I may have seen it all..... (1 Viewer)

[Alan]

OK....I run a tire/automotive shop, and I've seen my share of crazy stuff that people have done to 'fix' their own car, or mount the worng tires, etc. So today a guy comes in, who just purchased a 1991 S10 Blazer, 4WD. He wants the brakes checked (pedal goes to floor) alignment (doesn't drive right to quote him) and wheel balance (vibration). My tech goes to pull the vehicle in and inspect it. The wheels are off of a full size 1/2 ton Chevy. Here lies a wee bit of a problem.....full size chevy, mid 90's, bolt pattern of 5 on 5. S10 Blazer 5 on 4 3/4.....the studs are actually at weird angles to 'fit' the wheels....

Needless to say, I asked the guy to come get the car....we will not be touching that one!!

My tech explained to him (in espanol) to start with he can buy 4 wheels that fit and all new wheel studs......

 

[d'kid]

See what happens when you let modern day model builders get hold of a real wrench.....

OKay, so I put 1/16 scale wheels and engines on/in 1/25th scale cars...
sounded like a good idea at the time... (45 years ago)

d'kid

 

[yoda]

OKay, so I put 1/16 scale wheels and engines on/in 1/25th scale cars...
sounded like a good idea at the time... (45 years ago)

d'kid

That's OK Karl.. At least you didn't start waxing your truck with 320 grit...

(Hi RG! )

 

[Alan]

OKay, so I put 1/16 scale wheels and engines on/in 1/25th scale cars...
sounded like a good idea at the time... (45 years ago)

d'kid

So you were 'Donking' your models 45 years ago!! You may have started the current crze!!!

 

[d'kid]

So you were 'Donking' your models 45 years ago!! You may have started the current crze!!!

surprising what we did in the mid to late 60's... 25th parts in 32nd cars... most of the bashing happened after lil sis and bro "played" with my stuff... I hated it when my models died from un-natural causes....

then there was the 1/8th hot rod kit and 1/8th split window vette kit, along with one my buddy marc gave up building and a bunch of K&S brass tubing and a soldering iron, and a couple of plastic 'keep of the grass signs', and a tube of glazing putty, and...

been werkin' on a 1/16th summer of 69 version of the Beebe and Mulligan car on and off over the last two years... gonna get back on it after daughter and the grandsons head out next week...

d'kid

 

[Mike]

Only in Tracy


Alan, sure it wasnt my niece and her husband?(LOL)

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

I like how David Letterman said it when he stopped to help a guy change a tire. He had all his lug nuts off and told Dave he thought the jack was in the trunk so they could now jack it up?

Dave just said "My work here is done."

 

[Jenn]

Hey Alan,

How many people do you get who stop by after driving on their tires so that the sidewall is disenegrating, asking you to put air in it. And when you refuse, they get mad?

 

[Too many to list here]

Had a guy in for inspection awhile back, he had four temporary spares on his Subaru!!!-bye bye.

Another rocket scientist with a Astro van and one flat rear tire and the other one was so low on air-or so I thought- you could smell it cooking.So I go to jack it up in the parking lot and the jack gave up before the tires cleared the ground.Turns out this guy was some sort of industrial plumber and the van was full to the roof with all sorts of junk.He told me he didn't understand what was wrong with the tires because he's had two new sets of rear tires in the last two months,and they just keep blowing out etc !!!

How about the Saab owner who checked his oil,didn't see anything on the stick, then fished an old guitar string into the pan and didn't get a reading from that,then he drove it to our shop to see why his dipstick wasn't working!!

I wish I had a recording of the abuse that guy took!!

 

[Larry]

I know the population is rising so the percentage of dummies is rising too but lord its no wonder we are having to import workers who's brains though untrained are still fixed in reality!

I wonder what lifes like walking around in a bubble of stupid.
Might be dangerious !
After reading these posts I may go buy a tank to drive around in.

