Should it really take this long?

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I'll try to be brief here. Clutch burnt out on my 88 Daytona. I got a quote for replacement from a well-regarded local shop since dropping the tranny, etc. is a little more than I can handle. Quote seemed fair, I said to go ahead. They said they'd order the parts and call me when they came in to schedule the service.

After a little over a week, I didn't hear anything. Not a big deal, it's an old car and parts might take a while to source. I called to check in and they said the parts come from out of state and take a while. No big deal.

A little over a week after that, I called again. Still no parts, they "take a while to land."

So now it's been three and a half weeks since my go-ahead, and still no phone call. This is weird, right? I can get the parts from multiple places online in like 3-4 days, so an actual shop should be quicker than 3.5 weeks, right? This car is old, but Chrysler sold a bazillion variants so parts shouldn't be and aren't "rare". I'm not sure if I'm being impatient, or if the shop just isn't interested in doing the job.
 
Find a different shop. It shouldn't take that long to order parts and have them arrive.

Taking excessively long is a easy way to lose business.
 
Looks like they sell it on rockauto. Why not just call up the shop and ask them if you can just get the kit from rockauto and come in next week?
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Looks like they sell it on rockauto. Why not just call up the shop and ask them if you can just get the kit from rockauto and come in next week?

I guess because I don't want to really reward them for giving me the apparent run-around, and I highly doubt they install customer parts anyway, and if they did the labor warranty wouldn't exactly be cut-and-dry since they're using a customer part.
 
It's possible the shop quoted too low of a price, realized it and might not want to do the job now. Rather than tell you that, they might be stringing you along hoping you'll get tired of waiting and take it elsewhere. It happens.
 
Originally Posted by IronMaidenRules
I'll try to be brief here. Clutch burnt out on my 88 Daytona. I got a quote for replacement from a well-regarded local shop since dropping the tranny, etc. is a little more than I can handle. Quote seemed fair, I said to go ahead. They said they'd order the parts and call me when they came in to schedule the service.

After a little over a week, I didn't hear anything. Not a big deal, it's an old car and parts might take a while to source. I called to check in and they said the parts come from out of state and take a while. No big deal.

A little over a week after that, I called again. Still no parts, they "take a while to land."

Sb.



I have news for you...they don't want to do the job. What grinds my gears is when shops won't just come out and say so but instead beat around the bush. Weird. I guess they feel it makes them look incompetent if they refuse work....I believe that's why they do it.
 
Originally Posted by IronMaidenRules
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Looks like they sell it on rockauto. Why not just call up the shop and ask them if you can just get the kit from rockauto and come in next week?

I guess because I don't want to really reward them for giving me the apparent run-around, and I highly doubt they install customer parts anyway, and if they did the labor warranty wouldn't exactly be cut-and-dry since they're using a customer part.

But getting you out of their shop can only help everyone involved. You should at least ask if it's an option.
 
Will the car even move on its own? If it does, just go ask for the keys, and drive off. They don't want the job, and they don't want to tell you that because they DO want the business when the alternator goes out and such. It can also be said that many a time someone brings in an old vehicle, they fix it, and the customer can't pay. Then they get stuck with a Lien car.
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
It's possible the shop quoted too low of a price, realized it and might not want to do the job now. Rather than tell you that, they might be stringing you along hoping you'll get tired of waiting and take it elsewhere. It happens.

I got that feeling pretty early on, and I definitely realize it happens. It just sucks to be straight up lied to ("we ordered the parts and they're on their way") by a shop that has been good to me in the past.

If the quote was a goof, let's talk about it--let me know the situation so I can make my own decision without creating bad blood. I understand it's not easy to run a shop, but it's really not easy to find a good one as a customer either.
 
Originally Posted by Propflux01
Will the car even move on its own? If it does, just go ask for the keys, and drive off. They don't want the job, and they don't want to tell you that because they DO want the business when the alternator goes out and such. It can also be said that many a time someone brings in an old vehicle, they fix it, and the customer can't pay. Then they get stuck with a Lien car.

