everyone screws up something or deals with morons ocasionaly

[grumpyvette]

ever start a project and break off a bolt?, get water in the air lines and screw up the paint job?
hook up the wrong line and fry some electrical component, or deal with a performance or machine shop that does really crappy work?
while that's not what you want to have happen!
ITS part of the hobby and , over time your going to either deal with unskilled morons, or machine shops that screw up parts or outright scams........
ESPECIALLY,If your not doing all the work yourself.... ,from a older guys perspective its about normal, when you find your dealing with less than skilled help!
and its not all that rare to screw up things yourself,EITHER, So, its a good idea to have a first aid kit a cell phone and several fire extinguishers handy at all times and think thru your moves, use decent jack stands, and research each project, BEFORE you jump in with both feet!
btw it helps to have friends, especially experienced older friends.... so join a couple corvette or hot rod clubs and ask lots of questions, and find out what local machine shops and body shops do decent work, and which ones are best to avoid

If its the machine shop or body shop that screwed up ,its lucky that no one was seriously hurt and the damage can easily be repaired and it should NOT be repaired on your dime!

its only time and money, and while its your time, the repairs, required, should be covered, by insurance or the guys that screwed up, your parts....relax!, have a large brandy, and watch a good movie, you'll find that in a couple years you'll realize that stuff like this is both constantly happening and that the small crap in the long run, is part of the process of learning about cars,, these things happen! remember that you will not really care about, it in a few years.
yes occasionally you'll get screwed and find you need to pay to get crappy work redone, or parts replaced, its part of the learning process, called "PAYING YOUR DUES"

my dad always said that if something happens to you that won,t really matter in a years time, its best to relax, have a couple drinks, and get over it and move on


viewtopic.php?f=27&t=81

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=98

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1018

viewtopic.php?f=66&t=1295

 

[Doodad]

I'm paying my dues right now ,I saved my car from a fire, I'm repairing what seems to be every mistake that I paid someone to do to make my engine better.When your not able to do the work yourself there is no guarantee its getting done right.Common sense can save you a whole lot of money and even lives.

 

[grumpyvette]

just take every part or system as a new challenge and regard it as a learning experience, don,t get frustrated, because the process makes you both more knowledgeable and hopefully increases your skills and probably your tool kit will increase in size, as your, frequently forced to buy tools, and reference materials to complete each new project, making future repairs far faster and easier.
even when you screw up something, your still learning, even if the lesson, is only (NEVER...EVER... DO THAT AGAIN!)

example, eventually you learn why experienced mechanics tend to use really strong jack stands, quality tools and why simple things like disconnecting the battery before working on the alternator or starter, or letting the car cool off before you work on or near the exhaust or coolant is a really good idea!
and you eventually learn that if you don,t check something you can,t assume its working as its designed too, because all mechanical systems are suspect!
not having a shop manual puts you at a disadvantage and doing all the repairs your self ,rather than, PAYING someone else to do the work on your car has four major problems,
1 its costs a good deal more to go that route
2 you don,t learn nearly as much
3 your never sure if the works been done correctly
4 isolate each problem to its source and replace or repair or adjust as required