How often are mechanics surprised by cars that look like they are cared for but are not?

As for taking more care with those who take care of their cars, I can totally understand that.

With electronics, it is very rare for the cheaper ones such as purchased at Wal-Mart to be in decent condition when they arrive. These are usually the nasty ones with cigarette smoke, spills, cat urine, cockroaches, etc. On the other hand, I have never seen an Apple come in like this. They may be 5 years old but look like they were just removed from the box. I have seen one or two high end units all nasty but it is rare. I have also seen 1 or 2 cheapos cared for very well but it is rare. They are usually trash. One of the reasons I am unable to provide the same level of service for the trashed ones is that they are unwilling to pay for more than just the bare minimum to fix the problem that caused them to bring it in. I have to do arm twisting to fix other issues and if I think it is critical enough, I won’t make that even optional. Often the fact that people who owned trashed units want it fixed as cheaply as can dictates that the level of repair isn’t quite as good as I would like. Honestly, sometimes repairing every little thing that is wrong would cost more than a new unit so just getting it work enough to get by is enough for them.

I had a place with 5-6 computers and at least that many cats. It was a disaster and reeked of cat pee but can’t have been nearly as bad as the trailer you describe as I could stand it. That place sounds like a match and can of gas would do it wonders! With my job it was like the cats knew exactly where to pee in order take out the computers. If they had peed on the top of a desktop, it would have just run down and made a mess on the outside for the most part. They got it into the back where it ran down through the power supply, motherboard, and after that I declared it totaled and quit looking. Urine is both very conductive (think salt water) and very corrosive. Anything exposed to it is just corroded and foul.

Then he wanted me to come back and install a bunch of security cameras which I did. This place was like an hour away one way so we agreed upon a price per hour including the drive and then I headed that way when I had a free day. He claimed to have all the tools I would need and that it wasn’t required for me to bring drills, a ladder, etc. So I took off with just myself in the 55mpg Geo Metro with no tools included besides my roadside emergency ones. Well he told me he was paying me a flat rate when I got there which was less than we agreed on. I told him I would do the job but as hurried as possible. Well, the provided tools were not correct. I was using a large hammer drill to make holes in his walls. Talk about a mess. Then nothing was organized and I had to look for each new tool I needed. It was a disaster. He kept asking me for extra work and I told him no at the rate he was paying me. I told him 4 cameras would be installed and as quickly as possible since he was screwing me.

I never planned to go back but he called with more work. I said he still owed me for the last job so would require payment for that first and pre-payment for the next one which I bid a little high. He got pissed. He said my computer repairs were good work but the security camera job was junk. I told him, “You get what you pay for. You paid full price for the computer repairs but told me you were going to stiff me from the moment I showed up at your door for the security camera job. This is certainly not the type of person I where I will put forth my best work.” That was the last I heard from him.

I was at a track camp when in high school and we were out on a jog on the public streets near the big state university. There was one location where lots of vehicles were parked for some type of construction or other work site down in a valley. Now you see lots of bad vehicles when running along a public road but some are especially memorable. There was a blue pickup in this lot that fired up with a roar and cloud of blue smoke. It started to drive and all the remaining body pieces (I am not calling them panels) were flapping as it started to move. I think there was more daylight shining through the bed sides than metal. It was a total heap of rust. Then it took off up the road and had to climb a rather long and steep hill. It just struggled and you could hear him downshifting several times just to creep over the top of the hill, puffing out smoke the entire time. The engine had no power and you could barely see the truck through the noxious cloud of blue oil smoke. We all had to stop running and wait for the cloud of smoke to clear. It was one of those vehicles you were just in amazement about still being able to run. I am sure better ones have been left at the scrap yard before.

We were out running on another public road a few days later and the same blue truck went by atop a flatbed trailer. Of course everyone there remembered it from a few days prior and all got a good laugh out of this. It was hopefully leaving never to come back.

