Garage rip-offs

[koda2000]

Update:
I just got home from the tire shop, Turns out the issue was worse than I thought. It wasn't that they didn't bother to set the steering wheel straight. They neglected to tighten the control arm bolts on the left side and it slipped out of alignment. That's why the steering wheel went crooked. I'm glad I took it back to them to fix, because they had to do another complete alignment. Steering wheel is nice and straight now. My final works to the manager were, "nice quality work..." I wont be going back to Roland Tire again.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Last year, we carried a truck to a mechanic, before I got as inclined as I am now, to have a tail light fixed, he fried the PCM while we weren't there, hydrolocked the engine, broke a rod, and was a bad enough thief he stole the antifreeze mostly out of it, the transmission when we cranked it with the new engine recently at home was so low in fluid it wouldn't even move, thought it was dead where it sat, he apparently doesn't own a thing and hasn't been licensed in years, so be careful what a "friend" retired mechanic says he can fix.

 

[koda2000]

A friend of mine took the engine out of his newly acquired 1965 GTO. He took it to a supposedly "reputable" mechanic to have the engine rebuilt. When he got it back, months later, it looked nice (clean freshly painted) but the guy never even took the motor apart and charged him $4000 for rebuilding it. Honestly, I can't understand why someone would do this to another person. Drugs?

 

[RandomNerd2000]

No idea, the one in question that did the "work" is like 72, has a pair of nice vehicles and several grand children, he has a lot of vehicles he claims he's been "stuck with", including a 95 XLT I tried to buy back last June, and a 98 Jimmy I asked about too, wanted too much for either.

 

[96eb96]

Also, there are very few "craftsmen" left. Just parts changers who only care about bleeding your wallet dry. I had a pinhole leak in my Y-pipe, which was otherwise solid. Factory Y pipes are heavy SS. It was near the weld for the shield. Every place I went to told me it has to be replaced, and understandably 4-5 hours of labor and the inflated cost of a new Aluminized pipe that wont see 3 winters. So about 800 w/tax out the door. I asked about welding and most places laughed, said it is impossible, one place actually said it is illegal(aren't they welded at the factory?). This is also a major job if you DIY.

I was driving in a very rural area and noticed a small no frills shop, no fancy waiting areas, gravel driveway, went in. Country music in the background. Talked to the guy, he put it on the lift. He agreed that unless you can get a Ford part it is a waste to replace. 10 minutes and a $20 later it had a perfect weld. He wirebrushed and gas welded it along with the shield. Gave him $30 because he did such a nice job. Lasted thru the salty winter, looks as good as factory. He also told me he could have repaired my converter, which I replaced because of rust. He said he has a ranger with the same setup and touches it up every so often.

Shops quoted me $1600 to replace the cat and muffler, I was able to do it for $500 with parts and rebates. I found a cat converter online for $300, and when I told a place they told me it is impossible, not NY/CA certified, etc (it is). He said his best price is almost $800. If I knew about the place would have been $20. I did need the muffler and pipes though.

I could go on, you need a starter, that $100 Advance Auto Starter could turn out to be $600 installed. Actually, starters are very repairable. Remove the the screws, clean them up, and you could buy a new solenoid and brushes for $25 on ebay.

I see why people go into debt with new cars, if you can't DIY your old car could become very expensive. Also, these places tell you to drop it off and they work on it at their leisure. No rush for them.

 

[Josh P]

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.

I think every mopar dealer has that exact same mentality. Larry H Miller dodge sold my boss some parts not needed, we caught on to it pretty fast. My aerostar van lost the rear abs controller and I went the route of standard aftermarket brake parts. I don't mind driving it, I have no shame.

 

[98 MERC]

I think every mopar dealer has that exact same mentality. Larry H Miller dodge sold my boss some parts not needed, we caught on to it pretty fast. My aerostar van lost the rear abs controller and I went the route of standard aftermarket brake parts. I don't mind driving it, I have no shame.

Since they merged with fiat i consider them a complete loss altogether.Not that they made quality before.But it seemed better.Fiat failed here years ago and Chrysler was failing AGAIN for i don't know how many times now.So what do you do with 2 garbage companies ??? Hell lets merge them ! That should make a great vehicle !!!!!!! They make cool looking vehicles no doubt.Longevity ??? Nope.

 

[LoquetusofBorg]

There is no substitute for doing the job yourself, (if possible). You have to buy quality parts and just dig in. I don't know about all of you but for me, once your committed to doing it it seems to go faster and is not that bad to do. I usually go into a job with the attitude that it will take a while because of natures "locktite", (rust), that I will battle nuts and bolts and everything in between. Then it is usually not that bad once you start. There are jobs I could not tackle where I live, like my timing chains, which I am glad I did not, but I took it to Ford to do, (most expensive option), because it comes with a great guarantee and they have access to all the proper parts and tools and spec's where as a lot of shops don't. My two cents worth.
Loquetus

 

[LoquetusofBorg]

I am also glad to here Koda that it all worked out for you.
Loquetus

 

[scrivyscriv]

Here's my little story.. I was working for a chain tire store years ago during college, as a service tech. One day a woman pulled up with some kind of road hazard claim on her tire. We pulled the car around, got the wheel off and started inspecting it. The service manager told me to stick a screwdriver in the sidewall so they could refuse the 'road hazard' claim and make her pay full price for a new tire.. I told him no thanks, so he did it himself.

Then there was the time I brought the company cargo van in for an A/C repair FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES in two months... You just have to realize, most of the guys in these chain shops aren't career mechanics. They don't know how to troubleshoot. If 2+2 always equals 4, when they get in the occasional 2+3, they don't know what else to do except call it a 4..

 

[98 MERC]

Here's my little story.. I was working for a chain tire store years ago during college, as a service tech. One day a woman pulled up with some kind of road hazard claim on her tire. We pulled the car around, got the wheel off and started inspecting it. The service manager told me to stick a screwdriver in the sidewall so they could refuse the 'road hazard' claim and make her pay full price for a new tire.. I told him no thanks, so he did it himself.

Then there was the time I brought the company cargo van in for an A/C repair FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES in two months... You just have to realize, most of the guys in these chain shops aren't career mechanics. They don't know how to troubleshoot. If 2+2 always equals 4, when they get in the occasional 2+3, they don't know what else to do except call it a 4..

Good for you to refuse that.Even if he fired you, their are plenty of chain stores that you could of got another job at.

 

[BKennedy]

Good for you to refuse that.Even if he fired you, their are plenty of chain stores that you could of got another job at.

Good thread.

I would have quit on the spot, gone and told the customer what was going on, then made a call to corporate to let them know after I picked up my last paycheck.

 

[koda2000]

Good thread.

I would have quit on the spot, gone and told the customer what was going on, then made a call to corporate to let them know after I picked up my last paycheck.

I agree that I would never have done that, but I'm a little confused as to what a "road hazard" meant at the time. When I had road hazard warranties on tires it didn't matter what I ran over or where it punctured the tire it was still covered. So even poking a screwdriver through the sidewall wouldn't have voided the warranty.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Managers are brutal. I was late on an oil change a few years back, the one and only time I go to a great Canadian oil change on my way out of town on a road trip. The kid doing the change could obviously tell I did all my own work by the oem filter and the fact that I was getting a synthetic change. The manager (she) came over with a coffee for me while I waited and dropped off a jug of something under the hood of my truck. The kid comes under he is done the change, brings me the jug (power steering fluid), and asks if I put that there, I said no, it was full this morning, your manager dropped it there. He said, yeah, you don't need this. Not sure what she was trying to pull, it wasn't on my bill, but the first and last time anyone there does an oil change on my truck other than me.