Let's take a look at a week in the life of Neil's Auto Repair & Sales.

When I opened Neil's Auto over 25 years ago, I was young, full of P&V and thought I knew it all. Wrong! While I was experienced in the diagnostic and repairs department, I was very green when it came to business. I was lucky enough that Benny MacFarlane was still operating a small shop next to mine to keep himself busy.

After 50 years in business, Benny had sold his property and dealership to Marty's GMC. For some reason he liked me and started to show me just exactly what it took to run a repair shop. It took a while, but his expertise and advice finally penetrated this thick Irish skull. He always told me, "Remember, you are a professional. Always do the job to the best of your ability, and never take short cuts in order to save money. It'll cost you twice as much in the end and will always cost you a customer. See, Neil, if something goes wrong, the customer will stop seeing that you tried to save them money and only see that the car is still broken." The theory that "The customer is always right" was another thing that Ben would discount, telling me, "Neil, most times when the car breaks down, people didn't budget for the expense" -- this was before widespread credit card use -- "so most of the time decisions are emotionally based instead of rationally. As you get older and deal with people, hopefully you'll be able to spot these minor trouble spots."

One such car arrived at my shop last week. Two weeks prior it started with a phone call, "My car failed inspection. It failed for the oxygen sensors, the codes being oxygen sensors too lean. How much is it to replace the oxygen sensors?" The car is a late '90s Explorer. My reply was to see if I could get Mr. and Mrs. Smith (we'll call them) to drop the car off for diagnostic tests. This request fell on deaf ears. Why? They probably thought I'm trying to sell them something they don't need. I, on the other hand, have run into this problem before. The reason I was called is because my shop is certified by the state to repair emission failures. Three weeks later, after having been elsewhere, the Explorer arrived at my shop with 2 new oxygen sensors. The originals had been replaced with new ones. The lean O2 sensor code remained. This new set of O2 sensors had been replaced with another set of O2 sensors, the first replacement set being deemed defective. It had then been tuned up completely -- plugs, wires, filters.

When I received the Explorer, the suggested next step was a catalytic converter. After checking the Explorer over, the problem was leaking upper intake manifold gaskets. The upper plenum (upper intake manifold) on these cars are plastic, and the seals they use as gaskets shrink. This results in a minor vacuum leak, thus illuminating the check engine light for O2 sensors lean. Had Mr. and Mrs. Smith came to me in the first place, I know I could have saved them the cost of O2 sensors. The tuneup? I don't know, but it probably was needed. The car had 86,000 miles on the odometer.

My shop and others are on this state list for a reason. We are ASE certified technicians. We took the state tests, and we are monitored by the state. If you have any problems, you can contact the state. As Benny would say, "Remember, Neil, you are the professional here. This customer probably spent money that wasn't needed."

****************