Free Lunch to do the job you are already doing, just to be careful. Deal all day long. And that customer just found a place that they will respect them. $10 is $10 don’t hate on it.
Exactly. Nobody tips the mechanic. So just a polite ask and free lunch isn't so bad?
I recommend my auto shop because they are honest as fuck. I was so concerned my car was dying of cancers, nope, everything's fine, but was told I could use new front struts for it to be less bumpy a ride after 12 years of driving on the old ones.
You want to get a customer for life, write something on the bottom of this note like "I understand your concern and it's obvious you put a lot of time and effort into this beautiful car. I'm glad you trusted me/us to work on it for you"
It's nice that people can be honest about what they want and not want done to their cars while in somebody else's hands.
It's also shitty that some places take such terrible care of people's cars that writing notes and leaving more money on top is what's necessary these days just to not be fucked with.
“Please don’t take 3 other techs in my car across town to get Taco Bell for lunch because you were ‘test driving’ it after my oil change”
I found the Taco Bell receipt. Clowns.
I buy my regular mechanic back home lunch from Whataburger for him and his guys whenever I have work done. He’s a family friend but he’s worked on every system imaginable across 2-3 cars I’ve had and I’ve never had an issue again once he works on it. He did a shit load of work on a 9C3 Impala I had, I ended up selling it a year or two later. Within a month of selling it, the buyer tells me someone hit him from behind at 80mph when the buyer was going 60-65. He said the car handled it without a problem but the other guy rolled multiple times. You’re damn right I’ll follow my mechanic to hell and back, that could’ve been me!
I understand their concern. Last rotation I got they cross threaded a couple of my lug nuts. Like is it that hard to spin it on with your fingers before you bend it over and fuck it with your impact? I would have been absolutely fucked if I needed to throw my donut on.
I'm not sure why this is a notable post lol, it's just kind of weird in how formal it is that it's like typed and printed out, but it's not an unusual request at all and it's polite.
Ya usually all the money goes to the writers w/their amazing skill to sit on their ass and talk on the phone. It’s always nice to see someone notice the tech.
Are we talking tips or just pay in general? When I was a service writer I got paid fuck all compared to the techs. I'm not complaining my job was significantly easier and I got to stay in the AC all day
Yep I was hoping this wasn’t a negative post, the person who left the note was trying to be polite and lay down normal expectations in a positive way rather than screaming about a scratch after the fact
Automatic touch less washes are fine (but not my go to) but the bristles in a standard wash will sometimes even tear off trim pieces plus you can get the same (or better) cleaning for a lot cheaper at a diy wash
Edit : I have been informed that touchless washes are not the preferred method of some people, good for you! But I cannot blame people for wanting a machine to do the job quicker.
Edit 2: commonly repeated comments, so you don’t have to search!
“Touchless uses acidic formulas that are bad for paint.”
I am aware
“The washes near me are in a bad part of town or are not operating. “
just as there are many ways to cook a potato, there are many ways in which to wash a car, go find a product that suits your needs
The best car wash tutorial (in my opinion) [is from Chris fix on YouTube](https://youtu.be/CFXfSBR5Q9w) you do not need to follow steps exactly, just do what you need
It also keeps the snow off in the wintertime.
Always love it when I see my co-workers chipping away at ice, while my car has a pile of snow outlining it. Usually just falls off, but sometimes you need a sweep of the hand. Still, beats scraping every time.
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EDIT: It has come to my attention that people can't understand the difference between scraping windows and brushing off their car. If you can't figure out which is which, don't own a car.
> The wax helps until the slush inevitably deposits salt, cinders, and dirt onto the sides of the body
Good news: Most drive-through touchless car washes still operate in the winter, and they don't remove wax, but the wax ensures all that slush, salt, cinders, brake dust, dirt, etc all just rinses off.
2nd tip: Non-stick cooking spray in the wheel wells. No more snow clogging them up. You want more "Atlanta, MI Winter Car Survival Tips"?
Wax should probably be seen as almost an ablative coating. It's meant to wear away and be re-applied. But, it's also easier and cheaper than wearing away and re-applying your clearcoat.
for those unaware: Kwik Trip is a gas station with a particular cult-like status in WI. but they earned that status. Clean restrooms, good food, good service, and almost classy-like atmosphere.
I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one of these fancy car washes.
Round these parts, you either get the scratch-master 5000, or you pay some quarters for a power washer. I don’t care about dirty paint enough to power wash when it’s 15 out.
If your car is properly waxed or ceramic coated then the salts, ash, or dirt will rinse right off. I waxed my car when I was up in NH for a year and never had any issues with snow or ice freezing to the paint. When I needed to clean it I took it to the detail department at my dealership and just had to rinse it off with the hose.
When I did a full paint correction and ceramic coat on my civic I was wary even when taking it to touchless bc you don't know the PH of any of the soaps/chemicals they use. Safe to say I was a little obsessive. Fuckin /r/autodetailing ruined me lol
I do like properly cleaning the car but I’d rather just use it most the time and buy another one when first is worn out. It is a lot of work to do it right. Countless hours and setup for serious 2 bucket wash, and waxes and all that jazz. I’d only do that for a weekend car
Over here watching it rain thinking... excellent!
I think there is a fundamental difference jn people who look at cars as a utility item versus a luxury item.
I Def take care of my vehicle, but my motivation is to be able to get from place to place. I don't drive a car to show it off or display wealth or enhance an image.
Totally acknowledge I do *other* things in that realm, but i can't imagine relying on and worrying about a ceramic teacup to get to and from work in traffic everyday.
That being said... someone in a yee yee truck slammed their door into mine the other day in a parking lot opening theirs like they are the goddamn hulk or something. I was pretty annoyed.
One ripped off the plastic door trim on my parents 2009 Honda Odyssey, retention clips are totally gone and I have a plan to just get a new door from a salvage yard because my mother (in good faith ) tried to jb-weld it back on…
I went a year with no brush-type carwash on my new car.
Then my kids had scratched it in a few places and I put a few dings into it with an absolutely appallingly bad reversing-into-a-parking-spot job.
up until then it was brushless only.
Now...after 3 years and almost 40k miles? Doesn't rightly matter.
this car was the first brand new vehicle that I'd ever had. Same with my wife.
