Funniest Repair Orders you've seen?

[recklessabandonman]

Going to parts stores is always a trip... especially with my choptop. I went in one day with a list of parts I needed and the part numbers. Handed it over to the guy working the counter and after glancing at it, he promptly asked me what year, make, and model I had so he could look the vehicle up....
me: You're not going to find it that way, I gave you the parts numbers you need.
him: I can't look it up that way, I have to have the year make and model.
me: It's not going to help you to know that.
him: No, it's the only way I can do this.
me: *sigh* Ok... It's a 1989 Ford Bronco II 2wd with a 1988 Bronco II 2.9L motor, a 1989 Ranger transfer case, front and rear axles from a 1986 Bronco II, a lift kit for the front from a 1990 Ranger, 1993 Explorer leaf springs, chevy drop shackles, rear driveshaft from a 1987 Bronco II, front driveshaft from a 1985 Bronco II, 1994 Explorer front seats, a 1987 Ranger tailgate and part of a softtop from a Jeep TJ. That all fit in your lil box there?
him: *speechless*
me: Want to see the list again?

 

[Downey]

when i was installing my explorer axle in my truck last spring my dad and i couldlnt get the rear dics brakes to bleed. well my dad is very mechanically inclined but he doesnt know much about the rangers and what not. well he went to the advance auto near us and was going to buy me 2 new calipers. well my dad not know the axle was out of an explorer. he told the guy he needed 2 rear brake calipers for a 94 ranger. well the guy behind the counter told him they didnt put rear disc brakes in the rangers till 98. come to find out its the same guy argued with me one day about ****ing spark plugs. if i call the place for a price or if they have a part in stock if this guy. this name is bob answers i hang up right away i wont even talk to him because he thinks he knows everything.


the one day he stood and told a lady that came in on the phone with he husband you she was close enough for me to hear what he wanted. he was telling her so he tells her and she gets off the phone. of course she got this dumbass bob guy and i heard what the guy told her on the phone. she needed plugs for the car she drove in. well he starts telling her shit about heat ranges and shit. i went over and i said im sry but i heard what your husband needed. if for the car your driving right? shes like yes i looked at him and said stop trying to make more money off this lady and get her the damn autolite plugs she needs stop being an asshole. he got this look like omg i cant believe you just said that but he never said i word to me just went and got her plugs and left. the people that work there i know said he tries that shit all the time.

 

[PaleBlue90]

last aug i was working as a lube tech and a tech at a place here in aurora. well i take out the trash, start coffie,sweep and mop the lobby when a 90 year old lady comes in. i greet her and go get my boss. she had a old pinto wagon that needed a starter and a caddy with the northstar that needed a water pump. i did the starter in 15 mins. around lunch she brings the caddy in. i hear my boss charge her 3500$ for a water pump! he went out to the shop to yell at my buddy who also worked there. i pulled her aside and told her to call me after 3 and i would do the water pump for the cost of the part and a burger from mcdonalds. i told my boss off and told him id be back for my tools and check.

after i left i went and talked to this lady i did the water pump for her and everything. i shook her hand and left to go get my box and check only to find my buddy loading his tools in his mustang. he got canned too. so after we load our stuff we go in to get our checks when the son of my boss pulls me aside and tells my i should go check my box beacuse his dad (my boss) had been hanging around it. i had the words "ungreatful SOB" carved on the back side of my box". i didnt even see it. so after i get my check i walk over to his GMC dully and key in the side "i take it in the @**" granted it wasnt smart but i didnt care at that point.

i drive by that place every once in a while and i see very few cars there. there loseing profits left and right. its guys like that; that make guys who work on cars fro a liveing look bad. when my grandparents go to get there cars fixed, they call me and tell me what the bill is and i useually do the work for them if they buy the parts or will pay me back for the parts.

recently they got told it would be 1000$ for front wheel bearings! 89$ a side for the part and a 22$ book and well it was done in about a hour and a half in the cold. im pretty pleased

 

[koda6966]

last aug i was working as a lube tech and a tech at a place here in aurora. well i take out the trash, start coffie,sweep and mop the lobby when a 90 year old lady comes in. i greet her and go get my boss. she had a old pinto wagon that needed a starter and a caddy with the northstar that needed a water pump. i did the starter in 15 mins. around lunch she brings the caddy in. i hear my boss charge her 3500$ for a water pump! he went out to the shop to yell at my buddy who also worked there. i pulled her aside and told her to call me after 3 and i would do the water pump for the cost of the part and a burger from mcdonalds. i told my boss off and told him id be back for my tools and check.
after i left i went and talked to this lady i did the water pump for her and everything. i shook her hand and left to go get my box and check only to find my buddy loading his tools in his mustang. he got canned too. so after we load our stuff we go in to get our checks when the son of my boss pulls me aside and tells my i should go check my box beacuse his dad (my boss) had been hanging around it. i had the words "ungreatful SOB" carved on the back side of my box". i didnt even see it. so after i get my check i walk over to his GMC dully and key in the side "i take it in the @**" granted it wasnt smart but i didnt care at that point.
i drive by that place every once in a while and i see very few cars there. there loseing profits left and right. its guys like that; that make guys who work on cars fro a liveing look bad. when my grandparents go to get there cars fixed, they call me and tell me what the bill is and i useually do the work for them if they buy the parts or will pay me back for the parts.
recently they got told it would be 1000$ for front wheel bearings! 89$ a side for the part and a 22$ book and well it was done in about a hour and a half in the cold. im pretty pleased

