Taking the mechanics to the cleaners.

[SeaCat]

Okay by the popular demand of two of the poor misguided souls here who like my tales of woe, I shall tell about how I took a mechanics shop to the cleaners.

Several years ago I took my Dodge Caravan to a local shop to have some work done. Nothing Earth Shaking mind you. I wanted the Rear Brake Drums replaced. I would have done it myself but I was going on a weeks vacation to New England.

(The Caravan was a 1988 Caravan with almost 200K miles on it.)

We dropped the van off at the shop, with the new drums direct from Dodge in the back. I signed the paerwork authorising them to replace, and only replace the rear brake drums, and then we were off.

When we arrived back home I called and found the van was done. When we arrived at the shop we were told the van was waiting for us, and they handed me the bill, for almost $6K.

I asked since when did half an hours worth of work cost six thousand dollars and they informed me they had noticed some other problems and had gone ahead and fixed them.

They had replaced:
The Brake Armature in the back brakes as well as the calipers in the font brakes. (All were less than a year old.)
The Brake Pump.
The Steering pump. (Two years old.)
The Front Ball Joints. (Six months old.)
The Fuel Pump. (Original to that engine.)
The Radiator. (Without replacing the two Tranny Coolers I had installed.)
The Water Pump.

I protested that I hadn't authorised any of the additional work and they told me to just pay the bill or they would hold my van.

I took them to court. For some reason they seemed to think I would have lost the original Authorisation. I hadn't.

The judge listened to both sides. M with the original paperwork and them with their lawyer. He listened to their story about how the van wasn't drivable without their repairs. He looked at my receipts for all the parts I had put in, and which they had replaced. (So I'm a packrat.) He also listened to the fact they had managed to screw up the radio in the van, and put almost 300 miles on it.

I walked out of the court room with an order for them to not only return the van to me, but to replace the Radio with one of my choice.

I always have to wonder how many other people they screwed over like this.

Cat

 

[Boxlicker101]

Way to go, Cat. Some mechanics are honest but these obviously weren't.

To answer your question, I expect they have screwed over as many as they could.

 

[rgraham666]

Good one Cat.

 

[Stegral]

Very well done. I am very glad you stuck it out & went thru the court process.
I can write for my automechanics liscence anytime as I have the proper hours apprenticing.
My stomach turned when the boss at the time told me my "commision" as a service advisor should hit the moon because I could sell anything to everyone because a female wouldn't lie about needed repairs, right?
I hate going into the shops & having them try & sell me crap I KNOW the car/truck/van doesn't need & arguing with them about what is nessecary & what is not. Right now I buy junkers that I can fix myself when I get time.
any new car I purchase is going to have bumper to bumper warranty & full maitenance program on it, no hidden costs, no repair bills.

Again, BRAVO for taking it to court & winning !!!

 

[Boxlicker101]

Very well done. I am very glad you stuck it out & went thru the court process.
I can write for my automechanics liscence anytime as I have the proper hours apprenticing.
My stomach turned when the boss at the time told me my "commision" as a service advisor should hit the moon because I could sell anything to everyone because a female wouldn't lie about needed repairs, right?
I hate going into the shops & having them try & sell me crap I KNOW the car/truck/van doesn't need & arguing with them about what is nessecary & what is not. Right now I buy junkers that I can fix myself when I get time.
any new car I purchase is going to have bumper to bumper warranty & full maitenance program on it, no hidden costs, no repair bills.

Again, BRAVO for taking it to court & winning !!!

If that AV is your own pic. your boss is right. You could certainly sell anything to me.

 

[glynndah]

There used to be a dealership in town that had a great bunch of mechanics. I went in there once with what was supposed to be a very simple repair, a fuse or short somewhere "easy to fix". I grabbed my book out of the car and settled down to wait.

Two hours later, the service manager came out and told me there'd been a slight problem (the wiring diagram did not match up in any way to the insides of my car and they were having to trace and mark each of the wires they found.) He apologized and asked if I wanted lunch (on the dealership's dime!). I ate lunch from the pizza parlor next door and returned to my book.

