Computer Crashes

Well I have been trying to get myself together enough to write some kind of blog post for about a week or better now. Here at work on Wednesday of last week first thing in the morning we had a computer hard drive failure & crash. The crash was on our "server" So it was back to hand writing tickets for Wednesday. And of course as slow as we have been last week was not really one of our slow weeks we did have some business here. So it was totally insane we sent the server to a local repair shop. What needed to be done was replacement of the hard drive but I just had to much to do with all my other duties to be able to replace the hard drive and all the while trying to service customers and hand write tickets.

The computer shop we took the server to called late Wednesday afternoon (Computer Enhancement Systems) They said they had the new hard drive installed but could not transfer ANY data from the old hard drive. Let me jump to why we picked Computer Enhancement Systems on their web site they proclaim they experts in data recovery & disaster recovery solutions. Also I have been dealing with them since the mid 90's for some of my personal computer needs. We also have worked on some of their fleet vehicles in our shop.

Needless to say I feel very let down and to be very frank about the issue feel that we were over charged for the services that they did. Basically they charged us over $400.00 to install a new hard drive and do a fresh Windows OS install they did also install a new CD/DVD drive at the time of service. In order to attempt a data recovery they told me that they would have to "Send the hard drive out" and there would be a Min. charge of $200.00 - $300.00 and that would be the charge even to find out no data could be recovered!!!!!!!!!!!!! Back to what their web site says.....

We're experts in:
bullet Data Recovery Forensic Analysis bullet
bullet Information Technology & Onsite Services bullet
bullet Disk Wiping and Data Destruction bullet
bullet Software Solution Developer bullet
bullet Database Implementation bullet
bullet Disaster Recovery Solutions bullet
bullet Web Design and Training

To add insult to things after all the money they charged I still had to spend hours on the phone with Snap-on tech support to get our "point of sale system" and "customer database" re installed! and of course our newest back up (shame on us) was about two weeks old so we lost about two weeks worth of data.


My question is if you are experts in data recovery why would you need to "send the drive out" everything should be done "in house" if you are experts! That would be like my repair shop saying........ We are transmission experts but to rebuild your transmission we would have to send your car to another shop. We do not proclaim to be something we are not on our web site! Needless to say Autoworx or myself will never be using Computer Enhancement Systems again.

ASE Testing

I thought I was done with testing when I got out of school but as it turns out that's not the case. Wish me luck I have to take an ASE re certification test this evening after work. In this area the tests are even held in a High School in the evening. You also have to have your #2 pencils sharp and ready to go to fill out the bubble answer sheets. There are many many different tests you can take for certification in certain areas of automotive repair. ie. Like "Under car specialist" so on and so forth. I have two different certifications. "Automotive Service Consultant" & "Automotive Parts Specialist"

These tests are not free to take each regular test cost $27.00 each advanced level test cost $54.00 & you also have to pay a registration fee of $36.00 every time you take a test. And those fees are paid pass or fail. Some employers pay for thier techs to take the tests some don't. To be honest these tests don't hold much merit in my mind. I have been a shop manager and or service adviser for 15+ years now and I have to tell you I have seen techs that have many certifications that can't hold a candle to some that don't have any! But with that said it is always a good idea to stick with a repair shop that has ASE certified techs.

Can't Believe A Honda Let Me Sit

Well there is nothing like having your car break down on the side of 70 west at the top of South Mt. just passed the point where the 3rd lane ends. Going home during rush hour traffic. A word of advice if this happens to you don't look in your rear view mirror and the BIG TRUCKS cresting the top of the hill in that 3rd lane if you are sitting on the shoulder just passed the point where that lane ends. I found myself saying "Is he going to get over or come right down this shoulder area here? YIKES!"

The good news is it was a simple repair well that is if you have tools and parts in your trunk (and I didn't) But a friend of mine was nice enough to bring me a new upper radiator hose(that's what came apart) also some coolant and something to get the hose clamps off. Thanks Jeff for your help! I was back on the road in about 45 min. And home in no time. Thank goodness for cell phones!

