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

[cobram@juno.com (. .)]

DeWitt Harrison <de@aztek-eng.com> writes:

>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.

I agree with you 100% on this one, and would like to add that
nobody can possibly be up on every problematic area of every
model.  Most of this knowledge comes from years of ownership,
or exchange of "war stories".  We've all BTDT.  Most, if not
all repair shops will NOT charge the actual diagnosis time 
on things like this.  You can usually bet if they charge
2 hours, they spent more than that, they'll just average
it out on the next car that comes in with said problem. Or
bite the bullet like they do on comebacks with defective
parts.  

It's the same ole story all the time, "I could have done
that..", "that's all that was wrong!?", "how much, just for
that!!?"... ect.  While there are many rip-off artists in 
the business, most shops are honest and do right by their
customers, but they are not miracle workers, nor are they 
responsable for design flaws.  I'm pretty good with the 
'84 5KS I own, but I've co-habitated with it for over 8 
years, and there isn't a system in the whole car I 
haven't taken a wrench to, and I still get stumped (along 
with the list) occasionally. Hell, there are so many 
differences in the Automatic vs. the stick on 
this model, that I don't even offer an answer to Automatic
questions, unless it's a universal problem with the model. 

How many '84 5KS's does an Audi shop see, let alone a 
general repair shop see??  Is it reasonable to expect them to 
go right to the problem and fix it before your coffee
gets cold in the cupholder?  Seems to be what some people
expect.  

BCNU,

Cobram@Juno.Com
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Flats/1469/

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