Refused a tune up estimate?

[lilySapphire]

Hey Internet Subie Team, I purchased an 83 Brat recently and wanted to take it in for a tune up and inspection to discuss any work that they see which I can start planning for. I emailed the mechanic who is very well respected in our town as "the" subaru guy. He referred me to his 2nd location, which is much further away and told me that they would not see my car on a Saturday (web site says they are open on Saturday) and that they could not give me any estimates on a tune up and inspection unless I took my car to the 2nd location. He also indicated that because my car was 31 years old that the other location may not work on my car at all.  Is this normal? I've never been denied work on any car I've ever owned, and I've always had cars from the 80's and 90's. Seems weird that they wouldn't look at my car on a saturday either. How long could it take to give my car a look over and come up with an estimate on a tune up and further inspection? I am certainly no mechanic so this may be totally normal, just wanted the feedback of the Subaru Community.

[86 Wonder Wedge]

If he's "the" subaru guy, then he must have thought they started in 1990.

 

He can, especially if he's worried about breaking bolts, not getting replacement parts or having you take him to the bank under warranty work because he's not confident enough to handle the job.

 

I've had a few "subaru guys" around town refuse to do the 25D headgaskets and 3.0 spark plugs strictly based on hassle.

Edited September 5, 2014 by 86 Wonder Wedge

[Gloyale]

Were are you located? 

 

Perhaps a local board member could give you a hand.

 

Problem is most shops don't know anything about Carbs, Vacuum advance distributors, etc....

 

If they can't put it on an OBD II scanner they don't know where to start.

 

In fairness though.....I often will not give any kind of quote for work on a car I've never seen or serviced before, espescially a 30+ year old one.......you just don't know what you will find so it's not fair to the owner or the mechanic to set a price down until you can inspect the car a bit to get an idea of it's condiiton.  I.E. still mostly stock, or chopped and bastardized......makes a difference in what it will need.

 

You may be better off just spending alot of time here learning and work on it yourself.

[idosubaru]

Problem is most shops don't know anything about Carbs, Vacuum advance distributors, etc....

 

If they can't put it on an OBD II scanner they don't know where to start.

 

In fairness though.....I often will not give any kind of quote for work on a car I've never seen or serviced before, espescially a 30+ year old one.......you just don't know what you will find so it's not fair to the owner or the mechanic to set a price down until you can inspect the car a bit to get an idea of it's condiiton.  I.E. still mostly stock, or chopped and bastardized......makes a difference in what it will need.

 

 

What he said.

 

I know of a dealership that won't work on 80's Subaru's. Service manager said they have too many problems, granted it's a very urban environment in a large city in the rust belt and not a very nice part of said city. Bolts shear off, parts break due to age/corrosion/rust, repair becomes a debacle and people cry and want to sue. Or as Gloyale mentioned they've seen so many years of neglect that you know you're going to "repair one thing" but the car is going to have 10 other issues down the road and you have very low chances of having a good customer experience.  A mechanic wanting a good reputation and longevity for repairs/customer service is wise to know the market and tread carefully. 

 

Most older Subaru owners are cost conscious with their purchases and maintenance, not an ideal customer for a mechanic.

Edited September 5, 2014 by grossgary

[lilySapphire]

Thanks for the Input. There is a mechanic very close to me that just replaced my 2 front axles and helped diagnose an issue with one of my gauges;  They seemed excited to work on my car. I'll just keep taking it to them.  They specialize in Volkswagen but work on Subaru's and Porsche's too.  This other guy just sounded like he was more into Brats because he owns a few and his shop specializes in Subaru's.

[djellum]

I really haven't had too great of luck with specialist shops.  just because the owner/lead mechanic has a cert doesn't mean he's the one that always works on your cars.  they hire other mechanics just like everyone else.  get to know the peons in the shop and then decide since they will be the ones turning most of the wrenches.  I have had great experiences here and there, but it was when the other guys in the shop were on their A game.

 

My roommates mom payed a local shop to replace a water pump on her van.  she mentioned that the noise didn't go away, so I listened through a long screwdriver and found that it was the alternator the whole time.  it didn't sound like an alternator bearing to me either, but I still listened with the tool to make sure.  Took all of 2 minutes and finds the problem 99% of the time.  someone at the shop could have found that, but they were sure it was the water pump.  bit of an extreme case I think, id expect better from most shops or they wouldn't be in business long, but the point is go to the patient guy who checks things.

