Mechanics React to More "Customer States" Nightmares

We asked real mechanics to break down more of the worst "customer states" issues we could find on the internet.
Huge thanks to our experts!
Sandro -- / mirandas_shop_
Paul -- / lextech.la
Real Mechanic Stuff is a channel from your pals at Donut! We feature all kinds of automotive experts, every week.
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[@kingabear]

Sandro making everyone behind the camera crack up is the funniest shit

[@bambootherainwing8070]

Things that happen in the background tickles my funnybone

[@d4fs4]

Sandro for president

[@nsahandler]

​@d4fs4 SANDRO 4 EL PRESIDENTE That's it Boys. You have your mission. Every Sandro video from here-on-out: SANDRO 4 EL PRESIDENTE

[@BoloSpectre]

@@d4fs4 his Campaign slogan “For the boys”

[@stephaniecoomey2356]

its the modern day laugh track, makes things seem funnier than they are, huge trend in podcasting is having the producer be overly generous with the laughs.

[@wolfoftheages]

That whole alternator and control arm conversations remind me of my first car. We bought it used, and the previous owner thought that he was a mechanic, "thought" being the key word here. He replaced the spark plug with lawnmower park plugs. He replaced the brake lines with I forget what kind of tubing but, while it was a thicker tubing, it still wasn't suitable for use as brake lines. He tried to (iirc) weld the brake pads back together after he messed them up. He replaced the serpentine belt with one for another make and model of car. It's been almost 10 years since that truck was totalled after a flood (which is it's own story) so there are a lot of details that have become fuzzy or that I flat out can't remember. Keep in mind that I was 16 when I got the car. The first time that I had to take it to our mechanic was when the "new brake lines" failed and the "brake pad fixes" re-broke not long after we bought it. My parents had been using this shop for years but I had never gone with them so the mechanic didn't know that I was their son. I also looked older for my age back then. He thought that I made those "repairs" and started laying into me. In hindsight, he probably assumed that I was gonna decline all repairs too lol. I told him that we had literally bought the car like 2 months prior and he was like "we?? Who tf is we?!" I told him who my parents were and he just paused, sighed, and said "I told them to have me inspect your car first... Nice to finally meet you, tho." After he looked it over, he just said "yeah, that dealership screwed y'all over. There is so much wrong with this that the dealership should've fixed before selling it. Was it an 'as is' car?" I told him no and he said that we were gonna milk that dealership for every repair caused my the first owner now lmao (big dealership with a steadily dying reputation, now out of business. I wonder why...) And yes, we did manage to get the dealership to pay him to do the work after we pulled some strings with our insurance and they threatened to sue the dealer. Whenever I brought it in after that, it became a game of "what did the last owner do to this part?" This mechanic would've been a great auto shop teacher because he made sure that I learned about cars whenever I brought it in. He told me that when I brought it in because something was wrong, I had to have at least one theory of what the problem might be. The battery light came on one Friday after school so we took it by on Saturday. I practiced my Google-fu and had like 3 different theories when we went in. The wrong sized belt had already snapped so my top theory was that a pulley had been skipped because it happened on a day that he was closed so another shop did the work. Nope. Actually, none of my theories were right. It was literally just the alternator lmao. Even he was like "yeah, I wasn't actually expecting it to be the alternator either." That truck was a middle finger to every mechanic that worked on it and it's hilarious (now) how often I had to explain "no, no, no. I stg I didn't do this. We bought it used and the previous owner was a dumbass. I just want it fixed properly. Customer approves all repairs. Please." Despite the previous owner's destruction, I miss that little truck. Little '02 Ranger that I had dreams of turning into an off-roader once everything was fixed. Almost got everything fixed when a flood totalled it. The new Donut series working on their Ranger is super close to what I wanted to do (less Baja racing tho and more woods and mud kinda off-roading) so I love watching it. I still plan on finding an exact same model of my old truck and completing that project so y'all are giving me plenty of ideas. 😉

[@nothingtoseehere1221]

That's such a neat story bro, I wish I could find myself a cool mechanic that won't screw me over like you did. If they're still around buy em a beer will ya?

[@at_omic8578]

that truck sounds like... a work of art, let's just call it.

[@randomuser_no5500]

Thanks for the story!

[@vipe650r]

That's an amazing mechanic. I'm glad you have him. Yeah, I had a sweet, and ultimately self-sacrificial dumpster fire of a 1st Gen Tundra. The previous owner had had an accident or two and had never repaired her right. It wasn't her fault, but it was a case of fixing one thing allowed another to come to the surface and she was never quite right. I still miss her, and the time I rolled her and put her in a ditch (maybe an oil patch on a turn I've taken a thousand times mixed with the first 10 minutes of a rainy day - most to fully my fault either way), but God and that truck kept me totally safe and unharmed. I shouldn't have bought her, and I should have sold her months and months sooner than I did, but I miss her just the same.

[@kpanic23]

The dog treats are easy to explain: Bag of dog treats stored in garage, rodents stashing them in the car. Classic.

[@russelljacob7955]

Rodents was my first call too.

[@free4gs]

you have no idea how much i was yelling at my screen saying this haha

[@NullAndVoided]

That or someone is trying to get you hassled by the cops. Like the ole milk bone in the luggage gag

[@kryczech]

100%

[@davidhollenshead4892]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoCcpIKNlLGYjcUsi=albNhF19OcLu2NHH&t=469 Exactly, the car has rats living in it and is likely totaled by this stage. If it makes your eyes water when inside the car, refuse to work on it as it and the customer are lost causes...

