Non car people

In December I sold a used convertible (button push) to a long standing customers wife. Sold it for 4.5k. It was a good price for the customer and almost a 1:1 give through. I did not really make money off the car and I normally do not sell used cars but I saw that one and bought it because it was a beauty. I made some on the new tires but that's neglectable. It was supposed to be the summer car for the wife.

It's not about the money here but the expectations. Her husband btw, had no idea about it all, until today.... Typing this down, it feels like the wife is grudgy about her husband spending all the money and now she wanted a nice thing too and thinks I am her servant on call 24/7. But here is what happened:

Three weeks after I sold it, she called. In first week of January. The roof makes trouble, does not open up. I said to her, well, it's -10°C outside, ice and snow, not the ideal weather for a roof retraction, I told her not to worry and I told her not to play with the roof in winter because it's really bad for the plastic window in the roof and for the roof, the folding section and it's seals in general. But she wanted me to look at it. And I #ing did.

And everything worked. I only did it because her husband is a long standing customer. A few days later she called that the steering is suddenly soft and it was the ECO mode button that was doing this, making the steering softer instead of stiff, like it is in sports mode.

Then she called a third time in January. Busy a lot for a summer car..just saying... The driver side back window fell down. I said bring it over and gave her a car to use for free in the meantime. Okay so I dismounted the roof to get to the back window that fell down and see that the metal holder is bent and the slider is twisted too. This means, 99% of the time, someone leaned on the window and bent the metal holder, so the glass fell out of the slider and fell down.

I repaired it and swore myself that this is the last time I do anything on the car. She brings back the lent car (that was my private ICE car) dirty outside and inside, fuel tank empty and an avrg. fuel consumption of 20L/100km. It's 4 times the amount the car needs when driven normally, in case you can not relate to the numbers. I plug in my notebook and read out the last 30km and she's been flooring it with oil temps ~40°C (80°C is okay). Reving it into the rev limiter and then shifting a few times because the car threw a few error messages, probably a CRY OUT TO ME FOR HOW IT WAS ABUSED.

I now get uncomfortable to her and tell her a few things about how one treats others things, especially when it's not just some trashcan but a good kept car. And I wrote a bill refilling the tank. Then I had my peace. Until today. Today she called that the RED oil lamp came on and that since this happened the car is driving like it has no power.

Died for a second here, because please folks RED LIGHT = STOP ASAP and SHUT OF THE #ING ENGINE. DO NOT #ING DRIVE AROUND. I told her to STOP NOW and I will hurtle out. Husband still in mind. What you do not do for good customers...

I poured 2L of oil into the engine until the measuring stick showed anything. All the while, I was dying inside because of the neglect and the obtuseness of this woman. And also freezing my ass off. She is super rude to me and wants 1000€ back. I told her to close her eyes so she can see what she will get from me (nothing).

I called her husband, who has a car trailer and a hatch, to come pick us up. My own trailer was in use and frankly I had no mood to unload it for her. The wife drove home with his car we used my truck to pull the trailer to my shop. I grabbed two beers from the fridge and had a little talk with the husband. Turns out he had no idea about all the trouble. He visibly was embarrassed about his wife. I offered him to buy back the car for 3.5k because I frankly do not know what she did to it in the last months and how she treated it. He declined and excused, we had a talk about the upcoming season and he made an appointment for a few things.

A few hours later...my phone rings. Unknown caller. I do not react to unknown callers... Several more calls and then the husbands number is on my phone. I pick up and it's her. She had her little "AHA!" moment until I told her to just send the number and every sane person will pick up but that most do not pick up unknow caller ID calls, because it's #ing rude to do.

She complained about the enema her husband just gave her because of her behavior and making me jump to her fiddle like a puppet on strings. And announced that "the fun is over". What she meant was her husband spending money at my shop. I told her, at this point, I do not care but I would like to her that from her husband, who I know is earning the money, and not her.

Oh damn she EXPLODED lol. I just hung up.

BITCH.

You should probably know this as it sounds like you're a used car salesman, but you should probably let the customer know that the car is sold "as is." And it is not your responsibility for any problems with it after it is driven off the lot. I don't know if there are special rules for car salesman, but my wife resales things, and when it comes especially to used phones (she does it because people ask her to bring cheap used phones from the States to sell them) she is vehement that once it is sold she is not responsible for it. It is used and is being sold as is.

a reply to: TDDAgain

Standard issue entitled controlling liberal western woman.

a reply to: randomuser
Nope, I am not used car seller. I will do some favors for high tier customers though when it comes to organizing normal street cars.

