Trust me, I'm a professional . . ., How do we really know? Options

[anderssj]

Finally picked up the 914 yesterday after almost a month at a highly recommended local indie shop (the reason it took a month is another story). I made it about 10 miles towards home before the steering felt funny and there was a clunking from the left front . . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

Yeah, you guessed it:







(IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)

LF lugs weren't tightened/torqued. I guess that I WAS lucky on one level . . . I hadn't decided to take the freeway home.

After jacking up the car and tightening the lug bolts (and checking the others), I drove back to the shop for a "safety briefing" with the owner. Not much said besides "sorry."

When I'm doing multi-step work on the car where I might forget something, I tend to leave sticky notes one the dash or steering wheel ("pump brakes," "torque lugs," etc.). But when a car is in the shop, how do we know they haven't forgotten something and everything is really OK . . . that the valves are properly adjusted, push rod tube keeper wires in place . . . or if a wheel is about to fall off?

And I know that sometimes people make mistakes, that $hit happens, that the exception doesn't prove the rule, etc., etc., but still . . . I guess it comes down to a matter of trust--kind of like buying/eating mushrooms (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

We try to exercise our judgment in picking the best mechanic, shop, doctor, contractor, product, etc., then we pay our $ and take our chances, right?

Sorry for the rant, but this experience has left me kind of pessimistic.

[ChrisFoley]

I saw this on a car in my shop today.

[attachment is=550514]

[anderssj]

I saw this on a car in my shop today.

[attachment is=550514]

Thanks Chris! This is exactly what I recommended to the shop owner.

I really appreciate all of the thoughts and advice from everybody here in 914world.

A little background: I've been working on my 914 for 40+ years. I've been doing my all own work on it for the last 8 years. My regular mechanic/friend (the guy that built the motor back in 1982 while I was at sea) had to give up his one-man shop after a bad motorcycle accident. I had hoped he would stay in the local area so maybe he could teach me some of the finer points, but he moved two states away.

Anyways, I thought it was time to have a pro check MY work over real well and do a simple tune-up (valve adjust, new points, etc., set ignition timing,etc.). I spent the past year + shopping around for somebody to do the work. Like I said in my earlier post, this shop was recommended by some PCA guys (and others) that I know pretty well. The on-line reviews were good too--solid 5-stars, lots of glowing comments. I had talked to the service writer on the phone and he seemed knowledgeable; same with the owner. The shop was clean and seemed pretty well organized. Though it wasn't the closest or the cheapest, it seemed like the place to go. As it turns out, maybe not . . . or maybe they just had a couple of bad days. Maybe they'll be a little more careful in the future--if so, then this incident was probably a good thing in the long run. Maybe we'll all be a little more careful too.

If there's any other good news that comes out of this little adventure--aside from the LF wheel "remaining in the work environment"--it's that I've met some really good old- school car guys. I may have even found a new mechanic . . . turns out that he's an old friend of my old mechanic (they raced E-Prod 356s in the old Mid-Atlantic Road Racing series back in the day). Walked into a little shop to ask directions and there he was.

Last but not least, there's all the good folks here--thanks for all you do. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)

Stop by if you're in the neighborhood, the beers are on me! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)