Re: [T3] A Bundle of Repairs...

[Russell Wolfe <russella@netins.net>]

This question gives me a chance to respond to a pet peeve of mine.

Having been on both sides, as a mechanic and a car owner, Don't begrudge the
dealer/shop his normal markup on parts unless you make prior arrangements.
He/she is the one that has to spend the time on the phone, and pay for the
phone, to locate the parts. He then has to send someone to pick up the parts,
or pay for delivery. He also has to guarentee his installation of the parts.
He/she also usually has preferences of what brand of parts to use, that he has
acquired through experience.

I also know that if the customer insists on supplying the parts, the shop WILL
charge more labor to install them. Customer says "I can get them cheaper from
(say J. C. Whitney)". Then I say "Let (J. C. Whitney) install them". If you are
going to do the work yourself, shop around for your parts. If you are going to
have someone else do the work, let them select the supplier, or get their
suggestions on where to get the parts. Everybody will be happier in the long
run.

OK, now I am down off my soap box. :=)

--
Russ Wolfe
http://www.wolfenet.net

On Fri, 23 Jun 2000, Raoul O'Connell wrote:
> Dear Folks:
> 
> I'm gonna get a few things done to my 70 Automatic SB.  ISPWest 
> may do the work.  Any things I should look out for?  The repairs are:
> 
> 1-	replace windshield rubber cause it leaks water.  I may get a 
> new windscreen or just have the old one cleaned up.
> 
> I'm hoping this will end my water leakage problem...  I had the air 
> boxes cleaned out two years ago and I'm assuming it's too soon for 
> them to be filled up with junk already.  It used to collect volumes of 
> water that would splash onto my feet when I made a sharp turn.  
> That's stopped.  Now it just leaks around the foot heater vents 
> when it really rains.  It actually makes a verticle line of wet on the 
> carpet stretching from the vent switch to the vent.
> 
> Can I feel secure they won't mess up my headliner in the process?  
> How much should they charge?
> 
> 2-	redo the rubber seals around the left and right doors.
> 
> Whats the deal on the door rubber?  Should I buy the rubber on my 
> own?  What's the good stuff?  How much should I expect to pay?
> 
> 3-	redo the window scrapers/window assembly so that the doors 
> open and close with ease
> 
> My fear is that the door panels may not survive the process.  
> They're in really good shape but they've had to deal with a lot of 
> water given the condition of the window scraper rubber.  I worry that 
> the inside of the panel may be rotting to the point where it won't 
> survive re-affixing.
> 
> 4-	Fix leak that's destroying my driver's side rear compartment 
> side panel
> 
> I searched the index and found a cool tip about the leaking in the 
> rear compartment by the hatch door.  It says this may be caused 
> by a inappropriately attached FI computer unit.  Any danger of 
> messing up the FI by fussing with this or should I feel confident 
> suggesting the fix?
> 
> 5-	Adjust the rear hatch
> 
> My rear door needs a violent push to shut and it scrapes against 
> the rain gutter lip when it opens, scratching the paint in two spots 
> in the process.  Should I ask them to adjust the hinges?  Or will I 
> make this worse?
> 
> Thanks for any advice.
> 
> Raoul
> 
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