When working for family & friends BACKFIRES BADLY! Karen’s

[@serialcoins]

And don't sell cars to mates, you'll never hear the end of it. Last time I got rid of my car, I gave it to my mate for free, even then he still complained about the cost of the road tax, how heavy it was on petrol and that there was an orange light in the dashboard - all I wanted was a "thank you" - still waiting

[@keithgreen9009]

The voice over Lee was so smooth .

[@chiefrocka8604]

My boss doing doors told me once they ain’t your mates if they don’t know your name, kids name or never gone out with them or been theirs or them yours… true that

[@BurpTheKitten]

Never give, or ask for, 'mate's rates' If he's your mate, pay him what the job is worth.

[@superloopy24v]

Absolutely, I have to keep on at my mate to give me a price for the work he's done for me, and then badger him about if he's sure he's charged me enough when he finally does.

[@charliejackman2953]

Yes, a "mate" asking for mates rates is literally trying to steal money from you. The kind of mate that never buys a round.

[@BurpTheKitten]

@@Leslie_Horwinkle Which is perfectly fair if you each have skills the other needs. But that's not what I'm talking about.

[@charliejackman2953]

@@Leslie_Horwinkle Fair enough if the favour is returned. It's hardly daft to think it might not be returned especially if your mate isn't a tradesman / can provide a useful service

[@davidwaldie6227]

Perfect use of voice-over Lee. Really adds to the presentation

[@paulh9727]

The plan I came up with on family or friends is that I refuse to deal in money at all. If I am going to help its a freebie, but I tell them "this is your Christmas present early , for the next few years". And I hold to it and never hear "Hey, where's my Christmas present", stayed in control of whole situations and my name isn't mud.

[@davidmclean6178]

Love the stationary camera with voice over Lee. Another great instructional video. Friends are friends & business is business,real friends pay a man his worth without complaining!

[@paulhaywood8439]

Oh and don't forget the eternal warranty

[@Phuc_Yhou]

Plus 24hr call out and aside because they misused, didn't service or clean anything and now have a problem that's nothing to do with the non profit job you gave them X,no years ago

[@matthewharlowehrscyclespor668]

Through the decades I have learned that EVERYONE is your friend. I treat all as clients. Everyone signs a proper master contract and repair order before the project starts. My brother was the absolute worst. $4200 in parts and another $4000 in labor. I was paid $4500 in total. Burn me once, shame on you.... Burn me twice, shame on me. No one gets a second chance. I find I am WAY TOO nice. Be good. Remain safe. Go out and have a Deluxe week!

[@fetus2280]

Ditto mate. They are ALL Customers and treated as such. I dont f about when it comes to my business. Signatures, Full understanding Of said invoice, I make sure they "Get it" and they Pay a % from the get go as a deposit. I found I get More respect that way, being professional even if its my best friend ive known for 40 years. I do a proper job, i go above and beyond most, i make sure my customer/client leaves Happy and Everything Works. They know if they come to me they will get a better price, job done right and I keep the money for a time period to make sure theyre happy and if not they get full refund. Ive not had a Single return in 30 some years. You live and learn and like you said, I too was bitten Once. Tough lesson but a lesson learned. Thankfully im an I.T guy so it is a little bit easier? Idk. Cheers .

[@TonyRule]

But... they're entitled to your time and skill because... they don't have any!

[@peterarries7879]

Number 5 is a mile out 😯😯

[@stuarthutton863]

I only did free work for my mother but she always paid for parts even at the cost and always gave me pocket money which she insisted on even though I didn't want it

[@joegreen9112]

I can't tell you how many times through the years I heard "back when I owned my own business I gave all my friends a discount". Just replace the "back when" to "before I went broke".

[@neilmassey9433]

Mate osked me to do a leaking core plug said yep no problem just get me a pint....it turned out to be one at back of the head which I had to take off,brought a new gasket set and skimmed head,when I finished he bought me a pint and that all...leason learned.