 

[Kati]

Hey guys....we got 'em here in Ohio, too.

We have a Auto Repair/Custom Exhaust...etc shop and I know we've had some doosies over the years as well.

The ones that kill me sometimes are the cheap b******s. It's not that they don't have the funds to fix their vehicle right....they just don't want to spend it. We'll we're not into sending folks out on the road "half fixed"...we'd rather not fix it at all than to Half-a** it. Because #1...it will get worse than it was...and something could happen to them....or others on the road....#2...when it does get worse...they'll blame it on us to everyone they can tell...and it makes us look like we don't know what we're doing.

Noone can afford that kind of advertising....it's just not worth it.

I'm sure Kevin could add to some of the "what we're they thinking" stories...if he ever got on the computer. I guess it just takes all kinds....to make the world go 'round.

 

[Alan]

Hey Alan,

How many people do you get who stop by after driving on their tires so that the sidewall is disenegrating, asking you to put air in it. And when you refuse, they get mad?

Sometimes you have to show them the rubber particles inside the tire to make them understand that their tire has now melted, and isn't gonna get fixed. Or the people that automatically assume that a blowout is a defective tire, and not a road hazard. You can always tell when your going to have to argue with a customer about a tire warranty. I like seeing impact breaks, with a big bubble in the side....you try to be P.C. about it, and explain that the tire hit something (not the driver) they tell you they didn't, then you point out the giant ding in the lip of the wheel......

 

[Alan]

Only in Tracy


Alan, sure it wasnt my niece and her husband?(LOL)

This guy was by himself....what's her name so I can watch for her??? ;-)

 

[Kelly]

Hmmm...how about one in reverse. As if my luck hasn't been bad enough lately, I had a blowout on the way to work Friday morning. It was driver's front so, I walked right by it getting in the car. Trust me, my tires always have the right amount of air in them. I take care of my stuff! Especially, vehicle maintenance.

Anyway, I was in Harris County who has a road side assistance program (I have it on my Sprint Cell as well....but figured 713-CALLMAP would be quicker). I was doing 65 on the freeway when it happened and got onto the right side shoulder. The Sheriff didn't feel comfortable changing it there with the traffic and the narrow shoulder. I was in the city of Houston and they have a program (thank you Mayor Bill White) called Safe-Clear. He called a tow truck and they towed me to a tire shop and they put my spare on and all of this for free. Remember, my shoulder's not up to snuff.

This is where it got interesting. At lunch I went to Wal-Mart since I had road hazard ins. on the tires. No big deal....they replaced it. I usually check for my wheel lock key immediately, but I neglected to until I got home.....I was just exhausted. Sure enough.....missing. I called them, they looked and found it. I live 45 miles from the area I work in, so I waited until Tuesday (forgot on Monday ). I checked the fit before I left and sure enough.....wrong one. I suggested they call their other customers because someone was driving around with the wrong key and they probably wouldn't think of it until they needed it. They refused. <sigh>

So, Toyota said I could have one in a week cuz they had to order it. They had a master in order to determine which one I needed, but they didn't have any in stock. I kidnapped the little Wal-Mart guy that worked on my car to go with so HE could pay the $19.94. I didn't like the idea of driving around for a week without my Wheel Lock Key and NO other Yota dealers in town had one, so I formulated another plan.

This is the happy ending......
I got 6 new lug nuts (at O'Reilly ) and took it to the Toyota dealer. Ah-hem.....4 to replace the locking lug nuts and 2 to replace 2 that Wal-Mart broke....just for giggles. The Toyota service guy was nice enough to use his master and replace them....no charge.

Oh, I kept them. And when Wal-Mart calls me that my Key is in......I'll bring them my locking lugnuts.

Hey, if someone wants my wheels bad enough they're going to get them. One guy said it best. The only people that the locks keep from getting the tires off are the owners. heheh....

