OT: You Can Be Too Nice

No, this was a specific problem that could be one of three things. They started with the most common and cheapest thing to fix, and worked their way up. The service manager _promised_ that this most recent fix would be the one, that we would _never_ have a problem again.

When I pointed out that such confidence would cause the wheels to fall off he apologized, and knocked on wood for me.

I'll grant that they could be lying through their teeth, but their descriptions and behavior are consistent with how I go about fixing things.

It is funny how some have good luck with one brand and poor luck with another, and the next person it is the opposite! I have owned two Fords in my life time, plus a couple of work trucks, and probably will never own another one! Every one, without fail, was a POS! I have owned several GM vehicles, plus a few work trucks, and have had excellent service with ALL of them. No complaints on any of the GM vehicles! One Chevy I had I put over 265,000 miles on it and never opened the engine, a '95 van I drove I put on 175,000 with only the ill fated manifold gasket leak. The next guy that got it for a company vehicle ran it up to 350,000 miles when they took it out of service. Greg

How about $25 - $30 every two weeks in my roller skate geezercar (2005 Echo) Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Remove the bulb? Gerry :-)} London, Canada

First thing they told me when I picked up the Toy - "make sure to turn the cap till it clicks" Gerry :-)} London, Canada

There's a simple fix. Buy an answering machine, plus caller ID, and don't pick up the phone unless it be your choice.

I never answer our phone unless I know who's on the other end-----and I tell them so on the message. Our greeting on the answering machine requests they speak their name to identify themselves, and includes an invitation for them to hang up because we don't accept calls from solicitors, should that be their goal. It's worked miracles. If we get constant calls from a given number, I can even block them so they can no longer get through. Our life is much better these days.

Funny thing------we did this long before the "Do Not Call" list came about. About a week after I put the message on the answering machine, a caller, a solicitor, no doubt, called and stayed on the phone long enough to say "Your message sucks". How bad does it suck? Works for us!

Harold

I have had both + toyota. Toyota is basic, but you get what you pay for.

The obvious answer is that they all suck more or less equally. I hate Ford's brakes. Dodge's transmissions suck. Chevy has power steering rack problems. And so on. I think it's a case of "Well, that one pissed me off, I'll buy a different one next time", and lather-rinse-repeat.

My standard answer used to be "Not interested, goodbye" but this releases them to bug someone else, now it is"hang on please" then lay the phone down. Five minutes or more latter, check if they are gone and hang up, or tell them to continue to hold. This wastes their wage earning time even worse than their call wastes mine. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Hmmm. Sounds to me that this irritant is common enough to go pester our federal regulators an legislators.

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 04:41:58 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Joseph2k quickly quoth:

Yeah, get the gov't involved. They'll fix those TEN YEAR OLD TRUCKS at a mere cost to taxpayers of several hundred million dollars! Meanwhile, next year's truck prices will start at about $45k. Brilliant!