Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Stories of INCOMPETENT MECHANICS - post yours!
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Kristina/co host Our Turn
I don't know how different the parts are between the automatic and the manual transmission vehicles so it is hard to say if the shop screwed up or the parts supplier sent the wrong item. But after the seal failed, if I were the shop manager, we'd have tried something else.
Perhaps they didn't want to eat the cost of the axle and were trying to make the one installed "work"
Cheers,
TB
Yeah- so cheap they would not pay to replace the trans oil plug!
Now a little about a year and a half later - the left CV is clicking!
Still...that battery could have failed.
But you would think that the Goodyear guy would see it was new and suggest he take it to a Delco dealer....?
I took my car in to have the coolant flushed and refilled.
I got a call at work that day, they said the car needed new wiper blades (matter of opinion) and a new muffler (it did need that, it was rusted out and loud).
I declined the $30 wiper blade replacement and asked how much it would be to replace the muffler. "Well, the exhaust system in one piece all the way from the front to the back on this car. We can't just replace the muffler, we have to replace the whole system." I recall they wanted around $350 to do it.
I declined that too. That evening I picked up the car and drove across town to Farm & Fleet. At the auto parts counter I opened their exhaust system book and ordered - you guessed it- just a muffler for the car.
I ended up having to buy a couple of new clamps and replaced it myself for around $60.
I also swore off doing exhaust system work ever again. I really do not like little flakes of rust in my eyes!
Dave
Kristina/co host our Turn
This time, the oil has to be replaced. Also, somehow, the ignition key is not working anymore. They informed me that it will cost me at around $200. It's been three days (3days) now and they still have not called up. Of course I have been calling them and leaving several message but to no avail. Still waiting for their phone call on when my car would be ready.
So, in other words, the SERVICE is BAD.
Well. The fist tip-off that something was wrong should have been that the brakes felt as spongy as they did before the repairs, but I just told myself, "hey, this car is almost as old as you, what do you want!!" So I kept driving. Stupid me.
One day I was on my way out to run some errands, and I braked for the stop sign at the end of my street. The pedal went all the way to the floor and nothing happened. Remembering my Drivers' Ed training (who would have thought!) I tried the parking brake. NOTHING-- that had gone too. Somehow I maneuvered the car to the side of the road by shifting gears --reverse, neutral, drive, etc-- just before I would have drifted on to a busy street.
Back to the brake shop where I'd had my inspection performed a month earlier. They confirmed that my emergency brake was indeed not functioning, and they also revealed that my brake pads were not worn but MISSING. Somehow they overlooked that when they were inspecting my car. (!!?!)
Here's the worst part: My dad took the car in to get the brake pads and emergency brake fixed while I was, unwittingly, at work: I didn't get to ream them out for allowing me to drive a potential death trap. When I asked him what excuse they gave as to how they overlooked my brakes, they fed him some rhetoric about how it must have happened after the inspection (they just FELL OFF? without me noticing? uh-huh). Long story short: I was out another $600.
Story #2, only slightly less irritating: I got my CV's replaced, both sides. Buttercup still made her characterstic "clicking" noise when she turned. Before I even had the chance to make an appointment, I was at a drive-thru ATM and the CV's just BROKE. That's the only way I can describe it; there was this horrible crunching sound and then my car wouldn't shift into gear or go anywhere. I pushed the car into an empty parking space and had it towed back to the repair shop, where I demanded they fix the CV's and right this time. They did it, reluctantly (trying to tell me it was something else)and still refused to pay the towing costs. ARRRRGH!
Kristina/co host Our Turn
Kristina/co host Our Turn
For my INCOMPETENT MECHANIC story: I changed the oil on the wife car the other day, and she came a told me that there was a leak under it now. Turns out I left the old filter gasket on and didn't notice when I put the new one on!
