Garage rip-offs

[96eb96]

I do my own repairs because of experience with bad shops. Back when I didn't know better I would believe them. I also had very poor work done and I just don't trust anyone anymore. Some place installed brakes and got grease all over the rotors, lucky for the parking brake. Places also used to install very cheap brake pads that had you coming back all the time.

A few months ago I did a whole front end on an older Crown Vic for a neighbor. It had the Truck style front end with box steering. Brought it for an alignment to a tire place (guy had a coupon) and they said it needs new tie rods. When I raised a stink the manager came out and said sorry, we hired some new guy and he isn't going to be working here much longer. Uh huh. I said give me the car now. Took it to a Ford dealer and it was 20$ more but at least I know it is done right. Guy wanted to save money. I called him and told him what they said, he told me to take it where you feel is best, even if it is more.

If you need a repair you should always start with the line "you are a tech, but you can't get a lift anymore or something, or you can't get free alignments" I didn't say it this time and got taken advantage of. I assure you once they hear that there will be no BS. They will do it to the next sucker. If you are on this board, working on cars, and doing major repairs it isn't really a lie.

 

[koda2000]

Wow i didn't know your age.I am 30 , I am surprised by the age difference in this old SUV platform.Is it just me or is this site starting to get more busy the last 2 years ? It seems like it kinda went dormant for a bit.Maybe the next generation is buying them now ? I know they are dirt cheap now that they are kinda at the end of life status.I kinda think when the torque monster headers died off back a few years ago, that's when interest in this platform went away.But now it has come back with force.

I don't know that activity on this forum has dropped off much in the 7 years I've been involved with it, but I've definable noticed that the new members seem to be more teenagers (I can tell buy the questions being asked) and many of the "old guard" have disappeared in the past 2 years. I just sold off 2 of our Gen II's and we're considering a 2006-2009 Ex to replace my daughter's 2000 Mountaineer next year. Personally I'll probably keep my '01 ST and '01 EB until they die (or until I die, whichever comes first) but If I come across a nice Gen IV at the right price who knows. I done buying Gen II's. Even if I came across an extremely clean, low mileage example, which is becoming more unlikely with each passing month, I don't believe I'd have any interest. As far as them being "dirt cheap" I haven't seen much difference in the prices where I live. I paid a premium for my '01 EB in 2012, because it was sooo clean, but I only paid around $2k apiece for the Mountaineers in 2012 and 2013, and $1400 and $1500 respectively for the '97 Sport and '01 XLT in 2014. My best deal (and biggest headache) was the $1000 I gave for my '01 Sport Trac. As I look at CL the prices of decent examples seem to have remained about the same and a rare, really nice '01 EB or LTD might be $3500 or more. I just sold my '01 XLT for $200 more than I paid for 3+ years ago. The '97 Sport would have sold for about what I paid for it if I felt like fixing everything that was wrong with it.

 

[Prince_Polaris]

At least you guys got your repairs done

Backstory: My mom got very little from the death of her parents in 2014 because her father had no will, and a woman who I personally think didn't have her best interests at heart got involved and therefore we've gotten nothing from the estate... boy, if we had gotten half the money from the house like we were supposed to maybe we wouldn't be living in the red!

Anyway, one of the main things we got was my grandparents' dark red (maroon I'd guess) 2007 Chrysler town and country, it's just a plain old minivan but it's worlds better than the worn-out and rusty 2005 dodge that I happen to be using myself since my explorer is down. (And it has working AC and heat!)

Anyway, the icing on the whole no-inheritance cake was that we took the van for an oil change. Simple deal, we paid for the oil change and we got the van back a bit later. That is, we paid for it. It didn't actually happen. As time went on, the van began to tick, then tock, then eventually knock, and then of course one day the engine died and was completely impossible to fix. Our friend couldn't even turn it with the biggest wrench extension thingy he had. He then found out that not only was the oil black, the transmission fluid was black, and the oil filter even had a hole in it!? To elaborate, this is the first oil change we did since it moved into our hands, so it seems that my grandparents neglected it a little because of.. ya know, diabetes/cancer.

