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Honest People Thread

N

NJL

Apr 12, 2002
12,626
48
San Antonio
#1
As I stated in another thread, I had to look around for an AC tech that you can trust.. So I happened to ask one of the other coaches (Pete) at the gym and he knew the perfect guy.. Pete's a straight forward guy, wouldn't have a reason to lie and he and I brought back a "best team" trophy at a smoker one time, so we're kinda tight..

I called Pete's friend's (co-worker) brother-in-law, Nilo (His name is really Neil, but they call him Nilo).. So the dude actually showed up right on time and called to make sure I was home (I told his answering service that I was going running in the morning and that if i didn't answer is because i was running en la calles).

He asks me what was going on with my AC and I told him.. so he and his assistant get to work.. he explains some stuff to me, cleaned out the coil and added some freon.. he was still concerned because it was a really efficient unit, but it just wasn't cooling great... so he told his assistant to go up there before he leaves.. "it's feels great up here!!"

Apparently, the duct going to the kitchen vent was completely off, but wouldn't even stretch to the vent.. i went up and was bummed...

So I asked him, what's the current charge for the maintenance and freon - he said i'm getting the "recently unemployed special" because he's been there. :bawl: i just kept thanking him and then i asked him how much to fix the duct? he told me but refused to do it, he looked at my motorcycle (the FAIL bike) and said, "if you can work on your bike like that, you can save yourself a lot of money by doing this yourself".

He tells his assistant to bring the FAIL duct down and tape off the what needed to be tapped off.. he then shows me how old my duct is and that i need insulated duct and showed me how to install it. He even left me some off the plastic ties and some tape.

So tomorrow i'm going to fix it. He was honest and didn't have to help me that way. He could have just charged me to do the gig.

There are really great people out there and I just met a new one and now have a life long AC person (he even lives in my hood)..

Do you guys have any stories?
 
#4
My former mechanic was this way. Worked on my family's cars for ten years before I started driving, and every time more than honest. If we thought we needed a $1000 fix, and he found a loose hose, he'd charge us for what he fixed, and not even go by book rates.

The quick and easy things, he'd jump in the car and fix them free.

When my AC died in the El Camino, I thought I needed a new compressor... just was getting nothing out of it. In turn, all I needed was a recharge and there was a loose electrical connection somewhere. He told me this, and didn't charge me for anything but the recharge.

Nicest guy in the world, and his shop was a dump. Perfect mechanic if you ask me.

He never had a written lease for thirty years, and the landowner passed away. His son sold the land to a corporation who raised my mechanic's rent. Bob (my mechanic) sold his house to come up with the money, and then the corporation raised the price again, another $400,000. Bob, unfortunately, was too proud to ask for help, because the residents of my town would have come up with that money to keep him in town. He worked on everybody's cars in town, kept us running, and kept us honest.

Needless to say, he got pushed out of town. I do 95% of my own work myself now, and if I need advice, Bob is a phone call away. Anything I don't have the tools or know-how to fix, I visit Bob's new shop a half hour away.
 
#5
Honest? Our mechanic. (which is pretty rare from what I understand)


The guy has been working on my escort for the last 20 years, so he knows it top to bottom. He tells me how to drive it, he tells me what to put into it, but best of all, he knows what it's worth and does not push getting such and such part to fix it since the car is not worth it. But he has also taken care of our grandparents cars (who owned the escort before me), and my parents cars since we have been in the Springs. Always has been trustworthy, and not tried to force us to get the best of this at this time type stuff. He has also accepted payments from my grandparents when my mother was not in town, and vice versa.
 
#14
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#17
wouldn't call this an "honest" story, but it's a car and a nice guy story.

the 2nd car I ever bought was a beat up datsun 280Z. guy advertized it for around $1200 and I talked him down to $1000. when I went to pick up the car I talked with the guy for a while, then tried to get him down to $900. he smiled but said he couldn't do it. I said, "cool :), I had to at least give it a shot." I got in the car, started to drive away and the guy ran after me. He banged on the back of the car. I stopped, he came over to the window, handed me a hundred bucks and said, "I decided you need it more than me. have fun and return the favor some day to someone else who needs it."
 

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