When did I quit being a mechanic?
07-12-2012, 05:17 PM
#16
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Uh, never? Every time I'm there, you're fixing things, and making them work as intended (or better than intended). Oh, and pointing out the lunacy of bad designs, that seems to be an important part of your MO 
I would venture that it's the cohort of people that work on cars, who have given up thinking critically about what they're doing, who have ceased to be mechanics.
So today is a bad day to stop by and ask about custom drilling that MAF body?
I would venture that it's the cohort of people that work on cars, who have given up thinking critically about what they're doing, who have ceased to be mechanics.
So today is a bad day to stop by and ask about custom drilling that MAF body?
07-12-2012, 05:20 PM
#17
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I don't believe you are short of customers ? Then charge for your true time and expertise - if a few drop away, I am sure others will take their place who will pay you a proper rate.
However if whittling a switch gives you a little time to yourself to recover from the stresses of the day, then you will have to accept that you will have less paid hours in the day, but retain your sanity.
If you don't need that down time, I am sure that if you made a drawing of the revised switch contact, someone would make batches for you at a sensible price, freeing you to do more lucrative work that employs your unique 928 expertise.
However if whittling a switch gives you a little time to yourself to recover from the stresses of the day, then you will have to accept that you will have less paid hours in the day, but retain your sanity.
If you don't need that down time, I am sure that if you made a drawing of the revised switch contact, someone would make batches for you at a sensible price, freeing you to do more lucrative work that employs your unique 928 expertise.
07-12-2012, 06:15 PM
#19
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........today, one of my friends who also owns a Porsche repair shop (but works on the later model cars) dropped by.
He hung around watching me cutting, sanding, fitting these tiny brass pieces, testing them for function in the switch, removing them, and then modifing them until they were the "perfect" height....so the switch worked perfectly.
In the end, he looked at me and said, "When did you quit being a mechanic and became a custom fabricator? While you screwed around making that switch work, I could have done a complete oil service on a 997 and made a couple of hundred dollars.
He hung around watching me cutting, sanding, fitting these tiny brass pieces, testing them for function in the switch, removing them, and then modifing them until they were the "perfect" height....so the switch worked perfectly.
In the end, he looked at me and said, "When did you quit being a mechanic and became a custom fabricator? While you screwed around making that switch work, I could have done a complete oil service on a 997 and made a couple of hundred dollars.
Soccer moms drive 997s?
07-12-2012, 06:37 PM
#20
The problem is that most "mechanics" today are really "technicians" that know how to use tools that do the diagnosis and then they replace the suggested part. Unfortunately, most customers are used to this model and don't have an appreciation for the work it takes to keep older vehicles on the road, ones that require a real mechanic.
As an owner of older vehicles, I have a massive appreciation for the work guys like you do, and I am very willing to pay a premium for the opportunity. Raise your prices. Quality work sells itself, you will have no shortage of work.
As an owner of older vehicles, I have a massive appreciation for the work guys like you do, and I am very willing to pay a premium for the opportunity. Raise your prices. Quality work sells itself, you will have no shortage of work.
07-12-2012, 07:43 PM
#24
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JS has a good point. A certain portion of the day needs to involve therapy for the stresses imposed by the other portions of the day.
"Modern" mechanic/technicians get to go through a slew of factory training, where the guys who work for the guys who design something try and pass on o the techs the reasosn they used to design that same something the way they did. No, scratch that... "Modern" technicians are taught to hook up a diagnostic terminal, let it tell them what to replace, so that all they need to do is R&R the part. On several ocassions I've argued with a dealer tech and/or service manager about symptoms and solutions, and they just dig in behind the terminal and the associated diagnostic manual, forgetting whatever good sense they had when they showed up for work that day.
Nobody can admit that there are design problems, or assembly problems, or part quality problems any more. Fault on one is fault on the "other" half a million cars that share that part. We are also growing generations of folks that believe in a throwaway society. When it gets dirty, get another one. It doesn't seem to bother anybody to lease a new car eevery few years so problems disappear when the new car rolls in. Everything is handled "under warranty", by our plug in, read the screen, replace the named part, and all are happy. That's why barely out-of-wrranty MB and BMW cars drop in value so much. Nobody outside the dealers can plug in to them, so repairs become "let's try a new one of the$e and see what it does", all on the owner's nickel. Flip side is that it's hard to justify being a real mechanic anymore, since all you'll ever work on is out-of-warranty cars and their penny-pinching owners. After all, if they could afford to really pay you, they could afford to go lease another new one.
"Modern" mechanic/technicians get to go through a slew of factory training, where the guys who work for the guys who design something try and pass on o the techs the reasosn they used to design that same something the way they did. No, scratch that... "Modern" technicians are taught to hook up a diagnostic terminal, let it tell them what to replace, so that all they need to do is R&R the part. On several ocassions I've argued with a dealer tech and/or service manager about symptoms and solutions, and they just dig in behind the terminal and the associated diagnostic manual, forgetting whatever good sense they had when they showed up for work that day.
Nobody can admit that there are design problems, or assembly problems, or part quality problems any more. Fault on one is fault on the "other" half a million cars that share that part. We are also growing generations of folks that believe in a throwaway society. When it gets dirty, get another one. It doesn't seem to bother anybody to lease a new car eevery few years so problems disappear when the new car rolls in. Everything is handled "under warranty", by our plug in, read the screen, replace the named part, and all are happy. That's why barely out-of-wrranty MB and BMW cars drop in value so much. Nobody outside the dealers can plug in to them, so repairs become "let's try a new one of the$e and see what it does", all on the owner's nickel. Flip side is that it's hard to justify being a real mechanic anymore, since all you'll ever work on is out-of-warranty cars and their penny-pinching owners. After all, if they could afford to really pay you, they could afford to go lease another new one.
07-12-2012, 08:40 PM
#26
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07-12-2012, 09:51 PM
#27
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I'd say you never stopped being a mechanic. Your friend is merely a repairman - pull, plug and play. That's not what a real mechanic is imho. He may be the better businessman however. You get to a point where you have tochoose which you'll be. It is the very rare bird who gets to be both (think steve Jobs, Bil Gates)
07-12-2012, 10:16 PM
#28
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Greg, what do you charge for TB/WP/intake refresh on 87s4? I like a mechanic who gives a $hit. Most don't even put it back like they found it, let alone make it better. I'm willing to drive my car to Cali to experience that kind of care.