[@MDAdams72668]

My brother, sister and I are super close. None of us ever charge the others for our work lawyer, tech/fabricator, doctor. We wouldn't feel right charging each other. It works well for us but not everyone has as fantastic a family as I do. I always joke between the 3 of us we CAN fix anything even a broken heart and/or the crack of dawn.

[@carltonlane8931]

Friends and family,we’re work is concerned,PAIN IN THE ARSE,your bills still arrive when you are working for family or friends,I have found it’s best just to say no I am to busy,but that is so much easier than falling out over money,

[@brianyoung9014]

Over the 50 years I've been turning wrenches I've done plenty of favors for friends and family never had a problem.

[@charliejackman2953]

I'm sure if you're willing and can afford to do jobs for nothing you won't get any grief

[@serialcoins]

No offence mate, but these relatives must have very very low expectations and you keep coming up with the goods. This is not a good situation to be in

[@brianyoung9014]

I don't quite under stand the low expectations comment I've been a professional mechanic my whole adult life and helping friends and family is just something i choose to do. @@serialcoins

[@georgebettiol8338]

True friendship is based on mutual respect and trust. In my experience I have never had any issues with doing work for true friends. However, I did have one issue with a 'friend' that was really more like an acquaintance - so that was a lesson learnt.

[@joncooke479]

Lee I have learnt the hard way over the years don't do any favours it will bite you in the ass. I now only do jobs for myself they think its all for free. Then when they put there veichle or motor in somewhere fore repaires they swear that they are being ripped off.

[@barnesandrewj]

Lee, life is far too short with Family and work. Re friends, and then customers etc - They a choice!? They either Contribute or Contaminate your life right?! Get rid and pull away from contaminators. You're a good man Lee and a people pleaser. Going to harm your wellbeing those idiots. Stay away.. Took me over 50yrs to learn that!

[@andysaunders3708]

Never do it, even for nothing.

[@Paxmax]

There is often good reason in asking a friend, B'CUZ you know he's good at it, so pay the dues.

[@abzzeus]

Working in IT, Friends and family can be a right pain the arse. I know what needs to be tweaked to get the best out of the system, these are often go away and leave it jobs. But the people I do it for know they are getting a discount so don't push or else next time they ask, I'm busy with other stuff

[@oldschool1993]

I had a big family- my mom had 6 sisters and 2 brothers and they all had 4-5 kids, so I had a lot of cousins. They were all working class people, and as I grew up I began to recognize the fact that many of them believed the promise to pay was the same as actually paying. When I began working on cars as a teenager they would come around looking for help or wanting to borrow tools etc. I set myself a firm rule then that I would not do work for family or friends and it paid off. Naturally, later as I had a family of my own, I did buy and maintain cars for my kids and grandkids, but that was my responsibility and I never considered that they owed me anything.

[@paulaus]

Always keep money and family seperate in my experience.

[@ataxpayer723]

SOLUTION: Never do a job without getting a signed estimate or quotation, even from friends or family.

[@michaelbritton7030]

Business and pleasure is like oil and water, they don't mix...

[@KevinWithers]

Would not be water under my bridge for deffo 😮

[@paulhoogeveen7353]

Nothing leaves the shop till its payed in full, pay or lien!!!

[@HybridGt2052]

I work in IT and i get asked weekly to help people out, people who i have not seen in years sometimes. I did see you stopped waiting for your ice cream on Sat, it was certainly warm enough.

[@TonyRule]

It's funny how they come out of the woodwork after several years of no contact, briefly asking how you are, before suddenly remembering they have something they need your help with.

[@deancrawford2577]

I hear you!, I did the machine work and sub assembly for a family member at a more than reasonable rate, I asked about the diesel pump, injectors and turbo, I was informed by this family member that the pump and injectors had been done previously, and the turbo was new and they would assemble the engine completely themselves. The engine didn't run long, Overheated so badly it destroyed a couple of cylinders and bores. ( faulty pump, injectors and an over boosting turbo) Long story short : if a family member wants you to charge the bare minimum, that's fine, but they can at least take the money they've saved and get the pump, injectors and the turbo done......

