“Hey there, can you jump on a quick call with me in about 10 minutes?”
This was a direct message sent on Slack to me by my Director (my boss’s boss) a couple weeks ago at 9:13 a.m. on a Thursday shortly after starting my day at my corporate job. This immediately started my mind racing, because there would be only three reasons for a Director to reach out to a lowly Engineer Spec III such as myself:
1) An HR complaint
2) A drug test
3) A layoff
Pretty much this was a lose-lose-lose because any of the above three would be wicked bad (even if you’re not on drugs, if your employer thinks that you may be, that’s really not good)! The next 10 minutes are probably the longest of my entire life, until I nervously joined the conference video call with my Director, Mike.
A little background, I have been working at Verizon for the past 22 years, it’s the only job that I’ve ever had since I got out of college in ’03. I worked my way up the ladder over the past two decades, continuously attaining positions of greater responsibility and difficulty. CX/UX, Telephone Number Inventory, Supervisory roles leading various teams, Compliance, UAT testing, and finally ending up in Production Support over internal systems along with the .com site and Mobile App.
“Steve, it’s been a pleasure working with you all these years but your position has been terminated due to the company’s focus on an AI future. Thank you for your service, and if you don’t return your laptop you’ll be charged for it.”
22 years ended in about 22 seconds.
My grandfather worked for Verizon when it was called NY Telephone after he got back from Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal in ’45. Both he and his grandson worked for the same company. He got a gold watch when he retired. I got a mild threat to return a laptop.
I was 24 years old when I got that job and I was driving a five-speed, two-tone, ‘95 Sebring hardtop coupe when I applied for it. A total “straight outta college” ride. When the Verizon interviewer asked why they should hire me, I told her that I had built the car that I arrived in, out of a junkyard. I saw a look of surprise wash over her face back in ’04 that I’ll never forget. I was offered the job shortly after.
So, my life has been completely turned upside down in the past 30 days. Bills don’t stop though, and I currently have the same amount of cars that we showcased here, which is way too many for somebody who is currently unemployed.
You have to move, shake and adjust. This means you need to take a hard look at your current skill set and figure out how to make money, wicked fast! Many of my current collection of 13 cars are for sale, and I have been doing some mobile mechanic work to keep the lights on.
Let’s Wrench: Somebody Else’s Chevy
One of my best friends is a guy named Chuck, whom I have referenced over the years in a few articles, (such as what I believe to be the best piece that I’ve ever written here). Chuck owns and runs a paint shop, and has been a lifesaver to me for almost 20 years; he has painted numerous cars for me. The guy has big heart and is always paying it forward for others; he’s kinda awesome.
Anyway, upon hearing that I was down and out, Chuck wanted to help. He said that he had a customer’s car up at his shop that had lost brakes, and thus smashed into something, damaging its front end. He was putting a new front end on it, and asked the owner what he was going to do about the brakes, the owner said he planned on towing the car out of Chuck’s shop and figuring out the brakes later.
Chuck suggested that he had a buddy named Steve who was a pretty decent wrench who would slap some new brakes on it for a couple hundred bucks.
The customer agreed, and I was hired!
Ok, Now What’s Wrong With This Thing?
The next task was figuring out why this guy lost brakes and smashed into something. What he hit was never disclosed so that remains a mystery. Popping the hood I noticed that the master cylinder was completely dry, which was a huge clue. It pointed us towards the fact that the brake fluid had to go somewhere, meaning that there was a leak!
A quick peek underneath the truck fully solved the mystery of the missing brake fluid, as the right rear tire was completely soaked with brake fluid on the inside. This means either a line or the caliper was leaking. Both are pretty easy to fix!
I smiled at my good fortune, knowing that I didn’t have to reverse bleed an ABS block or deal with other, more difficult brake scenarios (ex: Google SBC brake issues on the Mercedes sl500/r230 as a great example of a gross overcomplication of the already-solved-problem of automotive brakes).
Time to grab a C-clamp and some wrenches; let’s go!
Dude, You OK Man?
