chit chat thread

[rampelsauce]

P_Roloff said:

There's a reason my member title is what it is. You don't want to do it, trust me.

And your user name is because you like Rolos and front engine front wheel drive cars.

[Rekpoint]

I think I'm gonna do it

[Jdesign]

Plot twist, I never used my snow tires this year. (sorry for all the snow)

[REKIII]

HipMF said:

Are you even from here?

A few nice days in March and people forget what state they're in. There's a month of sub-freezing temperatures and possible snow in our future. The consequences of getting caught 100 miles from home on summer tires in a snow/ice storm is a lot worse than a little tread wear.

Yes.  Yes I am.  I'm not nearly as well off as most of you here, so saving the tread and driving a bit slower in the unlikely event of a storm looks pretty good to me.

[straight6pwr]

REKIII said:

Yes.  Yes I am.  I'm not nearly as well off as most of you here, so saving the tread and driving a bit slower in the unlikely event of a storm looks pretty good to me.

i don't really know you, but don't you have a Lotus and a Raptor and other BMW vehicles? Buying rare wheels for your lotus? It sounds like you're doing just fine.

[REKIII]

straight6pwr said:

i don't really know you, but don't you have a Lotus and a Raptor and other BMW vehicles? Buying rare wheels for your lotus? It sounds like you're doing just fine. 

Yes....but obviously the life of my winters is more valuable to me.

[rampelsauce]

My winters have irregular wear due to my M3 being fucking fucked. I also bought them mounted and ready to go for like $150 so I guess what I'm saying is I'm going to have to cancel all summer activity to replace them.

[Jdesign]

I was just too lazy this year to raise my car. Then I would have had to also get on a ladder to get my winter tires down off of a shelf that I built WAY TOO HIGH. Then I would have to install them.

Dying in a snow storm sounds much easier, and less labor intensive..

[rampelsauce]

I think I'm going to to a brake stand with my winters just because they're shot and I want to refinish my cool steelies.

[Nick_F]

Anybody on here familiar with laws regarding auto repair estimates? I was quoted 1.5 hours (195 dollar) and they just called after finishing the job to let me know its 432 dollars now and the car is ready for pickup

[m42b32]

Nick_F said:

Anybody on here familiar with laws regarding auto repair estimates? I was quoted 1.5 hours (195 dollar) and they just called after finishing the job to let me know its 432 dollars now and the car is ready for pickup

@andyhundley might know?

[YoungCR]

Nick_F said:

Anybody on here familiar with laws regarding auto repair estimates? I was quoted 1.5 hours (195 dollar) and they just called after finishing the job to let me know its 432 dollars now and the car is ready for pickup

Do you have a written estimate? that would help significantly but unless they added other items not requested, bargaining is your best bet before small claims court.  Its still cheaper than the other quotes you got but at the same time you went there because it was so cheap. That sucks.

[Nick_F]

Yea I have a signed estimate I gave them and kept a copy of. Estimate was for 1.5 hours and they just told me I owe for 3

[rampelsauce]

Nick_F said:

Anybody on here familiar with laws regarding auto repair estimates? I was quoted 1.5 hours (195 dollar) and they just called after finishing the job to let me know its 432 dollars now and the car is ready for pickup

If you signed something that says you allowed them to do the work you might be f'd.  I'm with Chris on the bargaining with a printed quote.  There are plenty of shops whos MO is to quote low but sell high.  Good luck bud.

[straight6pwr]

try to come to an agreement on the price. if they don't fold, pay em, walk away and never go back. your keys in their possession are stronger leverage than the extra $ they are trying to get from you. really, your only recourse is to pay and fight in claims court later.

i'm not sure how car shops don't see that a customer coming back in the future (and telling more people they had a good experience) is more valuable than whatever extra cost they are trying to dump on you now.

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

i'm not sure how car shops don't see that a customer coming back in the future (and telling more people they had a good experience) is more valuable than whatever extra cost they are trying to dump on you now.

Especially now that people all check reviews online before going somewhere. All you have to do is leave one bad review and their business could take a serious hit...

[Nick_F]

Yea, I'll be trying to come to an agreement but not double. I guess we shall see what happens but you're right. A happy customer brings more business

[patsbimmer1]

Nick_F said:

Anybody on here familiar with laws regarding auto repair estimates? I was quoted 1.5 hours (195 dollar) and they just called after finishing the job to let me know its 432 dollars now and the car is ready for pickup

You're in luck!  I deal with this for a living!  So if you signed for $195 then you owe $195 unless you verbally authorized more.  The catch would be knowing the exact wording in the line you signed and of it says something where you "agreed" to paying more within a percentage of the quoted price.  Unfortunately unless they agree to allow you to pay less then you'll end up paying it then filing a complaint with the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection which will take weeks.

[P_Roloff]

patsbimmer1 said:

You're in luck!  I deal with this for a living!  So if you signed for $195 then you owe $195 unless you verbally authorized more.  The catch would be knowing the exact wording in the line you signed and of it says something where you "agreed" to paying more within a percentage of the quoted price.  Unfortunately unless they agree to allow you to pay less then you'll end up paying it then filing a complaint with the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection which will take weeks.

This is good info, noted for future reference.

[patsbimmer1]

m42b32 said:

Especially now that people all check reviews online before going somewhere. All you have to do is leave one bad review and their business could take a serious hit... 

This is something we're all told but to be honest it really depends on the number of reviews that company has and how good their marketing team is.  Just like anything else these reviews can be easily manipulated, deleted, etc.  You can mine for good reviews and easily hide any bad ones without doing much work.  Try looking at product reviews and tell me how many of those are honest reviews and how many were paid advertisements.  Also, from my perspective there are tons of fabricated stories that paint the writer as a victim when in reality they left out key details.  So how reliable are these reviews?  For example, a recent one: Customer wrote a bad review because their wheel came loose while driving after having tires put on.  In reality they failed to mention that after further investigation we found through Carfax that a week after leaving our shop they took it to another shop and had the brakes replaced on THE SAME WHEEL THAT CAME OFF.

Good reviews and word of mouth certainly help in auto service but based on market data I've seen reviews are typically the 3rd or 4th reason somebody chooses a repair facility.  Writing a review may help get you heard and rectify your situation but more often than not if it's an independent shop they may not care and the person reading and responding to your review may be the same person you dealt with at the shop.  Bad reviews are a great way to make people feel better and vent but other than that you're better off reaching out to the DATCP and starting your legal paper trail there.  Nobody remembers the bad review someone else wrote, they only remember the experience they had and will defend that experience regardless of others experiences.

For clarity sake, this is not me defending poor service from a shop.  That's absolutely unacceptable in an industry that relies heavily on paying someone to be the expert trust is key to building relationships.  Many people have worked very hard over the decades to remove the "grease monkey" image and mentality from the industry and these shit hole scam artists that continue to perpetuate this image should be wiped from the face of the earth.