2.0t03speed
Member
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- 08.5 CWP Speed 3
Lol I said I wanted to drive a speed 6 and he messaged me. I'll let you know about the next Mazda meet I go to
What have you done to your MSP today?
- Thread starter baconbitz
- Start date
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- 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege 1660, 2004 Winning Blue RX8, 2005 Mazda6
You're cheating on him aren't you, Ryan?
haha ok. i still like mazda's even tho i own a audi now. lol
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- 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege 1660, 2004 Winning Blue RX8, 2005 Mazda6
Funny story: A 2004 Expedition comes in for an alignment and the customer asks us to check the brakes because the brakes haven't been performing as well. We put the car on the alignment rack and perform the alignment. After the alignment, instead of removing the vehicle from the four-post, drive-on alignment rack, the tech lifts the vehicle with the pneumatic scissor lifts and removes the wheels. The brake pads are only 15% worn, but the brake rotors are glazed, so I call the customer and sell them a front and rear brake rotor resurfacing and we are going to roloc disc the pad surface. Immediately when I tell him to do it, he starts bitching about the fact he wants three hours instead of two, but I really don't care. He starts on the front, right and removes the caliper bolts, but the brake caliper is locked down. He goes the the rear, right and same situation. Then he moves to the other side and same thing. He comes in and tells me that the vehicle needs all four calipers. In 10 years, I've only seen a situation where all four calipers needed to be replaced twice and both of those times the result was contaminated brake fluid. And both of those times, the ABS unit and master were also replaced. Both of those times, the vehicle could barely overpower the brakes. I, of course, go and check the brake fluid and I see no evidence of brake fluid contamination. I then open a brake bleeder and fluid shoots out 10 feet across the shop. What's that mean? That the calipers aren't bad, and to look elsewhere. Well, the HCUs (hydraulic control unit) are a very common problem on this vehicle and will cause something very similar to this. At this point I decide the culprit is the HCU (I should have taken another 30 seconds before making this decision) and call the customer up and tell them that we've simply diagnosed a symptom of a much larger problem and they agree to spend $1700 for the HCU. After getting off the phone, it hits me that the brakes are COMPLETELY locked down, not just dragging. I take a 3ft. pry bar and place it between two of the lug studs and I absolutely CAN'T move them. There is no ******* way this car was driven in like this. Those brake rotors would have been so heat scorched. Then it hits me. It was still on the alignment rack. If any of you are familiar with the process of doing an alignment, you'll know that you have to install the brake pedal depresser... Yeah, that's right... I open the driver side door and what's that right in front of me? A god damned brake pedal depresser in full lock holding the brake pedal down. I was ******' PISSED. I understand that mistakes happen, but seeing as how unlikely it is for four calipers to fail simultaneously and if they do, it's a symptom of something else like previously described, he should have taken the time to check the other components like I did. So, I get him and tell him what he did, then tell him that he would've gotten three hours for the brakes, but he's being penalized one hour for being a ******' idiot. I called the customer up and told them the truth. Well, sort of. I didn't want us looking completely incompetent so I told the customer that two different techs worked on it and that the first tech left the pedal depresser installed because the vehicle was still on the lift in the air and the second tech thought it had been removed prior to the vehicle being raised on the pneumatic scissor lifts. She got a good laugh out of it because of the way I delivered the news to her, but was grateful that I was honest and didn't continue with a $2,000 repair. I'm honest and told her the truth. I would have stopped the job at any point I found out about this, but I can guarantee that the tech would have never said a single word about it. The tech in question worked for the GM at another shop and was FIRED for being incompetent having left control arm bolts out of an F150 which required the vehicle to be towed in and also installed tie rod ends upside down that wouldn't allow the car to turn fully. I've been doing this for 10 years and the other manager has been in the industry for 35 and worked on the corporate level for a very large company that you're all familiar with and only has this job because he's bored since retiring early. The GM asks us to interview all these "technicians" and when we do, we tell him, "DO NOT HIRE HIM!" for various reasons like previously described, but what does he do? He hires them anyway and stupid s*** like this happens. When the tech in question worked for the GM only a year ago, so it's not like he was a greenhorn 20 years ago and has improved and become seasoned. It was only a year ago! When I interviewed him, he admitted to being fired from his two other jobs in that time period, yet after telling the GM that, he still hires him. Not only does this "technician" need to go, but also the GM for these reasons, but many others.
Sorry, that turned into a rant.
Sorry, that turned into a rant.
I have a big screen to look at in the computer lab and the text was overwhelming. I kept loosing my line space, so I skiped to the last 2 sentences (Cut to the chase)
2.0t03speed
Member
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- 08.5 CWP Speed 3
carmax is calling your name
literally, they called like 3 times. how much of a rip off is it?
i stopped by a used car dealer that said they'd give me 4500, that's my all else fails option at this point.
Way back I sold my 2003 Lancer OZ (it was 2005 when I sold it) with I think 30k on it. CarMax gave me $7500 because they fender had been replaced. I thought it was a fair price because that car did not hold it's value and they didn't noticed that I had modded the crap out of it (turbo kit and such) and put it back to stock before I sold it to them. It's worth a shot.
Wagonbacker9
Member
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- 2004 'Hoe
Thats more than I got out of mine in trade, so I wouldn't say its a horrible deal. Don't expect to get top dollar from carmax, but if you HAVE to dump it, its not like you have to take a massive bath.
Theres GOT to be someone somewhat local that would give you the same amount for it though.
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- 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege 1660, 2004 Winning Blue RX8, 2005 Mazda6
Literally?
2.0t03speed
Member
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- 08.5 CWP Speed 3
you know he did.....like a ******* BOSS!!!
