Stories of INCOMPETENT MECHANICS - post yours!
I did all my own mechanical work on my first car.
Never had a problem with a repair.
Ever since my second car, I have had bad luck with
mechanics. My problem is that I really know cars
and proper mechanical procedures, so I notice
things that many people may not. I am sure that
many of us in Maintenance and Repair have stories
of repairs that were done improperly, sometimes
leaving the car in worse shape than before. I have
many such stories, so I will start out. As others
post their stories, I'll jump back in and add some
more.
Beyond the satisfaction of merely venting at the
frustration that a botched repair job creates,
perhaps our stories will provide us with an
education of what can go wrong and what to look
for. And for you mechanics, please don't take
these postings as a personal assault. You know
that there are good mechanics and bad ones. These
stories are about the bad ones.
Here are two stories about my second car, many
years ago:
While installing new tires, the mechanic used an
impact wrench and actually stripped the splines off
the wheel lugs, so when I later tried to remove
the wheels, the lugs just turned in the hub. I
removed the hub assembly and found the lug hole was
reamed out. I had to have the base of each lug
welded to the hub to keep it from turning.
I had a brake job done. My car had drum brakes
which used a special type of adjuster that fit
through a hole in the lining to sense the thickness
of the lining. The mechanic left out a part upon
reassembly that resulted in the adjuster grinding a
deep groove in the drum, ruining it. He also
rebuilt the wheel cylinders, they lasted six months
and leaked.
I only kept this car 18 months. Wait until you
here the stores of the next car...
Never had a problem with a repair.
Ever since my second car, I have had bad luck with
mechanics. My problem is that I really know cars
and proper mechanical procedures, so I notice
things that many people may not. I am sure that
many of us in Maintenance and Repair have stories
of repairs that were done improperly, sometimes
leaving the car in worse shape than before. I have
many such stories, so I will start out. As others
post their stories, I'll jump back in and add some
more.
Beyond the satisfaction of merely venting at the
frustration that a botched repair job creates,
perhaps our stories will provide us with an
education of what can go wrong and what to look
for. And for you mechanics, please don't take
these postings as a personal assault. You know
that there are good mechanics and bad ones. These
stories are about the bad ones.
Here are two stories about my second car, many
years ago:
While installing new tires, the mechanic used an
impact wrench and actually stripped the splines off
the wheel lugs, so when I later tried to remove
the wheels, the lugs just turned in the hub. I
removed the hub assembly and found the lug hole was
reamed out. I had to have the base of each lug
welded to the hub to keep it from turning.
I had a brake job done. My car had drum brakes
which used a special type of adjuster that fit
through a hole in the lining to sense the thickness
of the lining. The mechanic left out a part upon
reassembly that resulted in the adjuster grinding a
deep groove in the drum, ruining it. He also
rebuilt the wheel cylinders, they lasted six months
and leaked.
I only kept this car 18 months. Wait until you
here the stores of the next car...
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Comments
Since you are the parts and service director, I feel this complaint should be directed to your attention.
On September 8, I noticed a severe grinding noise coming from the right front brake of my 1993 F-150. I brought it in on the 9th, explained to Andy what the problem was, and he said they'd get right to work on it. The next day, ha told me it was ready. The pad had worn completely out, which surprised both Andy and myself, since at the time the truck was only seven months old (see in-service date on the attached receipts). The calipers had dug so deeply into the rotor that it could not be resurfaced and had to be replaced. This was covered completely by warranty. [receipt #1]
On October 9, both the ABS and brake warning lights came on and stayed on. I had no choice but to drive with this condition during the rest of the weekend, but brought the truck immediately to Pasquin Monday morning, the 11th. I told Willie about the lights and that was also a clunking sound coming from the brakes that picked up speed as the vehicle did, but stopped when the brakes were applied and was replaced by steady squeal. On Tuesday, Willie told me the truck was ready. He said the ABS module had died and the clunking noise I heard was the brakes locking and not releasing. [receipt #2] Later that evening, I was out with some friends when I heard the clunking again. Now knowing what it was, I quickly took them home and drove carefully back to my home. Wednesday morning (October 13), I called Willie and told him that the brakes were locking again. He asked me to bring it down, which I immediately refused to do, considering the situation, and told him to send a tow truck for it. Willie gave me the number of Twin Towing in Belleville (instead of calling them himself), who arrived at my house about 8:45am.