When my car was finally finished, I went up to pay the bill, prepared for a sum just a digit or two away from the national debt. To my surprise, I was charged a few dollars for the part and about a half hour's worth of labor. The service manager said that was what the job should have cost.

I went there a week later to have a headlight replaced. The mechanic said not to even bother checking in, it wasn't worth it. He came out into the driveway with the replacement headlight, carrying his sandwich and switched out the defective lamp while he ate his lunch. He said give me five dollars and call it even.

Unfortunately that was the last business I had with them because the dealership was closed down due to tax evasion and deceptive practices. I wish I knew where their mechanics set up shop.

 

[Boxlicker101]

There used to be a dealership in town that had a great bunch of mechanics. I went in there once with what was supposed to be a very simple repair, a fuse or short somewhere "easy to fix". I grabbed my book out of the car and settled down to wait.

Two hours later, the service manager came out and told me there'd been a slight problem (the wiring diagram did not match up in any way to the insides of my car and they were having to trace and mark each of the wires they found.) He apologized and asked if I wanted lunch (on the dealership's dime!). I ate lunch from the pizza parlor next door and returned to my book.

When my car was finally finished, I went up to pay the bill, prepared for a sum just a digit or two away from the national debt. To my surprise, I was charged a few dollars for the part and about a half hour's worth of labor. The service manager said that was what the job should have cost.

I went there a week later to have a headlight replaced. The mechanic said not to even bother checking in, it wasn't worth it. He came out into the driveway with the replacement headlight, carrying his sandwich and switched out the defective lamp while he ate his lunch. He said give me five dollars and call it even.

Unfortunately that was the last business I had with them because the dealership was closed down due to tax evasion and deceptive practices. I wish I knew where their mechanics set up shop.

I wonder if the other shops in town, most of which were probably crooked, didn't gang up on them to get them railroaded.

I used to dislike the idea of going to dealerships because I have been ripped off by Dodge, Ford and Chevy dealers. I have been driving Toyotas lately, though, and have been treated honestly by three different delerships in two different cities. For that reason, among others, I expect to remain a Toyota customer until I take my last ride in a hearse. I won't care if that one is a Toyota or not.

 

[glynndah]

I wonder if the other shops in town, most of which were probably crooked, didn't gang up on them to get them railroaded.

I used to dislike the idea of going to dealerships because I have been ripped off by Dodge, Ford and Chevy dealers. I have been driving Toyotas lately, though, and have been treated honestly by three different delerships in two different cities. For that reason, among others, I expect to remain a Toyota customer until I take my last ride in a hearse. I won't care if that one is a Toyota or not.

The guys selling the cars and the front office men were a bunch of sleazy, white belt and shoes, bulletproof plaid polyester wearing stereotypical used car salesmen. They were the problem. The mechanics were wonderful!

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I read the topic later (I'm too tired to focus right now), but I was one of those "misguided souls."

And my first mechanic was in the insane assylum last I heard. His business prectices pretty much made sense after hearing that.

 

[TE999]

Okay by the popular demand of two of the poor misguided souls here who like my tales of woe, I shall tell about how I took a mechanics shop to the cleaners.

The other misguided soul thanks you for an amusing story.

Why didn't they just jack up the radiator cap and drive a new car under it?

6K! What a huge rip-off.

Glad you won, Cat.

Peace.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I don't know about Florida but, In California, an auto repair shop is required to return the old parts to the car owner. I think this is supposed to show that they really did replace them and they really were worn out. I'm sure there are ways of getting around this, but it does make it harder to rip people off.

 

[neonlyte]

Several years ago, I took my Renault into the dealership to get something replaced, can't remember what, but I asked them to do a full service, whichj was almost due, while it was in the shop. Collect the car later that day, paid the bill. Couple of nights later, I was pulled over by the police for a faulty break light. I knew the bulb had blown when I took it into the garage, they should have replaced it as part of the service. Next morning, I lifted the hood and it was clear they hadn't done the service, nothing under the hood had been disturbed, the oil filter, positioned where caught road dirt, was definitely not new. Back at the dealership, their excuse was - 'they forgot' - (to do the service, but didn't forget to charge me for it). I barely got an apology out of them.

