Heres a Car Mechanics Wont Even Work On
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Date: 2019-05-28
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Comments and reviews: 9
Curtis Sherwood
I have been a mechanic for 37 years. I grew up working on 1950s and 1960s cars/trucks. I specialize in these vehicles. I have worked on show cars and rust buckets. The owners are invariably car enthusiasts, and understand that it can get expensive. Just the 4 front tie rod ends on my 1964 Fairlane cost almost 600. In some cases parts are not even available new. Before proceeding with a job, you need to do some research to see if it is possible, and if so what the parts cost will be. The customer must also understand that with old cars, things can go wrong due to the cars age, and possibly improper work done by previous owners. But for the most part, old vehicles are 10 times easier to work on than newer ones. I wont touch a car with a computer, which includes ANY car with EFI. These cars can also be a nightmare, even if nearly new, due to their complexity and poor build quality. The parts can be even more expensive than old car parts. Im a nuts and bolts guy. I work with wrenches and screwdrivers, not computers. I enjoy working on vintage cars, you couldnt pay me enough to work on a late model car. And I have never had an issue with a customer not paying. I have had a few who decided they wanted to stop the work before it was done, due to cost or other reasons, but they always paid me for the parts and labor I had into it. If the potential customer is NOT a car enthusiast, has no emotional attachment to the vehicle, and is just trying to save money by buying an old vehicle, Then yeah, its probably best not to get involved. But, these older non computerized cars/trucks are rarely junk The value of them is currently climbing. More and more people are choosing to go the vintage route, either because they love the kind of cars they just dont make anymore, or they have simply become fed up with the endless proliferation of electronic technology on new cars, and have had enough. I myself would never even consider owning a car without a carburetor.
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I have been a mechanic for 37 years. I grew up working on 1950s and 1960s cars/trucks. I specialize in these vehicles. I have worked on show cars and rust buckets. The owners are invariably car enthusiasts, and understand that it can get expensive. Just the 4 front tie rod ends on my 1964 Fairlane cost almost 600. In some cases parts are not even available new. Before proceeding with a job, you need to do some research to see if it is possible, and if so what the parts cost will be. The customer must also understand that with old cars, things can go wrong due to the cars age, and possibly improper work done by previous owners. But for the most part, old vehicles are 10 times easier to work on than newer ones. I wont touch a car with a computer, which includes ANY car with EFI. These cars can also be a nightmare, even if nearly new, due to their complexity and poor build quality. The parts can be even more expensive than old car parts. Im a nuts and bolts guy. I work with wrenches and screwdrivers, not computers. I enjoy working on vintage cars, you couldnt pay me enough to work on a late model car. And I have never had an issue with a customer not paying. I have had a few who decided they wanted to stop the work before it was done, due to cost or other reasons, but they always paid me for the parts and labor I had into it. If the potential customer is NOT a car enthusiast, has no emotional attachment to the vehicle, and is just trying to save money by buying an old vehicle, Then yeah, its probably best not to get involved. But, these older non computerized cars/trucks are rarely junk The value of them is currently climbing. More and more people are choosing to go the vintage route, either because they love the kind of cars they just dont make anymore, or they have simply become fed up with the endless proliferation of electronic technology on new cars, and have had enough. I myself would never even consider owning a car without a carburetor.
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Skyline Fever
Another problem with working with old cars is that when you replace the part that doesnt work, usually everything around it falls apart. This is especially common when such parts are made of plastic. You can warn the customer that the car will not come back together the same way it was taken apart, but you still are considered the fraudulent mechanic or repair shop if that happens. Another situation is cooling system repairs. Depending on how old the car is, when you fix one antifreeze leak, the antifreeze will simply leak out of the next weakest part. You might get blamed for making the other parts of the cooling system leak which also mean the customer labels you as the fraudulent mechanic or repair shop. Intermittent problems can happen and the customer doesnt tell you about them because they arent related to what they told you to repair. If the intermittent repair comes back, the costumer sometimes cons the repair shop into taking blame for that failure, even though it was a completely different problem. There are instances where a car is making bad noises, and you cant determine the cause of all of them. I feel extremely lucky when I had to solve the problem of a GMC truck that was making noise at the RF wheel. I had to replace the steering shaft, upper control arm, and wheel bearing, and some noise was still left. Normally when that would happen, Id be blamed for creating the noise in the first place.
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Another problem with working with old cars is that when you replace the part that doesnt work, usually everything around it falls apart. This is especially common when such parts are made of plastic. You can warn the customer that the car will not come back together the same way it was taken apart, but you still are considered the fraudulent mechanic or repair shop if that happens. Another situation is cooling system repairs. Depending on how old the car is, when you fix one antifreeze leak, the antifreeze will simply leak out of the next weakest part. You might get blamed for making the other parts of the cooling system leak which also mean the customer labels you as the fraudulent mechanic or repair shop. Intermittent problems can happen and the customer doesnt tell you about them because they arent related to what they told you to repair. If the intermittent repair comes back, the costumer sometimes cons the repair shop into taking blame for that failure, even though it was a completely different problem. There are instances where a car is making bad noises, and you cant determine the cause of all of them. I feel extremely lucky when I had to solve the problem of a GMC truck that was making noise at the RF wheel. I had to replace the steering shaft, upper control arm, and wheel bearing, and some noise was still left. Normally when that would happen, Id be blamed for creating the noise in the first place.
