Firestone tried to SCAM me today!
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496kid said:
Wow I'm learning new tricks of the trade, guess the boss got what he deserved. I could never work in an place like that and have a guilty feeling at the end of the day.
I've worked on, around, and sold parts for cars since 1995. I'm by no means a certified master mechanic, but I can say this much: I've never pretended to do a service that my employers charged a customer for. And I've worked for some shady places. I always strive to be honest, no matter the consequences. I've screwed up a few times, costing my employers money. I once backed a customer's brand new Bonneville GXP into one of the yellow-painted concrete posts on either side of the garage doors, crinkling the quarterpanel and putting some pretty yellow stripes down the side (the stripes wiped right off with lacquer thinner, but the dent didn't). My boss tried to make some lame story, but I interrupted him and told the customer that I was talking to a coworker and just plain wasn't paying attention. She thanked me for my honesty, the boss paid for the repairs, and I got one hell of an *ss-chewing. 
Anyway, I've heard and seen some horror stories too. The most recent happened to my parents. My mom worked for a business that was right around the corner from a towing/repair shop. Her parking spot was literally right across the street from the shop, so my parents didn't have to make a special trip to take a vehicle to them for any service, my mom would just drive the vehicle to work and leave the keys with them. They never once tried to screw my parents over, and they were on a first-name-basis with every employee there. The company eventually decided to do towing only, and sold the building to some guy. My mom's Sebring's engine started making an odd noise, so my parents decided to give the new owner a try because of the convenience. He was the owner/sole mechanic, which is a big red flag, in my opinion. He took her car in, and took a look. After 2 days, he said he had no clue what the noise was, that his best guess was a timing belt tensioner or guide, and given the mileage on the car, it would be a good idea to change them and the timing belt anyway. My parents agreed, and he started the work. After a week, my parents called to see what was going on, and he said he was waiting on back-ordered parts, and would call when they came in. Two more weeks go by, with him not answering the phone, and they finally talk to him. He got the parts, but got hurt working on another car, and wouldn't be back to work for another 2 weeks. Two weeks later, just as he said, he calls. The car was actually done. My dad picks it up, and as he's leaving, the guy tells my dad that there was a coolant leak that should be checked out. They look at it together, and the radiator was leaking, but it didn't look like it was intentionally damaged to my dad. So he told the guy to go ahead and fix it. The next day, it's done. Again, my dad picked the car up. This time, as my dad is getting ready to leave, the guy tells my dad that something is wrong with the brakes. They felt spongy and the pedal went almost to the floor. Now my dad is very very suspicious, because the brakes were practically new and they were 100% perfect when the car first went in to this shop. He tells the guy that he'll drive it home to see how it is then let him know. They were exactly as the guy said, spongy with a very low pedal. Dad took it to my uncle's the next day and they took a look at it themselves. The first thing they noticed is that the dust caps on the rear brake bleeders were gone, and the tips of the bleeders were nice and shiny and new-looking, as if the caps had been removed very recently. The bleeders weren't very tight, and there were signs of brake fluid trails coming from the bleeders that had been wiped up. So they bled the lines, ultimately putting almost an entire quart bottle of brake fluid into the system, and miraculously, the brakes were fine. Wanting to be 100% sure there were no other problems they might have missed, dad took it to another shop in town. This shop has been around for decades, and is more than reputable. They thoroughly inspected the car and found nothing but bad upper rear strut mounts (Chrysler made them out of aluminum and they corrode and break apart, a common problem with those cars). The service manager asked who the sketchy mechanic was, and when my parents told him, he knew all about the guy and said that he had "heard a few things about him", but was professional enough to not go into detail. M parents planned on confronting the guy, but decided it just wasn't worth the hassle for them. But a month or so later, my mom couldn't resist going to the guy and asking him if he had any brake bleeder dust caps lying around because hers were missing.