CVT Transmission

Amy bought a new car this weekend a Nissan Versa. The picture to the left is not hers but it is that car. One of the things that is interesting about this car is. It has what is called a C.V.T. Transmission. ie. Continuously Variable Transmission Another words there are no set Gear Ratios. Her dad drove the car and wanted to know why he could not feel the car "Shift" gears and the engine RPM's stay more constant.

Well below is just part of the entry I found on Wikipedia

A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a transmission which can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that only allow a few different distinct gear ratios to be selected. The flexibility of a CVT allows the driving shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity over a range of output velocities. This can provide better fuel economy than other transmissions by enabling the engine to run at its most efficient revolutions per minute (RPM) for a range of vehicle speeds.

There are more and more Vehicles coming on the market with this type of transmission.


CVTs have been used in aircraft electrical power generating systems since the 1950s and in SCCA Formula 500 race cars since the early 1970s. More recently, CVT systems have been developed for go-karts and have proven to increase performance and engine life expectancy. The Tomcar range of off-road vehicles also utilizes the CVT system.

• CVTs can compensate for changing vehicle speeds, allowing the engine speed to remain at its level of peak efficiency. This improves fuel economy and by effect, exhaust emissions.

• CVTs operate smoothly since there are no gear changes which cause sudden jerks.

• Very few problems have been reported with the CVT transmission, lowering the cost of ownership.
  

• There are 25% fewer moving parts to a CVT transmission.
  

• They are also cheaper, but still expensive to repair.
  

Not A Ford Man but...

Well well well.... I got to tell you I am not a Ford man I never have been I just have never really cared that much for Fords. I have always been a GM man until my last purchase of a Honda. But this might make me take a look at Ford the next time I need a car or truck. Way to go Ford for being able to hang on with out Government money my hats off to you!

Part of the story from Fox News..

DEARBORN, Mich.--By shunning government loans, Ford Motor Co.'s (F: 3.12, -0.11, -3.41%) top executives say they hope to buff up the automaker's image and set it apart from its cash-starved Detroit competitors, General Motors Corp.(GM: 4.53, -0.17, -3.60%) and Chrysler LLC.

GM and Chrysler are in desperate need of government money and may not last until the end of the year without it. But Ford set up $23.5 billion worth of credit back in 2006, and both Chief Executive Alan Mulally and Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. told The Associated Press Tuesday they are confident that the borrowing, coupled with restructuring and new product plans, will get them through the recession without relying on the government.

Ford even said the century-old company that bears his family's name might be able to use the independence from loans to its advantage.

"I think if they see Ford as a company trying to pull itself up by its own bootstraps, and making it on its own and pulling the right levers, I think that could be a positive for us," Ford said.

Mulally said Ford has completed much of the restructuring that Congress is demanding of the other two, slimming down its brands by selling Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin and studying the sale of Sweden's Volvo.

Ford, he said, has cut its factory capacity to match demand, and it anticipates no further cuts will be necessary as long as the U.S. auto market doesn't worsen considerably. The company has announced the closure of 17 factories and eliminated 50,000 jobs since 2005, many through buyout and early retirement offers.

Not News To Me Or My Boss

I saw this today on the Fox News web site. I can tell you it is not news for us here at Autoworx LLC. How many of you that know me have heard me say we saw our first declines in early 2007 April as a matter of fact. The report says the recession started in December of 2007 but we saw signs as early as April....

The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.

The NBER -- a private, nonprofit research organization -- said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December.

The White House commented on the news that a second downturn has officially begun on President George W. Bush's watch without ever actually using the word "recession," a term the president and his aides have repeatedly avoided. Instead, spokesman Tony Fratto remarked upon the fact that NBER "determines the start and end dates of business cycles."

"What's important is what is being done about it," Fratto said. "The most important things we can do for the economy right now are to return the financial and credit markets to normal, and to continue to make progress in housing, and that's where we'll continue to focus."

Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009, and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.

By one benchmark, a recession occurs whenever the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, declines for two consecutive quarters. However, the NBER's dating committee uses broader and more precise measures.

The GDP did contract by 0.2% at an annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2007. However, that drop was followed by a 0.9% rate of increase in the first quarter and a 2.8% spurt in the second quarter, when the economy was boosted by the distribution of millions of economic stimulus payments.

However, employment, one of the measurements tracked by the NBER, has been falling since January.