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Ray Brensike
Before I clicked on this, I read the title, and said, I have one of these. Its a 91 Dodge B250. The shops will take my money, but they really dont want to work on it. I got ripped off for many years, so I dont ever want to take it into a shop. I fix what I can, myself. Some real auto repair shops will work on them, but some shops are just ripping people off. It shouldnt matter to them how old something is. If its a matter of whether or not they will get paid, they should at least have the decency to say so, and ask for a certain amount of money up front. Ive wasted thousands of dollars on shops. Its not worth it. Keep it. Drive it, and work on it yourself. I have over 1/2 million miles on mine. The shops I took mine to, didnt know how (or refused to) turn the ignition key to count the flashes and read the codes, and replace easy things like MAP sensor, IAC motor, O2 sensor, TPS, and I even spent 1, 500. 00 in part replacement and towing (2 x) because they didnt know to check the gap of the spark plugs. I later changed plugs myself. Fixed the stalling. Sometimes you can find a good shop, but it seems rare. When I needed a transmission rebuild, it so happened that somebody I knew was getting theirs done (same transmission) at a very reasonable cost, so I took mine there too. Rebuilt for 1, 100. 00. Still working good after about 100, 000 miles. That was an exception.
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Before I clicked on this, I read the title, and said, I have one of these. Its a 91 Dodge B250. The shops will take my money, but they really dont want to work on it. I got ripped off for many years, so I dont ever want to take it into a shop. I fix what I can, myself. Some real auto repair shops will work on them, but some shops are just ripping people off. It shouldnt matter to them how old something is. If its a matter of whether or not they will get paid, they should at least have the decency to say so, and ask for a certain amount of money up front. Ive wasted thousands of dollars on shops. Its not worth it. Keep it. Drive it, and work on it yourself. I have over 1/2 million miles on mine. The shops I took mine to, didnt know how (or refused to) turn the ignition key to count the flashes and read the codes, and replace easy things like MAP sensor, IAC motor, O2 sensor, TPS, and I even spent 1, 500. 00 in part replacement and towing (2 x) because they didnt know to check the gap of the spark plugs. I later changed plugs myself. Fixed the stalling. Sometimes you can find a good shop, but it seems rare. When I needed a transmission rebuild, it so happened that somebody I knew was getting theirs done (same transmission) at a very reasonable cost, so I took mine there too. Rebuilt for 1, 100. 00. Still working good after about 100, 000 miles. That was an exception.
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Aaron Bays
Scottys right about finding parts for certain JDM cars is going to be tough. Something like an R32 Nissan Skyline, you arent going to find parts for it in the USA, but its a very popular platform in Japan, lots of aftermarket and used parts, they sold a lot of them, so lots of them in junkyards. So there is a good part supply in Japan, might take a while for them to get here and shipping expenses, but its doable in this day and age of the internets. Something like a bit weirder like a 1992 Mazda Cosmo with the 3 rotor engine, yeah you cant find parts for that thing in Japan, they just dont exist. Something like a Nissan S-Cargo, same engine as a Nissan Micra and Sentra, so no problem there, body parts, forget about it, oddball car with low production numbers. Something like a 1992 Toyota Hilux Crew cab(we never got crew cabs in the US) with the 22-RE 4 cylinder, well you can go to Autozone and find parts for that thing, it has the same engine as the US spec trucks, different suspension/brakes but you can source a lot of that stuff aftermarket here in the US thru specialty 4wd companies.
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Scottys right about finding parts for certain JDM cars is going to be tough. Something like an R32 Nissan Skyline, you arent going to find parts for it in the USA, but its a very popular platform in Japan, lots of aftermarket and used parts, they sold a lot of them, so lots of them in junkyards. So there is a good part supply in Japan, might take a while for them to get here and shipping expenses, but its doable in this day and age of the internets. Something like a bit weirder like a 1992 Mazda Cosmo with the 3 rotor engine, yeah you cant find parts for that thing in Japan, they just dont exist. Something like a Nissan S-Cargo, same engine as a Nissan Micra and Sentra, so no problem there, body parts, forget about it, oddball car with low production numbers. Something like a 1992 Toyota Hilux Crew cab(we never got crew cabs in the US) with the 22-RE 4 cylinder, well you can go to Autozone and find parts for that thing, it has the same engine as the US spec trucks, different suspension/brakes but you can source a lot of that stuff aftermarket here in the US thru specialty 4wd companies.
