I'm just a dog, kick me
I'm reminded of a situation where I helped someone frequently and found myself kicked in the stomach for what I thought was being a good friend. I remember this woman that came to see me often for repair work on a very sporty red Toyota Celica, it was a very pretty car. Her name was Terry and she also became friends with me and my second wife. In fact we ended up becoming very good friends and often had threesomes together on the weekends. But that's a whole 'nother story. I'll save it for later. But, I ended up screwing her in more ways than one.
She would bring her Toyota in for any type of service that it needed and it was a good professional relationship and I always looked out for her, gave her great prices on my work and made sure her car was always in top condition, often taking it in on the weekends to accommodate her work schedule. This went on for at least a couple years, when suddenly she became enamored over a BMW that was up for sale. She had gotten a nice raise at her job and wanted something a bit classier looking than the Toyota. She asked me to inspect it to make sure that it was in good condition and that it needed no major repairs before she bought it.
It turned out to be a very solid car and I gave her the green light on the purchase. I usually charge for the service of driving and doing a thorough inspection, including putting it on the lift and checking the brakes and the undercarriage for accident damage. Not to mention checking for a slew of other potential trouble spots. I knew she would bring the car to me for future service and I was happy to take care of that for her.
Maybe 6 months later when she was at our house one weekend she told us that the BMW had broken down and that she had taken it to the dealer for repair. I was stunned. I knew there was no dealer warranty on the used car and I couldn't believe she had taken it somewhere else for service. It turns out that she looked upon me as just a mechanic not a fukkin' BMW mechanic and that she felt her special German scheibekasten (shit box) needed special care! Uhmm hello!! I'm a qualified mechanic and I had worked at a shop that serviced only Beamers, she knew this but ignored it for some reason. I held my tongue and let it ride, sometimes people just don't think. I knew the dealer was going to charge her out the wazoo for the repairs and they did. They really put the screws to her money wise, I happily found out later. And to top all this off she often called and asked me for advice on repairs and if I thought the dealer was being honest about what she needed done, and yet she still brought it to the dealer!
Now you would think this is the end of this story, but it's not, I got to screw her again myself in a big way. About another 6 months passed and she had come across ANOTHER BMW that she was interested in buying and was going to sell hers for this newer model. Guess who she brings it to for pre-purchase inspection? Haha yep, the dog got that pleasure. I looked it over thoroughly and it was a real piece of crap, I wouldn't have bought the damn thing with someone else's money, the engine was in bad shape and the transmission wasn't sounding too good either. I knew she was in for a world of financial hurt if she bought this thing. I also knew she wasn't going to bring it to me for future service, now why did she bother me with the inspection? I had stupidly set a precedent for not charging her for that service and I suddenly realized how I would get pay back.
When she came to pick it up she of course asked how was the car, I said "It's pretty solid and it should be a great car. I would buy it if I were you."
She bought it and she was screwed, I felt a bit guilty but not sorry at all. Don't kick the dog.
She would bring her Toyota in for any type of service that it needed and it was a good professional relationship and I always looked out for her, gave her great prices on my work and made sure her car was always in top condition, often taking it in on the weekends to accommodate her work schedule. This went on for at least a couple years, when suddenly she became enamored over a BMW that was up for sale. She had gotten a nice raise at her job and wanted something a bit classier looking than the Toyota. She asked me to inspect it to make sure that it was in good condition and that it needed no major repairs before she bought it.
It turned out to be a very solid car and I gave her the green light on the purchase. I usually charge for the service of driving and doing a thorough inspection, including putting it on the lift and checking the brakes and the undercarriage for accident damage. Not to mention checking for a slew of other potential trouble spots. I knew she would bring the car to me for future service and I was happy to take care of that for her.
Maybe 6 months later when she was at our house one weekend she told us that the BMW had broken down and that she had taken it to the dealer for repair. I was stunned. I knew there was no dealer warranty on the used car and I couldn't believe she had taken it somewhere else for service. It turns out that she looked upon me as just a mechanic not a fukkin' BMW mechanic and that she felt her special German scheibekasten (shit box) needed special care! Uhmm hello!! I'm a qualified mechanic and I had worked at a shop that serviced only Beamers, she knew this but ignored it for some reason. I held my tongue and let it ride, sometimes people just don't think. I knew the dealer was going to charge her out the wazoo for the repairs and they did. They really put the screws to her money wise, I happily found out later. And to top all this off she often called and asked me for advice on repairs and if I thought the dealer was being honest about what she needed done, and yet she still brought it to the dealer!
Now you would think this is the end of this story, but it's not, I got to screw her again myself in a big way. About another 6 months passed and she had come across ANOTHER BMW that she was interested in buying and was going to sell hers for this newer model. Guess who she brings it to for pre-purchase inspection? Haha yep, the dog got that pleasure. I looked it over thoroughly and it was a real piece of crap, I wouldn't have bought the damn thing with someone else's money, the engine was in bad shape and the transmission wasn't sounding too good either. I knew she was in for a world of financial hurt if she bought this thing. I also knew she wasn't going to bring it to me for future service, now why did she bother me with the inspection? I had stupidly set a precedent for not charging her for that service and I suddenly realized how I would get pay back.
When she came to pick it up she of course asked how was the car, I said "It's pretty solid and it should be a great car. I would buy it if I were you."
She bought it and she was screwed, I felt a bit guilty but not sorry at all. Don't kick the dog.
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