I've used a one man business for all garage work since.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Just read it, good to hear. I think my first mechanic was similar tot hat. Either that or he set my car up to brak down within the next week so that he would have to fix it again, as Nissan should not have been breaking every other week, costing me $1000 or so a month.

The dealership I go to now is a little pricey compared to the one-man shops around the area, but I like the work that I get out of them.

They are downt he street from my office so I just have to drop the car off and then walk a block to work and wait for them to finish.

They find the problems that I tell them about, they warn me about problems I didn't know about (one of their people is behind me on the way to work some mornings and reminded me of a broken tail light, and sure enough it was).

When things break because of defects under warrranty I get them replaced for free (even when I didn't know the warranty was still going for that part), and when they replace it was another defective part that breaks something else connected to it, I get both for free

I like my current dealership mechanics (except for that fact that they are short and my seat is always moved )

 

[TxRad]

Having raced cars since i was thirteen (I still do but on a limited schedule) and built roundy round cars both asphalt and dirt since my mid twenties, it's safe to say i know a little about mechanics and cars.

I love going into shops and having them tell me what wrong with my car or truck..... Most of the time I already know or have a pretty good idea.

My work truck is an 02' dodge dakota with 32k on it. I take it to the local dealership because of the extended warrenty. You should hear some of the things they think they have to replace because of it's age. When I tell them to check the milage, they cringe.....

My old ramcharger is a 93' model and i do most of the work on it myself....

I trust my mechanic completely......

 

[vampiredust]

way to go, Cat

 

[arienette]

I really love your stories. Makes me want to hunt you down, sit in your living room and have you tell me stories all day.

 

[TxRad]

I really love your stories. Makes me want to hunt you down, sit in your living room and have you tell me stories all day.

Yeah right, stories... Uh huh, we hear ya......

 

[arienette]

Yeah right, stories... Uh huh, we hear ya......

No, seriously...

 

[SeaCat]

Having raced cars since i was thirteen (I still do but on a limited schedule) and built roundy round cars both asphalt and dirt since my mid twenties, it's safe to say i know a little about mechanics and cars.

I love going into shops and having them tell me what wrong with my car or truck..... Most of the time I already know or have a pretty good idea.

My work truck is an 02' dodge dakota with 32k on it. I take it to the local dealership because of the extended warrenty. You should hear some of the things they think they have to replace because of it's age. When I tell them to check the milage, they cringe.....

My old ramcharger is a 93' model and i do most of the work on it myself....

I trust my mechanic completely......

Up until they started putting computers in cars I did my own work. I still tinker with engines.

When I lived on Cape my wife and I used to drive down to Seekonk every wekend for their races. (1/4 mile flat paved oval.) It was all backyard racers until it got noticed, then the semipro's moved in and started taking over. The track owners had a brainstorm and created what they called the Formula Fours. We're talking Four Bangers with safety modifications. (No glass, seats welded or bolted down. Reinforcement, Gas tanks changed out for five gallon cells, etc.)

I went down to the local Junk Yard, where I was well known, and picked up an old beater for $100.00. When I had rebuilt it to meet specs I started racing it. I had more fun with it. We're talking I'm diving a not so well aged Pinto on a race track. (Yes I did have the much needed Bumper Sticker on the back. "Warning, this car explodes on Impact.")

I raced there for five years, going through I don't know how many cars. Talk about a blast.

Cat

 

[glynndah]

I forgot about this little gem. I have a Honda with those remote keys. Well, one of those keys broke. It separated into two pieces: the plastic one which still beeps and opens things, and the metal piece which will still start the car, but needs to be used in conjuction with some vice grips in order to be able to hold onto the key when turned into the ignition.

I took it to the nearest Honda dealer over an hour and a half away. They were going to charge me $100 to recalibrate the new keys they'd have to make me because they "never seen anything like that. Come here and look at this." But, alas, that machine was broken. They said they'd call me when the key machine was back from headquarters.

That was three months ago. I think I'm going to buy a tube of JB Weld and save myself about $95. Of course, the chances are abut fifty-fifty that I'm going to end up with the key permanently glued into the steering column.

