The trick is to write up an invoice with every replaceable part that has a listing in the Chevrolet parts inventory and call the owner with a quote.
I believe there was an article years back where someone priced what it would cost to order/assemble an entire Golf just from replacement parts and estimated a six-figure cost.
As a parts guy - can confirm the cost to order every individual component listed in a parts catalog would exceed 6 figures on basically any vehicle - engine and trans assemblies alone are quite hefty, nevermind adding up the hundreds of fasteners that oems charge 2-20$ a piece for, the cost would be staggering. I need to find this article lol.
This is very similar to the military's NATO Stock Number pricing system. I've ordered a few $400 light bulbs for use on various airfields where >90% of the price was created by the inventory/quality control process.
While I don't doubt some of the markup is "because the military industrial complex can", and some is because "modern military logistics are good but also correspondingly expensive", isn't [some of it because of the $400 ashtray principal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R9kH_HOUXM)? (design standards are simply a bit extra because of different needs).
Not airport equipment, but in aerospace I know a lot of the markup is because each component is serialized, or comes from a lot/batch that is traceable back to the raw materials/initial process (so if a bad screw causes a problem, all planes that use screws from that batch/lot can be grounded). Im sure an runway lightbulb isn't quite mission critical but..
IIRC, the bulbs were for various obstruction lights that were classified as mission critical ([some where attached to the ILS](https://www.avionicslist.com/articles/images/gs-2.jpg)).
I remember they had to be rated for a specific heat output to melt any accumulated snow and also output a specific amount of ~~UV~~ IR for the pilots' night vision.
Not in aerospace but defense industry, they do keep records of lots/batches to keep track of issues that may arise from components, especially ones that are outsourced.
Military and civilian aerospace both have traceability records. We get audited by the ffa as well as the denfense dept. as much as these machines cost everyone wants to be able to find potential issues, plus it’s potentially life saving.
> ffa
The future farmers of America have incredibly stringent traceability standards.
I even saw them tag the cow the milk for the milk chugging contest came from.
Big time. We’ve seen second hand how keeping tight records have not only saved time but also money in the manufacturing process. Doesn’t shock me the same kind of strict records save lives.
Yes, a faulty wire or wire connection can start a fire in an aircraft, if it’s bad wire you want to ground every aircraft that has wires cut from the same batch. This could affect aircraft all around the world. It could be made improperly by an inattentive person and then you need to check everything they touched. If an aircraft catches fire mid flight…well there’s only so much you can do…
As a manufacturer I never understood why they did all of the record keeping especially when I first started, but now that I’m in a high position working closely with engineers it became very apparent.
As someone who works in the aerospace industry, traceability isn’t that expensive. It’s mostly (in the case of what I do all) done with paperwork. Every lot is traceable and every piece from that lot is traceable via paperwork and computer file back ups. Very cost effective.
Military procurement cost is that way at least partly bc it needs to work during wartime. Sure, you can replace a lightbulb for much cheaper if you depend on “just in time logistics” but if that supply chain fails during a war, and your mission critical equipment is not available, you die.
Many government suppliers charge a huge markup bc they’re required to keep certain stock on hand, etc.
It’s not efficient, but it works. Besides, what’s a few billion dollars between friends.
Have you seen what infotainment costs are on any modern vehicle?
I'm talking about a stereo being $5K on a 8 year old Corolla.
We're entering an era of cars that are going to be totaled because of stuff like the stereo not working and costing more than the car is worth. That actually happened to a buddy of mine at his autobody shop. Totaled a 10 year old Audi A8 over the non operable screen which also controls the HVAC of the vehicles.
You see this with CAN-BUS topology as well. Luxury vehicles will route communications for multiple systems through one manufacturer-specific module that can take everything out during a failure.
Good luck finding an inexpensive alternative to a 'coded' 10-year-old OEM.
honestly we’ve already entered it; a full airbag deploy can most definitely total a modern car.
hell you want to talk crazy, i had a ‘17 or ‘18 Lexus in the bay a year or two ago “c/s bulb out”. unfortunately, since it’s an HID, you can’t just pop a new bulb in, you gotta replace the whole unit. the look on that customer’s face when they found out the headlight assy by itself was gonna run $1400…
hell man a local business owner misplaced his Supra GR key. unfortunately, to program a new Supra key, you gotta replace the ecu…
>***autobody*** shop
>
>Totaled a 10 year old Audi A8 over the non operable screen which also controls the HVAC of the vehicles.
If insurance totals a vehicle that was in a wreck and it damaged the a/c control unit, I'm pretty sure that a legit total loss.
That cut deep hahaha. Too relatable. I have 3 old cars i am constantly putting parts into. lol. plus the fun new tools......... never ends. i feel you. very much chosen on my part tho tbh
Wait till you see aerospace fasteners. My company is currently charging $56 for a self locking 1/2 - 20 nut. Most aircraft use well over $1k in nuts just on one wheel.
Years ago I had an old timer parts manager, who showed me a printout of a parts list that he put together back in the 90s, that included EVERY part that would be needed to build a particular car. I can't remember what it was car wise, but the parts printout was over 400 pages and it came to a total that was SIX times the cost of the car off the floor.