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WKZworks
Bimmers arent too bad. as long as you know what youre doing by heart. If you dont they have a very steep learning curve. Theres a few special tools youll need including something to hold the water pump pulley in place and an appropriate size skinny wrench for removing the left hand threaded radiator fan clutch, not too mention an assortment of metric hex allen and torx sockets and bits (best get some universals as well. Hint: you life may be made far easier by simply removing the intake manifold. also keep a supply of large diameter electrical heat shrink with you for when you inevitably destroy a PCV hose (which you really should replace regularly anyway, including the plastic oil catch can. Um. theyre not too bad. but you really need to know what youre doing. They have a very sharp learning curve.
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Bimmers arent too bad. as long as you know what youre doing by heart. If you dont they have a very steep learning curve. Theres a few special tools youll need including something to hold the water pump pulley in place and an appropriate size skinny wrench for removing the left hand threaded radiator fan clutch, not too mention an assortment of metric hex allen and torx sockets and bits (best get some universals as well. Hint: you life may be made far easier by simply removing the intake manifold. also keep a supply of large diameter electrical heat shrink with you for when you inevitably destroy a PCV hose (which you really should replace regularly anyway, including the plastic oil catch can. Um. theyre not too bad. but you really need to know what youre doing. They have a very sharp learning curve.
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tempest411
I cant believe he suggested going to Autozone, buying a part, install it, and then take it back off and returning it if it didnt fix the problem. Would you as a customer want to buy parts that someone before you used in an experiment at fixing their car? Ive worked in auto parts for 30 years and we dont take back stuff if it has any sign of installation not because were trying to be jerks, but because of two reasons. One, if I take back that part it become unsalable, and two. get a clue and learn how to diagnose problems with your car for crying out loud There are ways to test just about any and all parts to confirm their bad.
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I cant believe he suggested going to Autozone, buying a part, install it, and then take it back off and returning it if it didnt fix the problem. Would you as a customer want to buy parts that someone before you used in an experiment at fixing their car? Ive worked in auto parts for 30 years and we dont take back stuff if it has any sign of installation not because were trying to be jerks, but because of two reasons. One, if I take back that part it become unsalable, and two. get a clue and learn how to diagnose problems with your car for crying out loud There are ways to test just about any and all parts to confirm their bad.
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Rostislav
The E36 BMW is a decent car, the 2. 0 litre engine with manual transmission is reliable and if the car has been well kept it can be a decent first car. Many have been riced out, repaired only when it broke down on the road or crashed and have rebuilt title, basically just careless previous owners that give the car bad rep. Otherwise an older 3-series is a decent car, not much high tech of mid 90s that is prone to break, that era 3-series should be checked for rust if it comes from colder climate that has salt on roads during winter. Although this applies to most 1990s cars, they are just quite old by now.
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The E36 BMW is a decent car, the 2. 0 litre engine with manual transmission is reliable and if the car has been well kept it can be a decent first car. Many have been riced out, repaired only when it broke down on the road or crashed and have rebuilt title, basically just careless previous owners that give the car bad rep. Otherwise an older 3-series is a decent car, not much high tech of mid 90s that is prone to break, that era 3-series should be checked for rust if it comes from colder climate that has salt on roads during winter. Although this applies to most 1990s cars, they are just quite old by now.
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Andrew Donohue
i had the transmission in my 96 camaro rebuilt, a car thats 23 years old. they had no problem doing the whole job. the removed the transmission, rebuilt and upgraded the components and reinstalled. i had the better bands installed, better spregs, hardened sunshell, shift kit, and a 2, 300 stall torque converter. the car shifts and feels great, they did a great job. it cost me 2, 000 and i happily paid it. there are shops that will work on older cars but you got to find the right one. this place specializes in fourth generation F BODY transmissions.
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i had the transmission in my 96 camaro rebuilt, a car thats 23 years old. they had no problem doing the whole job. the removed the transmission, rebuilt and upgraded the components and reinstalled. i had the better bands installed, better spregs, hardened sunshell, shift kit, and a 2, 300 stall torque converter. the car shifts and feels great, they did a great job. it cost me 2, 000 and i happily paid it. there are shops that will work on older cars but you got to find the right one. this place specializes in fourth generation F BODY transmissions.
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Bam beezy
Scotty How do you feel about the semi-rare Nissan NX2000 93. I ask because this car is basically an early 90s Sentra with a different body. But I love the motor. Personally I have a few issues with it I just bought it. Its got 5th gear popout as most older ecobox nissans do but I have a rebuilt transmission from the NX in a 200sx. A few other issues like needing a new rear mount and a dying distributor. Most of this isnt too hard to fix just a pain. But, Im wondering if I should sell it. Even though I love everything about the car.
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Scotty How do you feel about the semi-rare Nissan NX2000 93. I ask because this car is basically an early 90s Sentra with a different body. But I love the motor. Personally I have a few issues with it I just bought it. Its got 5th gear popout as most older ecobox nissans do but I have a rebuilt transmission from the NX in a 200sx. A few other issues like needing a new rear mount and a dying distributor. Most of this isnt too hard to fix just a pain. But, Im wondering if I should sell it. Even though I love everything about the car.
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