[@braesenrinehart2604]

Nolan caught himself before disaster struck with that “it must be winter” thing 😂

[@maxbracegirdle9990]

I love how Sandros first thought on the seatbelt was "stash spot, the cops are gonna get me, so i stash something in there" 😅😂

[@jeno264]

... For kids stuff! 😅

[@jessebrook1688]

We hat cat food in our Voyager's unibody support rails. Mice put it there. It wasn't a problem until we took it to a full-service car wash, where they washed out those rails. For a few years after that, it just smelled like a rotting animal in that car.

[@ErebosGR]

Dog treats to throw off the narco doggos. /s

[@billysapp5582]

He called it, "the kid's stash spot"

[@kaitlinschindler970]

“Imagine your heart just starts pumping blood to every vessel of your body, not even just your veins, just everywhere” Thank you for this terrifying image, I’m gonna use it in a book

[@spankyjeffro5320]

Don't. It's factually incorrect. Your heart already pumps blood to your arteries, veins and vessels, that's the whole point of its existence. What would be scary is if your blood started pumping blood out of all of your vessels and arteries.

[@det_tf2]

@@spankyjeffro5320 The blood is stuck under your skin. You need to free it.

[@jordanmchighlander9365]

​@@spankyjeffro5320 I think they mean that instead of blood circulating through your body in a set path/set locations/set amount it just starts sending blood everywhere haphhazardly. Think internal bleeding and bruising.

[@nealdenner1914]

“I feel bad for the alternator, always getting blamed” 😂

[@davidt3563]

People need to learn the light hammering technique for alternator testing.

[@mymomsbasement69]

​@@davidt3563 Like my wife, sometimes all the alternator needs is a light beating to keep it going.

[@diamonddead8162]

@@davidt3563and to do that to the starter motor in case that’s the problem

[@zzzzzz...9902]

@@davidt3563 idk, i just measure the voltage and if its battery voltage, i swap the alternator. That doesn't work, then things get interesting...

[@hellshade2]

@@zzzzzz...9902 that is assuming there is a belt that is tight running the alt...

[@TDFMonster40K]

"You're too thick to compression test" is my new favorite sentence

[@barefootalien]

One of my best "war stories" from running shops was a customer at Sears Auto Center who worked in the main store (so got a nice employee discount). She brought her Grand Prix in with the same "customer states": brakes are grinding. The car had all 4 disc brakes, finned like those in the front, solid (and thinner) in the rear. Three of the four were that bad or worse. Both rears were just the outer rings flopping around, with the entire section squeezed between the pads just _gone,_ one front was fins on one side and a thin layer of foil on the other, like that one, and one was just starting to eat into the fins on one side, but still attached to the hub, and literally the only thing stopping the car. Obviously it needed basically a whole new brake system. Pads didn't even exist. Rotors didn't really exist. Caliper pistons had been grinding _into_ the rotors for so long that one had fallen out completely on the rear (we think it didn't just gush out the remaining brake fluid because there was so much rust and gunk in the system that it clogged?), and none had much left of them, and even the caliper bodies were damaged from the rotors flopping around against them after they broke loose. Brake fluid was contaminated and needed replacing as well, so all told it was around a $3,600 ticket, which... I mean, it did mean she'd get $720 off with her discount, making the total in the $2800's. She approved the job. We ordered the parts and started disassembling things. What was left of the rotors had all fused to the hubs, either through heat or rust (this was in Ohio, so prime rust belt), so the one remaining semi-functional rotor (with one caliper piston and one pad backing plate still actually stopping the car) broke while pounding it off with a sledgehammer. The parts arrived, and everything was apart and ready for them... and that's when she called from work over at the main store. "My friend in the tools department says you guys are ripping me off! He said he could do my brakes for about $100! What are you trying to pull!?" I explained that at that price, all he was quoting was replacing pads, with no labor as a favor, but that her brake system was _destroyed_ and needed much, much more than that. "Fine, put it back together and I'll take it to his house and he can do it." "Uh... I can't do that, ma'am. The car isn't driveable anymore." "Well it was driveable when I came in!" "I mean, not _really..._ it's pretty amazing that you didn't have an accident. This was _seriously_ unsafe to drive, and the one rotor still clinging to life broke as it came off. I'm afraid it's past the point of no return, and there's no choice but to finish the job." She hung up angrily... and about ten minutes later, she showed up at the front garage door to the shop with a police officer in tow. Yup. She called the police, claiming I was "stealing her car" and trying to scam her by holding it hostage. I explained everything to the officer. He came and looked at the car. The old parts were in a metal waste bin between the two main mechanical bays. It was night, an hour or so before closing, so the bin had already been emptied, so literally all that was in it were her old rotors, the one (out of eight) existing backing plates, and her calipers and related parts. The officer's eyes widened as he saw what was left of her brake system, and he turned to her and asked, _"This_ is what you were driving with??" I nodded grimly, and she started to look a _bit_ less sure of herself. She rallied, though, and yelled at me that I couldn't keep her car, and I couldn't do the work without her approval (which we technically had, but semantic arguments don't work on irate customers). The officer sighed and said, "Technically she's right... you can't keep the car against her will..." He turned to her then and folded his arms sternly, "But that car also isn't street legal, and it isn't because of what they did to take it apart. It wasn't legal for a _long time_ now." "Well I drove it in here, so I can drive it home." "No. You can't," he said. I piped up, volunteering, "Look, if you _really_ don't want to do the work, I can have it _towed_ to another shop of your choosing, or to your home, but I can't let you _drive_ this car off my lot. I'll even pay for the tow, but you're _not_ driving it out of here, I'm sorry." "What!? That's ridiculous! Fine, just push it off your lot and I'll drive it from there," she snapped. I just shook my head and sighed, as the police officer turned to point at his cruiser parked out in front of my shop. "See my car out there?" he asked. She nodded. "Here's what's gonna happen now," he said. Turning to me, he commanded, "You, put it back together as best you can, lower it down, and push it out of your shop and off your property like she said." I uttered a quick, head-ducking, "Yes, sir." She did a little happy dance in her short-lived victory, then blanched as he turned to her, now _very_ stern, and said, "I will be in my car, parked with a view of the entire area outside the shop. The _instant_ you put that car in gear, I am going to _arrest_ you for reckless endangerment of the public, and operating a non-road-worthy vehicle. I will take you to jail, and we will impound the car-" "Oh..." she interrupted. "Fine. Do the repairs." She huffed and rolled her eyes and stormed off to go back to work. Me and the cop had a good laugh at her expense as we recounted what we'd just gone through. We finished the job, she paid the enormous bill and hopefully learned to pay attention to her car and its maintenance schedule... and her friend at the tool department came over to apologize the next day saying that he had no idea her brakes were that far gone, and that he wouldn't interfere with our work from then on. My manager, mostly-jokingly, laughing at the time, scolded me mildly for offering to pay for the tow, lol That was one of three police interactions I had in the industry (other than as customers, of course). The other two were just as bizarre as that one, with one customer having called the police on me for an even _more_ absurd situation they couldn't possibly help with, and the third _I_ had to call the police to collect a customer who'd lost his mind to the extent of making bomb threats and murder threats against me and my store, but... I'll tell those stories if someone asks, as this post is already super long. xD