The GDP turned negative again in the July-September quarter of this year, falling at an annual rate of 0.5%. Many economists believe the GDP is falling in the current quarter at an even sharper rate of 4%, and that the economy won't begin to rebound until late 2009.

In a news release, the NBER said its cycle dating committee held a telephone conference call on Friday and made the determination on when the recession began. Founded in 1920, the NBER has more than 1,000 university professors and researchers who act as bureau associates, studying how the economy works

The NBER decision means that the economic expansion lasted from November 2001 until December 2007. Economic expansions peak and recessions begin in the same month, according to the NBER's dating methods.

The decision on the recession means that during the eight years that Bush has been in office, the U.S. has seen two recessions. The first downturn lasted from March 2001 until November of that year.

Am I afraid of losing my job? Answer........ Yes!

By FOXBusiness.com

Last week the Labor Department reported the nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 6.5% in October and this morning weekly jobless claims spiked to the highest level since September 2001.

With layout headlines coming fast and furious, we want to know, are you afraid of losing your job?

So this question is from a Fox News poll.

I have to say for the first time in my life that YES I AM afraid of losing my job. There have been other times in my adult working life that things have been tight. I have been through one company closing. Also one company take over that resulted in me taking a demotion (only for a short time) However both of these times in my mind I was NEVER worried about not being able to find a job if I needed to find a new one. I have only drawn unemployment one time in my life and that was when I got laid off from a company that closed its doors. Even then however I only drew benefits for about 3 weeks and in all reality had a job lined up almost as soon as I got ditched.

This time things have changed for me...... You see this time if something happens and the doors close. No one is hiring I have no prospects lined up and everyone I know in my industry is struggling to make payroll. Even some of your big "chain repair stores" Are in trouble.

My boss who has been my boss as well as a good friend for the last ten years is a very wise businessman. We (because of our close relationship) talk almost daily about where our company is and what kind of shape things are in. So that helps keep my mind at ease some what. Don't get me wrong we are in NO danger of closing at this point.

With that said we are fast approaching a 30% loss over last years sales. I predict that by the close of this year (Dec. 31st) we will be down an unheard of 40% in sales over last year.

And for the first time in my life I have no place to go if something happens. So to answer the question one more time...... YES I AM SCARED!

What Kind Of Car You Drive May or May Not Tell Us Who You Are Voting For

I found this to be interesting although people have to much time on their hands if they have to to study this crap.

Most national polls find Barack Obama holding a solid -- yet narrowing -- lead over John McCain in the final push before the election.

But a recent poll of automobile owners shows a different reality.

McCain leads Obama 47 percent to 46 percent among vehicle owners -- well within the margin of error -- according to a report published by the automotive price guide Kelley Blue Book.

The report, which appeared Monday on the McClatchy-Tribune's Web site, found that McCain is favored among owners of domestic and luxury vehicles -- like Buick, Dodge, and Ford -- while Obama leads among import owners -- like Saab and Honda.

Fifty-two percent of Lexus, BMW, and Lincoln owners, for example, prefer McCain while 61 percent of Subaru owners favor Obama, according to the McClatchy-Tribune.

The report found that heavy sales of those vehicles correlate with states where a particular candidate dominates in the polls, Kelley Blue Book's senior vice president of marketing and analytics Rick Wainschel told the Hartford Courant.

So mom and dad I guess this would explain the Volkswagen sitting in the drive way?

But wait I am the one that disproves the rule..... I drive a Honda but as of today I am still voting for Mccain. I guess that's cause if I had my choice I would still be driving a Cadillac... I miss my Cady :(

Yay Its Friday.

Some times I am so glad it's Friday & this happens to be one of the weeks. While the last two weeks has not been so bad here at work. It becomes more and more depressing to come into an empty shop where for most of the day you have nothing to do. I mean after all I can only do so much playing on the internet and starting political fights. :)

We had a good run starting with about Monday October the 20th then by about Wednesday of this week things started to slow down and Thursday we stood around talking and looking at each other most of the day.

We are down in sales so much that looking at figures only serves to make me cry and yes I do mean cry that's how bad it is. You know a week or two of good days here or there will not make up for a year to two years of sales losses. I have been doing this for about 15 years now and have never seen a down turn in automotive repair like I have seen with in the last year to year and a half.

