Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Reputable Mechanics -- Separating Fact from Fiction
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
this happens late at night, or sunday suppertime, with the tow on, 30 miles from nowhere, on the second-hottest day of the year, in my experience. you don't want to be there.
belts are not expensive. I'm with 0patience on this one, I've been there.
Old Chinese proverb
Of course at the dealer the belts are marked up 200% so that an $11 belt is charged out at $30.
Of course at the dealer the belts are marked up 200% so that an $11 belt is charged out at $30.
And would have to agree that an explanation should have been given.
If the belts were new or looked fairly new, there was no reason to recommend them.
Belts are belts and there is not much difference between OEM and aftermarket, with some exceptions in the serpentine belt category. Some of the Ford OEM serpentine belts outlast aftermarket by far.
Not sure why that is.
Now, if we were talking sensors or electrical, then I would have to say that OEM is the only way to go, as aftermarket ones tend to have problems.
the OEM belts for both ford and GM look and feel like Dayton belts. the rubber is a little different, less grippy. so they're more slippy.
do what you want, but I'm sticking with gates.
Thanks,
Katherine
And that's a LONG, LONG way to take a car for an inspection!
Posting your message in multiple places makes it harder to give you advice. Please also check over in the Honda Civic Problems discussion, where members have responded to your original post.
kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
Share your vehicle reviews
Since I have seen and recently heard of folks (actually, my sister-in-law) having difficulties with dealers and warranties, I thought I would post some information that will help folks to understand what their rights are as far as warranties.
The links will provide the information for you to determine if a dealer can void your warranty or not.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects the consumer from unlawful voiding of warranties.
If you feel your warranty is denied unlawfully, there is help. SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) has some good information, along with some contacts to help you to have a warranty problem resolved.
The Center for Auto Safety also has an overview of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which is more in plain english. It outlines the who what and why of the actual document.
And finally, The Filter Manufacturers Council outlines the important part of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Act, which states.......
A manufacturer may not require the use of any brand of filter (or any other article) unless the manufacturer provides the item free of charge under the terms of the warranty.
So if the consumer is told that only the original equipment filter will not void the warranty, he should request that the OE filter be supplied free of charge. If he is charged for the filter, the manufacturer will be violating the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or other applicable law.
So, quite simply, as far as filters, oil and basic maintanence items, a dealer or manufacturer may not void a warranty because you are not using OEM parts or more importantly, their services for things like oil changes or maintenance intervals.
Remember, we're talking about maintenance parts, not performance parts. : )
Thank you for your time,
Celeste
And, avoid the chains!
You really need to have an honest mechanical appraisal done on this car because it isn't worth very much and you might end up in a much better situation by investing your money in something more modern and reliable.
Also keep in mind that ANY used car can be gone over with a fine tooth comb and problems found. The question is whether these are just small deficiences you can live with or if they are important. I could take just about any used car off the street and find something wrong with it.
In our area some shops which have listed with the AAA are only as reputable as the person currently running the store. And those managers seem to change monthly. The chains tend to have pressure to sell more $$$ of service work. An independent mechanic won't last too long if he oversells.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
CelesteJac
I'm in Philadelphia but could drive an hours distance any direction.
Any suggestions/referrals?
Please advise, just got car and the TC/Hill descent/ABS lights are on!
Thanks
If you own a Land Rover, you will need to make good friends with a good shop because you will be there a lot!
I would ask other LR owners for a referral.
Very few question a doctors fee, or a lawyers fee but have no problem in questioning the mechanic about his or her fee. It takes considerable amount of time to become a good technition it doe not happen overnight a lt of scraped knuckles, banged head, burns, and so on, not to mention the constant and revamped technology to vehicles. It is wrong to expect someone to work on your car cheaply so you can save money, or deny someone to earn a living in other that you can live better. It is also wrong for a mechanic to take advantage of the consumer because of their lack of should educate understanding in the works of an automobile. Many people on this site had very good recommendations,obtaining 2 or more estimates, how a shop backs up their work,their reputation, low price should not be the only or prime consideration when choosing a repair facility, just as you would not choose a doctor or another professional on that merit only. Getting an auto repaired can be frustrating, but if the consumer educates his or herself more they will less likely to be taken advantage of. It is very easy to be accusotory,but the accusation has to be justified. Thank you. PO
If you are directing that statement to me, then I can assure you that I know all too well the amount of time it takes to become a "good" mechanic (I don't favor the term technician, as I am old school).
Yesterday's "mechanics" knew how to fix things. Today's technicians only know how to diagnose and replace parts.
Not all their fault since labor rates have soared and rebild parts are often unavailable.
I know a "mechanic" from a "parts changer" and he knows what he is doing. I would take my cars to him without question.
I appreciate that.
Let's not forget guys like Alcan and kiawah.
Most likely others I am forgetting, but those are the 2 who I notice.
:shades:
Here is the problem. Most shops are upfront and honest about the repairs and try to make the repairs the firs time to the best of their ability.
