Just had to share this story as things never cease to amaze me here in Thailand. As some of you know I hate to work on electrical systems and especially if they envolve going under the dash. A friend of mine over here who is from England likes classic Mercs (Mercedes) and has a 62. I was talking to him about my electric windows not working (actually on the drivers side worked) and that my wipers didn't work. He said he had a auto electrician who worked on classic cars so we went over to his shop to see if he would work on the Olds. He said "sure" (in Thai) and said bring it in on Monday. I dropped the car off Monday at 8am. He told me it would take 2 or 3 days. I went over Wednesday afternoon to check on the progress and he still had the door panels off on the passanger side. He said to pick the car up on Thursday afternoon. Well I go by there Thursday around 5pm and the car is ready AND washed as it was dusty when I saw it on Wednesday. He shows me that all the windows go up and down and apologizes that the drivers side rear window goes down but needs a little help going up. The wipers now work and he put new blades on both wipers.

So now the big question...I ask him how much? He repies, 1500 baht and I almost fall down as that is all of $45.00 US dolars. Four days of work, plus parts (he also put a new relay in) for 45 dollars.
My wife whispers to me, You can give him a tip. So I give him 2000 baht ($60 US) and he asks how much change I want back. I told him none and he was so happy he bowed and said thank you about 3 times. Little did he know that I was way happier than him.

His brother has a shop and works on engines and drive trains. I think I will take the car over to him next week and let him fix the oil pan leak. Life is good.

Rokit

 

Wow I bet you keep him in mind if anyone you know needs work done or if you need anything else done. You would not get that kind of service over here without paying for it. Tipping him was the appropriate thing to do so it keeps him happy and willing to fix any problems you may have pop up. Wish I had someone around here like that. My mechanic that I have used on all my cars got lung cancer and decided to retire. he was cheap relatively speaking and did a good job.
You lucky ,lucky guy.

 

Nice!.

Now let's see, plus shipping, I could.......

 

Maybe it would be cheaper to ship him over

 

Good idea ask him if he likes to travel

 

The shame of it is it is almost impossible for a Thai to get a US visa unless they have relatives in the US, are married to a US citizen or are enrolled in a university.

 

Have them go to Mexico. It *really* easy to get in from there!

 

 

That is awsome. I've used shops locally that have really good prices and service. Of course, it wasn't that cheap, but it is good to find a person with a skill that doesn't charge out the wazoo.

 

Our Shop Owner (and amazing "gremlin" finder) has worked on all our cars for over 25 years. Treats us fairly on pricing, and always guarantees his work. Having spent many years in the Automotive Aftermarket prior to retiring, I have always recommended that you search until you find a fair/capable shop, and stay with and support them so they can stay in business and continue to service your vehicles.

 

It would be great if we had a good independent shop around here, but we don't. Have to go to the dealerships high price and not that great of service

 

That is a bummer. If I were in your shoes I might even consider driving an extra 20 to 40 minutes to the next city where there is a decent local business. I hate dealing with auto dealerships. They are scam artists.

 

Great story, Thailand sounds like a wonderful place to live. I looked at your photos on the Picassa website provided and it was a thoroughly enjoyable travelog! I had an especially great time looking at the Thai car show(s) and was impressed at the variety of beautifully well kept cars there. I had no idea the selection of American cars were so varied. Your car appears to be in fine shape - I would slap a set of Coker wide white-walls on her though!

 

Half of that story applies in Germany: It's fairly easy to find someone to do dependable work (not that there aren't also scam artists!), but the prices!
A shop here charges a min of 60 Euros (that's about $90.00!).

Makes you pretty much do as much as you can yourself!

Ralph