Re: IML: dealer wont work on car

["christopher sicklesSR." <sicklessr@xxxxxxxxx>]

it would help if the newer cars was not so complicated that you need a degree from nasa to repair them. i been turning wrenches since the age of 16, i am not the greatest mechanic out there having to depend on local shops to bail me out of a jamb but i try and depend on my past experiences and knowledge to help guide me along. i too have run into the dealership problems, the fact that my imp is a 91 means parts are outdated and no longer redilly available, bummer! but i been lucky thanks to places like autozone and advance advance auto parts who carry the parts i need, a good chiltons or haynes auto manul is a godsend to the novice home mechanic and does help diagnose most problems step by step. patience and persistence my friends! don't lose faith in your abilities and you should be fine.

christopher sicklesSR.

1991 imperial 4 door

elkton,maryland

mike and linda sutton <mikanlin62@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Right On Mark!
>
> I agree with and echo what you said about dealerships not working on 10 year 
> old cars, and what you said about there being a time when mechanics could 
> fix cars. I too spent my fair share of years working on other people cars, 
> and I am very grateful that when I got into the industry you actually FIXED 
> cars and not just one limited make and model. With no malice towards anyone 
> who might be reading this and working in the industry or towards any 
> particular dealership, it absolutely positively sucks to see the kind of 
> stuff that passes for maintenance and repair today.
>
> I started in the profession in 1978, right out of high school, and worked 
> while I was taking automotive, diesel truck and equipment classes at a local 
> community college. We never had the luxury of declining what we would work 
> on, or what we
>  would be doing on a particular vehicle. One day it was a 
> valve grind job on a 65 Malibu 327, the next day maybe an old enclosed 
> driveline in a 38 Ford truck, then maybe the next day it was a brand new ( 
> at the time ) New Yorker with a lean burn ...every day was different. We 
> didnt get to choose what systems we didnt want to work on, or what we didnt 
> like to work on. It was the same way in the parts side of things, you 
> actually found people who could do more than type information into a 
> computer and stare blankly when you asked them a technical question.
>
> I do think there are some mechanics - I bristle at the term technician - who 
> do care and who are interested in learning across the board, but they are 
> probably not the norm. Most of them are trying to beat the flat rate and 
> deal with service writers who are more often than not unfortunately a washed 
> out mechanic who couldnt diagnose his way out of a wet paper bag, but now
>  
> gets to tell the guys in the shop what is next on their plate. I do not envy 
> them their position in that regard.
>
> Am I sour, no..maybe jaded. Try finding someone who can set points, flash a 
> generator regulator ( what the heck does that mean some are asking ) , 
> someone who didnt grow up on OBD II and newer. I know thats the way of the 
> newer vehicles, like the TV technician.
>
> It may just be a matter of perspective, I know some of the import guys who 
> can work their way around a laptop and tune their cars to the nth degree, 
> shame that most mopars have more horsepower in their starter motors than 
> they can get after dumping a fortune into them. Its just what they grew up 
> with and know how to work on.
>
> Im in aviation now, and it has its rat races too. One nice thing, the parts 
> cost too much to just throw them at the airplane until its fixed. We 
> actually get to diagnose, troubleshoot and verify problems before we fix
>  
> them. We also quite often have to go up on the test flight, so theres a 
> definite incentive to get it right the first time.
>
> Mikey
> 62 Crown Coupe 
>
>
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