Thanks to the van being a weird half-year engine thing, it was hard for him to find an engine, but thank goodness beef is the amazing guy he is because he managed to swap out the engine, save the transmission, and we do our own oil changes now. Just did one on that red van a few days ago. So I guess my message here is that don't ever go to a shop for an oil change if you can do it yourself!

PS: We didn't check on the knocking because we have a uh... a bit of a philosophy that "If it works, don't worry about it (because we can't afford to do much more than keep it running)", but ever since the 'van incident' I've developed my own tactic of "Oh no it's making a noise what have I broken".

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I've got to admit teenagers are buying these, I'm no real exception at 18, I generally set out with mine though to fix them and bring them up to fighting standards again, I get offers on my green truck daily if that's any indication, these trucks are getting harder to find lower miles, my 99 wrecked one with 154K on it is a gem at this point, and no, I won't, I bought a 256K V8 to drop my engine in and drive who knows how long.

 

[koda2000]

Over the years I've learned that "strange noises" are an excellent indication that something is wrong. Figure out what it is, fix it and you'll save time, money and aggravation. Being low on funds is even more reason not to ignore stuff.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Precisely, my 01 has transmission quirks and things I'm almost certain fixing isn't gonna be cheap over the PO ignoring fluid services at some point

 

[CDW6212R]

Precisely, my 01 has transmission quirks and things I'm almost certain fixing isn't gonna be cheap over the PO ignoring fluid services at some point

That sounds like you need to do what I haven't had time to do yet myself. Any automatic will benefit from available components for the valve body and wear items common to that model. I've got the new accumulators, solenoids and springs for my 4R70W, plus a few VB items from Sonnax. Most trans failures are from actual malfunctions of these easy to service parts. Most people assume new fluid is the most that an owner can do, and shops like to go straight to a full rebuild every time.

Trans shops would not make much money if they got into the business of repairing a transmission without R&Ring it(which demands a rebuild(the biggest cost is the R&R labor)). Transmission work used to be the second most profitable automotive service done, behind exhaust work. The labor of trans work is easily $1000 for any job, and it takes less than a day for one person to do .

 

[98 MERC]

I've got to admit teenagers are buying these, I'm no real exception at 18, I generally set out with mine though to fix them and bring them up to fighting standards again, I get offers on my green truck daily if that's any indication, these trucks are getting harder to find lower miles, my 99 wrecked one with 154K on it is a gem at this point, and no, I won't, I bought a 256K V8 to drop my engine in and drive who knows how long.

My 98 has 137K on it and looks pretty good.I do have to do the regular rust repair tho but even without the repair yet it looks pretty nice.I am focusing on mechanical repairs and slowly getting some body parts in for future rust repair.I want it to be reliable enough for at least a 250 mile round trip while looking nice at the same time.

 

[98 MERC]

I've got to admit teenagers are buying these, I'm no real exception at 18, I generally set out with mine though to fix them and bring them up to fighting standards again, I get offers on my green truck daily if that's any indication, these trucks are getting harder to find lower miles, my 99 wrecked one with 154K on it is a gem at this point, and no, I won't, I bought a 256K V8 to drop my engine in and drive who knows how long.

My 98 has 137K on it and looks pretty good.I do have to do the regular rust repair tho but even without the repair yet it looks pretty nice.I am focusing on mechanical repairs and slowly getting some body parts in for future rust repair.I want it to be reliable enough for at least a 250 mile round trip while looking nice at the same time.I bought it with 126K on it 3 years ago for $1900 from the original family.

 

[Indispensable Explorer]

It's a shame on how service isn't what it used to be. I find it especially annoying when the dealer lies. I get it how they're heartless and out to make money, but branding the Ford name, I would think that it would mean good advice from people who know what they were doing. Recently I took in an 07 Expedition in for a new transmission, (an issue with second gear being unreliable) the tech said "oh all it needs is an update". Well that didn't solve the problem. The transmission still isn't working correctly and in some ways is worse than before. Another one of my "favorites" is Firestone's "you need new windshield wipers". But wait there's more! They'll charge you $600+ dollars for something that I can learn on YouTube in ten minutes.