We have been on a steady decline since the gas prices first spiked about two years ago.

It is very depressing and makes me very uneasy. I have never had to worry about finding myself a job but. I think if something were to happen to my employment now that I would end up being out of work for some time! I know of way to many people in this industry both friends & people I know just by name that are out of work and NO ONE is hiring!

Worried would be an understatement! all I can do is hope we can hang on.

With that said I am glad it Friday!

Everyone have a good day!

Friday Rant - Oil Changes do not cut it

Well today has been one of those Fridays I would care not to relive. My blood pressure I am sure is a good bit higher then it should be and I am about at wits end and ready for 5:00pm.

Let me start by saying this I work in a "Automotive Service & Repair Shop" we are NOT a "Quick Lube Center" If all you are going to let me do to your vehicle is oil changes please go to a quick lube center don't do me any favors.

Oil changes alone DO NOT pay our bills nor do they pay mine as an employee of our shop. As a matter of fact with the ever rising cost of oil and other supplies our shop takes a loss on oil changes.

We do oil changes as a vehicle maintenance and a service to our regular customers that spend thier money here on other things like Brake Repairs, Exhaust Repairs, Suspension, repairs, & other vehicle break down repairs. the list goes on and on. The only thing I do not really push here as a service manger is tires. We are not a tire dealer there for our tire prices are not in line with the big tire stores so I do recommend to people that they shop else where for tires in some cases.

The stories that caused this:

#1. Customer called wanted to drop his car off for an oil change fine I said bring it in.....

So the customer brings in the vehicle >I pull up the information and I see the last time it was in was 10,000 miles ago & we had 5 yes 5 recommendations of needed repairs that at the time they told me they could not do. ok fine. >So we pull the vehicle in they are 7,000 miles over due on the oil change. >And it still needs the 5 recommendations plus two more!! DO you think they elected to do any of the needed maintenance? NO! Sorry if I sound harsh I don't want your business if all I am getting is a $30 or $40 oil changes everytime you come in. Again go to the Quick Lube place across the street!

#2
This customer flat out lied to me.......

This customers car broke down and would not start so they had it towed in. When this vehicle got here I pulled up the information and saw the last time it was in that it had a coolant leak. What is called the intake manifold was leaking coolant. My note at that time was the customer said they were going to bring it back to have it fixed. YES I have notes on my recemmendations as to what the reason the repairs were declined.

The tech was looking at things and low and behold the coolant is/was low and the intake is still leaking. I called the customer about the other issues they were having and I also told them that the intake was still leaking. Reply "I had that fixed" I said "Well if you did you need to bring me the recipt so I can see what they did cause you are still having issues." I said "Who did it?" They said "Ah..... I don't remember" Hello and intake repair is at least $1,000.00 You don't remember where you spent the $1,000.00???????? It flat out has not been done its like telling a dentist you brush when you don't. He can tell you haven't

The only other answer here is that another shop charged for work they didn't do but that's why I asked to see the invoice from the other repair shop so I could confirm the work they were charged for is done.

Bottom line is here profit is not a dirty word we are here to make money and pay our bills and in turn we provide you the customer with a safe dependable vehicle. Now I will agree there are shops out there that like to take you for a ride. I assure you if I tell you you need something you need it. It does me no good to lie about what your vehicle needs. It will come back and bite me in the ass if I do that.

It just blows my mind that people would sooner go out and drop $3,000.00 on a new LCD TV or $100.00 for dinner out then put $300 or $400 into their car at anyone time.

Edit: fixing a car that is paid for is cheaper then buying a new one ever 4 -5 years even if the repairs are starting to cost you some money. $1,000.00 every 6 months is cheaper then a car loan at $300.00 - $500.00 a month

When The Mood Hits Me

You know most of the time when it comes to helping people that come into shop I am always very nice and try to go out of my way to help. However there are times when the mood hits me that I don't feel like putting up with peoples crazy requests. And today is one of the days I feel like that.

