rm@ada-uts (03/18/86)
I had a similar experience when I bought a Honda Prelude. It was the first new car I owned and I just didn't trust my backyard mechanical abilities with so many thousands of dollars worth of automobile. In addition to all the hassles mentioned in the base note, this dealer tried very hard to get me to spring for all sorts of optional service work. So, I'd bring the car in for in-warranty service, and it would cost me $300 bucks to get it back. This wnet on for the four years I owned the car. Then I sold it, bought an old but realatively expensive American car (Corvette), and took it to a (different) dealer for repair only for the big jobs or when it was too cold outside for me to work on it myself. The deal at the dealer was like night and day. Instead of spending hours trying to convice me I needed various strange and expensive service on my car, these guys would call me up and apologize for how high the bill was. It's obvious that I don't have enough data points to deduce the reason for the difference in treatment. Different dealer, different car (and possibly different personality "types" as far as the service managers of the world are concerned), and different country of manufacture. Anyone else have any thoughts on the subject? R.M. Mottola Intermetrics Inc. Cambridge, MA
junk@ur-tut.UUCP (Jan Vandenbrande) (03/25/86)
.... On the subject of doing your own maintenance or having someone do it for you....: If you do your own maintenance/repair you probably do a better and a more carefull job than anyone else at least IF you know what you are doing and have the propper tools to do it. I find that alot of car repairs/maintence is just "nuts and bolts" type work. But inexperience may lead to disasters. A service garage does have the "know-how" (at least we hope). So they can probably diagnose a problem better then you and know the correct procedure to follow. They also have the proper tools. But then they are working against time, it is not their car after all, and so they are more likely to do a sloppy job. An experienced and dedicated mechanic is worth his/her weight in gold. They are more like artists in their field. But where have they all gone? It is becoming an extinct breed. I believe in a good balance between doing the "minor" maintenance & repairs yourself, and having the major stuff done by an experienced mechanic (if I can pay it at least). One time I got really upset for being charged about 8.-US$ for clutch adjustment. This envolves about 30 secs. work, which I am quite capable of doing myself. So do whatever you can yourself. Jan.