Anyone here working at a Volkswagen store presently. Maybe you have some diesel cheating emissions stories to lay on us? I'll trade you some Tacoma rusty frame stories.
Back in the mid 70s I was a diesel mechanic here in Fresno, Ca, heart of agriculture country. I worked in a small shop whose owner was anal about cleanliness and kept the shop damned near like a hospital. He was an absolute ass and I couldnt stand the guy, but his partner (brother) was my best friend so I put up with him as needed. One day an industrial shit spreader came in from the fields on the hook with a broken hydraulic hose. I crawled underneath and was changing the hose, the whole time he was screaming at me to hurry up and get this stinking rig out of his shop. This went on for about an hour and he never left the area bitchin the whole time. Finally I crawled out from below and told him it was done, get it outta the shop and quit bitchin. He yells "ABOUT TIME" jumps in, fires it up and the spreader was engaged and started flinging shit all over the shop. There was shit in the rafters, on the floor, hangin from the lights, under the work benches, in the guys toolboxes, gasket room, office area, compressor room, a chunk even flew into Garys open lunch box...man it was everywhere..............greatest day of my life.
I thought I posted this alredy but couldnt find it.... One day we were all called into the shop for a service meeting. All the techs were standing in a circle listening to the woman service manager ramble on about something, and myself and the service porter were sitting on a work table listening. The porter was fiddling with something as the meeting was going on, never really paid attention, all of a sudden we heard the biggest crash of all time right behind us, and it kept going, crashing and banging and metal type noises for ever it seemed. Well, it turned out there was a floor jack under the table and the porter was fiddling with the handle, not realising every little movement he made was raising the floor jack.....said jack was under the table which was behind one of the techs MASSIVE tool box....yep, the floor jack eventually caught the bottom edge of the box and SLOOOOWLY started tipping it over. All of a sudden the drawers started sliding open and tools were falling out, and the more drawers opened the more it tippied and the more tools and on and on.... It eventually fell all the way over but was stopped about 3/4 by the open drawers but there were tools EVERYWHERE. It took him several days to find them all and get it all back together but fortunately no real damage done as it was a high end well built box.
About 15 years ago I was working at the local Chevy dealer as a tech. On all the new Suburban's then you could get running boards on them but not all left the factory with them. The ones that left the factory with running boards had brackets welded onto the inner rocker panel and the bottom side of the floor to bolt the running boards too. If one didn't have the running boards on it and the person buying it wanted them we could put them on buy welding the brackets onto the inner rocker and then bolting on the boards. No problem right? Well there were only a few of us in that shop that could weld good enough to not blow holes through the inner rocker in the process. One day a salesman comes back into the shop and asks if I can put a set on and I said yeah but its gonna be a bit as my lift was tied up. He was impatient and asked the other guys if they could and they all said the same thing, "gonna be while.". Then the new tech they just hired spoke up and said "hey I can do it" so he got the ticket and pulled in the brand new 3/4 ton Suburban and put it up on the lift. About and hour later I walked by that Suburaban on the lift to go to the parts counter, and I looked up and noticed that it had orange tinted windows.......I remember vividly thinking, "man does that look like shit". About 2 min later its horn starts going off then the lights are flashing and we realize that the inside of the car is on fire, it does not have orange tinted windows. The new guy had welded the brackets on in such a way that he was welding them to the floor and the inner rocker, thereby setting the carpet on fire inside the car. Now this was the bad part....the new owner had just finished signing all the paperwork to buy it and is sitting in the show room on the other side of the giant window that look right into the shop where he could see his new car on fire. The new guy gets the car down off the lift, Horn still going, and we get the fire out, horn still blaring drawing more attention. Unfortunately the fire had completed melted the hood release so no way to get the hood open. by now the Owner of the dealership, who just happened to be there for the monthly meeting came walking into the shop with the Suburbans owner to see the new guy bashing the living hell out of the grill of the new truck with a hammer so he can get to the hood release. Jaws were all agape. and I have heard fewer more silent moments than when that horn finally stopped as we stared at the new owner of the suburban and the owner of the dealership. 2 hours after that ordeal and the truck was pulled out of the shop, and the poor bastard that had his new suburban totaled with 12 miles on it from a fire, walked out of the dealer with a new free Suburban! They gave him one right off the lot so as to avoid the lawsuit they new would come, and tore up all the paperwork from the old one. The new guy was then the guy that just got fired and Myself and my pal Chad where the only ones allowed to running boards any more! Oh and the Suburban that he got after that already had the running boards on it!
