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re: Has anyone ever been scammed by a car repair shop?
Posted on 7/21/15 at 2:40 pm to tigerbait17
Posted on 7/21/15 at 2:40 pm to tigerbait17
Paid for an alignment they didn't do.
0
Posted on 7/21/15 at 2:43 pm to JohnnyKilroy
quote:
Got somewhat fricked by an independent shop.
I wouldn't say that...He honestly thought you didn't need something but was wrong about it. Getting F'd would be the opposite. He didn't cost you any extra $$$, just some time.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 2:50 pm to tigerbait17
The internet has severely hampered the ability of shops to screw people I think.
TPMS sensor went out recently. I looked online and quickly learned that all that is required is to take tire off, screw sensor in place, put ignition into accessory mode and push button on sensor to "mate" it to the car and then replace the tire.
Went to tire shop and told them I had the sensor (Amazon for half the price they wanted to charge me) and he said $60 per tire to install. I asked why a tire repair was $15 but this was $60 and he grandly explained that they had to "synchronize the new sensors to the TPMS system" and that was why it cost so much.
I said that $45 seemed like a lot to push the little red button on the sensor while the key was half turned. He just stared at me for a second and then laughed. He knew I knew he was trying to rip me off. I was both pissed and amazed at how blatant he was about it.
TPMS sensor went out recently. I looked online and quickly learned that all that is required is to take tire off, screw sensor in place, put ignition into accessory mode and push button on sensor to "mate" it to the car and then replace the tire.
Went to tire shop and told them I had the sensor (Amazon for half the price they wanted to charge me) and he said $60 per tire to install. I asked why a tire repair was $15 but this was $60 and he grandly explained that they had to "synchronize the new sensors to the TPMS system" and that was why it cost so much.
I said that $45 seemed like a lot to push the little red button on the sensor while the key was half turned. He just stared at me for a second and then laughed. He knew I knew he was trying to rip me off. I was both pissed and amazed at how blatant he was about it.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 3:05 pm to SUB
quote:
I wouldn't say that...He honestly thought you didn't need something but was wrong about it. Getting F'd would be the opposite. He didn't cost you any extra $$$, just some time.
Nah.
It cost me the parts and labor (for the new fuel filter and fuel pump) and tow fees that it took to get it fixed at the shop back home.
If a mechanic says "You don't need to replace X, Your car will be fine if you don't replace X" and then your car breaks down and the second mechanic says "Failure to replace X caused this." Then I'd say that the first mechanic fricked up.
Basically the first mechanic only fixed a symptom of the actual problem (the fuel filter and pump) and said that fixing the actual problem (the sensor) was unnecessary.
What really chapped my arse about the whole thing relating to misdiagnosis was the fact that it took them over a week to incorrectly diagnose the problem. I'm not a mechanic, but I know enough to relatively accurately diagnose a common issue. When I brought the car in I told the guy that It wasn't turning over and that I'm pretty sure that the fuel pump was shot because I can't hear it start when I turn key to the "On" position. I then told the guy that I had brought it to an autozone to get the codes from the check engine warning read. The code reader said that the sensor was malfunctioning.
So it took them over a week to tell me that the sensor was broken and the fuel pump was dead. Like I told them when I brought the car in.
Edit: Forgot to say in my OP that the original diagnosis was for filter AND pump. The fuel filter was clogged, which caused the fuel PUMP to quit working. The fuel pump getting burned out was causing the engine to not start.
This post was edited on 7/21/15 at 3:34 pm
Posted on 7/21/15 at 3:07 pm to tigerbait17
I brought my car to get a CV joint replaced since it started leaking. I also asked them to do an inspection to see if there was any sort of maintenance I could do since ole girl is getting over 150k miles and I want to drive it until at least 200k. The mechanic called me and told me that there wasn't anything for which he could honestly charge me. Said front brakes would need to be replaced in the not too distant future but they were fine for now. Also, I forgot to give him a $25 coupon before paying, so he put a note on my file to give me $25 off any service the next time I go there. They have my loyalty.
"My Mechanic" on the corner of Kirby and Holcombe if anyone near the Med Center in Houston is looking for an honest mechanic.
"My Mechanic" on the corner of Kirby and Holcombe if anyone near the Med Center in Houston is looking for an honest mechanic.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 4:32 pm to NashBamaFan
quote:In the majority of cases, OEM parts are rebranded aftermarket parts, but you pay twice as much from a dealership
OEM parts are more expensive. In some cases , not all , they're worth the higher price
Posted on 7/21/15 at 4:36 pm to JohnnyKilroy
The fuel pump the put on the first time was not still under warranty? How would the sensor reading wrong cause the new fuel filter to clog up that fast? Something about this story isn't adding up. Also when you turn the key and you hearing the starter turning the engine that's the engine turning over, when you have a dead battery the engine isn't turning over.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 4:43 pm to Hammertime
quote:
In the majority of cases, OEM parts are rebranded aftermarket parts, but you pay twice as much from a dealership
This is not the case, most aftermarket parts are cheap knockoffs of the oem parts. You buy anything from a parts store sensor wise for most foreign cars you will find out pretty quickly you just wasted your money.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 6:10 pm to Shankapotamous
AutoZone does have crappy parts. Look at the stuff that Napa sells though. Look at rockauto. Pretty much all of the OEM stuff will exactly match something else because someone else makes the parts
Posted on 7/21/15 at 8:45 pm to Shankapotamous
quote:
The fuel pump the put on the first time was not still under warranty? How would the sensor reading wrong cause the new fuel filter to clog up that fast? Something about this story isn't adding up.
