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| What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | Views: 829 |
| Jul 15, 2008 5:49 am | | What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Here's the situation. My car needed new gear shift cables. There is no local Saturn dealership. So, a friend who happened to be traveling to a town where there was a Saturn dealership got the cables for me. A car-savvy friend came over to my home and in the driveway attempted to install the cables. He got the cables installed, but there seems to be a problem with the adjustment.
Well, the cables were ridiculously expensive. I didn't want to go to the expense to also purchase a Saturn car technical manual. Neither did I want to hire a mechanic just to get those cables installed.
So, what did I do? I went online to get help. I contacted the Saturn home page and communicated via instant messaging. Guess what? The best Saturn's Net person could do was recommend I "purchase the manual." This morning I contacted the actual dealership where the part was purchased and left the phone number of my car-savvy friend for a Saturn technician to speak with him. So far as I know, no contact between the Saturn tech and my friend has been made. You would think Saturn would want to help me since I already paid for the part.
Unfortunately, Saturn has not helped solve my car problem beyond selling me the part that supposedly should solve my car problem. But, I also tried something online called JustAnswers.com. Here you ask a question and a so-called expert responds with an answer. It took the better part of 24 hours for me to get an answer to my question, but I did get one. If the answer solves my car problem, I am expected to pay a small fee. Believe me, that's a much better deal than having to purchase a car repair manual.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers! Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 |
| Jul 15, 2008 6:18 am | | re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Lindy Asimus | | I'd have done some searches on Google first for some existing knowlege base. Don't know exactly what your automotive issue was, but a basic search turns up lots of forums and if you use the right search queries, you can sometimes get the exact fix that you're looking for.
"A Google Life Is An Easy Life"
LindyPrivate Reply to Lindy Asimus |
| Jul 15, 2008 2:20 pm | | re: re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Scott Wolpow | | I found the books for as litle as $20.00, how much is your manual?
http://www.themotorbookstore.com/saturn.html
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| Jul 15, 2008 4:34 pm | | re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Russ Jackman | | Lamar,
Knowledge is valuable. I wouldn't expect the technician to call your friend unless you gave him a credit card number to charge for his time giving advice on the call.
You bought he part? Big deal. You didn't pay for their expertise to install it ... the cost of part included inbound freight, carrying costs, handling costs, overhead, and hopefully little bit for profit. It doesn't include free advice from trained technician in their service department.
Private Reply to Russ Jackman |
| Jul 15, 2008 7:16 pm | | re: re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Reg Charie | | If you are going to do your own work, buy the durn manuals.
Get the official manual and a haynes guide.
A workman is only as good as his tools.
Reg - Talk to me in Live Chat. http://regcharie.com/talk-to-me.htm
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| Jul 15, 2008 8:45 pm | | Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Teddy Towncrier | |
Don't buy the overpriced $150 manual unless it's at a yard sale for $25.
You want manuals? How many would you like? ... Last estimate was $1,500 to cart mine away.
As Russ pointed out .... You purchased the part and not a seminar.
Fortunatedly; I'm surrounded by knowledgeable folks who supply much of what I need and we support each other.
However; I do like the pay for advice model. A complimentary 10 minute chat could quickly tell me whether this person is worth consulting with.
$3.00 per minute ($20 minimum). sounds a lot cheaper than a dealer stiffing me for $350 for a job that only took 10 minutes.
If you're planning to emulate Warren Buffet and keep the car forever. Buy the dumb manual.
Thanks for bringing us this, Lamar.
Bestest.
Teddy Towncrier CPP Towncrier-Media.com Supercharging Your Visions.
Private Reply to Teddy Towncrier |
| Jul 15, 2008 10:02 pm | | re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Ron Sam | | Lamar,
I had a problem with a Lexus. I joined a Lexus forum and lo and behold, the site admin had already downloaded pdf's of each chapter in the durn Shop Manual. All I need do is find the right chapter and read, which I did and for free. I found out what I was looking for.