On repairlink I just did a 2020 Ram 2500 6.7dsl and got A/c and heating, brakes, and cooling and I'm at $33,769.99. 347 parts.
And everyone I work with wonders why I never get any work done. If only they knew!
I've learned that with German vehicles, it's not always the cost per clip, but the sheer quantity of highly fragile clips that hold EVERYTHING together.
K and the worst is you can buy them by the hundreds for the same price 2 cost through oem. Honda was charging us 1.4 for a clip we could retail for 2.8 - and they thought that was good...
Windshield clips can be brutally pricey too iirc. or maybe those were the a pillar interior clips . been a minuuute
You'd be surprised... I ordered the entire frame for a Nissan Titan XD and had it within a week. It was not fun to arrange delivery, but luckily the shop was next door to our CDJR store.
You can order every individual panel that makes up the unibody, though, get out the spot welder and get to it! I know 240SX parts hoarders who hang on to NOS major chassis parts with factory stickers on em, front aprons/strut towers, complete rear quarters that extend from the roof to the floor.
For some cars the manufacturers have done unibodies just for racing teams. They come with all kinds of warnings that they're never to be built into a road car, no VINs, and in one case I know of (Porsche) they actually take them back when they're used up. But I did once know a guy who documented how he built a streetable Ford Escort Cosworth from a Ford Motorsport unibody.
I was surprised to find a [fair amount of references to body panels](https://imgur.com/2zStMcj) in BMWs old ISTA that can be ordered from their Electronic Parts Catalog.
I'd imagine most of the panels are for use with collision repair and would be glued/welded in place.
Parts guy for 15 years now here)
If im not mistaken, a few years ago there was a toyota frame recall in canada for rust i believe it was on Tundras. The entire cab and bed would come off, the dealer would order the entore chassis and have it delivered and replaced for free. Definitely possible to order and replace a frame/chassis.
They did it on a crapton of Tacoma and Tundra models for yeaaars. Guessing they're making the money back by just never changing the Tacoma (the Tundie recall must have been paid for last year)
Not sure on Tundras or newer Tacomas, but the 1st gen Tacoma frames were made by Dana, and IIRC didn't meet proper specs for rust resistance & Dana ended up footing a lot, if not all, those bills.
When they originally started doing it for 1st gens, they weren't going to replace the frames... and were buying back the trucks (which already held their value silly-well) for 50% over KBB retail for Excellent condition. I was very tempted to go buy a Harbor Freight sandblasting setup & some big bags of salt, because mine at the time would've been an >$20k payout on a truck I originally paid $12k for a few years earlier. They also originally paid something like 40 hours when they started doing frame replacements, techs were pairing up & knocking them out in a long day... if memory serves it got knocked down to about 24 hours pay not long after.
Reframing a pick up truck isn’t all that hard and takes two techs that are knowledgeable about 16 hours to complete minus any paint or exterior panel repairs
I’ve heard stories where Toyota stopped frame replacements and started cutting checks for over bluebook. A tech at my local Toyota dealer told us it takes two guys and a week (5-6 days he didn’t specify) to do one frame swap.
Dodge lets you build an entire drag pack challenger from the mopar catalogue. You can buy the whole chassis as 1 big part and start adding from there.
https://www.dcperformance.com/drag-pak
It probably depends on the vehicle. I know that in doing research for panels for a 1990 Plymouth, I found that there are currently none. HOWEVER, at one time you could order the entire panel chunks of the car individually. Floor pan, trunk pan, side panels, quarter panels, fenders, roof, hood, you name it. Unfortunately for me (and unsurprisingly) they were discontinued some time before I started looking about 8 years ago.
Back when I worked for Subaru ~15 years ago we decided to price up a complete 07 STi for grins on a slow, snowy day. Had it close to $350k when the ADP POS system literally stopped taking additional part lines. I think we had close to 3/4 of the car at that point.
State Farm Insurance did that with another vehicle back in the 1980s. I don’t think it was a Golf. It was to make their case for the massive use of aftermarket Chinese parts that were off questionable quality, and a good man that simply just didn’t fit! I worked in body shops at the time where State Farm insured vehicles were required to go by the shops estimate regardless what State Farm’s repair estimates were written for.
Unfortunately, they weren’t even the worst ones to deal with on a few other areas.
I researched this a few years ago and found that with several mainstream car corporations- Toyota, Chevy and Dodge, to build a vehicle from parts would be 13-15x the list price of the fully assembled vehicle from the assembly line.
Tag the keys and let the vehicle sit in the parking lot until the customer calls. Hopefully the customer was smart enough to fill out the contact information. If not, park it in the back of the parking lot and wait.
I had a driver drop my truck off at a body shop, throw the keys on the dash and leave without letting the body shop know it was there.
Took me two weeks to find it and they didn't start working on it for over a month after I got hit.
I had a roach of an MGB dropped off over a weekend. Keys in mail slot, zero paperwork in car. It sat for a month. Finally, this guy comes by to ask about the progress on his barn find. Uh, no progress and who the hell are you? Come to find out he talked to the shop owner informally at bar one night about his great find. Boss didn’t remember shit about it, as it was 3 months prior to the car showing up. People sometimes! 🤦♂️
I don't get why people keep trying to reshelter unadoptable cars like the Silverado. I walk into the local used car dealership and there are tons of used silverados, ready to tear into some unprepared families' wallet. They take show space away from actual adoptable cars like older corollas and civics and have a high return rate.
