az mike

In my comparison TABS & Winworks were the best value for my shop. My shop is small- 5 lifts, 4 empty bays, and a small yard (about 30-35 cars). TABS was easier to use but couldn't fix my duplicate ordering problem. Winworks is always pleasant and quick to take care of us. And $50 / month for updates & tech support is as reasonable as it gets. Many people thrive on new technology, but I'd rather be sitting in my bass boat than stuck in front of a PC learning new programs & updates. This business dominated my time for years. Never again. Missed too many ball games & school stuff with my kids. Now I do everything my way and on my schedule. Now it's time to take my "grand kids" to the lake.......

Everybody's an expert here!

Been in business 32 years, 41 years experience. Have turned away 5 or 6 cars because the rotor's weren't easily removeable. Demo'ed Pro cut 10 years ago and the salesman said I would regret not purchasing it within 6 months. I have no regrets even today. For the few cars we may not be able to turn the rotors on we replace them- but that is maybe 1 car/truck a year. We have zero comebacks on our brake work (except for my wife's truck) . And my $10k is still mine.

When I 1st took them the there was a limit of 4 or 5.

Ten years ago or maybe 15 I had a "Tech" that was 5 years older than me, been doing this all his life. He had over 10 foot of tool box and had a step ladder to access the upper drawers and top of his box. Any good tech would be jealous. After several months we nicknamed him PCM Tim. 20 minutes into any diag he would order a computer. One day I took him into the parts room and told him that the pile of computers he had amassed was not going to grow anymore. If the computer didn't fix it he was buying it as we couldn't return it being "installed". He was an ASE certified Master Tech. He had no idea how an auto trans worked-nevermind be able to diag or repair one. It seems that when he signed up for the ASE tests he also purchased the books offered by the companies that got his name from ASE that promised he would pass or they would refund his registration fee. So with NO trans or differential knowledge he became an ASE Certified master tech. So does his certification really mean anything ? Not to me. I took the ASE tests years ago. I didn't study 1 minute as I felt it was a test on my personal knowledge, not on my study or memorization skills. I never failed a test. Back then I was told there were less than 2000 Master Tech's in the world and I was one of them. It felt and sounded good back then. I renewed a couple times but they finally expired in 1992. You (we) need to do a thorough interview and include some theory and operation into it. I've been to the hospital so I have some experience there-but it doesn't make me a doctor. Joe thanx for giving me a place to put my 2 cents in-worth it or not-no refunds though. Mike

This will be my last on this subject- I believe that software is not so special that it doesn't have a finite value. If you build something it should be worth a certain value. As Americans we should have a choice to buy or subscribe as we choose. The subscription idea and on-going upgrades is good for some, just not me. And how much more do we really need? If a system works well then I shouldn't have to pay for it every month -I paid what it is worth (or at least what we agreed upon) especially if there are no upgrades that benefit me. I neither need or want "marketing tools" . I don't want to text my customers. I want to talk to them. I can speak MUCH faster than text and if the customer doesn't understand I am right there to clarify what I said or what they may have misunderstood. I was thinking that charging a subscription or membership fee to my customers would be a great way to have a steady income and I can work when I feel like it and Fish or Golf when I don't . I can tell them I am working on ways to upgrade the way we fix their cars (whether or not it benefits them) and if I work on it 3 hours a month I am not lying as I am actually doing "something" . I am not saying there are a lot of companies doing this but there are so many that have too many "holes" in their system that it seems they can't be working too hard to provide the "upgrades & service" they are charging for. Every year we have to pay OTC, FORD, CHRYSLER etc. for upgrades or we get behind on the repair info ,wiring diagrams ,etc. But this is info that has changed -sometimes drastically from last year, and it includes new models that have never existed before. All these updates and subscriptions take away from my bottom line- and isn't that why we work? A shop management program only does so much, And I personally don't want to have to do $500+ a month more in work to pay for it. I'd rather go home on time tonite. "GRAMPS" (THE DUMB ONE). July 1st, 2016-our 32nd year in this business.

I was told that a software company can not "legally" keep you from accessing your previous records /transactions . Does anyone know how to contact whoever enforces these laws? Napa Tracs told me that when we left. And we "can" still access all our stuff. Another company has locked us out so we "CAN NOT" access our records.