Removing the tire, and squaring-up to the hub, I noticed the leak was coming from the piston boot. Popping a new caliper on this thing should be a wicked cake job I thought to myself, figuring I’d have this done shortly.
What I saw next was the absolute worst brake repair scenario in my 31 years of wrenching.
Pulling the caliper off of the caliper bracket, the caliper piston fell apart in pieces in my hand! There was no rear pad whatsoever, and the inboard side of the rotor was worn to the cooling fins!
This means that the owner of that truck went completely through the inner pad, through the steel pad backing plate, through the inboard face of the rotor, and through the rotor cooling fins until the caliper piston disintegrated!
[Ed Note: Holy crap! -DT].
I’m not sure if that charts up to willful neglect, a legendary level of laziness, or just a complete disregard for both one’s own safety and the safety of others.
In fact, the reason the truck was at Chuck’s body shop was due to it smashing into something from not having brakes after the brake fluid escaped from the blown caliper piston seal!
This is a perfect example of kicking your own ass, needlessly. None of these events had to occur.
Let’s Wrench: Cheapassery To One’s Own Detriment
The saying “pennywise and pound foolish” comes to mind for the next phase of this repair. Chuck called the owner and told him that he needed new pads, since one had completely turned to dust, and also a new rotor.
The owner, in his (continued) lack of wisdom, cheapassery and dumbassery, chose to spend $34 on new pads, but did not want to replace the rotor!
The cooling fins on a rotor are there for a reason; to cool the rotor and prevent it from warping. Not having those fins (along with necessary thickness) guarantees this rotor will be warped badly in short order. Also, the thickness of the rotor is important so that the piston on the caliper doesn’t become overextended and blow out its seal! Wicked dumb.
[Ed Note: Look below at how thin the back part of the rotor is inboard of the cooling fins. This rotor is TOAST! -DT].
I told the owner that without replacing the rotor, he’s just going to overextend the piston in the new caliper and then be forced to buy another caliper. More importantly, he would be placing himself and others in the same danger yet again that ended up with his truck smashing its front end off.
Those words of alarm and of concern fell on deaf ears as he told me to put it back together with the badly worn rotor, bled the line, and put the wheel back on.
A Feeling Of Uneasiness
The owner of the truck paid Chuck for the new front end, and I got $120 for the caliper/pad replacement job for labor.
There’s something that I’ve been focusing on lately which I found is very helpful towards my well-being on multiple levels: a focus on the things that I can control.
I can’t control the move towards AI replacing white collar human workers, and how my former employer chooses to reduce payroll costs in hopes of improving their financials and “increasing shareholder value”. I didn’t think my life would change so drastically in 22 seconds, yet that event was out of my control.
I also could not control the very dangerous decisions this truck owner was making, and he’s the one who’s going to have to live with the potential negative outcomes of his decisions. I did my part in advising him of the danger he’s placing himself and others in, and by doing the repair to the best of my ability.
I can control reducing my car collection, doing my best to write wicked-fun wrenching adventure/shitbox rescue stories here for this awesome website, and saving as many broken cars as I can from the crusher. That sounds like a great plan to me. Time shoots forward and all you can do is to try your absolute best at whatever you are doing.
And you can control the distance between you and the car in front of you, with a focus on defensive driving, as this article is yet another reminder that due to the shape of many of the cars on the road around you, doing so could possibly save your life.
It’s good to be in control. We got this.
Until next time, my Autopian friends.
88mph into the future.
More SWG below in “Related Stories“!