[@ImpenetrableBread]

Wow that was a great read, lmao glad she got what was coming and her brakes got fixed before someone got hurt!

[@TomDoesEverything]

that's one hell of a story, its sad there are people like that, i would love to hear the other stories as well

[@ThePerks2010]

Best I've seen was a guy brought his in for an MOT (road worthiness certificate for the colonials) and he'd fixed body panels back on with 2mm pop rivets. Mad thing? He passed.

[@airplanemaniacgaming7877]

Christ almighty, that woman is the reason why I have nothing but pure respect for the folks who have to deal with idio- I mean "valued customers" all day, AKA the cashiers, waiters, and all the other jobs that have to deal with Karen and Ken.

[@ThePerks2010]

@@airplanemaniacgaming7877 they always make me think of the line from the hangover "you are literally too stupid to insult"

[@kobesuitt4449]

Sandro needs his own channel fr. Id watch Sandro fix any car or talk about them as well. Hes just too funny fr.

[@russelljacob7955]

Paul is genuinely pissed off about that control arm. And justifiably too. Imagine being the mechanic sending that out then finding out they wrecked somebody else. Legal liability or not, I wouldnt let it go either. Not without notifying police and making sure they are there for when customer leaves.

[@nickgeiger4805]

I was talking with my plumber, and he was saying that, as a plumber licensed with the state, he has the right and obligation to condemn furnaces that are too far gone. I feel like mechanics should have at the least the state backed option to condemn a sufficiently unsafe car.

[@russelljacob7955]

@@nickgeiger4805 In many states, they do. While might not be mandatory inspections, if a vehicle represents a clear safety hazard, they can refuse to release the vehicle. Failure to do so, shop can be held liable in case of an accident in these states.

[@roysoutdoorlife]

I used to work on cars. If we had a customer like that, we'd get them to sign a disclaimer that stated how dangerous the car was to drive. That was often enough to make them get it repaired once they realised the liability was all theirs.

[@Nefville]

Hell yes. That is going to get someone killed. Just imagine that person pulling up too quickly at a school crossing or trying to swerve to avoid a dog in the road... letting them leave is almost as criminal as driving that POS around.

[@hellshade2]

@@nickgeiger4805 i have seem some damn unsafe cars come though the shop i worked in in the 30 years i was there. and a lot of them left the shop with no repair. there was not much we could do.

[@DemonAngelSakina]

That description of drowning and a heart pumping blood all over to describe too much oil at 14:45 ...is Justin a fan of the horror genre? Cause that was actually a pretty terrifying metaphor. Solid approval. A++

[@Kai...999]

Is that possible tho? Like... Has the been a case of that happening? Does the physics and biology work out? Can we make something that does that to people is the question.

[@Fabulousprofound168]

8:57 I feel there needs to be an extended directors cut to let Sandro speak his mind on this topic 😅

[@davebeth2576]

I'd watch a channel that was just Sandro doing stream of consciousness talking. I'm sure he has some very interesting thoughts!

[@kaspershaupt]

Something about a car hood

[@bighammer3464]

Release the Snyder cut

[@GlycerinZ]

They should make another channel called extra mechanic stuff

[@wobblyboost]

Sandro is easily their best guest, but it's really lame that they have to bleep even the mildest cussing. I suggest they also post these on any one of many platforms that aren't nervous nannies like this one so we can hear him talk, y'know, like a freakin mechanic! Only reason I haven't subbed is because of this frustrating lameness.

[@glencalhoun9544]

Oil still pumps when it's overfilled..... A guy I used to work with put 14 quarts in a Tahoe when he changed the oil in it for a customer. It still had almost 60psi oil pressure with all of that extra oil. What happened to that Camaro, I bet almost anything, the oil light came on and they thought it was low on oil so they just kept adding it hoping that the oil light would go off. When they had oil up to the rocker arms and still had the light on they decided to then take it to a mechanic. The problem is though that that model Camaro doesn't have an oil pressure gage. It has an oil light. So when the oil pump stopped giving the required pressure it caused the oil light to come on and that triggered their "add oil till it goes off" mentality. I've seen that exactly happen 3-4 times at least.....

[@reconsoldier135]

Hell yea, Paul is back. I love Sandro and Angelina but he's cool too

[@ironicstompin4880]

Sandro and Angelina are the kids, Paul is the cool AF uncle. A little more mature but would still buy you beer.

[@---l---]

Yeah, he'd rather you have a drink at home.

[@ChristopherT_]

Paul knows his shit

[@thecrazyfarmboy]

​@@---l--- i love that attitude. If you're going to drink, do it where I can make sure you're safe

[@0525ohhwell]

@@ChristopherT_ Except the Camaro with over-filled oil...

