Apprehension letting someone else work on your car?

Completely irrational thought process, but I assume its not just me. does anyone else get tense or apprehensive when having service done and leaving your car?

I have always been a DiYer including so far on my 456. This week i finally was sick of seeing some cracking flaking of the lower bumper... now learned from a poor older repair before my time. I wanted the lower lip refinished properly.

Bodywork has never been my thing so i brought it to a shop which has done body work on a previous car, as well as having bays full of custom and high end projects. My lowly 456 likely would likely still be the cheapest thing in the shop.

Still leaving makes me second guess. Will they place the jacks and lift points correctly, will they Ferris Bueler a ride around town. Do they appreciate the headlight motors and parking lenses are nearly impossible to replace should something go wrong (neither of which have a reason to be touched)

So far the repair is being handled with great precision and communication top notch. I have no quorums that im not in the right shop, with the right people doing this job...

But i still am 'what-iffing' in my mind. I want to build the relationship for future work that may be needed, but i seem to have a blindspot in my comfort level.

 

With this level of paranoia, are you able to drive or park this car?

I would be more worried about them finding some other very costly problems once they take off the bumper than anything else.

 

Not at all actually! Its not a paranoia that i feel extends anywhere else, automotive or otherwise. Nor do i feel that im a control freak in life either.

I think its just a venting of thoughts in an area i rarely have had to go and hope they care about the minutiae as much as i do, with no reason to think they wouldn't

 

People will care as much as you are willing to pay them to do so. If you go to a gypsy bondo slinger in the parking lot at PepBoys....not so much. If you go to MPI or Bob Smith or John Whittington or Paul Russell you will get care at a level that far exceeds your own. Dont go to Sizzler and expect 4 star food and service. It very simply is not part of their business plan. Conventional body shops are run and staffed to a level that insurance companies are willing to pay.

 

I get it. I have more negative experiences paying a mechanic than I do positive. I'm no Brian Crall but I buy the factory service manual for every car I have or work on, and follow it to a T. Just watch Youtube and you'll see dozens, if not hundreds, of corner cutting mechanics...several accounts on this site about getting ripped off to crazy degrees or finding things not done correctly, or not done at all. Even torque specs are anathema to so many mechanics, you really expect them to take the time to measure tranny fluid temperature to properly check the fluid level or just put in how much drained out? How many people here have paid for belt service only to find 10 year old belts in their car when the next guy does it? The next paycheck is waiting right outside the garage.

I'm not saying there aren't good mechanics out there, I just feel that they are in the minority.

 

Not irrational AT ALL- I hate leaving mine. No matter how much I love the guys at my dealer, they ALWAYS scuff things and scratch things and leave marks on interior etc... ALWAYS... but this is true with EVERY brand... Mercedes was the same for me too and Audi and and and..... they just don't care and it's impossible to ask them to care... they just wanna fix whatever or service whatever and jump out and move to next one... they don't watch their feet getting in and out, they sit in the seat wrong and rub bolster, they lean on things, put their hands on the paint, close the door with the glass or the body of the door, rather than put a finger on or behind the door handle, they even start a Ferrari wrong by pressing and holding the button as soon as they get in... its ENDLESS carelessness.... but can't avoid it.

 

I’ve gone to the ‘good high $’ shop and had bad work… then owner qualified guy says oh sorry we put that new guy on your car… we fired him… my bad.

even the dealers I find leave fasteners off and cut corners.

buyer beware and good luck out there

 

Exactly...if I find something wrong with any of my cars I know whose ass to kick

 

So bad choices made on the part of the consumer is the fault of an entire industry.

Got it.

 

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I take it a different way then paranoia or anxiety, the simple reality is the number of qualified and competent people are shrinking exponentially.

With that, the cost for and availability of their services are (rightfully/understandably) going up. Brain, what's your wait list for a major? (rhetorical question)

PS Cleaning up the mess of others is never fun.

 

To close out my portion of this thread, just got home with my car. The work carried out was done with wonderful precision and am completely happy to have had it done as much as I am happy to have the car back. I feel the quality was great and The price paid was reasonable and fair, however I wouldn’t call it cheap by any means. I really wasn’t ever concerned with the work being done, other than the possibility they found some major rabbit hole to go down.

For this threads’ discussion…it continues the relationship with this shop for when I need further paint work or leather work. Those apprehensions should be less

 

I work on my own cars as much as i can. I also have reputable mechanics do things I cannot for all my cars.

Like someone else said here, I always find a fastener missing, or slight crack/chip...you name it. But mind you,I hand wash all my cars and a typical oil change can take a few hours (depending on the car). In other words, I am extremely meticulous.

 

The magic triangle I’m familiar with is good-fast-cheap.