PSA regarding vehicle service

[luthj]

Rockauto does have a number of their own warehouses. They do also drop ship a fair amount of stuff too.

 

[MuckSavage]

I used to drive a 2002-ish F150 company truck. I always serviced the truck myself. Oil change was due & the weather was crappy so I took it to Jiffy Lube. Now that truck used a conical filter. Manager dude walks out with a filthy oil soaked panel filter & says "my man, you're in desperate need of an air filter. We can put one in for $35" I told him " nice try, that's not the filter for that truck". His jaw dropped & disappeared into the back. He came out, apologized for the mix up & explained it was another customers. I was the only one there!

 

[Buddha.]

When I worked at jiffy lube the guys up top were always told to try and upsell the customers on that stuff but the guys I new never lied like that, there was no incentive for them to. I always hated when they convinced the customers to get a new fuel filter. Almost impossible on a rusty Midwest car that's never had it done before. Sometimes I'd refuse to do it.

 

[luthj]

Its been a struggle for the poorly trained and lazy person in the automotive field for the last 25 years. Cars have gotten a lot more reliable right off the showroom floor, reducing work. The problems they do have require electronics and in-depth technical knowledge to fix (the willingness to read!).

Whats a waste-of-space lowly paid person to do? Well, you sometimes you cheat.

A relative took their desktop computer in to Best-Buy about 10 years ago. The only reason the did so is because they had a warranty on the unit (not sure who purchased it). The "Geek Squad" was on the job! Based on the symptoms they described to me, the hard the power supply or maybe a cable had some loose. The Squad reported she needed a new hard drive, data recovery services, and windows loading fee. Something like 600$, but the warranty would cover the hard drive, so about 450$ out of pocket. Balking at this she walk out, eventually bringing the unit to me. Long story short, the hard drive power connector was not even plugged in. In fact, it was suspiciously well secured to the chassis. 30 second fix. Now, did the squad intentionally remove the plug? Good question.

 

[Grassland]

I would never trust a shop to work on something I own if they refer to their workers with the derogotory title “Tech” or “Technician”.
Sadly too many otherwise compentent guys go along with it not understanding how lowclass and insulting it is.
Then again, for some guys deserve it and its not low enough.

Never understood the derogatory element of the word technician.
I am an HVAC technician, and few things do I hate more than parts changers. I've literally had other "techs" call me with an issue they can't figure out, and I asked "well what's the resistance of circuit x?" For them to reply "well I don't have a meter"
Like ************************ why are you even here? The home owner can read the diagnostic code off the control board, so if you don't have the tools or basic knowledge to use them, what good are you? And this man was a licensed fitter with a decade plus in the industry.

Technicians in general in all the trades are being pushed to piece work, which gives incentive to cut corners. As well, chains and large shops in particular are all about profit, and less about actual providing a service.

I worked for a large National chain before I went off on my own. We literally had quota to meet for sales leads, maintenance contracts, and appliance rental agreements. I would get a talking to for not selling enough equipment.

 

[rayra]

Rockauto has as good a quality parts as you care to pay for, mostly. major brand to chinesium and everything in between. Made a lot of purchases from them and have never had anything 'drop shipped' by them. All have rockauto paperwork and rockauto fridge magnets with them. I usually pay more for better parts where it matters and cheap out where and when I can. And even the 'good' stuff is generally priced ~40% less than my local chain auto stores. And well less than half of local GM dealer pricing, even for AC Delco parts.

 

[javajoe79]

Rock Auto kicks ass. It’s that simple. Drop ships are very rare. You know exactly what you’re getting too. Just check the part number and manufacturer.

 

[SnowedIn]

Free oil changes from the Jeep dealership eventually ran out; got to the next oil change interval while temporarily homeless (2020 being what it is), and had to do a gravel driveway oil change -

Someone put the drain plug back on with an impact and I rounded it off trying to remove it. Had to drive to another county to dig my rounded bolt head remover sockets out of a storage unit. Lesson learned: have those in my vehicle tool kit.

Same dealership also replaced some door seals under warranty and didn't put insert them in the track on the bottom edge. I should just plumb up the floor pan drains and use the JK as a rain barrel.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Rockauto has as good a quality parts as you care to pay for, mostly. major brand to chinesium and everything in between. Made a lot of purchases from them and have never had anything 'drop shipped' by them. All have rockauto paperwork and rockauto fridge magnets with them. I usually pay more for better parts where it matters and cheap out where and when I can. And even the 'good' stuff is generally priced ~40% less than my local chain auto stores. And well less than half of local GM dealer pricing, even for AC Delco parts.

Yup, my experience with Rock Auto has been similar. Unfortunately, merchandise arriving with their paperwork and magnets is not a guarantee that it hasn’t been drop shipped. But I’m not really concerned about the delivery point of origin.