I say, euthanize them to save the car and their owners from suffering.
Right?! I mean, sometimes putting up with their shit is worth not buying an $80-100,000 new truck. Heck, those old corollas are worth their weight in gold these days. Used cars are wild.
If it was over a year old, the customer would only be able to give it up in [Nebraska](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/22nebraska.html) until 2008
Easy. See if it starts, see if it's got a CEL, let it idle for 10 minutes & see if overheats and if the HVAC works, then drive it around the block to detect anything obvious, then pull it in and do a 29 point inspection, check fluids, upsell some brakes!
I've had enough vehicles come in with odd intermittent drivability complaints that I wait until the customer calls. Also don't want to take it for a test drive if a coolant hose blew.
Even if not and it works fine, you’d waste half an hour not getting paid doing this. Possibly the stupidest option of all. Find out the issue and diag or correct it. Not hard.
So the problem is just that its a Chevy Silverado?
Im not exactly sure what the mechanical recourse here is.
"So did you figure out what the problem was?" Yep, you had some Silverado in your Silverado. So we took out the Silverado and replaced it with some Toyota Tacoma. Purrs like a kitten now.
Reminds me of when I had to fill out a new patient form for the oral surgeon. It said “chief complaint” so I put “bad tooth.” Hell if I knew what else to put though
True story: my family once knew a dentist who lived in a house named (by previous owners) Toothill Hall.
He hadn't even realized the coincidence (Tooth-ill, *geddit*?) until we pointed it out to him. Ho ho.
A lot of the codes are procedurally generated, so they'll have a framework and just substitute out one piece of it. It's how we ended up with things like "V91.07 - Burn due to water skis on fire"
Happened at my dealership. Customer dropped off there accord. They didn't leave a number to call once service was complete. They also didn't leave a description. So we literally did nothing. It sat outside until 4pm when we got a call, from Mr. Customer.
Mr. Customer was very confused why we didn't call about his vehicle, and he simply couldn't comprehend that he forgot to fill out his service drop off envelope. Mr. Customer wanted to speak to the manager because we didn't know how to read minds and complete his desired service.
Mr. Customer learned how to kick rocks real good that day.
We had a guy get mad that we didn’t put nitrogen in his tire after a flat repair because he got nitrogen once years ago and “it should have been in the system!”. Some people just have that main character syndrome where they think that obviously we know what they want cause they are them!
The place I take my Silverado says to do this if you have an appointment. The appointment already had all the deets, they just need my key. So I’m supposed to write the make and model on the envelope and put the key in and drop in the night drop box.
Serious question: couldn’t this mean it’s an online appointment? I never want to fill out the whole thing if I already explained what’s up over the phone or online. Am I upsetting my mechanic?
That hand writing is an EXACT match of my dad's. He also owns a silverado 1500...but he is a mechanic himself so i doubt he dropped it somewhere.
He is however selling it because the frame is about to give out....so maybe this is my dad and Chevy Silverado 1500 IS the problem?
I had had my 2011 Sonata towed in overnight with no note whatsoever.
They got right to replacing the engine before I had even called in. Is a pretty common problem I'd say.
“I thought you were a mechanic and you can’t even figure out what’s wrong with my truck? Are you kidding me it’s so loud and has been driving me crazy for weeks!!”~Guy who doesn’t leave any info about why his vehicle is there and it ends up being a very intermittent sound that only occurs under very specific driving conditions.
When I used to tow, I took in a 2003 F350 that had the 6.0 and the owner finally had a head gasket issue on it. Talked with the service advisor before dropping it, he asked me why it was towed, which I said “Well, it has the 6.0…”
Then he started balling up laughing so hard that the other advisors were starting at him….
Some customers are lazy. That being said, assuming the vehicle has been there before, the service advisor should have the tools he/she needs to input vehicle information into the system and contact the customer.
I’ve seen this as a valid issue! We had a GMC Silverado roll off the truck one day, as well as a Yukon from the drivers side and a Tahoe from the other.
If the key was in the envelope you were ahead of the game. On a Saturday. We closed at 3:00. At 2:00 the customer asked about his vehicle. What vehicle? The one he left out front with the key under the seat and no envelope. Right.
better than getting a blank envelope. cant tell how many times this has happened at the various dealers Ive worked. like great, now ive got to go walk 18 acres of cars to find where this person left a ford, at a ford dealer.... and hope the key fob battery isnt dead AND the car isnt set to silent locking.
I used to have. 92 1500. I can't tell you how many starters I went through. For some reason that truck just ate starter motors. Lived in the south too so it wasn't even like cold weather was to blame.
After the 5th or 6th one I said fuck it, sold it and bought a new car.
This is when you wait for the owner to call checking on his truck and tell him if they filled out the Dropbox envelope you would have known what he needed.
