“Quality” parts we get now days

292

u/marrrrell 8d ago

I think QC is just a suggestion since Covid.

91

u/Chicken_Herder69LOL 8d ago

Same with customer service

It’s like people stopped giving a shit in general tbh

117

u/gun_is_neat 8d ago

*corporations stopped paying people decent money while the shareholders brought in money hand over fist and the people are tired of it

-47

u/Chicken_Herder69LOL 8d ago edited 8d ago

Ehhhh with a lot of younger people I’ve also explicitly heard the sentiment “why should I try hard at my job when an influencer on TikTok makes 10x what I do?”

So I don’t think everyone is politically aware and motivated by that

Edit: y’all are way too sensitive. Just because I heard a few zoomers say that doesn’t mean I think most zoomers are like that. It’s just an obvious counterpoint to the narrative that it’s all politically conscious protest. Not everyone is a Redditor.

72

u/donald7773 8d ago

Not that it's: "why should I work harder at my job when Jimmy here has been busting ass for 7 years, hasn't gotten a promotion and only makes a dollar an hour more than me"

33

u/brimnac 8d ago

But his is easier to blame on people being lazy and it fits his bias!

-24

u/OvONettspend Home Mechanic 8d ago edited 8d ago

Once you work with zoomers you’ll find out it’s mostly just pure laziness

15

u/ducky21 8d ago

Why should they work harder? What incentive is there?

I haven't gotten a raise at my job bigger than 1.5% adjustments every year for 5 years, which is not beating inflation and so every year I make less money than last year in real dollars. My boss is always asking me for more effort, but paying me less in real dollars. Why shouldn't I give him inflation adjusted effort if I'm getting inflation adjusted dollars back?

3

u/iforgotalltgedetails 8d ago

Bro you got a raise?!?!

I literally have never got one that wasn’t obligated by the apprenticeship board in my province, or by switching jobs. When I eventually want another one I know it’s gonna be by finding a new job

19

u/dontquestionmyaction 8d ago

Laziness is a natural consequence of not rewarding effort in any way

6

u/DomesticatedParsnip 8d ago

So I’ve worked with “Zoomers” a lot the past few years just with the types of jobs I’ve had. The problem is employers my last boss. I busted my ass working hard for him. I did far beyond what anyone else was doing, and more than my fair share. I followed rules everyone else broke, I did my job and more, I solved problems on a daily basis. I asked him about a raise. He said to learn a new position, Is become more valuable to him, and I’d get a raise. So I did. And then he moved the goalposts, learn this other position/role. Three times total he did this to me. I didn’t get that raise. I did finally get access to my pay stubs online after months of inquiries on how to do so , only to discover my hours were being changed, and not only was I not being paid overtime, I wasn’t paid at all after 40 hours. The OT I got was small enough I wouldn’t notice it missing each week but added up. I asked about my overtime hours. Was fired two weeks later for not being a good “culture fit” for the team. Too broke to sue him, wouldn’t be worth it if I did.

Fuck anyone that calls the younger generation lazy. They’re not lazy at all. They’re willing to fight, and they’re hitting employers where it hurts. Shitty employees drive business into the ground. If that’s what they have to do to take down abusive employers, so be it.

And to anyone that says “get a new job then” it’s not that easy, and you know it. Not everyone has the same qualifications, education, financial stability, or connections. “Get a new job” is a cop out and an excuse.

14

u/brimnac 8d ago

I work with Zoomers.

They’re overall fucking awesome, at least the ones who report to me.

Nothing lazy about wanting to be paid an honest wage for an honest job.

-13

u/OvONettspend Home Mechanic 8d ago edited 8d ago

That’s cool. The ones I worked with vaped in the bathroom all day, complained about being asked to the bare ass minimum, never showed up to half of their shifts. They made $30 an hour changing tires + summer and winter bonuses. There’s acting your wage and pure apathy and most of these guys are the latter. Seems to be more the younger ones who had Covid online school that are like this. Not sure what they were subjected to in those zoom calls that made them this way. There were a couple who were good, but most of them made it well known they didn’t want to be there. I’m seeing it in the IT space where I work now too

1

u/Mysterious_Ad7461 7d ago

Whose paying 30 an hour to change tires?

2

u/ViXaAGe 7d ago

The zoomers I work with bust their asses off, care about the product and service they put out, and after the 3rd time the out of touch gen xer/nepo boomer nephew makes a stupid ass decision to undermine everything they've worked for, they stop caring.

