have you had a bad auto mechanic experience?

[jojotherider]

I'm having one right now.

i got an estimate from an auto mechanic. He said it would be a week to complete.

-We dropped the car off on monday expecting it to be done fri/sat.
-Talked to the mechanic on Friday, said it would be ready Tuesday.
-on Wednesday, they found some extra stuff to be done and couldn't start it until they got out go ahead. Why didn't they call us on Friday, when they found the extra problem? They lost our phone number. Said it would be ready Friday. We said yeah right and he adjusted it to tuesday (today).
-Tuesday, he said it won't be ready until friday!!!
-so far by this friday, they'll have had the car for 3 weeks!!!

WTF!!! from what i hear from people i've talked to, a lot of them get screwed over by auto mechanics like this. the mechanic that i'm dealing with has no remorse for how long this is taking.

I want to know two things:

1) has this happened to you?

2)is there anything out there that holds automechanics accountable for what they say and do? I know when I plan something out at work and it's not done, my a-- is in trouble.

sorry if any of you are mechanics and work in the industry, but I'M PISSED OFF!!!

[jt09]

Had a transmission crap out about 3 weeks ago....took it to a shop with a great reputation for fair prices and good work...they quoted me $3100 for a new transmission, $2900 for a rebuilt....went to a junkyard and got a transmission from the same make and model, with 40K miles on it, for $650....spent 12 hours in the driveway with a buddy putting it in....runs like a charm....saved $2250-2450.

Your situation blows. When I got jerked around in the past, I demanded my car back right then and there. Told them they were trying to screw me over / were totally incompetent and I wanted to take my business elsewhere. I got my truck fixed for just a bit over the quoted price and the next day - 2 days late. Not a whole lot you can do but threaten to report them to the local Better Business Bureau or equivalent.

[base]

a better question would be...has anyone ever not had a bad auto mechanic experience?

[jvanick]

I've been pretty happy with the shops that I've taken my vehicles to. I work in the industry that supplies all the computers/technology for car dealerships.

It's all in the shop though... many dealers will be a lot better than your local shop down the street, but you pay more at the dealership because you're paying for training, tools, etc.

If I even felt for a second that they were jerking me around I'd take my car from them and never go back, as well as write a nastygram to not only the owner of the dealership but also the manufacturer as well... if you have a valid complaint, believe it or not, they actually do listen.

I do most of the work on my vehicles myself now, I can't see paying somebody else to do something that I can do in many cases.

-J

[nick e[V]ans]

[Grace B.]

Not really an auto mechanic story, but kinda related. When my mom bought her new Tundra a couple of years ago they gave her a free oil change. She took it into the place to get the oil changed and they forgot to put oil back in the truck! I don't remember exactly what started happening, but my mom said as she was driving down the road she knew something was really wrong. So she pulled over and called my dad and he came and then they called the place and told them they forgot to put oil in. The truck was really messed up, so they agreed to give us a new one. Which was nice, except the new truck ended up being a lemon. So then they had to give us another new truck, so pretty much my mom got to drive 3 new trucks in the same year. Its funny because I bought my Tacoma and the Integra I used to have at the same place and we told them not to give us a free oil change anymore, we were taking it to another place. They fired the person that forgot the oil though.

[Maestro]

I work at an auto shop, and the guy I work for is very reasonable. But you have to see it from their side to understand where prices sometimes come from. They have to make money somewhere, so say a part costs 250 and takes 20 minutes to install. If they charge you $20 for the installation, they don't make money and will go out of business. I'm not standing up for the guys that charge way too much - I don't agree with that. If you have a knowledge of cars and can do something on your own - do it. A lot of people don't have a clue though, so some mechanics get away with stiffing people - and are able to stay in business because the return customers never realize somethings wrong.

Also - having only worked there for 2 weeks - I've already seen a handful of people be total dicks towards the guy I work for. He goes out of his way to satisfy them - and when they have to come through with something small (like being there on time, picking up their car, or just communicating what they want) they can't be bothered. It's frustrating to say the least.

I definitely wouldn't want to own my own shop...

[nick e[V]ans]

people are idiots, thats what it comes down to maestro, especially when you're offering them a service, its like it gives them a right to be an a##hole to you.

[Dave W]

Yeah, working in a retail environment has opened my eyes to quite a few things. People can be such jerks it gets depressing. The saddest part is that (at least where I work) the jerks are the ones who end up getting what they want. It pays (literally sometimes) to be a jerk. When someone comes in and acts super nice and has a problem that you're not supposed to actually help them with, most of the time you can't. If a jerk comes in and escalates everything to get a manager involved and starts raising holy heck in the store, something is usually done pretty quickly to shut him/her up. At the same time, that in no way justifies a mechanic being dishonest and ripping someone off. I've been ripped off by both mechanics and car parts salesmen. It's very very frustrating and there is never really a satisfying thing you can do about it. From my experience, there is really no substitute for knowledge about your vehicle, what the mechanic is doing, and what your rights are as a consumer. Knowledge is really your best defense from getting ripped off. If all else fails, and you're getting screwed and can't seem to fix your situation, don't be afraid to make a lot of noise--especially if there are other customers within earshot.

[salmon_tacos]

The Internet is great. Most car makes have some sort of owners' club on the Internet where you can go and ask around. Some are better than others but, as with most services, referrals are your best bet.

One great thing about BMWs is the BMWCCA, i.e. the BMW Car Club of America. It's huge and is a great resource. Just by getting my local chapter's newletter and calling the technical advisor, I was able to find all the best shops around town.

I've tried a few without any problems. I would have stuck with the first one but you know how the grass is always greener...