[@MoMo-zo1jw]

Loved Sandro’s line at the end after Nolan said to bring your car to Sandro’s shop: “Don’t be scared.” 😂 Looking forward to maybe an eventual roundtable discussion with all of the Donut mechanics!

[@cdvallee]

The world needs more Sandros! Dude is the realest!

[@asf130thecompany7]

And cool and funny at the same package :D

[@brandon-kg2vd]

Dude is a croke😂

[@brandon-kg2vd]

Dude is a crook 😂

[@oakydoki96]

Nolan is the dumbest. Not the sharpest tool.

[@samholdsworth420]

Sus/based

[@RonHarrisMe]

My Dad taught me when I was 13 years old. Your car is one of the most important things you will own. It gets you where you need to go, both for work and emergencies. He made sure I understood, your car needs its own SAVINGS ACCOUNT. I have a bank account, and a percentage of my income goes to that account for tires or repairs. I just forget about it, but when there is an issue, it's nice to have the money there.

[@vdeovisuals]

12:25 cheap tyres - uneven surface Easy fix - do a burnout to level them off

[@sleepykirbo6392]

I like your thinking 😀

[@not-a-raccoon]

For the boys

[@Megaranator]

Well it's gonna make the tire go flat one way or the other

[@Lurch-Bot]

I just had to replace a single tire recently due to road damage. It only had a couple thousand miles on it. So I just set the pressure to 32 psi on the new tire and 35 on the rest. In a couple more weeks, they should be evened out.

[@nevasoba5953]

Best line, “I feel bad for the alternator , everybody blames them” this had my laughing.

[@Jamespennington71]

The dog food situation was definitely mice! I live in a rural area and I’ve seen it in quite a few vehicles, especially if they’ve been sitting for a while. The best one I saw is when I worked at an upholstery shop. Customer came in with a car that had a sagging headliner. Not the fabric, the actual headliner itself was just kind of hanging. The customer was dropping off the vehicle and I proceeded to start taking it apart, putting plastic interior parts into the trunk. Customer asked me to grab the 40 pound bag of dog food out of the truck and placed it in his other car when his wife shows up. No problem. I go to pick it up the bag is mostly empty with a couple of holes chewed into the side of it! Customer says there’s a Filbert orchard across the street from his house and mice must have robbed the dog food! I continue to disassemble a car while he’s standing there waiting for his ride, I unscrew a sunvisor which supports sort of the front part of the headliner and I hear the sound of dog food rolling around above me. Mice had packed that entire 40lbb ag of dog food, one piece at a time, into the top of this man’s headliner….. craziest thing I’ve ever seen. Once we remove the dog food, the headliner didn’t sag anymore. Imagine that 😂

[@Maybe_Tom_Cruise]

I used to find stuff from mice in my work car all the time. It was surprising because I was on the road a ton. Like 6+ hours a day and they'd still set up shop in there all the time. I was driving home on the highway one time and I saw a mouse pop out from under the hood and that mf stood there at the bottom of the windshield stunned as he was getting blasted with cold air as I did 80 down the highway 😂😂 he finally figured out to go back in and I never saw him again lol

[@bighammer3464]

See that’s when you start hitting the hundo with the wipers going max speed and swerving to get em off

[@hrodga]

@@bighammer3464 Yeah, because the obvious thing to do when there's a mouse is to risk your life and the lives of everyone around you.

[@bighammer3464]

@@hrodgar/woooosh

[@hrodga]

There's nothing funny about driving like a maniac because you're scared of a mouse. Even in the best case scenario if you end up crashing and somehow don't end up hurting yourself or others, you still cause traffic delays.

[@nujevad28]

Seeing videos like this makes me want to go back to simpler times, when there were less things that could go wrong, but then it would probably take days to go anywhere.

[@mrbushi1062]

Good to see Paul back He is defiantly top 5 fav experts to this show

[@RallycrossGT]

I love Paul. We need him in the show more often

[@jamespray]

Chipmunks filled my grandpa's station wagon A/C ducts full of dog food once. The best part: it was the dog food he spilled himself all over the garage a week before, and told me confidently that the chipmunks would save him the cleanup!

[@Vinemaple]

My Dad used to tell a story with no provenance: the guy thinks the headliner in his trunk is just sagging, it gets lower and lower, one day when he drives over a bump, it splits open, and 50 lbs of dog food pour down on him.

[@Kai...999]

​@@VinemapleLMFAO 🤣

[@TwinShards]

7:04 "Everybody blame that s-" Well i had strong arguement when my mom's car was shutting down lol. Alternator survived on 2/3 phases for a while and one day decided to just end it's life mid-way back to the grocery store. A nice person saved the day by providing them their jump pack to our car. It had just enough battery to get the car home. Next day after charing the battery, we tried starting the car. As soon the car started the last phase on the bridge rectifier blew up. Brought the altenator to a repair shop and they changed the bridge rectifier.

[@ryanwilson_canada]

Quite a few years ago, my father was working on his rear axle seals, and my 2-4 year old, i don't remember how old he was at the time was "helping", anyhow my father fought for hours to get the shaft back in, gave up. Next day used 4wd to get it the couple km's to the garage. Turns out when he wasn't looking, my son stuck a picquic screwdriver into it backwards and my father didn't notice when he went to put the shaft back in and shoved it all the way back. The guys at the garage were laughing so hard at the absurdity they took it out for free. Haha

[@xelp435]

😂😂😂

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

I wouldn’t even be mad

[@AlphaRomeoOneFive]

This must have been during the winter... 🤣🤣🤣 great episode fellas!

[@sienile]

10:22 - So nice to hear I'm not the only one that will call the cops on unsafe vehicles declining repairs. You don't have to get it fixed here, but it's not going back on the road until it is fixed somewhere.