All photos by Stephen Walter Gossin
- I Took On A Bad GM Design In A Hail-Mary Attempt To Fix My Friends Broken Suburban But It Was Too Little Too Late
- Sparking Joy And Plugs: How To Repurpose A 31-Year-Old Junk Buick
- What I Learned Restoring A $600 Dodge Ram With A Burned Up Transmission And Ruined Interior
- How I Bought A Broken Version Of My Dream Car For $300, Then Nursed It Back To Glory And Let It Free
- Proof That A $700 Car Saved From The Junkyard Can Make Someone As Happy As A New Lambo Can
- How I Saved My Buddys’ SUV After It Died At The Most Embarrassing Possible Time
- Rescuing A 75-Year-Old Car From An Older Car Enthusiast Reminded Me How Important Every Minute We Get Doing This Truly Is
- How I Rescued A Long-Neglected Citroen 2CV Covered With Bullet Holes
- Kumho Flew Me To The Mojave To See If Their New ‘R/T’ Tires Are As Good As They Claim
- How Learning Saxophone in 1990 Led Me To Rescue A Dead Xterra From A Bouncer’s Driveway
- This Toyota Tundra Was Unstoppable, And Not In A Good Way
- How To Re-Owner And Re-Purpose A Sad 2007 Exploder In One Week
Stephen, that absolutely sucks. There’s no other words for it. I’m sorry.
But if you can turn your wrenching skills into your main income, then maybe it’s a blessing. And maybe share some highlights/lowlights on here too. I’m sure we’d all appreciate that.
If I were in the US I’d be more than happy to have you work on my car. I enjoy your articles so much, and I’m amazed at the cars you’ve fixed over the years.
For the truck driver and his brake rotors, I guess you can fix cars but you can’t fix stupid.
OH SWG, I truly am distressed to learn of your layoff. 🙁
There is no such thing as loyalty in corporate America anymore, we all are just a cost to the company that they are always looking to trim.
Keep your Chin up!! Just know that us Autopian members are rooting for you! 🙂
Most of the times I have heard about a business laying off IT people the business has had to turn around and hire them back or get new ones, sometimes at a higher rate. IT people tend to hallucinate less than large language models and sometimes the old IT person is the only one who knows how to fix the legacy systems when they break.
Best of luck SWG!
Customer is also down to the wear bars on the tires. I expect nothing less on an early 2000s GMC. This is par for the course in Philadelphia
Great article. It’s rough out there, but I hope you are able to shake off the startle of such a big change and embrace the next chapter. Although we don’t know you personally, thinking of you dragging yourself to some thankless corporate job didn’t resonate with your personality and massive potential. I really hope for the best, screw big corporations, and let’s hope that owner gains some sense fast.
“Listen sir, I understand you don’t want to pay for a new brake rotor. But you have two choices: you can either pay to have the vehicle towed to another mechanic willing to put your car back in the road with a failed brake rotor, or you can have me replace the rotor right now. Let me know what you decide.”
As someone who drives around the city with trucks that look just like this (or worse) with my toddler in the back, please say this next time. Please.
The truck owner likely believes that this is fine because he, of course, is in a truck. And not some small car that would be “unsafe”.
There’s no way to force others to do the right thing, but I agree with your concern/sentiment for the safety of others, which is why I included numerous references to that concept in the piece.
You cannot police every repair situation for every vehicle, in every state/city/town in the US, and thus force owners (who are usually too broke to fix the vehicle correctly) to perform repairs that you deem necessary or to pay for a tow.
There is no enforcement mechanism outside of calling the police on your customer (who will just write a “faulty equipment” ticket) and you cannot seize their property.
Think about the flip-side of that situation: a mechanic acting in bad faith demands you perform non-needed repairs or pay for an expensive tow based upon their arbitrary (and financially-motivated) whims. Sounds awful also.
Please don’t attempt to extend associated guilt, wrong-doing or liability upon the mechanic, especially after we pleaded with them to do the right thing and documented it.
Man, I wish WA drivers would realize that my five-length following distance is because of people like this guy, not because I want you to swoop your Lexus GX into the gap.
That’s an insanely bad looking tire no less…did it give you a sense of what was coming, or a “can’t be as bad as this.”?
So sorry to hear about your career loss. It’s little practical consolation I know, but your time spent and the expertise developed shows you were truly skilled in the craft of your work. They can take the job from you, but they can’t take that you were a professional. And in a world where amateurism is now the norm, that’s something to be very proud of. Thank you for the example you set; helps keep the rest of us inspired.