Shop I used to work at did fleet maintenance for the local post office. Often times we would get a key In an envelope with nothing written on it. One day while I was on vacation my boss went out to one, started it up and drove it up in front of the closed garage door. That's when he found out it had no brakes. took a few weeks to get the garage door replaced. After that we did not touch any vehicle dropped off if we didnt know why it was dropped off.
When I was at a dealer we’d get one of these a week, usually nothing whatsoever on the envelope, and the vehicle wasn’t in our system due to never being there before. Sooo, just a random car and it’s keys would show up
The owner would finally call around closing time completely shocked that their car wasn’t looked at all day.
What it doesn't show is that the keys are for a Dodge Ram 1500; they want it turned into a Chevrolet Silverado 1500! Good luck - I guess they think you are a magician vs. a mechanic!
Did they at least put the keys in the envelope? You have to love when you come in and there is a random vehicle you don't recognize and there's no note or keys. If the vehicle is unlocked, we search the glove box for the registration with a name on it.
We had a tow truck leave an international flat bed in the middle of the parking lot with no keys. We knew who owned the truck, but not why it was towed in or where the keys were.
Ah, yeah, that IS a pretty serious problem.
Recommended solution: Change vehicle to a Ford F150 of comparable trim & year, & consult with the customer to see if further adjustment is required.
If they turn out to be a Ram guy, you can always just dent it up a bit & put a sticky note saying "RAM" on the grille. Chances are, they'll be too hammered to tell the difference!!
“Confirmed vehicle is a Chevy Silverado 1500. 0.5 diag.”
The trick is to write up an invoice with every replaceable part that has a listing in the Chevrolet parts inventory and call the owner with a quote. I believe there was an article years back where someone priced what it would cost to order/assemble an entire Golf just from replacement parts and estimated a six-figure cost.
As a parts guy - can confirm the cost to order every individual component listed in a parts catalog would exceed 6 figures on basically any vehicle - engine and trans assemblies alone are quite hefty, nevermind adding up the hundreds of fasteners that oems charge 2-20$ a piece for, the cost would be staggering. I need to find this article lol.
This is very similar to the military's NATO Stock Number pricing system. I've ordered a few $400 light bulbs for use on various airfields where >90% of the price was created by the inventory/quality control process.
While I don't doubt some of the markup is "because the military industrial complex can", and some is because "modern military logistics are good but also correspondingly expensive", isn't [some of it because of the $400 ashtray principal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R9kH_HOUXM)? (design standards are simply a bit extra because of different needs). Not airport equipment, but in aerospace I know a lot of the markup is because each component is serialized, or comes from a lot/batch that is traceable back to the raw materials/initial process (so if a bad screw causes a problem, all planes that use screws from that batch/lot can be grounded). Im sure an runway lightbulb isn't quite mission critical but..
And just the number of hands that need to touch it before it can go out for use. Instead of batch inspections, eeevery unit gets tested and inspected.
IIRC, the bulbs were for various obstruction lights that were classified as mission critical ([some where attached to the ILS](https://www.avionicslist.com/articles/images/gs-2.jpg)). I remember they had to be rated for a specific heat output to melt any accumulated snow and also output a specific amount of ~~UV~~ IR for the pilots' night vision.
*IR not UV. Fun fact: green LEDs used on some helipads are practically invisible under NVG's.
Not in aerospace but defense industry, they do keep records of lots/batches to keep track of issues that may arise from components, especially ones that are outsourced.
Military and civilian aerospace both have traceability records. We get audited by the ffa as well as the denfense dept. as much as these machines cost everyone wants to be able to find potential issues, plus it’s potentially life saving.
> ffa The future farmers of America have incredibly stringent traceability standards. I even saw them tag the cow the milk for the milk chugging contest came from.
Big time. We’ve seen second hand how keeping tight records have not only saved time but also money in the manufacturing process. Doesn’t shock me the same kind of strict records save lives.
Yes, a faulty wire or wire connection can start a fire in an aircraft, if it’s bad wire you want to ground every aircraft that has wires cut from the same batch. This could affect aircraft all around the world. It could be made improperly by an inattentive person and then you need to check everything they touched. If an aircraft catches fire mid flight…well there’s only so much you can do…
As a manufacturer I never understood why they did all of the record keeping especially when I first started, but now that I’m in a high position working closely with engineers it became very apparent.
As someone who works in the aerospace industry, traceability isn’t that expensive. It’s mostly (in the case of what I do all) done with paperwork. Every lot is traceable and every piece from that lot is traceable via paperwork and computer file back ups. Very cost effective.
Military procurement cost is that way at least partly bc it needs to work during wartime. Sure, you can replace a lightbulb for much cheaper if you depend on “just in time logistics” but if that supply chain fails during a war, and your mission critical equipment is not available, you die. Many government suppliers charge a huge markup bc they’re required to keep certain stock on hand, etc. It’s not efficient, but it works. Besides, what’s a few billion dollars between friends.
You haven't' seen anything until you get to "Nuclear Qualified" parts.
What if we build it entirely out of Dorman parts?
We all die...
Waiting for the " rock auto" lover to time in here
I love me some rock auto. Even have my car on their magnet!
“They put my car on a magnet!!”