[@tmackinator]

Usually when it comes to family I usually do it for free and end up paying for the parts to boot! They are my family .

[@martinda7446]

Just what I was going to say. I simply couldn't charge them.

[@garybrown5500]

I was once told there are no friends in business. I try very hard to stick to this but family well I have been known to stay away from them to avoid awkward scenarios when it comes to their cars. I think you should have said to motocross engine guy 'wow that's a good price I can't beat that!'

[@henktulp4400]

I have seen it go wrong a few times..... the friend bringing the job expects a bargain.... and the one doing the job plans to do it in sparetime;no such thing:job takes months.... Result is two people annoyed.... Like you say,best is no special treatment.... and be very clear about price,delivery time and conditions!! And if all worked out nice at the end you can stil be good to your friend by offering a free engine check/tune up/valve adjustment after a 1000 miles.....

[@stuartcareless9550]

Friends should support you.

[@richardhartley1705]

I done a clutch for a friend once on a 5 series told him how much and I did do it cheaper for him he paid me 3/4s of it said was I bit short this month I thought ok didn’t bloody see him for well over a month got a text said don’t worry I will sort it,next bloody day on my door step was 3 cases of Stella I can’t stand the stuff that did upset me👍

[@gazza116]

reminds me of doing a valve grind on my uncles car he covered the parts bill and gave me a cake of solvol for labour, i never charged labour for family if they asked what do owe you?

[@julianchambers8372]

Ha Lee I`ve been there mate more than once. I don`t do it anymore.

[@garethjones8047]

I would never have bothered with him again

[@madeljacky]

Lee, i have had more rows and fall outs by doing work for family and friends where it got to the point where i just say no im not doing that because you just know its going to cause another row as they think you should do an engine rebuild for them for a couple of hundred quid.

[@duds1945]

Do you clean out the water ways ??

[@gt4god2ulot]

Family and Friends are your worst nightmare when in business..

[@mattwills87]

can make a right mess in your books. Next they will bring a bag of cash and a lovely que in the post office seeing as most of the local banks have closed.

[@shoominati23]

It also should go for the people you employ, I've successful businesses go down the drain because they decided to hire on friends or family members, who turn more and more of their clientele away - the owner is blind to it and the business gradually dies. You have to work with the edict that everyone is fireable under the right circumstances, or it's trouble in the wings..

[@MegaReddevil71]

You got a business that has overheads to be paid for so doing favours is a no no in these times

[@fredflintstone8048]

Great advice for dealing with family and friends. My guess is that most of us have at least one horror story about trying to do that. I'll add to the list people who go to your church and want to enlist your service. Most of them expect you to do the work for pennies on the dollar or for free. Another nightmare.

[@Hydrogenblonde]

NEVER, NEVER work with or for friends or family. They will take advantage of you everytime. They will expect you to work for free or will want to pay you five quid for a five hundred pound job. Just to say that they "paid you". If anything goes wrong (such as they get a flat tyre the day after you refit their engine you just rebuit for free) they will blame you. When you tell them that a flat tyre has nothing to do with the engine they simply wont have it and expect you to replace all 4 tyres on their car. And even if everything goes perfectly well they wont talk to you or even acknowledge you afterwards,they will treat you like a pariah . Friends and family are arseholes, tell them to go somewhere else.

[@jamesoconnor3017]

Nice engine work mate! 👍😎

[@peterdurnien9084]

Yeah, met a girl who had a pub. Gave drinks to all her pals, nearly bankrupted her. Another girl I knew wanter a small table re french polished by a mutual friend. He said he would do it for nothing, she said no put it through as a normal job. He insisted he would do it for nothing. Result she waited 4 years to get it back, had it been put through as a job it would have been 3 weeks at most. She got done for nothing but meantime she had bought a small replacement table anyway.

