New member with a story to tell
Thread Starter
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Beginning Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 38
From: NYC
New member with a story to tell
Hey everyone. My name is Eric and I live in New York City. This is my first GM, as I always had either a German or Japanese car. She is an '00 ZR2 5 speed with 103k. I just want to say how much this site and everyone on it has helped me. I lived in my neighborhood since 1999 and I have never realized how much the garages where I live were two-bit con artists. Being ill-informed, they want to bleed me dry.
When I took the liberty of asking the local mechanic what was making a humming noise at moderate speeds from the passenger side front he told me that i needed new tires all around. I have 31's so it was not cheap.
If that was not enough, he tried to stick me with Nankangs for $175 each. Did I have moron tattooed on my forehead?! an American truck with JDM tires, yea right! After buying Goodyear Wranglers (the belts inside the tires were bad so I had to buy them anyway), I found that the sound did not go away. At that point I consulted with the forum and a member mentioned wheel bearing/hub, and the way to find out which side.
When I came back to the mechanic with the part in hand, he was sour. The only reason I went there was because of the convenience of the location. His intention was for me to buy the part from him. Now he could only could charge me 35 to install it. Lo and Behold, problem solved.
When the truck was in his shop the front brake caliper "mysteriously" loosened itself, and when I got the truck back it was leaking brake fluid.
I stormed in on the same night and demanded the manager to put the truck on the lift, showed him the play in the caliper and told him his mechanic was at fault. My neighborhood is mostly Dominican so the mechanic and manager started yelling in Spanish at each other and I got my brake fluid changed, absolutely free. Next time a short, frail white boy comes in they will think twice about taking advantage.
The Forum is a force to be reckoned with, and I will never again do anything without it. Thanks guys.
When I took the liberty of asking the local mechanic what was making a humming noise at moderate speeds from the passenger side front he told me that i needed new tires all around. I have 31's so it was not cheap.
If that was not enough, he tried to stick me with Nankangs for $175 each. Did I have moron tattooed on my forehead?! an American truck with JDM tires, yea right! After buying Goodyear Wranglers (the belts inside the tires were bad so I had to buy them anyway), I found that the sound did not go away. At that point I consulted with the forum and a member mentioned wheel bearing/hub, and the way to find out which side.
When I came back to the mechanic with the part in hand, he was sour. The only reason I went there was because of the convenience of the location. His intention was for me to buy the part from him. Now he could only could charge me 35 to install it. Lo and Behold, problem solved.
When the truck was in his shop the front brake caliper "mysteriously" loosened itself, and when I got the truck back it was leaking brake fluid.
I stormed in on the same night and demanded the manager to put the truck on the lift, showed him the play in the caliper and told him his mechanic was at fault. My neighborhood is mostly Dominican so the mechanic and manager started yelling in Spanish at each other and I got my brake fluid changed, absolutely free. Next time a short, frail white boy comes in they will think twice about taking advantage.
The Forum is a force to be reckoned with, and I will never again do anything without it. Thanks guys.
BF Veteran
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,545
From: Tacoma-ish
Welcome to the forum
Sorry to hear about how you were getting hosed. I was in the same boat. I didn't know my PCM from my ECU before I came here. Now I just pretend they are the same thing
Having even a twinkle of knowledge to arm yourself with before rolling into a shop tends to make things a lot smoother. Either that or take lube and accept your fate.... I think you are making the right choice
Normally at this point I would ask if you have any pics of your baby, but I'm actually more interested if WTF your name means
Last edited by ABN31B; Feb 19, 2010 at 11:47 AM.
Banned
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,162
yes there is. don't let one mechanic ruin your view of mechanics. they're plenty that will give up their time and advice often for free. not many can say that about their job.
Thread Starter
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Beginning Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 38
From: NYC
lol yes there are good mechanics and i did not lose faith yet. to answer my name, well it is since the days of AOL being popular and I was quite young then so I don't quite remember. Nuker made sense at the time and Swizz was the part of Swizz beats, a popular MC long ago :=/