Word of Mouth

["Duke and Shelly Jones" <dukeshel@xxxxxxx>]

All concerned,
     My limited experience has been such that I tend to believe in the
perceived polarity of mechanics.  While all mechanics, restorers, etc...
pursue a financial goal, some seem to do so with a stunning lack concern for
those who would provide them with valued income and refferences.  On the
other hand, some are happy to get paid for doing something they care about. 
These cherished and revered mechanics have all been introduced to me by word
of mouth.  My first hearings of the names Black Bart, Christopher Boles and
Keith Magnuson where in the context of happy reports of revived Alfa Romeos.
 Those on the opposite pole were of my own finding.
      The way I see it, word of mouth keeps ARs alive and well.  Bart, Chris
and Keith have all kept me on the road.  More importantly, they have
introduced me to other people I can trust (many on this digest)  and other
options to explore.  I don't leave my car with people I wonder about
anymore.
     I'm a young man with limited AR budget (the wife seems to believe that
sustainance is more important than new performance parts).  The gentlemen I
have mentioned have helped me make better decissions on how to make that
budget work.  And many times Chris talked me out of leaving "Supergrad" at
the bottom of Lake Shasta.  A little enthusiasm from others has kept me
going.  I get frustrated with the car and with shady mechanics, but the guys
who care help me along.  In fact, I've learned to enjoy the "keep it
running" game.  I've also learned to ask the people who I've come to trust
before getting anything done (by myself or by the hand of a real mechanic). 

      An estimate has much more value if it comes with  a good or bad review
from a fellow owner.  Were it not for such reviews, I would have sold my AR
two months after I got her.   I'm stubborn, so I had to learn the hard way. 
But, I learned.  I will probably own and restore (or with any financial luck
pay someone else to restore) many ARs before I go.  With any luck I'll turn
some more people on to ARs and keep the feever going (I only have one
convert so far).  In order to do so, I'll have to tell them who has their
cars best interest in mind. 
      After that long winded approach, let me say, word of mouth is
everything.  Alfa  isn't here to help.  Is this the propper forum to call
out a questionable mechanic?  I don't know.  But I do know it is the right
forum to suggest who might restore or repair about anything on an AR.  I'm
sure someone near WI has had a good experience with a restoration.  I bet he
knows where a good paint job could be had.   
      If the questionable mechanic is named or not, it helps to know one
should be leery in that area.  It puts even more value in the testaments of
happy AR owners.  Keep the word of mouth comming.  Some of us are listening
(and occassionally paying attention).

Still learning,

***********Duke Jones**************

"We shan't do anything even without our heads, in spite of the fact that it
is our heads that mostly interfere with our understanding."
Dostoyevsky

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