[@alexanderkupke920]

I guess that depends also a lot on local legislation, which again might be different from state to state in the US. But I bet the very least thing any mechanic should do and likely will do, is have the customer sign a waiver, that documents the customer was informed about the safety issue and the car not being driveable and repairs being declined. That is the minimum here in Germany as well, with anything safety relevant (or that would not let you pass the biannual inspection). They cannot legally hold back the car and the customer of course can decline repairs in that place. The most they can do, except for having the customer sign a waiver, is to tell them it has to be towed and handing out the keys only after the car is on the tow truck. Not sure if they legally can invalidate the inspection seal in such cases. But I think I heard this from Rainman Ray in Florida on such a topic once, that is about all he can do. And he would not be surprised if people have the car towed around the corner, unloaded and drive of.

[@ShaggyRogers1]

@@alexanderkupke920 Calling the cops and reporting that a person is attempting to drive a legally unsafe(and most likely not in a register-able condition) is perfectly fine in all jurisdictions. Attempting to deny the customer their property in any fashion is what would be questionably illegal. Not allowing the person to drive it off the lot might be within their rights as the property owner, but requiring the tow would be arguably illegal. If the customer were to push it off the property and then go drive it, then there is nothing that anyone but cops can do about it. As for waivers, there is usually a default waiver in place at any reputable mechanic before getting something looked at that the customer is at sole risk for any declined repairs and following consequences of said declined repair.

[@alexanderkupke920]

@@ShaggyRogers1 Yeah I guess when it comes to such things and possible consequences also the cops don´t mind being called one more time. And you are right, legally withholding property is most likely more problematic. I think here in Germany for example keeping the keys is kind of a grey area. It may be legal, to prevent the person to endager himself or others. For example that way a barkeeper may keep your keys to prevent you from driving if you get drunk. Ownership of the car is something completely different anyways, as to prove that a lot of paperwork is involved. But then again, this is something that may be ruled different in different places.

[@FormerRuling]

​@ShaggyRogers1 Yea, requiring the tow is probably questionable depending on jurisdiction, but you can call the police anywhere and tell them someone just drove a death trap off your lot against your guidance and will end up killing someone if not stopped.

[@thewinterprince1731]

YES!! More Customer States reactions! I've waited so long for this!

[@ComputerGeeks-R-Us]

"It's probably the alternator." 🤣🤣🤣 Sandro is fire!

[@promalec86]

I totally love Sandro. All his life is shown on the triangle "eyes -mouth'. Even his change of life (I don't know the guy). He is real, authentic and with character. Respect from Greece man.

[@adamfritz84]

I feel like Sandro took the "kids are the future" a little personal😂 d@mn car hood

[@zthebeast]

SANDRO!!! We see you everytime when we pass by, just never want to get out and bother you at work. Hope you guys have a great weekend 🤘🍻

[@patrickdix772]

My dad is sadly one of those who ignores sounds the car makes. The worst of this was when I had to take him to the local airport, one car was in the shop getting the AC charged. I had to take him in the older car (15ish years old at the time iirc). Backing it out of the garage the brakes were extremely soft. I managed to drive him the 2ish miles to the airport, hand on the E-brake the entire time. It was taking a block to fully stop from 20 mph with standard brakes, thankfully it was a time of day with basically no traffic. I got the car to the shop we used, since the other car was ready to be picked up and just swapped out the keys. It turns out the brakes had likely never been changed, so all them had worn through and the brake lines rotted out too. The entire front axel was also rusted out to the point it was about to fall off (I'm not a car guy, and it was a while ago, so I dont remember exact details). Mt dad doesn't seem to understand that a check over and minor fixes every year or two is cheaper (in the long run) than running it until the car dies or falls apart. This is especially true when the autos hop we use is family owned, and we can trust them.

[@seanhoward7069]

Justin: "imagine if your heart just started pumping blood everywhere in your body uncontrollably and just filling your body up with blood" vertebrates every where: "what does yours do?"

[@sergiouriel9904]

Shop has been slow today not enough cars, this made it better so thank you donut/mechanicstuff and mostly sandro, where angelina ??

[@Zac-fu2qc]

I love these videos because it’s so clear how much fun everyone is having making them, like the camera guys dying laughing all the time makes these videos so much better

[@freefall8243]

The dog food. It’s rodents, mice, rats, squirrels. I had an old 911 in the shop that I removed 5 gallons of soybeans from the frame rails. The owner had it parked in a farmers barn.

[@RadMat98]

Sandro is the man!! Bro just making everyone crack up!! 😂 Loving the real mechanics channel!!

[@KOSMOS1701A]

i admit im a little negligent with my car, but when a mechanic tells me "this is a safety hazard" i would get the part fixed

[@Kai...999]

Meh, the problem with our world is that line is used to scare people into a scam repair. I can't say I have experience with a mechanical BSing me on that I do have experience with mechanicals blatantly lying. I never tell them I'm a mechanical engineer until after they diagnose the problem. Most of the time I fix it myself but always get a second opinion.

[@KOSMOS1701A]

@@Kai...999 oh i totally understand, i'm no gearhead myself but i do know enough about what makes a car "safe" in terms of brakes, suspension, rust damage etc......mostly from watching these videos i'll admit.

[@Setsen7]

REALLY wish you guys were making 2 to 3 videos a week on this channel. as a tech, this is the most entertaining yet actually informative content ive seen and watch every week like clockwork

[@arader17]

Justin talking about your heart pumping blood outside your veins reminded me of when my lung collapsed because the air that was in my lung was suddenly in my chest.

[@someperson7]

Vacuum leak

[@Serenity_Dee]

​@@someperson7Better get that gasket replaced.

[@nthgth]

Collapsed lung occurred to me at that part too. Damn, I can't imagine how much that must suck.

