Before Bringing Your Car to the Shop…

I got an assignment the other day, which made me think about some of things that happened in an engine building and repair shop — and probably happen in shops everywhere, but no one except the mechanics see these happenings. Sometimes, it’s probably a good thing, too.

Trash and Dead Fish: Before you bring your car in for service, make sure the floors are at least accessible and that debris is not stacked up to the top of the dashboard. In many cars, the computers are under the seats and no mechanic wants to dig through a mess to repair your car.

That includes leaving half-eaten, three-week-old fish sandwiches on the dash in 95-degree weather. I’m not kidding — one guy brought his car in and in addition to the shit piled up on the every floor and the back seat, there was that stank fish sandwich on the dash. Needless to say, we called him and told him to clean out his car before we started working on it. Then, we had to wait a couple days for the putrid smell dissipated.

Dual Air: If your minivan or SUV and dual air conditioning and you bring it in to have the air conditioning repaired, you might want to unload the back of the vehicle. If the problem is with the rear air conditioning, the techs will have to unload everything and it’s a possibility that what was once clean may not be when it gets loaded back into the vehicle.

Lug Nut Keys: If you have locking lug nuts, be sure to leave the key in the glove box or the center console where the technician can find it. If you have to bring it to them, that will delay the repairs on your vehicle. If you’ve lost the lug nut key, the mechanics will have replace the stud. In some cases, they will have to cut the stud off, which costs you more money and time.

Toys: Some people like to store their personal toys in the trunk. It’s probably a good idea to remove those — or at least put them in a bag at the back of the trunk. Technicians could have some fun with those toys. One mechanic found such a toy and had anyone with a sense of humor in stitches all day. He put a pair of baggy sweats on over his uniform. He’d make a lot of noise in the shop, then come running in the office saying something slammed into his crotch so hard he’d swell. Then he’d pop out that toy like it was his own. Unsuspecting people would either scream or stare, thinking it was real.

Appropriate Repairs: When you bring your car in for repairs, don’t ask the technician to fix the radio when the axle is held in by rope. Instead of spending money on inconsequential stuff, save up to make your vehicle safe.