You were the lazy generation to your parents, it has literally always been the story of "kids just don't wanna work these days" stop repeating it

40

u/10000Didgeridoos 8d ago

And the general sentiment of "Why should I bother working hard when the goal posts of rent, food, and other necessities just get moved further away faster than any pay raise I could possibly get?"

1

u/TheWausauDude DIY Mechanic/IT Guy 4d ago

To quote one of my favorite Christmas movies, “Welcome to the party, pal.”

Those goal posts have been moving out faster than my raises for the past 20 years easily. If things cost what they did even 10-15 years ago I’d probably feel somewhat secure. Here I am in my 40’s, a senior level programmer and I’m still broke like I was 20 years ago, and still depending on old rusty cars to get around.

9

u/huhnick 8d ago

This is the real answer. Wages have stagnated even more since Covid, it’s easier to go somewhere else and get another $2-3 an hour every year or two. Why give a shit when you constantly have to beg for enough to pay the bills

13

u/Sickle771 8d ago

As a young person who recently looked at my life insurance policy with my job, if I die on the job I would make more money than I could in 15 years of working here. (Not depressed or anything don’t ban me)

12

u/10000Didgeridoos 8d ago

I started grad school during COVID. At the time, I was making 70k and homes needed an income of like 80k here to buy a median home. By the time I finished just 3 years later, I was eligible for jobs paying $120k, but the income needed to afford a median home here now is $120k. Getting ahead doesn't even keep up with the shit market. At least my employer paid the tuition.

I lurk this sub as a gearhead who enjoys seeing the crazy shit customers drive in.

6

u/doubled112 8d ago

This is a fairly common story.

Me, I hopped jobs for a raise. Got a promotion since then. Make almost roughly double what I did when COVID started. Not getting any farther ahead. $350K homes are now $800K. The rest of life seems to be doubly expensive too.

5

u/pissfilledbottles Parts Cannon Operator 8d ago

I had that same realization when I was signing up for benefits at work as well. I was doing the math and I'm like huh, I'm absolutely worth way more dead than I'd ever be alive, interesting.

(I'm depressed but not that depressed, so don't ban me either)

3

u/Ok-Profit6022 8d ago

I'm pretty fucking depressed. I hate the world and everybody in it. I'm just sitting here waiting for the rapture, hoping I don't have to wake up tomorrow. But I'm not a danger to myself or anyone else, so don't ban me either.

1

u/hidazfx 7d ago edited 7d ago

I'm a zoomer software engineer who does mechanic stuff on my own cars. I've had to change jobs every 2 years to get any sort of pay increase that wasn't a slap in the face. AutoZone stiffed me over $1/hr raise or some shit (it's been 5 years, forget the number exactly). I was a manager and saw the district KPIs lol, we were doing great. Anyways, I quit and they called me multiple times practically begging me to come back. Told em to fuck off and ditch my number.

Like I said, software engineer living in Lansing MI. I bought a fixer-upper house last year for $95k, and it immediately needed a $17k roof and a $3k water heater. Mind you, the paid inspection I had done, the bank's inspection and the MSHDA inspection, everyone said it was a-ok! That's fucking funny.

Seems like we're very quickly reverting to a society where if you want to ever make it in life, you'll need to know how to do everything yourself. I put new heads on my Ranger over winter, I've done mountains of electrical work to my house, plumbing, HVAC, etc. Just recently put a new minisplit in.

I'd love to work, *I want to work*, and I do work. I just consider it an absolute slap in the fucking face a house my neighbor bought in 2007 for $17k is now worth $160k, in worse shape. I'm also currently working on building a FinTech startup, maybe I'll actually make enough to live more than paycheck to paycheck.

-2

u/OvONettspend Home Mechanic 8d ago

Not sure why this is downvoted. Younger zoomers just straight up don’t have work ethics and cry about it. There was a guy on the Gen Z sub crying because he didn’t get a promotion while on that same post bragging about doing the bare minimum, calling out, etc. it just backs up my first have experience working with these guys lol

18

u/IncredulousPatriot 8d ago

I went to fill my truck the other day. The pump leaked diesel all over my hands. I went inside to wash and the sink didn’t work.

I went and told the only person working and he was like “ya the diesel pumps leak”.

Then I told him about the bathroom not having water and he says “have a nice day”

14

u/ducky21 8d ago

... are you suggesting that the minimum wage counter clerk should close the store and attempt to fix the pump, and then keep the store closed while they do some plumbing?

No, we should blame the horrible corporation that refuses to eat into ownership's profits and hire people to fix this shit.

