Every Auto Technician Should Do This Before Working On Car!!

[@iam1smiley1]

A prescan caught a module unplugged because it didn't have that code when it came in. It saved our butt and now my partner is happy for us to prescan everything.

[@jimstocks]

At 81 years of age I am still active in the industry. I ran my shop for 40 years & found another important thing to address is the verbal connection. I would talk the customer through the event & at the same time write what I had said & give them a copy at the point of sale. Amazing the number of people who said I didn’t tell them whatever the issue was showing them the original copy put a stop to further problems

[@dporrasxtremeLS3]

This comment , really complements this Great video! Thanks!

[@alfee9411]

Yes, I taught my people to go directly to the PC and type in as ya talk, recap it briefly before letting go on the phone, text if available to reaffirm it and we're onto the next phase, order parts etc, document date and time stamp AND $$ amount is most important!!

[@Mobiletech43]

Now we just need shop owners on board with paying techs more for all these added nuances to protect the shop owner. Taking pictures videos loading the scanner all takes extra time that isn’t included in the flat rate system and wasn’t done by every shop just 5 years ago.

[@crasher88]

C.Y.A. that is the name of the game in this industry

[@theroyaltyautoservice]

It’s unfortunate but you are 100% right.

[@rick343]

You beat me to it, was going to say CYA, anyone that has dealt with the public should know by now, price you pay for living in the country of lawsuits, too many people trying to get something for nothing,.

[@hughkoontz2166]

Unfortunately that's every industry today.

[@j.gtheautotech8455]

My car didn’t have that light on when I dropped it off, ya broke my car! Lol C.Y.A

[@Akadectra]

Hey guys, excuse me please, I am a viewer from Bavaria/Germany. What means the C.Y.A. abbreviation you are talking about? Thanks for a short explanation.

[@terrencehall7264]

thanks a million. I usually charge for a scan, but in this case it's better to do it for free than to do several hundred dollars of repairs for free.

[@Williamsparky]

I’m not a mechanic I’m an electrician, but this is amazing information. I tell you this information applies to so many service trades. Thanks for the video.

[@alfee9411]

Yeah What breaker was popped, was there more than 1 ? Dry erase and permanent markers etc all help too. Almost every car that I scan has 1-3 hidden fault codes in an entertainment module or power feeds for charge ports, imagine that

[@wwilliams1358]

When I need to take my car to the dealership for a repair I can't do, they always (no matter how big or small the job is) take a video of the car inside and out and will send it to me before they work on the car. It is through the video by the dealership I found out my car had aftermarket control arms and brake shims, which are not OEM parts for my car. Very good to record what you do for your customers and yourself. A little time to take a video, will have customers talking about how good you take care of them and will spread the word faster than any advertising can. Those minutes will NOT cost you $$$ but will bring in the $$$ in the long run. Thank you for your concern about the industry and customers...another great video!

[@Mdavied2023]

I used to work germen cars shop. One day, a customer sue the shop. he said he got accident because we moved his seat while we were fixing his car and we didn’t return to the position it was.

[@Mdavied2023]

i heard this before

[@edwardspaccarelli5944]

22 years of working in the service dept. of a Ford dealership we had many customers pull the “Ever since you worked on my car” bit.

[@mr.gutwrench]

"I don't know what you did, but you must of done something, cause it was working fine before you touched it."

[@docholliday2961]

Well it's ford what can they expect right? 😂😂😂

[@edwardspaccarelli5944]

@@docholliday2961 I’m your huckleberry. 🤪

[@lucyanbill]

I call them "since you cars"

[@SGT_Reid]

C.Y.A. is the number one rule when dealing with the public. I still have photos popping up in google memories with pictures of cars that had dents. Keep preaching brother, that’s experience talking. Be blessed.

[@saedchammaa1958]

Awesome advice, I never realised how generous the Automotive community can be until I ran into channels like yours. In my last 10 years of experience, I've only seen the dark and toxic side of the industry. Much appreciated!

[@kevinkieel6778]

Oh there are a ton of shady ones. Especially dealerships. On the flipside there are a ton of great trustworthy ones too. Always do your research. And never fully trust reviews Good ones or Bad. You can always trust a shop that is willing to go out of their way to make sure you are satisfied. Not just rush you out the door.