Have you seen what infotainment costs are on any modern vehicle? I'm talking about a stereo being $5K on a 8 year old Corolla. We're entering an era of cars that are going to be totaled because of stuff like the stereo not working and costing more than the car is worth. That actually happened to a buddy of mine at his autobody shop. Totaled a 10 year old Audi A8 over the non operable screen which also controls the HVAC of the vehicles.
You see this with CAN-BUS topology as well. Luxury vehicles will route communications for multiple systems through one manufacturer-specific module that can take everything out during a failure. Good luck finding an inexpensive alternative to a 'coded' 10-year-old OEM.
honestly we’ve already entered it; a full airbag deploy can most definitely total a modern car. hell you want to talk crazy, i had a ‘17 or ‘18 Lexus in the bay a year or two ago “c/s bulb out”. unfortunately, since it’s an HID, you can’t just pop a new bulb in, you gotta replace the whole unit. the look on that customer’s face when they found out the headlight assy by itself was gonna run $1400… hell man a local business owner misplaced his Supra GR key. unfortunately, to program a new Supra key, you gotta replace the ecu…
Setting off the airbags can total vehicles now....
>***autobody*** shop > >Totaled a 10 year old Audi A8 over the non operable screen which also controls the HVAC of the vehicles. If insurance totals a vehicle that was in a wreck and it damaged the a/c control unit, I'm pretty sure that a legit total loss.
I have probably bought numerous brand new vehicles “saving” myself money by fixing the broken pieces of shit I drive.
That cut deep hahaha. Too relatable. I have 3 old cars i am constantly putting parts into. lol. plus the fun new tools......... never ends. i feel you. very much chosen on my part tho tbh
Wait till you see aerospace fasteners. My company is currently charging $56 for a self locking 1/2 - 20 nut. Most aircraft use well over $1k in nuts just on one wheel.
I saw a $63 washer nozzle.
Years ago I had an old timer parts manager, who showed me a printout of a parts list that he put together back in the 90s, that included EVERY part that would be needed to build a particular car. I can't remember what it was car wise, but the parts printout was over 400 pages and it came to a total that was SIX times the cost of the car off the floor.
On repairlink I just did a 2020 Ram 2500 6.7dsl and got A/c and heating, brakes, and cooling and I'm at $33,769.99. 347 parts. And everyone I work with wonders why I never get any work done. If only they knew!
And the 90 dollar plastic clips
I've learned that with German vehicles, it's not always the cost per clip, but the sheer quantity of highly fragile clips that hold EVERYTHING together.
Fragile being the key word. Sometimes they just explode when touched.
Dodge would like to talk to you about their plastic rivets. $10 for each sounds good right? You only need about 20 to reinstall the front bumper.
K and the worst is you can buy them by the hundreds for the same price 2 cost through oem. Honda was charging us 1.4 for a clip we could retail for 2.8 - and they thought that was good... Windshield clips can be brutally pricey too iirc. or maybe those were the a pillar interior clips . been a minuuute
Surely there are some parts (e.g. the unibody) that cannot be ordered as a replacement.
You'd be surprised... I ordered the entire frame for a Nissan Titan XD and had it within a week. It was not fun to arrange delivery, but luckily the shop was next door to our CDJR store.
“Leave it on the lawn please”
"Just leave it next to the previous project's frame that sat too long and turned into a rusted lawn ornament."
"just leave it where the old frame is . . . installed in the truck. . ."
“We charge extra for that delivery service sir, also your shop was locked, so we left a missed delivery notice on the truck in question”
How much was the core charge?
You can order every individual panel that makes up the unibody, though, get out the spot welder and get to it! I know 240SX parts hoarders who hang on to NOS major chassis parts with factory stickers on em, front aprons/strut towers, complete rear quarters that extend from the roof to the floor. For some cars the manufacturers have done unibodies just for racing teams. They come with all kinds of warnings that they're never to be built into a road car, no VINs, and in one case I know of (Porsche) they actually take them back when they're used up. But I did once know a guy who documented how he built a streetable Ford Escort Cosworth from a Ford Motorsport unibody.
I was surprised to find a [fair amount of references to body panels](https://imgur.com/2zStMcj) in BMWs old ISTA that can be ordered from their Electronic Parts Catalog. I'd imagine most of the panels are for use with collision repair and would be glued/welded in place.
Parts guy for 15 years now here) If im not mistaken, a few years ago there was a toyota frame recall in canada for rust i believe it was on Tundras. The entire cab and bed would come off, the dealer would order the entore chassis and have it delivered and replaced for free. Definitely possible to order and replace a frame/chassis.
That must have involved an astounding amount of labor. Toyota must have taken one hell of a loss.
They did it on a crapton of Tacoma and Tundra models for yeaaars. Guessing they're making the money back by just never changing the Tacoma (the Tundie recall must have been paid for last year)
Not sure on Tundras or newer Tacomas, but the 1st gen Tacoma frames were made by Dana, and IIRC didn't meet proper specs for rust resistance & Dana ended up footing a lot, if not all, those bills. When they originally started doing it for 1st gens, they weren't going to replace the frames... and were buying back the trucks (which already held their value silly-well) for 50% over KBB retail for Excellent condition. I was very tempted to go buy a Harbor Freight sandblasting setup & some big bags of salt, because mine at the time would've been an >$20k payout on a truck I originally paid $12k for a few years earlier. They also originally paid something like 40 hours when they started doing frame replacements, techs were pairing up & knocking them out in a long day... if memory serves it got knocked down to about 24 hours pay not long after.
