Grease The Wheels Podcast

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Episode 316: Safety…Last! Mar 20, 2025

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On this week’s Episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy takes a look at some of the real world ramifications of Texas discontinuing their state vehicle safety inspections. The first thing that stood out to us was that it was in fact similar to those in New York, and in fact throughout most of the Rust Belt where we know they are a really good idea. Entropy is the name of the game here, and if something is too rotten to be safe, or tires are too bald to provide adequate traction — they need to go. We also get into some of the socioeconomics of the state safety inspection, and how this has altered our own perceptions of this subject over time. When we we’re young and broke, we hated it! When we had seen some stuff and learned some stuff, we we’re a lot more understanding of why they are important. Bottom line, relying on the common sense of vehicle owners is, really without a doubt, one of the worst parameters we have ever seen. We have seen the “common sense” of vehicle owners and it usually ends up on “Just Rolled In”

Also Uncle Jimmy talks his favorite ways of evading(and altering) police attention while having an out of date inspections!

Episode 315: You Know you’re Eff’d: Part 3 Feb 27, 2025

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On this episode of Grease The Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes for the trilogy of things that you see roll into your shop that spell doom, because you know you’re eff’d. From poorly done wraps, to harlequin models of cars that are not 90s Golf’s, and underbody lights, there are a lot of things that we see that spell doom and gloom for our profit margin. Seeing an old car that is still being daily driven darkening your door is somehow more of an omen of impending doom than the banshee’s howl, while seeing car club stickers on a PT Cruiser was just hilarious. We’d like to throw a shoutout to Sibley, Iowa and somehow this series gets a part 4 at a later date. It’s the one series that you have nodded along to at least once — and hopefully hasn’t caused any weird synchronicities where you hear about it in the podcast and it immediately shows up in the shop!

Also Uncle Jimmy goes thermonuclear on marketplace sellers who sell as “parts only” and explores of the concept of “Convertible Sunk Cost Fallacy”

Episode 314: Location, Location, Location! Feb 13, 2025

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy comes up with a list of interview questions for mechanics to observe and take into account when they are looking to move to a new shop. Is there enough parking, are there enough bathrooms, and where exactly did all of these dead and abandoned cars come from? There are tons of criteria that we use when evaluating where we are going to work, but this episode brings a lot of them to life with some of the most insane examples you’ve ever heard!

Also Uncle Jimmy side hustles as a garage door repairman

Episode 313: It’s a New Year Jan 29, 2025

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On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes to practical goal building mode for 2025. Getting better isn’t going to be negotiable in 2025, as the pace of technological change in the cars is continuing at break-neck speed. Look at the year end total for your W-2, divide it by your hourly rate and that gets you near how many hours you worked. This of course isn’t taking into effect all of the house that you turned but didn’t get paid for! It also doesn’t get into the amount of hours that you quoted. All oof these numbers are easy to figure out and give you a good idea of the value that you bring to your company. So needless to say, if you don’t like something, Grease the Wheels!
Also Uncle Jimmy discovers Gasoline particulate filters.

Episode 312: You Know You’re Eff’d When…Part Deux Jan 16, 2025

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On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy revisits some of the common signs and portents of things that you know are going to result in a rough day in the shop. From bullet holes and hypodermic needles, to an entire goodwill inventory of clothes in a trunk where you need to replace a battery, there is little limit to the chaos and carnage that customer roll in on a daily basis. We also go into a scientific breakdown for an answer to every single complaint about a sunroof.

Also Uncle Jimmy pulls off a flawless Moody Blues reference while really hammering home just how old he is with the price of batteries.

Episode 311: Special K Plan Dec 11, 2024

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On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy lifts the cover off of one of the truly weird and genuinely innovative technician/mechanic development programs: The K-Plan. Developed with the help of people way smarter than us, the K-Plan lays out all of the areas of knowledge that someone will need to be successful as a mechanic, with tailored resources for that particular shop. It utilizes technician development bonuses to encourage institutional and brand specific knowledge in order to lead to more developed technicians that can make you more money. Long story short you get to send the work that you have to the people that can do it, while keeping track of the pace of development of the staff within your shop. Want to learn more? Need it in your shop ASAP - hit us ups on the Facebook page!
Also Uncle Jimmy prepares to vacation somewhere with an average temperature 30 degrees lower than his current location.

Episode 310: You Know You’re Eff’d When…Part 1 Nov 27, 2024

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy gets back to proper form and takes customers to task. Every area has that one shop that when you see a car roll in with their plate frames, you know you’re (more specifically the customer) are eff’d. Dozens of bumperstickers, turning your interior into a series of various claymore landmines and much, much more! This series literally wrote itself, but if you have some specific examples please let us know over on the Facebook page.

Also Uncle Jimmy wishes you all a very happy Thanksgiving and corroborates some hilarious family lore.

Episode 309: School Dayz Nov 13, 2024

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy unveils the K-Plan. This is a system that shops and dealerships can use to basically build a farm system for their new technicians while rewarding the technicians that train them to a level of autonomous productivity. It benchmarks what people know against what the new people have to learn, providing clear expectations for knowledge and how a shop wants things done. We also get into the Master-Apprentice relationship and what that needs to be like for long term success. We have been working on it for a while, and that is why the episodes have been bi-weekly! We finally needed it so bad, that we ended up building it!

Also Uncle Jimmy calls his shot and does an impression of the outgoing president.

Episode 308: Mean Disposition Oct 30, 2024

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On this weeks episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy gets into how to get along with your coworkers better. As the weather begins to cool, yes even in Texas, the doors of the shop are going to stay closed more often and you’ll be working in closer quarters. The better that you all get along determines the overall vibe in the back of the house as well, so try to be helpful and courteous. Creating a cohesive atmosphere in the shop is important to getting along, which can make you more money in the long run and lead to lower turnover.
Also Uncle Jimmy keeps it above the belt when it comes to service advisors.

Episode 307: Calm, Cool, and Collected Oct 16, 2024

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy wades into the foggy, brutal game that is internet reviews. In many ways reviews are one of the most important parts of your business, often taking massive precedence in the way that your company appears through search results. This allows customers to quickly form an opinion on your company, with huge potential upsides when you treat customers right. However, in the situation of many auto repair shops, the customer comes with preloaded anxiety about how long their car is going to be broken, and how much it is going to cost to fix. This makes for a delicate balance of realism and optimism, entirely decided by what the rest of your shop has going on at that particular moment. Managing customer expectations and setting them up for a better user experience is key, but in the end sometimes bad reviews cannot be avoided. Bottom line, this is an important part of your brand voice, and getting it right in a timely manner is key to continued success on the internet.

Also Uncle Jimmy makes the perfect onomatopoeia for a flat tire.

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