The only other advice I can offer is: don't be too cheap. Don't get gouged but also don't expect to get good service from the cheapest place you can find. Anyone can offer crappy service for cheap prices. Quality usually costs money. Sometimes you can get lucky but I think that, more often than not, a little extra research and up-front cost will save you money, time, and headaches in the long run. This advice applies to goods as well as services.

[finkle]

One of my good friend's dad is an auto mechanic. So I'll just call her up and ask her if her dad could get me in the next day or give me a kwik estimate over the phone. He is very good and fairly reasonable. Plus, it's nice to have someone you know is going to be honest with you.

[Lynsey]

They always try to upsell me an air filter change which isn't needed at EZ Lube or transmission fluid flushed, which doesn't need to be done either.

Back in November on a Fri I was driving and my truck starting making a weird sound and I lost horsepower. I had to wait until Tues for the dealership to look at it. I purchased the extended warranty so my deductible to fix anything warranty related was $100. 2 hrs later, the service advisor tells me that a spring in the valve cover in one of the cylinders broke off causing loss of horsepower. He also mentioned that I needed new spark plugs and those installed would cost me $250 I was speechless at that point. I called a local ford mechanic near me and he went over the entire work order and explained things to me. I ended up writing a letter to the dealership only because I'm probably not the first or last person to go through that. If it sounds like B.S and smells like it, it probably is.

[finkle]

Lynsey, well your first problem started off by getting a ford.....hahaha j/k. But $250 to install spark plugs? Takes five minutes and you can get good plugs for about $10-20 total. Hell, the peeps at autozone will do it for free for ya.

[Lynsey]

Yeah yeah, I've already gotten some flack for buying one. It was crazy though, whoever had this before me changed the plugs and put aftermarkets in there, even those are supposed to last 60K miles or so, I have 53K on it now. They said my plugs were giving misfire codes, which was correct but since the stealership wasn't making a whole lot of $ off me, they tried to get a po' college student to pay more.

[finkle]

Lynsey, well the plugs don't do anything but make a spark. Your computer could be sending improper codes. Or your wires could have been put in the wrong order.....that would really fcuk things up.

Off topic: are you japanese or of japanese decent or do you like japan's flag. Just curious. I like to get an idea of what people look like if they don't have a picture of themselves.

[Tbonez]

I got one for you...Just bought a used Jeep still under warranty. I took it to the dealership to have it checked out before I bought it. They stated everything was fine but the brakes. I changed the brakes out and the differential fluid this weekend. While im changing out the differential fluid I see the pinion seal is leaking at the drive shafft. You can tell that the seal has been leaking for a while. I am now going to have to have a new seal put on for $250. My main issue is when I bought the car and had it checked out It had 35,000 miles on it. Now the car has 36,200. I am 200 miles out of warranty and I specifically paid to have the jeep checked out so I could have anything fixed that needed it under warranty. I have an appointment on Saturday and I am GOING to be that Jerk. I am going to raise absolute hell and if that doesnt work I am going to start writing letters...Next time I will get up under the car myself...I should have done it this time but I figured the dealership would check these things out!!!!!

[jvanick]

NEVER EVER EVER trust a used car dealership/salesman...

The guys that check the cars in when they come off the street sometimes don't do a very good job.

Here's some good things to keep in mind when trading in your used vehicle.

The best time of day to bring it in for trade is early morning. try to be the first person on the lot. More likely than not the trade in guys haven't had their coffee yet, are bs'ing about last night, etc... and they WILL miss things. (more on this later.. true story)

The other best time of day to bring it in for trade is late evening. The used car guys are just wanting to go home so again, they'll miss things. Oh, and having it dark outside is kinda nice too.

Good time of year to trade in your used vehicle if it has rust, dents, etc if you're in an area that salts the roads is after a few good snows and DON'T WASH IT. The salt will cover up some of the issues.

Ok... got that covered... now for the good one.

I went to Carmax to trade in my Cherokee... It was blue book listing for $6000 in "average" condition.... It had 85k miles, a broken rear leaf spring, needed brakes, needed new tires (the backs were almost bald) had leaking front seal in the differential, the transfer case was seeping and there were some good dings in the bumper from when I hit my garage after drinking too much one night.

I was first in the store that morning... the guys took it back and came back offering me $7500 on a trade for it... Luck? maybe... good timing, probably.

-J

[Dutch]

Best way to do things is to do the work yourself. I had a mechanic do an analysis on my truck and told me my starter was bad (which I already knew) and that my distributor should be replaced too. They told me it was $300 for a starter and $250 for the distributor (not the cap). I went to Toyota and bought the starter for $80 and the distribtor was $110. It was 4 bolts to take out the starter and took about 1/2 hour.

Mechanics are good for analysis but I'd rather do the work myself. That way I know it's done right. Even if I screw it up, I can always order new parts and do it again and still save money. I figure I can buy all the tools and learn something and still come out under what a mechanic would charge me and then I have more tools. I take the same approach to remodeling my house. Why pay someone when I can buy tools and do it myself.

[finkle]

[Dutch]

Ya, they have to make their money from someone, but I won't be me. There are plenty of suckers out there that will still go to them and pay the price. I like to use them jut for analysis. I'm not going to buy the $30,000 analyzer for something they can do for cheap.

[jvanick]

I wouldn't even take it to them for analysis..

I've got one of these: http://www.autotap.com .. it reads all the codes for the check engine light, even lets you reset it and see all kinds of other data for missfire codes and the whole nine yards... for $300, you can get the reader + one manufacturer (ford, gm, chrysler/import)... the cost savings in one trip to a dealer will pay for the unit... you will need a laptop computer for it too, but I'd assume that most of us either have a laptop or can borrow one from somebody.

-J

[Lynsey]

[finkle]