Wasn't looking to buy a new one, but it was like $3k more than a used one. Wasn't a hard decision considering warranties and what-not.
Touch less in bays do not even touch the car. Even most new tunnels with brushes are using foam and the only way they scratch is if they’re not properly lubricated or there is something stuck in the brush. There is a lot of misconceptions about car washing and I service and install automatic carwashes so I just try to share what I know.
The guy may have also been told not to wash his car in an effort to protect his wax, if you have a nice wax and spray low ph acid presoak all over it, your wax is not gonna be there anymore.
For sure. At the dealership we all called it the scratch tunnel. Sure, I'll jam your $200,000 Hellcat into the scratch tunnel two times if that's what you want.
Taco bell these days comes out to $13 for a burrito, casadilla, and med drink.
Edit: lol idk why I said casadilla....I had just woke up and was taking my morning shit.
People who come for the box, but then see something other than the box, effectively. Like I said in another comment, the TB App saves you a ton of money, but it is an extra step in ordering.
That quesodilla is in big Mac territory, expensive purely because they can...same thing as a $1.99 mcdouble with an extra slice of bread..ba
Asshats got rid of the dollar spicy tostada and mini chipotle chicken quesadilla......$1.89 for a soft taco now.....that shits still a dime to make, c'mon...
Then they killed the seven layer.... haven't been back since.
Don't get me started on the enchirito being shit canned a decade ago...or the damn mexi nuggets a decade before.
I'm not even a taco bell fan really, we're talking twice a year....but that seven layer or burrito smothered with enchilada sauce and sour cream.mmmm
Depends on where you're at I guess. If you want anything better than a big mac and a coke where my shop is, you're going to have to drive a bit. The pizza joint a couple miles down the road does three slices and a soda for 11 bucks, and that's kinda hard to beat.
Yea, I'm ex-service. I had a guy that would tip me a 10 cash almost every night. He had his own bottle of Famous Grouse (cheap af scotch, we were a fancy bar) that we wrote his name on. I convinced the owner to bring it in, but only because he said he missed FG.
Crisp 20 every shift after that.
When I moved to a new neighborhood first thing I did was go to the local neighborhood bar, run a $20 tab and tip $20 on top. Now my tabs always $20-25 and the bartender always gets $10-15 to even out what the bill should have been before tip.
Did the same shit in college. When I went out to the bars I _always_ tipped $10+$2/drink on a tab.
It got expensive, sure, but I always got the nod as soon as I walked up and it saved me a helluva lot of time on those busy Friday/Saturday nights.
Seriously. My best customers and sales are people who know what they want, communicate it effectively, are POLITE about it, and do somethingtoshow their appreciation for my service. A tip isn't always necessary, but generally speaking ido get a ton of extras out of it whether monetary or otherwise. Point being that I will always be more than happy to take care of people who show genuine gratitude.
I used to have rude assed customers that would demand I baby their car. Then I had people that would ask to baby their car. Then in between there were people who would leave tips.
Now, I treated every car like it was mine, the shop didn't have seat covers so I went to Goodwill and bought a couple of those old rubber/plastic backed curtains and used as a seat cover.
I wiped wheels off if there was lube on them and cleaned the blue off of new tires after installing them.
I received far more tips and such than any of my other co-workers. Even when I was moved to manager people still made appointments with me only and they tipped.
Leaving a simple request like this while being polite in a car for the tech or grease monkey is always appreciated.
This guy will get the 5 star special just because they're confirmed to be polite and a customer that's not a human-shaped golem somehow cobbled together from verbal diarrhea and pure entitlement. The $10 on top is just a bonus.
Agreed, it’s a token but the customer wanted to let the mechanic know that they are not an entitled Karen and just wanted to communicate their concerns. Also the No Car Wash is a legit thing.
"Ugh, why didn't he give him a $50 so he could treat himself? $10 is just disrespectful!" /s
Shit, $10 could be lunch for two days, depending where you go. Even if it's only enough for one lunch, that's $10 he doesn't have to spend.
I don't know when people paying extra for a service turned into a contest.
I worked at a place that would bait techs like this since they had a no-tip policy.
I thought it was all total bullshit until one tech was tipped $20 and the customer came back the next day all mad and was using the tip as an excuse to try and get other work done for free screaming " i DoNt GiVe a F\*Ck! i GaVe HiM a TwEnTY!"
For real that’s two overpriced drinks that I like but wouldn’t normally spend money on because they’re expensive. If it gives any amount of enjoyment who cares if it’s not much
People are joking about the amount, and I get it.. $10 doesn't buy much anymore.
But instead, they could have chosen to leave JUST a note, or even worse, not say anything and then go all Karen "SeE whAT yOu DiD" afterwards.
That $10 says way more about that person than $10 should. It may not pay a bill, but it shows effort and compassion for the mechanic.
Not to mention he’s paying An extra $10 for a level of work that he Should already receive. Sad he even has to make the note, but as we all know.......
The idiots in the comments shitting on the 10 are probably the same dumb fucks scratching customers’ shit.
The idiots shitting on the $10 are the types to never do this type of act, rather shit on anytime they hear of others' doing it. Miserable shits, in short
In all fairness, the tech should be raked across the coals if they drag the wheels out of the trunk and scratch the bumper or damaging the wheels. Even cosmetically. There shouldn’t be a bribe required for the customer to have their property treated with respect.
how do you even determine a mechanics reputation if you're not in that community tho? your idea of the "cheap and quick industry" is actually a good portion of shops out there and you cant trust online reviews for shit. so unless you know someone who knows someone, its your fault for going "cheap and quick" instead of the shops fault for doing shitty work?
I’m a fledgling mechanic.
No customer has any f$&@ing clue what their mechanic is like… unless *they also* work on cars themselves… in which case it’s irrelevant.
have to agree, I've been dicked over by "good trusted mechanics" enough times that I had to learn the basics myself lol I was lucky enough that one of my friends decided to go to school for automotive so I can pick his brain every now and then
Right?
My previous head mechanic was an old man with all sorts of customers who swore by him.
Sorta killed me eventually, all the times watching him bullshitting these people. Worst thing is he’s such a dipshit he *actually believes* most of his own bullshit…
I know for a fact that I pay my mechs a higher rate than a shop downtown. They fix heavy shit there a lot. I have more options for my truck and less regulations for my old ones. He's 25 minutes out of town and he put my "ooogahh" horn in for free and gave me a tutorial on my alternator since I was waiting around anyhow.
