mechanic wanted in CO (lengthy reply)

[George Selby]

At 09:45 PM 8/6/01 -0400, you wrote:
>I am seeking a reputable Audi mechanic in the Arvada, CO area.  Some one =
>who is willing to install parts that I purchase for my 1989 200 TQ, and =
>not feel the need to charge a premium to make up for loss of commission =
>on parts.  For example I want to replace my rear differential with a =
>used one, rather than repair and replace the center oil seal.  Someone =
>who does not think it is prudent to replace both front axles, when all I =
>need is new CV boots,  just because it is more convenient for them. =
>Possibly I am expecting to much, but I don't think so.  If you agree, =
>please reply with a mechanic that you would recommend.

         Yes, you are expecting too much.

         If you know (and apparently you do) that mechanics use parts 
markups to increase profits, how can you expect someone to simply give this 
up with no compensation and still do as good a job?  Here's how I do parts 
pricing.  If you want to buy the parts from a parts house where I get no 
discount anyway (Like Auto Zone or Parts America,) I will encourage you to 
go get them before you drop the vehicle off (I can call ahead and have it 
waiting for you to pick up so there won't be any question if it's the right 
part.)  If I have to go get them myself (it's a one hour round trip to any 
parts store from my house, except NAPA which is only 5 minutes away,)  then 
I will charge you for gas and time.  If you want to buy the parts from 
somewhere else (like you get a special discount where your girlfriend 
works, or internet parts) fine, but if they are wrong, you go get the right 
ones, and I charge rack time if you are clogging up my work area for an 
extended period (unless you get them from a place where I do a lot of 
business, then I can usually straighten things out quickly.)  If you want 
parts from somewhere that gives a discount to me (a professional courtesy 
discount,) then I will charge you what you would have paid anyway (the list 
price.)  The discount is to get ME to buy parts from them, not to get you 
parts cheaper.  At NAPA, where I get a huge discount (sometimes more than 
50%, typical dealer discount is 20% off list, ) I generally split the 
discount down the middle with the customer.  Just as a side note, you 
generally get what you pay for in parts.  A NAPA alternator, for instance 
will cost more than an AutoZone alternator, even after the 50% 
discount.  They are better alternators, though.

         If a repair is unsuccessful, the more I had to do with the parts 
selection, the more reasonable I am going to be on any warranty.  Like if 
you dump off a bunch of cheap seals and gaskets, and your head leaks after 
I'm done, I going to disassemble it and determine whether it was the bad 
gaskets or my work that caused the problems.  If it was the gaskets you 
selected, then you are paying again.  If I selected the seals and gaskets, 
I will probably just do it again no charge.  Actually that's a bad example 
because on a head job I would insist on getting a certain brand gasket for 
a given car.  Maybe a better example would be a valve cover gasket.  You 
have two choices, cork or rubber.  Cork are a pain to get to seal, rubber 
is a dream.  Cork takes longer to install, rubber is quicker.  So if I tell 
you to get a rubber gasket, and you come back with a cheaper cork one, then 
it leaks in 1000 miles, don't be surprised when I charge you to replace it 
again (especially if I quoted labor based on a rubber gasket,) and this 
time insist you get a rubber one.  It would have been cheaper to get a 
rubber one the first time, I tried to tell you.  But you'll insist I'm 
doing shoddy work or trying to screw you over.
         I think most mechanics would be receptive to replacing a unit with 
a used unit that you acquired, with the condition that the mechanic is not 
responsible for any rework necessary by the used part (if it has to be 
installed twice, you pay twice!)  If the part is greasy you are going to 
have to clean it yourself or pay me to do it.  If you want me to go pull 
the used part myself and then stick it in, then you have to pay my time to 
go pull the part, and you still don't get a warranty on the labor (you get 
whatever parts warranty the junkyard offers.)   This frequently eliminates 
any price savings over a new part, unless it's a major part.
         CV joint repair is another matter.  It is simply not cost 
effective to replace CV boots when you can get rebuilt units as cheap as 
they are presently available.  Same reason no one rebuilds starters or 
alternators anymore, unless it's an expensive, hard to find unit.  For one 
thing it makes a big fat mess all over the place.  You have to let parts 
soak, then air dry without blowing with compressed air which adds down time 
where nothing can be done (I can only fit one car on my concrete pad where 
cars can be lifted, for example, while waiting for the CV joints to soak I 
can only do simple repairs on other cars.)  IF everything goes exactly 
right and no parts are worn, then you might save $10 bucks by replacing 
boots over the entire axle once you figure in the labor costs, but if 
anything goes amiss, then it is a wash or worse costs more (So it's going 
to cost you the same either way I fix it, but it's only going to clog up my 
shop for 1/2 to 1/3 the time for R&R as opposed to a rebuild, see why no 
one rebuilds?)   After you have done 50 CV axles or so, you start to 
realize things like this.  If you really must have the genuine Audi parts, 
either pay up for new ones or do it yourself or take it to a dealership 
(where it might actually be cost effective to rebuild the units,) because 
I'm not going to rebuild it, it's simply not time effective for me to do it.
         If you want to do work like described in your scenarios above, you 
need to buy the tools and learn to do it yourself, that's where the savings 
is in auto repair, not in saving a couple of bucks on parts.  For instance 
I'm replacing the clutch in my personal truck.  The clutch itself is 
$250.  Plus my flywheel was messed up, cracked and heat blued and grease 
contaminated.  That is $350.  The tranny jumps out of 3rd gear, too, so 
while it's out I'm rebuilding it.  $250 in parts alone.  Flywheel being 
contaminated means rear main seal need replacing.  It's cheap, but I gotta 
drop the oil pan and mess with the crank to fix it.  If this someone were 
paying to fix this truck, you could add $1000 to the parts bill in labor, 
and it would probably end up in a junkyard.  This started out as a $500 
dollar clutch job (if I was charging.)  To get done right it would end up 
over $2000.  If you went super cheap on the parts (used tranny, used 
flywheel, el cheapo clutch) it would still cost nearly $1750, and you have 
the chance of the used tranny or flywheel being bad, or the clutch 
prematurely slipping, which would necessitate taking everything out again 
to re-repair it, and me having to hear you complain for a long time.  You 
see why as a mechanic with good conscious I can't let you take the cheap 
route, that $250 gamble could cost you a lot more and me a big headache and 
time waste (I hate doing the same repair on the same vehicle twice, 
especially when I told you so, even if getting paid.) (As a side note to 
Huw, you'll be happy to know I degreased and repainted all the drivetrain 
parts in the truck that were out alternating from part to part between 
Semi-gloss black {tranny and t-case} and Ford engine blue {bellhousing and 
t-case adaptor!})

         Customers like you invariably spell bad news.  You want quality 
work done at a (substantially) discounted price, and you won't listen to 
the better judgement of your mechanic (we generally aren't trying to screw 
you, just get you to pay the amount necessary to get the job done safely 
and right the first time with a good chance of a permanent repair) and then 
you complain a lot when what we told you so happens.

George Selby
70 F-100 Ranger XLT 400 C6
78 F-150 4x4 400 4 spd
83 Audi Coupe GT
86 Nissan 300ZX
92 Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD
gselby4x4 at earthlink.net