Back in the mid 70s I went to work as a locomotive mechanic for Southern Pacific. After a couple years I got my cousin, also a mechanic a job at the same round house. We were working the midnight shift, I was in the house and Rick was out moving locomotives into position as needed for service. We had 2 inbound leads, 1 through track over the pit and one track that dead ended in the roundhouse. Rick, who was getting pretty comfortable moving engines around came flying into the dead end track to pick up 2 switch engines to move to another track. When he banged into the first engine (im sure you've all heard these loud bangings near railyards) he had neglected to open the coupler, which resulted in the 2 switch engines slamming into and through the giant roll up door, ripping it off the wall, down to the end of the track with the front traction motor jumping off the rail...The noise was unbelievable, I'm peeking out of the #1 pit, sheet metal was flying everywhere, guys were yelling "LOOK OUT" and scrambling all over the shop. The Road Forman of Engines came running out of the office, threw his white hard hat out across the yard and yelled at Rick "What the FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Rick looks down out of the cab, shrugged his shoulders and said, OOOPS!......kinda summed it all up on one word.
LOLOL, that's funny....in an offbeat way. Reminds me of a boss I worked for in the mid 60's. Stogie-chomping Ol' Tony had a business as an Implement Dealer with emphasis on Allis-Chalmers tractors and equipment. He reminded me of Groucho Marx in his mannerisms and walk.... like his feet were holding him back. We had cleaned the shop and put things in order for an open-house & to demo some of the new tractors. There was a D15 sitting in the showroom (of sorts).......this is a rear view of one like it. Ol' Tony also had some NEW smaller A-C lawn & garden tractors....IIRC, the one of interest was a B12 equipped with a hydraulic loader.... one like this ; So the locals come in to see the demos and get a free lunch. Some of them start kidding Ol' Tony about the B12 and how much it could lift. Not to be taken lightly, Ol' Tony gets on the B12, cranks it up and is grinnin from ear to ear with the exception of the ever-present stogie stuffed to one side. He moves it ahead, getting the loader bucket under the D15 3-pt arms and drawbar. Goes to lift the back-end of the D15, and of course the B12 doesn't quite have enough poop. So he maxes out the throttle and for a second or two, it looks like it might do it. Then all 0f a sudden, KA BAM! I don't think I've ever heard an engine come to such an abrupt stop. Tony sits there for a moment, grin completely gone and then it dawns on him that there wasn't any oil in the engine. Some folks got quite a charge out of that event. Ol' Tony had a hard time living that one down. Of course, he blamed the factory for shipping it that way.
I know the idea of this thread was for old car dealer stories, but what the hell, I have another. Just the other day, a lady came in for a flat tire fix. One of the lube techs decided he didnt want to lift the whole car just to take one tire off so he slid one of the four lift arms under the car just behind the pass front wheel. He started lifting the car but to get just one wheel off the ground you actually have to go up quite a ways (this was an Acadia SUV btw).. So he starts raising the lift and forgets he left the dr door open. The lift arms on the drivers side are folded but still raise up with the rest and sure enough caught the bottom of the door. It wasnt until the driver door stuck up above the roof that he saw what happend. We called him "lambo" after that for a while because it looked liek the car had the vertical opening doors like a lamborghini. Cust wasnt mad, it was a POS and she got a new one as a loaner for a month while it was getting fixed.
