Yes,I understand…my grandson does it for me because of my back problems but I agree that it can get messy sometimes.
A guy I worked with a few years ago drove a Harley to work when weather was good. Long hair down his back. Many many tattoos. Typical biker look. His undergraduate degree was a BS in Mathematics from MIT. And his PHD was in Computer Science from Stanford.
Can’t always judge a book by it’s cover.
2 Likes
But you are required to wear a shirt (possibly with a collar) , those guys are half dressed, dressed in undershirts.
True. There are exceptions to any generality.
It’s all about “likelihood,” however. In many areas of our country, tattoos are associated with criminal gangs- The typical onlooker can’t tell the difference. So, it’s a safer bet to simply steer clear.
You’ll always hear the story of grandma who smoked 5 packs a day and never got lung cancer (little do we know she died of heart disease caused by cigarette smoking),
Take 100 people who smoke 5 packs a day, and chances are the vast majority will develop lung cancer.
I did not choose that photo to say anything about Tattoos, it was all based on what the two of them appear to be doing or rather not doing. The gentleman leaning over the engine has the most distinctively guilty look on his face. I would wonder what he was fixin’, maybe “he’s adjusting the muffler bearing, maybe leaning out the mixture on the fuel injectors, or…”
His associate, the gentleman leaning back against the grill of the car, taking a smoke break (in the shop, next to combustibles or all types), needs to be careful else his headgear might get sucked into the radiator fan. I hope he’s not going to hop in the car, just for a “sec” to start it with that cigarette butt hanging out his mouth.
Neither of them should be working in a professional repair shop dressed in tank tops, their clothing, providing no protection against the hazard of the job (hot surfaces, sharp edges, etc…).
As for the guy on the right, I chose that photo just because he was neat and clean, but I admit, he looks like he would be a good example in a landscaping advertisement. The baseball cap brim obscures the view and you would be constantly bumping his head on the hood, and working underneath the car would be a whole new adventure in cranial injury. As for the gardening gloves, they give him no dexterity. He would be lucky to be able to be able to pick up a head bolt. He needs real mechanic’s gloves.
I hope you do not judge your mechanics by the quality of their Tats, its not like they gave themselves those beautiful tattoos. I would hope you check out the clothing they are wearing, do they look like professionals or someone better suited for working under a “shade tree.” Is their workbench clean, neat, organized, or so full of old parts, tools, dirt and filth that your parts would get lost in the mess.
I could go on but why bother… They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, I hope you read some of my words and not just look at the Pretty Pictures…
Any case, here is another picture of an Auto Mechanic. He’s looks professional. He’s dressed properly for a professional shop and the Tats are pretty cool too…
In your first picture some focused on the tattoos and not on them being out of uniform. Throughout my carrier I have always worn a uniform, even service station employees wear uniforms. Nit caps inside a building are unnecessary, especially if they are dressed in there underwear.
Your latest picture shows a man in denim jeans and a pull over shirt, also using an adjustable wrench, this looks like a advertisement model shoot, not a professional technician.
Maybe where you live they are. Go to ANY college campus and you’ll find that a very large percentage of the students AND teachers have tattoos. Even Ivy League colleges. All three of my college educated kids have tattoos. When I got back from Nam and stationed at my perm duty station until my service was up there were at least 10 tattoo parlors right outside the fort. I was by there a few years ago and there are at least 20 now.
No where that I’ve lived to tattoos equate to criminal gangs. Back when I was growing up tattoos were mainly associated with Military - although I never really wanted one. But many guys I served with did.
1 Like
This was on my local news broadcast this morning.
Apparently a growing percentage of the tattooed populace is deciding that they no longer want to be “inked”.
Unfortunately, criminal gangs really do exist in many urban areas of the country. Moreover, they often infiltrate the more well-to-do suburbs with their illegal drugs because of the $$.
Do you remember the popularity of a drug called cocaine back in the 80s? My roomie and tennis doubles partner in college had a supplier of both coke and weed who was affiliated. Of course, weed is now legalized and the landscape has changed with more hard-core opioids (like heroin) being the “cash crop.”
Sorry to say, but some kids on those college campuses you speak of may be making some routine purchases from gang associates and affiliates to feed their addictions…
He didn’t say the dealer wouldn’t change oil, he said they charge way too much, which is true in my experience.
The snacks aren’t free, nor is the loaner, the fancy waiting room, the huge show room, the “service writers” (i.e. salesmen/women), the car wash, the fancy toilets…the costs are included in all dealership charges. As to the “right stuff” being used, a Lexus dealer to whom I went with an oil change “special” coupons they’d mailed me, charged me 50% more than the “special” price, with excuses that my car required “special” oil, and more than was included with the coupon (which didn’t state any number of quartz).
You should have paid it with a credit card, and then disputed the charge when you returned home.
The “work order” service writers have you sign has fine print that more or less says you agree with whatever they do.
A silly suggestion. Do you think most people can get under their cars to open the oil drain and (depending on the model) change the oil filter? Or have a place to do it if they’re physically capable?
2 Likes
Unnecessarily hostile.
Yes. All it takes is a set of ramps, a filter wrench, and a box wrench. It’s not hard, and it’s not expensive to get the necessary equipment.
4 Likes
+1 and you may not need the filter wrench anyway. Most of the time I can get the filter off by hand or with my belt. I only had 1 that I needed to use a filter wrench to get the filter off (and considering it was my wife’s best friend’s car, and it was likely last changed at a Jiffy Lube or similar…)
1 Like
I thought a Blackstone oil analysis might answer this question for you, but at $30 for the analysis, changing the oil and oil filter again immediately would seem to be the quickest and most cost effective way to get peace of mind.
Plenty of folks CAN change their oil, but choose not to, like me. I’m happy paying somebody else to do that and get rid of the used oil. Money well spent.
3 Likes
I know people who “aged out” of doing oil changes when they hit their mid 50s. They no longer had the desire to deal with the mess or to get under the car anymore. Some get a new vehicle every two or three years, so ensuring a proper oil change for vehicle longevity is not a priority for them.
We have a wide variety here. I have a guy with full sleeve tattoos on both his arms. I have a guy with half a hardware store hanging off his ears. I have a guy with long hair who wears a man bun or pony tail. But I would have to say out of all the people out in the shop the one with the lowest skill level and work ethic is clean shaven with short hair and no tattoos.