I don't use repair shops much, as I usually DIY. But I had another somewhat disappointing experience recently. I had some rear suspension work done on the Sedona, which included a used (like new) subframe, and new lateral links. When I got it back, all was well, but I noticed that the rear end sat higher. I carry a load for work, so usually the rear end squats a half inch or so. About a week after I brought the van home, there was a binding/popping noise coming from the rear suspension when turning of taking off... odd, I thought. The first thing that came to mind was "I bet they didn't tighten the suspension bushings with weight on them". There are 6 rubber bushings that require loading at ride height in the rear, and when I loosened them to check, about half of them made an audible "pop!" when I broke the nut loose. All 6 were re-tightened at ride height. Noise was gone, and ride height was back to normal.
There are also 4 cotter pins on various ball joints in the rear, which they nicely replaced with new on all but one, which they used a jam nut setup with the old nut... why? Cotter pins are plentiful. They also snapped off a short piece of threaded shaft on one of my new end links and nicked the boot, but it still installs just fine
If I did the repair myself, I'd have no issue cutting corners or improvising if it didn't affect safety. But in a professional setting, it just seems wrong. I'll bet most people never check the work that a shop does; nor should they have to, in fact.
There are also 4 cotter pins on various ball joints in the rear, which they nicely replaced with new on all but one, which they used a jam nut setup with the old nut... why? Cotter pins are plentiful. They also snapped off a short piece of threaded shaft on one of my new end links and nicked the boot, but it still installs just fine
If I did the repair myself, I'd have no issue cutting corners or improvising if it didn't affect safety. But in a professional setting, it just seems wrong. I'll bet most people never check the work that a shop does; nor should they have to, in fact.