Opinions are like ............ and don't be surprised that I put no value in yours. If you buy something that is constantly updated to keep up with what??. A quality product can be built without having to be fixed monthly. Subscriptions are designed to keep you paying them every month for a product you should be able to buy & own. I don't pay for Quick books or Windows updates every month but like a car I can buy the newest version "if or when I want to". Mine worked fine but just looking for a "newer model". Security is not an issue if your system is not "web based". "" This thread was supposed to be about different software - not YOUR opinion on what I should do in my shop."" After 31 years in business I think I'll do it MY WAY. no reply wanted or needed, I'll not continue with you on this. Let's get back on topic or not.

I will look at Baymaster, thanx. We tried Napa Tracs a few years ago-what a disaster! "Scrip"- not happening. $300 or more per month? My DOS system has run without any update problems or crashes since 1993. Paid about $3500 into it (including windows update I never got) til 12/2014- minus 1 1/2 years with napa tracs ($4125). That puts me in at about $14.22 a month cost since I bought it. No price changes or contracts and haven't made a payment on it since Jan. 2000. (Y2K update) Though there were many benefits to the windows system it didn't offset the cost of the subscription.

This is enough to make me want to quit !! We just bought TABS but they can't make it work! The support people are great but they can't fix it. When they do it creates another problem. I have been using Autoshopwriter DOS since '93 and it has features TABS doesn't. Unfortunately it is run by a Jerk. We paid for the windows update & y2k fix at the end of 1999. We never got the Windows update. The salesman told us it still had "bugs" and to wait a few months-we did. When we tried to get it a few months later "Tim" (owner) told us he had made some changes and we had to buy it all over again at "full price". Too hard to sue him out of state and he knew it...... I refuse to buy into a "subscription" so what's out there that really works? I have a small shop with 5 bays / 3 techs and can't afford the big $$$ stuff. I don't mind paying for something but I want to own it at some point. Except for the 1st lease all equipment I have leased since I make sure has a $1 buy out at the end of the contract & then we own it. "old school stubborn"

I've owned Autoshop Writer since 1993. It was pretty good then. But when Y2K hit we bought the windows upgrade & Y2k fix. About 2 grand. The salesman Tom told us to wait a few months before calling for it because they still had "a few bugs to work out" . After being told the same thing and waiting patiently we finally asked if we could get what we paid for. Tom no longer worked for the company so we had to call "Tim" the owner. He told me that he had sent out postcards to the people that had paid for it and we never replied back so tough shit! He had done many "upgrades to the system and we would have to pay several hundred dollars to get any type of upgrade. I refused to give him any more money so I never got what I paid for, Be careful!

We do a big percentage of diesel pickup work. A lot of our customers are either farmers or horse people. When Ford started with the 6.9 in '83 one of my customers bought one of the very first one's sold. Being we did all their work (about 6 trucks) I decided to be the best diesel pickup mechanic around. Today my shop is utilized by people all over Arizona, including other shops. I get my share of the DIY guys looking for info. I give them a little time and then tell them I need to get back to my business. So far we've gotten quite a bit of work from them but even more referrals. Though we don't get too deep into the true high performance part I do have my recommendations for products and ideas. I never argue over what's better, just tell them that my experience is this and that's what we recommend. It doesn't hurt that at the local truck and tractor pulls I blew out the competition with a near stock 2003 Ford 6.0. I prefer to make my money with proper diagnosis and being able to do the job right and usually at a better price than the other shops. There is so much misdiagnosis out there that we get a lot of work after the other guys did it wrong. But as many of you have said we do the Kia's, Hyundai's, the Focus's, Cavalier's and whatever else they drive. I want ALL the cars and trucks in the family. Fewer customers with more vehicles is a better way to go in my book, instead of the other way around. Just my 2 cents worth- and I still may be overcharging!

I live 15 miles from where the Gifford's incident happened, and I have talked with the officer that pulled him over earlier that day. He acted odd but that's not against the law. The only people who could've acted because of his behaviour that day were his parents. And they tried to talk to him but he walked out. No one had any idea he was capable of what he did. I owned the exact same type of pistol he used and it did nothing wrong. Yes it is the people- not the gun. And it has been pointed out that these type of incident's have become drastically more frequent since we started treating things like anger and depression with drugs.

I'd have read it for him................................for 60 bucks. And for that he gets a quick visual inspection. I didn't buy my scanners for people to get free use of. I need a return on my investment. Autozoo does it for free fully expecting to sell him parts related to the code. That is return on their investment. Others want me to print out the flowchart for the code- Sorry! I again have an investment there too! The cobra in my avatar does 0-75 mph in 4.3 seconds in the sand.. The only reason it doesn't do 0-100 in 3.5 seconds is I already lost too much time(money) with people like them.