[@smalltime0]

@@Serenity_Dee "nah doc, I'm just going to leave"

[@Diehardpatsandrangersfan]

Hell yeah I was missing Paul glad to see him back

[@AB-nu5we]

I agree with the others below, it's good to see Paul back. That's not to take away from Sandro or Angelina or any of the other guest hosts. I enjoy the variety.

[@shaunmarais7698]

Sandro is the MVP of RMS

[@2FineDime]

Finally, Paul is back ❤

[@cttate]

Waaaay back when I found myself the lead tech in a Tire Kingdom at 21 by virtue of being the most mechanically adept of the three people who didn't quit with no notice, we had a customer in a mid 00's Accord sedan come in because she heard a clunk. We lifted it up and looked it over and the lower control arm had broken in two right before it meets the knuckle. Absolutely shared, wheel not actually attached at the bottom. We asked her how long this had ben going on and she just vaguely said "oh a week maybe, week and a half" and said she had bumped into the curb a bit when she was parking or some other customer minimization of whatever dumb thing they did and then chose to ignore. We replaced the control arm and probably a few more pieces while we were in there, got it aligned and then sent our oil guy out as a porter to get her from her job to pay the bill. Apparently she wanted to drive on the way back to make sure it was fixed. After they parked the lube tech emerged from the passenger seat as white as a ghost and just slowly walked into the shop. He walked up to me and said, in a heavy NC accent "Man I am never ridin with one of these people again, No wonder she broke her shit she's fuckin crazy!" Apparently this nice little middle aged white lady went between 15-30 over the limit everywhere, last minut braking, screeching up to parking, she just had to go fast. I tried to limit the amount of customers I rode with after that, my last notable one was as a service writer having to ride with someone who's MINI we had just royally screwed up because the tech was phoning it in and somehow broke the transmission while installing a new engine. It started with "You must be brave or dumb, riding with a crazy bitch from jersey when I'm pissed. I could kill you. You wanna die for your job in a MINI?" to which I replied "It's better than dying in a KIA" and thankfully diffused the situation into laughter.

[@dwaynne_way]

Always going to be a great video when you see Sandro 😉

[@Manthonyrules]

LOOOOVE all the content. That said as a tire pro, there is a dramatic difference in cheap tires and name brand. Most cheapos are equivalent, most midgrades are comparable. When you test a Michelin vs almost anything the result are astonishing. If nothing else wet weather traction is typical 10-15 shorter than a competitor (let alone a cheapo) that’s the difference between making home for dinner, or not

[@vetboy627]

You can tell Nolan is from Southern California. I've had ice freeze my door shut for 2 weeks before it finally thawed enough to open

[@tylerarkell2454]

One of the things I appreciate about NH is that they require annual inspections from certified mechanics. It reduces maintenance based issues and keeps our insurance rates relatively lower. Still have a ton of snow accidents but... whatcha gonna do.

[@theassistant9980]

Released 21 minutes ago and already over 14k views...I love this channel, keep up awesome work girls and boys!

[@scandelicious764]

1:48 “It’s prolly the alternator on that one.” 😂🤣😂 love you guys!

[@RyanDerrick-cl5rt]

People always neglect their vehicles, but especially, this economy has had me stretching things a little further.

[@ethanacton408]

Yes but neglect will only cause more issues and more money spent in the long run

[@MrMCDiggles]

I live in Detroit and I used to live in Oakland CA I have seen some busted ass cars still driving around and I wonder how are they still working.

[@EccOMyth]

My state has noticed a huge drop in people paying/doing a yearly State Inspection on the vehicle. They are even changing the system because of it. Use to have big square colored block in the top middle of window. The color represented what year it was done in and there was a huge number for the month in the middle of sticker. It was able to be seen easy by Cops so they could tell if you were out of Inspection. But now they just changed it to smaller yellow stickers on the lower side of window and you can't see the number at all at distance and they seem to be all yellow so far two years running. So color system for year is gone too. Seem like they are just giving up on enforcing it.

[@MatthijsvanDuin]

this is legal in the US? here in the Netherlands a car has to be recertified for roadworthiness every 1-2 years (depending on the age of the car)

[@_Circus_Clapped_]

it makes me check things every drive, specially those emissions components full of metals, pretty sure they are targeting those even more

[@ehole593]

Last time I pulled my coils to replace the plugs, my kiddo put cheerios in the coil boots. "Because they fit." :(

[@Ms_Official-Sandro]

Hahahaa

[@VTECAcademy]

That brake rotor was wild!! Sick tee, Nolan. 🤙🏽🤙🏽

[@realmechanicstuff]

In Scientia Victoria!!! 🥳

[@JinxedHydro]

I'm honestly hyped that they used the brake rotor video of mine!

[@MichaelCleveland-ek5gb]

I did that once when I was young. I knew it was grinding, but didn't have the money to fix it. That was back when you could get a rotor from a junk yard and pay them $10 to turn it. It wasn't that bad. It was worn to the fins, but was still in one piece.

[@sbishopvt4650]

I'm a lift mechanic at a ski resort. The grounds crew makes me plow my own way to the garage in a mazda 3 every storm. That ice clip is a good explanation of why I'm replacing my exhaust.

[@RMDetho]

15:00 - fun fact Justin, my mom worked as a nurse and they had a case of attempted self delete by eating rat poison.. it made the person sick, but they were fine that day.. Unfortunately, the rat poison inhibited the person's red blood cell creation, and the blood got thin enough to literally leak through blood vessels. Ended as one would expect.

[@andrewdillon7837]

warfarin , funny , my dad was on it for years,,a small amt. is good for ya

[@theElemDragon]

I was just sitting here during that whole explanation of his thinking "Yeah.......... pretty sure that's what they call "Internal Bleeding" in the medical field".

