Why I hate having my car serviced by others

[zvm77us]

Yesterday, I needed to take my wife's accord in for an inspection, the guy finds that the rear inner pads were shot because of a buildup of rust in the caliper, he gave me a fair price and I let him do it (if I had time I'd do it myself) and I told him that I think both CV joints are shot and again I just don't have time to replace the,. The dude is telling me it can't be because the boots are good. After test driving he agrees with me and again a fair price was given ($300 for both axles).
When I pick up the car noise is gone all is good, I test the car by accelerating heavily it starts shaking on the driver's side like the wheel is about to fall off. I go back and tell him the axle is *&$$#%. He starts telling me that it just has to work itself out after a week of driving. I ask him why the other side doesn't have to work itself out

lol. Finally after going back and forth he replaces it free, what makes me upset is why don't mechanics test drive their work especially if they use aftermarket parts that are known to be bad from beginning like cv joints? And why make the customer angry when they know they are wrong ?

And all this from an indy with a good reputation.

From now on I'll find time to do my own work,lol.

 

[CKN]

The prices are too cheap for the work in question. He has to do a volume to make money. Doesn't make any money by test driving them-only fixing them.

 

[Dyusik]

I had the dealer put a tear in one of the caliper dust boots during one of their "inspections" and then had the nerve to tell me I need to pay them 700+( can't remember the price, it was near that) to replace the seized caliper.
No. Don't touch my car.
Lexus certified morons.
Indies... oh from tap water in the rad to a 2x4 block used as a headlight bracket. PASS.

 

[demarpaint]

Some mechanics don't double check their work or test drive the car. Time is money, and instead of making sure they did the job right they start another project. Then they deal with problems if/when the customer comes back. I gave up on a local guy after screwing up a signal light switch replacement. I didn't have the time to do it and I'm now kicking myself for not doing it. His excuses didn't cut it and he lost my business for good.

 

[RooflessVW]

The one axle may have been on the shelf for a long time and the grease pooled.

It may have indeed worked itself out.

No excuse for him not checking it, but you may have overreacted as many here are wont to do.

 

[thooks]

I have heard that you either have the CV axles rebuilt today in the US or buy new OEM. You don't want parts-store rebuilt CV axles anymore. Most folks in the know say you are buying chinese junk.

 

[SuzukiGoat]

Cvj out of Denver rebuilds mine when I trash break them.

Awesome work.

Silicone uppers and oem lowers.

 

[George7941]

Too many people chasing too few dollars in the car repair industry. They underquote to get the work and then, of course, no time to do the work properly, check work done or use quality parts.

 

[Gimpy1]

After moving to Mexico City and buying a used new beetle (first mistake) I learned that I'm better off doing my own work on cars. From a wood screw to instead of a new caliper guide pin to wires just twisted together I hate to say it but here mechanics are a joke. Out of necessity I took the wife car to a shop, and stood right next to the mechanics as he tightened one of the LCA bolts with a breaker bar. I asked him if he was going to torque it to spec and he help up his arm and pointed to his bicep and said this is my torque wrench. Told him no thanks, went and bought a jack, jackstands and slowly rebuilt my tool collection. I don't trust anyone to work on my cars. I'n all fairness when I was in Dallas this xmas, I took my GTO to Discount tire to have the tires rotated and re balanced, the "tech" did me the favor of cross threading the lug nut and breaking a stud. I was rather annoyed and explained to the moron that you don't use impact tools to put on lug nuts (in 1 ear out the other) got a replacement certificate to get the stud replaced, went to the shop, the genius tech beat the heck out of my DBA T3 rotor (expensive) with a metal hammer which severely damaged the rotor, then they replaced the stud with one that is longer but "will" work. After all of this the constant banging on the rotor damaged my wheel bearing. I also have had the guys at the quicky lube place leave out a bolt to my skid plate, etc etc. This is when I realized that having my own tools is a necessity, not a luxury. Nobody but me touches the cars not even to put air in the tires, I'm done with [censored] shops and this includes dealerships and "high end" repair places that charge $100 bucks an hour. I'll find time to fix my cars, plus its a good excuse to get away from the wife !!!

 

[Mr Nice]

Quote:
what makes me upset is why don't mechanics test drive their work especially if they use aftermarket parts that are known to be bad from beginning like cv joints?


Maybe flat rate pay causes them to cut corners and slap on parts..... and on to the next vehicle.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

yeah! Glad it's not just me! LOL

 

[Lubener]

You get what you pay for. Same with the cheapskates who buy their parts and have someone put them in. They have to make a living too and do you honestly believe his heart will be in the job when you hand him a bag of parts? Sure will not get any warranty from him.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: zvm77us
The dude is telling me it can't be because the boots are good.

A lot of these guys for the most part have no idea about parts failure, they learn from a book and cars cherry picked for simple jobs at these schools. It was always that way, after trade school is when you start learning.

I have a CV shaft here right now with a bad inner joint, the boots are perfect but the lube is like oil not grease. Its getting a new OE inner (oddly enough the outer is perfect) with 2 new OE boots with the proper Oetiker clamps with 7oz of redline CV2 in each.
It cost more than a new Chicom or reman but it will fit properly and not vibrate, end of problem for them and none for me later.

 

[Eddie]

I actually saw a service tech a a chain auto store cut my boot with a box knife and then told me it needed a new CV joint. I called the manager and we had a discussion which resulted in a replaced boot at my dealer at their cost.

 

[Trav]

I saw a wiring harness that had a loose plug (there was a TSB on it) for the transmission damaged by a Honda dealer when the car was under warranty.
They claimed it was damaged by animals but it was perfectly clear the animal had 24 teeth per inch. This sort of stuff is criminal for real.

 

[28oz]

I haven't been as unfortunate as some of these examples, but I recently called a nearby shop to do a used car inspection for my sister. They said they were booked solid for the next 3 weeks with other work. Made me glad I taught myself to do as much as I do and not have to rely on others to maintain my vehicles. These horror stories make me cringe!

 

[novadude]

I would imagine the low quality of ALL replacement auto parts sold these days has to be killing the small garages. I wonder how many times they need to do a job twice because AAP, Autozone, etc sold JUNK parts.

I don't know about you guys, but I am finding the quality of nearly everything from a parts store is pretty suspect anymore. Even brand names that could be trusted 20 years ago are selling junk now.

 

[Trav]

I gave up on chain stores except Napa, you get a good part today and tomorrow they changed suppliers and its garbage. Reman is out, they are junk unless you know small specialty rebuild shops. Napa at least give you the option many times in the quality of the part, go with their top tier and your okay but they are not cheap.

I am thankful I learned this business long ago when we rebuilt almost everything inc fuel pumps, carbs, relined brake shoes, turned drums and rotors. Those skill taught me a lot not only how to rebuilt them but how they worked, I rely a lot on them today.
Do this work long enough and you learn from experience what to avoid and where to get quality stuff and quality rebuild parts if they are even available.

 

[novadude]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Do this work long enough and you learn from experience what to avoid and where to get quality stuff and quality rebuild parts if they are even available.


That's the problem. Many times quality isn't available at any price. Especially when you start talking about parts for 20+ yr old cars. Even some of the NAPA stuff can be pretty sketchy at times. An example would be rubber motor mounts for an older application. Plenty of cheap ones, all coming from the same source, and all pretty much junk that will spate in 1000 miles (based on my experience).

 

[Trav]

True, engine mounts are a huge problem for anyone when OE is not available.