J.C. was a very ‘seasoned’ counter man at my regularly called parts store. He was famous among all the countermen in town for years for his handling a difficult customer. Years ago before McParts was around many local parts stores were open Saturday morning for the shops that wanted to open then. One Saturday an ill tempered DIYer entered the store and wanted the points to a Chevrolet and didn’t want to wait. When J.C. asked for year and engine he was told to shut up and get the part ‘everyone’ knew that the same points fit all Chevrolets. J.C. knew a great many parts numbers from experience so he put a set of AC Delco points on the counter and took the mans money. An hour or so later the phone rang and the difficult customer was now irate and wanted to know why he was given the wrong points. J.C. told him he was sold Chevrolet points and he thought they were all the same. When the customer said he was on his way to get the correct part J.C. told him to hurry because he would be closiing in minutes. That customer never returned to J.C.'s store but when he went to other stores he took the time to tell what poor service he had gotten from J.C. The story became somewhat of a mini urban legend.
I use a local non-chain parts store here in San Jose, you know the kind where the staff there actually know something about cars and car parts. Those folks there are very helpful and friendly as can be. If they have a lot of customers waiting of course they are all business, just have time to locate & sell the parts. But if they have some free time they’re happy to suggest some ideas for difficult repairs. Still, it’s not that unusual while I’m there to notice one of the customers in line is a little irate about something or another. Usually it is not about the staff, but that the part they want is no longer made, or overly expensive. Or just that this is the 4th time in the month their car broke. Last time it happened, it was a customer wanting a headlight fixture for a Lexus I think. The staff guy there said the price was like $900, something like that. Each. And the customer needed two. Wasn’t a happy camper customer when he found about about pricing. Some customers I notice also try to negotiate the price of the part or ask the staff to fix their cars in the parking lot, and this sometimes causes minor arguments.
Sounds like headlight fixtures cost a lot more than carburetor covers. What’s a headlight fixture?
Maybe it was this.
Your local parts store stocks headlamp assemblies for a LS460?
I’ve never asked. I don’t own a Lexus.
You own a Lexus, George. Your Corolla just hasn’t molted yet. When it does, it will transform into a Lexus. Just like a catarpillar into a butterfly. 
"You own a Lexus, George. Your Corolla just hasn’t molted yet. When it does, it will transform into a Lexus. Just like a catarpillar into a butterfly. "
Great, then the payments will start up, again! 
By that logic George’s Ford truck will transform into a Lincoln Blackwood 
In the afterlife they are all melted down and become something new and exciting.
With an automatic transmission which he will refuse to drive.
lol … Maybe you are right, I will own a Lexus at some point. I’m sure they are great automobiles. And they rate well reliability-wise. But I must say I’m not particularly taken by the Lexus body designs. I like BMW and Mercedes body designs quite a bit more than what Lexus offers. Don’t you think they are sort of boring looking? There’s a radio talk show here in the San Jose area, he used to advertise for Lexus daily, saying how good the service was. They’d give ou free coffee and donuts and a loaner, etc, etc. All luxury you’d be ensconced in as you drive down the road to Walmart to pick up a box of Crunch and Munch (ever had that, pretty tasty!!) …lol …Then one day,. no more mention of Lexus from him, now it’s all Mercedes. Mercedes this, Mercedes that. I guess he got tired of the Lexus body designs too.
Perhaps he’s NOT “tired of the Lexus body designs”
Perhaps Mercedes is paying more than Lexus, for him to promote THEIR brand 
You think?
Well, YOU are the one who speculated that the guy got tired of Lexus body designs
That statement makes me think maybe you didn’t realize it’s all about “who’s paying the bills” 
@common_sense_answer, that VW story is pretty funny. I’d love to have been hanging around when that happened.
If he can’t differentiate between a VW starter motor and a generator then he has no business touching a tool box…
I wonder how much bad mouthing he did of you to the people he knew back home. “Yeah…you can bet I straightened that guy out…”.
I am disappointed that the article didn’t mention what make carburetor was used in the assault. Was it a Carter, a Stromberg, a Holley? It might have even been a Tillotson. Was the carburetor a single throat, a two barrel or a 4 barrel? Today’s reporters seem to ignore important facts.
I have it on good authority that the carb in question was a Fish Canadian.
As all auto aficionados are aware, these devices are superior to all other carburetors.
“I have it on good authority that the carb in question was a Fish Canadian.”
So then, I suppose the guy threw it just for the Halibut?
CSA