 

if the guy who did your axles did them well and was easy to work with, keep going to him.  

Edited September 6, 2014 by djellum

[skishop69]

Like Gloyale said, some cars you just don't wanna touch. I just turned a 95 Chevy 1 ton dually turbo diesel. The guy dumped almost $14k into it a little over 2 years ago and then got thrown in jail so it sat. I diagnosed his no start issue and one of the heavy duty guys did the starter. It started and ran, but no one drove it. He comes to pick it up and now it cranks, but won't start. During testing, it starts for me so I go drive it. HUGE mistake (or a warning to run screaming from it). It is mechanically stuck in third gear. No matter where you put the gear selector except park, it's in third. Including reverse! The turbo won't spool, the front end is popping, clattering and creaking, it's all over the road and when you step on the brakes, it rips the steering wheel out of your hand and veers right. I took it back to the shop and told our writer we were done and needed to walk, nay run, away from this as quick as possible.

 

No one likes to turn business away, but when it comes to older cars, we have to be careful about what we say and do or we screw ourselves trying to do the right thing. I completely understand wanting to see the car first, but saying they probably won't work on it because of age without checking it out makes me think they just didn't want to deal with it. Sad since they are so easy to work on and maintain for long life spans.

[jono]

we have not seen you or your car either, or heard what you sound like if the contact was made on the phone.

 

Some people think if car is acting up one way or another - a simple tune will fix it - a fixed price tune at that!

 

Poor tune states can be - holes in piston, worn, gunked or broken rings, worn bores, blown head gaskets, cracked heads. With all that you normally find, corroded components, stripped threads, broken studs - emergency repairs carried out by previous owners.

 

All this adds to cost, or blows budget beyond good sense, mechanic sees you unhappy, your unfinished car in bits all over his shop..... strip and then quote is a good way to explain it to some people. You pay for dismantle if necessary, before they can give you a quote, or an estimate.

 

The guy may have even sensed you were after a diagnosis, so you could go fix it yourself, or, that due to the age of the car, figured you may be so poor not to be able to afford his work ....

 

He should have told you to bring it in for an appraisal so not to get you jacked up.

 

Stick with your first axle replacement guy if he is happy to continue with you and us as his consultants if need be

Edited September 6, 2014 by jono

[Flowmastered87GL]

Well it looks like you bought the general lee brat, so that puts you in Oregon or Washington probably.... in Portland 2 good places are: Superior Import Repair www.fixmysuby.com  and Superior Subie and Import https://www.facebook.com/SuperiorSubieAndImport

 

both are run by local USMB board members and I would send a friend to either one.

 

Another decent place I would consider going is Mt Tech Subaru in Oregon City, though I have not used them personally.

[roadsubiedog]

sounds like you a good guy.

 

I have very little mechanical experience and have been burned a couple times by shops so I bought a copy of "How To Keep Your Subaru Alive". ( for beginners  like me )

 

it's worth it's weight in gold.

 

you can send your brat to the shop for the heavy stuff. if you can read you can do the light stuff with this manual. I have 5-6 copies that I wont sell for another 20 years.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

... Problem is most shops don't know anything about Carbs, Vacuum advance distributors, etc....

 

If they can't put it on an OBD II scanner they don't know where to start...

 

Sad but True...

 

 

 

... It is mechanically stuck in third gear. No matter where you put the gear selector except park, it's in third. Including reverse! The turbo won't spool, the front end is popping, clattering and creaking, it's all over the road and when you step on the brakes, it rips the steering wheel out of your hand and veers right...

 

Sounds like a deep Mechanical Nightmare!   

 

 

 

... I bought a copy of "How To Keep Your Subaru Alive". ( for beginners  like me )

 

it's worth it's weight in gold...

 

I Agree, Absolutely.

 

 

 

... I have 5-6 copies that I wont sell for another 20 years.

 

You're Lucky!

 

I never found one, so I printed and Binded my .pdf file:

 

~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122276-the-bumble-beast/page-5?do=findComment&comment=1216047

 

Kind Regards.

[Rust]

Should have brought it to Cooter!