[@digdug5945]

I remember one time a shop took pictures of a women's damaged vehicle when she brought it in. He told her we take pictures of all vehicles when customers bring them in. She said the car was in perfect condition when I brought it in In the end the shop did pay for the damage months later because the customer had a witness and the shops times didn't jive with the time the picture was taken and when she brought the car in. So hat's off to Royalty Auto for documenting everything.

[@stansmulders6126]

This man is right! Pure facts and good advice

[@jimmymakwega3872]

Thats absolutely true, i do mobile diagnosis i started doing this long time and it has save me so many issues....

[@knock904]

Boss you @ a point..Where u wou hav viewers chime in on just abou anyth in life..Guys like u become family..Info u generate to us is priceless. I hit 👍🏾 soon as video begin

[@mikesautomotivediagnostics8080]

You might also want to document the I/M readiness also. Especially if the check engine light is on.

[@Mr2004MCSS]

I think that is an excellent thing to do. Great video. Years ago, I took my 2014 Mustang GT to the local Ford dealership to get some paint issues corrected under warranty. They did not have an in-house body shop, so they contracted the work out to a body shop in a neighboring town. I asked them to do a walk around with me of the car since it was going to be at another shop and because they were also going to have it for several days to look at some other things. They basically told me that they are not responsible for any damage to my vehicle while it's in their possession and that is what my insurance is for. I was not too impressed with that response.

[@cliffperry8470]

Your so right , I use blink cameras as soon the customer drives into the yard all sides are covered and we do a walk about with the customer as well . I scann the vehicle email the report with a comment to the customer then book the vehicle for any repairs that needed. Keep the posts coming I look forward to them .

[@lrmastertech]

We also do this walk the car with customer whenever possible…sometimes we can up sell wheel repair or light touch up that we send out for sublet

[@bryanb5413]

Also a great opportunity to upsell while the vehicle is there. Love it!

[@thejohnbeck]

that pictures and video thing is a decent idea for customers too, when they drop stuff off at the shop AND for when i return a rental car

[@jessemackenzie6516]

Great Tip from MY ATS brothers! CAMscanner is a great app to scan and store photos and docs. As an industrial power generation field tech I use it to write up repair orders. I start with scanning all the tags for S#s and M#s along with pics of that pertain to the repair. You can mark and draw on the photos. Then I save it under my companies customers I.D for that job. Its crops photos and docs and can also enhance or change to B/W . I write up the repair proposal with parts on a PDF form we have then save it in the same folder. I also take pics of the hour meter before and post repair. I also save pics showing the phase rotation matching utility whenever disconnecting wiring. Camscanner saves to the cloud. You can upgrade to more storage if needed. My parts guy and service writer loves it as it all comes in one folder via email. Other techs just attach pics to an email. It has helped me as I have info on jobs 10 years old. It also helps when writing up more repairs as I have all the info on file. Having it on my phone , tablet and PC also help as I always have access to one of them.

[@ky8465]

When I am working on a GA airplane engine and I get to an important step like torquing items, I GoPro the actual torquing sequence and torque values. Also GoPro all the finished safety wiring.

[@bradz5202]

SOLID PLAN. We enjoy your tips. Keep up the good work.

[@paulpaquette1961]

Words of experience and Wisdom. Priceless.

[@phillipzan2005]

I only do diagnostics, programming, immobilizer and electronic repairs so this will be different for me and is a lot easier for me. But every vehicle I work on gets a prescan and uploaded to the invoice. then a post scan and uploaded to the invoice. Pictures of bad whatever and what good looks like for the problem and the after repairs test and such. basically I generally can make a case study out of any care I work on. The reason for this is if the car comes back and I was told I did something wrong or had to go to court I got documentation. Also if i ever have to hand a job to someone they can not waste their time doing stuff I already did or maybe catch a mistake I could have made a lot easier. Because of this I was able to get some clients money back after getting their vehicle from another repair facility were it was diagnosed very wrong.