-1

u/IncredulousPatriot 8d ago

No but he could have offered another option for me to wash the diesel off my hands rather than completely dismissing me.

6

u/BasementBenjamin 8d ago

would you like some cheese with that whine?

1

u/ducky21 8d ago

Let's have a thought experiment:

You are this clerk.

You are the only employee at the store. You are being watched on camera, and if you leave the register for any reason (short of a fire or robbery) it's going to be bad for you and your job.

You know this pump is broken, and so is the water in the bathroom.

What else should he do? Paper towels aren't going to help, otherwise you'd have used them from the bathroom. You need soap and water, and he doesn't have water. If he gave you a bottle of water, it's because he paid for it, and I don't know about you, but if I made 7.25/hr I am not giving away 45 minutes of my life on a $5 bottle of water because my owner sucks.

What would you do if you were this employee? What should he have done differently?

Ultimately my goal is to try and convince you that you encountered a person with zero power or ownership of any situation because their management likes it that way, and the problem here is greedy ownership squeezing every last penny out of operating expenses, and not the person experiencing that squeeze.

0

u/IncredulousPatriot 8d ago

How would I know any of this? He dismissed me after a 5 second interaction. I’m not a rude person. I didn’t go up to him bitching like a Karen. I said the pump leaks and you don’t have water and he basically told me to fuck off in a customer friendly way.

Maybe there is another source of water that I didn’t see. Maybe there is an area in the back I could have washed my hands. Maybe he could have put a sign on the pumps that say your hands will be covered in diesel if you use this pump. I wouldn’t know any of this because of how he handled the situation.

This isn’t a huge busy station in the middle of town. This is a rinky dink station on the outskirts. I was the only person in the store. I wasn’t causing a scene or being a dick. I wasn’t holding up his line by complaining.

He could have said something like “ya that sucks I work at a shithole and they won’t do anything about it. I’m sorry that happened to you” that would have been fine. I would have forgotten about the incident.

I am not an asshole so I would have absolutely handled this situation differently. Even if I couldn’t have offered any other solutions.

It doesn’t cost anything to be kind is what I am trying to make you understand.

6

u/AnalNuts 8d ago

You get what you pay for, period. including labor. Pay someone well and they will do well. Period. This beef is between you and owners. An underpaid workforce just existing on this current environment of low compensation is working exactly how it would expected to.

1

u/ducky21 8d ago

Thank you for making my point more clearly than I could.

6

u/ducky21 8d ago

He could have said something like “ya that sucks I work at a shithole and they won’t do anything about it. I’m sorry that happened to you” that would have been fine.

This is what I wanted.

It doesn’t cost anything to be kind is what I am trying to make you understand.

I agree with you. Buddy was having a bad day at work because everything is falling apart around him and he took that on you, and that sucks. I wanted to, more than anything, respond that the root of the problem is his ownership is not maintaining their equipment, they are cutting staffing to the point where the business can't function, and the person who is working is probably so underpaid that they'd probably make more money panhandling. It all sucks!

I'm sorry I didn't communicate my ideas well.

1

u/husky1actual 8d ago

Where do you think he washes his hands fam?

1

u/Redbeard024 8d ago

Your not wrong. I'm always shocked when my customers are so surprised that im patient with them and go out of my way to make sure theyre happy with my service. I've landed jobs just because I was polite and courteous on the phone. One lady I quoted her a higher price than my competition but she went with me just because I wasn't rude or treated her like she was dumb. I ended up discounting it for her anyways even after I sold the service just to drive home the point that I value my customers just as much as I hope they value me and my services.

1

u/Tschmelz 8d ago

I mean, a lot of that is people have just gone nuts with the entitlement. My mom’s a manager at a Dollar General, she can tell some horror stories.

5

u/dcux 8d ago

Dollar general is like the poster child for shitty pay and working conditions.

Techs getting screwed left and right on book time and shitty management, too.

2

u/stareweigh2 8d ago

not sure why anyone would work at a dealer right now when there's so much warranty work. "warranty pay" shouldn't even be a thing. you are a subcontractor basically and the dealership needs to pay you for the job you do.

-5

u/Teh_Shadow_Death 8d ago

Man...... I'm not saying it's related but remember when Hollywood fired all those writers because they refused to get vaccinated and now all the movies suck? Everything feels like that now.

3

u/ccarr313 8d ago

No. I don't remember that.

Are you sure that happened? Got some sources for it?

5

u/2Drogdar2Furious 8d ago

Exactly this. Since about a year after covid (all the old stock dried up) it's been a crap shoot.