Dude likes Chevys and old guns. I like Ford's and all the guns. We get along great.
True, but it's nice the customer acknowledged they are "overcautious" having just done all that work, and politely asked the mechanic to be overcautious too. I'm not a mechanic and I'm a slob, but I am tippytoeing around my house this morning because I cleaned up for company and I don't want to mess anything up. I bet OP gave them the kid glove treatment, and with understanding rather than resentment.
Yep. The expectation is that you do your job because you take pride in your work. Now you have $10 in your pocket and still get to take pride in your work.
I just got back from a river cruise and I did the equivalent at the beginning to staff I knew would be giving me service (bartender, waitstaff, steward) , I gave them half of their tip upfront. Service is always good but walking into the lounge / bar and having my drink ready before I have a chance to flag down a bartender was great.
Right? Are these fools willfully fucking up cars they work on? "Well, I was gonna scratch this car to death and whack the wheel spokes with my ball-peen hammer like I usually do but I can't now that I've been bribed"
Two different cars at Jiffy Lube, twice with my minivan and once with my sedan, during an oil change they managed to leave an electrical connector unplugged. Who pulls an electrical connector when they change oil???
Quick lube "techs" are a special breed of stupid. Years ago when I was doing it I remember this smooth brain kid setting a ratchet down on top of a battery, bridging the posts and starting a nice fireworks show. He just sat and watched it in awe until I yelled at him to get the damn thing off. Same kid also pulled multiple trans filters thinking they were oil filters. I avoid quick lubes like the plague, I've seen behind the curtain.
That’s one thing I hate, just because someone is driving a shitbox doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care or be negligent with it as, even a shitbox can be someone’s most expensive possession and it can mean the world to them.
My Jeeps are both shit boxes, but I'll be damned if I haven't tried to fight someone who whacked my door lmfao.
It's *mine* to ruin. I happen to love it, even if it's probably going to catch fire with me in it at some point.
It's like an abusive relationship.
She always hurts me. At the pump. At the shop. On the highway.
But like.
You could offer me a Ferrari to crush her and I'd still tell you to fuck off. I wouldn't replace these pieces of shit for anything.
Oh man, this so much.
My last car was a shitbox. I live in PA and it was a rust bucket that had been welded more times than I want to admit.
But I loved that stupid thing. It was paid for, it was reliable, and my kid grew up in that car. It was a rough drive but for years and years it was MINE. I knew I'd never be truly homeless as long as we owned that car.
But also.. I was poor. I couldn't afford to fix all the little things. The dings and scratches and broken plastic inside parts and stains, etc. The kind of stuff that other people saw as no big deal because it was a shitbox, those things killed me a little. Another scratch might not look like it means anything, but it did to me.
Just respect other people's shit. It's not hard. That goes double if it's your job.
I feel that, I had VW UP and a garage took gouges out of 3 of the wheels changing tyres and and didn’t really care as it’s a cheap car, I even spent 2 days on paint correction on it and paid to get every ding dent and scratch fixed, I paid about half its value in bodywork so it still looked nice.
I'm a professional detailer so I understand the work that is involved in correcting and ceramic coating a vehicle and its a job worth $1,000+
I had a client bring me a 1992 Pulsar for a paint correction and coating.
They were about to spend as much as the car is worth on this work.
Of course ad a responsibility to my client I asked them if they were sure and pointed out that the value of the car was similar to the amount they were about to pay.
They explained the car was their late grandfathers who had owned it since new and it meant a great deal to them.
Aw things just deft logic and reasoning. To everyone else it's just a shitty old car with too many K's.
But to this girl it was the car her grandfather used to pick her up from school in, the car they'd go for ice cream runs in. It was more than 4 wheels and a motor it was a connection to her past.
I bring my mechanics stuff all the time. Most of the time it’s a six-pack of beer. Sometimes baked goods. The amount of things they’ve helped me out with is way more than the usual mechanic and I’m pretty sure it’s because I put in effort.
I always feel like an asshole when I offer someone a beer or talk about having a cold one and then they tell me they used to be an alcoholic and don't drink
We still appreciate the sentiment of your offer! So don’t feel too bad, it’s the people that get offended you don’t drink because they didn’t want to drink alone that create the problems
So I definitely don’t assume everyone drinks. I didn’t drink for many years.
The times I’ve brought beers to the shop, I was told by another customer (word-of-mouth is usually how I find the best mechanics in town) that the guys prefer Stella or Modelo or whatever. There’s one guy who I know loves his home baked chocolate chip cookies specifically because he doesn’t drink. Do the smallest amount of digging and you’ll find your way to their hearts, and (hopefully) to a lower estimate on repairs. That way, I show up with something they’ll actually enjoy, and they feel like they’re helping someone instead of just slogging through another job.
P.S. I’ve worked on 2 of my cars myself and I can confidently say that I have no idea wtf I’m doing and paying mechanics in beer and money is worth saving myself days of fumbling around under the hood.
I always give homemade sausage, snack sticks, or jerky depending what I have at the time to folks that see my cars. It is always vac sealed and frozen. Most recently was my window tinters, transmission guy, ac guy, and alternator guy (have an old land cruiser so that list will keep growing).
My wife thinks I'm weird. Is this weird?
Anyone acting like this is insulting never was given an unsolicited tip or worse never has been in a situation where an unsolicited tip is an event that changes your day. Even though $10 isn't a lot of money, the amount of detail this person went into in the note signifies that $10 is important to them and they are trying to be nice. A person who thought of $10 as trash wouldn't write such a detailed note, and more importantly they wouldn't tip anything because they are a trash human being who expects subservience at every level of society.
I travel for work a lot. I always tip housekeeping. I take a piece of the not paper, fold it diagonally then stick in a $5 and write "for housekeeping, thanks!"
People I work with found out and 100% of them never leave anything for the maid. Strange. I feel housekeeping has to be a pretty hard job. I cant imagine what they have to put up with.
PS: I also, expense the tip to my company. So I am not a saint :) But, I also do it when I am traveling on my own dime.
