Posted on 09/26/2007 2:03:53 AM PDT by prisoner6
The best thing with "right-to-work" laws is that people retain the right to freely join the union - or not join. If employers are perceived to be taking advantage of workers, union membership will rise. If not, it will decline.
As for the retirees, I'm not sure what will happen. Probably the same thing that happened to LTV Steel retirees when the company went belly-up (both times). They took a huge cut in benefits, and IIRC (not sure), the feds stepped in with taxpayer money.
I have over 20 years with one employer, and though they are in good shape financially, I am a bit concerned about my retirement there. I'd love to be able to withdraw it and place it into a family of funds much like my 401K so that I can diversify the risk. I hate having so many eggs in one basket.
“You darn well know I didn’t mean THE Union itself, I meant the auto industry.”
I didn’t “darn well know” that. In fact, I have spoken with a lot of UAW members that will adamantly claim that they work for the UAW, even after I ask them who signs their paychecks. A little reminder to those folks is ALWAYS in order. Your statement mirrored theirs, so I asked for clarification.
A “Service Specialist”, however, has to communicate what the customer is describing as the problem. If the service specialist can’t identify the problem themselves from the customer’s description, there will likely be a disconnect between the customer and the mechanic and what the customer describes may or may not reach the mechanic properly.
I’ll give an example. I heard a noise from the front end of my engine. I went to a dealership with a “service specialist” first. I described the noise and problem to them. The mechanic turned the car back saying nothing was wrong. This happened at two different dealerships. Then I went to my independent. I described the problem to him, he immediately said “I think I know what this is”, and thirty minutes later the problem was solved. He said he was amazed I detected the problem myself (it was EXTREMELY faint). But he fixed it and the noise was completely gone.
That, my friend, is the advantage of communicating directly with someone who has real experience as a mechanic.
The same guy solved a similar problem on a relative’s Corolla... no “service specialist” was able to communicate it effectively, but our mechanic absolutely nailed it right away. He may charge the same rates as the dealers, the “lobby” of his shop may be old, kinda dirty, and beat up.... But he is worth every penny and is a MUCH better mechanic than any dealer shop I have ever seen.
I said absolutely NOTHING about the UAW, in case you didn’t notice. Not one word in defense of them.
You want accident data? Ok - on my Ford -> sway bar link (pothole), disc rotor shield (road debris). on my Toyota -> Front and rear bumper covers. There is no WAY that the half-axle was the fault of that. Oh, and I’ve had 3 Camrys, and every one of them has needed a new halfaxle around 8-10 years of age. Only my current one has been in an accident, and as I said, no way is it related to the half-axle failure.
And you want to know what the two are worth? The Ford is worth $2530, and the Toyota $4280 (kbb private party, good condition). That is $1750 in difference. But the Toyota cost $3000 more when I bought them. Account for interest on that $3000 savings, and I’m still up $3200 on the Ford.
And the Toyota has cost not $300-400 more, but more like $1500 more (Toyota halfaxles cost more than $400, and the timing belt/water pump deal is absurd. Then there’s standard parts costs - air filter, for example is $13 vs $3 for the Ford, the tie rod ends were $78 for the Toyota, $26 for the Ford (same manufacturer).
Again, I’m not defending the UAW in the least.
If you want to make an a** of yourself, go ahead. But I’m the one being forthright and honest here, unlike yourself.
What model year is that TJ, out of curiosity?
My boss just junked his Dodge pickup because he couldn’t get parts for it - his windshield wiper motor wore out so badly it was worthless. Poor guy couldn’t find a replacement part anywhere (for some reason, the dealer stopped stocking parts for a Dodge D-series). He thought about paying a machinist to rebuild it, but just bought a new one instead.
I *think* he got his money’s worth on the last one. :P
As I said my friend. I am a master mechanic. A ford Taurus in no way compares in quality to a Camry. And there is NO WAY a person that takes care of his vehicles will ever get a ford to last as long as a Toyota without MAJOR repairs.
By the way. A reconditioned half shaft for just about any vehicle is only $130-$165 dollars.
Listen. You own whatever the **** you want to own. No sweat off my ****s but if you think you are ever going to convince a man that has spend the last 41 years of his life repairing automobiles that a ford is in any way as good as a Toyota I have to say... you need to lay off the peyote. And you know what? Most of America, judging by car sales, agrees with me.