Anyway, I've heard and seen some horror stories too. The most recent happened to my parents. My mom worked for a business that was right around the corner from a towing/repair shop. Her parking spot was literally right across the street from the shop, so my parents didn't have to make a special trip to take a vehicle to them for any service, my mom would just drive the vehicle to work and leave the keys with them. They never once tried to screw my parents over, and they were on a first-name-basis with every employee there. The company eventually decided to do towing only, and sold the building to some guy. My mom's Sebring's engine started making an odd noise, so my parents decided to give the new owner a try because of the convenience. He was the owner/sole mechanic, which is a big red flag, in my opinion. He took her car in, and took a look. After 2 days, he said he had no clue what the noise was, that his best guess was a timing belt tensioner or guide, and given the mileage on the car, it would be a good idea to change them and the timing belt anyway. My parents agreed, and he started the work. After a week, my parents called to see what was going on, and he said he was waiting on back-ordered parts, and would call when they came in. Two more weeks go by, with him not answering the phone, and they finally talk to him. He got the parts, but got hurt working on another car, and wouldn't be back to work for another 2 weeks. Two weeks later, just as he said, he calls. The car was actually done. My dad picks it up, and as he's leaving, the guy tells my dad that there was a coolant leak that should be checked out. They look at it together, and the radiator was leaking, but it didn't look like it was intentionally damaged to my dad. So he told the guy to go ahead and fix it. The next day, it's done. Again, my dad picked the car up. This time, as my dad is getting ready to leave, the guy tells my dad that something is wrong with the brakes. They felt spongy and the pedal went almost to the floor. Now my dad is very very suspicious, because the brakes were practically new and they were 100% perfect when the car first went in to this shop. He tells the guy that he'll drive it home to see how it is then let him know. They were exactly as the guy said, spongy with a very low pedal. Dad took it to my uncle's the next day and they took a look at it themselves. The first thing they noticed is that the dust caps on the rear brake bleeders were gone, and the tips of the bleeders were nice and shiny and new-looking, as if the caps had been removed very recently. The bleeders weren't very tight, and there were signs of brake fluid trails coming from the bleeders that had been wiped up. So they bled the lines, ultimately putting almost an entire quart bottle of brake fluid into the system, and miraculously, the brakes were fine. Wanting to be 100% sure there were no other problems they might have missed, dad took it to another shop in town. This shop has been around for decades, and is more than reputable. They thoroughly inspected the car and found nothing but bad upper rear strut mounts (Chrysler made them out of aluminum and they corrode and break apart, a common problem with those cars). The service manager asked who the sketchy mechanic was, and when my parents told him, he knew all about the guy and said that he had "heard a few things about him", but was professional enough to not go into detail. M parents planned on confronting the guy, but decided it just wasn't worth the hassle for them. But a month or so later, my mom couldn't resist going to the guy and asking him if he had any brake bleeder dust caps lying around because hers were missing.
I do not and will not trust a mechanic. Or these oil changing guys. Most act like they know everything because they are certified, I have never ran into more morons than when I am in a group of mechanics or oil change guys. Yes I know not all are this way. I used to work at a walmart tire and lube express. It was the worst job I have ever had. Not only did I witness lots of unethical practices I also never got overtime when I would work it. A few of the things I seen were just plain unethical. Everyone in the shop was a doper lazy piece of crap. We had an oil change package that required us to vaccum the car as well as grease everything and check tire pressure, fill washer fluid etc. The only thing we didnt touch was brake fluid. I do not know how many cars left there with nothing checked or topped off like they were supposed to be. Greasing was non existant. As a matter of fact the grease gun in the lower bay was always empty. Lots of cars left there with broken ground effects from our scissor lift. I personally pulled a car on to the scissor lift one day put a crack in the air dam of a car. I went and grabbed my boss told him what I did and told him I would page the customer and tell him what happened and what he needs to do to get wal mart to pay for it. He wouldnt let me, he said the lady would never know and that I really shouldnt be telling customers that they will replace broken parts. WTF. I also saw a guy bust a 180 in an old TPI camaro that came in for a tire rotation. I quit shortly after. I will not let anyone work on my car anymore. If I need tires I will take all 4 in. If I need an oil change I will pull up on the ramps and do it myself. It is not worth the hassle or the possibility of my stuff being messed up by some doper moron who thinks he knows cars.
a good friend of mine just about runs a monro. out of the 5 people that work there 3 know everything about cars and are car guys themselfs. the other 2 know jack sh*t and f up a lot of peoples cars. i belive places like valvoline and jiffy lube are a franchise while monro is corprate owned. this also might make a differance cause they dont have to penny pinch.
