One of the pillars of our business is honestly. I may not fix you car, but I will always be honest with you. If you are a good, moral businessman, you will have a CHANCE to succeed. If you are not a good moral businessman, you will have NO CHANCE to succeed (Except in this industry……). This week we had a gentleman come in with a car we had previously worked on. He had it at another shop and they told him it was leaking from a previous repair we had performed (Was in for a coolant leak at the intake manifold). After we raised the car up and inspected it, we noticed numerous oil leaks. It did have a very slight oil leak from a gasket that we had replaced. I could have easily acted like that was not an issue and sold the older gentleman a bunch of work. The scenario is that the car is drive about 500 miles per month. In the inspection we found the vehicle had an oil cooler leaking, oil pan and rear main seal leaking, causing a drip. When I spoke with the gentleman, I told him the repair we performed also was leaking slightly. At this point he was not upset but he asked for a refund on the repair. So here we find ourselves at a crossroad. The vehicle came in for a coolant leak and we repaired it correctly. With that repair we do have to remove and replace some gaskets that can leak oil and this is where the very small leak was coming from. So in that moment I said “Yes”. I offered to fix the leaking gasket but that would not have fixed the other leaks. He was pleased and obviously relieved. I gave the gentleman a check for $827, and he asked me what he should do. I gave him this scenario: If you had come to me, and we had not done any previous repairs, we would check the vehicle and recommend the necessary repair from severe to not severe. The oil cooler leak is the most severe and it is not an expensive fix. I would repair that and have someone clean the engine. After that you can monitor the other oil leaks. I asked him to take the money I refunded him and have someone do the other repairs first. The refund for the repairs we did was absolutely minor and a non issue at the time. If someone takes your money to repair the work we had done, this would not fix his oil drip problem. I looked him in the eye and said, “we may not fix your car this time, or ever again, but I told you I will always be honest and tell you the truth.” He shook my hand and said “Thank you very much, I appreciate that.” The unfortunate thing about auto repair is often times you can go numerous places and get numerous different answers. Training in this industry is weak at best. The best thing you can do is trust the person you take it to, whether that be the shop owner, manager, tech or adviser. The sad truth may be that this man will go somewhere and pay money for something that is going to take care of his ‘problem’, and he will spend a significant amount more than if he had let me help him. All in all, the customer in his position was happy. I was upset but also content that we seemed to make him whole and did so without any push back or arguing. When considering your repair, if you are in a situation, such as a warranty or safety issue, think about the entire scenario. There are shops out there that will intentionally try to make other shops look bad to make themselves look good. It may be best to get a third opinion. I gave the gentleman a referral to 2 shops that I also trust and know won’t take advantage of him. I hope it all works out and I hope it always works out for you as well.