You see? That's how it's done. You take real life experience and you couple that with actual evidence on a broad scale and you make an indisputable point. The only ones that will dispute with an indisputable point are those that cannot admit when they are wrong.
Good day sir.
DCX discontinued parts for the D-series long ago. Likewise, they had recently discontinued just about everything for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer last year and were busily clearing out
DCX was sticking pretty close to the M-M “14-and-out” clause - where once a vehicle is 14 years old they don’t have to support it any more; the last SJ (Grand Wag) rolled off the production lines in 1992. The last D-series was made in 93.
Ford and GM are going that way, too. GM’s not stocking critical parts for a lot of their pre-90 cars any more, and others have reported that parts for pre-79 Ford trucks and pre-90 Ford cars are getting thin on the ground.
Meanwhile, over at Honda and Mercedes, you can *still* get critical parts for everything they’ve made since 1957, and sometimes before. Nissan had no problems with critical parts for a ‘70 240Z or the ‘69 510 we were working on last year, and my 90 Pathfinder and my 87 XJ6 still enjoy pretty good parts support from their respective makers.
Part of why I dumped my Grand Wagoneer (aside from the poor reliability, poor replacement part quality, and other issues) was because I went to the dealer and got the news that GW parts weren’t going to be restocked any more; when they were gone, they were gone.
BTW, a reconditioned half-shaft for a Toyota is about $130-165. One for a Taurus is about $65.
Since you’re such a self-proclaimed “expert”, perhaps you would care to explain to our bystanders why no one in their right mind would EVER install a remanufactured half-axle assembly in a Toyota Camry? Surely you know what makes Toyota’s CV joint design different, right?
I’d say your “experience” isn’t worth jack based on your ludicrous claims.
Oh, and I’m distinguishing “critical parts” from “cosmetic” or “collision” parts. Those get exhausted relatively quickly for a lot of vehicles. Critical parts being defined as “parts needed for the vehicle to run and move”.
Last I looked, the aftermarket *had* developed a good way to properly rebuild/replace those, so he’s got a point.
Ummm, D-series ended production in 1980.
That’s what I was pointing out - we’re talking about a truck (in his case) that was 35 years old. The local Toyota dealers don’t carry parts for the 20 year old Camry I sold, either, unless those parts have been carried over to new vehicles. Their policy is 15 and out. Its nice if the dealer carries parts for 35 year old vehicles, but I don’t view it as their responsibility...
Really, care to point out what parts manufacturer does produce one?
No, the D-series continued in production until 93 - under a different name, of course - when it was replaced by the New Ram.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_D_Series
This generation was facelifted in 1981 when the D Series was rebadged as the Dodge Ram pickup, including an embossed “DODGE RAM” name on the tailgate. Obvious changes were the grille and hood, the taillights, and the entire interior. More subtle was the addition of a “shoulder” line reminiscent of the GM competition. This bodystyle continued until 1993. Many body panels are interchangeable for all models from 1972 to 1993, so it is not impossible to see a “hybrid” of a 1978 grille mounted with a 1974 hood and a 1991 cab.
Arvin Meritor among others, last I looked.
Well, Toyota *does* carry parts in their warehouses for 80s Pickups, Supras, Corollas and Cressidas - I know this from personal experience and helping friends with their vehicles in the last couple of years. I think you just have some lazy dealers there - most of this stuff is in warehouses and not in the dealership’s parts storage for obvious reasons. Sometimes the dealership employee can be a prick and refuse to go look up pricing and availability.
You can, for example, still get all the ignition parts for a 1977 Celica from the dealership.
I said good day to him once and I'll not waste any more time on him. The evidence does NOT support his claims.
Thanks again. And... I'd like to support your point that the after market has and does in most cases outperform original equipment.
And because a 1972 D-series *can* have some parts replaced by more recent parts, we consider the entire line to have been continued and all parts are suddenly interchangeable?
It was a 35 year old vehicle... do you expect the dealer to carry parts still? Doesn’t sound like a profitable business to me... Sure, there’s some market out there, but to expect all dealers to stock parts?
I mean, there’s still a Hudson dealership open in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Doesn’t mean Chrysler should have to stock Hudson parts in all dealerships still...
“The evidence does NOT support his claims.”
WHAT evidence? Show me ONE source showing statistically significant differences in reliability. JUST ONE.
Idiot... no wonder this country is going down the tubes.
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