I ran into my cousin at vatozone yesterday and she was buying

>>14537363
even if there is a difference, which is unlikely, she shouldn't be paying for the second part if the mechanic ordered the wrong part the first time, that's his problem not her's. She should only be paying for the parts he is putting into her car, not to fill up his inventory stock.

>>14537497
>her's

>>14537497
She supplied the first part and he said it was wrong. She has told me other stories about this asshole that make me want to make him shit a size 14. How can the transmission determine what alternator is required?

Here's what you do - you tell the mechanic that he's going to swap the alternator, only the alternator and if whatever problem she's having persists you're calling the BBB. Either A)he's doing this to get her to bring the car back in so he can properly fix the issue without admitting he missed it before or B)he's scamming you in which case he's going to lose lots of money.

>>14537363
Could be a different pulley or amperage for different transmissions.

>>14537623
Hes trying to sell her a part at a large markup from his shop. Doesnt matter what she brings him it will be wrong.

>>14537363
The Alternator is in-line with the Tranny op. Don't be dumb.

>>14537363
He is buttfucking your cousin op.

He's also lying about alternator, manual and auto uses the same one.

So I just ran this through the parts program I use at work and there is in fact 2 different alternators for a 2003 focus. Not really dependent on transmission but there's 4 different engine rpos for that car and some only came with the manual. So this is plausible.

>>14537363
You're fucking stupid.

>>14537363
Instead of posting on /o/. You shoulda changed it for her.

>>14537363
Buying Ford alternators are fucking ridiculous. A single car will often have 5 different options for just the alternator and sometimes it's not obvious the difference. Sometimes at my shop we can narrow it down to a couple alternators and we'll order both of them and then match it to the original when we get it out of the car.

>>14537363
Just look at the specs of her current alternator and see if they match with the one she bought.
I don't know if the mechanic is right about that specific car, but automatics have a great deal of electronics and valves and shit more than manuals, so the electric requirements could be higher. Still, I can't vouch for that focus, but I think alternator specs are widely available on the internet or on every big parts store website.

When I first read this over, I didn't understand it either. But if you think about it, it makes sense.

Let's say he used the alternator "designed" for the automatic. Sure they look the same on the outside, but what if something happens down the road and the alternator fails. Unlikely sure, but if it did, it would be the mechanics fault for "technically" ordering the wrong part.

Why take any risks on a customers car when you can get the right part with 100% certainty?

Think of it like this. Let's say I own a 2006 grand prix. I go to autozone and want to order a thermostat, the guy behind the counter will still ask you if the engine is supercharged or not. It's a liability thing, even though you and I both know it's the same exact part.

I hope this makes sense

>>14537669
And what's wrong with that? His hourly charge out rate might be low, and that offset by a high markup on parts. people who show up to a workshop with their own parts deserve to be shot

>>14542805
its not a liability thing. its a issue of the fucker behind the counter isn't a mechanic but a min wage paid dumb ass who should be flipping burgers thing.

for instance the same car a pontiac grand prix with the SC .... they ask if its automatic or manual ( even tho there is no manual version) with or without AC .... what the fuck difference is there between every possible combination?

>>14545805
You have never used a part catalogue program, have you?
It's not that the guy is a moron and just wants to ask you stupid thing because he doesn't know better, it's that the fucking program asks these things before showing you all the parts for a car and it won't show you anything until you give it an answer, even if you were looking for wiper blades or cigarette lighters.
Emphasis on "all the parts", meaning it shows every single possible part, including transmission/engine/interior trim specific parts, then the guy has to go to the specific section to find your alternator.


He doesn't type " alternator for a Ford focus" and it magically turns up the thing you wanted.
And even those programs that allow you to search by part before searching by vehicle will, at some point, prompt a window asking basic details about the car (engine, trans, body type, interior trim, etc) so he can sort between all the fucking alternators it has in its database.

Jesus you guys are so fucking stupid sometimes.

>>14537363
check the belt runs, the manual probably has a different run or a different pulley size.

and on a side note the mechanic is probably guessing due to crossover years and slight changes that affect which part fits which car based on engine, build date and model year. i had a timing belt kit that was like this, car was a '98 build year, '99 model year but the engine was fitted with a '99-1/5 timing belt system.

>>14541247
fuckin this. at least most ford alts are in easy to get to places though.

>>14543271
Yeah, what's wrong with lying to people in order to make more money?

>>14543271
>people who show up to a workshop with their own parts deserve to be shot

Kill yourself immediately. Do not stop to think about it, do not pass Go or collect $200, put the gun to your temple NOW and pull the trigger

faggot

>>14537363
Why isn't her mechanic ordering the parts?
What kind of two bit, go get your own parts operation are they running there?

>>14546073
you have never run an automotive repair shop and ordered 5G in parts a month before have you.

when i tell him its a 2004 grand prix GTP....... he should already know its supercharged. should already know its a 3.8. he should already know its automatic.... especialy when most of them have been doing it for a year or more.

i hate explaining the differences between a MAF sensor and a TPS sensor. the computers are there to make these idiots fuckup proof but they dont.


Jesus you are so fucking stupid sometimes. if you dont have experience past changing your own tire leave it to the pros kid

>>14546647

If it's not your part, you can't give a warranty.

