Miata Mailing List: August 1994, Message #186
sponsored by



     


   From: jwa@yog-sothoth.dcrt.nih.gov (James W. Adams)
Subject: Re: Bum Dealers
   Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 16:19:43 -0400

Kenneth J. Buck epistolizes:
> 
> i think this is kind of a problematic issue for *anyone* to deal with...
> 
> the problem is complicated because you want accurate and
> fair evaluations of dealers and service shops.
> 
> [... good points, edited out for brevity]

Another point is that sometimes someone simply has a bad day, and may miss
something they would have normally caught, or make a mistake.  Of course a
reputable dealer or mechanic will admit this and rectify the problem, but
it may necessitate a return trip.

Having once (in a prior life, after college) been a professional mechanic
in a dealer service dept, I'd like to offer a few additional observations:

First, there have been numerous complaints regarding use of impact
wrenches. I own a large shop-type air compressor and a variety of air
tools including the wrenches I used when I worked at the dealer.  I can
tighten a clean fastener to the correct torque within a few percent
using an impact wrench.  Any good professional can do the same.  Air
wrenches have throttles, come in different sizes, and are easily
controlled once you gain a bit of experience.  Ditto for ratchets and
other hand wrenches (well, they don't have throttles).  A good mechanic
seldom *needs* to use a torque wrench unless the application is a
critical one such as bearing caps, crush-fit spacers or precision-fit
components with very high torque fasteners. (And McGard lug nuts!)  The
mere fact that an impact wrench was used does not always imply that
fasteners have been overtightened.  On the other hand, I've seen people
who could strip a head bolt with a nutdriver, so it all depends on the
expertise and attitude of the technician.

One reason racing engines are so expensive is that *everything* is hand-
torqued and retorqued carefully on an assembly jig.  If a dealer shop
did this sort of work, you'd have to pay a thousand dollars every
time they changed your spark plugs.  Professional technicians are under
a great deal of pressure to work fast and efficiently.  Air tools are
one way to do this.  Properly used, they can greatly speed a job, with
results identical to a hand-torqued assembly.  Improperly used, they
can ruin an assembly beyond repair.

A second issue is the way dealer shops are managed.  IMHO, a properly
managed (from a customer service perspective) dealer repair service shop
*cannot* be run at a profit.  It will inevitably be an overhead expense.
This is partly due to the low rate of factory reimbursement for warranty
work, and partly due to the difficulty of competing with independent
chain specialty shops which take a large percentage of the most
profitable work such as oil changes and other easy maintenance jobs. If
you pay your technicians reasonably, encourage them to take the time to
do the job correctly, and charge reasonable rates, there is no way you
can break even, let alone make a profit.  Unfortunately, service
managers are pressured to turn a profit by most dealership owners.  This
leads to heavy pressure on technicians to rush, cut corners, and do
shoddy work, even to fail to do work in some cases (you'd be amazed at
the number of disc brake 'caliper overhauls' done with a can of Brakleen
and a rag, without even removing the dust boot -- "Sorry, the old parts
contained hazardous waste... we had to recycle 'em").  It also leads to
high-pressure tactics by service writers who foist unnecessary but
highly profitable work onto naive customers.

Most of the Smokey Yunicks of the world will not work under these
conditions, so you generally end up with a mediocre collection of
mechanics with the least talented relegated to warranty service, which
is typically the least profitable work for the dealer.  Of course
dealers don't want to admit that they are employing sweatshop
conditions, so they'll typically try to bully customers or transfer
blame elsewhere, anything to cover up the truth.

Not all dealers are like this, of course, but a shockingly large number
are.  

Together with the points Ken raised, this helps illustrate why it's
difficult to find reliable, quality service at dealerships, and even
more difficult to fairly evaluate them.