That afternoon, Willie told me the truck was ready. When I go there, he told me that the brake seals were bad and were replaced. If you look at receipt #3, it is hand-written that the calipers were rebuilt - nothing about the seals is mentioned. I drove off the lot and got exactly two miles. The front end vibration at 45 (which didn't exist before) was so bad that I could barely keep my hands on the wheel. The vibration then stayed as the vehicle braked to a stop in a condition similar to power-hop on rough road. I drove it right back, and as I came around the showroom, I heard a steady scrape-and squeal coming from the brakes, that like the clunking, picked up speed as the vehicle did, and was replaced by steady squeal when the brakes were applied. I told Willie about these situations, and offered to demonstrate them. He came with me on a brief test drive up 17, but upon returning to Pasquin, said he could not feel or hear the problems. "Fine. You drive it then," I told him. Naturally, he couldn't keep his hands on the wheel either, mentioning it felt as though the front tires were actually leaving the ground. He also now heard the scrape and squeal I mentioned coming from the brakes. At this point it was well after 5, and Willie told me there was nothing that could be done about it today, and to bring it back Thursday morning. He assured me that the truck was safe to drive, otherwise he would not release it. After noticing the front tire wear, which I am used to seeing with the Twin-Traction-Beam suspension but thought it was a little advanced, Willie felt there was front end work necessary. He assured me that the truck would be fixed right this time.
Thursday afternoon, I called to see what the diagnosis was. He said that there was major front end work needed. The shocks were blown and the tie rods were shot. It would definitely not be ready that day, but to call Friday (October 15). On Friday afternoon, he said a part was ordered that had to come from Michigan because no dealer in the area had it, with the truck being a 93. He expected the part to arrive either late Monday or early Tuesday, so the truck would be ready either late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Willie also said that the front tires would be replaced as part of the repair. I called Monday afternoon to see if the part had arrived. Willie told me it had not. Calling on Tuesday and Wednesday resulted the same way, the part had still not arrived. On Thursday the 21st, I called to learn that the part had arrived and work had already begun. All that was left to do was install the tires and do an alignment, and that the truck would be ready, at the latest, noon Friday. Note here that I was always the one making the calls; Willie never called me to keep me abreast of what was going on, but he said he would call me Friday morning. By 11am, I still had not heard from him, so I called. Willie told me there was a slight delay (of what I was never told), but the truck would be ready after 2pm. Normally, I would already be at work by then, so I called my office and told them I would be a little late.
I got to Pasquin about 2:15. Willie was not there, but Andy said he'd find out what was going on with my truck and walked down into the shop. Pat turned around and said "Oh, Mr. Jackson? Your truck is out being road-tested." Andy came back a minute later and told me that the tires were being mounted. My dad, who had brought me down, walked out and saw the truck out at the rear of the lot, the old worn front tires still on. Just as he came back up to the building to tell me this, we both saw a mechanic drive by with it. Since obviously no one knew what was going on, we went out onto 17 to look for it. Since thr truck was equipped with General tires, we checked the General shop up the road to see if it was there. No. We got back to Pasquin, where my dad dropped me off, because he had to leave. It's now 3:15. Willie has returned. He tells me the truck is being aligned and it should be ready in about 15 minutes. I stand and wait until 4:30 (not 3:30, 4:30!) when Willie comes up to me and apologizes for the delay, saying the mechanic was having trouble with the alignment machine, and it should be done in about 10 minutes.
At about 4:50, a mechanic pulls the truck up to the door, and walks inside. I went out to look at it. The new tires were on, but I could not tell that any suspension parts were changes (it was just as dirty under there as before). Willie came out and handed me the keys, telling me to drive it this weekend and to call him on Monday to let him know how it was. Assuming the necessary repairs were made, I drove out onto 17 when I discovered that the steering wheel was far from straight and the vehicle pulled so strongly to the left, that if I took my hands off the wheel, I made an instant lane change. Taking the left lane ramp from 17 north to 46 east, which is a very hard right turn, I nearly slammed into the opposite curb because the pull left was so strong. I felt like I was arm-wrestling to get the truck to the right. The vibration was also still there, and when I made it to my office parking lot, there was the familiar scrape-and-squeal out of the brakes.
I immediately called Willie, understandably furious. I told him that ALL of the problems were still there, and now the left pull has appeared. This just came off an alignment rack?? He asked me if I could bring it back; I said yes if I get reimbursed a full day's pay (8 hours x $18.00 per hour), since I wouldn't get back to the office in time to do anything. He told me he would have to check with his manager (I'm assuming that would be you), but after a minute on hold, told me the manager had left already and he would have to look into that on Monday, but nevertheless he would have a loaner vehicle waiting for me when I got there. I asked him for a copy of the final report, not the pre-write, and I wanted the name of the mechanic when I got there. He told me he would have it; I told him not to leave until I returned. I got there about 6:10. It took Willie five minutes to find the receipt, which as you can see [#4] is the pre-write with some handwritten notes on it. He showed me that the center link and the tie rods were replaced and an alignm
Bill:
Since you are the parts and service director, I feel this complaint should be directed to yoent was done, in addition to the new tires. Nowhere is any mention of new shocks, which as mentioned above, were supposedly blown. When I asked him what was done to the brakes that I still have the problem, he replied "Nothing." Curbing the urge to beat the hell out of him right then and there, I asked why nothing was done, when he experienced the problem himself. His reply: "We felt it wasn't necessary because we thought it was part of the suspension problem." I responded, "So you never checked the brakes at all?" He said that was correct. Naturally, the loaner vehicle was not there; instead, a rep from Enterprise Rent-A-Car was there to take me back to his office and pick it up. Once again, Willie says to me as I leave, "We'll fix it right this time, Mr. Jackson." By the time I got into the rental, it was after 7. If I went back to work, I would have gotten there around 8, leaving no time to do anything before I would normally leave at 10.
