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my favorite mechanic, seemed to be some sort of 'survivalist' probably served in an elite branch of the military. focused only on the machine's issues.
I saw something exactly like this in person when I lived in Orlando. Some woman drove in to a quick lube place and entered the bay without waiting for someone to guide her and drove right into the pit.
I'm a shade tree mechanic so I guess it counts. My fiance was on her way to my house, about half hour drive, she called me up saying her brakes were getting soft and the pedal would sometimes go to the floor. She pulls in the drive way I jack up the car pull the front tire off. The inside of the rim was covered in brake fluid. She had let it go so long with changing the brakes that the inner brake pad was non existent, just the piston of the caliper pushing against the rotor, and that piston came out far enough that it drained the brake fluid.
A little off topic but I've seen vehicles fall off of a lift twice. Both were pickup trucks. Trucks can be a little shaky to raise with a frame contact lift because of the way the frame rises over the rearend housing. It leaves a whole lot of overhang.
First one had a large metal tool box right behind the cab. I guess the tech assumed it was bolted down. It wasn't. He got it about halfway up when the box started sliding towards the tailgate just enough to shift the weight to the rear and off it went. When it hit the floor it bent the frame up a good six inches. Good thing it was an old beat up, worn out work truck and not worth a lot.
The other was a nice two year old GMC. Not sure how he dropped it but it ended up on it's side between the posts of a two post lift. Damnedest noise you ever heard, almost as bad as the noise the side of the truck made sliding on the concrete when the wrecker dragged it out of the bay.
A little different perspective. As a retired VW mechanic needed a pressure plate and clutch disc for my bug. Am always driveing past this huge bldg that advertises "Foreign Auto Parts" At one time they had a sign that said VW parts...but think they may have changed hands.
Go in and ask the guy if they have VW parts. "Yes he says" great.
"I need a 200mm Pressure plate and Clutch Disc for a bug" I says.
He replys "what year?".
I say "Pick any year from 1966 on".
He repeats "What year?".
I reply " I am a retired VW mechanic and they are all the same from 1966 and later"
He looks at his computer screen and says "We don't have any in stock but can have the part in 2-3 days.
My answer "Thanks, but I need the parts today thankyou".
How would a customer feel if you told them that it would take 2-3 days to get a small common part.
A guy came in with a Toyota truck he just put front pads on and it was grabbing and making an awful grinding noise. Yes, he put the drivers side outer pad on backwards, metal backside against the rotor. And drove it about 10 miles that way to the shop. At least I didn't get blamed for that one.
My newspaper delivery person was coming up to my mailbox and her left rear wheel was skidding on pavement and when she stopped she said she was hearing a loud noise coming from rear and car was having trouble going down road. Her brakes were completely worn out and had broken apart and locked up rear wheel.
She thanked me and continued on her route dragging her rear tire.
I was getting an oil change and overheard a tech on the phone with a gal....it went something like this....
"Yes miss, the engine will need to be rebuilt"
"Did you take it anywhere else for an oil change since you were last here?"
"Well that's not our fault, your last oil change was almost 2 years ago"
I sure have noticed an unfair share of German car owners being the butt end of these jokes.
When I was a BMW Service Advisor, we had a customer bring a 4 or 5 year 318i in. She had called ahead, complaining that the paint had failed and allowed rust to form. She wanted a new paint job. Being in the south, and looking up her history and seeing that the car had been sold down here, I found it extraordinarily unlikely that the paint had even begun to fade, let alone rust. We set up an appointment, and she brought the car in. Her plastic bumper cover was dirty, and I explained that it was impossible to rust. She then told me that it was metallic colored paint and the paint was rusting.
I then opened her trunk, (and it was the same story in under the hood) and showed her the famous North Carolina Long Leaf Pine straw that had built up in the corners, and the pine sap was running down from rainwater. She looked right at me and said "Ain't no PINE trees in my YARD!" I said, "Ma'am, there's a pine tree in your trunk, I can get our detail department to give you a quote to clean it." She left, grumbling that BMW should pay for the "damage."
Not a a mechanic be funnt story anyways. Years ago I worked with a guy that bought is first car. It was big hughe station wagon. One day at work he told us that his car broke down and the mechanic cannot figure it out. Compleatly joking I said " was there in gas in it?" he looked at me a said "yeah, I put $15 in gas in it 2 weeks ago" Everyone started laughing, dude you ran out of gas. He called his mechanic and the mechanic put gas in it and it started up.
I was doing an oil change on this lady's vehicle in a shop where the customers can watch the mechanics. As she was eating an ice cream cone, she asked how often should she change the oil. At the time, that manufacturer recommended every 7,500 miles, but I suggested that she do a LOF every 5,000 miles. She responded that 'I wish somebody would've told me that, I just kept adding oil until my last vehicle engine blew up'
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Rusty Paint