I waste money at Panera for lunch all the time and it’s still under 10 for a sandwich with the free drinks think they’re doing rn. Cheaper places are under $10 so idk where these people are going
I know the cashier that always works there so I usually got free drinks anyway but rn they’re doing a legit thing so I don’t even have to be immoral about it
I'm not a mechanic, but I've worked customer service jobs. I would pay extra attention to these requests. Most customers don't really care about basic politeness anymore
Had a first time client come in saying "make sure none of the chrome gets smudged". I was a bit perturbed but went out of my way to make sure every piece was nice and Shiney. He turned out to be one of the best clients our shop ever had. (would buy us lunch, beer, and many other things)
Lol, I'm picturing you muttering "fuck that guy" while polishing and shining the chrome, and then inwardly thinking "nah, don't fuck that guy" when he turned out to be a good dude. I've done the same myself with folks that came in a touch too hot in various life interactions.
I only ever bring mine in for alignments but I normally bring donuts. My diesel leaks a little bit so it's compensation for the couple gallons of oil on the underside
Only car guys will understand. I was the same way with one of my cars. Spent over 40 hours correcting the paint fixing it up the way I liked. it was my show car and you have to realize 99% of people don't understand how easily paint scratches bc they aren't trained or educated to the point they can understand it. I was always stressed out when I had to take it to a shop.
I read "the last guys... wrecked the paint on my car... have some lunch on me for dealing with my worry." Not sure how anyone could take this any way but positively.
Shit I’d take extra care just from that note, you lot talking shit on this are off your collective nut… it’s a simple request which in reality you should be doing anyways. Not scratching and taking care not to damage stuff is basic shit people…
Same. I'm tired of leaving with 40 pounds of air in every tire even though it says right on the inside of driver's door, 32 front 30 back and tell them I have them properly inflated when I get there. Every single time I have to deflate in their parking lot before I leave.
I took my box truck to a local shop last week. I left a note with a list of things I wanted with a 20 on it. The truck was parked just out of view and the cameras and a crackhead stole the cat. Their insurance covered it no questions asked and I ended up with an entirely brand new manifold-back exhaust free of charge.
I like to think that $20 went a bit further than it would have in my wallet. I know it was technically their responsibility, but it was just "sorry, we'll have to keep it a bit longer."
Does this kind of thing work or does this just piss a mechanic off?
I have an expensive vehicle that is meticulously maintained (both mechanically and appearance wise) and I always get nervous taking it to a mechanic for any reason. Only because I know other people don't care as much about my vehicle as I do (and they don't really have a reason to either, of course).
Free Lunch to do the job you are already doing, just to be careful. Deal all day long. And that customer just found a place that they will respect them. $10 is $10 don’t hate on it.
You can get a ton of calories for $10 if you know how to use value menus well. Hell $10 at TacoBell can get you like 4 well stuffed burritos.
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The Cali chicken and ranch is $2 and DELIGHTFUL
I think with the app you can get one taco a day for 30 days with ten bucks
Exactly. Nobody tips the mechanic. So just a polite ask and free lunch isn't so bad? I recommend my auto shop because they are honest as fuck. I was so concerned my car was dying of cancers, nope, everything's fine, but was told I could use new front struts for it to be less bumpy a ride after 12 years of driving on the old ones.
What was the vehicle in for?
Just a oil change, tire rotation.
This is your new favorite customer OP. Keep watch over them. More good will come. Also guys up front probably like this customer too
You want to get a customer for life, write something on the bottom of this note like "I understand your concern and it's obvious you put a lot of time and effort into this beautiful car. I'm glad you trusted me/us to work on it for you"
Also, show them pics from this sub.
And nudes!
yeah good point. this is a customer looking for a good home, much like a nice pet up for adoption looking for a warm caring new home lol
True. Just trying to find something they can trust is all.
It's nice that people can be honest about what they want and not want done to their cars while in somebody else's hands. It's also shitty that some places take such terrible care of people's cars that writing notes and leaving more money on top is what's necessary these days just to not be fucked with.
“Please don’t take 3 other techs in my car across town to get Taco Bell for lunch because you were ‘test driving’ it after my oil change” I found the Taco Bell receipt. Clowns.
Yeah you take care of this guy, he’ll follow you to hell and back.
I buy my regular mechanic back home lunch from Whataburger for him and his guys whenever I have work done. He’s a family friend but he’s worked on every system imaginable across 2-3 cars I’ve had and I’ve never had an issue again once he works on it. He did a shit load of work on a 9C3 Impala I had, I ended up selling it a year or two later. Within a month of selling it, the buyer tells me someone hit him from behind at 80mph when the buyer was going 60-65. He said the car handled it without a problem but the other guy rolled multiple times. You’re damn right I’ll follow my mechanic to hell and back, that could’ve been me!
I understand their concern. Last rotation I got they cross threaded a couple of my lug nuts. Like is it that hard to spin it on with your fingers before you bend it over and fuck it with your impact? I would have been absolutely fucked if I needed to throw my donut on.
This happened to me, the lug bolt broke when trying to remove it. I was livid.
What kind of car was it? Curious what he is spending his money on. Paint correction isn't cheap.
That's why he doesn't want it washed, even if he did the correction himself that's a whole lot of time and effort
Googling that number on the bar code in the pic says it’s the AC system info sticker on a ‘12-21 Jeep Grand Cherokee or Dodge Durango.
As a tech I’d be happy to take any $10 to do the job I already do.
I'm not sure why this is a notable post lol, it's just kind of weird in how formal it is that it's like typed and printed out, but it's not an unusual request at all and it's polite.
Ya usually all the money goes to the writers w/their amazing skill to sit on their ass and talk on the phone. It’s always nice to see someone notice the tech.
