Repair Shop Buffoonery

[gibber]

Just thought I would see if anyone else has had an epic story or two regarding work done at a "reputable" repair shop. I'm replacing the aftermarket gauges in my 71 GTX clone with a stock rally cluster with tach. When I dropped the steering column I noticed that the garage that had installed the Vintage Air setup in the car had zip tied the drivers side ducting to the underside of the column! It was cinched tight so no air could get thru. Guess it was too much trouble to mount the ducting OVER the column, of course that would have meant they would have had to pull the cluster. I called them and vented my displeasure. he told me that most of his AC install guys had been fired recently. Wow, really? LOL! Then he offered me a free oil change. My car will never see his shop again....

Merry Christmas!

Mark

 

[Brandy]

I once had a garage to change my oil and align the car. When I picked it up and drove away I got about 5 blocks before the trouble started. They had left the drain plug off. I got a new engine out of it. I never drive away now until I look under there AND pull the dipstick.

 

[Blazer85]

I bought my car from a "reputable" "repair" shop. Should I bother with the story?

 

[Daves69]

Years ago my sister had tires put on a '76(?) Ford wagon and had the front end aligned at a Sears. Within a month the right front tire was worn to the belt on the inside. I looked at the car and found the idler arm was shot. Took it back to Sears and they refunded the alignment cost (which I suspected they never did or they should have seen the idler issue) and replace the tire. I installed the idler and had it aligned elsewhere.

 

[Deleted member 214]

My 70 'runner six pack was running rough so I took it to a local performance shop in February this year that people had told me did good work. The engine was shot, so needed a rebuild. Had them do some other work while they had it. The promised it in time for the start of cruising season. They mid-May. Then Memorial Day. I finally got it the first week of July.

When I dropped it off, we discussed what to do if it was more than carb work. I said if we needed a rebuild, I had a correct date code block in the garage and not to use the 74 block that was in the car. They forgot and tanked and bored the wrong block before I caught it.

I was supposed to go to Carlisle. I got it home and didn't notice the voltmeter wasn't moving. It wouldn't start the next day. Battery checked out OK. Replaced voltage regulator, no help. Had to go to Carlisle as a passenger in my brother's Avenger. When I got back I had the alternator checked - old school tech at my local parts store said it was bad due to over-revving. Hey, it was fine when I dropped it off! The owner took me for a test drive and he is a maniac behind the wheel, so I bet it was him.

They put the engine wiring harness under the intake manifold and so had to put the coil in a different place facing the wrong direction because they "thought it would look better." They put it back at no charge, but butchered the harness so I don't have an oil pressure wire or a tach wire.

I had an aftermarket aluminum master cylinder on it that was too small a bore and so needed a lot of pedal pressure. They were doing brake work and I gave them a factory master to replace it. They didn't because they thought it was OK the way it was. Hey, who's car is this, mine or theirs????

The distributor was bad, and we decided on a Pertronix III plug and play. They couldn't get it right so they put in a points distributor for the summer. Ran great, by the way. Took it in for the 500 mile oil change at which time they were to put a new Pertronix in. Got it back to find a cheap Chinese unit they said they paid $160 for but looks like the ones you get in eBay for $55. They didn't ask me what I wanted, the just did it. It dawned on them they owed me the difference in prices. I'm still waiting on the check.

I got a set of mixture screws for the center carb from a member on this site, showed it to them when I dropped the car off. They had the carbs off multiple times but never bothered to install them. They "forgot".

When I got the car back in July the steering was loose. I got it back from the oil change and they said when they moved the column to install the headers they forgot to put the spring back in the steering coupler. My steering is much better now - but the wheel is 180 degrees out.

Since I went with Edelbrock heads, I have no heat crossover so they disabled the choke. Yeah, it was the right thing to do, but with a wire tie off a bread bag?

I was so disgusted I was considering selling the car. Lucky for me, when I took it out to top off the tank before putting it up for the winter I had a blast driving it. I stopped at a parts store, a guy spotted it and brought his son over. I stopped at a metal shop and the owner when nuts over it, went back in the shop and brought out the staff to look at it. It took that trip to remind me how lucky I am to have a V-code 4-speed air grabber car and if I sold it I would never have a car this cool again.

 

[coloradodave]

Say what you want about California, but we have a state government agency called the "Bureau of Automotive Repair" (BAR). They dictate procedure that ALL repair shops in California have to follow. #1 is that everything has to be in writing and priced. This 'work order' has to be signed by you. If something that costs extra is discovered during a repair, before they can proceed they must contact you, give you a price and get your verbal approval. They have to document who they called and the time/date. With this system there should never be a surprise when you go to pick-up your car. If they do extra work that isn't specified on the order, and don't document it, they are subject to a fine and you don't pay.
My brother-in-law took a set of VW heads into a machine shop to have a valve job done. He was given a price and he signed the work order. When he went to pick them up the total bill was 5 times the amount quoted. Not knowing any better, he paid the bill and then grumbled to me. On my advice he contacted the BAR, sent them both invoices and in a matter of 3 weeks received a refund check from the shop for everything above the original invoice.
This is how it's supposed to work, boys and girls...

 

[Dennis H]

I'll agree that we have LOTS of Government in California. See my post about the $2700 "check engine" light on the modern Mopar.

 

[Bruzilla]

I think we're seeing the logical outcome of some very failed policies. First, I think as cars have become more and more complicated, more and more schools are dropping auto shop classes from their curricula because they are too hard and expensive to develop and maintain, meaning every year we're seeing fewer and fewer kids leaving high school with any auto mechanic knowledge.

Second, more and more higher-end shops and dealerships are no longer hiring people at an apprentice level any more. Now they want guys with certifications, years of experience, formal training, and even who have their own tools.

Third, there's less and less incentive for people to go into the auto repair business because most new car work is done under warranty by the dealership, and a lot of out-of-warranty work is done by owners. This hasn't shut the auto repair business down, but it sure has given it a strong punch to the gut.

So who's out there for shop owners to hire? Generally a lot of guys with few skills, little training, and who have often failed at other jobs they have had and nobody else wants to hire them. The shop I deal with has had 100% turnover rates for the past three years because of theft, drug use, and general incompetence. The days of a kid using his shop class to get a decent apprentice job at an independent shop and working his way up to master mechanic seem to be gone.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

I think we're seeing the logical outcome of some very failed policies. First, I think as cars have become more and more complicated, more and more schools are dropping auto shop classes from their curricula because they are too hard and expensive to develop and maintain, meaning every year we're seeing fewer and fewer kids leaving high school with any auto mechanic knowledge.

Second, more and more higher-end shops and dealerships are no longer hiring people at an apprentice level any more. Now they want guys with certifications, years of experience, formal training, and even who have their own tools.

Third, there's less and less incentive for people to go into the auto repair business because most new car work is done under warranty by the dealership, and a lot of out-of-warranty work is done by owners. This hasn't shut the auto repair business down, but it sure has given it a strong punch to the gut.

So who's out there for shop owners to hire? Generally a lot of guys with few skills, little training, and who have often failed at other jobs they have had and nobody else wants to hire them. The shop I deal with has had 100% turnover rates for the past three years because of theft, drug use, and general incompetence. The days of a kid using his shop class to get a decent apprentice job at an independent shop and working his way up to master mechanic seem to be gone.

I can tell you as far as chrysler is concerned, you are not doing warranty work unless you are chrysler certified and it takes years to become fully certified in all skill areas. They pretty much put the dealers in a tough spot. They cant hire anyone to do the work and there is a limited number of guys out there with the training required. Bad for dealers, good for fully trained techs though. You can pretty much name your price.