"Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
11/15/2014 at 15:41 • Filed to: None
1
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"Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
11/15/2014 at 15:41 • Filed to: None | 1
| 9 |
Okay, small rant here.
A friend of mine posts on the Facebooks asking if anyone knows of some little jobs he could do for some extra money, to get his car fixed in a garage so he can pass safety and emissions. I text him and ask what it needs, and then tell him that I can help him do it himself. I tell him that I would like to look at the car at some point before we get started so I have a better idea of what's needed. He then says nothing for over a week. Then he texts me Thursday to ask if I can go to pick 'n pull with him after work to get some of the parts. No problem.
I don't feel like getting into all of the details, but basically he thinks he knows what he's into, doesn't, and keeps expecting me to drop whatever I'm doing to help him. This involves me finally being able to look at his car, telling him we need tools we don't have, and that I could have gotten them together from friends if I had known in advance what/when exactly we were fixing. So anyway, he's still trying to get the last thing taken care of today, I can't help him because I have plans, and he seems a little butthurt about it.
Wheeeeee!
michael bleggi
> Alfalfa
11/15/2014 at 15:46 |
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as soon as you can, just lay out exactly what he/she needs to do and what he needs to do it, and then tell him when you'd be able to help if he wanted some of your help
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Alfalfa
> michael bleggi
11/15/2014 at 15:51 |
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That's more or less what I've done. I've told him what he needs to do, and he knows that I'm a little put off by being asked to help at the last minute. I think he may be afraid to ask me for more help.
GhostZ
> Alfalfa
11/15/2014 at 15:52 |
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Regular maintenance, yes. Repairs? No, unless you're a mechanic and they're paying you (even if you give them a discount). There's all sorts of legal wibbly wobbly stuff when you get into repairing other people's properties, and cars are expensive enough that being taken to court over fraud is very possible.
That being said, give this guy tough love and tell him what it's going to cost and get a written contract if he's not willing to do it himself. If he balks at that, then he doesn't respect you anyway.
rockingthe2
> Alfalfa
11/15/2014 at 16:07 |
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Helping a gearhead friend with his car - bad idea
Helping a non-gearhead friend with his car - TERRIBLE idea
I'll normally help any of my gearhead friends with their cars, be it loaning tools, providing advice, or just lending a hand. I do not work on my gearhead friends cars for them however. I say bad idea because it normally ends much later than planned, with quite a bit more money invested than anticipated.
I stopped helping non-gearhead friends with their cars after a buddy of mine almost got sued by a pastor for some transmission work he did for almost nothing when the brakes on the car he fixed went out some 3 months later in the mountains where they lived. To be honest I was getting tired of "Ok, I'll show you how to change your oil" was turning out to be me changing peoples oil as well, so that didn't help.
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Alfalfa
> rockingthe2
11/15/2014 at 16:12 |
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Certainly true about fellow gearheads. I wouldn't hesitate to help another car-savvy friend, but of course that's a whole different ballgame. I felt bad because I know they're a little tight financially. Damn my apathy.
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rockingthe2
> Alfalfa
11/15/2014 at 16:36 |
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Then let them know when you are free, make them go by your schedule. If they want to save money, they can work for it.
Steve in Manhattan
> Alfalfa
11/15/2014 at 17:01 |
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I'm almost sure someone has pointed this out already, but if I ask a friend for a favor, it's on their schedule, not mine. And if you break something?
45bullets
> Alfalfa
11/15/2014 at 18:06 |
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needs to be project 7.
atfsgeoff
> rockingthe2
11/24/2014 at 14:25 |
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Yep, I don't wrench on the side because of liability and stupidity. I've had a friend who needed new struts come to me for help, I installed new strut cartridges for them for the cost of parts and the spring compression tool, and then two months later got yelled at because the alternator died, also killing the battery. As if I was somehow negligent by not predicting he would need a new alternator soon. I'm certain he would have demanded his money back if I'd charged him any amount for labor.
I'll help a gearhead who's working on his car, but I won't work on someone else's car alone. Fuck that noise.