Your opinion on Post-Covid vehicle repair shop timeline

Great mechanic shops are not just adept at repairing vehicles , it includes scheduling , fair pricing, customer relations and communication .

If they lack help in any way repair shops fall down hard. Also if they fail in any of above attributes same.

Above goes for any tradesperson trying to start up. Just because you can do a trade does not mean you work with end customers.

Is it a hobby car? Old cars tend to sit as they are not likely daily drivers
 
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Great mechanic shops are not just adept at repairing vehicles , it includes scheduling , fair pricing, customer relations and communication .

If they lack help in any way repair shops fall down hard. Also if they fail in any of above attributes same.

Above goes for any tradesperson trying to start up. Just because you can do a trade does not mean you work with end customers.

Is it a hobby car? Old cars tend to sit as they are not likely daily drivers

It's a 2nd car that will be used as a daily driver. Could probably be considered a hobby car as well, as I do all the work that doesn't require a lift.
 
If owner/scheduler know that they may be pushing the vehicle out. Still should be communicated as to status.
It's a shame that we've reached a point where service industries treat us like they're doing us a favor. Plumbers and AC techs have been this way for decades in my experience, but it wasn't until Covid hit and everyone decided they rather live off "the land" that the auto shops got like this. Makes me want to gather up a bunch of like-minded guys and rent a shop for a couple of months and we all fix our cars ourselves.
 
This is why I much prefer having a spare car... one can sit at a shop, or in my garage, waiting for parts. Suddenly its extra costs to keep a beater around doesn't seem so bad after all.

Haven't had much of an issue with scheduling, at least not yet. Thankfully. I'll probably change my tune at the worst possible time, when something up and dies on me...
 
Scheduling at the dealership I work at sucks. We have a whole separate department that sets up appointments and takes calls. It’s all a big mess. One day you might have 50 oil changes and rotates scheduled and no real work hardly then all the techs get mad because they don’t want to do those and one day or might be a few oil changes and rotates and then back ups with actual repairs because they scheduled too much or too little. During Covid there was never a busy day we averaged maybe 10-15 cars a day on a busy day and it was mostly simple stuff which is why my dealership instead of laying people off just made everyone hourly so we could survive which I will always think highly of them for. When it got less big we got the choice to go to flat rate again or stay hourly and I stayed hourly cause I’m slow because I like to do everything so I know I didn’t mess something up plus when there is nothing to do you just stand there you can’t beat that. I personally don’t care what I’m doing I love to do it and can do anything to a car. We had a walk in transmission the other day someone was traveling and their transmission completely went out and they come in and got mad it was going to be a two day wait before we could fit them in. They explained how since they were traveling they had to be priority and we are like no you don’t and even if so the transmission won’t be here for those two days. We aren’t even supposed to take walk ins but I service advisors do and that makes me so angry there is nothing I hate more than a walk in. Then they get mad at me for doing the appointment first I’m like well the walk ins can wait. I’m in charge of the lube techs so I can have say in what they do and don’t do. Some of them I get to help when it gets backed up like they will do brakes or tires or whatever.
 
Update: they finally got around to getting it on a lift, and just by visual inspection, assert that it is not leaking transmission fluid. I restated that the fluid dripping off the tip of the bell housing is red. She stated that some motor oils can have a red appearance, but the leak is coming from somewhere "up top". So, when I feel like thinking about it again, I'll return to the original auto shop where this all started and see if they feel like figuring out where it's coming from. I know it's not the valve cover gaskets. 🙄
 
Update: they finally got around to getting it on a lift, and just by visual inspection, assert that it is not leaking transmission fluid. I restated that the fluid dripping off the tip of the bell housing is red. She stated that some motor oils can have a red appearance, but the leak is coming from somewhere "up top". So, when I feel like thinking about it again, I'll return to the original auto shop where this all started and see if they feel like figuring out where it's coming from. I know it's not the valve cover gaskets. 🙄
Power Steering fluid? Good luck!
 
And all they gotta do is have their telephone answering person call and explain the delay, apologize and tell him a real timeline. They set the date not OP.

No excuse for poor customer service.
Good luck with that. Most places don’t have some one working for $14 an hour at the front desk making phone calls anymore. The higher ups at my repair facility are talking about getting rid of said girl because it’s cutting into profits.
 
Slightly lengthy post, but.. this topic. Here we go. Examples given to illustrate points..

Oil changes, tire changes and big $ jobs get priority. Example, from place I use in DIFY capacity . Invoice hanging on wall says USED ENGINE ASSY $2,250".. Only glanced at it, wasnt my car.. the shop I use, they went ahead and opened up their own car dealership down the block . Have a detail place they use, behind the shop . Fix cars for the 5 or so dealers around them . Just got in an SVX from 92.. they have an eye for niche cars that will sell.. Point of all this. They  prioritize their own interests, and if they sense a penny-pincher, most if not all of the posts here are spot-on correct, they are either throwing an engine in a car (many Chevy Traverses but. All kinds) that they KNOW they can sell, easy, if prices for cars are still up it's still easy selling gravy train for them.. so that engine job that would usually be $1500 labor gets profit in the form of a sale.. shop I use has 2 or 3 lifts and they are NEVER empty. Place is SLAMMED with work because word got out that their prices for labor are the lowest around anyways, not Book rate...... Owner genuinely understands that building a relationship with each customer means he will never have shortage of work in life. It's really a beautiful thing. Has a Viper as well as many other cars as well as shiny new Viiper (not his, different color) for sale in the showroom at dealer. Much money and successful business.

