Do some shops just not give a [censored]?
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Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Dont necessarily blame 'the shop' I have done jobs where i was asked to re-use the coolant. When someone is fixing something for sale they want the bare minimum.. versus a guy in for the long haul.
That's a fair assessment. Some people, you tell them they need repair/maintenance X, even when it's bleedingly obvious, and that's not good enough and you're automatically scamming them, somehow. It's hard to win, isn't it?
Dont necessarily blame 'the shop' I have done jobs where i was asked to re-use the coolant. When someone is fixing something for sale they want the bare minimum.. versus a guy in for the long haul.
That's a fair assessment. Some people, you tell them they need repair/maintenance X, even when it's bleedingly obvious, and that's not good enough and you're automatically scamming them, somehow. It's hard to win, isn't it?
Originally Posted by Garak
Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Dont necessarily blame 'the shop' I have done jobs where i was asked to re-use the coolant. When someone is fixing something for sale they want the bare minimum.. versus a guy in for the long haul.
That's a fair assessment. Some people, you tell them they need repair/maintenance X, even when it's bleedingly obvious, and that's not good enough and you're automatically scamming them, somehow. It's hard to win, isn't it?
I'll give you a personal example of a typical encounter with a repair shop, this one was independent, and appeared to look professional. It will be my very first time using them. A NEW customer! I call early in the week and set up an appointment to have a noise (likely wheel bearing I'm pretty certain that's what it is I know my car) checked out and if needed replaced. They set it up for early the following week.
Fine. I arrive first thing when they open for the appointment. I hand the SW the written explanation of what they are to do and what they are looking for. One single thing,
after all I am testing them to see whether they should get future business...The day passes and don't hear ANYthing from them, finally around 3 pm I call and ask what the situation is...They tell me that they are backed up but will try to get to my car before they close, but they won't be able to actually work on it until the following day.
So I give them the benefit of the doubt and let things slide till 4:30 (close at 5:30) still don't hear that they have even diagnosed the vehicle. I decide to drive in without calling them and investigate the situation. When I walk in I tell the SW who I am again and he proceeds to show me a list of 5 things that also need to be done to the tune of
2800$!!!!!!!!!! The shop owner decided to take the car for a test drive. I'm a bit taken back and say...but what about diagnosing the noise from the wheel area??!?!?
(which they said they would do with the stethoscope when I spoke to this SW over the phone) oh, well we were so backed up that we couldn't get to it today, so if you don't mind we'll keep the car until tomorrow....Then the shop owner comes in and asks me "Do you want to sell the car??" I said wait a minute did I ever indicate I wanted to sell the car?
No I wanted you to look at one thing and fix it, as a test to see if I wanted to use you as a go to shop for repairs....Owner slithers out of my view...Then after these slime balls tell me they were so backed up, the techs are hanging around and shooting the breeze with me for another hour, when you guessed it, they could have been working on my car....
So I told them well I'll bring the car back tomorrow so you can work on it, I need my keys....then the SW proceeds to get the keys...( I was very patient and polite the entire time)
He finally gets them, I say OK you want me to bring the car back first thing tomorrow? SW says the parts needed probably won't come in till a day or two later?? so bring it back then?!?!? (Wait they didn't diagnose the car at all) I say well how about I schedule for next week so you have the parts ready to repair the car...SW keeps beating around the bush....I decide this place is a no go get my keys and leave, I give them one more chance to schedule an appointment....the guy blows it off, and I'll NEVER go back there ever again and tell friends, family and acquaintances never to use this place either....
Ironically some weeks later I hear an ad for this place on the radio and announcer says "Car repair can be a painful experience, with shops that don't do the work right,
over charge, and don't care... We at (xxxx xxxx xxxxx MOTORS) care about your car and you.".....hahaa Despicable
Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Dont necessarily blame 'the shop' I have done jobs where i was asked to re-use the coolant. When someone is fixing something for sale they want the bare minimum.. versus a guy in for the long haul.
That's a fair assessment. Some people, you tell them they need repair/maintenance X, even when it's bleedingly obvious, and that's not good enough and you're automatically scamming them, somehow. It's hard to win, isn't it?
I'll give you a personal example of a typical encounter with a repair shop, this one was independent, and appeared to look professional. It will be my very first time using them. A NEW customer! I call early in the week and set up an appointment to have a noise (likely wheel bearing I'm pretty certain that's what it is I know my car) checked out and if needed replaced. They set it up for early the following week.
Fine. I arrive first thing when they open for the appointment. I hand the SW the written explanation of what they are to do and what they are looking for. One single thing,
after all I am testing them to see whether they should get future business...The day passes and don't hear ANYthing from them, finally around 3 pm I call and ask what the situation is...They tell me that they are backed up but will try to get to my car before they close, but they won't be able to actually work on it until the following day.