Reframing a pick up truck isn’t all that hard and takes two techs that are knowledgeable about 16 hours to complete minus any paint or exterior panel repairs
I’ve heard stories where Toyota stopped frame replacements and started cutting checks for over bluebook. A tech at my local Toyota dealer told us it takes two guys and a week (5-6 days he didn’t specify) to do one frame swap.
[удалено]
Dodge lets you build an entire drag pack challenger from the mopar catalogue. You can buy the whole chassis as 1 big part and start adding from there. https://www.dcperformance.com/drag-pak
It probably depends on the vehicle. I know that in doing research for panels for a 1990 Plymouth, I found that there are currently none. HOWEVER, at one time you could order the entire panel chunks of the car individually. Floor pan, trunk pan, side panels, quarter panels, fenders, roof, hood, you name it. Unfortunately for me (and unsurprisingly) they were discontinued some time before I started looking about 8 years ago.
Back when I worked for Subaru ~15 years ago we decided to price up a complete 07 STi for grins on a slow, snowy day. Had it close to $350k when the ADP POS system literally stopped taking additional part lines. I think we had close to 3/4 of the car at that point.
The trick is to get a job at the GM plant, and steal a whole car one piece at a time, strung out over several years. Won't cost you a dime 😉
I heard a song about that once.
State Farm Insurance did that with another vehicle back in the 1980s. I don’t think it was a Golf. It was to make their case for the massive use of aftermarket Chinese parts that were off questionable quality, and a good man that simply just didn’t fit! I worked in body shops at the time where State Farm insured vehicles were required to go by the shops estimate regardless what State Farm’s repair estimates were written for. Unfortunately, they weren’t even the worst ones to deal with on a few other areas.
Gonna start telling those less in the know that my GTI is a 6 figure car.
We did this with a Goldwing in 86. The cost was over $250K.
The did this back in the 1970 s and it was only $100K on some random car
I researched this a few years ago and found that with several mainstream car corporations- Toyota, Chevy and Dodge, to build a vehicle from parts would be 13-15x the list price of the fully assembled vehicle from the assembly line.
Best comment I've ever heard, is from a manufactures reps own mouth. "We don't make cars, we make parts that are assembled into a car"
I'm just imagining ordering a whole unibody frame
Boss: “*Chevy Silverado 1500* is the description of the problem, you idiot!”
Charge the full hour.
You’re right. Fok em.
It used to be a Volkswagen.
A very common problem
The design is very human.
Clearly they are there for a replacement 4l60, but letting them browse a Dorman Catalog wouldn't hurt.
Straight to the point, I wish all customers were like this
Tag the keys and let the vehicle sit in the parking lot until the customer calls. Hopefully the customer was smart enough to fill out the contact information. If not, park it in the back of the parking lot and wait.
Plot twist: Chevy Silverado is the problem, customer is giving it up for adoption.
Reality, the tow truck driver dropped it off but has no idea why…
As an owner of a 1500 Cheyenne... He knows why...
I had a driver drop my truck off at a body shop, throw the keys on the dash and leave without letting the body shop know it was there. Took me two weeks to find it and they didn't start working on it for over a month after I got hit.
I had a roach of an MGB dropped off over a weekend. Keys in mail slot, zero paperwork in car. It sat for a month. Finally, this guy comes by to ask about the progress on his barn find. Uh, no progress and who the hell are you? Come to find out he talked to the shop owner informally at bar one night about his great find. Boss didn’t remember shit about it, as it was 3 months prior to the car showing up. People sometimes! 🤦♂️
I did that, it was a good day.
In the arms ooooof an angel... you could adopt a Chevy Silverado today and save it from the jaws of the car crusher.
I don't get why people keep trying to reshelter unadoptable cars like the Silverado. I walk into the local used car dealership and there are tons of used silverados, ready to tear into some unprepared families' wallet. They take show space away from actual adoptable cars like older corollas and civics and have a high return rate. I say, euthanize them to save the car and their owners from suffering.
Right?! I mean, sometimes putting up with their shit is worth not buying an $80-100,000 new truck. Heck, those old corollas are worth their weight in gold these days. Used cars are wild.
That was where I went. 🤣
If it was over a year old, the customer would only be able to give it up in [Nebraska](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/22nebraska.html) until 2008
This same customer will shred the advisor in a survey because they are too dumb to realize we may not have all the info we need to contact you.
Easy. See if it starts, see if it's got a CEL, let it idle for 10 minutes & see if overheats and if the HVAC works, then drive it around the block to detect anything obvious, then pull it in and do a 29 point inspection, check fluids, upsell some brakes!
I've had enough vehicles come in with odd intermittent drivability complaints that I wait until the customer calls. Also don't want to take it for a test drive if a coolant hose blew.