I build turn-key ready race cars and engines. I bought that convertible because it was eye candy to me when I saw it, the price was good and wanted to drive it in summer. I never drove convertible so I thought after last years trouble, hell why not? Then sold it as a favor to a high tier customers wife (and greatly regret it obviously).

I do have to give warranty on the car for 6 months by law here, even if it's used. I sure would have found a way out of that and none of the times I scrambled out it actually was warranty reason. But for good customers, if you want to keep them, you do not let their wife sit with a broken car you sold them.

a reply to: M5xaz

IDK her political affiliation.

For me it feels like she's upset with her husband about the race cars. The day I sold the car, she saw it in my shop and asked how much it would cost. I told her the car is not for sale but she social engineered the situation with her husband so he could not say no. And so he looked at me askingly and I said okay, well, I will get myself another one.

It felt like it was a tit for tat for his race cars, that she get's the convertible. She also knows me for being her husbands mechanic and literally on call ("because race car") for him.

And I think she thought that she is entitled to the very same treatment and wanted to try. And I reacted because of decency.

Just needed to air out this rant... I do not complain about the time wasted or money. It's the MO of that woman that makes me angry.

a reply to: TDDAgain

The old saying 'No good deed goes unpunished' seems to fit here. It sucks that you have to suffer for a full six months with this woman; I hope it passes quickly for you.

originally posted by: TDDAgain
a reply to: M5xaz

IDK her political affiliation.

For me it feels like she's upset with her husband about the race cars. The day I sold the car, she saw it in my shop and asked how much it would cost. I told her the car is not for sale but she social engineered the situation with her husband so he could not say no. And so he looked at me askingly and I said okay, well, I will get myself another one.

It felt like it was a tit for tat for his race cars, that she get's the convertible. She also knows me for being her husbands mechanic and literally on call ("because race car") for him.

And I think she thought that she is entitled to the very same treatment and wanted to try. And I reacted because of decency.

Just needed to air out this rant... I do not complain about the time wasted or money. It's the MO of that woman that makes me angry.

Understood

Air out as much as you need.


Imagine though, at least she's not your wife.
Her husband has to put up with her, 24/7.


Cheers

a reply to: nugget1
Next time she calls I will call her husband and ask if there is a problem.

I like my reputation I built up and even though I only work 35% in the shop currently, it's my fallback option should I ever loose my current teaching job. This isn't my first rodeo with customers that try to blame something on me. I once had a M4 engine sent back to me because "the block surfacing finish" was not "mirror like".

Needless to say the head gasket is only useable once for that engine and that the surface needs to have a certain roughness grade and not mirror finish. The manufacturer sends out machine that cost nearly 10k€ to just measure the correct surface roughness grade of the surfaces. I had #ing protocols from that measuring device to show up.

Customer somehow thought it's cool to dismount the head, decided that the surface finish is "terrible" and had it decked without the internals removed (!!!), used the old head gasket and went onto the race track. There he blew his engine and then tried to blame it one me, on the track already, without even speaking to me. That is why am super anal about measurings and protocols and dataloggers.

Also I would own up to mistakes but I made none here and not with this car. Oh and the missing oil? I don't know yet what the reason is but I think, without having looked at anything but the numbers coming back from the ECU, it's the turbo. # like this happens when you floor a car in winter when the oil is still like chewing gum and didn't even get the chance reach the cams or the turbo.

I know from how she treated my car. And it's not like I would be mad because of that. I build my cars for abuse, I would not be satisfied if I didn't. But you got to give them a chance to come alive and wake up before you send boost into the cans.

### I wanted to go to sleep an hour ago

a reply to: TDDAgain

BITCH

Totally.

a reply to: TDDAgain

I said to her, well, it's -10°C outside, ice and snow, not the ideal weather for a roof retraction, I told her not to worry and I told her not to play with the roof in winter because it's really bad for the plastic window in the roof and for the roof, the folding section and it's seals in general. But she wanted me to look at it. And I #ing did.

This was the mistake that led to the rest. Go with the gut even if it hurts sometimes.