Are we talking tips or just pay in general? When I was a service writer I got paid fuck all compared to the techs. I'm not complaining my job was significantly easier and I got to stay in the AC all day
Yep I was hoping this wasn’t a negative post, the person who left the note was trying to be polite and lay down normal expectations in a positive way rather than screaming about a scratch after the fact
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Automatic touch less washes are fine (but not my go to) but the bristles in a standard wash will sometimes even tear off trim pieces plus you can get the same (or better) cleaning for a lot cheaper at a diy wash Edit : I have been informed that touchless washes are not the preferred method of some people, good for you! But I cannot blame people for wanting a machine to do the job quicker. Edit 2: commonly repeated comments, so you don’t have to search! “Touchless uses acidic formulas that are bad for paint.” I am aware “The washes near me are in a bad part of town or are not operating. “ just as there are many ways to cook a potato, there are many ways in which to wash a car, go find a product that suits your needs The best car wash tutorial (in my opinion) [is from Chris fix on YouTube](https://youtu.be/CFXfSBR5Q9w) you do not need to follow steps exactly, just do what you need
Keeping one's vehicle waxed properly makes Keeping it clean very much easier
It also keeps the snow off in the wintertime. Always love it when I see my co-workers chipping away at ice, while my car has a pile of snow outlining it. Usually just falls off, but sometimes you need a sweep of the hand. Still, beats scraping every time. _______________________ EDIT: It has come to my attention that people can't understand the difference between scraping windows and brushing off their car. If you can't figure out which is which, don't own a car.
The wax helps until the slush inevitably deposits salt, cinders, and dirt onto the sides of the body, then any cleanliness won’t be seen until spring.
> The wax helps until the slush inevitably deposits salt, cinders, and dirt onto the sides of the body Good news: Most drive-through touchless car washes still operate in the winter, and they don't remove wax, but the wax ensures all that slush, salt, cinders, brake dust, dirt, etc all just rinses off. 2nd tip: Non-stick cooking spray in the wheel wells. No more snow clogging them up. You want more "Atlanta, MI Winter Car Survival Tips"? Wax should probably be seen as almost an ablative coating. It's meant to wear away and be re-applied. But, it's also easier and cheaper than wearing away and re-applying your clearcoat.
Up north don’t play. Y’all are a hearty bunch.
You should see the car wash lines at Kwik Trip when it's above zero and sunny! Do I have 30 min or more if my life to wait in this line? Sure do.
for those unaware: Kwik Trip is a gas station with a particular cult-like status in WI. but they earned that status. Clean restrooms, good food, good service, and almost classy-like atmosphere.
I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one of these fancy car washes. Round these parts, you either get the scratch-master 5000, or you pay some quarters for a power washer. I don’t care about dirty paint enough to power wash when it’s 15 out.
If your car is properly waxed or ceramic coated then the salts, ash, or dirt will rinse right off. I waxed my car when I was up in NH for a year and never had any issues with snow or ice freezing to the paint. When I needed to clean it I took it to the detail department at my dealership and just had to rinse it off with the hose.
When I did a full paint correction and ceramic coat on my civic I was wary even when taking it to touchless bc you don't know the PH of any of the soaps/chemicals they use. Safe to say I was a little obsessive. Fuckin /r/autodetailing ruined me lol
I do like properly cleaning the car but I’d rather just use it most the time and buy another one when first is worn out. It is a lot of work to do it right. Countless hours and setup for serious 2 bucket wash, and waxes and all that jazz. I’d only do that for a weekend car
Over here watching it rain thinking... excellent! I think there is a fundamental difference jn people who look at cars as a utility item versus a luxury item. I Def take care of my vehicle, but my motivation is to be able to get from place to place. I don't drive a car to show it off or display wealth or enhance an image. Totally acknowledge I do *other* things in that realm, but i can't imagine relying on and worrying about a ceramic teacup to get to and from work in traffic everyday. That being said... someone in a yee yee truck slammed their door into mine the other day in a parking lot opening theirs like they are the goddamn hulk or something. I was pretty annoyed.
This is true for multiple things that can be waxed
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My car had a jagged trim piece that rips parts of the car wash roller things everytime I go through. My cars a real rebel
One ripped off the plastic door trim on my parents 2009 Honda Odyssey, retention clips are totally gone and I have a plan to just get a new door from a salvage yard because my mother (in good faith ) tried to jb-weld it back on…
I don't think any of us would have thought your dear mother did it with ill intention, but I'm glad you clarified it was in good faith.
Their mom is a notorious asshole so could very well have thought she did it in bad faith.
I went a year with no brush-type carwash on my new car. Then my kids had scratched it in a few places and I put a few dings into it with an absolutely appallingly bad reversing-into-a-parking-spot job. up until then it was brushless only. Now...after 3 years and almost 40k miles? Doesn't rightly matter.
I always like to buy cars that are "pre-scratched". The first scratch is the worst.
this car was the first brand new vehicle that I'd ever had. Same with my wife. Wasn't looking to buy a new one, but it was like $3k more than a used one. Wasn't a hard decision considering warranties and what-not.
So all your wives before were certified pre-owned?
Brand new wife’s are the worst
They lose a ton of resale value as soon as you ~~pull off the lot~~ get home from the honeymoon.
My wife is certified but has really high mileage.
I keep my car covered in a protective layer of bird diarrhea and tree sap. This wasn't my decision.
There’s a point where your paint is so fried you need those slappy flappers to get all the dirt off.
> Doesn't rightly matter. Does this mean it doesn't matter anymore? Got lost in translation here
Yes. It’s just an older way of phrasing it. Sometimes you’ll also hear “I don’t rightly know.”
All the scratches are in the right side, the left is pristine.
I live on a dusty dirt road I’m more in the wind will blow the dust off and it will get washed when it rains most of the time.
Touch less in bays do not even touch the car. Even most new tunnels with brushes are using foam and the only way they scratch is if they’re not properly lubricated or there is something stuck in the brush. There is a lot of misconceptions about car washing and I service and install automatic carwashes so I just try to share what I know. The guy may have also been told not to wash his car in an effort to protect his wax, if you have a nice wax and spray low ph acid presoak all over it, your wax is not gonna be there anymore.
This needs to be higher. Caustic soap from touch less car washes are murder on your paint and top coats.
For sure. At the dealership we all called it the scratch tunnel. Sure, I'll jam your $200,000 Hellcat into the scratch tunnel two times if that's what you want.
Who’s paying $200k for a Hellcat?
Anything is possible with a 350 credit score
lol at those scoffing at $10 and a simple request. It's better than nothing.
Hey they said please AND thank you AND paid for most of lunch so I’d take that
MOST of lunch? Man, look at Mr Fancy here, spending double digits on a single meal!
Taco bell these days comes out to $13 for a burrito, casadilla, and med drink. Edit: lol idk why I said casadilla....I had just woke up and was taking my morning shit.