So I give them the benefit of the doubt and let things slide till 4:30 (close at 5:30) still don't hear that they have even diagnosed the vehicle. I decide to drive in without calling them and investigate the situation. When I walk in I tell the SW who I am again and he proceeds to show me a list of 5 things that also need to be done to the tune of
2800$!!!!!!!!!! The shop owner decided to take the car for a test drive. I'm a bit taken back and say...but what about diagnosing the noise from the wheel area??!?!?
(which they said they would do with the stethoscope when I spoke to this SW over the phone) oh, well we were so backed up that we couldn't get to it today, so if you don't mind we'll keep the car until tomorrow....Then the shop owner comes in and asks me "Do you want to sell the car??" I said wait a minute did I ever indicate I wanted to sell the car?
No I wanted you to look at one thing and fix it, as a test to see if I wanted to use you as a go to shop for repairs....Owner slithers out of my view...Then after these slime balls tell me they were so backed up, the techs are hanging around and shooting the breeze with me for another hour, when you guessed it, they could have been working on my car....
So I told them well I'll bring the car back tomorrow so you can work on it, I need my keys....then the SW proceeds to get the keys...( I was very patient and polite the entire time)
He finally gets them, I say OK you want me to bring the car back first thing tomorrow? SW says the parts needed probably won't come in till a day or two later?? so bring it back then?!?!? (Wait they didn't diagnose the car at all) I say well how about I schedule for next week so you have the parts ready to repair the car...SW keeps beating around the bush....I decide this place is a no go get my keys and leave, I give them one more chance to schedule an appointment....the guy blows it off, and I'll NEVER go back there ever again and tell friends, family and acquaintances never to use this place either....
Ironically some weeks later I hear an ad for this place on the radio and announcer says "Car repair can be a painful experience, with shops that don't do the work right,
over charge, and don't care... We at (xxxx xxxx xxxxx MOTORS) care about your car and you.".....hahaa Despicable
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Despicable
I have been selling Ford parts both back counter and wholesale (occasionally retail counter) for 12 years and I have sure learned what shops to avoid and what ones to send people to. I laugh at some of the ones who do obvious predatory advertising to out of town college students.
What is also interesting is when 2 or 3 shops happen to have the identical job in their shop, in this case 3.5/3.7 FWD water pumps, and the huge difference in what they want.
Despicable
I have been selling Ford parts both back counter and wholesale (occasionally retail counter) for 12 years and I have sure learned what shops to avoid and what ones to send people to. I laugh at some of the ones who do obvious predatory advertising to out of town college students.
What is also interesting is when 2 or 3 shops happen to have the identical job in their shop, in this case 3.5/3.7 FWD water pumps, and the huge difference in what they want.
I'll try shops that are well reviewed then try them out for something simple like an oil change and tire rotation. Many can't even pass that test. Esp when they don't rotate the tires like I asked them to do.
A good Honda dealer I used to go to advised me to bring it in for something like an oil change if I wanted them to check out something. That way they wouldn't have to charge me a diagnosis fee if I brought it in for something else. While it was in the shop they could take a look at it. Very nice guys there.
A good Honda dealer I used to go to advised me to bring it in for something like an oil change if I wanted them to check out something. That way they wouldn't have to charge me a diagnosis fee if I brought it in for something else. While it was in the shop they could take a look at it. Very nice guys there.
Originally Posted by eljefino
The Spark was "cute" and she's going to treat it badly too.
For people like her, the only thing I recommend is Uber.
The Spark was "cute" and she's going to treat it badly too.
For people like her, the only thing I recommend is Uber.
Originally Posted by AC1DD
I'll give you a personal example of a typical encounter with a repair shop, this one was independent, and appeared to look professional.
That's how it goes. My experiences, too, are all over the place and you never know what you're going to get. The Infiniti dealership here drives me bonkers here at times, but it's not like I have to use them a lot. On the other hand, they do enough things right and enough things above and beyond the call of duty that I keep going.
They won't carry wiper blades and want you to special order them. They won't sell me coolant without giving me the third degree to make sure I know what I'm buying. But, they did a hub replacement on my G37 parts and labour and tax included for cheaper than I could have bought the part myself at jobber price, not counting my labour. Go figure.
I'll give you a personal example of a typical encounter with a repair shop, this one was independent, and appeared to look professional.
That's how it goes. My experiences, too, are all over the place and you never know what you're going to get. The Infiniti dealership here drives me bonkers here at times, but it's not like I have to use them a lot. On the other hand, they do enough things right and enough things above and beyond the call of duty that I keep going.
They won't carry wiper blades and want you to special order them. They won't sell me coolant without giving me the third degree to make sure I know what I'm buying. But, they did a hub replacement on my G37 parts and labour and tax included for cheaper than I could have bought the part myself at jobber price, not counting my labour. Go figure.
A few friends ask me why I want to get a job in tech instead of following one of my hobbies and becoming a mechanic - after seeing some of the work coming out of dealership service bays, my experiences when I worked at the local Honda dealer 10 years ago(and one of the older mechanics had an heart to heart chat with me), the general quality of aftermarket junk and mechanics that don't give a rat's behind I decided to keep wrenching as a hobby.