Lift stories are always good. This is around 1978-1979. They wanted to add a couple of lifts, but didn't want to go the hydraulic route and start chopping up the slab. First one comes in and the company sets it up, 2 post. We all get instructions on how to run it. All is well for a few weeks. Then a big-assed Mopar comes in for shocks, I'm not sure if the car was going up or down, but one of the cables failed and the car slowly turned over onto its side as the thing came down. Nobody hurt except the car. They had to call a tow truck, actually two with split booms to get the car outside and then righted. We cleaned up all the spills, even gave them a free oil change. The car was a borderline hooptie and not really badly damaged, a little rumpled on the down-side. Rumor had it that some money crossed under the table to make the owners happy. The lift company comes in, fixed everything under warranty. We got the 2nd lift shortly after, but they were known as the "death racks" by then and not everyone wanted to use them.
Not a funny story but something I look back on and wonder what were they thinking?In southeastern PA we had a state Inspection banquet once a year where they invited all the techs who were certified inspecters and served a great dinner and had an open bar.Try that nowdays.And the after dinner entertainment?Strippers!Swear to God.
Not a dealer.. but we had a local school bus transportation company that was up for their NY State inspection. I imagine they look up maintenance records, insurances, etc. This one inspector is lead through the employee break room. Tables, chairs, lockers, vending machines... WAIT.. she goes back and looks at one... full of those little airline booze bottles. They were shut down on the spot. The owner maintained that this was for AFTER the drivers were done with their routes, not before or during. The shit hit the fan and 150 buses were parked until the investigation was completed. It was a mad dash to get buses to cover the impacted schools. In the end fines were given out, some firings done at the bus company and of course the offending machine removed. Each and every driver on record was drug tested and went through a full DMV and background check.
At 16 I worked in a Mobil station near my house. 1968 To say the atmosphere there was a little loose was an understatement. For example the tow truck was a 4wd Ford, four smoking tires were not unusual. Ten o'clock was party time. Groupie girls and all. We had a pop machine, one slot was covered over with cardboard as "Out of Order". That was the Hamm's Beer slot. As most of us were not 21, the owner's favorite beer was Hamm's, well it was what it was. Drop in a quarter, get a beer, employee benefit package. Cardboard fell off cover one night, customer hit button, guess what fell out. The look on his face was priceless. His statement "What is this?" was met by my best coverup line "I dunno". And "You want a pop? I'll open the machine." His answer "Naw, the beer sounds better", he pops the top and starts drinking it. At least I knew he wasn't going to rat us out to Mobil headquarters...........
I worked one summer in a body shop, doing finish sanding, shooting primer, easy stuff. The owner.. big time drinker and druggie. He would buy this weed laced with PCP... on purpose. Anyway, the Coke machine inside the shop area was loaded with small Michelob 7 ounce bottles. They were close to the size and shape of the Coke bottles. Every morning... fill that bad boy up. We were driving back to his place after work one day, I left my car there and drove a customer's car in that day. The owner by now is drunk... runs into the back of another car in the afternoon sun glare. Long story made short, he gets locked up and I have to call the shop for someone to come with the tow truck to get his car at the accident scene.
I did my apprenticeship at a Rolls Royce dealership. One day a guy brings his new Shadow in, saying it has a strange noise when it's in gear, so I take it out on our usual road-test route and hear nothing. Back at the 'shop I tell the foreman what I (haven't) found, and he says he'll run it around the block with me and see if four ears are better than two. We drive for a few minutes - slow, fast, kickdown and...... nothing, so the foreman pulls over to the side of the road and pops the hood. He leaves the car idling in gear with the handbrake on (anyone who knows these cars knows that the handbrakes are useless on these things), we both get out, open the hood and listen for any strange noises. Well the foreman must have spaced out for a minute, he reached into the engine bay and grabbed a handful of throttle, the car screeched way, leaving the foreman in the middle of the road and me stood at the sidewalk, and eventually settled about 100 yards away. The foreman looked at me and said, "You can't hear the fucking noise now, can you boy?"