If you get a chance, please drive this truck Monday morning before anyone gets their hands on it. Take it up to the Paterson Plank Road exit on 17, and come back. That right turn off Pat Plank back to 17 south should be an adventure. As you come back around the showroom towards the back, turn everything off, coast about 10mph (no brakes), and roll down the windows. You should hear the periodic scrape and squeal, which turns to all-squeal when the brakes are applied. I would appreciate your investigation into the clearly substandard repairs, why no one knew where my truck was Friday, and why Willie failed to order brake repairs on a problem he experienced. I will be in touch Monday afternoon for your reply to this, as well as whether I will be reimbursed for my lost wages Friday. Thank you.
KC Jackson
P.S. If the name looks familiar, my dad bought your demo Thunderbird back in July. He suggested I contact you regarding this.
Me: "The pull is still there."
Bill: "Ok, let's go drive it."
I knew I was in trouble when he asked me "is this truck 4 wheel drive?" This is the service MANAGER, remember. The front differential, 4x4 controld, and huge "4x4" stickers on the sides obviously eluded him.
Anyway, we go out, him at the wheel. After just a 1/4 mile, I say to him, "You're correcting to the right." He looks down and sees the steering wheel is almost a quarter-turn to the right. He takes his hand off the wheel, and the truck calmly glides left, almost sideswiping the woman in the car next to us, who promptly responded with a horn blast - I'm thinking, "Butthead, didn't you LOOK first?"
After another day in the shop, the truck is finally tolerably aligned. The brakes? Had them overhauled by another shop a few months later, and while they still ate pads, they seemed to last a bit longer. Never went back to that dealer for anything other than dropping my dad off when he got his T-bird serviced.
Okay, TownHallers, let's have some more stories...
Second car, 1964 Dodge Dart. Brought it in for a free evaluation the dealer was offering to test new diagnostic equipment it had installed. They checked all vitals and fluids and issued a report.
How nice...except they forgot to replace the automatic transmission dipstick when they checked the fluid. Several months later my transmission began making whining noises and started slipping. Thankfully it was still under the 5-50 warranty, though by only 5,000 miles. When I checked the A/T fluid level, I then found that the A/T dipstick was missing. I bought a new one, put it in, and then took it to the dealer for a warranty repair. They found sand in the transmission. The Dart service manual specifically says to make sure that the dipstick is always in place to keep grit out. They repaired the transmission under warranty.
How nice...except they didn't replace the front pump (said it looked okay) and it quit 40K miles later. This time it was my dollars at AAMCO. The AAMCO rebuild resulted in shifts that slammed into gear. AAMCO could never make it shift any smoother and gave me the "it's supposed to shift that way" story. The A/T had certainly shifted smoothly before it quit and other Dart A/T's certainly shifted smoothly. I couldn't get AAMCO to correct the problem.
You may not know it, but the Dodge Dart transmissions could easily go 200K miles without a problem. My subsequent 69 and 74 Darts never had a transmission problem. A friend of mine took one to 200K and another to 300K. And they all shifted smoothly.
More stories to come...
I took my 89 Ford F250 into the dealership to have the ignition box replaced under a recall (flaming fords). There was appearantly a pin of some sort to set the ignition that was supposed to be taken out. I noticed that it was getting harder and harder to start, until one day after my second job ~11 pm that the pin broke loose. Be a Ford owner I know to always have some hand tools with me. Got it hot wired and took it to the dealership the next day. I showed the service writter the pin and some bolts i found. He told me that they had nothing to do at all with the ignition. Wish I had a picture of his face when i got the part from the parts dept. So he agreed to fix it "fee of charge to our valued customer". My response was you damn right you will"(he didn't like the fact that some "punk teenager" had showed him up infront of everyone.)The fixed it but it hasen't ran right since.
Tom
P.S. kcram did they give you the days pay?
The results came out as one might expect. They said at almost every gas station they went to (that had service bays), the mechanic tightened the battery cable free or at not more than $10, and sent them on their way. The chain shops diagnosed everything from dead batteries to requiring alternator replacement. Sears was one of these chains involved; the settlement with the state is one of the main reasons Sears no longer does major repair work - turns out the Sears service writers ran on commission (the more repair work written up, the more money they got).
A few days later I was following a school bus. When I tried a moderate stop, the front wheels immediately locked up and I almost slid under the back of the bus. I took the car back to the shop. They adjusted the brakes.
Next day, while stopping from 60, the car shuddered violently, actually breaking a connection in the radio. Took it back to the shop. They said there may be some grease on the shoes and drove the car around with a foot on the brakes. That solved it until the brakes cooled down and the problem immediately came back. By now, any stop was jerky and the wheels would lock up easily.