The pump may have had a warranty with it, but the shop that installed it was several hundred miles away, and I honestly doubt that a warranty claim would have gone through because there was nothing defective about the pump. It just burned out because the filter was completely clogged.
As explained by the second shop, the engine mapping was extremely out of whack because the sensor was incorrectly telling the ECU that I was running somewhere around 70 to 80 percent ethanol fuel, when I was actually running 0%. I'll admit that I don't exactly remember how the second shop explained it (this was a few years ago) but something along the lines that because the ECU was getting incorrect readings, a large amount of fuel was being sent back into the tank/lines/system somehow and the "recycled" fuel was depositing a bunch of shite in the filter when it got sent back down the line.
Maybe that was total bullshite, but the guy showed me the filter that the other shop put on when he took it off my truck and it was visibly fricked.
quote:
Also when you turn the key and you hearing the starter turning the engine that's the engine turning over, when you have a dead battery the engine isn't turning over.
I'm talking about turning the key to the on position. Not the start position. When turning the key to the on position I couldn't hear my fuel pump start to pump so that led me to correctly believe that it was dead. My battery was fine until after this occurred and I stupidly kept trying to get it to start.
Posted on 7/22/15 at 8:03 pm to SUB
I did after I was told what fighting them would entail from a legal standpoint.
Posted on 7/22/15 at 10:44 pm to JohnnyKilroy
ASe certified mechanic calling bull shite on your whole story.
The new pump went out, really simple. Ethanol sensors adjust timing and afr. Not clog up filters. It takes a lot more fuel to run the correct afr when there is more ethanol. But the ethanol sensor is only a secondary measure. True afr is maintained and monitored by O2 sensors. Which would nullify any reading taken by the ethanol sensor. Other wise the PCM would never have known there was a problem and set the code for the ethanol sensor. That was falsely reading a higher amount.
So in reality you got screwed by the last mechanic.
To everyone bitching about how long it takes to do a job that you payed x amount of dollars for. Good mechanics get paid for what they know, not what they do.
The new pump went out, really simple. Ethanol sensors adjust timing and afr. Not clog up filters. It takes a lot more fuel to run the correct afr when there is more ethanol. But the ethanol sensor is only a secondary measure. True afr is maintained and monitored by O2 sensors. Which would nullify any reading taken by the ethanol sensor. Other wise the PCM would never have known there was a problem and set the code for the ethanol sensor. That was falsely reading a higher amount.
So in reality you got screwed by the last mechanic.
To everyone bitching about how long it takes to do a job that you payed x amount of dollars for. Good mechanics get paid for what they know, not what they do.
Posted on 7/22/15 at 10:55 pm to tt54l32v
quote:
The new pump went out, really simple. Ethanol sensors adjust timing and afr. Not clog up filters. It takes a lot more fuel to run the correct afr when there is more ethanol. But the ethanol sensor is only a secondary measure. True afr is maintained and monitored by O2 sensors. Which would nullify any reading taken by the ethanol sensor. Other wise the PCM would never have known there was a problem and set the code for the ethanol sensor. That was falsely reading a higher amount.
So in reality you got screwed by the last mechanic.
I'm not saying you are wrong. I'm not a mechanic. I may also be misremembering or misstating the second mechanic's reasons for why I was having issues.
What I do know is that the sensor was shot. About 2-3 weeks after the CEL came on (because of the sensor) I had a clogged filter and a dead fuel pump. Changed the pump and filter and went on my way. About 3-4 weeks after that I had a clogged filter and a dead fuel pump. Changed the filter, pump and this time I changed the sensor. 0 issues for the last 3 years.
Posted on 7/22/15 at 11:09 pm to tigerbait17
Had my wife's brakes done recently, alignment as well. Noticed a noise after the work. Took it back and told them they may have not torqued the control arm bolts enough, or left something else loose. While in the waiting room heard someone in the shop say something to the effect of "just look for something and lie to him."
The mechanic test drives it and says he didn't hear a noise. I have him on a ride and show him the noise. They go through and tighten everything up. Have me into the shop and tell me I may need $800 in strut repairs. I tell them I'll think about.
Drive the vehicle off and there is no more noise because they tighten their work up like I told them to. Aholes.
The mechanic test drives it and says he didn't hear a noise. I have him on a ride and show him the noise. They go through and tighten everything up. Have me into the shop and tell me I may need $800 in strut repairs. I tell them I'll think about.
Drive the vehicle off and there is no more noise because they tighten their work up like I told them to. Aholes.
Posted on 7/22/15 at 11:31 pm to NashBamaFan
Courtesy Motors in Lafayette tried to charge my wife $400 to change a headlight. They told her the front bumper had to be removed to acces the bulb and the replacement bulb cost $300. Fortunately, she called me before trusting their word...a simple google on my part saved me $346 and only took 20 minutes. I'm sure there are many honest businesses out there, but there are also a bunch crooked mfer's too!
Posted on 7/23/15 at 12:03 am to Gevans17
quote:
no, but they tried to scam a woman I know. Dealer in Met told her she needed a new control arm for $700 to eliminate the suspension noise she heard. all it needed was a new sway bar end link, as the old one was corroded in half. fixed it DIY for $7.
A woman in Baton Rouge had her Toyota SUV overheat, she had it towed to a Toyota dealership in BR, they told her the engine was toast and would have to be replaced for around 6 grand. She had it towed back to her house parked it and bought a new car. I bought the SUV for next to nothing with intentions of replacing the engine, I found it would start and run fine, but overheat after about 5 minutes, I got a new thermostat from Auto Zone for 20 bucks, put it in and drove the vehicle for almost 5 years with no issue, and then traded it in for a new car.
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