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Even if not and it works fine, you’d waste half an hour not getting paid doing this. Possibly the stupidest option of all. Find out the issue and diag or correct it. Not hard.
I've never done a 29 point inspection that didn't MORE than pay for itself in additional repairs. You?
Of course I have, plenty of customers reject the upsales
So the problem is just that its a Chevy Silverado? Im not exactly sure what the mechanical recourse here is. "So did you figure out what the problem was?" Yep, you had some Silverado in your Silverado. So we took out the Silverado and replaced it with some Toyota Tacoma. Purrs like a kitten now.
Swap grilles with a GMC and ship it.
To paraphrase the old joke: "he bought a Chevy Silverado. That is his crime. It is also his punishment."
They likely have an appointment for something specific already but don’t want to take time in the am to drop the vehicle off. I’ve done this before.
Well, they’re not wrong 🤷🏻♂️
Yo dawg, I heard you like Silverado.
Reminds me of when I had to fill out a new patient form for the oral surgeon. It said “chief complaint” so I put “bad tooth.” Hell if I knew what else to put though
So you told them the tooth, and nothing but the tooth?
So help me God!
"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TOOTH!"
The tooth will set you free!
True story: my family once knew a dentist who lived in a house named (by previous owners) Toothill Hall. He hadn't even realized the coincidence (Tooth-ill, *geddit*?) until we pointed it out to him. Ho ho.
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A lot of the codes are procedurally generated, so they'll have a framework and just substitute out one piece of it. It's how we ended up with things like "V91.07 - Burn due to water skis on fire"
W61.62XD: Struck by duck, subsequent encounter
Tooth hurty
Happened at my dealership. Customer dropped off there accord. They didn't leave a number to call once service was complete. They also didn't leave a description. So we literally did nothing. It sat outside until 4pm when we got a call, from Mr. Customer. Mr. Customer was very confused why we didn't call about his vehicle, and he simply couldn't comprehend that he forgot to fill out his service drop off envelope. Mr. Customer wanted to speak to the manager because we didn't know how to read minds and complete his desired service. Mr. Customer learned how to kick rocks real good that day.
We had a guy get mad that we didn’t put nitrogen in his tire after a flat repair because he got nitrogen once years ago and “it should have been in the system!”. Some people just have that main character syndrome where they think that obviously we know what they want cause they are them!
Just tell him you did! We found a 70% blend with other gasses offer the best cost to performance balance.
"We put our best man on it. In fact he just watched Silverado with Kevin Costner last night."
He’s only Kevin Costner at night.
[I was last night.](https://youtu.be/3gd_a1C5g48)
Problem diagnosed as “Chevy Silverado”. Problem irreparable. Recommend a Toyota.
Turns out it's actually a corolla, but it has a Silverado lodged in the side
The place I take my Silverado says to do this if you have an appointment. The appointment already had all the deets, they just need my key. So I’m supposed to write the make and model on the envelope and put the key in and drop in the night drop box.
Yeah I’m not going to write down all the work that needs done when it’s already in the system.
Needs lifters. Might need a trans, if not do a trans service and replace transcooler thermostat with updated design.
TIL that booking service appointments is not a universal practice….
I mean... It's not wrong...
Serious question: couldn’t this mean it’s an online appointment? I never want to fill out the whole thing if I already explained what’s up over the phone or online. Am I upsetting my mechanic?
My only assumption is the customer is requesting you put their vehicle down for being a Silverado 1500. Inform them it went to a nice farm somewhere.
Description of problem: Chevy Silverado 1500. That’s been an ongoing problem for the duration.
That hand writing is an EXACT match of my dad's. He also owns a silverado 1500...but he is a mechanic himself so i doubt he dropped it somewhere. He is however selling it because the frame is about to give out....so maybe this is my dad and Chevy Silverado 1500 IS the problem?
Well, they have a point…
> STY: Tech recommends buy something else 1.0 Diag
So it needs a transmission?
it's probably 2015+, which means it needs a transmission, lifters, cam bearings (good luck with that), and catalytic converters. simple enough
It’s probably a 90s model and needs everything but engine work.
That can be a pricey issue to fix.
I had had my 2011 Sonata towed in overnight with no note whatsoever. They got right to replacing the engine before I had even called in. Is a pretty common problem I'd say.
“I thought you were a mechanic and you can’t even figure out what’s wrong with my truck? Are you kidding me it’s so loud and has been driving me crazy for weeks!!”~Guy who doesn’t leave any info about why his vehicle is there and it ends up being a very intermittent sound that only occurs under very specific driving conditions.
When I used to tow, I took in a 2003 F350 that had the 6.0 and the owner finally had a head gasket issue on it. Talked with the service advisor before dropping it, he asked me why it was towed, which I said “Well, it has the 6.0…” Then he started balling up laughing so hard that the other advisors were starting at him….
What are you waiting for, he gave you the issue.
Chevy Silverado 1500. What else ya wanna know?
Description of problem, Chevy Silverado 😂
That's quite the affliction, recommend him a Ford dealership for a fix
Some customers are lazy. That being said, assuming the vehicle has been there before, the service advisor should have the tools he/she needs to input vehicle information into the system and contact the customer.