Your philosophy would make the stoics proud. Epictetus tells us everything has two handles – one with which we can pick it up, one with which we can’t – and counsels us to choose the right handle. Sounds like you did.
Another day, another talented and dedicated employee let go to improve a corporate spreadsheet. I pray this is only going to be the launchpad for a better future for you man.
Love the article, and yeah. Even in inspection states, the condition of some vehicles sharing the roadway at 70+ mph with the rest of us can be utterly shocking.
Good on ya for a job well done and giving a guy a brake for his safety, and a break on the labor price.
Saying no to a $25 to $50 part that won’t add significantly to labor while paying someone labor to do a job is wild to me. A major component in brakes it’s absolutely insane.
But I’ve heard mechanic buddies say people turned town new pads that would be done for basically cost just because they didn’t think they needed. All they can do is say then no warranty. Sometimes they will think about it $35 for a warranty becomes worth it.
I met an older guy at a trade show probably 15 or 20 years ago. That basically predicted what’s going on with ai. He said people need creativity and to be technically inclined. Always something to fall back on and new opportunities. He was warning all the engineers he met. It always stuck with me.
Great advice from the old timer.
Sorry to hear about the layoff dude, flex your network, that’s the best way to find the right place quickly. And who knows, there might be some Autopians who could help you land your next full-time gig.
Sorry to hear about that layoff. I worked in the telecom industry during it’s heyday, and every two years I was laid off, but was able to find a new job within weeks in most cases. I finally figured out that was not likely to change, and that I just liked fixing things. I was lucky to have a friend who worked for a company that needed people in the electrical maintenance field, and worked there for 5 years, before finding the exact same sort of job, closer to home and for a bit more pay. I actually liked going to work and knowing I could fix the things that broke down. I worked there until I retired. Perhaps this will work out best for you if you can figure out what you really like doing.
Wait, no Altimas? 😛
Glad I live in an inspection state just to keep these off the road. Better to pay an SWG or indepentent shop for this sort of work. At least we know the cars on our roads have tires and functioning brakes.
Me too. I used to find them annoying, but then my auto shop teacher gave me a much better perspective – he’d tell us it’s the cheapest thing in the long run, as it’ll spot (relatively) cheap to fix small problems before they become expensive to fix big problems.
Sorry to hear about the layoff!
Stuff like this is why I’m okay with mandatory annual inspections. Yes they’re a pain and cost time/money. That said they catch stuff like this before it gets to that stage. This truck would have failed because of that rotor. If the driver kept driving and let the inspection lapse, it’s not good for them.
Goddamn, I am furious on your behalf. I’ve been saying for years this is the real danger of AI. Not that it’ll make humans obsolete, or go all Terminator on us, it’s that the big boys with dollar signs in their eyes, who are definitely too smart to be fooled about things like this, you can tell they’re smart because they’re rich, won’t realize they’ve fucked up until it’s too late because they’ve already fired everybody.
Anyway, you could obviously make a career out of wrenching and writing and probably a profitable youtube channel, if you wanted it. You got all kinds of high-level skills, my man! Best and speediest of luck to you in the meantime.
Sorry to read about your misfortune. I’ll give the standard platitude that when one door closes, another one opens. I know that doesn’t help pay the bills, but everything happens for a reason.
I had a similar experience 4 years ago when I was called into the office for what I thought was my annual performance review, only to be blindsided when they explained to me that my employment there was ‘at-will’ and after 11 years, they no longer needed me in my position and that they wished me well in my future endeavors. I, too, had to return the company laptop.
But after a lackadaisical 9-week search, (I had tons of stuff to do around the house and took advantage of my newfound free-time while fighting with unemployment to get the former company to pay – a battle which I ultimately won) I was able to find a new job less than a mile from where I live. It was a small business, and the owner started me at a lower wage, but there I was a big fish in a small pond, and I was making more than the previous job within a year.
Last year I was able to retire, and everybody at the new place threw me a great retirement send-off and told me I was welcome back any time if early retirement wasn’t working out for me.