[@lrmastertech]

We have been doing this for awhile now….used our shop videos today…client stated items missing from trunk after service….went to the video can see tech pull in the car and open the trunk…it was clearly empty….saved us a lot of money

[@isalmankhan1]

Totally agree with you Professor😍 I never start without doing a Pre-scan bcuz it gives a brief idea of the problems existing with the vehicle Thanks for sharing, Stay Safe😍

[@julesviolin]

We take photos also at every stage before and after to cover ourselves. It's incredibly popular with customers as we WhatsApp everything over to them. That way we can prove we are doing the job properly and not looking for unnecessary jobs. Just pointing out what we find along the way. Owners then have the knowledge of the exact condition of the car and they can choose to return at a later date for what we call the Phase 2 list. 90% of owners say go ahead with the whole lot while it's in there as they soon realise we are not ripping them off ⚠️

[@IHguy]

Yep. C.Y.A. When I first started at Walmart, I wasn’t sure I liked that almost every movement was on multiple cameras. It didn’t take me long to realize that those cameras are my best friend (provided I’m doing my job). Had a service writer not do a proper walk around inspection, which could have left us open to liability for damage to the front bumper of a customer’s vehicle, except for the fact that the camera picked up on the icicle hanging out of the crack when we were lifting the car.

[@edhdougherty]

Years ago when I worked at a Sears I made it a point to mention to a customer obvious damage when writing their car up. More than once people just got in the car and left.

[@EduardoGarcia-qr8nn]

I was at a shop that did DVIs (digital vehicle inspections) and I will admit, at first, every inspection took a long time. Once I got the flow of doing them down, it started taking no time at all. Not only did it cover our butts, it also made every service recommendation, a credible and honest recommendation. I now work at a shop that doesn’t do this, and I honestly miss doing them. Anyway, great videos you guys! Love and respect from Colorado!

[@sksnormand]

This is very important video, for sure you have to cover your work prior and after the fact. Sometimes it would be important to even take pictures after you have made the work to show you have not damaged anything prior to handing back the car to the client and mileage picture and probably the scan tool code after the work has been completed. Just a thought. The extra mile you mentioned is the most important part of running a business. And documentation is key in running a success business.

[@amigo2k10]

Thanks for your time

[@jmdcars]

Great point. I am 1 man shop & I do that along with making notes on the ROs' 👍

[@ericorta8196]

Older Technician Mentor of Mine said The Same Thing CYA . Art May He rest in Peace . Thank you for this great information

[@robertmobileman8304]

great video , well said , different for mobile guys as the customer normally hangs over ya shoulder all day !!!!😡

[@tonedriverss8629]

Agree on all points 100% This is an investment in one's business. Honorable prevention .

[@8power0]

THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT IN TODAY'S WORLD ,,,,,,, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME .....🙏👍👍👍

[@eric-tr7gf]

great idea that I have implemented also. I ended up buying a thinkcar tool with the printer and we print out every health report and attach it for reference.

[@dosiodosev740]

Good insurance

[@jameskim62]

EXCELLENT VIDEO. I TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS BEFORE LEAVING THE CAR RENTAL OFFICE ... SPECIALLY THE SPARE TIRE AND WINDSHIELD...

[@TH-lo9ei]

Greetings from Germany, as a recent subscriber to your channel, it is a pleasure to learn from your vast experience in a myriad of automotive subjects, which are all presented by you in a comprehensive manner, especially when correlating different mechanical / Software issues. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! With kind regards, TH

[@Jason-cu1jp]

Very good video. I work in the car rental industry (both customer service and mechanic) and the number 1 point of contention is damage. I've got a process where photos are taken of hire cars (with customer present) and emailed straight to them. I'm confident if there were any issues, this 2 minute process would generally remove any silly arguments, negative reviews or legal BS.

[@DJ-tn7vj]

Yup cover yourself I always tell my techs.i got caught slipping a while back.learned that the hard way

[@TreRichie]

I was doing this a long time ago and for all the same reasons you were talking about and it saved us many times.... Great video to share with others

[@MalteseMafia]

Great advice 👍good insurance policy.

[@adamautel2436]

hi this Adam from the uk you are so right about scnning a car before it comes in to your workshop i,ve always said this for years this way you can save so much time & trouble for yourself . give them the print out job & done 🙏

[@MickeyMatt97829]

C.Y.A. Interiors also massively overlooked on walk arounds. Working for BMW headliners and seats are out almost everyday and a simple photo has save many of arguments with mgt

[@theroyaltyautoservice]

Great point! It’s the small things that will get you!

