The tech is mostly in the right. Typically when I was an advisor, if a tech recommended brakes that had less than 3mm of pad left, I’d just quote calipers as a worst case, and say if we can reuse the calipers, which is our preferred option, it’ll be price “x”. If the calipers were damaged by how worn the brakes got, or are otherwise unserviceable, it’ll be price “y”. So we’ll hope for x, but be prepared that we won’t know if we need to do y until we physically get the job about halfway done. Served me well.

As a tech, youre right, we dont know the future but from experience we can say "this often happens or has happened before so it might happen here" but even so, i take every precaution to have all the information possible before letting the advisor know. Its not good to call later and say "actually it needs alot more money and parts" makes you look bad but sometimes it is unavoidable

If you reckon that you can diagnose it then you can also do the work yourself.

Bad motor mounts letting the exhaust move too much?

Depends on the issue. I'm my case I diagnosed that my control arms were fucked, which they were. Why? Because I drift an AWD car in the streets and I'm not gentle with my car 😂

Sounds like a lazy advisor. Didn't sell diagnostics and expects the mechanic to pay for it. Job roles exist for a reason.

Sales is the scum of the earth. F em

That’s why our company does DIAGNOSTICS and then a prerequisite like “oh it could be X and as we work on it, there’s a chance that it’s actually Y or both. That would mean it would increase the price, but I’m not saying it will happen. It’s just something I’ve personally seen happen in the past. Is that something you’re okay with?” But good god if it’s your manager or whatever front office that does a phone sale and you get to the job and you’re the one that’s just screwed it’s super fun and relaxing for everyone involved

Service manager for an auto repair place. Our Inspection guidelines pay our techs to compress every piston beforw finalizing their report. Its even in the time for the brake inspection. At our shop there are no excuses for having to sell after the origional quote. Except in very rare cases such as a rust bolt, or something that hinders a job after remove multiple parts. But compressing the calipers is part of the labor in the inspection

And I’d like to add one more I agree with the comment before mine part of setting standards is instead of selling brakes. When the technician says it needs brakes you should sell a break system evaluation to allow that customer to make the most informed decision possible.

To be completely honest with you, I don’t know where you primarily do service work at but here in the north we are trained to remove the Calper compress the piston and check the slide pins only time those problems rise when a technician does not properly inspect the brake system and blows his load before he completes his inspection

with the caliper situation you need to set customer expectations properly give the customer a heads up. The the worst case the cost will change based on the caliper being bad or not. Set proper expectations.

Technicians want to get paid for a brake inspection but dont want to actually do a brake inspection. Buddy seevice writers can eyeball pads its probably why its in there for pads. Check the caliper first if youre getting labor for an inspection.

actually stop making videos

When you get to that point there’s not much you can do. The brakes are apart and they won’t go back together and function with an extended and seized piston. It’s also a safety issue and they now need to sign a waiver and have it towed from the lot if they don’t want it done. It’s a lose lose and there’s no avoiding it unless you want to pay the technician to perform a brake inspection prior to approval of a brake job. Even then still, that passes more cost to the customer who’s already being raked over the coals by parts dept and the service team for marked up parts and labor.

My first question is the technician get paid to look at the brakes? Once upon a time I got paid to perform break inspections. That brake inspection would consist of collapsing the calipers.

That’s when I told my advisor, “imma hold off on any work, give the customer to choose if it comes down to it”. That’s why I always STARTED with a full inspection, regardless of what I was sold. And it’s what I instructed my techs to do when I was an advisor. If they didn’t do that, I had no problem making the job cheaper for the customer by taking it out of their labor. They learned reaaaaal quick not to make my job harder than it had to be.

I love when friends and family are like "I went to the mechanic and they side it's going to be 400-800$ for breakpad replacement (or any other standard or simple service)" Like "let me look?" "Yeah for 200$ and a case of beer I can get that done for you" and still make 100$ profit 📈. I told my wife it's about time to flush and replace the coolant in her car as we got it used, and she put over 50-60k miles on it. She said "ill go to the shop, we don't have that machine that pulls it out and fills it up at the same time as the car is running" 😐🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️ Me: "what the hell are you talking about?" Her: "thats why it 300$! I know what im talking about I dated and mechanic at one point. You drive in and they lift the car and hook up the hoses, and you hold it at some certain RPM, and it's done in minutes. " 🤯👀 girl, idk what shit you're smoking, but you are not paying 300$ for whatever the hell that is

This is why nobody has any faith in actual mechanics anymore 🙄

not gonna lie, self regenerating brake pads would be really cool.

Them are tires plus and firestone prices 😂😂😂 was waiting for the "we do have a store card (CFNA) you could sign up for" lmaoo

People need a trusty mechanic! Im an uber &lyft driver and i hear how mechanics are nothing but "ill sell em" and they are out of a car, paying for a ridershare cause mechanic do nothing but take advantage and their time!

