Rocky,

I think that a small but significant percentage of the 'lost' repairs could be attributed to licensed repair techs that don't want their name associated with a repair that they were ordered to perform, but that they know was incomplete due to an incomplete, incompetent or non-existant diagnosis from someone else, like the car owner or service manager.

An example (hypothetical, of course):

(Tech): "The 81 Cutlass failed; all of the emissions numbers were semi-crappy, but the HCs were a little above the cut-point, and the timing was four degrees advanced."

(Customer/Boss): "The timing, huh? Do you think that it'll pass if you just set the timing?"

(Tech): "I'm not a fan of throwing parts or adjustments at something that obviously has multiple problems to diagnose, but the answer to your question is 'Maybe'."

(Customer/Boss): "Set the timing and re-test it."

(Tech): "Yes, sir (unintelligible mumbling). And if it fails again?"

(Customer/Boss): "That's a negative attitude. I'm pretty sure on this one ... just set it and run it, and if it doesn't make it, I'll let you figure out what needs to be done next."

Michael Barry
Technician
Quick Stop Smog & More
Sacramento, California, USA