Good mechanic in Austin, TX

I HIGHLY recommend John Long and Dan Pedroza's shop - they can be reached at
670-5352, and are located in Round Rock.....good prices, and honest work.

Travis Jordan wrote:
> wrote:
> > Recently had some quotes for tree removal.. want to talk about
widely
> > varying estimates <grin>? I had noticed that manner of pricing
before
> > in the building trades.. when I had the chance I asked some of them
> > about it. The response I got was that it's not only a question of
type
> > of materials used and quality of workmanship, but how bad does the
> > contractor want to do the work. The one guy explained it by saying
> > that he was full up with work... if we wanted him to do the work,
> > we'd have to make it worth it to him. The guy who's hungry will bid
> > lower to try to get the work.
>
> The one guy with the explanation must have stayed awake in his high
> school economics class.
>
> I had a barber one time who did just an outstanding job of cutting
hair.
> He didn't charge any more than the other barbers in town (about $7.00
in
> those days) but he gave you one stylish razor cut for that price. He
> was so busy I was always waiting for 90 minutes or so just to get in
to
> see him. So one day I mentioned his workload and he sez "yep, I'm so
> busy I'm working 12 hours a day, and I don't know if I can keep up
this
> pace much longer". So /me gives him a 3 minute lesson in supply and
> demand theory and suggests that he raise his prices to the point
where
> he is as busy as he wants to be, but no more.
>
> A month later his prices were at $11.00. Two months later they were
> $13.00, and three months later I found another barber.
>
> Later I heard he retired and moved to a house on the beach in
Florida.

Supply/demand works in many situations.. but not all. I'd not want to
be in an emergency room where triage consisted of someone taking bids
on who can pay the most to be seen next..

I expect to have to pay more for an after hours emergency call to the
plumber.. gods help the repair shop that would ask the customer to pay
more for an emergency repair after hours. Don't know why that is, but
it is.

Jim

Travis Jordan wrote:

> I spent a few years as an import auto mechanic (back in my post high
> school daxe...me and my pal Lucas, Prince of Darkness)

ahhhh... the Lucas headlight switch: Dim, Dimmer, Flicker. ever messed
with 70s and 80s Suzuki motorcycle electrical systems? they're pretty
scary too.

> I admire you for tackling your own shocks, I'm not sure I'd even want
> to do that job.

it wasn't a big deal. shocks on a Toyota truck are *really*
straightforward. the ones that came off were so junk that they came off
easily.

i give myself tons more kudos for the top end rebuild, even if i didn't
do the machine work. it was the first one i've done on a car engine
(done a few bike engines) and, damn, those parts are heavy as compared
to SV650 heads!

-Beth

Michael Simmons-Smith wrote:

> I HIGHLY recommend John Long and Dan Pedroza's shop - they can be reached at
> 670-5352, and are located in Round Rock.....good prices, and honest work.

they're the ones who quoted me 600-700!!! that really frustrated me
but it was a miscommunication issue. they requoted me a lower price.
they were thinking 4x4 and i didn't let them know i was referred by a
friend, etc... it was still high-ish because they want to put a Luk gold
premium foo-foo-rah clutch in there that increases the total price by
100 bucks. if this *was* a 4x4 w/ a built engine and i beat the living
hell out of it, yeah, i'd get the Luk. IMHO, it's unnecessary for a
street truck as that clutch/tranny is overbuilt to begin with for a
~100HP 2.4L 4 banger. every once in a while, i'll lug a motorcycle in
the bed but that's about it. i'll be satisfied with a Sacs or other
quality aftermarket setup.

they did my friend's Miata. i went over there to drop her off and i
spent quite a while talking motorcycle engines w/ them. good guys.
they're going to sort out my A/C Issue(tm) when i get around to it.

-Beth