one with the steel hanging out of it with the cheapest tire they can get on a bent up rim. I’ll put that tire on there, bolt it on, and let her roll.
Reasoning is that you want Customer A’s to come back because they will give you a good living with minimal stress. Customer B’s actually cost you more and cause you a headache. So, they get what they pay for.
Ive purchased some really beat up cars that it takes years to “spruce up”. Don’t judge a car by its current owner necessarily. Dirty intake manifolds, questionable tape and glue fixes, leaks that apparently went undiagnosed for YEARS. These are things that i personally “inherited” with my vehicles.
However I must also say that while *I* really care about my cars interior, my children do not. So my interiors invariably get destroyed after 5-10 years.Probably better to judge a vehicle by its owner. Are they keen to learn exactly what is wrong? or do their eyes glaze over and they go straight to the price. Are they giving you (or the service writer) little tips about this or that quirk, like a parent taking his kid for a checkup.
And yeah, old cars have bad paint. And as a previous poster noted, paints expensive.
Those 3m kits you were pimping a while back are simply amazing for headlights though. Used them on several cars and it really makes the car look better.
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