Moral Dilemma (Need Adivce)

[mcnab]

Im in a situation where Im really not that sure the best way to handle this. I'll give you an idea of the scenerio.....



Im obviously very anal about my car, it's paint etc, but I try to be reasonable. Anyway, I've had a problem with my car recently, where the alternator bearings were going (making a small sqeeking sound, enough to annoying me), so I took it to a friend who is more than capable of doing this. I try to do all the work on my car myself, but I had to get this alternator swaped, so I took it to him. We usually both help each other out when we can. He gives me a deal on things as well. Not FREE, but a deal. IE he'll charge me cost on any parts plus gives me a deal on labour. He has a small side business doing performance builds etc and I usually do the nice thing and give him decals/stickers for free as I have access to the tools and materials to do it. It costs me money, but I don't mind since he's a really nice guy and I don't mind helping him out.



Anyway, the alternator swap went without a hitch, I picked my car up and all is well. I ran into a problem the next day tho, where the ClimateControl wasn't blowing heat anymore. . I dont think it was anything he did, just luck of the draw and something happend to go, so I pulled the car into my bay to figure out the problem and noticed something on my hood. The rest of the car was pretty clean, although it had been raining the last couple nights and had general dirt on it. Upon closer inspection tho, the hood was convered in some sort of "grease". I can smear it with a finger. It's pretty grose. Also, I looked at the right front fender, and noticed a ton of scratches and scruffs along it where he was obviously leaning over it to work on the car. I don't think I can polish a few of them out either :sadpace: I know he had his car ABOVE mine on his hoist(found this out later), while working on mine below. This doesn't look like oil or coolant, but could be water that dripped off the suspension above etc and onto the hood below? Im not sure what it is, but it's very greasy and filmy.....



I have a few other tiny things that I was going to have him look at this weekend, but Im not sure what to do now...Do I just not take it back and not say anything? Do I approach him about the issue and let him know to please be more carefull when working on my car? perhaps risking pissing him off? I don't want to potentially piss him off by pointing out the damage that happened to my car, but at the same time im kinda upset about it...



What would you guys do?

 

[BlackElantraGT]

If you want to save your friendship, I wouldn't make too big of a deal out of it. Like you said yourself, you're really anal about your car and its paint. I don't know how bad the scratches and scuffs are, but can it be possible that maybe you're overreacting about the grease, scratches and scuffs? That kind of stuff can happen if you take it to any mechanic. Most places will drape something over the fenders, but who's to say that won't mar your finish?



Sometimes we just have to be realistic and realize that a showcar finish isn't possible on a daily driver, no matter how careful you are. Other people aren't going to think twice about leaning on the car like you. Most people won't even recognize any swirling or cobwebbing, so having a flawless paint finish is not high up there on their list like yours. It's inevitable.



If your car came back with dents, or the guy got brake fluid that ate away at your paint, I would be pissed. But it sounds like he got just a bit messy and wasn't careful about not leaning against the car. He seems to be a competent mechanic and you get a good deal out of it everytime you need his help, so I would just let it go.



If he's a really good friend, maybe try casually hinting that he needs to be more careful next time. Maybe you might even bring something to protect your car's finish next time and asking him nicely if he can make sure it's protected before he works on it. In other words, don't make it seem like it's his fault, but rather you just being very anal about your car.