I bet you can find your answer at a Saturn Forum. http://tinyurl.com/5p95dp
I say join a forum of enthusiast first, then if you don't succeed try another. If you can't find a good forum or cooperative members, then maybe go pay for info.
Most County Libraries have Mechanics manuals in their Reference Books section. They also have copy machines so you can photocopy the pages you need. The usual charge is 10-25 cents a page.
I don't do that. I use my digital camera on set on natural lighting and no flash. That way I don't cut down another tree....
RonPrivate Reply to Ron Sam |
| Jul 15, 2008 10:49 pm | | re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Scott Wolpow | | In all these cases you are stealing anothers work. Go buy the book for $30.00 or so.
Scott Wolpow Help me Raise Money for MS http://msnyc.kintera.org/bikems/scottwo
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| Jul 16, 2008 6:02 am | | re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Folks,
Here's the situation. A small piece of plastic broke off one end of a gearshift cable. Ten cents worth of plastic broke off. I should be able to simply replace the broken piece of plastic. That is all that is wrong. But no. I am forced to replace the ENTIRE cable assembly. Several hundred dollars because a ten cent piece of plastic is broke. So, I have a friend travel for nearly an hour to purchase with cash the part. I have another friend install the part. Unfortunately, there is an adjustment problem. I disagree that asking a technician at the dealership where the part was purchased to call my friend and explain to him how to properly adjust this cabling is inappropriate or cheating. After all, the dealership should want a "satisfied customer." Right now, I am NOT SATISFIED! I am out the money and my car lies dead in the driveway. I am not a happy camper.
Is there something unique when the problem involves a car? If you purchased a computer from a computer store is it somehow wrong to call that store and ask for help regarding the computer you recently purchased? If it is ok to ask about a computer you just purchased, I don't see why it should be any different with an auto part. The technician is there to serve his customers. I am a customer who has already paid for equipment. The equipment is not getting the job done. I think out of common courtesy the dealership technician should offer some advice. After all, I am a paying customer. And, as such, Mr. Technician should want me to be a "happy customer." By the way, the dealership itself requested that I leave a phone number for the tech to call. So, even the dealership agrees with me. However, I did not leave my phone number. I left my friend's phone number. It is the tech and my friend that need to talk.
Meanwhile, I am not relying on the dealership tech person to do what I consider the honorable thing. That is why I reached out to JustAnswer.com. I have come in contact with a tech person who is providing advice. If the advice he gave me is what my friend needs to solve this cable adjustment problem, I will pay this guy the pre-agreed fee.
That's a lot more cost-effective than purchasing even a used Saturn car manual.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers! Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 |
| Jul 16, 2008 12:57 pm | | re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Russ Jackman | | Lamar,
I guess I don't understand why you are willing to pay for advice through a website but not willing to pay the Saturn technician? The issue doesn't appear to be whether you are willing to pay to solve your problem, but rather how much you think the solution is worth.
One important piece of advice I learned early in life, "If you can solve a problem by writing a check you don't have a problem". Once again, the core issue seems to be about your "frugal-ness" and perception of money/value, or your perception of a lack thereof (thinking back to a thread a few months ago).
Let's take computers as an example. You buy a computer from me, and something breaks under warranty or even a couple of months after the warranty expires. No problem, I'll replace it under warranty, and likely even for the couple of months after the warranty expires if you're a good customer.
If the part didn't burn out until three years from now, I would not expect to have to pay to replace or repair YOUR computer (as you should have no expectation that something will last forever, Lamar ... things break and require maintenance). I would gladly quote you on the cost for the part, as well as the cost to have the replacement installed so your computer is running properly before it leaves my shop. Those two prices are NOT the same. My time is valuable, and I need to charge accordingly for it.
If you decide to save money by buying only the part, you cannot expect me to give away the knowledge that has cost me time and money to acquire. I may very well offer that advice, but if you're buying the part only, it should NOT be EXPECTED by the customer. It was your decision whether to buy just the part, or the part and the expertise (installation). You chose to buy just the part.