I remember reading about a similar vehicle that got impounded for being such a heap. It was an old Ford Pinto (not safe from the start) that was more rust than car. The seats were supported on tires and there was no floor, just the road going by below. The gas tank was in the passenger seat. This is another one where you are amazed it still ran but you have to give the owner credit for keeping it going.

Here it is! http://www.autoblog.com/photos/unsafe-ford-pinto-minnesota/#slide-47933

Back in my truckin days I ran over a dead skunk on a 2 lane mtn rd In nc could not be avoided due to oncoming car, stink stayer with me till about halfway acros Kansas.

I remember the Pinto story. It was up on the “iron range” in northern Minnesota. I actually felt sorry for the guy. He was just trying to get by on the range. You have to remember that up there, you can go for miles without ever seeing anybody and people are very self-reliant just to survive in the back woods.

cwatkin: Wow! The Pinto is a beauty! Although the fuel tank is better protected against rear end collisions, it and the tire it’s sitting on could surely crush the driver in a roll over!

I would not want to attempt putting that Pinto on a lift for an oil change

The best option would be to go to one of those fast lane or pit stop type of places, the ones where you drive the car over a pit, and the guy drains the oil from below.

But considering the drastic measures this guy has taken to keep that car alive, he probably does all his own work.

What a coincidence @OK4450, my worst car was brought in by a local pediatrician for a tune up and when the mechanic went after the car and returned without it I stopped to go out assuming the car needed pushing in but he made it plain that he would not work on the car so I went out to check on it. When I opened the door the odor would, as they say in the south, gag a maggot. There were various soiled feminine hygiene products scattered throughout the car mixed in with fast food wrappers and not quite empty fast food cups. I called the owner and tried to be diplomatic in telling him I wouldn’t repair the car. He picked up the car and appoligized explaining his college student daughter drove the car.

That Pinto looked like something you’d see in a Mad Max movie.

I’ve seen better cars in the junkyard

I think we played this game years ago, but I’ll retell my story. When I was working for a local Ford dealer about 40 years ago, a customer brought in an F-150 for a tune up. (Remember tune ups?) When the tune up guy popped the hood, he discovered the cooked ripe remains of a mutilated dead cat atop the V-8 engine. He closed the hood, drove the truck back outside, and went to the service manager. The manager made the rounds of the shop looking for a volunteer to remove the putrified kitty. Finally Stormy the grease monkey (remember those) said he’d do it for $10 cash, along with whatever is low hourly wage was at the time. The owner agreed during a phone call. He took it out back along with a big pair of channel lock pliers. Once the preliminaries were done, he power washed under the hood. The smell wasn’t completely gone, but it was much improved. The tune up guy asked the service manager to reschedule the job so it could air out a day or two.

The owner said the cat had been missing about three weeks.

Cwatkin, that’s the worst I’ve ever seen still rolling.
“Unibody” no longer describes the structure.

Recently, a beat up Explorer pulled into the parking space next to me, with the wheels turned fully to the left. I could clearly see the LF tire. The inner treads had absolutely zero wear on them, and the outer tread was so worn through that it had a strip literally a foot long and at least an inch wide worn well into the steel belts. The worn belts were shining in the sun. The wheel was leaning over far more than a typical steering angle inclination would have created… far, far more.

Clearly the car was unsafe. A woman and her young kids were driving it. I didn’t manage to talk to her (I wanted to) but it was so bad that I almost called 911, figuring this lady had to come off the road, but it was at one of NH’s largest shopping malls and I figured she’d probably be gone by the time a cop showed up… or he’d have to wait two hours for her to finish her shopping.

I wish I’d had a camera. I wanted to take a photo and would have posted it.

I almost called 911, figuring this lady had to come off the road, but it was at one of NH's largest shopping malls and I figured she'd probably be gone by the time a cop showed up....

I’d be surprised they would show up at all.

Yes, that Pinto was especially exceptional.

One thing I see relatively often around here are people driving on flats or the rim. Usually they billow smoke like made at any speed over 25 but they just keep driving. I saw one of these parked on the rim with shredded tire remains like maybe only the bead.