[@peterdurnien9084]

Also reminds me of the guy who won a million on the horses, he was and still is a gas fitter and plumber, . He charged his brother full price for a central heating job that he did. Now thats sensible.

[@1ginner1]

Nah, On the friends and family thing I do it at cost, and crucially I tell them that up front, saves a lot of trouble, especially when you tell them what it would cost anybody else.

[@alandillon4956]

Never do work for family or friends. You said it all brought business with John.,thats your get out of jail card.,any work has to be done through normal pricing, contract of doing work.

[@michaelanderson2689]

Any of your customers asked for video of there engine build or any other related work?

[@terryfoster1706]

absolutely.

[@Goldie644]

Fully understand - I used to work in IT and couldn't visit family without getting asked " can you have a look at my PC, it's slow/not working " and them expecting me to perform miracles for free :(

[@v4skunk739]

And always a faulty hdd/ssd or cpu/gpu heatsinks caked in dust over heating the system.

[@paulappleyard5832]

I don't work for free and I don't expect anyone else too 'mate' or not. I wouldn't class that person as a 'mate'

[@TonyRule]

No, I believe the correct term is 'bludger'.

[@neilwharton720]

Don’t work with family either they take the piss🤷‍♀️

[@andrewburgin-wild7052]

Doesn’t matter the customer is. The answer is always give an estimate and if more comes to light be clear and precise with a a new estimate.

[@mjjr1000]

15:10 friends and family always expect to much for minimum payment and your always the devil when things don’t go to plan.

[@dannycrooks8462]

I don't do any work for friends and family anymore getting paid was terrible they're finding out now I wasn't charging them that much for the work

[@michaelevans2975]

Excellent vid Lee, super work.

[@petermcilroy3224]

Did some work for my brother in law once and only charged him for parts. When I asked him for it years later he sent me a cheque with I hope you choke on it written on it

[@tricksmoke]

Wheels within wheels!!.

[@edwardsilva895]

Point well taken

[@caitlinsmith2845]

Hi Lee. Here is where I show my ignorance. At 4.50 in the video the scene skips from no main bearings to the central main fitted. The oil hole seems to be on your side where there was no oilway in the block. Does the thrust main have two oil holes or is there something else going on? Ok trolls, ATTACK!

[@michaeljenner5628]

Great video as always Lee. Take care mate

[@user-wc1ey9is1k]

What is happening with the Rover 6 ?

[@Flakmagnet1701]

That KX must have been a while ago! £300 for a bottom end overhaul from the shop...or £500 for getting the gearbox done as well. I'd be happy with that. I'm rebuilding an old 750-4 motor, and I've spent more than that on the bottom end with primary chains, tensioners, camchains and guides plus gearbox bearings. I'm sure some folks just don;t realise what the parts cost, or what a decent spannerman charges per hour. Reminds me too..I need some plastigage!

[@katywalker8322]

£300 would be very cheap. It has cost me £400~£450 for the crank rebuild and most of the parts (gaskets, seals, piston, bearings, balance shaft gears, etc) to rebuild a 125 liquid cooled 2 stroke and that is with me dropping the engine out and doing the engine strip and rebuild, and getting away without the barrel needing to be replated.

[@paulgriffiths5999]

not sure if it is naivety or budget cynicism. As an Interior Architect I won't carry out work for either 'friends' or 'family' or even recommend anyone to them. You will be tarred with the same brush if anything goes wrong, which invariably does. For my part, favours are not asked from any of them.

[@davidworthington9118]

Thankyou

[@stevecmason-rs6vf]

If you ever do owt for nowt, do it for thee sen, then don't do it very often!😊

[@tunnel7]

Great vid Lee cheers what Camera are you using and Microphone looks and sounds the bizzz

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

500 horsepower! Still sounds nuts from a car production mass produced engine.

[@milesfinch]

People from the West Country.....