The story:

A woman walks into the shop you see she has broken down at the gas station that is right next door. She said her car won't start could someone please come take a look. I said as soon as I get off the phone I will be right over. So I get off the phone and take the "jump pack" over (she had told me it won't turn over) So I thought maybe dead battery. After checking a few things (for free mind you) I came to the conclusion that the starter was "locked up" ie would not turn the motor over. I told her that and told her if she wanted to she could leave it here we would get it moved and look at it later today. In the meantime she is on the phone with the boy friend or husband. And she says to me "He wants you to beat on it with a hammer" Now yes it is true if you have a starter that is going bad and you can get to it to hit it with a hammer while another person cranks the motor it may break loose and start the car. However this is NOT a repair to the issue she is having and also they both were assuming that I would be more then happy to get on my back and get under the car and try to bang in the starter....... AND DO ALL THAT FOR FREE!.

So to her request I replied "No I won't do that you need to get it fixed the right way." I turned and walked away.

My point to all this is a few things damn it! You don't go into a Doctors office and say "just get me going again for now" Also try to get a sit down office visit with your doctor for even 5 min. for FREE! it won't happen! I pay $80 just to go in and have my bp taken every 3 months and to have the doctor come in the room for 30 seconds and say "your ok"

I am sick and tired of people thinking our time in the auto repair industry is free! Its not it cost allot of money and training to even be able to open the doors every day!

In closing I'd like to say spend the money to fix your car right or stop driving! And also its not ok when that check engine light comes on...... Its not just a reminder anymore! You need to get it fixed!

ok I am off my soap box now

Dan

Wrong diagnoses by one repair shop makes us all look bad

We have a customer that comes to us from about 1 1/2 hours away this should speak volumes about our work. I mean after all there are shops much closer to this customer that I'm sure could do the work on their vehicles. But the story here is what happened when this customer made a choice to goto a shop closer to their home and is a perfect example of why this industry CAN'T be trusted. Thats right I said automotive shops CAN'T be trusted. (Of course I'm not including our shop in the not trusted part.) As a service manger I see this type of thing almost daily! and it makes me sick at what some repair shops are doing!

You may want to read this article here about an issue with GM intake manifolds before you read the story.

The Story: The customer has one of the GM vehicles that the article talks about. About one year ago the customer brought in the vehicle and it was leaking coolant, just as the article states can happen. And indeed after our testing we found that the intake manifold gasket was leaking. So long story short the customer was given an estimate for the needed repairs and that estimate was also inline with the cost that the article talks about. Before I go on one thing that can also leak from a bad intake manifold gasket is "engine vacuum" that is created by a running engine and the air being pulled through the motor. When there is a large enough vacuum leak the engine will also run bad it can mis,backfire and have a lack of power. So Monday morning I get a phone call from this customer (Got to love Monday mornings thats another blog LOL) This customer tells me that the car started running really bad last Thursday it was running so badly that they didn't want to take it on the 1 1/2 hour drive it was going to take to get it here. So they took it to a repair shop near their home. After this repair shop said they diagnosed the issue they asked my customer if the intake manifold had ever been off. They of course pulled their paperwork from the work we did a year ago and took it to the shop so the "shop manager" or "service writer" could look it over. They were then told: "Why didn't the other shop replace the fuel injector o-rings when this work was done? Those o-rings are bad and need to be replaced so we will have to take the intake manifold back off and basically do the whole job over!" to this they added the estimate was going to be around $1,000.00! Of course even though I think this customer trusts our work thats when the phone call came to me. "Dan! bla bla bla Why didn't you guys do this when you did the intake work?!?!?!" So I got them to bring the vehicle up to us today. Oh by the way in order for them to be able to pick their vehicle up and bring it to us they had to pay the other shop a $100.00 diagnosis fee! FOR WHAT IS MY QUESTION??
Here is why I say that we pulled the car in to the shop and I kid you not found the issue within 15 min. of opening the hood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What was it you might ask?? It was a .50 broken vacuum hose!! NOT THE $1,000.00 repair the other shop wanted to charge for!

I have this message to send out to any Automotive Repair shop owners or managers that may read this. I for one am sick of seeing customers get taken for a ride! Stop ripping people off!! All you are doing is is giving those of us trying to make an honest living a bad name! KNOCK IT OFF!!

Oh and for those reading even though by rights I could have charged this customer something for this repair I let him go with out charging him. Thats how you treat customers!

Everyone have a great day!
~Dan