Post by Volktales on Feb 17, 2017 20:57:00 GMT -8
Sooo, it is story time again... But first something happened in the shop today, that has not happened for a long time. Today a car that I actually SOLD came into the shop! This is a very rare occurrence, due to the fact I hate selling anything. But many years ago, I used to support my VW addiction through buying, fixing, and selling Toyota Tercels... And today one of them returned. This one was my favourite, given that I bought it for $80 
, repaired the clutch and head gasket, and did very deep cleaning, and then sold it for $3200! That's why I liked it so much, as the VW $ was significant. Anyway the next owner was reluctant at first to buy, as she was unsure if the car would last a long time. She jokingly today asked if it was still under warranty after another 8 years and 125,000km have passed. The clutch I installed had finally failed, and this was her first major expense in all those years. She had only ever had oil services and a few tires replaced since she bought it from me. Guess it was a decent car after all...
But the story I really wanted to tell took place much, much earlier. Back in the early 90's, I was working at my first automotive mechanic job, and was doing a pre purchase inspection on a mid 80's Oldsmobile. This big barge was in quite nice condition, only needing a set of tires and a new battery to be road ready. This model featured an early electronic dashboard including the strip style speedometer and gauges. Unlike some other early electronic dashes, the odometer was also a digital display. The kilometers shown were quite low as well, so the customer decided to buy the car. He immediately went to the tire shop for new boots, then returned to us to install a new battery, which I did. It was then things started go "pear-shaped" as the Brits like to say... On these GM cars with electronic displays, there is a button to switch between Metric and Imperial measurements. Given that is an American car, the electronic display defaults to the "American setting" whenever the battery is disconnected. So when I started the car, the dashboard now indicated miles, as did the odometer.
The problem was, the reading in miles was MUCH higher then the indicated reading in kilometers! Not sure how that could have been possible, but the customer was certainly pissed. I can't remember the eventual outcome, but I believe the selling dealer compensated the owner significantly for this situation... Weird...
, repaired the clutch and head gasket, and did very deep cleaning, and then sold it for $3200! That's why I liked it so much, as the VW $ was significant. Anyway the next owner was reluctant at first to buy, as she was unsure if the car would last a long time. She jokingly today asked if it was still under warranty after another 8 years and 125,000km have passed. The clutch I installed had finally failed, and this was her first major expense in all those years. She had only ever had oil services and a few tires replaced since she bought it from me. Guess it was a decent car after all...But the story I really wanted to tell took place much, much earlier. Back in the early 90's, I was working at my first automotive mechanic job, and was doing a pre purchase inspection on a mid 80's Oldsmobile. This big barge was in quite nice condition, only needing a set of tires and a new battery to be road ready. This model featured an early electronic dashboard including the strip style speedometer and gauges. Unlike some other early electronic dashes, the odometer was also a digital display. The kilometers shown were quite low as well, so the customer decided to buy the car. He immediately went to the tire shop for new boots, then returned to us to install a new battery, which I did. It was then things started go "pear-shaped" as the Brits like to say... On these GM cars with electronic displays, there is a button to switch between Metric and Imperial measurements. Given that is an American car, the electronic display defaults to the "American setting" whenever the battery is disconnected. So when I started the car, the dashboard now indicated miles, as did the odometer.
The problem was, the reading in miles was MUCH higher then the indicated reading in kilometers! Not sure how that could have been possible, but the customer was certainly pissed. I can't remember the eventual outcome, but I believe the selling dealer compensated the owner significantly for this situation... Weird...