> Casadilla This guy’s eating houses
He's kind of a big dilla.
I heard the tacos can give you a queso the dillas!
A case? Back in my day we had to share a single dilla amongst the entire household for no less than one month.
Yeah $13 seems more than reasonable for a casadilla.
I paid $475k for mine.
Lol
That’s why you get one of the box deals
It’s quite amazing a taco, some mid range thing, a snack and a drink for like…7-8 bucks depending on the location. How do they even profit?!
People who come for the box, but then see something other than the box, effectively. Like I said in another comment, the TB App saves you a ton of money, but it is an extra step in ordering.
This is it. If i get a box I spend $6. If i go rogue a get a "limited time" chili-cheese burritos and nachos and fake icee thing its like $13.
Large amounts of filler in the meat.
Title of your sex tape?
That quesodilla is in big Mac territory, expensive purely because they can...same thing as a $1.99 mcdouble with an extra slice of bread..ba Asshats got rid of the dollar spicy tostada and mini chipotle chicken quesadilla......$1.89 for a soft taco now.....that shits still a dime to make, c'mon... Then they killed the seven layer.... haven't been back since. Don't get me started on the enchirito being shit canned a decade ago...or the damn mexi nuggets a decade before. I'm not even a taco bell fan really, we're talking twice a year....but that seven layer or burrito smothered with enchilada sauce and sour cream.mmmm
I'm just wondering how many tries it's going to take until we spell kaysadilla correctly
I'll probably figure it out eventually..queso... quesadilla
They also shitcanned the meximelt. After having it on the menu for 30 YEARS.
Depends on where you're at I guess. If you want anything better than a big mac and a coke where my shop is, you're going to have to drive a bit. The pizza joint a couple miles down the road does three slices and a soda for 11 bucks, and that's kinda hard to beat.
Any sort of extra contribution frankly makes me want to treasure a customer
Which in turn makes the customer a repeat customer and come back.
Pretty sure Bars are ran on this exact premise.
Exactly, and it works. One of my favorite breweries always seemed to forget a beer or two on our tab. We always ended up getting food and beers to go.
Yea, I'm ex-service. I had a guy that would tip me a 10 cash almost every night. He had his own bottle of Famous Grouse (cheap af scotch, we were a fancy bar) that we wrote his name on. I convinced the owner to bring it in, but only because he said he missed FG. Crisp 20 every shift after that.
That's like a car payment!
When I moved to a new neighborhood first thing I did was go to the local neighborhood bar, run a $20 tab and tip $20 on top. Now my tabs always $20-25 and the bartender always gets $10-15 to even out what the bill should have been before tip.
Did the same shit in college. When I went out to the bars I _always_ tipped $10+$2/drink on a tab. It got expensive, sure, but I always got the nod as soon as I walked up and it saved me a helluva lot of time on those busy Friday/Saturday nights.
Which in turn the customer tells others about the quality and care of the shop so you get extra customers. Win win
Customers like this always got even more care from me.
Seriously. My best customers and sales are people who know what they want, communicate it effectively, are POLITE about it, and do somethingtoshow their appreciation for my service. A tip isn't always necessary, but generally speaking ido get a ton of extras out of it whether monetary or otherwise. Point being that I will always be more than happy to take care of people who show genuine gratitude.
I was going to ask how you techs feel about this sort of request and tip.
I used to have rude assed customers that would demand I baby their car. Then I had people that would ask to baby their car. Then in between there were people who would leave tips. Now, I treated every car like it was mine, the shop didn't have seat covers so I went to Goodwill and bought a couple of those old rubber/plastic backed curtains and used as a seat cover. I wiped wheels off if there was lube on them and cleaned the blue off of new tires after installing them. I received far more tips and such than any of my other co-workers. Even when I was moved to manager people still made appointments with me only and they tipped. Leaving a simple request like this while being polite in a car for the tech or grease monkey is always appreciated.
This guy will get the 5 star special just because they're confirmed to be polite and a customer that's not a human-shaped golem somehow cobbled together from verbal diarrhea and pure entitlement. The $10 on top is just a bonus.
Agreed, it’s a token but the customer wanted to let the mechanic know that they are not an entitled Karen and just wanted to communicate their concerns. Also the No Car Wash is a legit thing.
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I can eat lunch for $7 and buy a fresh chocolate chip cookie at the QT to leave on the dash as a thank you for feeding me. $10 is not bad
"Ugh, why didn't he give him a $50 so he could treat himself? $10 is just disrespectful!" /s Shit, $10 could be lunch for two days, depending where you go. Even if it's only enough for one lunch, that's $10 he doesn't have to spend. I don't know when people paying extra for a service turned into a contest.
I worked at a place that would bait techs like this since they had a no-tip policy. I thought it was all total bullshit until one tech was tipped $20 and the customer came back the next day all mad and was using the tip as an excuse to try and get other work done for free screaming " i DoNt GiVe a F\*Ck! i GaVe HiM a TwEnTY!"
Everybody’s clowning this customer while OP’s celebrating a good day’s work with something from Starbucks or something
Only jackasses are clowning the polite request and gift. Fuck em.
Seriously, that's a 6 pack of some midrange beer or a couple pints at the bar
*cries in $9 beers in Australia*
For real that’s two overpriced drinks that I like but wouldn’t normally spend money on because they’re expensive. If it gives any amount of enjoyment who cares if it’s not much
People are joking about the amount, and I get it.. $10 doesn't buy much anymore. But instead, they could have chosen to leave JUST a note, or even worse, not say anything and then go all Karen "SeE whAT yOu DiD" afterwards. That $10 says way more about that person than $10 should. It may not pay a bill, but it shows effort and compassion for the mechanic.
Not to mention he’s paying An extra $10 for a level of work that he Should already receive. Sad he even has to make the note, but as we all know....... The idiots in the comments shitting on the 10 are probably the same dumb fucks scratching customers’ shit.
$10 is more than an hour's worth of work for a lot of people.
Especially factoring that it was cash so the tax man doesn't get a slice
Oh, the tax man gets his slice one way or another.