Took it back to the shop. They said my brakes springs were weak and I should replace them. They said they would not do anything else for me. While at the parts store ordering brake springs a mechanic waiting at the counter asked my why I needed them. He said he didn't think that was the problem and asked if I wanted him to look at it. I had him check it out. Turns out the primary and secondary shoes were reversed. The secondary shoes are softer because they stop the car in reverse. He reversed the shoes and all worked fine. I took his bill to the first shop and they refused to reimburse me.
A few months later the wheel cylinders began leaking. I replace them myself.
This was the last brake job I ever had done by someone else. My experience so far had been two professional brakes jobs, and two failures. I have done my own since then and NEVER had a problem, unless it had to do with work done by someone other than me, such as turning the drums.
That is the subject of a future story.
That was the first and last time it went anywhere for mechanical attention. Probably why it's still alive.
Our Ram pick-up is a trip. I think the dealer had billed Chrysler 4 or 5 times each for the same 4 warranty repairs. It stopped when I asked them if they really put in 3 fuel pumps or just billed Chrysler for them.
Jim
It happened again a year or two later, but at a different Buick dealership. This time they told her that she had a v6 front wheel drive. They accepted that it was a v8 but insisted that it was a front wheel drive. Since she was having it in for something totally unrelated to the drivetrain she just let it go instead of arguing.
I always thought it was Buick's version of the Olds Toranado, which was front wheel drive.
Did ANY american cars have V6's in 1972? I don't think so!
Dave
Buick had V-6 engines in the early-to-mid-'60s for the Buick Specials, later re-named the Skylark.
My friend bought a Jaguar and had an "expert" mechanic do the conversion to a Chevy V-8. The guy assembled everything together and then failed to "prime" the engine (whatever that involves) when he turned it over. That blew everything and he had the gall to re-do it again, charging the owner for the new parts! After the job was finally done, it never ran well. Turned out to be an expensive lesson for my friend: he could have bought a new car foa all that money.
Buick had V-6 engines in the early-to-mid-'60s for the Buick Specials, later re-named the Skylark.
My friend bought a Jaguar and had an "expert" mechanic do the conversion to a Chevy V-8. The guy assembled everything together and then failed to "prime" the engine (whatever that involves) when he turned it over. That blew everything and he had the gall to re-do it again, charging the owner for the new parts! After the job was finally done, it never ran well. Turned out to be an expensive lesson for my friend: he could have bought a new car for all that money.
You know, it would be nice to know the names and locations of these mechanics, so we can stay away from them.
Anyway I come to pick it up about 2 days later and the front panels and hood were really greasy. After they told me just take it through a car wash and I told them no you will clean it up. I paid and drove off.
next morning I found they forgot to replace the clutch cylinder cap and I demanded that they put new fluid in. After 30 min. the finally relented and it took them 5 min to do it.
About 3 months later we notice the car felt kind of funny (as being 3 years ago don't remember what it felt like exactly). I looked under the hood and soon noticed that one of the motor mounts was not hooked up so it was held by the two side ones only. Had to take off the right one so as to align the front one. Probably took me an hour and a half (Had to buy the long bolt and nut $6).
about 9 months after the trans. rebuild the starter fell off. Both bolts were 95% of the way to coming all the way out. It was the cars second
starter so I knew that it was difficult to get in there and tighten it down good. BUT I DID IT! I guess it was to much effort for them to use a little muscle on this. I had to replace that starter. Somehow the starters bearings wore probably as the result of getting out of alignment with the fly wheel gear as the bolts came out.
One good thing though. After 30,000 miles the transmission still works wonderfully.
Goes to show that you should always inspect work carefully. And I might add, instead of reading magazines while work is being done, I am right there watching everything that they are doing. Some times I catch something they aren't doing right too.
I was half way to school on the freeway when I noticed a brown liquid coming from under the hood.
Not only did the guy forget to put the oil cap back on but also the radiator cap was not tightened (as a value added service they "check" all fluids). Oil & coolant everywhere...
Took me 3 hours to clean up the mess with Gunk! Engine Brite and to date, oil still seaps out from underneath the hood on my '85 Toy Pickup.
I told the machine shop that I had new brake shoes and only needed the drums cleaned up. I specifically told them to not take off any more metal than needed to refinish the surface. The most you could expand the diameter of a drum was .060". Based on the condition of the drum, the most they should have cut was .015. When I picked up the drums they had cut them to "first over-size" which was to .030. It was common practice to just cut the drums to .030 over normal and buy shoes that had been ground to this diameter. (The next brake job would be cut to "second over-size, .060, and then you replace the drums). Needless to say, I now had a long break-in period to wear the arc of the shoes to the larger diameter, and I had less life left on these drums.
From that point forward I never dropped off drums. I would personally talk with the person that was going to run the drum lathe and make him measure the drum diameter before and after the job to be sure he didn't take off too much metal.
