Shop Shots Volume 23 Insider Pictures of Automotive Service
I can’t think of a better way to spend a Wednesday, and checking out some behind the scenes action of an automotive service department. This week, I actually have 2 reader submitted Shop Shots. If you want to submit a picture of your car, or some other cool car shot you have, just email it to me Charles(at)humblemechanic(dot)com. Okay, let’s do this!
Okay, you might be thinking that nothing is wrong with this picture. If you look closely at the fuel filler neck, you can see a white cap. If you drive a VW, then you know that is not the right cap. This was actually sent to me by a reader who works at another VW shop. The customer came in saying that the MIL was on. It turns out, a foam coffee cup will not properly seal the fuel system. I know it is hard to believe. 😛
This is a car audio amplifier, installed in a Mustang. The person that installed it used shrink rap to hold it in place. My guess is that this is a temporary fix. I hope so anyway. The best part about this picture is the guy that installed this is a professional car audio guy. He does some really top notch work. This is his personal car, so I wont give him too much of a hard time. To be honest, this is still a pretty good install. I have seen worse, much much worse.
At first glance you might not find anything wrong with this beetle. Take a really close look. In the middle of the picture, you can see red. The left side of the picture is white. Hum, strange isn’t it? The outside of this car is white. When we opened the hood, we found that the hood, and firewall is red. Since the car came from a body shop, it was a dead giveaway as to what happened. The body shop basically “cut and pasted” a red Beetle onto a white Beetle. Then they painted the outside white. Also, those screws on the far left should be black. This is one of the worst “repair” jobs I have ever seen done by a professional shop.
The sad part is, someone will buy this car. They will feel like they got a great deal. Then they will have problem after problem, and blame the car, the mechanic, or VW. This is why you NEED to have a car checked out by a professional BEFORE you buy it..
Donuts? I know it seems really random to have a “Shop Shot” of Donuts, but hang in there. A customer brought these for me last week. I have been working on her car since early 2004. She is a really awesome customer, and totally hooked up the donuts for us. I know I said it before, but bribery will get you everywhere. So never hesitate to bring a treat for your mechanic. Or anyone else really! 😉
Do you have an idea for a post? Is there a car question burning a hole in your brain? You can fill out the Contact ME form and ask away. Or, just post it in the comments below. Otherwise, you have to read what is going on in my mind. That might be a scary thing 😉
Please tell me those are Krispy Kreme! Haha. I’ve been thinking, what do you think of a “readers rides” kinda thing? You can share a pic an a few details of everyones ride.
@Garrett, They are from Dunkin 😉
I dig the “Readers Rides” idea. Let’s get that ball rolling.
The coffee cup is so funny. You can actually buy a replacement cap from Wal Mart for about $5
But Jeremy, the coffee cup was free 😉
alright ill ask a question. When your dealership receives new cars from the factory, what kinds of things do you have to do to the car as dealer prep?
@Brandon,
It really(and sadly) depends on who is doing the check in. I have seen guys PDI cars and do nothing. Then there are the guys that do it right, and everything in between…
I will elaborate tomorrow. 😉 Thank you very much for the question..
You can play music in your car though almost any system, but if you want something that sounds amazing, you are going to want to spend a little cash to get it right. There are many car audio systems from which to choose, and what you need will depend on your budget and you car or truck. You may think it’s cool to have woofers in your trunk, but what if they fill up your entire trunk? For some people, they don’t care about trunk space; they just care about hearing what they want to hear out of car audio systems.’
What also existed then was the electronic ignition system. but it was inside a plain box whose contents most people do not know. Electronic ignition gave off better spars and was almost maintenance free. But such was only found in higher end cars and were generally not present in most compact cars.;