[@jimmyalbagubrath9896]

Im a one man shop owner and appreciate this advice 👍

[@adriannyasia]

I too run a pre-scan and take pics before starting a job. I also have cameras. Good practice.

[@Caf1972]

It's really smart to cover your bases, makes you/company look professional!

[@eurowerx4267]

Facts! 1st time I touch a car, it gets scanned and printed. I make notes, take pictures and communicate it to the client! Just saved my ass on a 2018 Porsche Panamera parking brake. CR came back a week later with an issue. I pulled the file, fault was in the system as intermittent! Couldn’t argue with that. They paid to fix.

[@MrBigmo84]

Interesting video. Funny thing is, I started prescanning my vehicle before I take it to a repair shop. I've had multiple instances of new error codes showing up after the repair shop 'fix' my vehicle. I'm actually dealing with a situation right now due to a mechanic's error.

[@luismarty1685]

Thank you sir.

[@richardcowger4527]

If I or my wife would have to take our vehicles to a mechanic or dealership I would take pictures or videos around the car and under the hood, take a photo of the fuel, and mileage, and always reset the trip mileage 🇺🇸🤔!

[@johanbotha9889]

I had a client that brought his vehicle in for a timing belt. As I got in the vehicle to park it on the working spot I smell that something had died inside the vehicle, but I know that slipping clutch can also smell as if something has died. So after an hour and the smell still remains I realized that it must have be something dead. I investigated and found 4 dead mice. U took pictures and kept it for safe keeping if the customer tried to claim something, but now I wonder what I would've done if I didn't find the mice? The customer could've claimed that the mice came from me!! It is so difficult when working on people's vehicles!!

[@josephdelucia7368]

this is a great video so many important tips in this video I work at a high-volume dealership I cannot tell you how many people come in and after they pick up there veh say hey that dent was not there when i came to the shop or you need to test drive a car and that's always the car that has the least amount of fuel in it I refuse to work inside a veh that smells like pot was smoked in it on the way to the shop this happens all of the time I just wont get in it and as a personal safety to the tech every shop should turn the customer away because my dealership will take any car no matter how bad it smells of alcohol or pot I just do get this ticket I have gone home because of this I made it a union issue and it has not happened since

[@davidjackson4112]

Thanks for sharing this valuable information, there are so many dishonest people today. Enjoy your channel. Kudos for you and your employees.

[@jwoeltje6949]

I have the same scanner. I don’t really like it for pre-scan because it doesn’t show the complete vin as well as be able to convert the mileage from kilometers to miles. Something to note if you use and I can only speak of the one car because it’s happened multiple times if you use the auto vin on BMWs for a pre-scan, it will not record any faults in the DME.

[@theroyaltyautoservice]

I'll check that out when inget innthis morning. Thanks!

[@kevinbunter977]

Great video and it applies to any repair type facility, and something I push with my guys every day, it just saves so many potential issues and in the end can save you a lot of money 👍🏻

[@abdulali46]

I totally agree with you 100 percent

[@91rss]

a dealer drained a tank to change a float and "dumped" their fuel AND charged them a fee to do it........Result was the customer being an IT tech, saw every comment on the internet about the shop, a bad review . and someone I knew had the spare stolen on the lot when the truck was in for first visit. Dealer didnt have a single camera, shrugged their shoulders so sad too bad, well their brother was a purchasing agent who knew purchasing agents, and that dealer lost out on dozens of sales as a result.

[@patricknacion3960]

Thank you for putting out all this amazing content its priceless

[@kc2del12]

Whenever I go to a Mechanic to fix my car I take pictures of my car in the inside and the outside. One time a mechanic scratch my car he denied it but I showed the pictures that I took Inside his shop showing there was no damage in the car That's a great idea for the Mechanic and the Customer to have Photos of your car before I guess work done it works for me.

[@flippintobyland7257]

Good cover for the " ever since " customers.

[@kenfromsilverdale5675]

Great topic!

[@kevinkieel6778]

Acronym for the day CYA! Always CYA!

[@johnleinen7167]

You do it anyway when doing the usual 180 point FREE upsell inspection sheet.

[@theroyaltyautoservice]

Not really understanding what a FREE upsell inspection sheet is.

