I have a similar story. In my hometown the owner of the Mercedes salon paid money for each emblem that was broken of a car's hood. It was around 2000-2005. I know this from the owner's son.
That's hilarious. Mercedes had a checkered repair history, especially US models that don't have a German equivalent or are post-merger frankensteins.
Mostly, mascot or emblem theft was a 90's media-generated gangster thing limited primarily to higher-crime areas to wear car emblems on a chain, so maybe they were gopniks but 15 years too late. Also why Rolls Royce invented the retracting bonnet mascot. They early ones were silver plated and later ones were optionally gold plated. (Of course like Porsches, Rolls Royce can and are customized, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if a solid platinum or palladium Spirit of Ecstasy exists.)
80's BMWs, Cadillacs, and Jaguars were big money makers for my dad. His dad and him bemoaned that they could've made more money if only they were dishonest. They both had experience working at dealerships as mechanics. They saw more tactics than these:
- Charging for parts not replaced (which is why you always ask to see the old parts)
- Magically finding other things wrong that need expensive, unnecessary parts (which is why you always get a written estimate before leaving, and appear to have a somewhat understanding of what constitutes the vehicle)
- Eyewash: overselling standard procedures or aspirational steps not performed, usually with the purpose of justifying higher prices and/or increasing customer satisfaction (if there's too much marketing, then you're the mark)
Also: In the US, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is 99.8% a confidence scam: it's a for-profit marketing company that sells a false appearance of authority and credibility with negligible actual due-diligence or accountability.
The “better” car companies simply design systems that force more labor hours into regular maintenance. For example, BMW’s ingenious battery placement that allows them to bill $700-$900 for 5 hours worth of work. Oh, and changing your own battery will void the warranty. Fortunately for BMW most of their clientele has enough money to not care.
Automakers absolutely know this law and my experiences with warranty coverage (as an exclusive DIYer for literally everything except warranty work, tires, and paint) is that they readily and voluntarily follow it.
A classmate of mine happened to mention once that for some early models of a particular Japanese car manufacturer (1980's I think) the engine would need to be removed in order to change the oil.
I was a professional auto mechanic in the late 80s, and I'd never even heard rumors of such a beast. I'm not going to pull the [citation needed] card, but I think this is one of those tales that got taller with the telling (Nissan 300Z's, for example, are a right PITA such that you'd briefly think that removing the engine would make it easier.)
There isn't an automotive engineer in the world that would keep their job after submitting such a design, let alone get it into production.
That is sneaky! That could backfire, too, if someone got a hold of box of those things from somewhere else. “This guy pays $10 for each so we got a box from Ali Express and sold it to him”.
The British government, concerned about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi, offered a bounty for every dead cobra. Initially, this was a successful strategy; large numbers of snakes were killed for the reward. Eventually, however, enterprising people began to breed cobras for the income.
> When the government became aware of this, the reward program was scrapped. When cobra breeders set their now-worthless snakes free, the wild cobra population further increased.
French officials wanted a lifestyle more like home, including flush toilets.
So they built a sewer system. It was a perfect breeding ground for rats.
Now, Hanoi had a rat problem.
They hired exterminators, but it wasn't enough. So they offered a bounty to anyone who would kill a rat and bring in the severed tail as proof. It was much easier for them to dispose of a collection of rat tails instead of entire rat carcasses.
The locals quickly figured out that you could remove a rat's tail without killing it, and send it back into the sewers to breed more rats with fresh young tails.
I wonder if, with the proliferation of smartphones, any government will try it again with more rules to maker it harder to game, like limiting the number that will be paid out, and requiring video evidence of the kill. It's harder to
I think you should really just require the corpse; if somebody wants to setup a trap it should be fine for them to bring a bucket of 30 corpses instead of a video where an official has to count to 30.
I suspect if you time-box the reward that'll fix the cobra effect problem. Announce that you'll only pay for dead rats for ~4 months and at least in the final month people should realize that its time to kill the golden goose and provide all the rats they have instead of breeding for more.
You seemed to use the fact that a car was used as a taxi in Europe as evidence that the car is not luxurious.
My point is that cars used as taxis in Europe are often from upmarket segments, so it's not good evidence that a car is not luxurious (relatively - we're talking MB/BMW class here).
This does not mean I'm saying that a specific Mercedes from the 1960s was or was not luxurious. I find it hard to imagine any car from the 1960s would be luxurious by modern standards, my experience of older cars is they were very much metal tins on wheels.
I was thinking of Evangelical Christians actually. Jews generally aren't in a position of power. What other remarks have I made that you think were antisemitic?
Mostly, mascot or emblem theft was a 90's media-generated gangster thing limited primarily to higher-crime areas to wear car emblems on a chain, so maybe they were gopniks but 15 years too late. Also why Rolls Royce invented the retracting bonnet mascot. They early ones were silver plated and later ones were optionally gold plated. (Of course like Porsches, Rolls Royce can and are customized, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if a solid platinum or palladium Spirit of Ecstasy exists.)
80's BMWs, Cadillacs, and Jaguars were big money makers for my dad. His dad and him bemoaned that they could've made more money if only they were dishonest. They both had experience working at dealerships as mechanics. They saw more tactics than these:
- Charging for parts not replaced (which is why you always ask to see the old parts)
- Magically finding other things wrong that need expensive, unnecessary parts (which is why you always get a written estimate before leaving, and appear to have a somewhat understanding of what constitutes the vehicle)
- Eyewash: overselling standard procedures or aspirational steps not performed, usually with the purpose of justifying higher prices and/or increasing customer satisfaction (if there's too much marketing, then you're the mark)
Also: In the US, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is 99.8% a confidence scam: it's a for-profit marketing company that sells a false appearance of authority and credibility with negligible actual due-diligence or accountability.