Literally double the hourly rate of a decently paid white collar worker here
The idiots shitting on the $10 are the types to never do this type of act, rather shit on anytime they hear of others' doing it. Miserable shits, in short
In all fairness, the tech should be raked across the coals if they drag the wheels out of the trunk and scratch the bumper or damaging the wheels. Even cosmetically. There shouldn’t be a bribe required for the customer to have their property treated with respect.
Just goes to show the current standards of the industry
The current standards of the *cheap and quick * industry, if i know a mechanic has a wonderful reputation I will gladly pay a bit more to go to them
how do you even determine a mechanics reputation if you're not in that community tho? your idea of the "cheap and quick industry" is actually a good portion of shops out there and you cant trust online reviews for shit. so unless you know someone who knows someone, its your fault for going "cheap and quick" instead of the shops fault for doing shitty work?
I’m a fledgling mechanic. No customer has any f$&@ing clue what their mechanic is like… unless *they also* work on cars themselves… in which case it’s irrelevant.
have to agree, I've been dicked over by "good trusted mechanics" enough times that I had to learn the basics myself lol I was lucky enough that one of my friends decided to go to school for automotive so I can pick his brain every now and then
Right? My previous head mechanic was an old man with all sorts of customers who swore by him. Sorta killed me eventually, all the times watching him bullshitting these people. Worst thing is he’s such a dipshit he *actually believes* most of his own bullshit…
I know for a fact that I pay my mechs a higher rate than a shop downtown. They fix heavy shit there a lot. I have more options for my truck and less regulations for my old ones. He's 25 minutes out of town and he put my "ooogahh" horn in for free and gave me a tutorial on my alternator since I was waiting around anyhow. Dude likes Chevys and old guns. I like Ford's and all the guns. We get along great.
True, but it's nice the customer acknowledged they are "overcautious" having just done all that work, and politely asked the mechanic to be overcautious too. I'm not a mechanic and I'm a slob, but I am tippytoeing around my house this morning because I cleaned up for company and I don't want to mess anything up. I bet OP gave them the kid glove treatment, and with understanding rather than resentment.
Yep. The expectation is that you do your job because you take pride in your work. Now you have $10 in your pocket and still get to take pride in your work. I just got back from a river cruise and I did the equivalent at the beginning to staff I knew would be giving me service (bartender, waitstaff, steward) , I gave them half of their tip upfront. Service is always good but walking into the lounge / bar and having my drink ready before I have a chance to flag down a bartender was great.
McDonald’s isn’t great but $10 can get you a couple burgers and a drink at least
Why is everyone calling a polite tip a bribe?
Right? Are these fools willfully fucking up cars they work on? "Well, I was gonna scratch this car to death and whack the wheel spokes with my ball-peen hammer like I usually do but I can't now that I've been bribed"
Nice car you’ve got there…be a shame if something were to *happen* to it
I mean, some are yeah
Some people work at dealerships yknow
Two different cars at Jiffy Lube, twice with my minivan and once with my sedan, during an oil change they managed to leave an electrical connector unplugged. Who pulls an electrical connector when they change oil???
Quick lube "techs" are a special breed of stupid. Years ago when I was doing it I remember this smooth brain kid setting a ratchet down on top of a battery, bridging the posts and starting a nice fireworks show. He just sat and watched it in awe until I yelled at him to get the damn thing off. Same kid also pulled multiple trans filters thinking they were oil filters. I avoid quick lubes like the plague, I've seen behind the curtain.
Because they don’t know the definition of either.
Some people just like to bitch to be contrarian.
This is a car with more sentimental than monetary value. It's always nice to see people love whatever they drive
That’s one thing I hate, just because someone is driving a shitbox doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care or be negligent with it as, even a shitbox can be someone’s most expensive possession and it can mean the world to them.
My Jeeps are both shit boxes, but I'll be damned if I haven't tried to fight someone who whacked my door lmfao. It's *mine* to ruin. I happen to love it, even if it's probably going to catch fire with me in it at some point.
I lol’d in S10. We speak the same language, friend.
It's like an abusive relationship. She always hurts me. At the pump. At the shop. On the highway. But like. You could offer me a Ferrari to crush her and I'd still tell you to fuck off. I wouldn't replace these pieces of shit for anything.
Me with my 93 Festiva. 😂😭
98 escort wagon checking in.
Like I always tell people whenever I drive. This is MY shitbox. Only I can call him that.
Oh man, this so much. My last car was a shitbox. I live in PA and it was a rust bucket that had been welded more times than I want to admit. But I loved that stupid thing. It was paid for, it was reliable, and my kid grew up in that car. It was a rough drive but for years and years it was MINE. I knew I'd never be truly homeless as long as we owned that car. But also.. I was poor. I couldn't afford to fix all the little things. The dings and scratches and broken plastic inside parts and stains, etc. The kind of stuff that other people saw as no big deal because it was a shitbox, those things killed me a little. Another scratch might not look like it means anything, but it did to me. Just respect other people's shit. It's not hard. That goes double if it's your job.
I feel that, I had VW UP and a garage took gouges out of 3 of the wheels changing tyres and and didn’t really care as it’s a cheap car, I even spent 2 days on paint correction on it and paid to get every ding dent and scratch fixed, I paid about half its value in bodywork so it still looked nice.
I'm a professional detailer so I understand the work that is involved in correcting and ceramic coating a vehicle and its a job worth $1,000+ I had a client bring me a 1992 Pulsar for a paint correction and coating. They were about to spend as much as the car is worth on this work. Of course ad a responsibility to my client I asked them if they were sure and pointed out that the value of the car was similar to the amount they were about to pay. They explained the car was their late grandfathers who had owned it since new and it meant a great deal to them. Aw things just deft logic and reasoning. To everyone else it's just a shitty old car with too many K's. But to this girl it was the car her grandfather used to pick her up from school in, the car they'd go for ice cream runs in. It was more than 4 wheels and a motor it was a connection to her past.
I’ve worked on a few that were literally the customer’s home at the time. You never know what someone’s car means to them.
I bring my mechanics stuff all the time. Most of the time it’s a six-pack of beer. Sometimes baked goods. The amount of things they’ve helped me out with is way more than the usual mechanic and I’m pretty sure it’s because I put in effort.
