Taking techs back to school.

[Breezio69]

Id like to say right off the bat this is a rant. More specifically a rant on how dumb most modern day techs are (not all you wrench turners)

So my girlfriend insisted on taking her car to Goodyear to get her oil changed, dont ask me why. We are in there talking and my gf gets on the subject of how I wanted her to get a 4wd car instead of her Maxima since here in Utah it snows and we have a 20 month old little girl...

This tech, or computer guy in the lobby of Goodyear over hears us talking and decides to jump in the convo... His starting contribution to the conversation is this, verbatim, "When your in 4wd you shouldnt drive too fast, because it gets you through it but it doesnt keep you on it." First off, what the hell does that even mean? Then he proceeds to tell me that if I drive my Jeep on the freeway in 4wd I'm going to ruin my drivetrain.

I then go in to the lengthy explaination of how I have an awd transfer case (242) and its no different from any other Jeep Grand Cherokee or Subaru that can go up to 1xxmph in awd.

Where do these people get the nerve to try and tell you things that are complete bull shit? Or say because I can go on the freeway during a snow storm and go 40-50 mph SAFELY that Im going to ruin my whole Jeep.

I have been driving since I was 13 down in Moab, ZERO accidents on this guys record. Be it in snow, summer, offroad, whatever... But this guy knows my rig and knows how and when I should drive it.

Needless to say, this guy will probably think twice about jumping in conversations when he doesnt have anything productive to say, or when he doesnt know shit about what he is talking about.

Thanks for listening, rant over...

 

[xcm]

People get stuck in bubbles. This guy probably deals with people all day long that have zero knowledge about cars, and is used to 'dropping wisdom on them' and them accepting it and thanking him.

I hope you embarassed him, (and i hope he wasnt so headstrong to where he wouldnt listen) because thats the only way to pop these bubbles.

 

[Breezio69]

He came off a little arrogant at first, who knows if he soaked in anything I was telling him? He seemed like the kind of person that listens to what you have to say, but doesn't hear anything. Typical salesman right, you go in for an oil change yet they already know your vehicle and that the trans has to be flushed, wipers changed, new tires.... I hate places like that and ill probably never go back when my gf gets her oil changed again.

 

[scottmphoto]

I much prefer to talk to mechanics than techs. Totally different animals. Also... I think it should be REQUIRED BY LAW to know a LITTLE bit about working on cars for someone to get a job at an auto parts store. I freakin' HATE it when some still wet-behind-the-ears idiot behind the counter try's to argue with me over what parts I do and do not have on my vehicle.

 

[crimsondragon]

I can kind of understand his first statement because I done it myself. I was going through the city in a snowstorm and I underestimated this one alley that I usually turn on to double back around for parking. The way the two buildings were set up had the wind blowing really fast through it but then hits the end of the side street where it turns left and right and because the snow couldn't keep up, it dumped everything there. So far everything I drove through was decent till I went through this alley and pretty much sat the jeep right on top of this snow going 10 mph. Needless to say there was no getting it out and I left it there for the night. The second statement just seems like a little bit of a misunderstanding. He probably just didn't know that your jeep had a 242 and can switch to full time.

 

[Breezio69]

What year is your eclipse dragon? I've got a 95 gst with 2gb conversion and all the turbo/fuel parts from an Evo8 with supporting mods... funnest car I've ever had, and I've had about a dozen or more... always been a fan of a 2g eclipse since I was like 14... my neighbor had a gst spyder way back in the day and I was hooked

 

[bimmerjeeper]

"When your in 4wd you shouldnt drive too fast, because it gets you through it but it doesnt keep you on it."


The tech is right. There is a difference between traction and grip.
4WD is good for traction when you're starting from a dad stop.
4WD does little to prevent you from flying off the road when you slam your brakes around a sharp bend.

 

[Vanimal]

"When your in 4wd you shouldnt drive too fast, because it gets you through it but it doesnt keep you on it."


The tech is right. There is a difference between traction and grip.
4WD is good for traction when you're starting from a dad stop.
4WD does little to prevent you from flying off the road when you slam your brakes around a sharp bend.

you're an idiot if you slam on the brakes in a sharp bend, snow or not. 4 wheel drive will help you pull out of the corner rather than push through it. It does help in the snow.

 

[joe_peters]

You can have 2wd, 3wd, 4wd, 5wd, 6wd and so on--no traction, you ain't got SQUAT.

Yes, that guy was a MORON, and I doubt he was a technician or a mechanic--mechanics were pre-computers, today's technicians are mechanics that deal with computers.

I don't consider the guys working at Oil Can Henry's or Quickie Lube as "technicians or mechanics"--not saying there might not be one working there, but if they were any good they wouldn't be pulling minimum wage at one of those places.

 

[Breezio69]

You can have 2wd, 3wd, 4wd, 5wd, 6wd and so on--no traction, you ain't got SQUAT.

Yes, that guy was a MORON, and I doubt he was a technician or a mechanic--mechanics were pre-computers, today's technicians are mechanics that deal with computers.

I don't consider the guys working at Oil Can Henry's or Quickie Lube as "technicians or mechanics"--not saying there might not be one working there, but if they were any good they wouldn't be pulling minimum wage at one of those places.