 

[cloudy]

I forgot about this little gem. I have a Honda with those remote keys. Well, one of those keys broke. It separated into two pieces: the plastic one which still beeps and opens things, and the metal piece which will still start the car, but needs to be used in conjuction with some vice grips in order to be able to hold onto the key when turned into the ignition.

I took it to the nearest Honda dealer over an hour and a half away. They were going to charge me $100 to recalibrate the new keys they'd have to make me because they "never seen anything like that. Come here and look at this." But, alas, that machine was broken. They said they'd call me when the key machine was back from headquarters.

That was three months ago. I think I'm going to buy a tube of JB Weld and save myself about $95. Of course, the chances are abut fifty-fifty that I'm going to end up with the key permanently glued into the steering column.

I used to have a '84 Nissan 240 Coupe...had way over 200k miles on it when the starter went out on it. We just bypassed the starter and put a pushbutton on the dash (turn the key, push the button, and voila!).

It was still working when I finally sold it - at 400k miles, and for $400.

 

[glynndah]

I used to have a '84 Nissan 240 Coupe...had way over 200k miles on it when the starter went out on it. We just bypassed the starter and put a pushbutton on the dash (turn the key, push the button, and voila!).

It was still working when I finally sold it - at 400k miles, and for $400.

Fortunately, everything still works just fine. And the mechanics were "kind" enough to give me a temporary repair: wads and wads of scotch tape wrapped around the key.

 

[SeaCat]

I used to have a '84 Nissan 240 Coupe...had way over 200k miles on it when the starter went out on it. We just bypassed the starter and put a pushbutton on the dash (turn the key, push the button, and voila!).

It was still working when I finally sold it - at 400k miles, and for $400.

When I returned to the U.S. from Europe in 1987 I somehow came into possesion of a Chevy Vega Body. That's it, the body and frame of a Chevy Vega.

I played with that ugly little beast for a while. It was one of the strong frames so I rebuilt and dropped in a small block 350. I was a wild child so I played with it. I jacked it up and changed the Tranny.

By the time I was done it was a HillBilly Special. (I've asked my father to send me a scanned in copy of his picture of the beast.)

Picture if you can a 4x4 Chevy Vega with Mudder Tires and no doors.

It was unstable as hell. It looked funny and it was cold in the winter but it was a blast to drive. (I used it plenty to take the young ladies to the outer cape beaches and show them the joys of Nude Bathing. )

Cat

 

[Lisa Denton]

6000 dollar brake job? You rule Cat, glad you got justice in the end.

Several years ago I had a olden junker car, bought from an older friend who said in ten years the total repair costs had been a dollar and 99 cents for a new brake bulb. He was right, it ran for a year with no problems. I had saved up for a nice car by then, and gotten every bit of my 200 dollars out of the car.

An attachment had formed by then. I called the car "ralph" for "reliable ralph" and it got a electrical problem, the battery was going dead. The older friend that I bought the car from heard about it and told me with an electrical problem, to take it to a computerized diagnostic place, and then he knew a nice place that would replace only that part for me.

I done it, I went to a "wewillfuckuover" diagnostic place, that did repairs also and sold all kinds of accesorries and stuff. It was fast and easy, I browsed around while waiting and purchased a nice cupholder/ashtray combo set, and they gave me a nice computerized repair sheet. It said the battery was dead and they would be happy to replace it quickly for 250 dollars.

I went to my friends recommendation place and got a battery replacement for like 90 dollars and was happy ..... for a week .... then the battery went dead. I lookied at the "wewillfuckuover" place repair sheet and it said no diagnostics fees was refundable, however, for no cost they would re-diagnostic and re-"fuckuover" at no charge if wrong.

They gave me another pretty computerized sheet that said something else they would be happy to replace for 300 dollars, a alternator or somethin. I went to the place I trusted again and got that for like 50 dollars done.

This went on and on, the parts replaced, a week goes by and the battery goes dead, a re-diagnostic and more new parts.

