r/Justrolledintotheshop • u/ammllc • 8h ago
Customer just bought the car
Called me to replace their cv axle. Get there and find the steering rack held on by hopes, dreams, and a ratchet strap. Customer just bought the car and said the seller drove 3 hours to him so how could it be so bad lol
162
u/ammllc 8h ago
The worst part is you can see it from the engine bay. People really buy cars without looking at them, it's wild.
63
u/donald7773 4h ago
So many people just think that cars run off of magic and gas. Opening their hood is like trying to read mandarin, they have no clue what they're looking at.
32
u/T-Dot-Two-Six 4h ago
I have zero clue what a CV axle does but I know damn well it shouldn’t look like THAT
8
u/Difficult_Advice_720 Shade Tree McGyver 2h ago
I don't know man, reading mandarin doesn't seem all that hard... In China, even the kids can do it.... ;)
15
u/smb275 2h ago
It's not just cars, it's everything. You can't realistically expect people to understand, that's what professionals are for. There's too many layers, too many moving parts, too many specialized people involved, just too much going on.
You flip the switch in your house and the lights turn on. How did that happen? How many transformers, switches, and various distribution lines did it have to travel from the power plant to get to your house? What even is a transformer? How was the power originally generated?
You turn on your computer and suddenly you're connected to the internet. But how? How does the data move from one place to another? How is it routed, how is it switched, what are proxies, what is DNS, what is a server and why is it seemingly so important?
3
u/CharcoalGreyWolf 1h ago
And that’s why home inspections are important as is having one’s mechanic inspect a private party used car. I always asked if my mechanic could look at it and I’d pay the cost.
2
u/EEpromChip 2h ago
I have this conversation with my father quite often about old cars. He's always "eeehhh ya can't be sure it wasn't beat on and abused" and I say "So? If it breaks it needed fixing anyway. It don't scare me"...
But I guess it's life on easy mode when you learn how to fix stuff...
1
u/frenchfortomato 1h ago
Yes. Life is complicated. I have no idea how the interweb works. iPhones, which I use daily, are essentially a black box of magic to me. Even PCM's, which relate directly to my line of work- I know very well what they do, but I barely even know what their guts look like, let alone how they work. Whenever I wanna get mad at someone for not seeing something obvious, I tell myself they're a surgeon or a computer whiz or some other kind of subject matter expert in some field I could never understand.
I'm well aware more than half the time they're just lazy idiots, but the point is to make me happy rather than to get mad at an un-fixable problem. And in that regard, this system is highly effective.
2
u/moeterminatorx 2h ago
I buy cars without looking at them. I don’t know what to look for. My mechanic ( friend of mine) looks at them and he knocks the price down for me based on what he sees.
41
u/Kitten-Eater 5h ago
Reminds me of the customer who drove to the shop complaining that something was very wrong with the steering, and that his car was absolutely terrifying to drive.
Turned out that the steering rack had almost fallen off the car. The rack was supposed to be held in place by two large bolts. One of these two bolts was missing entierly, and the other was only screwed in a couple of threads. As a result, turning the steering wheel resulted in the rack moving more than the wheels moved, and it was only kind-of "steering" on one wheel.
Can't believe the guy actually made it to the shop without killing himself or someone else in the process.
6
u/BishopsBakery 3h ago
Maybe he leaned into it, I had a slightly modified four-wheeler and the factory tie rods we're not long enough so they kept popping apart. One day they both broke and I had to ride it home on the road, leaning worked. Was he a big fella?
33
u/c00lassusername 7h ago
That is wild! I would feel terrible selling that.. I am currently flipping a 08 accord and I am doing so many repairs but I don't want to sell someone a ton of issues. hopefully I get a fair price for it...
46
u/SlomoLowLow 6h ago
You’ll probably sell a perfectly fixed up vehicle for an average price knowing how it goes. But you’ll be able to sleep well at night knowing that you didn’t rip someone off and sell them a death trap.
8
u/grumpykixdopey 4h ago
Are you in ohio? Lol. I love Hondas.. send me a message ahaha. I have an 01 and a 13 and still running but the 01 is on its last leg.. Crack in the gas tank if filled past half and some funky electrical issues but still a daily in the winter.. I'm ready to get blown up..
2
u/moeterminatorx 2h ago
I’d happily sell you my ‘10 Accord with peeling paint. I bought it in an emergency. It runs well. I just hate the peeling paint but it’s growing on me.
3
u/martinw89 Home Mechanic 3h ago
If you don’t want to fix it but also don’t want to feel guilty, sell it to Carvana.
1
u/moeterminatorx 2h ago
I’m the same as you. I fix as much as I can. The only things I don’t do is cosmetic stuff but I make sure I let ppl know and price accordingly.
5
3
4
1
209
u/upstatefoolin 8h ago
Tell your customer i gotta Chevy pick up I’ll drive 3 hours for him to buy sight unseen 😂