Your ex-boss is an asshole. I hate guys like that. The shop that I take my vehicles to would never do such a thing. I took my car in the other day for a wheel bearing and they quoted me at 2.2 hours of labor and the bearing for a total of $180 before tax on the part. They ended up spending almost four hours working on it and had to order me a new seal for it but still charged me the same amount for labor, plus the extra seal. I would have understood if he charged me extra for the labor because my car was in past closing time and everyone else went home, but he kept working on it because he was almost done. He just figured that since it wasn't my fault that it was taking so long and I was patient that he would just stick to the quoted fee. If I was a complete ass about it he probably would have slapped on that extra labor.

 

[PaleBlue90]

Your ex-boss is an asshole. I hate guys like that. The shop that I take my vehicles to would never do such a thing. I took my car in the other day for a wheel bearing and they quoted me at 2.2 hours of labor and the bearing for a total of $180 before tax on the part. They ended up spending almost four hours working on it and had to order me a new seal for it but still charged me the same amount for labor, plus the extra seal. I would have understood if he charged me extra for the labor because my car was in past closing time and everyone else went home, but he kept working on it because he was almost done. He just figured that since it wasn't my fault that it was taking so long and I was patient that he would just stick to the quoted fee. If I was a complete ass about it he probably would have slapped on that extra labor.

i agree. he doesnt relize the value of his customers do good things and they will come back/tell people about there good experince at your shop. all that = more $ in your shops pocket. do bad work and act like a moron and well the money gos some were else

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

These last couple make me think of the time I took my '89 Eddie Bauer Bronco II in for a "safety check" (basically an inspection without the sticker) when I was fixing the truck up. I knew what was wrong with it and asked to be in the shop while the tech looked it over so I could go over the truck with him and then I'd know what was all in need of repair so I could do it.

The guy pulls it in and throws it up on the lift and gets started: (I tried to be polite, unless otherwise noted, what's in parenthesis is what I thought, not what I said)

Peeks in the adjuster hole on the backing plate of the drums "yea, you're gonna need new rear brakes. (no, they were only half worn)

You have to replace all the ebrake cables, they're too rusty. (I told him they stick and that I was going to replace the cable, I had the new cable in the back of the BII)

You have too much rubber fuel line, you're only allowed to have 4' and you have 7' on here, you'll have to get some metal line and replace it. (WTF!)

You have a transmission leak that you need to get fixed. (yep, the typical A4LD dribble off the pan, I'll make a go at fixing it when I get my new filter and gasket, lol)

Rear driveshaft U-joints are bad, you'll have to replace them. (Uhh... can we say CV joint? lol)

Oh, front brakes are junk, you'll have to replace the pads and the rotors, maybe the calipers too. (I had to bite my tongue... hard.... BRAND NEW rotors with new pads - just dirty from the ride though winter slop to get to the shop)

You got a bad front lower balljoint on the passenger side. (I'll concede this point, it was visibly bad)

Engine is too dirty, you need to steam clean it. (Huh? Since when is THAT part of the inspection??)

He listed about a dozen other things that I forget exactly what they were, but they were identically stupid.

I then proceeded to ask what they'd want to replace the balljoints... just the upper and lower passenger side. He goes an looks in a book, plays with a calculator, talks with the boss, plays with the calculator some more and then proceeds to tell me with a straight face that if I can bring the parts, they can do it for $470 in labor because it will take them 6.5 hours to do it according to their book because they have to pull the front diff out to get the C-clip off the axle, so they have to pull the entire front axle apart to do the balljoints and then reset the gears when they put it back together.

I said "uhh... there's a slip-joint on the passenger side shaft, there's no need to do any of that other stuff."

He insisted that I was wrong and the book was right. I took my keys and left, lol. I did all FOUR front balljoints on a Saturday at a junkyard where I was friends with the owner. Did the work outside and pressed the joints in on a hydro shop press, lol. Took me around 4 hours and I had never done such a thing before. The hardest part proved to be tightening the castle nut on the last one, it just wanted to spin the stud. And I didn't have to pull the diff at all.