Again, it's either a case of you don't value the technician's time, or you're upset about the amount that it's costing you to repair the car ... either way, it boils down to your perceptions and beliefs, not that the dealership is somehow ripping you off by not giving away something they normally charge for.
If the dealership did offer to give you the advice for free and took a number of the tech to call, maybe the message got lost (it happens). How many times has your friend tried to call the tech?
If you rented a DVD movie from a store, would you be upset if they wouldn't give you or lend you a DVD player for free? Hey, you're a PAYING customer, but for some reason the fact that your DVD player is broken and you can't watch the movie somehow becomes the store's fault? You bought the part and had a friend install it, but he did not know how to adjust the cable. Again, how is that the dealership's fault?
"Folks, here's the situation ..." The dealership has an unsatisfied customer because (i) the manufacturer overcharges for parts and only sells assemblies, not 10 cent plastic clips (not the dealership's fault), and (ii) the dealership might not feel or have the time at the moment to give away something that other customers are lined up to pay for. Sorry, Lamar, I can't find any fault on the dealership's side here.
Russ
P.S. - "If you don't like what you got, why don't you change it?" (Raise a Little Hell, Trooper). Private Reply to Russ Jackman |
| Jul 16, 2008 12:58 pm | | re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Scott Wolpow | | Lamar,
I asked my contact at Saturn what wouldthey do. They have a strict policy of not giving advice. The reason is that they have been sued in the past.
I asked your question about being a satisfied customer. His answer, "you bought the part, it was new and correctly marked, why are you not satisfied?"
Fixing a car takes skill and experiance.
Would you buy a golf club and expect the store to teach you how to swing?
But this link may help you?
http://www.chaosmagnet.com/blog/archives/000112.html
Scott Wolpow Help me Raise Money for MS http://msnyc.kintera.org/bikems/scottwo
http://www.myfilm.com
http://www.publiccto.com
http://www.discountjewelry.comPrivate Reply to Scott Wolpow |
| Jul 17, 2008 12:50 am | | re: re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Reg Charie | | Why did you buy the cable in the first place Lamar?
Couldn't you look at the broken/missing piece and fabricate a replacement? IF it was only a 10 cent piece of plastic it should be a snap.
The throttle cable locating collars on my older motorcycles would often break and we cut a small piece of copper tubing to replace them. This tubing was slit to fit over the cable then crushed to close the gap.
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| Jul 17, 2008 2:30 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Reg,
I did see if I could get just a replacement piece of plastic, but was unsuccessful in that attempt. There aren't any car junk yards around here, either. So, going such places and looking was not a cost-effective option, either. But, my friend took the brake assembly apart and showed me the problem. We both thought it would be a rather simple operation. After all, I thought the hard part would be uncovering the problem - not simply replacing it.
If Saturn will not give advice on the products it sells to the people who purchase those products for fear of being sued - and Scott W. stated in a previous post - why did the Saturn operator tell me to leave a phone number for the technician to return the call? I am not saying that Scott is incorrect in his post. What I am saying is that there must be a breakdown in communication regarding the way situations are supposed to be handled at the Santa Rosa Saturn Dealership. If it is against the rules for the customer to ask questions about the products he purchases at a Saturn dealership AFTER he has purchased them, the least the dealership could do is tell the customer that information. But, that is not what happened. The dealership told me to leave a phone number for the technician to call back. And, I simply did as I was told.
Regardless of whose side you take on this issue - pro the dealership or pro the consumer - it appears the dealership is not being honest with me.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers! Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 |
| Jul 17, 2008 2:25 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Scott Wolpow | | Lamar,
They take your number because they do nto want to argue with people on the phone. Some people get abusive and will not take "No" for an answer. They will answer questions as to what part you need to fix what you describe.
If you bought Dreamweaver [an HTML editing program] at a store, do you think they will offer advice on how to craete web pages, or even install it on your PC? Of course not. That is not part of the purchase price.
YOu are also talking about a part taht is vital to the safe operation of teh vehicle. I can just imagine what you would say if something went wronga nd your car got totalled.