[@justinshelby5908]

Nice i agree Im a shop auto tech And mobile tech / locksmith I use pre scan / post scan a lot especially when doing Kay programming or module programming I liked autel and snap on for scan reports I have launch also With Snap on as a connected to wifi it automatically saves report altus cloud server where can print from my mobile thermal printer And i take pics of new parts before put on and old parts before take off and what looks like when its off

[@dougsweldingfabrication953]

Great videos and opportunity to learn. Thank you !

[@raymundomiranda7853]

You guys are legit 👏👏👏

[@truthmatters5000]

I work at a shop that takes pictures of everything. I like to always pre scan a vehicle especially if the battery will be disconnected or If its engine work. We take pictures of the mileage and dash lights. If there was a code that will come back and turn on the engine light after a couple drive cycles, it is good to be able to tell that to the customer.

[@theroyaltyautoservice]

We posted a video where we do the same thing on every vehicle we work on. Very good policy!👍

[@NoWay-ye7yq]

Good idea, i didn't think about that.

[@jaydenchen9172]

Thank you! Very helpful tip!

[@jackiemay9471]

good insurance and at what cost pennies plus free scan with every job a bargain

[@abdul-kabiralegbe5660]

Great heads up info! Thanks.

[@BenKlassen1]

Great advice sir! Golden!

[@rodvan-zeller6360]

My scan tool takes video and pics, also on a pre scan I include monitor status, freeze frame, failure records and mode 6.

[@tomctutor]

All good SOP there. Might also add, advise of anything you might have noticed under or in the motor area, e.g. "noticed some rust building up on your fuel lines, see the pic, do you want us to repair it while its in the shop?" I mean who actually looks under their car, or even in their engine bay these days! 🤨

[@deshawnmoon35]

This is exactly what they’re teaching in tech schools.

[@dexfriday5524]

Usually when I work on cars, I’ll replace a turn signal bulb, and the customer will tell me ever since you replaced that bulb my brakes are grinding and the engine is making a noise.

[@eriksony6398]

Like the Launch CRP919E scanner

[@ryan.mullen]

Great tip. Any car that I am doing diagnostic work the first thing I do is a pre scan report with my snap on scanner because it sends a report to my computer that I can keep for this reason. The shop I work in is really small and doesn’t have any kind of POS software so it is just something I do for myself. Just like you said.

[@lordkryogen]

Same for a dentist office man.

[@Marco-y5m]

At this point techs should be wearing body cams

[@djosbun]

Bullseye. Again…….every video hits the bullseye. 👍🏼👑🔧

[@CHIBA280CRV]

Fantastic advice sir thanks 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@tibortorok6343]

Helló Srácok! Szerintem fontos a diagnosztikában,az oszcilloszkóp használata.

[@ezeeduzzit]

We always make a note on the r.o of any light on or damage on the car but like that idea of taking pictures gonna start doing that

[@donaldstepp4850]

My company uses service titan and used to use company cam to take pictures, some customers try to get over on us more than I expected really

[@kurtiscal3msetccdwell618]

Alot of good points and advice you've made and given. That's exactly why I dont work for the public. I work at used car lots and auctions. The public is to spoiled for their own good.

[@bullgamer7343]

Man I remember this one time guy brings car and I never checked any of the car issues prior to working on it . His power steering rack was clogged , he tried blaming me for his power steering not working so there I am replacing power steering pump and bleeding it etc…… system still not working then told guy it’s rack system is clogged. Felt so ripped off since I never even drove the damn car. This video is good aside check engine check every component also and document. People love getting free work.

[@Hybriddiag]

Great advice 👍🏿 👌 👏 thanks sir .

[@johnbonifas6040]

I take pictures before I get in the car and have them walk around the car before they get in it

[@Conservator.]

I watched the whole video, as I was told to. 😉 I wonder if the shop I go to does the same. I’ll ask next time so see them.

[@arnoldwilson3719]

im a diyer and i do this for people bkthe a before and after action report using Launch x431 Pro3S. choose your own scan tool.

[@JoseRamirez-ie2bk]

good lesson

[@romanjaspe4172]

Thanks so much 👍

[@shanedottie]

I feel like technicians would do this stuff no problem if it was not for flat rate.

[@billseay6399]

Great information thanks