 

[koda2000]

I've written about this one before, but we had a Chrysler minivan, which we'd bought new. It was the first year of their optional ABS brake system (1991). The problem was that the ABS pump would burn out every couple of years. Then it was like having the power brake booster fail. Chrysler replaced the pump 3 or 4 times free of charge. The 4th time I had no dash or tail lights when I got it back, because they'd installed a new power feed wire to the ABS pump and used a crimp connector, which wasn't correctly crimped and came apart. The 5th time they told me the pump wasn't the problem and that it was the ABS computer/controller (which was no longer available new or reman). I found a reman controller at RockAuto for around $100, bought it and installed it. Didn't didn't fix the problem. No change at all. Fortunately I was able to return the part.

I'm guessing Chrysler finally decided to not fix this problem any more, the van was about 17 years old at that point. My main issue with the service dept was that when we got the van back from Chrysler it was running like crap. It was running fine when it went in for evaluation. I checked and found the center, rear plug wire had been pulled off. There was no reason for them to have been working in that area, so it had to have been deliberately sabotaged. I then vowed to never do any business with that sealership again.

We ended up scrapping that van at 160,000 miles, which ran and drove fine otherwise. I considered swapping the brake system to a regular power brake system, but it just wasn't worth the money or effort. Typical Chrysler product, it had many other electrical issues, besides I was embarrassed to be seen driving it.

 

[96firephoenix]

a couple of the Honda CR-Z guys have had dealers or other repair shops unhook the washer lines... they can be unhooked without any work other than a screwdriver through the trim and push it off the nozzle, but to re-attach it, you have to pull off the wiper arms, and remove all the trim - about an hour of work...

and it's a hard enough fit that it can't come off on its own, or be accidental...

I've experienced the same scenario of my wife taking a car in to the shop and getting a quote for about $1000 more than what I get a quote for. sometimes it's a smaller amount, like the $85 alignment the car "needed" when she had it there for a flat tire, but wasn't mentioned at all when I took it in for diagnosing steering wobble.

 

[Tech By Trade]

You guys are just lucky you don't have Canadian Tire down there. The horror stories I have heard, or had to fix back in the day when I used to work in a private shop to work my way through school. The horror I tell you!

 

[RandomNerd2000]

That sounds like you need to do what I haven't had time to do yet myself. Any automatic will benefit from available components for the valve body and wear items common to that model. I've got the new accumulators, solenoids and springs for my 4R70W, plus a few VB items from Sonnax. Most trans failures are from actual malfunctions of these easy to service parts. Most people assume new fluid is the most that an owner can do, and shops like to go straight to a full rebuild every time.

Trans shops would not make much money if they got into the business of repairing a transmission without R&Ring it(which demands a rebuild(the biggest cost is the R&R labor)). Transmission work used to be the second most profitable automotive service done, behind exhaust work. The labor of trans work is easily $1000 for any job, and it takes less than a day for one person to do .

Precisely, I at one point knew almost everything it took to build a 4R70W, I'm personally of the general opinion most automatic transmissions will make 200K-250K with care and updates as they come available, I fully believe the PO thought the truck was junk, and sold it for what a body with title brings, it's a V6 SOHC. My V8 had a transmission put in it about 20K miles ago, looks used, but shifts beautifully so I'm not worried about it, my 99 had a bad accumulator spring, shifted rough from 1st to 2nd, was perfect other than that. Most transmission work is a ripoff, I'm very mechanically inclined and don't see how the work costs so much other than it does by nature.

@98 MERC My 2000 is somewhat rusty in itself, but it's all frame rust, I'm going to get the chemicals to head that off since it's extremely solid at 257K.

 

[96firephoenix]

You guys are just lucky you don't have Canadian Tire down there. The horror stories I have heard, or had to fix back in the day when I used to work in a private shop to work my way through school. The horror I tell you!

I've heard about them through reddit... r/justrolledintotheshop is pretty entertaining...

 

[koda2000]

I talked to the tire shop this morning about the steering wheel being crooked. I was beginning to wonder if they'd even aligned it, but he pulled the ticket with the print-out of the spec's achieved and said it was spot on (no mention about it needing ball joints). I'm taking it in at 4:00 to have them straighten the steering wheel. Before he could bull **** me I let him know that I knew the steering wheel being straight should have been part of doing an alignment and that it being off was just a tie-rod adjustment issue, to which he agreed.