I had a young, beautiful woman come into the garage I was working at in the early '80's with her car knocking and smoking. "Have you checked the oil?" I asked "Yes" she replied "I've just filled it up" And she had. Right to the top of the valve cover. She reckoned it had taken over three gallons! As an aside, we've now been married for over 30 years and have two beautiful daughters!
I've been in the motor industry for forty years now, so I have plenty of stories..... A guy brought his car in for a service (back in the days when you changed stuff on a service), and on putting the car in the air I noticed there was a small blue cross painted on the oil filter, across the sump plug, and on all of the grease points. Opening the hood there were crosses on the spark plugs and air filter. I assumed the guy wanted these crosses all over his car ( ), so when I replaced the oil filter, air filter, plugs etc., I carefully repainted the blue crosses. Guy collects his car, and a couple of hours later he's back effing and blinding at the receptionist. Eventually the receptionist brings angry man through to the workshop and he proceeds to scream and shout about how the garage was run by criminals, and how he's been charged for a full service but nothing had been done. I went to my toolchest and got out a box which was full of all his old parts and showed him. He shut up very quickly. I told him that I was proud of my work and didn't need to be 'tested' like this. The guy muttered an apology and left. We never saw him again and I assumed it was because he was embarrassed but apparently the manager told him not to come back.
Good friend of mine told me this story about the time he was working at a gas station in Detroit. Said he was only 15 or so at the time but these two brothers hired him and undertook the task of "teaching" him about cars and "life". One day they told him to deliver a car to a customer and take the package in the car to her. He drives over to her place and she invites him in. She ends up being a "working girl" the brothers knew and set it up to show my buddy a good time. He makes it back to the station a couple hours later and the brothers are on the floor laughing their asses off. My buddy said stuff like that went on regularly. He said those guys not only taught him how to fix cars but helped him through bumpy times in his younger life.
In case you haven't read my others, I was the lot/detail boy during high school at the local Oldsmobile dealer in the mid 80's.... Monday morning and I'm at the dealer early(6am) to meet the truck and help get the new cars into stock. as I get the last car logged the body shop manager pulls in in to the back lot. He staggers out of his demo(Cutlass salon), shirt half untucked, missing a shoe, hair a mess. He staggers over to me, points to his car and says 'theres 200 in it for you if you can find a way to fix it...' He half stumbles/trips/walks to the body shop, opens the door and falls onto the couch, leaving the door open. I check the car. OH MY GOD. one wheel is missing with the spare on, the glove box door is missing there are 4 distinctly different sets of foot prints on the headliner, power seats won't work. I check the trunk, its full of water, soaked, pop the hood and there are leaves all over the inside of the engine compartment... I get it back to the detail area and get to work, stole a wheel from the spare/option parts room, stole a glovebox out of one of the cars I unloaded that morning that was headed to the body shop waiting to get a dent fixed before we could sell it. Reconnected the wiring harness for the power seats, drained the trunk (besides water, it reeked of whiskey & beer). I ended up spray painting the trunk area flat black to cover the staining from the water. Cleaned the leaves out of the engine bay, powerwashed it all up. Cleaned the interior (ick) there was food, used condoms, joints, spots, stains... really nasty. I work on it off and on all day, but by the end of the day its good to go. He comes out checks the car, gives me 200 cash and says 'nobody finds out'. I agreed and asked him 'So, what did you do this weekend' He looks at me, bloodshot eyes and says 'I got no f**king idea kid, not a f**ing clue but my d**k is sore as hell and I lost my wallet'
Part of my duties was to run parts/paperwork etc... to other dealers. Now they all have a parts truck but when I was there it was just something I did along with cleaning the cars. Anyway I had to take some parts over to another dealer. For reference, this was in Louisville KY. normally a parts run there and back would have been an hour or so, but it was the Friday before the Kentucky Derby and this dealer was down by Churchill Downs. 'Great' I muttered as the service manager gave me the parts, knowing I was gonna be stuck in traffic for hours. I grab a car, and get going. Sure enough I'm about 10 blocks from the dealer and 6 blocks from the track. Traffic has been bumper to bumper, barely crawling for hours. As I sit in this mess of cars with the windows down I see these 2 guys parking cars in their yard at $20 each. Packing them in like sardines, pockets bulging with cash. I look at him and say 'you guys are making a lot of cash' He grins, and says 'Yup, but the people who own these places are gonna be pissed!' As soon as he says that he walks into the next yard and starts directing cars onto the lawn while the owners are at work. I look down the street and there had to be at least a dozen houses they'd parked full of cars. 30yrs later and every time I'm stuck in traffic I think of that and it makes me smile.