No, sorry, I wasn't clear. They DON'T have the car, I do. It does move on its own (best when it's up to speed because of momentum), but JUUUUST barely from a stop so isn't the safest. I get they don't want to work on old, potentially sketchy cars, but I have good history with them. If they want to call me and say, hey, this job isn't a great fit for us because of such-and-such, I can respect that.
 
Originally Posted by IronMaidenRules
Originally Posted by Propflux01
Will the car even move on its own? If it does, just go ask for the keys, and drive off. They don't want the job, and they don't want to tell you that because they DO want the business when the alternator goes out and such. It can also be said that many a time someone brings in an old vehicle, they fix it, and the customer can't pay. Then they get stuck with a Lien car.

No, sorry, I wasn't clear. They DON'T have the car, I do. It does move on its own (best when it's up to speed because of momentum), but JUUUUST barely from a stop so isn't the safest. I get they don't want to work on old, potentially sketchy cars, but I have good history with them. If they want to call me and say, hey, this job isn't a great fit for us because of such-and-such, I can respect that.


Then you have a very easy solution you find another shop and leave them negative feedback on their website you'll see soon enough if they have any credibility. My bet your feedback never shows up on their site.
 
I agree with the others suggesting that this shop doesn't want the job now (for whatever reason(s)) but how long are they going to wait to tell you ?? At some point, they could call you and say "hey, our supplier isn't able to supply the parts after all - sorry it took so long. Want us to source them elsewhere ?" and you'll think the blame lies elsewhere as far as they're concerned. You'll likely never know the truth either.

Or, you call them and tell them you've changed your mind about fixing it (for now) vs telling them you're having someone else repair it.
 
Lucky. Their incompetence/apathy showed before they tore the car apart. Congratulations!
 
What's happening isn't good or right. But over the decades, I've had a few occasions when I made a lot of assumptions and basically sold the person(s) down the river forever. When I finally communicated with them, they told a legitimate, truthful story and I ended up forgiving them and still respecting them. It happened to me just last week. I made a deal to sell some product via just a telephone contact. I could not connect with the person for a nearly a week later ( phone immediate to message and mail box filled up). The person finally called me and said their phone failed, someone died, and yada,yada, yada. After I had bad mouthed him up and down for apparently stiffing me, he turned out to be one of the nicest guys I ever met and we completed the transaction.

Communicate with the garage and find out what's happening. Then make a decision. If they are normally a great garage, you might not want to burn that bridge just yet.
 
Originally Posted by IronMaidenRules
Originally Posted by demarpaint
It's possible the shop quoted too low of a price, realized it and might not want to do the job now. Rather than tell you that, they might be stringing you along hoping you'll get tired of waiting and take it elsewhere. It happens.

I got that feeling pretty early on, and I definitely realize it happens. It just sucks to be straight up lied to ("we ordered the parts and they're on their way") by a shop that has been good to me in the past.

If the quote was a goof, let's talk about it--let me know the situation so I can make my own decision without creating bad blood. I understand it's not easy to run a shop, but it's really not easy to find a good one as a customer either.

Unfortunately some people don't have the balls to fess up and be honest. Many take the easy way out, that's what this sounds like to me.
 
I would find another shop. They are jerking your chain and its not like they have the vechicle or your money at this point.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Labor is 7 hrs. Figure $100 per hour =$700. A new clutch set is about $250,turn flywheel another $50 or so. Cost around $1K and should not take more than a few days at the most.

Very close! It's Maine so labor is $85/hour and the total job was quoted at $865 or thereabouts.
 
Originally Posted by FA_WRX
I would find another shop. They are jerking your chain and its not like they have the vechicle or your money at this point.

That's likely what I'll do. I've had a good relationship with them in the past so I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. It's looking like they've lied to me and are giving me the run-around so really, they're making the decision and not me...
 
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