I agree with some of what you said... but, in today's world, almost all mechanics run a computer... they check their twitter then change your oil, you car blows up and all of a sudden it isn't their fault... its 2013, not 1970-2000 with real mechanics.

This guy was in fact an ass clown...
A) I would rather drive through snow than "over" it like he stated, better traction, from a stand still or going around a corner
B) he had no idea what I drive or how I drive, how can you assume because I said "I put my rig in 4wd on the freeway" and come back with, you will blow everything up if you go over 40.... no guy, I busted my knuckles up on my rig and know what it can and can't do, and if it can't, ill damn sure try...


And id like to point out, having a fwd eclipse gst as a DD... it is in no way shape or form better at having traction.than my rear end locked jeep in any circumstance.... even in rain my gst fishtails on the freeway above 55.

This guy had no room to even come in to the Convo we were having, it was about a small vehicle being 4wd to.transport my not even 2 year old daughter.... best part is, its snowed about 3-4 as of this second and my gf already asked to take my jeep to work over her maxima.. proof is in the pudding right there!

 

[xcm]

If you expect a 'lube' shop to hire ASE mechanics, with 10 years behind the wrench for $29.99 oil changes, YOU ARE the idiot.

This is basic capitolism, once someone starts hiring idiots to change oil for cheap, the rest of the shops are forced to do the same. Nobody is willing to pay for an ASE mech with 10 years exp to change their oil. Its basic economics, this thread reminds me of my father that allways complains that home depot workers dont know how to do plumbing. They make minimum wage, if they knew how to do plumbing, they wouldnt be working at home depot.

 

[Breezio69]

If you expect a 'lube' shop to hire ASE mechanics, with 10 years behind the wrench for $29.99 oil changes, YOU ARE the idiot.

This is basic capitolism, once someone starts hiring idiots to change oil for cheap, the rest of the shops are forced to do the same. Nobody is willing to pay for an ASE mech with 10 years exp to change their oil. Its basic economics, this thread reminds me of my father that allways complains that home depot workers dont know how to do plumbing. They make minimum wage, if they knew how to do plumbing, they wouldnt be working at home depot.

Haha yeah, I feel you on the home depot thing... I went to one one day to.get some spare keys made, of course nobody was within a mile of me to help me... so I grabbed the keys I.needed, set up the whole thing and waited for someone to walk by (they have to turn the machine on) so the guy comes over and I had everything ready to go, keys matched, in the cartridge and this guy pulls everything back out, checks the keys again, checks 3 other wrong keys and ends up putting the same one I knew was right back in... I told him I would have saved the hassle and cut it myself if the machine was on. He looked at me like I was the dumb ass.

 

[Smash Hole]

You're at Goodyear. They're not techs..

 

[bimmerjeeper]

If you expect a 'lube' shop to hire ASE mechanics, with 10 years behind the wrench for $29.99 oil changes, YOU ARE the idiot.

This is basic capitolism, once someone starts hiring idiots to change oil for cheap, the rest of the shops are forced to do the same. Nobody is willing to pay for an ASE mech with 10 years exp to change their oil. Its basic economics, this thread reminds me of my father that allways complains that home depot workers dont know how to do plumbing. They make minimum wage, if they knew how to do plumbing, they wouldnt be working at home depot.

Well said. And the simple fact is you don't need an ASE to change oil. They do 100's of oil changes a day. Successfully. Maybe 1 or 2 go wrong in a year, and you hear about it for decades in urban legends. It's like plane crashes. You get a crash once in a while, but 30,000 flights a day are successful.

 

[Boatwrench]

If you expect a 'lube' shop to hire ASE mechanics, with 10 years behind the wrench for $29.99 oil changes, YOU ARE the idiot.

This is right on the money. Oh and another thing, not all dealership mechanics are out to gouge you either.

 

[superdave]

Soooo.....why is your woman getting her oil changed at Goodyear? Sounds like you're not doing your job.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Soooo.....why is your woman getting her oil changed at Goodyear? Sounds like you're not doing your job.

IMO, my time is worth more than what some places charge for LOF. I would definitely not take it to a place like that, but in my area there are a few GOOD places to take vehicles that charge less than JuffyLube/Goodyear etc. Heck, even GM dealers charge less than Juffy lube (also includes up to 6qts of oil) and you can get your tires rotated and vehicle inspection for no extra cost. Not to say that places like that do not have 'tards like the other places but dealers usually require a little more than that.

 

[Breezio69]

Soooo.....why is your woman getting her oil changed at Goodyear? Sounds like you're not doing your job.

I told her Id do it and she said she wanted to go there. Not really gonna fight her about crawling under a Maxima when its 14* outside either!

 

[Johnnie Walker]

I told her Id do it and she said she wanted to go there. Not really gonna fight her about crawling under a Maxima when its 14* outside either!

Unless you can find a good small shop that does LOF cheap. I recommend a good local GM dealer. For about 45$ (inclu tax) You get oil (up to 6 qts), filter, lube, vehicle inspection and tire rotation. Not really cheap, but decent for what you get. Heck, juffy lube charges more than that!