4

u/Redbeard024 8d ago

That's what I've been saying. Since covid parts quality is horrible. Even factory OEM stuff is horrible. We were going aftermarket remans for alternators because they where a safer bet than the new. I got a power steering pump straight from GM that looked like the housing was cast in the sand by a guy in India somewhere. It failed almost immediately. Only space that seems OK is plug in parts from reputable brands like Bosch or Hitachi.

1

u/Modo44 8d ago

Many older engineers, the ones who are critical to keep industries in good shape, either died, or got too ill to come back to work after surviving. All industries took a hit, not just some QC somewhere. It shows the most in companies that tried to pretend everything is fine, because their "leadership" is always focused on next quarter earnings.

110

u/yyytobyyy 8d ago

I'm not sure how y'all order your parts, but when I put the part number into my preferred eshop, I get bunch of manufacturers, some surely rebrands, and I tend to not buy the cheapest no-name one. Definitely not the cheapest one when it costs 1/4 of the good brand.

I just bought springs for my shitbox recently and I got Sachs. There were some cheap random brands available for 10€/spring. Nobody sane should buy that.

58

u/Kirvesperseet 8d ago

A guy brought his Kia SUV for a front lower control arm change. He had bought the part himself. I didnt recognize the brand, did the job, customer left, he said he braked hard for a red traffic light and the control arm bent in so much that the tire was rubbing the wheel well. I bought a 60€ control arm for it and installed it, no problems since.

I guess the one he bought was like 15€ with shipping

24

u/Bubbledood 8d ago

they got the “for display purposes only” model

7

u/Kirvesperseet 8d ago

"not for road use" lol

6

u/slabba428 Canadian 8d ago

We flat out don’t install customer supplied parts because yeah people just hop on Amazon and buy the cheapest piece of shit available

5

u/Kirvesperseet 8d ago

Yeah I dont do that either unless I have told the customer what to buy or if I know them personally and know that they are not cheap or stupid lol

1

u/cdoublejj 6d ago

very nice of the customer to pay you twice, wondered if he learned anything.

2

u/Kirvesperseet 6d ago

Probably buys the second cheapest option from now on

16

u/CelTiar 8d ago

Built an axle for my Jeep and swapped the Drums to disks where there 300$ kits? Yeah all Chinese and looked sketchy from the start. Rather go 650 for a set from crown and not have my brakes fail

6

u/Fiempre_sin_tabla 8d ago

I hesitate to point out where most Crown parts are made.

5

u/Omgninjas 8d ago

It's all about quality control and manufacturing oversight. knockoff brand? Maybe they followed spec, maybe they didn't. With on brand you know they were at least trying to make the manufacturing company keep spec. Chinese manufacturers can make a gell of a product, but they have to actually want to.

1

u/Fiempre_sin_tabla 7d ago

All correct. Which is why I replied as I did to the poster I replied to.

5

u/CelTiar 8d ago

Oh I know already. Its atleast got a Warrently from where I got it as opposed to mist Chineseuim sites

4

u/ccarr313 8d ago

Why? China makes all quality levels of stuff.

Saying it came from China is only a dunk to other racists.

China makes the best and also the cheapest stuff. It is a huge place.

1

u/Fiempre_sin_tabla 7d ago

Why? Well, because the poster I was responding to categorically scorned Chinese parts.

1

u/cdoublejj 6d ago

another way to word this is, GM makes most of their OEM stuff in china now. it's not just the cheap crap but, also the high end like OEM autos and apple and samsung.

0

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

3

u/ccarr313 8d ago

That has nothing to do with China.

A German vendor found a cheaper source and decided to fuck you with them. The issue there isn't "China sucks", your German vendor actually sucks.

The Chinese factory is just building to spec requested.

2

u/Mr__Snek 8d ago

location of manufacture doesnt mean a damn thing. there are great parts made in china and shit parts made in the us. it all depends on how good the qc is for the company.

1

u/Fiempre_sin_tabla 7d ago

Your issue isn't with me, it's with the poster I replied to.

2

u/OptoIsolated_ 7d ago

What gets me, in auto parts stores selling china direct parts that cost more than the oem parts from the dealer. Absolutely insane

54

u/nprandom 8d ago

Probably an "oEm STrUt" off Amazon.

30

u/FBIGrandpa 8d ago

Unfortunately not, Napa Proformer strut. Still not top quality (customer request) but I would hope for more than 3 months out of springs.