[@callummclachlan4771]

Not just rat poison. A certain form of venom (Hemotoxin) does that too. Rattlesnakes, Brown Recluses, Vipers, Boomslangs etc have it. Must be a horrible experience, not the way I'd pick for 'self delete'.

[@eTiMaGo]

@@andrewdillon7837 I had to take that after a heart problem too, stuff designed to basically melt rats from the inside out, lovely :D

[@jakevanderveen9213]

As someone who works in scheduling at a dealership and has to write up "customer states" often, I appreciate this video.

[@VW_Self_Engine_delete]

Sandro is back, we bouta vibe boys

[@JETHO321]

I had a customer drive in with his Honda Civic that was pumping oil out of the engine and left a huge trail in our parking lot. The crank seal had come completely out and he needed everything under the timing cover. Declined the work. We told him what would happen to his car and that we also didnt want the mess in our parking lot if he left driving it. He did it anyways.

[@meeponinthbit3466]

Can we get Sandro his own channel and shows. I could crack up to my dude all day every day. At a minimum he needs to get a Netflix special where it's just 2 hours of him cracking jokes about cars and "for the boys"

[@nofilter2091]

When you see radiator fluid shooting out of the exhaust and your mind immediately goes to selling the alternator off of the motor... Such a mechanic flex. That was too funny

[@russelljacob7955]

Californians might not get it, but that snow? That could happen in a few hours. I was on highway when a blizzard hit. After a few I stopped for lunch. When I had left, a 2in of snow had fallen off the underside of car. I also have had to stop to wash wheels in winter because of ice and snow build up making wheels dangerously unbalanced.

[@RandomAxeOfKindness]

It can rip plastic panels off the underbody, too, and sometimes the front splitter, skirts, even on non-sports cars. On really badly designed vehicles, snow and ice can tear the brake lines.

[@ebnertra0004]

We had a big snowstorm here in MN back in March. I was off for a day or two, so the snow had gotten into my wheels and partially frozen (it's parked outside). Thing shook violently oncd I got on the road, and I spent a while with a hammer and chisel trying to get all that ice out of tbe rim

[@nthgth]

Snow inside the wheel rims, man. It's like "mud in the tires" from _My Cousin Vinny_ lol (But yes)

[@whyjnot420]

20something years back there was a time when I wasn't able to get my brakes done (front discs on a 91 Cougar). They were grinding for a couple of weeks (3 at most) before I could finally do them. Bought new rotors since I knew they had been grinding for awhile and armed with a Haynes book (or something like that) and did the job myself. A friends father had offered to let me use their garage (just a regular garage at their house) so I could do it inside and on a nice flat surface. At one point while he had come in to see how it was going, his wife also came in and asked something like "Aren't you supposed to have those checked?" Questioning why I was outright replacing the rotors, rather than getting a shop to grind the old ones down. Before I could respond her husband said while laughing "Just check it with your finger." Which got a good laugh from me. As the posts the brake pad is mounted on had dug around a mm into the rotor. That car had vented discs and I know what it was like driving around. A rather large car for its time too. I can't even imagine what it takes to get vented discs to be that thin. The noise when it was wearing into the face of the rotor was bad enough when I heard it. when it starts getting into the vents it must be insane.

[@Dustin_Platt]

17:05 Sandro: That'll be $532.99

[@loveletterhive]

I love "Customer States" videos but watching mechanics watch them is hysterical!! Take the time to find a mechanic you can trust, people. I love the genuine concern for people on the road with some of these a$$ hats out here not listening to their mechanics or their car noises! Thanks guys!!

[@pipsqueakfirepaw8899]

The "dog treats" most likely are a dutch holiday candy called "pepernoten"

[@buri2]

Videos like this make me allways feel so happy i live in a country with a working vehicel check system. 90% Of the stuff seen here would not make it on the street. So much more safty (but maybe less funny).

[@Vinemaple]

There are states where customers actually have the _right_ to decline all repairs, and the shop can't do anything to stop them, except notify traffic enforcement, right? I'm not saying that's good, I'm just saying that --Florida-- those states are out there.

[@BRBingeDrinker]

I don't think there's any state in the USA that would allow shops to hold customers cars for declining repairs. Sure, pay what you owe for the inspection obviously, but they are not allowed to repair without consent.

[@RavenTTDK]

At 7:58 that looks like Danish "peppernødder". A loved small cookie for Christmas times. It will give a lovely cinnamon smell

[@niklasriva7053]

So can a mechanic not just call the police with the reg number and say that person is driving an unsafe vehicle that could kill someone?

[@siegelge]

I did it a few times. Once, another mechanic I worked with was cutting the wheel bearing of the front of a mid 70's car and he reached over the barely grabbed the outer tie rod end and it came apart. The guy wanted him to shove it back together so he could drive it home 100 or so miles. Changed his mind and had us fix it after he heard my conversation with the police.

[@davidroofner]

That would be a Karen's job.

[@melpomene1492]

I feel like there is a fine line between Karen and “I am legitimately concerned that this vehicle will injure or kill someone”

[@davidroofner]

@melpomene1492 I feel like calling the cobs on someone that's already obviously struggling is a ridiculous thought. Only a Karen keeps "Calling the cops" Loaded, ready to pull out at any moment.

[@dongquixote7138]

@@davidroofner Being "already struggling" isn't an excuse for endangering the lives of other people.

[@ReadTheShrill]

12:24 A lot of people inflate their tires to the psi rating on the side of the tire, not realizing that's the MAX pressure you can run in that tire. But the recommended pressure, based on the weight of your car, is lower than that (if it's higher you can't use those tires). FYI the recommended tire pressure for your car is on a decal in the driver's side door frame.

[@brvss__]

never been this early before

[@greggscott391]

Thought I was the only one😭🤣

[@thedarkside2432]

love this quickfire set up - see the video, quick laugh/comment and onto the next - kudos!