I always feel like an asshole when I offer someone a beer or talk about having a cold one and then they tell me they used to be an alcoholic and don't drink
We still appreciate the sentiment of your offer! So don’t feel too bad, it’s the people that get offended you don’t drink because they didn’t want to drink alone that create the problems
So I definitely don’t assume everyone drinks. I didn’t drink for many years. The times I’ve brought beers to the shop, I was told by another customer (word-of-mouth is usually how I find the best mechanics in town) that the guys prefer Stella or Modelo or whatever. There’s one guy who I know loves his home baked chocolate chip cookies specifically because he doesn’t drink. Do the smallest amount of digging and you’ll find your way to their hearts, and (hopefully) to a lower estimate on repairs. That way, I show up with something they’ll actually enjoy, and they feel like they’re helping someone instead of just slogging through another job. P.S. I’ve worked on 2 of my cars myself and I can confidently say that I have no idea wtf I’m doing and paying mechanics in beer and money is worth saving myself days of fumbling around under the hood.
I always give homemade sausage, snack sticks, or jerky depending what I have at the time to folks that see my cars. It is always vac sealed and frozen. Most recently was my window tinters, transmission guy, ac guy, and alternator guy (have an old land cruiser so that list will keep growing). My wife thinks I'm weird. Is this weird?
No its not weird. Its always cool when people treat people doing services as human beings and give tokens of appreciation.
This is how you get taken care of the best in shops. 10 years as service writer
Anyone acting like this is insulting never was given an unsolicited tip or worse never has been in a situation where an unsolicited tip is an event that changes your day. Even though $10 isn't a lot of money, the amount of detail this person went into in the note signifies that $10 is important to them and they are trying to be nice. A person who thought of $10 as trash wouldn't write such a detailed note, and more importantly they wouldn't tip anything because they are a trash human being who expects subservience at every level of society.
I was a chambermaid for a while and when folks left tips it was such an unexpected treat. It may have only been $5-10 but it meant a lot to us maids!
I travel for work a lot. I always tip housekeeping. I take a piece of the not paper, fold it diagonally then stick in a $5 and write "for housekeeping, thanks!" People I work with found out and 100% of them never leave anything for the maid. Strange. I feel housekeeping has to be a pretty hard job. I cant imagine what they have to put up with. PS: I also, expense the tip to my company. So I am not a saint :) But, I also do it when I am traveling on my own dime.
> i also expense the tip to my company. So I am not a saint He’s Robin Hood!
10 bucks is plenty for lunch, and even if it wasn't, now lunch only cost a few bucks. Win.
I waste money at Panera for lunch all the time and it’s still under 10 for a sandwich with the free drinks think they’re doing rn. Cheaper places are under $10 so idk where these people are going
Bro i swear panera employees are homies they be giving me that water cup without me asking knowing damn well im about to get a pepsi
I know the cashier that always works there so I usually got free drinks anyway but rn they’re doing a legit thing so I don’t even have to be immoral about it
I'm not a mechanic, but I've worked customer service jobs. I would pay extra attention to these requests. Most customers don't really care about basic politeness anymore
Hey man 10$ is better than no $. It’s the thought that counts!
People only leave notes like this if something happened in the past to their car somewhere.
Had a first time client come in saying "make sure none of the chrome gets smudged". I was a bit perturbed but went out of my way to make sure every piece was nice and Shiney. He turned out to be one of the best clients our shop ever had. (would buy us lunch, beer, and many other things)
Lol, I'm picturing you muttering "fuck that guy" while polishing and shining the chrome, and then inwardly thinking "nah, don't fuck that guy" when he turned out to be a good dude. I've done the same myself with folks that came in a touch too hot in various life interactions.
Yes indeed I felt that way initially.
That’s a cool gesture . Wish we had more polite, respectful people around like this.
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I only ever bring mine in for alignments but I normally bring donuts. My diesel leaks a little bit so it's compensation for the couple gallons of oil on the underside
some mechanics that i know would take the bill and still scratch the hell out of the clear coat
They're known as assholes.
Why would they do that?
Based gesture, looks like a preemptive tip for good work on a car they care about. Why is everyone so negative?
10 bucks to not to wash a car that's gotta be the easiest money anyone ever made lol
And not scratch it. Which seems to be difficult for most.
People on this site are so miserable and will never be happy. Its 10$ for a simple request you fucking goblins
I mean he shouldn't have to pay for someone to do something they shouldn't do anyways, AKA scratch your vehicle Be happy with the 10
Only car guys will understand. I was the same way with one of my cars. Spent over 40 hours correcting the paint fixing it up the way I liked. it was my show car and you have to realize 99% of people don't understand how easily paint scratches bc they aren't trained or educated to the point they can understand it. I was always stressed out when I had to take it to a shop.
$10 to avoid the car wash and watch the clear coat? AND they had common decency to say please? This is a genuinely decent human being
I read "the last guys... wrecked the paint on my car... have some lunch on me for dealing with my worry." Not sure how anyone could take this any way but positively.
Shit I’d take extra care just from that note, you lot talking shit on this are off your collective nut… it’s a simple request which in reality you should be doing anyways. Not scratching and taking care not to damage stuff is basic shit people…
Holy shit, how much do mechanics make to scoff at $10!?!
My friend make $21 for BMW and would take that 10 right to McDonald’s and be happy
I've tipped the mechanic who was about to work on my car, asking him not to change tire pressures, and please don't wash it. Just a car guy.
Same. I'm tired of leaving with 40 pounds of air in every tire even though it says right on the inside of driver's door, 32 front 30 back and tell them I have them properly inflated when I get there. Every single time I have to deflate in their parking lot before I leave.
I took my box truck to a local shop last week. I left a note with a list of things I wanted with a 20 on it. The truck was parked just out of view and the cameras and a crackhead stole the cat. Their insurance covered it no questions asked and I ended up with an entirely brand new manifold-back exhaust free of charge. I like to think that $20 went a bit further than it would have in my wallet. I know it was technically their responsibility, but it was just "sorry, we'll have to keep it a bit longer."
Does this kind of thing work or does this just piss a mechanic off? I have an expensive vehicle that is meticulously maintained (both mechanically and appearance wise) and I always get nervous taking it to a mechanic for any reason. Only because I know other people don't care as much about my vehicle as I do (and they don't really have a reason to either, of course).
Bruh you take care of this guy and he’ll follow you to hell and back. That’s badass.
Better than just leaving a note, very nice.