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[catsx11]

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[agnoraan]

Hi Alan, it's the motor trade in general I'm afraid. I've been in the trade for over 40 years and you just wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen and the number of so called "repaired vehicles" that have been badly repaired by other garages, which I've had to rectify faults on to make them roadworthy. The most worrying case was fairly local to me. A guy set himself up in business restoring cars whilst still attending night classes in vehicle restoration!!! Needless to say he didn't stay in business very long, but that has to top it all I think. Word of mouth is by far the best recommendation, whilst doing some research into the subject matter yourself to see what's involved. Unfortunately, it isn't just the motor trade that has its fair share of con artists, it's now prevalent in most trades unfortunately.

cheers...Nige

[Roger King]

Alan, it's the nature of the beast, I'm afraid. You are dealing with the motor trade! These are people who have chosen to make a living out of cars! You cannot do that ethically and profitably. Either one, yes - but due to the pressures of the market, not both together, unless you are so high-end the cost doesn't matter.
And to a great extent, it's the punter's fault. I had a very good mate who ran the best (bar none, really - he should have been working on Astons) TR restoration shop in the country. The typical customer attitude was, 'that's too expensive - this car is just a hobby.' Well, a car is a car - doesn't matter if it's a hobby or your livelihood. Why should a TR6 gearbox rebuild be cheaper than a 3-series gearbox rebuild? Just because you only use it on Sundays? Needless to say, he no longer does cars, just bespoke green oak house frames.
The golden rule is - do it yourself, or have a trusted mate do it. It's the only way for me.

edit - I forgot - the greatest asset? 50 years of experience...

[StewbieC]

Have heard this frequently but I always say that people should consider the other sides opinion. It's a business to these people and unfortunately they don't get paid for speaking on the phone, multiply that by the amount of times they've spent ages on the phone advising people when it comes to nothing and that equals the brupt and apathetic response that you sometimes get. JMHO
This is a forum and we do it for the love of our hobby and continue to contribute even if some of the responses aren't to our liking

[Paul Blore]

I think that's a very fair point. They must spend hours on the phone giving free advice to people that never spend a penny with them and that's time they could have spent working on customers' jobs that are paying.

Paul

[clive]

That I'm afraid comes with the territory of retail.
My Grandfather set up the family business in 1919 and told me a story of a young boy who came into the shop one Saturday to spend his pocket money on fishing flies. Whilst he and my Grandfather were discussing the advatages of Bloody Butchers against other ones, a stranger came into the shop and was champing at the bit to be served. After the lad decided on what he would spend his 6d on he left and my Grandfather turned to the older guy who asked why he had spent so long with a wee boy who spent less than a shilling whilst he was going to spend more. My Grandfather's reply was, "That wee lad comes in to the shop every Saturday and spends sixpence, where as you might be spending more, I have never seen you before and probably will never see you again." That young lad continued to come into the shop regularly for many years as did his son and grandson after him. Many a person would come into the shop and ask for advice but maybe not buy every time, but if you look after them, when they do need something, hopefully they will come back. If you don't treat them well, they won't.