How much is service?

Last year the Fuso Szulc was equipped with Bilstein shocks.
And the front left springs did get an extra blade.

This +/- $ 2.000 job was the responsibility of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre, the Mitsubishi truck dealer, in San Diego, USA.
However, they subcontracted partly the job to a small company specialised in springs.

The result of this intervention was that after a short time the front of the Fuso Szulc was higher than the back.



This was of course brought to the attention of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre.
And like everybody else, they saw something was not done well.

However, the subcontractor, so Kearny Mesa Truck Centre informed, responsible for the job on the springs did not give guarantee.
They took the position that making the truck level would be another job for which had to be paid.
Hence, nothing happened.
Because Kearny Mesa Truck Centre was not willing to pay nor was the customer.

As of then, repeatedly this issue of the truck not being level has been brought to the attention of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre.
But never a decision was made to fix this problem.

The last months the Fuso Szulc got a subframe.
The pivot was eliminated and the camper box was mounted rigid to the truck chassis.
Again, this was a job assigned and accepted by Kearny Mesa Truck Centre but subcontracted to a small company in El Cajon, USA.

With this subcontractor serious problems were experienced for the priority he gave to the job.
The subcontractor took off the camper box and next didn’t do anything for weeks.
Except making promises that were not honoured.
When the job was done, after more than 8 weeks, the subframe was not made correctly.
The front part that had to rest on the higher section of the truck frame was over an inch above it.
The Fuso Szulc had to go back to the subcontractor and it took another week to fix that.
But then the subframe was fine except for two things.
One thing was the repairs that had to be made to the Fuso Szulc due to the actions of the subcontractor.
Taking the camper box off and putting it back by the subcontractor resulted in a broken XM-radio antenna, a leaking water tank and a broken weather centre.
These things were fixed by Kearny Mesa Truck Centre.

But the other thing was that the camper box was not level on the truck chassis.
The subcontractor had made a mistake in his calculations.
It is one inch off.
The front of the camper box is one inch lower than the end.
Therefore, it is in an angle.
Yesterday the Fuso Szulc went to the neighbour of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre.
A company that aligns and balances wheels.
Arcs springs and installs shock absorbers.
Paul, the expert of this company, could easily see that the front of the truck was higher.
And was even one inch off from side to side due to failed levelling of the springs by the subframe builder of El Cajon.

The job to be done was to level the truck by arcing again the springs.
And to level the camper box by lifting up the front one inch.
Simple jobs.
Paul asked $ 400 to do it.

So, again a discussion was entertained with Ron Lucero, the service manager of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre about the situation.
To fix what was not done right.

Ron Lucero admitted that the truck and the camper box were not level and that this had to be corrected.
But not by his neighbour.
The Fuso Szulc, in his opinion, had to go back to the subcontractor that had made the subframe.
The man who had been demonstrating to be totally unreliable.
So much so that Kearny Mesa Truck Centre themselves have decided not to do any business with the man anymore.
Nevertheless, the Fuso Szulc had to go there again and who could say that the job would be done properly this time?
And who could say how long it would take for the subcontractor to do this job this time?
A job he would not be paid for, therefore having low priority.

It was made clear to Ron Lucero of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre that as a customer it was unacceptable that the Fuso Szulc had to return to a subcontractor who had been demonstrating in different ways to be incompetent.
To return there was equal to getting new complications, costs and frustrations.
While the company next door of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre could fix the problems easy, quickly and effectively.
But Ron Lucero of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre could not be convinced.
And why?
Because the company next door had to be paid from the pockets of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre while the subcontractor who made the subframe would have to do the job without Kearny Mesa Truck Centre having to pay for it.

Kearny Mesa Truck Centre has been paid over $ 15.000 to have the subframe made and an extra spring installed.
That project ran in all kinds of costly problems due to the unreliability of the subcontractors.
And next, to save $ 400, Kearny Mesa Truck Centre wanted the customer to return to the misery.

Whatever was said to Ron Lucero of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre, it was to no avail.
That Kearny Mesa Truck Centre themselves would never do business with the subcontractor was not even an acceptable argument.

Nothing could be done.
Except to deicide as a customer to pay the $ 400 from the own pocket, to bypass Kearny Mesa Truck Centre in spite of the $ 15.000 paid to them, and have the company next door fix the problems.
Obviously to the delight of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre who would have one problem less on their plate.

Next, an erratic plan was made by Ron Lucero of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre.
The subcontractor in El Cajon was to take off the springs of the Fuso Szulc and bring them over to the neighbour of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre to have them de-arced.
A one and a half hour trip.
After de-arcing the springs were to go back to the subcontractor.
Another one and a half hour journey.
How those two companies were going to coordinate exactly how many inches of de-arcing was needed remained a mystery.
Let alone what would happen if it needed a second adjustment.
And how many days would this take?
While the Fuso Szulc, without its springs in the shop in El Cajon and the owner again in a motel waiting?

It looked like walking into a trap.
To be stuck again for days and days.


Seeing disaster, new frustrations, new sloppy work, new loss of time and extra costs, Paul of the company next door was asked what would be his lowest price to do the job.

He said he would be honest with us.
That he paid his mechanics $ 25 an hour.
That he expected the job to take 8 hours of work.
And that he was willing to charge $ 200 for the job to help us out.

Next, all eyes were on Ron Lucero of
Kearny Mesa Truck Centre.
All problems and complications could be solved by avoiding a person so unreliable
Kearny Mesa Truck Centre themselves had banned him and by paying the neighbour $ 200 out of the $ 15.000 received earlier.

But even $ 200 was for Ron Lucero of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre not an option.
The Fuso Szulc back to the subcontractor, period.

There was nothing else to do but to decide to have the problems fixed by the neighbour and pay the $ 200 out of the own pocket.
And to say to Ron Lucero of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre that his customer for two years who has spent almost $ 60.000 at his company was not pleased at all.



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