One time, the finished cut looked a bit rough. I asked why and the operator said it was fine and would smooth down very quickly. I installed the brake shoes and noticed that the car made a clicking sound upon stopping. Turns out that the drums had too deep of a final cut and since it spiraled out, it was pulling the shoes from the backing plate until they could go no further, then they would snap back against the backing plate. A cleanup on the lathe solved this.
I sure am glad we now have disc brakes. My last car went 110,000 miles and never needed the rotors turned. I shudder (pun intended) to think about ever letting a mechanic turn my rotors. Based on my experience, the chances of it being done properly are slim.
I left the car in the morning and the owner told me it would be ready by lunchtime. I went to the shop at lunchtime and he was nowhere to be seen, and neither was my car! His assistant said he was out on a test drive. I waited for about 45 minutes, then had to go back to work for a meeting, but told the assistant I would be back shortly. After the meeting I called and the owner was not back yet. I told the assistant that he had better contact the owner because I was on my way and the car better be there when I got there!
Sure enough when I got there, still no car. By this time it was at least a 3 hour test drive from when I got there originally at lunch time. So I called the local police, who came and said this was not the first problem they had with this guy. They were taking a report when the guy called from his girlfriend's house. The police spoke to him and he acted like it was no big deal. He came back about 1/2 hour later. The work on the car was only partially done, but I just wanted the car back. But he insisted at completing the job and did so in about 15 minutes at no charge (other than the $50. At least the work was done right. Needless to say I never sent any more business there.
teeth on gears in tranny I limped home having
only third gear left---mechanic re-rebuilt the trans.
2-franchise tire store replaces my front struts:
mechanic uses a 5 or 8 pound maul to seperate the
tie rod ends and deforms a brake rotor-- doesn't
say anything hoping I won't notice the pulsing
in brake pedal---store buys new rotorI install it!
3-same franchise tire store trouble shooting
a vibration in front end of a car: mechanic
backs car into garage door track putting 6 inch
scratch in bumper---says "oh well"
4-another tire franchise store replaces REAR
tires on my truck:mechanic oddly spends alot of time at front of truck--I discover a nice blade
cut in my front tires now I need 4 tires.
5-another franchise mechanic tells me I need a
new serpintine bely on my truck---only problem
is my truck DOESN'T HAVE A SERPINTINE BELT-
mechanic does apologize.
6-warranty work on a Toyota radio:radio has VERY
bad audio--service manager is standing in a tall sort of raised podium looking down at me and proceeds to throw paper work in my face in anger-
he weakly apologizes later.(last time for me at that dealership)
7-53 FORD CROWN VICTORIA 1953( A CLASSIC )
I drove it into a snow bank and packed engine with
snow had to take it to a garage to melt it out.
Radiator started leaking-- a local farmer hanging out seeing the problem stuck some snuff in the radiator---
it worked. One of the few times I had satisfactory
work done in a garage.
RP
Must have been Copenhagen, right?
Dave
they have hired incompentant mechanics to service vehicles. many only know how to change oil and a tire.
While having my vehicle serviced for a/c at a Dealership in Lanham MD. I waited 4.5 hours to have the repairs completed. After 5 hrs of waiting the head mechanic informed me that I need a new computer. The hire-help mechanic had touched the map sensor on the computer and blew the entire car's computer. IN order to get the car running he that he was going to do me a fovor by selling me a computer w/discount of $100. I told him to get my car ready to leave and shove the new computer part.
I then went to a reliable dealership in fairfax and educated, long time mechanic informed me that the mechanic should never have been neat the map sensor when dealing with repairs for A/C.
I had them repair and replace the comoputer and maintenance the A/C and been going to a qusality service dealership ever since. They also hold classes on servicing and maintaining your vehicle. These classes are conducted by the mechanics. As a incentive to the consumer they also provide snacks (hotdogs, subs, sodas) to get you in in order to help u service the mi-nute maintenence on your vehicle.
Unfortunately, I wrote to Chrysler and Dodge and they did nothing that I know of. Later that particular dealership went under new management.
I complained so bad that they got my vehicle running as it was prior to service. The only problem I had then was that the computerized speed odometer stop working. I couldn't tell how fast or slow I was driving. I ended up at Chrylser Fairfax in Fairfax VA. Where the vehicle was properly cared for and repaired.
Where do these dealetships find these incompentant mechanics?
My well maintained '94 Jeep Grand Cherokee absolutley refused to start. I checked the battery, it was good. I tried to jump start it, not a chance. I called the dealer I had been using since arriving in "Atlanta". (It was nearby and advertised heavily) Let me start by saying this vehicle was still under the big Chyrsler 7/70 extended everything warranty. The shop called a tow truck to bring it to the shop and promised a 'loaner' while it was being worked on. Not a problem. I went with the vehicle to the shop and talked to the service manager. I had a list of minor complaints I wanted them to look at while it was there. The cruise control was my major concern (the driver's power window not working all the time was the other minor concern) and they said they'd work on it. Five days later they call and say they need the 'loaner' back and my vehicle still wasn't ready!!!!!
