Mechanic Rip Off

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This happened at a Goodyear service center in Savannah.
Goodyear/Gemini is the same outfit that does all the repairs for the Nascar Angels TV show. These guys must not have been invited to particpate in the show, sounds like no angels invloved here. Your plan for a follow up face to face 'word of prayer' meeting, seems like a good one.
 
Personally I would not bother going back to the shop, it's a lost cause and they will always find an excuse. So what that you have the list and it's signed by the tech, they will say he's not in and that he was still in training or something to that effect.

First of all, vote with you wallet or should I say, with your sister's wallet, tell her to never go there, also it would be good if she told all her friends not to go there. Anything more than that is just not worth the aggravation and stress. These guys are usually very "slick" and will have a million excuses or counter arguments, if it was a franchise, then the guy was probably doing his job, pushing unneeded services and repairs, so that will get nowhere as well. If it was a private shop, and your sister talked to the owner, then he can just flip you off and there is nothing you can do.

Instead of spending all the energy and effort on this shop, you should compliment your sister for confirming the situation with you and not getting suckered into the scare tactics.
Try to educate her a bit, let her know that most shops will make up any excuse to get her to agree on repairs. This way you won’t have to worry about her being ripped off by another shop.
 
Finding a good mechanic where I live is like striking Gold! It took me many years, and I now have two guys that I trust.

I was using a guy a few years back that was good, right up until I had him replace a fuel pump that I didn't have time to do. The fuel pump went bad about a week later, it was defective and he knew it. He changed it out then came up with a [censored] story about an electrical problem that involved replacing a rotted harness, and wanted 2 hours labor for that. I knew he was lying, and he knew I knew. Long story short he ate the 2nd fuel pump, I lost all trust in him and an now dealing with the two people I found that I trust. Even now I still do about 90% of my own work. I use them if time is an issue or I don't feel like doing the work myself.
 
$30 is a really good price to fix anything on a vehicle.

Hopefully she can find out who the decent mechanic is locally thru school. There is always someone is honest enough and reasonable to cater to professors and college students in a college town/city.
 
Whenever I accompany ladies to the shop, they always tell me they are treated differently than when they go alone. It's the same when they go to dealers to buy cars. Just a man's presence makes them wise up, more so when I open my mouth and they see that I know their language.
 
I have 3 vehicles, Subaru SW, Ford Ranger, and a '76 Corvette.

About 15 years ago I found a local garage that had all the Hi-Tech equipment to service my newer cars. 99% of the Corvette work I do myself. It is not that the garage can not do it, it's because I like to work on my 'vette.

Both mechanics are ASE (or what ever) certified. I have never had a problem with them. They lend me tools, if I need them, cut me slack on the DD repairs. Both are car guys, as is the shop owner. They treat me like family. I get to watch them work on my cars while I drink their coffee. A 4 wheel alignment on the 'vette, on their computerized equipment, stretched over two days because I did not have any 1/32 shims. Got the shims, finished the alignment and the mechanic told me to inspect his work. They had 6-8 hours in the job, @$65/ hour. They charged me for a regular 4 wheel alignment - $110.00.

My advice to everyone is, find a competent local shop, and stick with them. Tell them you appreciate their service and at Christmas time, a bottle of good booze to the manager and some cash in the little cards to the mechanics, works wonders.

Cultivate friendships. Friends don't usually screw friends!
 
Originally Posted By: SAATR
A customer brings their car in complaining of a leaking heater hose. Technician A says that the car must have blown a head gasket and must perform the Exhaust Smell Test (EST) to confirm. Technician B says oil in the plenum will definitively diagnose a blown head gasket. Technician C says take the money and run. Who is correct?

1) Technician A only

2) Technician B only

3) Technician A and Technician B

4) Technician C only

5) None of the above


Is this direct from an ASE test?
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Has anybody else looked at her car since?


I wonder the same. I am not taking sides in this but I would point out the OP was not there at the garage. Is it possible the vehicle actually has blown a head gasket or intake gasket issue? I am only saying if he hasn't seen the vehicle how does he know the shop is trying to rip her off? Just because it was ok before she left when he checked the vehicle over does not mean it couldn't have had this happen.

I don't know what the situation is but it amazes me how everyone just assumes the shop tried to rip her off. At least wait until the vehicle is checked out. Maybe they were actually telling the...gasp...truth???
 
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I am sorry this happened to your sister. These sorts of things infuriate me. I have personally had it happen to myself at a Goodyear tire place. Was in for my free rotation and was told my s10 needed new ball joints. As I began to quiz the mechanic he got lost in a hurry. I asked to speak with the manager on the spot and gave him a piece of my mind. The manager apologized and I was on my way but not before I told them what I really thought. Needless to say, I kept going in for my free rotations and they never ever found another problem with my s10.

My Dad was getting a new set of tires at Sears one time for his old Camry. They told him the struts were shot. He is an elderly man and I guess he looked like an easy target. Anywho, I guess that they just looked at the odometer and saw it had about 120 or 30 on the clock. He just had struts put on the car about 3 months prior and proceeded to pull out the paper work right there on the spot and they were speechless.