The problem is that some information isn't always made available to a lot of shops, so they may purchase an aftermarket part from a parts store and find out that the manufacturer updated the part to a new part later on. After they have tried several times to cure a problem.
Not many shops "play games" as you put it. Because, to be quite frank, they probably wouldn't stay in business too long.
Your last question.
Should a customer get their money back when the part installed not fix the problem
Depends. If you authorized them to replace the part. Then no. You should not get your money back.
But it would be good business for them to not charge the labor on it.
I've seen several instances that a person came in with SEVERAL problems that you had to fix one to find another and on and on.
So that is something to consider.
Took it back and told them it still was acting up. They said it was the coil, they changed it and still no improvement yes
then they said oh you need to change the cat convertor so i took it out to have it done NO, cause the cat is easy to check to see if it is plugged ,
pratically had to push it back to the garage...then they said leave it with us..a day later they said oh it was just a faulty wire. yes
As for the Ford dealer, I would ask them why they were replacing sensors without confirming the sensors were bad.
And when you say......
so i took it out and changed that well the next day
Are you having them do the diagnostics and you change the parts or what?
If so, then you created part of the problem.
If not, you paid for a diagnosis. Misdiagnosing the part and replacing it shouldn't really be at your expense.
I don't know what Canada's laws are, but there may be a provincial govt consumer protection that can tell you what you should and shouldn't have to pay for.
What is lacking, is not yesterday's mechanics... because there are still plenty of those scratching their heads trying to figure out today's cars. But rather there is a lack of "today's technicians" who understand today's vehicles and can accurately diagnose them.
I suspect your experiences that prompted that post is from taking your "today's car" to "yesterday's mechanic".
Looking at it from the tire-jocky's stand point, if the problem was somewhat intermittent... which is how your post reads... if he couldn't get it to act up in the relatively short period of time he had it (relative to how long you get to drive it) then what else is he going to do but look it over for past due maint? From the sound of it, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and TB cleaning, that's pretty much to be expected of nearly any vehicle with some miles and age on it if they haven't been done in a long time. The only thing there is what was promised.... communication... if they said "this will fix your car"... then I have a problem with that against them. If they said something more like, "we'll we can't get it to act up, and don't really see anything wrong other than some maint issues that might or might not be the cause...." then they really just did the only thing that was in their power.
When you took it back, they panicked and started guessing. You spent a lot of money there and they needed to do something to fix it. So they started reaching for straws. I feel like instead of reaching for straws at this point, they should have just said, "Look I'm sorry, but we can't really do anything more." That would have been the most upfront approach and at this point they wouldn't have done anything wrong. But the problem here is that they were probably more scared than anything that you'd start demanding for a refund of the... probably legitimate... maint work that they had just performed simply because it didn't fix your original complaint. So, at the very least, do you see what kind of a position they are suddenly in?
Then the Ford dealer... MMmm boy. Of course you know you are actually driving a Nissan right? Well... part Nissan and part Ford. But the engine and electronics are Nissan. And of course it is the Nissan part you wanted a Ford dealer to fix. Granted, they are supposed to be ready to fix it because it is marketed as a Ford. But you are expecting a lot right there.
I was working in a Ford dealer up to '93 and was hired over to a Nissan dealer.. why? To help them on the Nissan Quest, or so the service manager's idea was. The Nissan Quest and Mercury Villager came out in '93 and both sides of the fence were nervous about it. He knew it was half Ford and needed a Ford tech. I fit the bill. In '94 another Ford dealer (a Lincoln/Mercury dealer) hired me away from the Nissan dealer. Why? same reason only in reverse. Kinda funny isn't it?
Anyway, the point is that every so many years car makers come out with a mix-breed vehicle that no one is prepared for, no one wants to touch, and no one has the equipment or experience to fix them... ever. When they are new, everyone is caught off guard and when they are old everyone has moved on and forgotten about them. Which bring me to the point I am getting to about the Ford dealer. They moved on, I'm betting when you're vehicle rolled in every tech there was praying he didn't get it and when one did the others pointed and laughed at him... seriously, I really mean they literally likely laughed "Oh.. I see you got the Villager... better you than me buddy... lol"
I'm the only one in my dealer that is not afraid of them and actually kinda like to get one every now and then, and no one stands in my way for one either.
You're bad experience at the dealer was likely due to the fact that... on that vehicle... the dealer was on the same, or close to the same, playing level as the tire jockys you just came from... only the tire jockys took all the maint away already. So, they reached for the only things they saw wrong, bad battery cables... ect.
The Nissan dealer fixed it because, well, it has the same Nissan stuff on it that has been in place on other Nissans (most closely the Maxima) for years upon years upon years. For that problem on that vehicle, the Nissan dealer was actually the best choice. It was just another Nissan to them.. no fear, no surprise.
I searched the Edmunds site for reviews of mechanics in my area (Oregon), but I didn't find any ratings.
Can anybody recommend some other review websites?