And now for an incompetent dealer mechanic story: One day my wife's best friend mentioned that the wiper arms would continually loosen up on her new Accord. She had taken it back to the dealer THREE times. Each time they would tighten the nuts and the fix would last for a month or so. The dealer told her that they didn't know what else to do. I went out to the car, removed the nuts, put a drop of blue Loctite on the threaded shafts and retightened the nuts. My fix lasted until she sold the car some three years later. I also suggested she find another shop; if those bozos couldn't resolve that "problem", what would they do when they ran into something REALLY tough???
Sorry, but I don't swallow the story.
Avoid the chains... they really DON'T save you money... EVER.
Ohh and the customer that claims while the car was up on a lift part of the under panel was crushed!!! This is why I note everything on the ticket sometimes the service writers don't see that damage that was already there.. If you don't write it down your shop will be paying for damage someone else caused..
Kristina/co host Our Turn
" It never did that before you worked on it"
Ever hear that one?
Or the guy whose transmission started leaking right after we did a brake job?
This guy complained so much that he went over my head and I had to do a reseal job on his transmission!!
I remember the convertor o ring came out in pieces. Our fault....yeah, right!
Still, that would have made a LOT of noise!
I still can't believe the story.
Don't use Dan's Driveline in Las Vegas. Thank You.
Rather than hurting a newly installed artificial hip I elected to have a local repair shop change out the fuel pump. The mechanic looked at my vehicle and agreed that my fuel pump was bad.While signing the work authorization I remembered that my next oil change was almost due. I had them add a oil and filter charge to my order.
This action cost me $1,000.00.
After about 5 hours the shop called me and said that my engine needed a short block since it had suddenly started to rap. Couldn`t understand that but needed the car back for hospital transportation use so I agreed for this monster repair. It cost me about $1,000.00 extra for a fuel pump repair.
Two weeks after my neighbor asked me about my braking down on Camp Meade Road - about three miles from my home and maybe three miles from the repair shop. When I questioned him about the date it was on the day of the fuel pump repair and about 3 1/2 hours after I dropped off my Suburban.
Anyone suspect - like I do - that someone drained the oil and then the mechanic changed the fuel pump and then someone took it on the road for a test run or to bring back lunch. Runing a car without oil has been known to cause you to have a block replacement.
Couldn`t prove it weeks later but they lost my business and I have advised everyone gassing up at a adjacent gas station of my suspicions. I took great care of my burb and would not have anyone else touch my baby but for my recent new hip. What goes around comes around!!
Kristina/co host Our Turn
I don't think that the Japanese are necessarily any better. I think that owners do better maintenence on them, and since the resale value is higher, them tend to fix things when broken rather than junking the car.
1) Where do you work if you don't mind saying?
2) Are all Honda dealers incompetent? The one by me is the WORST car dealership (in every aspect) I've ever dealt with
TKs
I agree with you that the 2.5 Chrysler engine is a very good one. They do tend to blow an occassional head gasket, but so what? Replace it and drive another 100,000 miles.
But...comparing it to the slant six? That might be going a bit far. They were one great engine!
However,a shop is only as good as it's worst employee and things can happen even in the best of shops.
Why is that particular engine referred to as a "slant" six. The six part I understand, so I don't want any of your smart-[non-permissible content removed] replys regarding the number of cylinders (I know this group too well!) But feel free to haze me for my ignorance of the "slant" part. But please, after abusing me for my ignorance, remember to also answer the question.
How about you folks talking about the Chrysler engines go over to our Chrysler Reliability topic to continue?
(We also have Honda topics galore if others of you want to continue that conversation in a more relevant forum.)
Thanks.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
I'm just speculating here, but I'm guessing this was because the six was an old engine first designed when hoodlines were much taller. When styling changed, instead of designing a new engine, they decided to tilt it over a bit to make it less tall.
And yes, I used to own a car with one (hasn't everyone)? It was a 1973 Plymouth Duster. I bought it back when I was in college, around 1985 or so, for $100. I had it for about a year when the frame rusted out and one of the torsion bar mounts broke off. I put it up on a street corner with a $50 price tag on it and sold it in about an hour. Guess I should have asked more!