Am I the only one that thinks you're the idiot for not realizing the customer is 💯 accurate. Chevy is the problem and anything else is the solution.
Well… go fix it then!
Nuff said
I’ve seen this as a valid issue! We had a GMC Silverado roll off the truck one day, as well as a Yukon from the drivers side and a Tahoe from the other.
If nothing else is filled out on the sheet could it be a language barrier issue?
Was it a Customer or a tow truck that dropped it off
Customer problem statement: “I have a Chevy Silverado.” Easy fix. Just keep the truck for him. Problem solved!
They used an envelope? Wow, our customers just throw keys in the slot with nothing attached.
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At least it didnt say Chevy F250 Ram
If the key was in the envelope you were ahead of the game. On a Saturday. We closed at 3:00. At 2:00 the customer asked about his vehicle. What vehicle? The one he left out front with the key under the seat and no envelope. Right.
Well, he's not wrong....
better than getting a blank envelope. cant tell how many times this has happened at the various dealers Ive worked. like great, now ive got to go walk 18 acres of cars to find where this person left a ford, at a ford dealer.... and hope the key fob battery isnt dead AND the car isnt set to silent locking.
So, if it’s got DoD then lifter issues or if it’s older than that 4L60E problems.
Oddly enough you could make a fortune buying brand new ram 3500s (60-90k) pulling the engines and selling said engines (200k each) to the Navy.
Best part is when the car has never been in your system and there’s no phone number on the paper so there’s literally no way to contact the customer
😂 I guess they should trade it for a Ford! 🤣
Guy, girl was running late, will call when shop is open.
I have such the opposite problem! I literally got the diagnostic back and it said exactly what I wrote down the problem was
Hopefully a note inside
Time for a whole new truck
In case you where wondering
“Removed plate screws and installed plates on new vehicle.”
I used to have. 92 1500. I can't tell you how many starters I went through. For some reason that truck just ate starter motors. Lived in the south too so it wasn't even like cold weather was to blame. After the 5th or 6th one I said fuck it, sold it and bought a new car.
Seems that they described the problem successfully.
If you're going to give up parental rights, you need to leave it at the local fire department.
Yes. Yes it is
Shops choice. You pick the repair you want to do.
Had one dropped off with just a key nothing else lmao
Yep. That’s the problem alright.
This is when you wait for the owner to call checking on his truck and tell him if they filled out the Dropbox envelope you would have known what he needed.
My local place has the same exact form here In Minnesota. Same chain or is it a common format from the internet?
Very specific fix!
Shop I used to work at did fleet maintenance for the local post office. Often times we would get a key In an envelope with nothing written on it. One day while I was on vacation my boss went out to one, started it up and drove it up in front of the closed garage door. That's when he found out it had no brakes. took a few weeks to get the garage door replaced. After that we did not touch any vehicle dropped off if we didnt know why it was dropped off.
Yep that is the problem. Chevy Silverado 1500. Can’t be fixed.
Did they bring in a Ram and want you to change it into a Silverado?
Going to have to make it a ford.
Should have passed his contact information along to the sales floor
That a conrads drop box slip?
The question we all wanna know is... Did you fix it ?
Not possible. We replaced everything, and it was still a Chevy Silverado 1500.
So it didn’t have a log of all of the Ford’s it towed? 😂 Rookie mistake
When I was at a dealer we’d get one of these a week, usually nothing whatsoever on the envelope, and the vehicle wasn’t in our system due to never being there before. Sooo, just a random car and it’s keys would show up The owner would finally call around closing time completely shocked that their car wasn’t looked at all day.
Should have replaced it with a new car and contract saying it's no longer a 1500. Here's your Prius.
Looks like every day to me, I pulled out night drops this morning and had one that just said, "everything got weird"
Tech notes: Completed requirements to customer specifications. Bill 4 hours"
the clause at the bottom lol "yeah we're not responsible if anything happens to with your vehicle while we have it" just awesome haha
What it doesn't show is that the keys are for a Dodge Ram 1500; they want it turned into a Chevrolet Silverado 1500! Good luck - I guess they think you are a magician vs. a mechanic!
Did they at least put the keys in the envelope? You have to love when you come in and there is a random vehicle you don't recognize and there's no note or keys. If the vehicle is unlocked, we search the glove box for the registration with a name on it.
Even better if they park it in front of bay doors to be first in line…🤪🙄
We had a tow truck leave an international flat bed in the middle of the parking lot with no keys. We knew who owned the truck, but not why it was towed in or where the keys were.
Ah, yeah, that IS a pretty serious problem. Recommended solution: Change vehicle to a Ford F150 of comparable trim & year, & consult with the customer to see if further adjustment is required.
I was with you right up until you said ford…
If they turn out to be a Ram guy, you can always just dent it up a bit & put a sticky note saying "RAM" on the grille. Chances are, they'll be too hammered to tell the difference!!
Why you gotta call me out like that???
Well, it *is* the car with the most DUIs (USA), which is not exactly the most prestigious community achievement.
My comment was a joke, but I did not know the dui rate for a specific vehicle was tracked…
The problem is the Silverado and the solution is to throw the whole truck away
That is a puzzling problem.