Miata Mailing List: August 1994, Message #203
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   From: AKERMANRS@delphi.com
Subject: HOW CAN $504.00 EQUAL $33.00?
   Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 21:06:02 -0400


Coming from Seattle/Monterey/Honolulu this type of honesty, neighborliness
(for want of a better word) and generosity was surprising and quite refreshing.
I will for sure leave Louisiana with a better, and perhaps fairer, opinion of
the South, but not of a southern Mazda dealer. All in all a GREAT day for 
me.

I nominate John Brown Mazda in Slidell, LA as a bum dealer. I stripped the
threads on the front disc caliper yesterday. The manual said "58 ft-lbs" on
the lower locking pin. As I was tightning it, I was thinking to myself, "this
seems like a lot of turning..."   STRIPPED!!!!  OK, so I should know that's too
much torque for a 10mm bolt with limited thread engagement. If you pull
the caliper to replace the pads or just check the pads: "WARNING WILL
ROBINSON." when you reassemble it. The manual is unclear, at best. Plain 
wrong at worst.

To make a very long story shorter: After the dealer showed me the part
that he said was stripped (wrong) and me showing him the part that 
was stripped, he would only agree to replace the entire caliper assembly,
not just the caliper housing (that comes with a piston). He, of course, had 
it not in stock. Total $504!!!!!!!!!!!! My response was AMF (mf is silent). 
Bad day...

Called machine shop (Douglas Automotive Machine) where Mike installed a heli-
coil on the spot.

Me: "How much?" 
Mike: "$10" 
Me: "Here's $20, keep the change" (I was SOOOO thrilled he fixed it I was
       giddy) 
Mike: "Try Northshore Automotive to bleed the brakes."

Off to Northshore Automotive  (really, really carefully!!)

Me: "Thanks,  how much do I owe you?"
Charly: "No charge-Mike sent you."
Me: (silence)

P.S. I gave him $13 anyway.

So that's how $504.00 equals $33.00 (and it could have been $10). And how
a really sucky morning turned into an affirming experience.