Having a realitively short fuse (especially when people are totally incompetent) I drove over to the shop and asked for a new 'loaner' and when my vehicle would be done. They said no 'loaner' would be forthcoming and they still couldn't get my vehicle started!!!!!! I asked them to call Jeep and find out if they knew of any problem with this vehicle type...answer: we know what we're doing. Yea right. After talking with the manager, I got a new 'loaner', but only for three more days.
Three days later they call and say that they have found the problem with it not starting and to come and get it. I took my family (wife and 1 yr old son) with me to get our vehicle (BIG MISTAKE!). We turned in the 'loaner' and were told that they had to order new cruise control parts (total for that alone was over $300, thank God for the warranty) and that they had to replace the 'neutral safety switch' to make the vehicle start. Not a problem I said and made an appointment to bring it back to have the cruise control replaced.
We went out to get the vehicle and IT WOULDN'T START!!!!!!!!!!!! After much very loud complaining in front of all their other customers, I got a 'loaner' vehicle back and they promised they'd fix the vehilce. (You'd think I would get smart at this point)
Four days later they called and said it was done (two more neutral safety switchs and the new cruise control). I went down to get it and it actually worked. Total bill under warranty (my portion: $25) $750! I started home and found out that the cruise control was still intermittent (I could live with that) and the drivers window still didn't operate correctly. Oh well.
I parked the vehicle in the garage for the night and the next morning went to start it to go to work. You guessed it, NOTHING. Wouldn't start to save it's life. I called the shop and they said they couldn't do anything else except call a tow truck and put another neutral safety switch in it. I told them about the cruise control and they said they would order a whole new unit again (that and the switch). I said thank you very much but I would call the tow truck company. I did and had them take it to a Chrysler/Jeep dealer 50 miles away (paid for by the warranty). I ahd called this 'new' dealer to let them know what problems I was having so they were prepared.
Within 30 minutes of my arrival the vehicle would start (broken wire in the ignition system: $.50), the cruise was fixed (new brake light switch: $15), and the drivers window had parts on order (a vehicle recall for the wiring harness: FREE). To top it off, as the vehicle was being rolled off the tow truck, their top electrical mechanic had the hood up and was actually sitting in the engine compartment working on it!!!! That's service!!
The new shop called the old shop and told the service manager what they had done and that they would have to suck up the cost of the parts on order. (They weren't very happy, and I still get calls about my parts being in!)
I'm happy now with the new shop, even though I must drive 50 miles. There is hope, you just have to look really hard to find a good shop!
Last case...... I told another garage to balance my tires, and I told them I will be back in an hour. That was a mistake. I wondered why a week later my low fuel warning light didn't work. I thought it was broken, and when I went to replace it I found the sender unit in the gas tank was switched. This repairman switched his unit in his car (same as mine), and put his into mine.
When I pulled mine out it lacked the light sensor, it was a completely different unit, and the plastic coverings and boot cover was recklessly tossed away . So I learned a few lessons.....BE THERE!
I told them exactly what parts I wanted replaced. I needed a washer pump and a heater fan switch. The fan switch case had cracked and the check ball fell out and there was no longer an electrical connection. The washer pump was locked up. I asked them if they had the parts and they said, no problem, we'll have you back on the road in an hour. An hour and a half later they informed me they had neither the $58 washer pump nor the $67 heater fan switch. So I told them, I am at work right now and I have to leave. They told me I still had to pay for the time the mechanic took to take my car apart and determine that I knew what I was talking about. They still (2 years later) think I owe them $48. I told them what to replace and asked if they had the parts. They basically told me that I was an idiot and only a mechanic could tell what was wrong. I had to re-assemble my own car that day, outside, in the snow, with no heater.
I replaced that washer pump with a $10 junkyard part in a half hour the following Saturday. I called a different dealer (Bill Swad Chevrolet, Hamiton Rd, Whitehall, Ohio) and ordered the heater switch since the boneyard didn't want to take apart the dash of their Metro, they wanted to sell it along with the front clip, but they sure sold me the washer bottle...
It took me all of forty minutes to replace that heater switch. Eight screws, three clamp fittings, and two electrical connectors later, I had heat.
I do everything not involving AC or brakes myself.
74 Nova, so at first I thought the lack of power in my Spectrum was just me not being used to a
smaller engine.
About six months after I got it, I noticed the car
actually losing power when going up minor hills or
when I'd hit the pedal to merge or pass. A couple
of times it hesitated and once it actually stalled. I took it to the dealer, and they said they'd check the carburator.
Long story short, three years, two tune-ups and a
new carburator later, it STILL ran terrible! Also,
during this time, I went through two exhaust
systems. I tried to tell them that I suspected a
leaky manifold, since there was a strong rotten egg smell and exhaust smell in the car. Their answer: it's the catalytic converter. It's supposed to smell that way.
One week before my lease was up, the third muffler
fell off in the street. I got a camera, took
pictures of it where it lay, made sure the date was on each photo when they were developed, threw the muffler in the trunk and turned the car in. They tried to charge me for "excess wear and tear." I told them "when pigs fly" and walked away. Never heard from them again.