I finally asked the place I trusted could they do a computerized diagnostic, they said no, but that Joebob would look at it for free and diagnostic it with his eyeballs.
Joebob called my back into the workin area to show me a battery cable stuck under some stuffs with the insulation worn off and rubbing up against parts. He gave me a not so pretty, not computerized, repair sheet that said free diagnostic and 7 dollars for a new battery cable.

A week goes by, no problem, car is fixed.

I went back to "wewillfuckuover" and said I wanted my diagnostic fee refunded, the pimply faced kid at the counter refused saying they didn't refund diagnostic fees and even pointed that out on my pretty reciept.

I became irate.

Yes. Nice lil me.

Very irate.

I was ready when the manager came out to handle this "bitch." There was peoples behind me in line to pay, and other peoples wandering around in the store came over to see the excitement.

I made a stack of thier pretty sheets with alternators and voltage regulators and batteries and shit that thier computerized diagnostic told me I needed, totalling hundreds of dollars in repair costs. Then I set down on the other side Joebobs pidgeon-scrawled coffee stained and tobacco spit stained repair bill for 7 dollars.

The manager looked around at all the peoples watching, and still made a mistake, he said "lady, we don't refund diagnostic charges."

Well ...... I slammed ny hand down so hard on the counter it sounded like a gunshot, even mechanics and diagnostic "fuckuover" technicians came running out of the back to see. I explained to the manager that in this instance, he was not only going to refund the money, but apologize to me also.

He did mumble that he was sorry, counted out my 23.99 dollar diagnostic fee, and as I walked out with my head held high, some of the peoples started clapping.

It was the principle.

 

[TxRad]

Up until they started putting computers in cars I did my own work. I still tinker with engines.

When I lived on Cape my wife and I used to drive down to Seekonk every wekend for their races. (1/4 mile flat paved oval.) It was all backyard racers until it got noticed, then the semipro's moved in and started taking over. The track owners had a brainstorm and created what they called the Formula Fours. We're talking Four Bangers with safety modifications. (No glass, seats welded or bolted down. Reinforcement, Gas tanks changed out for five gallon cells, etc.)

I went down to the local Junk Yard, where I was well known, and picked up an old beater for $100.00. When I had rebuilt it to meet specs I started racing it. I had more fun with it. We're talking I'm diving a not so well aged Pinto on a race track. (Yes I did have the much needed Bumper Sticker on the back. "Warning, this car explodes on Impact.")

I raced there for five years, going through I don't know how many cars. Talk about a blast.

Cat

There are several cheap diagnostic units that plug into most cars, dodges especially.. I have one that fits both the ramCharger and the Dakota.... It's actually for recurving the ignition and setting the chips in it but it does a whole lot more with a little common sense and know how.....

I started racing in quarter midgets back in the fifties... those were fun but I soon outgrew them, physically other than compitition wise... I moved on to sprints until i wrecked one so bad we had to bring it home in three pickup trucks, none of the pieces were big enough to stay on the trailer.

Then I found stock cars.... started with a 53' Oldslowmobile with a flatheat straight eight... it was light for it's day, strong as hell and had power out the ass with that big old flathead. I won my first championship with it and my second...

I raced in Fla back during the 60's and early 70'... Jacksonville Speedway... 1/2 mile dirt... actually it had oiled dirt straights and red clay turns, fast as hell and plenty wide to race... I had a 57 chevy convertible frame and firewall with a 55 body and a 327 punched out to the max... everyone else was running big blocks...

If you won in Jacksonville back then, you had to beat people like Red farmer, Tiny Luind, Bobby and Donny Allison, Pete Hamilton, Richard Petty.... You get the idea. It was tough... and a blast....

I even spent a little time in the big time of Nascar... Never won there but did have a few top ten finishes. A bad wreck at Darlington kicked me back to the local tracks when i still race...

I ran Texas winged modifies until me and a buddy killed the series by winning everything... They pissed us off. Spent time in latemodels but it got to expensive to fast....

Now I run an IMSA mod on a limited schedule all over Texas, Lousiania, Oklahoma, and Arkansas... I run the big money races and make a little money off it in the long run. Mostly it's to piss off the young hotshots who think they know everything... I also help a lot of the young drivers get their cars set up... sometimes that costs me money though....

It's fun and I'll do it until I can't....