Re: Did I get screwed? (was 5KS stalling)

[DeWitt Harrison <de@aztek-eng.com>]

On Thu, 5 Nov 1998 17:54:12 -0600,  Ron Mruss wrote:
>[ ... ]
>Unfortunately, I had stupidly taken it to a mechanic first, thinking it =
>was something more severe, and got charged two hours of labour for them =
>to find a problem I could have found myself.
>[ ... ]
>I'd really like to know - is two hours to find a loose wire =
>to a fuel pump relay realistic, when a lister was able to give me the =
>answer almost instantly?
>[ ... ]

The chances of this particular mechanic having seen this particular
problem on this particular type of car was very slim. When confronted
with a new situation, he must go through a learning curve like any
other human. The hope always is that a professional will do this more
efficiently than the average bloke but he is under no obligation to be
a magician. This q-list is a wonderful thing because it is a huge reservoir
of specialized btdt. It is not reasonable to compare this knowledge base
to that of your average, general purpose wrench.

You contracted the man to take a whack at it. It's almost silly to now
expect that he should have volunteered his time to unravel the mysteries
of this complex automobile.

DeWitt Harrison
Boulder, CO
88 5kcstq