 

[adsm08]

These last couple make me think of the time I took my '89 Eddie Bauer Bronco II in for a "safety check" (basically an inspection without the sticker) when I was fixing the truck up. I knew what was wrong with it and asked to be in the shop while the tech looked it over so I could go over the truck with him and then I'd know what was all in need of repair so I could do it.

The guy pulls it in and throws it up on the lift and gets started: (I tried to be polite, unless otherwise noted, what's in parenthesis is what I thought, not what I said)

Peeks in the adjuster hole on the backing plate of the drums "yea, you're gonna need new rear brakes. (no, they were only half worn)

You have to replace all the ebrake cables, they're too rusty. (I told him they stick and that I was going to replace the cable, I had the new cable in the back of the BII)

You have too much rubber fuel line, you're only allowed to have 4' and you have 7' on here, you'll have to get some metal line and replace it. (WTF!)

You have a transmission leak that you need to get fixed. (yep, the typical A4LD dribble off the pan, I'll make a go at fixing it when I get my new filter and gasket, lol)

Rear driveshaft U-joints are bad, you'll have to replace them. (Uhh... can we say CV joint? lol)

Oh, front brakes are junk, you'll have to replace the pads and the rotors, maybe the calipers too. (I had to bite my tongue... hard.... BRAND NEW rotors with new pads - just dirty from the ride though winter slop to get to the shop)

You got a bad front lower balljoint on the passenger side. (I'll concede this point, it was visibly bad)

Engine is too dirty, you need to steam clean it. (Huh? Since when is THAT part of the inspection??)

He listed about a dozen other things that I forget exactly what they were, but they were identically stupid.

I then proceeded to ask what they'd want to replace the balljoints... just the upper and lower passenger side. He goes an looks in a book, plays with a calculator, talks with the boss, plays with the calculator some more and then proceeds to tell me with a straight face that if I can bring the parts, they can do it for $470 in labor because it will take them 6.5 hours to do it according to their book because they have to pull the front diff out to get the C-clip off the axle, so they have to pull the entire front axle apart to do the balljoints and then reset the gears when they put it back together.

I said "uhh... there's a slip-joint on the passenger side shaft, there's no need to do any of that other stuff."

He insisted that I was wrong and the book was right. I took my keys and left, lol. I did all FOUR front balljoints on a Saturday at a junkyard where I was friends with the owner. Did the work outside and pressed the joints in on a hydro shop press, lol. Took me around 4 hours and I had never done such a thing before. The hardest part proved to be tightening the castle nut on the last one, it just wanted to spin the stud. And I didn't have to pull the diff at all.

That tech has a degree in it.

 

[bcost882]

in the airforce we use TOs for the jobs we do and they are numbers so with the new guys we tell them to go to support for a 1D-10-T. And instead of getting boots x-rayed we make them go to NDI (non destructive inspection) to see if their boots are still good if you can get NDI in on it is funny to watch guys walk down the sidewalk in socks with their boots in a condemned bag.

 

[Colin]

in the airforce we use TOs for the jobs we do and they are numbers so with the new guys we tell them to go to support for a 1D-10-T. And instead of getting boots x-rayed we make them go to NDI (non destructive inspection) to see if their boots are still good if you can get NDI in on it is funny to watch guys walk down the sidewalk in socks with their boots in a condemned bag.

Did you ever send them for a couple feet of flightline? Or a gallon of prop wash?

 

[Southern_Trendkill]

in the airforce we use TOs for the jobs we do and they are numbers so with the new guys we tell them to go to support for a 1D-10-T. And instead of getting boots x-rayed we make them go to NDI (non destructive inspection) to see if their boots are still good if you can get NDI in on it is funny to watch guys walk down the sidewalk in socks with their boots in a condemned bag.

We have fun with the new guys here. We send guys to get 10 yards of flightline, a bucket of prop-wash, go take exhaust samples, get a bucket of electrons from the AT's, etc. My favorite one is when you tell someone to go pick up the donuts from the ordies.

 

[Southern_Trendkill]

Did you ever send them for a couple feet of flightline? Or a gallon of prop wash?

You had to make a race out of it...

 

[Mac]

well the guy behind the counter told him they didnt put rear disc brakes in the rangers till 98.

Well I think Bob is a very smart person to look into the future 12 years to when Rangers did get rear disc brakes. That's really good!
Dave

 

[Colin]

You had to make a race out of it...

Nice.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

That tech has a degree in it.

That's for sure! The really crazy part was that the owner of a local junkyard that was helping me put the truck back together told me to tell them that he was helping me fix the truck up and anything wrong with it would be fixed by us. And the owner of the shop was watching the whole thing.... needless to say, when I was ready for an inspection I took it elsewhere.

 

[adsm08]

yeah. Dirty engine is NOT and inspection item.