Of course you could always call the dealership back.
The link I sent you has a few differant ways to fix your exact problem, if that is the problem.
Scott Wolpow Help me Raise Money for MS http://msnyc.kintera.org/bikems/scottwo
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| Jul 17, 2008 4:14 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Reg Charie | | >>So, going such places and looking was not a cost-effective option
That is why we have phones and the internet Lamar.
Auto salvage yards will often send you used parts.
I know the ones around here will.
Reg - Talk to me in Live Chat. http://regcharie.com/talk-to-me.htm
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| Jul 18, 2008 1:39 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Reg & Scott,
The Santa Rosa Saturn dealership tech DID CALL my friend after all. I just got confirmation. But, I still have not solved the problem. I have been instructed to go back to my online resource for more advice. Here is what my friend sent me:
"Hey Lamar, Tom Meyer here,the info from the internet tech is for an automatic. We need info for a 5 speed. I talked to a Santa Rosa tech today. He informed me that there is no adjustment on the cables themselves. I don't know what to do for you without the correct info. Email the internet tec again. See what happens. Sorry, I can't help." Tom
The topic of this thread is "What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites?" I am obviously undecided because I still have not solved this car problem. But, if my JustAnswers.com car guy helps solve my car problem, I may indeed become an advocate of this kind of this kind of service - especially for folks who live in rural areas.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers! Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 |
| Jul 18, 2008 1:58 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Lindy Asimus | | Lamar this looks like a great example of something that seems like an easy thing to do but in reality is much different, and one of those things (as many are) that cost more to resolve after the event in time and money and general aggravation, than just getting the right person to do the right job in the first place.
Lots of things are like that. Some things are worth DIY and then there are things that aren't.
Websites is one example that springs to mind...
LindyPrivate Reply to Lindy Asimus |
| Jul 18, 2008 2:33 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Reg Charie | | If there is no adjustment on the cables there will be on the cable socket.
Reg - Talk to me in Live Chat. http://regcharie.com/talk-to-me.htm
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| Jul 18, 2008 4:06 am | | re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Rob Taylor | | I don't know why you would be car parts directly from a dealership. They are going to cost 5 times as much - just like the manual as Scott found out.
My truck is broken down right now. The intake manifold is cracked. It is an F-150 and, believe it or not, an intake manifold is a hard part to find. The garage I took it to wants $1050.00 to fix it. I am assuming around $750.00 for the part. I found it online for $193.00 and someone to install it for $300.00.
I think you got as good advice as you could possible pay for on this thread. You got the parts. Either buy the manual or take it to a garage. If it is as easy to get to as it sounds then I doubt the garage will take more than a couple hours getting the cables on there right.
You are going to end up spending more time/money money/time by trying to do it yourself.
Best of luck with it!
RPrivate Reply to Rob Taylor |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:21 pm | | re: re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Rob,
I will be calling more garages. Right now, all the garages are telling me to tow the car to them for them to get it fixed. So far, they are not willing to come to me. And, you know why? Because they say the trip will cost more money. They are going to charge me for both time and travel, plus their labor.
Well, guess what? While typing this message I got a call from someone whom it looks like my help solve my problem. Will keep you posted as to what develops.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers! Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:42 pm | | re: re: re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Eileen Brown | | Hello Folks.
People pay for advice all the time. Doctors, lawyers, tax
accountants, brokers, bankers and the list goes on.
Pay-For-Advice sites are an extension of the reality of
needing help and wanting to get the best advice possible.
If you are willing to pay your doctor to tell you to "take
two aspirin and call in the morning" surely you can muster
the good sense to pay others for expert advice.
Finding the right expert is the "trick or treat" part of
this scenario.
.02
Eileen :D
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| Jul 20, 2008 2:48 am | | re: re: re: What Do You Think of Pay-For-Advice Sites? | # |
Scott Wolpow | | Lamar,
You expect them to tow you for free? Why? How far is the garage?
Scott Wolpow Help me Raise Money for MS http://msnyc.kintera.org/bikems/scottwo
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