There's a shortage of techs these days, but I value my body(when I was at the dealership, we were no stranger to workman's comp) and after seeing how dealership service managers treat their mechanics, it wasn't the path for me. These days, having some knowledge in electronics and computers does help in today's cars as clinebarger does demonstrate. Most mechanics are parts swappers that try to get as much through the bay as possible.
I do small stuff like brakes, oil changes/wallet flushes and other PM for both my families(biological and adopted) and a select few friends. Anything else, I will take to a good independent that specializes in that brand.
There's a shortage of techs these days, but I value my body(when I was at the dealership, we were no stranger to workman's comp) and after seeing how dealership service managers treat their mechanics, it wasn't the path for me. These days, having some knowledge in electronics and computers does help in today's cars as clinebarger does demonstrate. Most mechanics are parts swappers that try to get as much through the bay as possible.
I do small stuff like brakes, oil changes/wallet flushes and other PM for both my families(biological and adopted) and a select few friends. Anything else, I will take to a good independent that specializes in that brand.
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I agree, you can't blame the shop without knowing the back story.
I've used the same shop for 35 years, until this past February when they seriously botched a routine inspection and vull fluid maintenance on a new to me 03 Suburban. I told them when I dropped it off that I wanted them to go over it with a fine toothed comb, as if they were buying it for their mother. Well, apparently, they hate their mother!
They claim they changed fluids that they simply didn't. They didn't inspect the vehicle, or did a [censored] poor job of it, because they missed that the front shocks were leaking and dead and told me the brakes were 70%. Went back a week later with some complaints and they couldn't even produce their copy of the inspection report, so they supposedly did another and STILL didn't note the shocks or the now leaking oil filter, but were figured out that the brakes were shot.
I've used the same shop for 35 years, until this past February when they seriously botched a routine inspection and vull fluid maintenance on a new to me 03 Suburban. I told them when I dropped it off that I wanted them to go over it with a fine toothed comb, as if they were buying it for their mother. Well, apparently, they hate their mother!
They claim they changed fluids that they simply didn't. They didn't inspect the vehicle, or did a [censored] poor job of it, because they missed that the front shocks were leaking and dead and told me the brakes were 70%. Went back a week later with some complaints and they couldn't even produce their copy of the inspection report, so they supposedly did another and STILL didn't note the shocks or the now leaking oil filter, but were figured out that the brakes were shot.
You do not know the particuliars, she could have denied the plugs. I read on this site some guy blew a cork because his riding mower got an oil change while his riding mower was in the shop for repair. Some techs want to do a thorough job but people make flaky decisions to save money.
Originally Posted by A_Spruce
I agree, you can't blame the shop without knowing the back story.
I've used the same shop for 35 years, until this past February when they seriously botched a routine inspection and full fluid maintenance on a new to me 03 Suburban. I told them when I dropped it off that I wanted them to go over it with a fine toothed comb, as if they were buying it for their mother. Well, apparently, they hate their mother!
They claim they changed fluids that they simply didn't. They didn't inspect the vehicle, or did a [censored] poor job of it, because they missed that the front shocks were leaking and dead and told me the brakes were 70%. Went back a week later with some complaints and they couldn't even produce their copy of the inspection report, so they supposedly did another and STILL didn't note the shocks or the now leaking oil filter, but were figured out that the brakes were shot.
They didn't "botch" the job or make a mistake, they DELIBERATELY didn't perform service you asked them to and charged you for it. Who knows what they ripped you off for in the past, they probably hid those things better, this time they got sloppy and caught in the process.
I agree, you can't blame the shop without knowing the back story.
I've used the same shop for 35 years, until this past February when they seriously botched a routine inspection and full fluid maintenance on a new to me 03 Suburban. I told them when I dropped it off that I wanted them to go over it with a fine toothed comb, as if they were buying it for their mother. Well, apparently, they hate their mother!
They claim they changed fluids that they simply didn't. They didn't inspect the vehicle, or did a [censored] poor job of it, because they missed that the front shocks were leaking and dead and told me the brakes were 70%. Went back a week later with some complaints and they couldn't even produce their copy of the inspection report, so they supposedly did another and STILL didn't note the shocks or the now leaking oil filter, but were figured out that the brakes were shot.
They didn't "botch" the job or make a mistake, they DELIBERATELY didn't perform service you asked them to and charged you for it. Who knows what they ripped you off for in the past, they probably hid those things better, this time they got sloppy and caught in the process.
Originally Posted by JTK
I have a co-worker with a ~2009 Chevy 2500 Duromax that he bought used from a used car lot. He had a fuel system issue that they repaired with copper tubing and compression fittings! He didn't know this until he had another issue recently that a better shop rectified.
How do you or he know that this used car dealer did this repair ?
I have a co-worker with a ~2009 Chevy 2500 Duromax that he bought used from a used car lot. He had a fuel system issue that they repaired with copper tubing and compression fittings! He didn't know this until he had another issue recently that a better shop rectified.
How do you or he know that this used car dealer did this repair ?
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