Still to come:
What The Dodge Dealer Did to Screw Up My Brand New Ram
ladyblue
Community Leader/SUV Conference
Most shops have apprentices working on vehicles and should have a competant mechanic nearby, or there could be problems. If you do a little research, it shouldn't be hard to find a reputable shop that does good work. It might be wise to abide to the old saying,"if your not part of the solution, then your probably part of the problem."
After this happened in the owners manual i found where its required to have the lug nuts retorqued after 500 miles.
I have spoken to several tire service stores and they didn't know about any such requirement nor see the requirement.
note the wheels were a aluminum alloy with a small plastic center hub cap.
my recommendation is not to buy a windstar or plan to tighten the lug nuts everytime you go somewhere.
many dealership are simply making a profit from our auto problems and cashing in on immitation repairs.
Seems the best thing I've learned is that distance counts. I live every bit of 45 miles from where I get my vehicle serviced. I travel for the quality service and care. I believe in having a dealership that will give you a loaner until yours is repaired andd your are satisfied, and not repossed B 4 you pay the bill. There are several dealerships in my area (Lanham MD) where I wouldn't take my son's bike - to stop by just to get air for a flat tire.
I told him to put all the parts in the back and wait for my mechanic's tow truck to pick it up...
I recall a one-week-old '79 Pontiac that developed a severe and very obvious ATF leak at the servo cover near the rear of the transmission. The leakage rate was more than a quart in ten miles. The car was delivered to the dealer shop and the location and magnitude of the leak were carefully described to the service manager. Several hours later, the service manager reported, "We found that you have a BAD leak. We'll have to pull the transmission to see if it's the front seal."
Quality problems were not limited to the dealership in those days. That same car was delivered new with only three shock absorbers, no air filter cartridge, and a howling rear axle.
We purchased our 96 Camry new and after about 13,000 miles we noticed a hesitation in the transmission that kept getting worse. I notcied some transmission fluid had dripped on the garage floor. Took it to the dealership, they told me the transmission fluid was completely empty, and had been for some time. They accused me of draining the wrong fluid when I told them that I made all of the oil changes. I informed them that I knew where the oil drain plug was and did not mistakenly drain transmission fluid. It turns out that some bonehead had not tightened the transmission fluid plug properly so it had all leaked out. Fortunately, it was under warranty and I informed them they would be replacing my transmission immediatley, which of course, they did.
Now recently, my AC hasn't been cooling very well so my wife took it to the same dealership. The service guy there said "... because it was a darker colored car, it was harder for the AC to cool it off. This doesn't occur in lighter colered cars." My wife looked at him like he was an idiot and went to our sales guy and told him that he better start warning customers about the AC not working very well in darker colored cars.
I recharged it with a can of R-134 and I get cool air for about an hour, but then it gets warm again. Is my compressor shot, or do I need to add more refrigerant?
Anyways, we got rid of that problem car.....
I think Toyota just needs to learn a few things about HVAC systems... My friends 97 Celica is having A/C woes as well... My Lexus I replaced the camry with is holding up well... (The A/C that is...It still has its quirks)
It is state law (I think federal too), that the refrigerant must be stored and recycled when servicing an automobile A/C system... This shop told me they couldn't refund because they don't have the equipment to store used refrigerant or recycle/filter it, so I had to pay for the "new" refrigerant.... So when I threatened them with an attorney, they were quick to get me off their back, and refund the full amount...
I took delivery of my new truck on Feb. 19, 1999. A few weeks later, I took it to the dealer complaining that the rear (quad) doors were VERY squeaky. I had also noticed that the door alignment at the top edge was horrible, and they promised to fix it.
Picked it up that evening, and on the drive home - still squeaking. I should mention that this service department has no evening hours, no weekend hours, and does not offer loaners. I wasn't able to arrange to drop it off again until two weeks later. This time, I took the service desk guy out to the truck, showed him the lousy door alignment, and very nicely asked that they please get rid of the creaky-squeaky noises.
Again, picked it up and this time, on the way home, I noticed that only the driver's side was still making noise. Oh well, I thought, we're half way there. I also noticed that the door handle on the driver's side quad door was now REALLY hard to pull open. I had to sometimes grip it with both hands to open the door.
At this point I decided I could live with the squeak; I'd just turn the radio up louder. That is, until July 4th, when the quad door handle broke and I couldn't open the door at all!!
Took it back AGAIN, this time furious, and they promised it would be fixed. Went to pick it up AGAIN, and was told that the door handle had to be ordered and they'd call when it was in. It wasn't until I got home that I took a good look at the door, and saw that THEY HAD SCRATCHED THE PAINT ALL AROUND THE HANDLE! It looked as though someone had used a screw driver to pry off the handle. Also the weather stripping around the door was all screwed up, and the interior door panel was so loose I could put my whole hand inside it.