If you can't install it yourself, don't buy it.

>>14547099
>hurr someone in charge of finding parts for every car out there should already know the displacement and induction type of this specific car and model year.

Yeah, no, you are an idiot.

>>14547120
What kind of fucking retard would spend MORE money on a part they could get from somewhere cheaper? It's not my job to help put some poor faggot mechanic's 7 kids through the local Votech. It's called capitalism faggot.

>>14547137
when i call in and ask for the head gaskets on a 2004 grand prix GTP with a supercharged 3.8 .... yea they should. or when i call in for a 2001 monte carlo with a 3.1. i call in for basic vehicles with basic engines. these aren't fucking exotics these are vehicles they deal with on a daily fucking basis.

>>14547152
The kind of person who likes their warranty. It's already been said, but at my shop if you bring me the parts you get no warranty. Sure you may he able to get it from the parts place when the shitty cheaper Chinese part fails but I'm gonna fucking rape you on the labor to change it out the second and third time when you could have paid slightly more for me to get you a better quality part and it costs you 3x as much by the time you're done. I had a guy cheap out with lifters on a 5.7 hemi. Guess what. 2 months later the heads were coming back off again. All billable hours.

>>14547184
>poor faggot mechanic confirmed
Nobody gives a fuck about your "speshual" warranty on parts. Nobody is talking about buying Chinese parts. If I can get the same fucking part you're offering but cheaper, I will. Then i'll have your stupid ass install it. Guess what, if it fails, I'll still ream your shit shop for fucking up the install.

>>14537736
No it doesn't. Most of the time it doesn't when considering it's an older --early 2000's vehicles.

>>14541247
>>14546114
Not to mention there's 6 groove or 8 groove pulleys, different plugs clocked at different angles. Fucking Ford. They're also ALL nearly $200 for no fucking reason.

GM also does the same thing but only with plug clocking angles, and Dodge does it too but waaaay less often.

>>14547198
>Guess what, if it fails, I'll still ream your shit shop for fucking up the install.

except you cant, because no warranty through the shop. you'll be told to bring it up with whoever you bought the part from. if you still insist on trying to "ream the shit shop" they'll just tell you to kindly fuck off.

>>14547181
Yeah they should totally remember the cars you ask when they get dozens if not hundreds of calls a day for different cars.

The computer will always ask anyway, so is that hard to answer yes/no to the questions you are asked and you will always be asked?
Are you expecting the guy to just take a guess and put random stuff in there and hope he doesn't stick that one in a million chance that the auto/manual parameter was important for an alternator?

Give them a part number already if you can't be bothered telling yes or no when you are asked if your car is manual, auto, supercharged, N/A or if it has a sunroof.

I'm not even a part guy, but I worked in a GM workshop and browsed parts catalogues every day and every fucking time they want that information before letting you access the parts, same thing for the parts store we contacted daily to give us non-GM parts.

Just go to any fucking website that sells car parts and find one that doesn't ask year, engine and trans for the cars you want to search.
Do it, I'll wait

>>14547099
5g in parts a month?
your a fucking small time mechanic if thats all your doing, successful shops do 15-20 in parts a month. That other guy is right though, the software used within the industry is very finnicky and wants all the information it can get - there are ways around it if your familiar with the tech though - IE. using the VIN, searching the part #, etc etc.
Most of our customers typically just give us this info when ordering parts - I cant attest for the retail side of things as I work for a wholesaler, but Im sure its just easier to ask idiots who walk in off the street the numbskull questions that they can comprehend

>>14546647
So... are you a real mechanic or just some hobby faggot posting on a Ukrainian quilting imageboard?

>>14547244
hahaha oh god do you actually think this is the way it works? Maybe that works on some random mom that comes into your shop, but she wouldn't be bringing her own parts on her own. Literally one phone call and a 20 minute meeting to bring litigation against your hole in the wall garage. I'd either lock you up in court and cost you more, or have you just do the work and save money in the end.

>>14546647

I just replaced damn near every bushing on my car if you even tried to convince me that it would be anywhere near worth my time to do it in my drive way and with out a press i wold laugh in your face. God forbid any one buys the specific parts they want instead of auto zone mechanic specials.

Don't try to insult people's intelligence on this board "hurr I do all my work my self"
The only person who should be shot is you for making such a profoundly stupid statement.

That mechanic's gonna laugh his ass off. Not only is he probably right, OP is pretty much too much of a bitch to fix it himself.

Anybody that's too fucking dumb to swap an alternator can only pose a threat to themselves.

>>14547198
And you'll get fucking nowhere

>>14548201
So you think that that's how it works. We put a disclaimer stating they have no warranty on the receipt, which they sign before they get their car back. Last guy who tried to take us to court got told he should have read what he was signing. Then we sued back for the wasted time and costs and ended up winning judgement. You sir are fucking clueless. I have the money and means to fight dumb fucks like you in court and even if it's not worth it I'll do it just to teach a lesson.

>>14543271
>people who show up to a workshop with their own parts deserve to be shot

Peasant grease monkey detected. I will always bring my own parts when I use a shop, cause I know they will fit and got them cheaper than some dude who probably has a few laying around in his yard charging brand new prices.