When tf did we get played into having to change the rotors and brakes???

It’s the scamming lube place lmaooooo do not enter those facilities goddang they even got their own homemade oil 😟 they’ll use the same old engine oil that’s in your car they sell it for cheaper so they can make another sale but in all actuality you’re being scammed

That just speaks to the quality of the trade school my high-school had a votech option and we can out ready to do brakes oil tires and most basic suspension repairs

Keep up the good work as a service advisor man. I've been at alot of shops with bad unprepared advisors. You sound like a guy I'd like to work as a tech for. Alot of techs hate on service advisors but without you guys we wouldn't have work

Imagine $600 for just a rear brake job probably pads get put on backwards and not bled lol or $400 for a coolant flush and air filter? Better change the cabin one too. That's why I work on my own shit box except for stuff I don't have tools or tact for like running new brake lines $400 and they fixed my crank seal leak

Truth!

$600 for brakes is robbery

Got my quote last time for rear pads and turn rotors…$500. No thanks, for that price I’ll replace pads and rotors on all four wheels for $300 and 2hrs of my time.

I only had the pleasure of having a single service writer that was that present, that thoughtful, that good at their job. And the dealer lost her to a different line of work just because they didn’t feel that position was worth more than $12-15/hour. Idiots.

*technically* you don’t need rotors with every brake job. I as a technician prefer it that way yes, but turning rotors is a cheaper alternative that you could throw out there at the customer and be like “listen this isn’t the best way to do this if I were you I would go with the new rotors just to be sure but we can make this a bit cheaper on you and have you way more safe than you are now.”

3/32nds sounds more like a tire measurement😅 Maybe 3 millimeters? Lol love the content brother

That's not the point.

I don’t miss having to fight about parts of my surveys that had nothing to do with me. Classic corporate.

As often and as deep as the local automotive service centers scam people I'm convinced it's management directing the scams. Oh....all but one of the dealers in my town are owned by the same guy. Apparently getting transferred to a conglomerate at the end of this month. That should clean up the mess, eh? On one of my vehicles that group tried to scam me by $1,000 followed by my wife's vehicle at the other location trying for $2,500. The $2,500 cost me $400 at full retail and the $1,300 cost me $200 at full retail. That's insane and we're just one household. I won't even go there for my free oil changes any more. LOL

My first restaurant job was like this, if a customer filled out a survey and had a bad experience, the waiter/waitress always took the heat/blame. Oftentimes when it wasn't our fault as the one chef/manager had a bad pill-popping habit and would always put food out late, I distinctly remember even the GM chewing him out the one day for making every plate come out late.

Of course. That just ensures that higher ups don’t get held accountable even for how they treat customers. Surveys are really kind of pointless. We all know how we’re treating customers. If you don’t, just have an honest conversation with them and get them to open up about it. No one wants to leave then go to a website when they get home and waste a bunch of time messing with a survey just to get entered into a drawing that doesn’t exist or knock a couple dollars off a few hundred dollar purchase.

It's never the managers fault. They always blame the workers. As the saying goes shet rolls downhill.

The squeaking from the low pads should have been a dead giveaway.

Idgaf if its the donuts or the coffee or the crazy lady you chose to sit next to in the lobby.. survey scores shouldn't affect my pay or my bonus in any way.

Call centers too. "Jessica was amazing and very helpful but your company sucks" means Jessica gets in trouble. She fixed an issue going on for 3 months but because you have 3 months of bad blood that can't be fixed by one good interaction, then I guess screw the only good employee.

Call centers too. "Jessica was amazing and very helpful but your company sucks" means Jessica gets in trouble. She fixed an issue going on for 3 months but because you have 3 months of bad blood that can't be fixed by one good interaction, then I guess screw the only good employee.

I agree, but it is also a flawed system just on the very idea. Setting aside the fact that if you are making every visit as good as you possibly can then "as good as it possibly can be" is just "normal". Most surveys only count as a "good" survey if its a 9 or a 10, normal is like a 5 or a 6. The biggest problem is WHO actually bothers to complete a survey? Between the customer who is getting their normal "amazing service" or the customer who was slightly inconvenienced at some point in their visit, which one are you pretty much guaranteed is going to fill out that survey and blow just about every bad thing they can out of proportion? Yeah, most typical humans love to just complain about everything.

Thats why my buddy generally sends angry peoples surveys to emails he controls.

Stealerships

My son was a nationally recognized service advisor for Audi in Santa Barbara.

They should have customer service people do surveys about shitty customers

You try to make me fill out a whole ass SAT as a survey, I'm shopping with your competitor.

everyone get better at doing your job.