[@davidsheridan]

Hi Lee I run a tractor repair garage in Ireland..family are the worst customers ever ..had relations stop coming to me when they found out I was charging them full retail prices for parts ..took them about 4 years to come crawling back

[@nicholasviney5975]

Family and friend jobs always go tits up

[@andyclears8593]

Have you started the VX220 engine yet?

[@JustinDRichards]

Nice educational video. I don't do anything for my friends without establishing expectations from both parties; you want me to do it free labor and you just buy the parts? Well okay but I do it when I have free time so don't expect it done in a few days.

[@paullangford7078]

People should use you because you do a quality job not because your cheap.

[@keithfletcher6123]

Yeah … mates rates … it’s not a thing. Arguably mates rates should carry a 50% premium not a discount …

[@frosthoe]

So sorry you had to experience this. In the early 2000's This drama and outright expectation of free work really soured me on my Pc repair business. Eventually its why I stopped servicing systems. Too many people started asking nice, then later expecting,, then demanding freebies or return service for free.. Many feelings were hurt trying to help freinds and relations...NEVER again! I am not a Mr free fixit service, then ignore me for the rest of your life...I am not your antivirus, malware porn removal service. Now I just send them somewhere and say itll be $400 or more and they blanch..

[@scottharrop7954]

You are not going to charge your mum 6k for her Cossie build surely?

[@seriksson9721]

No no, you have to buy and pay for all the parts and do the work too, everything should be free and with a lifetime unconditional warranty. Of course it should be that way. Note joke.

[@gizz1777]

Can't understand the problem with friends and family, I've got friends whom are builders, electricians, plumbers etc the list goes on if I need their help I pay for whatever they say is needed no questions and when they need my services they pay for the bits and I provide the labour totally free, we have been this way for over 40 years non of us would dream of charging our friends for help, but I guess that's why we are still all friends after all these years, we respect each other first and foremost and we all treat each others kids as our own. Non of us drive a lambo or can afford to to play with kit cars but we have each others back 100% , we laugh together and hug each other and non of us have a problem with that. Money isn't everything to us like it is to some people but I'd rather have a ford and a laugh than a lambo and no mates any day of the week.

[@charliejackman2953]

What are your "services"?

[@gizz1777]

@charliejackman2953 Mechanic why?

[@charliejackman2953]

@@gizz1777 It sounded a bit godfather / mafia that's all ;)

[@gizz1777]

😂😂😂@@charliejackman2953

[@TonyRule]

The difference there appears to be that yours have skills they can offer in trade.

[@EricaMTB]

Not much point porting a turbo engine. Just run more boost to push the air in.

[@SquireDAF]

😂 Or a well built engine making more power at less boost

[@GlennPowell-ls3lg]

This may sound a daft question reference to porting.Why do these heads leave production and need porting ? So many A series heads get ported for example but it was never done in production.The same with the old ford pinto heads.I presume it was a compromise between performance and fuel economy?The A series siamese heads were always asmatic and porting became the thing amongst the owners world.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Rule number 1... 😐

[@philipslater3897]

Friendship out of business - YES. Business out of friendship - NO.

[@rickyokrasa5912]

Obviously…

[@who-gives-a-toss_Bear]

When family and friends ask for a 50% discount because their family etc. Just ask for a 50% bonus because your family etc. 🙄

[@70sAirForceBrat]

Doing work for friends and family. A lot of them. Expect you to do more for less and some of them. Expect you to basically give them a lifetime warranty on the work you've done for them. That's why I don't do work for friends or family anymore.

[@1977gm]

no respect for your business, NOT a true friend tbh

[@lilsteve1979]

Jesus is there anything other than moaning about someone or something on here, shame as I was quite enjoying it

[@papachis9535]

Never ask your friends or family to do their professional work at less than the market rate. Why?. Because they will always give you the best reasonable deal and you will know that the job is done properly. Unless, of course, you have misjudged your friends and family….