I was polite on the phone, but once this issue is corrected I may decide to not be so polite. In any event, I will not be going back there.

 

[toypaseo]

In the past, after an alignment job, I have had an alignment place tell me, "Alignment is correct, but the crooked steering wheel is what you get. It's either one or the other." A call to corporate got that issue corrected.

I took my Paseo in for a front wheel alignment to a "large tire chain that does alignments" in Phoenix. Salesman said "we need to do a four wheel alignment." I told him the rear is unalignable, so I just need a two wheel alignment. He didn't like my answer, and make some calls. He comes back to me after a few minutes, nicely apologizes, and agrees on my statement. Two wheel alignment completed. I pry should have left when he got all defensive...

 

[JCat]

So I sent my daughter to a local tire shop to get her wheels aligned after me replacing her upper control arms and lower ball joints 4 days ago. An alignment of her 2000 Mountaineer should have taken them about 30-45 mins. My daughter called be 90 mins later to tell me they weren't done yet. I told her to inquire as to why it was taking so long? When she asked them she was told that her car was done, but that they had forgotten to tell her... WTF? Then they proceed to tell her that she needs ball joints. When she tells them they had just been replaced 4 days ago they asked her if cheap parts were used (they were not). I'd told my daughter to make sure the steering wheel was straight after the alignment. She told me that it was still crooked, but that she'd already wasted enough time at their shop and was leaving.

I'll be paying the shop a visit on Monday to have the steering wheel set straight, and to give them a piece of my mind. When I'm done they'll probably tell be to leave and not come back (not that I ever plan to). This is a shop I've used in the past with excellent results, though not the tire shop I usually use. They have a 4.5 star customer review rating, but if you read their reviews they're mostly either 1 star or 5 star.

No wonder repair shops get a bad reputation. Do they just try to pull this crap on women?

I could have wrote this exactly as you did. (Butler tire in Norcross)

I will add some stuff to this converation.First thing is yes they do indeed target women.They do target everyone tho but they do target women more then men.Its a fact.I also have ran into schedule problems before and went to another mechanic because mine was booked for like 3 weeks during spring break and i ended up having a terrible experience with the other mechanic i tried because mine had a waiting list.In the end i would of been better off waiting for my actual mechanic to get me in.Shops that will scam you for example are Midas and Tuffy or Goodyear service centers.You will never win with a chain store.I always go to MA and PA mechanics.

Now how do i know that some mechanics target women ??? I was in retail sales a few years back and i still am in sales now.

I see this problem a lot.

 

[Prince_Polaris]

I've got to admit teenagers are buying these, I'm no real exception at 18, I generally set out with mine though to fix them and bring them up to fighting standards again, I get offers on my green truck daily if that's any indication, these trucks are getting harder to find lower miles, my 99 wrecked one with 154K on it is a gem at this point, and no, I won't, I bought a 256K V8 to drop my engine in and drive who knows how long.

Well you'd love my 98 sport with 123k miles! If... if it worked, ya know. And I can attest to the teenager thing too, I just turned 19 on the 23rd.

Over the years I've learned that "strange noises" are an excellent indication that something is wrong. Figure out what it is, fix it and you'll save time, money and aggravation. Being low on funds is even more reason not to ignore stuff.

Yep, this is why unlike my dad, I get worried when I hear noises, not when the noise finally turns into something being broken.

 

[hsquare]

Being treated like crap by a dodgy mechanic is not, unfortunately, a strictly American experience. We ahve the same delema in Aus. There was a recent TV investigative show where a man took the same vehicle with the same basic problem to a series of "respectable" work shops for an assesment. The differences were huge . . . and were all shown on hidden cameras! They did the same thing again a few weeks later, with a woman asking this time. Again - big difference!
What a shame that people think this way . . .
As 96eb96 mentioned, i too do as much of my own repairs as I can. That way I know if the brake pads are a respectable brand or not, my fingers can tell if there are grooves wearing into the dics (and not some smart-arse 19 year old) and what brand of oil and filter is really being used. Any other thing I need i look at Youtube for tips. I am so surprised at the amount of repair videos there are for Ford Explorers and so thankful that most are done in the USA - where the car was built and has an almost cult-following.
This forum is, of course, the best source of info ever!