I'd had enough. I called the service manager to report the botch job done by his personnel. I then called my salesman to fill him in on the problem. Up the ladder went my complaint to the Sales Manager, who arranged a rental car for me while the door was being repaired.
It took them two days to repair the damage they'd done to my door. In the end, the handle is still hard to pull open, and the door still squeaks. I should have left well enough alone.
ladyblue
Community Leader/SUV Conference
I have been thinking about posting this story for quite some time. About 3 years ago, I wanted to have a trailer hitch installed on my car. No big deal, those things are pretty easy to do. Or so I thought. At the time I was commuting about 80 miles one way to work so I didn't have much spare time, so I called around and finally decided to have U-Haul put on the hitch. (This was at the U-Haul on Good Hope Road in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.)
I made an appointment and when I showed up, the manager told me it would take about 45 minutes to do the work. So I decided to stay and wait for it. I gave the 'mechanic' my keys and he went outside to the parking lot.
A few minutes later he came back in the front door with my keys. He said "I have to get someone to drive the car into the garage. I don't know how to drive a stick".
This should have been a red flag.
He got someone else to drive the car in and I began to wait. And wait. And wait.
Every now and then I could hear banging and the machine-gun like noise of an air chisel, punctuated by minutes of silence. This went on for 2 1/2 hours, and then it was closing time. By now the mechanic, the manager and I were the only ones still there.
He came out from the garage area and told me "I can't finish putting the hitch on. You'll have to bring it back in tomorrow."
I asked him what the problem was and he muttered something about the "plastic" under the car and not being able to find the metal. (?!)
At this time I was hungry and tired and just wanted to get home, so I left without checking out the car. After I had dinner I took a flashlight outside to check out what in the heck he had been doing under my car.
Well, I didn't get much sleep that night. It seems the poor fellow had thought the undercoated metal unibody 'frame' railing was some kind of plastic cover over the frame rail. He had chopped completely through the frame rails in four places. I opened the trunk and pulled up the carpeting and almost.... ah, pooped. He had chopped through the frame rails and completely through the floor of the trunk!
Well, to cut to the chase, when all was said and done there was over $1,400 damage to the car. The body shop had to get new frame rails (full length) for the car, cut out the damaged sections, and weld in pieces from the new ones. U-Haul's insurance (of course) paid for all the work plus for a rental car.
It seems kind of funny now, but believe me at the time it was not.
A week or two after this happened, I happened to drive past the U-Haul and on their sign it said "TRAILER HITCH INSTALLER WANTED"!
I ended up ordering a trailer hitch from Fleet & Farm and installing it myself. It took me all of 1 hour. All I had to do was drill 4 holes and bolt it on. To this day I do all routine maintenance and I will not let anyone but one trusted mechanic or the dealership work on my cars.
Dave
ladyblue
Community Leader/SUV Conference
2 weeks later the exact same symptoms reappeared including the blue arching on the wires. I returned to Precision Tune. After re-scanning it and test-driving it, they said there was absolutely nothing wrong (why were they able to find $170 worth of problems based on the exact same condition 2 weeks ago, but nothing now?). I took the manager on a test drive myself and demonstrated the problem and he diagnosed it as a *transmission* problem. Naturally, they refused to correct the problem or accept responsibility.
To solve the problem, I bought a new set of wires from the parts store (the most expensive aftermarket wires I could find were $46 LESS than Precision Tune charged for the part) and installed them myself. Needless to say, the car ran perfectly afterward.
In doing the repair, it became obvious that the work done at Precision Tune was very sloppy and the quality of the wires was visibly bad. The connectors to the coil packs were bent and carelessly attached without full insertion. The wires were routed in such a careless way that they came into contact with countless surfaces that they shouldn't have and were already showing wear after 2 weeks in service.
With much effort, I was able to negotiate a refund for the parts and labor. Interestingly, the cashier was unable to process the refund at first, stating that she had never done one before. That tells you how often they give in on these problems.
Precision Tune holds itsself out as a specialist in only 2 things: Computerized diagnosis and performing tune-ups. My experience suggests that they can't be counted on to do either one (even on a relatively common domestic car!). But at least they overcharge to help compensate for their incompetence!
The "mechanic" inspected the parking brake cable and brake lever, tightened the cable and charged me $50 in labor. I drove off, but returned minutes later because the noise was still there.
Discussions with both the service manager and the "mechanic" revealed that they were both of the opinion that my car does not have a seperate drum parking brake, but rather the main disc brake functions as the parking brake also. The mechanic even pointed out the parking brake cable and how it attaches to the disc brake caliper (he was pointing to the parking brake housing when he said this, clearly seperate from the caliper)
It occurred to me at that point that I had paid $50 for a repair to a parking brake that the Ford Certified "mechanic" didn't even realize existed!
Upon removal of the disc, an amazing thing was revealed: a cute little drum parking brake hiding inside.
I waited another 2 hours and got a diagnosis of a bad wheel bearing and an estimate of $1000. I also got a bunch of greasy hand prints on my white paint (free of charge).