<VV> "pay someone who has the skills ... " sorry about the rant ...

[Charles Lee]

Sorry about that - just dredged up memories of just why I want to get back 
to being a little more independent

This site is a great help, and I'm getting back into the swing, and putting 
another Corvair on the road is worth the effort !

Thanks for listening and all the help !

Charlie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charles Lee" <Chaz at ProperProper.com>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2010 10:28 PM
Subject: <VV> "pay someone who has the skills ... "


> While I do not look for the highest price, I look for someone who knows 
> what they are doing, or are recommended by someone responsible.
>
> Most of the early problems were with my father who was "happy" with his 
> mechanic (as I found out later) even if he screwed the car up, because he 
> felt honored that they would deign to work on his car (my father was Chief 
> Inspector at Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage, NY.  Apparently he had a 
> disdain for anything that was stuck to the ground, but how was I to know ?
>
> The last ones were recommended by NAPA from a phone call, admittedly not 
> the best, but Ford (40 miles from home) was trying to sell me a timing 
> belt ($700) just to diagnose the car !  The guy who did the timing belt 
> and head gasket, initially correctly diagnosed that problem as the cam 
> sensor.
>
> Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but throwing money at a problem only 
> solves his problems, and not necessarily your own.
>
> I usually did all my own work, but when I started teaching, I didn't have 
> time, and needed my car, so I paid him to do what he does, while I got 
> paid to do what I do.
>
> OBD caught me off guard because I didn't know it (know more now and my 96 
> Probe is now an 'academic exercise'), and could not really assess if these 
> knew what they said, and they could tell I didn't know, so they did what 
> any Darwinian animal would do, and took advantage of the situation.
>
> So far, two of three law suits have been won, and the third is in the bag 
> although getting the money will be another learning experience, but the 
> subpoenas are being served on banks, DMV, town licensing, SS and IRS as we 
> speak.
>
> They are now shop managers now (for obvious reasons) and cannot hide their 
> income, so we'll see what happens now.
>
> Did I mention my girlfriend who had a her voltage regulator replaced, and 
> when that didn't fix the problem, Gosch Nissan replaced about $1400 worth 
> of parts and wiring before I discovered that they replaced the regulator 
> with the wrong one, which fixed the problem ?
>
> Or my other friend's Mercedes mechanic who wanted to overhaul my Corvair 
> camshafts(s !) to fix an intermittent stalling problem that turned out to 
> be a loose distributor wire ?
>
> There are more ...
>
> Is it because I'm looking for the cheapest price ?  It doesn't seem to 
> matter ...
>
> Yeah, I'm a little testy, especially now that I found a wealth of experts 
> whom I'd be glad to pay for the wealth of knowledge on this site !
>
> OK, I'm finished now ...
> Charlie
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charles Lee <Chaz at ProperProper.com>
> To: Chris & Bill Strickland <lechevrier at earthlink.net>
> Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org
>
> Sounds like you are shopping for the cheapest price. Most shops that have 
> qualified people take pride in their work and guarantee it. Also they hand 
> torque their wheels. I know because I've been the business for 40 years.
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