 

[Alan]

We despise wheel locks.....they don't prevent anything. Besides, they sell removal tools for them anyways.

The local Wal-Mart used to have an account with us, in order to repair their broken studs, stripped drain plugs, etc.

It is something to see a car towed in with 13 of 20 wheel studs broken.



BTW, for those of you who only purchase two tires at a time, always make sure they are installed on the rear axle every time. NO exceptions. There have been a lot of arguments regarding this, but ultimately, they are saying without doubt that the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle.

 

[Kelly]

BTW, for those of you who only purchase two tires at a time, always make sure they are installed on the rear axle every time. NO exceptions. There have been a lot of arguments regarding this, but ultimately, they are saying without doubt that the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle.

Yes, and they always want to argue about that....especially on a front wheel drive car.

 

[Joker]

The idiot award goes to 2 people in my office building.

A few weeks ago I am walking to the restroom and a guy asks me, "Where's the 12th floor and how do I get there?" He was standing in front of 4 elevators on the first floor.

Also a few weeks ago also (I'm going to the restroom again) and this lady says "Sir, do you know whats wrong with the elavator?" I said "No mam. It was working earlier. Whats it doing?" She said, and I quote:
"Well I keep pushing 1 to go up to the first floor but the door keeps opening back up." I just shook my head and said, "Mam, your on the first floor already. You have to hit 2 to go to the next floor."

 

[Jenn]

Sometimes you have to show them the rubber particles inside the tire to make them understand that their tire has now melted, and isn't gonna get fixed. Or the people that automatically assume that a blowout is a defective tire, and not a road hazard. You can always tell when your going to have to argue with a customer about a tire warranty. I like seeing impact breaks, with a big bubble in the side....you try to be P.C. about it, and explain that the tire hit something (not the driver) they tell you they didn't, then you point out the giant ding in the lip of the wheel......

I refuse to even put air in a tire that has the 'black burn' on it. I've had people chew me out over it, and then tell me to just let them use my airhose so they can fill it by themselves. To which I also refuse because of the liability of having somebody 'untrained' use my equiptment. Particularly when me, being trained, will not do it.

One day, I had a lady drive up with a low tire. I grabbed an airhose and a gauge and trudged out there. When I saw the black burn I said "Hey, I can't put air in that tire, it's no good, you've ran it too low too long". She started yelling at me that I was lazy and I that I just didn't want to do it. I thought it was hilarious because I'd already dragged the equipment out there to take care of her. So I kind of chuckled, and that made her even madder. I told her I could find her a used tire but I wasn't going to put air in the tire. She got mad, peeled out of my shop and promplty blew out the low tire!

 

[Alan]

We can't sell used tires any more, too many insurance regulations against it. When we did, right on the invoice it was listed as a used tire, sold as is, with no warranty. And people would come back expecting us to warranty their used stuff....

Do you get the people that bring in their own parts, and don't understand why there is no warranty on the job??? My favorite line for them - "Do you bring your own hamburger patty to McDonalds too?"

 

[Jenn]

We can't sell used tires any more, too many insurance regulations against it. When we did, right on the invoice it was listed as a used tire, sold as is, with no warranty. And people would come back expecting us to warranty their used stuff....

Do you get the people that bring in their own parts, and don't understand why there is no warranty on the job??? My favorite line for them - "Do you bring your own hamburger patty to McDonalds too?"

Yeah, we still sell them but they are inspected inside and out, no warranty, customer has to sign where it says "NO WARRANTY".

I also don't sell a road hazard unless they buy a whole set, otherwise I get people who come in saying "I bought this one from you and it went bad" and it's not one that I sold to them.

I get that every once in a while, I usually get the sad story about how they bought the parts because their neighbors uncle's sisters boyfriend was going to work on it but then he decided he couldn't.

I've had people come in and say "Can you take out the water pump, I'll pick it up, and take it to Autozone, get a new one and then bring it back to you, it's lifetime free replacement.