Waiting for the mechanic.

[Phoenyx]

Well I'm starting to get impatient. I wanted to get the 3.73 rear swapped out from my Bonneville to my Malibu. So I called around to a bunch of shops in my area. They were all backed up for a few weeks. The one I decided on said the first week of October, so I dropped it off there. It is now the 13th of November and they still haven't started on it.

He's suppose to swap the rear (using my new Edelbrock gear), install my LPW rear end cover, go over the brakes and fix anything that is needed (they just feel a little soft), and a safety inspection.

Well I know he's busy and backed up, and so is everybody in town. But come on. Why have me drop the car off over a month ago if he's 'so' backed up? Part of me wants to get mad, just because I wanna drive the car so bad. But part of me understands how things can get backed up and go wrong.

All I know is wanna drive my damn car. Since I bought the car it has spent more time sitting at the shop waiting than I have spent driving it.

Any of you have anyting like this happen?

 

[dan2286]

I would try telling him you want the car back. You found another place that will do it cheaper and get it done sooner. It might get done alot faster.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Why not just do it yourself?

 

[jatguit]

Why not just do it yourself?

Not everyone has the place the tools and the expertise to do it ourselves.
I can do alot in my little pop-up garage, but there are some major things that I won't attempt, and I can mostly afford to have someone else do those jobs anyways.

I contemplated doing the brakes and lines on my car but am SOOO glad I didn't. I have a shop I have known them for years and I went in to see how they were doing from time to time and even lended a hand. The shop took their time and did the fuel lines also. Thankfully I got the pre-bent brake lines that helped considerably. They also rebuilt the front end while I got all the parts upper arms brand new and the lower control arms re-done by a person at a machine shop I frequent.

They started it when they told me but it dragged out for a month or so longer than I was told. but it was winter and I wasn't going to use the car until spring time anyway, since I have other cars for use. Although the wifes VW started acting up, like it usually does, so I was getting a little nervous we were going to be down to one car for use in the winter. I hate working on cars in the North East winters.

 

[Mr. Brezz]

My Story sounds similar!

I bought my Cutlass and had it dropped off directly at the trans. shop. They were actually very good on time, price and professionalisim. After it was done I asked the guy that runs the front desk if he knew a shop that was good at rebuilding engines?! He gives me a card with the name of a shop right there in the same Industrial Park. So I go there and talk to the guy and he sounds really enthused to get started on my car. The price was in my budget and I said lets do this. He tells me I could drop the car off next week and he would be done in "2-3 weeks"! So I wait till the following week and show up at his shop, and to my amazment he is "suprised" to see me? I mean whats the deal here, you told me to come. So he takes the car and again ensures me he will be keeping in touch.

Now I know how people can bug, so I waited till the 4th week before I ever called he to see the deal. Mind you, I never received a call from him either! He tells me when I called there that they have been backed up and he as YET BEGIN TO START my car yet!!!!!! Boy was I heated! The car was not done for months! Just be strait up with your customers! If your busy and cant do it SAY SO!

After the car came back from that I had the QuadraJet reworked. Now I now look back and think the previous shop probably had influnce on my decision here. But I thought this shop had my car way to long as well, at least it was longer then the time frame I was given!

Now I attend UTI and plan on doing all the work MYSELF! And being a good business man, which apperantly this country lacks!

 

[Uncletruck]

You are best off just learning to do the work yourself if you can. As these cars are all now classics at 20-30+ years old, being able to do certain things youself is almost a must, for a couple good reasons. One, you won't want to waste the time or money taking the car to a shop every time something goes wrong with it. And mind you, things will go wrong on a semi-regular basis if you drive it any amount. Most of the things that happen to these cars are relatively simple to fix if you own some decent hand tools and have some shop maanuals, and most of the common parts are available at the local parts store or online.

Second, repair shops that know anything about these cars are getting very scarse, and finding any that work with a good level of quality and attention to detail is about impossible. The only things a typical repair shop is usually concerned about doing are high volumes of simple money maker jobs such as brakes and tires, and they couldn't care less about taking the time to figure out things on a classic car. That is why your car gets set aside for months when you bring it somewhere, because they aren't going to make a lot of profit on your job. They don't understand RWD, older types of transmissions or carburetors. And their quality of work on this type of thing will generally be sub-par at best, sometimes giving you more problems afterwards than the car had before you brought it there. It's not their car, and they don't care about it or you or your enthusiasm for your classic car when they have a parking lot full of beat up Caravans needing brake jobs with moms calling because thier daughters are missing dance recitals.

These cars are simple. Buy a few books and tools, and you'll amaze yourself at what you can do on your own.

-UT-

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I can't afford to pay a mechanic, so I own the tools to do it all myself. I think I do a more conscientious job than someone who is paid flat rate by the job to screw up my car. Even if I mess up, replacing almost anything that breaks on a G body is less than the labor cost. I do farm out transmissions from time to time, but I do the R&R myself.

Plus, these are OLD cars now. Things break on a relatively frequent basis, so doing it yourself is the only way to stay out of the poor house.

 

[jrm81bu]

I can't really stand the idea of letting someone else work on my car. I don't trust anyone but myself. The gf works in the parts dept. at a Ford dealer and i tell her if anyone else works on her car i won't touch it again. Hell i mount most of my own tires on a manual changer from Harbor Freight.

 

[BrownGP83]

I prefer to do all the work on my cars, pickups, and motorcycle myself. I do leave the bodywork to a pro, i just cant seem to get it right. Very few shops want to see cars that they can't plug in to a computer that tells them what is wrong. that and they dont care how they treat other peoples vehicles[not all shops, but quite afew i've seen]. With the right manual and some basic hand tools, you can do practically everything you need on g-bodys and most older cars for that matter.

 

[Phoenyx]

Well I've done my own work on my cars for well over 10 years. But right now I have no place or tools to do it myself.

The thing that pisses me off the most is that I know it's an easy job. I've swapped g-body rears before. Could easily be done in a afternoon.