Dave
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
Instrument display died on my 91 XJ6. Also had a nonfunctioning door lock and a knocking hydraulic system (rear leveling system)along with a couple of other small items. Took the car to Checkered Flag in Virginia Beach, VA. After $800 in diagnostics charges, they finally told me the instrument panel had a bad wire.
The knocking sound from the rear was the hydraulic pump trying to level the car, but the rear end wouldn't hold the fluid since it was worn out. Dealer said I need a replacement rear end for $1100 (he admitted Jag didn't build them to last. The car has less than 60K miles.).
The front passenger door lock would cycle but not unlock. Dealer said I needed a new lock motor. Dealer replaced motor, I took the car home, and the SAME problem occurred the next day. Took the car back, and dealer said they lubricated, aligned, and cleaned the system, but I have a bad "latch" which may cause the problem to recur, and they couldn't be responsible if that happened. Told me this when I came to pick up the car. I had two questions: why didn't you ask if I wanted to replace the "latch" while the car was there and being worked on; why was the door lock cycling the EXACT SAME WAY AFTER YOU "FIXED" it. I didn't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to determine the aligning/lubrication was all it needed in the first place. $400 gone.
To top it all off, Checkered Flag wouldn't provide a loaner car while the car was in the shop. I had to buy my car there to get a free loaner. Of course, you can rent a car through the conveniently located Checkered Flag rental car office located in the dealership, which I did. Problem is, what was scheduled to be a four day fix/rental turned into the dealer making excuses for why my car repair was repeatedly delayed. First, it was parts. Then, a technician quit. 4 days turned into over 2 weeks!! And guess what--Checkered Flag wanted me to eat the cost of the rental car, despite the delays beign their fault. When I questioned the sanity, and conflict of interest,of asking the customer to pay rental costs from a dealer rental agency, when the dealer caused the delay, the service rep said he was "sorry." I told him I would not pay anything more than the originally scheduled 4 days. The service rep said he'd have to check with the service manager, and they agreed to only 4 days charges. But why did I have to fight on such a clear issue??
Finally, the moral to this long story. Jaguars are notoriously unreliable, and they didn't improve much from 1991 to 1996 if Edmunds long term test drive results of a '96 XJ6 are any indication. Also, anyone doing business with Checkered Flag in Virginia Beach should be careful. My XJ6 is having problems again, and I'll flatbed it 75 miles to another dealer before leaving one more dime at Checkered Flag.
with things, etc., but nobody could figure out what was wrong. After taking it to like three different places, I took it to a Chevy dealer who tried to convince me what I needed was an entirely
new steering wheel, which would have to be ordered and which would cost $$$. I just looked
at him and left.
Later, in chatting with relatives about it, my sister, who knows even less about cars than I do, said something about, ``Isn't there a plug behind the front grill somewhere, near the radiator? Have you checked that, because sometimes you hit a bump and it can come loose.'' I went and checked and, sure enough, the ``plug'' for the horn had come unplugged. I plugged it back in
and it worked fine after that.
Seems to me that's my worst case scenerio of
dealer rip off, though there were a few other
instances in dealing with that car.
The one who says you don't need a repair and fixes this for little or no charge because it is so insanely simple is a shop you should keep around for a while.
Cheers,
TB
I am very frustrated, where can a person take a car for maint and be assured that the work will be done properly and with no add-on problems?
My problems are with Toyota, but this may be intrinsic with all car dealers and shops today.
Without going into the horror stories, read above if you need that.
The bottom line is, how can we as comsumers protect ourselves against this.
One way is, before a shop does any work, get someone to inspect the car and sign a statement that the car is inspected and no problems exist, be specific as you can, list:
leaking radiator?
leaking CV boots?
leaking tranny?
When the car is picked up, do not pay the bill until you have a chance to inspect it yourself and
do not accept it if you see any problem.
The above is a lot of extra work, but it is a lot easier than going to small claims court.