Hopefully another door opens for you soon, and your situation improves to an even better level than it was previously.
Keep on writing, though, as I enjoy your articles.
First, I’m so sorry about your lay-off, it really sucks. Second, what a great dude this Chuck is.
Then, yes, there’s only so much we can do to control what’s in front of us or by our side. Knowing that we do/did our best brings a much deserved serenity.
All the best, Stephen, hope things get better in every sense for you.
Dude this fucking sucks so bad. I’m so sorry. I was sweating that same concern for a whole week last week and it seems I just happened to catch the lucky side of the coin flip.
I’ll buy you a beer or three next time I’m down your way, I’ve been wanting to get over there all year anyhow.
Sorry our cruel capitalist system screwed you so thoroughly.
I’ve been escorted out of my office as well. Up there in my top ten suckiest days.
Also sorry you just encountered a mechanical manifestation of just about the stupidest level of human thinking imaginable.
Sorry to hear of the job loss. Shows how much these mega corps really care about you. It’s fortunate that you’re able to do this in the meantime to keep some income rolling in, as there are many people out there who sadly aren’t this lucky.
Sorry to learn of the job loss SWG. That sucks bigly.
Wishing good fortune as you search for a new one.
As to the idiot with the crap attitude about driving a safe vehicle, and his I don’t give a crap POV? If you don’t care about the safety of others there is one word that describes such a turd like person.
LOSER.
This is pretty much the best advertisement possible for mandatory vehicle safety inspections, and removing vehicles from the road that aren’t in compliance until they pass. Of course it’s in a large truck as well, which will have a higher chance of killing anyone it hits compared to something smaller.
This is the part where you document every conversation with the customer and attach your written statement to the back of the invoice the shop has. When this moron crashes into the school bus next week he’ll tell everyone he paid Steve to fix the brakes. Don’t be the fall guy.
This published article will serve to do the same as a written statement on an invoice.
Write a note in the wheel well for the next person who looks in there
There’s a thing with liability that I guess it applies on your State as well: you have to let them know exactly what you found, what you did, what should be done, and the consequences of not doing it. A signed statement may suffice. Maybe send it via text message or some other system that this moron cannot deny having received. Because that’s what he’ll say next time: “Chuck’s friend never told me anything”.
This happened to me once on an oil change. A 495,000+ mile beat to shit 2007 Express van. Did the oil change. Made eye contact with the tech writer while putting the filter on – he saw me do it.
Customer comes back and says we fucked it up, the filter shot off and we owe him an engine. Another tech does another oil change. Same thing.
The shop master tech does an oil change. Conspiracies and concerns are starting to fly about maybe needing to recall a batch of filters, maybe they’re out of spec, there’s no reason for this.
The van sits at the shop for months, goes through Claims.
Turns out they had swapped the long block and it actually needed a different oil filter (I think from an 09 – just close enough to seem to fit until there’s oil pressure). Claims told him to get bent, but I found out later he had gone all over town telling them what a shitty job we’d done, we’d ruined his van, etc etc, carefully leaving out the part where he changed out the goddamn engine without telling anyone.
Or better yet, report it to the authorities since given the secrecy around the accident, there’s probably a 99% chance it was a hit and run causing significant property damage (or worse) to someone else.
This, too.
Sorry to hear about your job loss, Stephen. Play your cards right and maybe you can finally warm Old Man Tracy’s cold, cold heart and get that Jag piece published. You’ve got shitboxes to feed!
Thank you, Buzz.
Having 4 Jags doesn’t really line up that well with $0 income at the moment, so hopefully things take a turn for the better in the near term so that those beauties can roll on and into the future.
Thanks for keeping the faith and for the kind words!
That certainly sucks. I actually quit my job over 7 years ago to deal with my dying parents. That took the better part of 5 years and now nobody wants to hire me. I’m considerably older than you are, so I certainly hope you land on your feet more quickly.
How our country hangs caregivers out to dry surely represents greed and lack of character. Hope you can land something soon, and thanks for the value you gave to society by taking care of your parents.