Here's An Idea

[goofyone]

Smart Mother!She did good learning some things in Auto Repair Shop... Here I am not good in things like that except I can change oil and filter. I have finally learn how to change brake pad on my motorcycle. Thank Goodness.

Motorcycle brakes can be a pain. Not necessarily difficult in concept however small package can make it quite interesting to work on them. Even worse for me is that recently I acquired a nice new bicycle and the thing has the smallest hydraulic disc brakes I have ever seen. Those tiny things are one heck of a pain in the rear to get bled and adjusted correctly.

 

[Catia]

Motorcycle brakes can be a pain. Not necessarily difficult in concept however small package can make it quite interesting to work on them. Even worse for me is that recently I acquired a nice new bicycle and the thing has the smallest hydraulic disc brakes I have ever seen. Those tiny things are one heck of a pain in the rear to get bled and adjusted correctly.

My rear wheel shoe brake motorcycle is much easy to work on then front brake pad.

 

[Jeff Porter]

from what we were told when we visited the tour in Charlotte, every Pep Boys will have a "Master Certified Tech" that has been trained and certified by EM .... we weren't told at what point in the development/production that training will take place .... from what I've seen, Pep Boys seems to have a significant turnover of folks working in their shop .... I have no way of knowing if that will continue with the personnel that are trained by EM

Jim

Excellent point Jim, a new one to me... if Pep Boys has significant turnover, why would the Pep Boys execs tell the mgmt. chain to start communicating to all the stores that Elio is coming? Plans can be made behind the scenes, without telling store mgrs. Makes one wonder, how often store mgrs stay at a particular store.

 

[Jeff Porter]

I must confess my sins. I deal exclusively with my local NAPA store, as they are very knowledgeable, and I always get the parts I need, even if they have to order them. A few years ago they hired a young, blonde, twenty something girl, and even though she wore worn jeans and a flannel shirt, she was just too young, cute and a GIRL for me to have enough trust to let her wait on me. I always stepped up to the counter in front of my favorite parts man. Shortly there after my old Chevy pickup quite charging, I checked it out and the alternator was putting out, but the regulator was bad. So I go down to the NAPA store and my favorite parts guy is busy, so I step up to the counter in front of another new GUY and say I need an internal regulator for a GM one wire alternator, he asks ''What year?", I say 'It doesn't matter what year they're all the same, OK 1968" He goes to the parts book, young blonde nubile, standing over his shoulder rolls her eyes, walks down an aisle pulls the part I need off the shelf, walks back up and puts it on the counter. She doesn't need a part number. Ok, she's earned my trust. I recently needed an "O" ring. I took the torn one down to the NAPA store and stepped up to her counter (her name is Shelly) and said 'I need to replace this 'O' ring'. She pulls the yellow plastic 'O' ring box out from under the counter, uses the fingernail of her left pinky finger to lift it off the plastic column it's stored on and hands it to me, I'm thinking 'Why the pinky finger instead of the index finger?' Then I notice, her Index, Bird, and Ring fingers are all missing from the first knuckle on, and I realize this lady has spent some time under the hood. (She lost them from a crankshaft pulley). Guess who my favorite counter person is now? I just wish I was 40 years younger.

Great story Ross!

 

[Mike W]

Great story Ross!

Sounds like the same infirmity that woodworkers are prone to, regardless of age/sex. You either learn fast or quit. Like Jeff said, great story!

 

[Tomg3rd]

I'm pretty handy around cars, bikes, farm equipment and small engines. I'm sure, based on reading many of the posts from other enthusiasts here, that we can set up an informal network of Elio "repair shops" for other owners that do not have the know-how or desire to work on them. For those that do not live near a PB or Elio dealer it would be some comfort to know that they can take their car/bike to someone that knows what they're doing.

I'm in...I'm pretty handy and could help out another owner when possible. The Honda Goldwing club has a program that lists the members and what they are willing to do to help another member on the road. We could do something similar.

 

[Mike W]

I'm in...I'm pretty handy and could help out another owner when possible. The Honda Goldwing club has a program that lists the members and what they are willing to do to help another member on the road. We could do something similar.

I must admit, this sounds like a great idea. I would love to contribute some automotive expertise but I got bupkis. Ask me how to compose a photo, carve wood (relief carvings) or create linocut prints, I might be able to help. Anything related to internal cumbustion or otherwise automotive? I'll give you the best and most natural dumb look humanly possible (no comments! I get enough of that at home!) for free!

 

[nthawk68]

That is ok, I normally keep a dumb look at all times, that way people leave me alone or go away so they can laugh. I can see many of us trying to figure out where a specific part is and how to get it out. There will be a lot of trial by error and #$#%$%$ explitives mentioned, at least in my garage. I know one of my first %^& moments will be when I am trying to put the 2 weeks worth of groceries in the Elio and I didnt empty my other crap out first.....

Might be a new thread, What are we going to forget to do with our Elio......

 

[Rickb]

I learned a long time ago to make some money at doing what I do best and pay others for what they do best. That goes double for maintenance and repairs on my vehicles........no DIY for me. A truly excellent mechanic is never overpaid and may actually save you time and money by doing it right the first time.

I see more negative than positive PB reviews because people are more inclined to voice complaints over compliments on the many more positive experiences they've had. For the number of PB locations negatives seem minimal. We are trusting Elio to design & build our vehicles.......we should trust their judgement on choosing the best servicing partner.

The best I could offer a fellow Elio owner having mechanical issues would be an e-RIDE to where ever.

 

[JEBar]

I learned a long time ago to make some money at doing what I do best and pay others for what they do best. That goes double for maintenance and repairs on my vehicles.

AMEN brother .... the trick is to take an objective look and know the difference