Let's dial this in a little bit. Sounds like your vehicle needs a "smaller job." If this vehicle were at the shop/business I use, they would probably tell you to come a day or two out they KNOW they aren't either going to the auction or doing an online car auction.. or working on 3 cars with 4 people at once (for a month or two at a time it was 2 or 3 employees out of 4 due to C19, all that is pretty much over, thankfully) and they hustle and work really hard, they would make time for your car if you really needed it. Maybe they would get the part and seal they needed beforehand. Again, typically correct they do that at the time of.. maybe they would take a quick look and either tell you to bring your own parts (I do this. Saves any markup they may make.. I'm looking at you, NAPA, with shop vs private party prices) or order them earlier, they get there same day, usually . (Usually DONT use the AutoZone, AAP stores because the whole store is full of junk. Like Dollar Tree of the auto parts for many unnecessary dollars. Needless markup) - point. THEY WOULD TAKE CARE OF YOU. And probably give you a very reasonable rate for having done the job. They probably work on between 10 and 20 cars a day if it's super busy, if we are talking everything from oil changes to tires. Maybe 5 to 10 on a slow day. No shortage of work. More than they can handle.

They are prioritizing higher money jobs over yours unless you communicate with them. I've had cars sit. They are putting an engine in a car I saw sitting for months. I found them the engine. Since about April or May, owner authorized work on his 2007 *this week* and that engine goes in to-day. Engine from 2006 interchanges. Engine came from... so that's $1500 or so in labor. They are putting that priority ahead of your repair. They will STILL DO your repair. Yeah, they will stop to change oil, or a tire.. the two biggest money makers for the shop.

In closing.. there is a way to run a business and have everyone have something bad to say about you and rely on scams and tell people that meticulously maintain their cars that their brand new tires are unsafe (Mavis, most if not all tire chains, bad business practices) where you have to wonder how cars to there and how they keep the lights on.. and there is a way to run a business and have almost everyone love your work and the prices and the service that not only do you understand the sheer volume of work they do, but that you are okay with it and you're saving money. (Yes, he has had to fire a few customers like ETCG talks about on YouTube. Some know exactly what I'm hitting at. Simply politely refuse service. These were extreme cases.) So.. I would communicate the need.

If they can make room for your car in two weeks or less, maybe slightly less time if it really is that urgent.. keep them, they have earned your business.

If you get a flippant response or NO kind of accommodation (Owner of the shop I use will make it a point to make a phone call to the customer to explain exactly the situation, apologize for delay, and probably get authorization to begin work. He says "And we go from there" is said a lot, for example car comes in with hose busted, replace hose, "we go from there" so that if everything is okay or not from overheat...) then it is time to find a new shop.

Examples given in this post for points of reference. Your experiences may vary.

Power Steering fluid? Good luck!

Prestone Asian Power Steering Fluid is dyed Red. Prestone wants us to go by color.

That said, a red fluid, my first guess also would be transmission fluid and I would look to all the places ATF goes, from RMS to the lines to the radiator to the pan gasket. Would be my top three places for a visual inspection. Like a leaking trans cooler line, or, sometimes, hose .
 
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It's a shame that we've reached a point where service industries treat us like they're doing us a favor. Plumbers and AC techs have been this way for decades in my experience, but it wasn't until Covid hit and everyone decided they rather live off "the land" that the auto shops got like this. Makes me want to gather up a bunch of like-minded guys and rent a shop for a couple of months and we all fix our cars ourselves.
I learned long ago the key to owning older used vehicles you don’t DIY is having an extra vehicle not critical so you can not fret over extended delays. In 2023 I do this and have a shop that charges $70/hr labor just takes couple days some days.
 
Took some samples overnight and can tell you that it's definitely transmission fluid, I just can't figure out where it's coming from. Just identified the cooler lines, they are dry. That only leaves the pump seal or pump gasket, and a couple of servo related boxes on the outside of the transmission. Wherever it's coming from, it consistently finds its way to the bottom tip of the Bell housing. which I haven't found yet.as far as I know. In the picture from top to bottom: virgin transmission fluid, what dripped out of the car overnight, and virgin engine oil. As you can see, it's a dirty pink color.
IMG_20230114_125944794.jpg
 
Used two cans of engine degreaser, followed by drowning the engine in Dawn foam from my foam canon, then two buckets of scalding hot water and a thorough rinse with the hose, and a wipe down from the top and from underneath, the engine is clean top to bottom. Added dye to the transmission, and ordering a black light. If the professionals don't want to help me, I'll diagnose the thing myself.
 
Your car was booked in, the vehicle was dropped off to meet this booking date/ time. Your vehicle should have been inspected on this date and a initial diagnosis given, eg gearbox needs to come out to check for leak in bell housing.

Anything less than this then the shop should have given your a courtesy call to let you know they had not met the expected turnaround time for the initial diagnosis but that the vehicle would be first on the ramp next day.

So to answer your question, maximum 24 hours (not shop opening hours!) before you have a update.
 
The shop that I use does everything that they can to plan ahead,. Although they use Advance for parts first... they'll use whoever they can to get parts if need be (they'll even let me supply my own parts, if the situation allows). They also put effort into not over booking the mechanics. This helps, but is not foolproof.

I'm probably better off than most, as parts availability is likely better for me, as I drive a GMT 800, a K2EG, and K2CG.
 
Daughter wrecked her 2015 Prius on 9 December and it took until 4 January to get it back, so about 4 weeks.
Seems about a week or so longer than I had with my 2012 Mazda3 back in 2018 when I scraped a pillar in a parking garage cutting it too closely. Totally my fault as I was tired from my on-call rotation.
The jobs were not the same, but the auto body place indicated parts were an issue as expected.

She had rental coverage and USAA didn't blink about giving her a car from Enterprise for a month.

So it seems longer, but that's just one anecdote.
 
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