Stealing parts from our beloved customers!

[m3c0]

Hi mates! Did you find out how to screw up our customers most efficiently? :D
Im trying to figure out how the mechanics of the game work if you want to be the a$$hole.

Thats what I could find out until now:

1. Condition of the customer car after fixing it and stealing some other good parts doesnt really matter. Two examples:

• Condition before repairing and stealing parts from car 1 (suspension and brakes issues): suspension 68%, components 69%, frame 70%, interior 70%.
  -> after repairing all broken parts and stealing some good parts: suspension 68%, components 75%, frame and interior - same as above.
  -> which means 6% difference, but I couldnt finish the job - "car is in worse condition" message.
  -> some parts back: suspension 68%, components 77%, frame and interior - the same.
  -> 8% difference - Job finished!
  
  
• Condition before repairing and stealing parts from car 2 (gearbox and brakes issues): suspension 80%, components 82%, frame 80%, interior 79%.
  -> after repairing all parts and stealing some parts: suspension 80%, components 83%, frame and interior - same as above.
  -> 1% difference - "car is in worse condition" message.
  -> some parts back: suspension 80%, components 86%, frame and interior - the same.
  -> 4% difference - Job finished!

2. I think what really matters is the amount of stolen parts, not their value or condition. The easiest way to screw up your customers is to steal their gearboxes. Do you want to get some nice V8 gearbox and a clutch pressure plate (value: more than 1500$)? No problem! Just swap it with your 10% junk. But if you try to swap 3 brake pads (value: 120$) you get the message "car is in worse condition..."

Please note: I used junk parts only (less than 20%) for the swaps. No idea how it will be if you replace a 92% part with a 80% one, for example.

3. Im not sure how things work when replacing doors, headlights etc., but I think it should be the same. I only noticed, that when you replace good body parts with bad ones, the overall condition of the suspension gets worse. Why - no idea.

So, if you want to be the "bad guy" in this game, the easiest way to do so is to swap the customer's gearbox with your junk. Trying to replace brakes or suspension parts is just waste of time. Focus only on one or two, but very expensive parts. Thats what I can say for now. Do you guys have some other tips or hints how to become a better "bad guy"? :)

[Chaotiс_Evil]

it doesnt make sense in this game though ... :( cause money go to easy .. and they do not add challenges for those scams .. no achievements .. nothing ..

[Doc Savage]

Any repair job has a minimum % listed. Any part you want to put on above that % works. You can replace any part with another as long as you're over that %. Doesn't apply to restorations or story missions, they have to br 100% if you want the dollars. But it does leave the door wide open to any alternate interpretations.

You can definitely be rectal, over anal-yze and steal your customers blind.

Sad part is, that is actually simulated behavior for some shops. I've seen some pretty horrible things in my past lives...

At the end of the day...there's just you, your conscience and any survalence equipment knowing any different.

[m3c0]

Originally posted by Chaotiс_Evil:

it doesnt make sense in this game though ... :( cause money go to easy .. and they do not add challenges for those scams .. no achievements .. nothing ..

Yes, its true - if you do the jobs properly (and without wasting too much time) you can earn much more money. Doing things the right way is just more efficient. And thats the way it should be. Im not doing this for the money. I just want to know how the game works!

Originally posted by Doc Savage:

Any repair job has a minimum % listed. Any part you want to put on above that % works. You can replace any part with another as long as you're over that %. Doesn't apply to restorations or story missions, they have to br 100% if you want the dollars. But it does leave the door wide open to any alternate interpretations.

You can definitely be rectal, over anal-yze and steal your customers blind.

Sad part is, that is actually simulated behavior for some shops. I've seen some pretty horrible things in my past lives...

At the end of the day...there's just you, your conscience and any survalence equipment knowing any different.

Im happy that the "alternate interpretations" are not that many. Those restrictions about the amount of parts you can steal (you just cant turn your customer's car into a piece of crap and give it back to him) are really nice. But I think the value and condition of the parts should be taken into consideration too. Its ridiculous to be able to replace a 92% gearbox by a 10% junk and get away with that!

And yes, I dont want to offend anyone, I know there are many many nice mechanics out there IRL who do a great job every single day. But unfortunately there are lots of guys who really do such things. Those dudes not only rob their customers but put their lives at risk... Which is the saddest thing about it.

On the other hand, the game is called "Simulator". It has to "simulate" things - not only the good ones in life. Such kind of fraud should be part of the game.

Ok, I think it got too serious here. Its still just a game. Better being an a$$hole in a single player game than in RL :)

[Evandar]

Hello. I know I'm a few years late to the party, I got the game in the Ukraine Humble Bundle. I honestly don't care if someone sees my message, I just felt like sharing my thoughts and this seems to me like a good enough outlet.

I was also really intrigued by this scam mechanic. I also discovered that if you have to repair a part, you can just switch it with another part of the same type from the same car and it counts as repaired. For example, if you only need to repair the front left brakes, you can just switch them with the front right brakes.

This blows my mind, because you literally did not fix anything and just moved stuff around. But wait, it gets worse. Since you "repaired" the part, it is considered as money spent. This means that you charge the customer for his own part, which you swapped (based on the %).

About the efficiency: While it's not worth wasting too much time stealing parts, if you have to mount a part any way, it's easy money. For example, if I have to replace an ABS Pump, I have to mount and unmount the ABS Module and that's 700$, so why not.