[@Lonezewolflonewolf]

22th comment.

[@kevinquick4844]

🍪

[@Rasmustheforest]

The amount of people that don't understand that the dog treats in the car is for the purpose of misdirecting a dog during a search, is very refreshing, and i think thats a good sign for this world of ours.

[@KyleKnoblauch]

I’m becoming more and more convinced every day that “customer states” is one of the greatest phrases ever conceived 😂🤣😂

[@honeyspringshomestead1411]

Attention, got a quick reply to the part a little over half way when the control arm comes up. I had a 2015 ford fusion hybrid that had to have a control arm replacement in the front. It was so bad when it finally got replaced, the mechanic said it had literally nothing holding it together except a very thin piece of metal. For about 5 years I drove it like that not knowing, because I would constantly take it to dealerships and even mechanics that all told me wheel alignment. I was so pissed that I took the work receipt to every single place that told me where alignment and showed them. I also had pictures and asked if I could take legal action. I did not know, and I let the dealership do all maintenance to the car for trade in purposes to show things like good oil change schedule and such.

[@azrael5011]

The Sandro Extended Cut is needed

[@MichaelCleveland-ek5gb]

LOL, the hat over the sensor is legit. I always kept my paperwork or clip-board there in my F150, which wasn't a problem because the sensor was in the middle of the dash. I had to stop this practice when I purchased a Nissan Titan because of the sensor location.

[@thesquirrel6141]

15:16 Very common in the north. If the weather is right, you'll start driving with a clean car and have to pull over to clear ice from your wheel wells so you can steer.

[@nummnutz7046]

My very first repair was actually for my car battery. It died that day and to my utter disappointment and frustration I realized I now need an alternator. When replacing it, I failed to gain the knowledge of knowing what a breaker bar is. I somehow didn’t snap the belt by ripping it off like a dang caveman. But I was stuck for 45 minutes trying to get the belt back on. At which point, I walked to work and walked home. But, thankfully, my brother and his friend finished it for me. Then my ignition failed two months later. But, it served its purpose as my first car and it more than made up for the title rust bucket after I bought it for $400 with it having a whopping 205,000 miles on it. Even still, I miss my 2002 Sonoma

[@Arjay404]

7:51 That looks like it could be a Dutch candy that is popular during late November-early December called Pepernoten (Peppernuts), it's a candy that goes along with the Dutch version of Santa Claus called Sinterklaas (Sinterklaar is the original from which the Santa Claus version took inspiration). So maybe the family that owns this car is Dutch and their kids stuffed that with that thing with the candy.

[@kristanelson4043]

That ice issue happened to me. I drove to work, I took my lunch break, I was heading back to work and suddenly my car was making the most god-awful sound - i thought there was a motorcycle next to me at first, but no. Told my boss i was going to be late back and took it straight to a mechanic. When i picked it up, they told me it was just icy build-up under the car. it melted off in their shop and they didn't even charge me anything.

[@thecoldduvet7381]

"should take the test sometimes" "cuz it was too thick" I laugh alot with these videos but that one actually was so "thick" it got me good

[@gaptoofgranny]

I got one for you guys. In January 2024, I hit a hole that was dug out by a construction crew. No warning signs or coning was used. Minutes later, the transmission started acting abnormal, like it couldn't keep a gear. 45 minutes later, the transmission called it quits. Absolutely wild. Insurance wouldn't even pay for the diagnostic fee.

[@HondaCivic-lj4ri]

What’s nice about Canada is if a shop finds a car unsafe (ie: 9:26), the shop is legally obligated to hold the car from the customer until it is fixed so it’s safe or it’s towed away.

[@billysapp5582]

I recall purchasing 4 Linglong tires, only had an issue with two of them. One blew out the sidewall going 65-70mph on the Interstate. Fortunately, I was able to pull over. Evidently my passenger side front tire looked as if itd been shot with a close range 12 gauge, and a hole beside that one where it looked like a knife has punched the tire. Luckily those who sold the tires to me always makes it right.So I just had them replace the tire with a decent used one. Im not out to get shit free all the time like some friends of mine.I always had alot of respect for our local tire repair shop, always talking sensibl, when asked, Kim said, "We're out here to make a living , not a fortune." That means alot to me, and they were there long before I was born.

[@iamgriff]

7:51 USED CAR FORENSICS should be a new chapter in this series

[@SAMarcus]

ROFLMAO I love the look on Sandro's face when the dog food rolled out... "WWhuutt?! Dog food?"

[@Drewski]

"maybe they were munching one for them then one for the seatbelt" ahahahahahaha

[@ranwolf7650]

"Don't be scared." ~ Sandro, The biblically accurate Mechanic.

[@tenshiaurion9]

Regarding the tires; things that improve with quality/price is: wear resistance, nvh, gas mileage, hydroplaning resistance, stopping distance in wet and dry, and driving characteristics. The only thing sticking you to the road are the tires, I don't recommend skimping on them.

[@tees2cents]

That car with the broken control arm was definitely in an accident that they didn't address. Possibly a hit and run...they ran! 😂😂

[@lutherstark9573]

9:25 Declined everything, even tightening the lugs... That's brilliant

[@OctaneStreet]

Lmao Nolan "People still come to your business after watching these videos?" my thoughts exactly 💀😂Maybe it's for Sandro's humour cuz he funny af!

[@grahamgregoire7390]

Hahaha. That elephant noise was my video. The transmission had failed internally. Customer declined repairs!

[@derekrosenberg6466]

My neighbours kids didn't stash dog food but used the cd player like a money box. I helped him remove the cd player and opened up the unit, we got 2 dollars and 75 cents in 10 and 5 cent coins out of the player. Funnily enough we reinstalled the deck and it still worked, cd still played with no issues.