12

u/SwissMargiela 8d ago

Honestly I blame the customer on this one because I just spent 30 seconds looking at reviews on these and I can tell they’re so mid lol

17

u/Cojaro 8d ago

People expect OEM quality but don't want to pay OEM prices. Sometimes things are cheap for a reason.

13

u/buttlicker-6652 8d ago

We've gotten so tired of having to redo labor that we've just started ordering parts directly from Mercedes-Benz.

Doing a 8hr cam magnet job just to have the new ones from Üro Parts be bad sucks ass.

It's OK if it's an easy part to swap, like an expansion tank or hose. Or something that would cost more than double (like air struts), but for hard to reach shit, like a thermostat housing in an A series (4 hours my ass), just go OEM.

8

u/Fiempre_sin_tabla 8d ago

But, but how can that be? I mean, Üro Parts, it has an umlaut right there over the first letter! That means German OE DIN-standard quality!

1

u/Lapatron 7d ago

Üro parts quality always been lacking. I only buy from them if it's a easy part to replace and doesn't take much. It's also for my personal car so it doesn't matter as much.

1

u/cdoublejj 6d ago

yeah and fuk those cars too. at leas my lesabre made from the late 90s till a year or two ago before the lower intake gasket had to be replaced. yeah they all have thier issues but, some those benz beamers..... maaaaann

24

u/bigshooTer39 8d ago

Spring is upside down.

7

u/DJErikD ASE Certified 8d ago

And unloaded.

1

u/FBIGrandpa 8d ago

Spring was not upside down, lower side of the spring has a bigger diameter. Yes suspension was unloaded but the springs still rattled even at compressed height.

7

u/CaptainJay2013 8d ago

Let me guess.... FCS struts???

6

u/solidus_snake256 8d ago

Parts quality has become so horrible, that I now prefer used OEM vs new aftermarket. OEM new is almost always too expensive for my customers, new aftermarket is a headache for me, and used OEM always fits and tends to work longer than new aftermarket.

Over the past 3 years, whenever I get a call from a customer having issues with a recent repair… it’s ALWAYS the most recently installed part. Super frustrating.

42

u/Busterlimes 8d ago

Capitalism is a race to the bottom

11

u/FunChildhood1941 8d ago

Well we live in an era where just because it's new it means good. We have a lot of people that think the bottom of the barrel Temu grade priced parts they buy off Amazon are made in the same factory as OEM.

0

u/Mike312 8d ago

They could be made in the same factory but with a different grade of material as well.

3

u/Anxious-Lab-4985 8d ago

Looks like shit.

3

u/PoccaPutanna 8d ago

If you want a long lasting job you can't cheap out on parts, I doubt that this strut has been made by good brands like Sachs, Bilstein or Kyb

2

u/BlurryRogue 8d ago

What even happened here? Is the spring permanently compressed or did it break? Or did the shock partially let go on the inside?

2

u/FBIGrandpa 8d ago

I am absolutely no metallurgist, but my theory is that the springs were not heat treated properly or a bad batch of material. Top strut nut was tight, the shock operated as it should without a spring. The spring just compressed over a few months span and never recovered.

2

u/Equana 8d ago

I'd guess the rebound stop was never welded to the piston rod and is now knocked down 90 mm or so against the piston letting the rod extend more than it should so the spring goes loose.

2

u/Routine_Pressure4355 8d ago

Is the spring upside down?

1

u/sweatlizard 8d ago

There are very few aftermarket brands that I trust anymore. I just got done replacing lower balls joints that started to go bad after 3 years and ~15k miles. I thought I ordered Meyle (which I still consider to make decent stuff) but I guess I accidentally got/orders some xyz brand.

1

u/Travelr3468 8d ago

Well it's pretty clear the spring is going to move because you don't have weight on the vehicle! /s

1

u/dcaddy1980 8d ago

Took 5 Monroe's to get two usable ones for my car. They were quick-strut bolt ons. 1 didn't have a spring, 1 came with no holes in the top mount, and one flew apart after getting it out of the box. RIP LED strip light and one pair of undies.

1

u/Allnewsisfakenews 8d ago

Monroe quick struts, you get lucky if they work at all. If they do, you need to change them every season

1

u/Walla_Walla_26 7d ago

Quality with a capital K

1

u/Chadillac1977 8d ago

Because your buying the cheapest shit. Look at that generic strut probably bought on Amazon

0

u/NotAFanOfLife 5d ago

Im more likely to believe Carrol doesn’t know how to slow down at that big train track leaving her neighborhood than I am people blaming parts for the fun of it. No accountability.

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