Do not have any funny stories, just several about the poor quality service on warranty work on new vehicle's purchased or repairs after warranty over 40 years.(All American) IMO there seems to be a shortage of Mr Good wrench's, especially when electrical gremlins appear, I'm a lucky man in general with the exception of having auto repairs done, now retired, have time, fumble along fixing most things myself. AND everyone has a story about that 1 great vehicle that ran forever, I have run-out of years for that to hit for me.
Several years ago I was working in the parts department of a large Ford dealership. All of our delivery trucks were no frills, base model F-150s. A new hire, just 18 years old was out on his first day alone making deliveries. Not long after he left the dealership he calls in on the radio asking where the adjuster is for the right side mirror. We tell him he will have to pull over somewhere, get out and walk around to the other side and adjust it by hand. He thinks we were teasing him. This kid had never seen a car or truck that didn't have electric mirrors. We all felt really old after that.
Hello, Having purchased several brand new cars dating back to 1958 from car dealers, there are stories to compliment those hard working mechanics and service techs. When we got the 58 Impala, we had it serviced until our friend started working at a gas station. Then we only went back to the dealer if some warranty work was necessary. 1958 L.B. driveway When we drove the 58 Impala back into the dealer for some minor fix, everyone from the service manager to the mechanic was impressed with the 348 Impala. (looks and sound) Being backyard mechanics and builders, we could do most things and kept up the car throughout the years of racing and cruising without going back for service. Cormier Chevrolet Downtown L.B. My next new car was a different story. The 65 El Camino was my basic transportation with a few mods to make it stand out from the rest of the red El Caminos. Since I was attending college, mechanical work time was nil and not a weekly happening. Gas, oil check, off to the next driving adventure, was the mode of the day. This car must have been built on a Wednesday as it ran for 125k miles in 8 years with only one battery change that was necessary. It never saw a dealer in its lifetime of ownership. 1968 at the Shrine Auditorium, L.A. Over the years, we have gone back to the dealers and their service techs just to keep up the warranties on the cars we have owned. They are all qualified mechanics, have factory backed training and did well the first time (and every time) we took our cars in for service. So, we are “fans” of quality dealership service people and mechanics. Yes, we tried the small independent service shops for several of our cars, but when you have to go back to the dealer to get some warranty work done, it was just simple logistics. Jnaki The shop (no longer in business) that sold us the 2nd 40 Ford Sedan Delivery with the 327 SBC did honor some adjustments and “fix-its” after we bought the delivery from them. They were not a true hot rod shop, but a speed parts dealer and installer of custom equipment. They were gracious enough to adjust what was needed to make my wife happy with the purchase. After the purchase, we had no time to spend fixing what should have been done right the first time. So, they followed up on their end of the contract. (bottoming out front shocks and alignment)
Started working in a Ford dealership in 1964 in the reconditioning. dept. After a few months the other guy working there thought we should go see the owners about a raise. So we go in and state our case. They ended up firing the other guy and giving me a raise plus giving me the raise the other guy would have gotten.
When I was 17, living in San Francisco, there was a gas station down by Fishermans Wharf,. As some friends and I were going to the Wharf area, and passed the gas station we happened to look inside. and saw that they had a 1957 Chevy on a lift, with the driver's door open, and the top of the door was now V-shaped, a serious OH SHIT.
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