The indy mechanics are the best imo by far. My local guy is a chevy man at heart but works on everything including my Mustang if need be. What ever he tells you its the way it is. He has his reputation at stake. He does good work, stands behind it and the parts, and is reasonable price wise.

When you are out of town it can get tricky. I am no mechanic but I understand the basics. I am sure there are honest people out there and the bad ones give the good ones a bad name. Word of mouth is everything.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Has anybody else looked at her car since?


I wonder the same. I am not taking sides in this but I would point out the OP was not there at the garage. Is it possible the vehicle actually has blown a head gasket or intake gasket issue? I am only saying if he hasn't seen the vehicle how does he know the shop is trying to rip her off? Just because it was ok before she left when he checked the vehicle over does not mean it couldn't have had this happen.

I don't know what the situation is but it amazes me how everyone just assumes the shop tried to rip her off. At least wait until the vehicle is checked out. Maybe they were actually telling the...gasp...truth???


True, the OP wasn't there. But there is enough in the story to suspect the "mechanic" of ignorance or incompetence at the very least.

If the "mechanic" doesn't understand an X-pipe and says he smells coolant from one exhaust pipe and not the other, something is wrong.

It may warrant a second look, but I wouldn't have that "mechanic" do much more than check to see that the tires were still round and black.
 
This statement also stood out for me, "you need a engine rebuild and I have a friend who builds mustang racing engines"...

I'd be leery of such a "coincidence."

Again, he may be right. But I think it requires a second opinion.
 
UPDATE: I got to look at the car over the weekend. I changed the oil, thermostat, antifreeze, lower radiator hose and both heater hoses. They had kinked a straight piece of heater hose instead of using the correct pre-bent hose. The antifreeze did look kind of 'milky' when it came out. I sent the oil out to blackstone for a UOA just to be safe. I also added a can of bars stopleak to the antifreeze. Will post the UOA when I get it.
 
A Goodyear shop? I haven't found one of those to trust further than I can throw the building. My little brother went to one in Corning, NY for years. I always told him to go elsewhere since they seemed high-priced. Then he went to one just north of Buffalo, NY for a NY state inspection. They handed him a $1200 list of work to pass inspection. I referred him to a shop a few blocks away. $300 later his car has new bushings needed to pass inspection.

Chain repair shops always scare me. Although sometimes they are the only places open Sunday when you're traveling and your alternator just died.
 
Originally Posted By: glen242
I have 3 vehicles, Subaru SW, Ford Ranger, and a '76 Corvette.

About 15 years ago I found a local garage that had all the Hi-Tech equipment to service my newer cars. 99% of the Corvette work I do myself. It is not that the garage can not do it, it's because I like to work on my 'vette.

Both mechanics are ASE (or what ever) certified. I have never had a problem with them. They lend me tools, if I need them, cut me slack on the DD repairs. Both are car guys, as is the shop owner. They treat me like family. I get to watch them work on my cars while I drink their coffee. A 4 wheel alignment on the 'vette, on their computerized equipment, stretched over two days because I did not have any 1/32 shims. Got the shims, finished the alignment and the mechanic told me to inspect his work. They had 6-8 hours in the job, @$65/ hour. They charged me for a regular 4 wheel alignment - $110.00.

My advice to everyone is, find a competent local shop, and stick with them. Tell them you appreciate their service and at Christmas time, a bottle of good booze to the manager and some cash in the little cards to the mechanics, works wonders.

Cultivate friendships. Friends don't usually screw friends!


The atmosphere sounds a lot like ours. Many of our customers are like family and we know many of their life's stories and they ours... We pick them up or drop them off as needed, they're welcome to our coffee when we have and we often times get tips, doughnuts and yes, even rum straight from Puerto Rico.
 
I hate when shops try to be dishonest and take advantage of unknowing people THEN got the extra mile and jack up the rate more than it should be.

My wife went to a Big-O tires, the same one that my family has been going to (with the same owner) for 23 years. We've received reliable and honest service from this big-o store, ONLY if we deal with the owner. If we deal with one of his service writers, things get a bit weird.
I took my dad's 1980 F-150 there for a free tire rotation. They came back and the said the rear brakes needed replacing immediately. So I said I'd tell my dad. He tells me to pull the wheels off to look first. So I took both wheels off, and found the e-brake cable hardware hook was no longer attached, but dangling inside. Same for the other side. I rehooked both, and the ebrake didn't go all the way to the floor.
I never told the owner about it.
several years ago I brought my wife's 01 eclipse there for an alignment. She went to pick it up, and it was worse than before it went in. It pulled heavily to the left. She called me and I told her to just take it right back. she did, the service writer told her it was fine and their machine said it was dead on. so she calls me up crying because her car was so bad she was afraid to drive it. so I left work early took her car right back there, walked in and handed the keys to the writer and said, drive this. he drove it right onto the rack. Wife was [censored]! So was I. I ended up having to take it to an indy shop I knew of and they nailed that alignment so perfectly I now travel the 40miles to go to just them.
 
its good to be somewhat mechanically inclined..i haven't brought my cars to a quicklube or a random mechanic in so long. last time was for a timing belt job, but that was done by my cousin.
 
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