Its f'd up the sh*t these places due, iI have seen it first hand. Last yr I bought an all original 84 olds Cutlass Supreme one owner car with 75K origanal miles from an 70 something yr old couple. Well here is the story they gave me they took it to a local hack job to have an oil change done about 5 miles from home. When they got home the motor was making noises. So at this point they had it towed back to the shop that did the work.. The story the shop gave was that it threw a rod they showed them a piece of broken block so they believed him an bought a new car... I got lucky and scouped it up for $250 This is where it gets good. I bring the car home get it on the lift to prepair for engine removal, well while up in the air I noticed that the corner of block was broke off so I look further and I see an indentation in flywheel where someone had taken an air hammer and broke block off. This is the piece they where given the same piece the owner handed me when I bought car. Pulled oil dipstick to find no oil in motor.. The local hack never installed oil back in it.
I called the old owner to tell them my discovery there reply was they had a feeling but didnt know how to prove it and that they will never step foot in that place ever again. Its amazing how these places never take responsability.
I called the old owner to tell them my discovery there reply was they had a feeling but didnt know how to prove it and that they will never step foot in that place ever again. Its amazing how these places never take responsability.
These kind of stories piss me off. My dad has owned his own repair shop for 30+ years and I've grown up there all 21 years of my life.. And I get sick of the number of people who come to us to have somebody to the job right, after they've been to a local lube shop, or a hack job mechanic...
The amount of people they suck into their sh*t schemes just amazes me... There isn't a car that leaves my shop after an oil change, with out having all the fluids topped off, the tires checked, and filled, everything greased, and a good check out to make sure there aren't any serious problems.. I don't have enough fingers to count how many engines I've replaced because the guy down at the instalube joint didn't put a drain plug in, or didn't put oil in, etc..
And the lengthy lists people come in with from Jiffy Lube, or Wal Mart, etc.. and 99.9% of the time they don't need any of it..
If I wasn't a mechanic (or my dad)... I have no clue who I'd trust my car with...
The amount of people they suck into their sh*t schemes just amazes me... There isn't a car that leaves my shop after an oil change, with out having all the fluids topped off, the tires checked, and filled, everything greased, and a good check out to make sure there aren't any serious problems.. I don't have enough fingers to count how many engines I've replaced because the guy down at the instalube joint didn't put a drain plug in, or didn't put oil in, etc..
And the lengthy lists people come in with from Jiffy Lube, or Wal Mart, etc.. and 99.9% of the time they don't need any of it..
If I wasn't a mechanic (or my dad)... I have no clue who I'd trust my car with...
More work for you and the other shops that actually do the job right the first timesilent_orchestra said:
My dad has a good friend that runs a shop and he sees our business for the things we cant do in a small garage with everyday tools.
I got my own story. The other day I had a coupon for a $60 5 wheel alignment on my malibu and also needed my front driver side wheel balanced since the sticky weights fell off. Took it to my local Car-X right down the street.
It starts out by them saying that they are unsure if they can align the car because of the drop spindles and the stock dimensions are used in the computer. I explain to them that it shouldn't be a problem because Sears a few years ago and Pepboys never had a problem aligning it. So they start on the alignment and eventually they come back saying they need to order in two shim kits from the local parts store. I also watched the guy put my ralley wheel on the balancer and thought he put weights on it. But we'll get back to that later. Now keep in mind, I work for O'reillys and know what prices are on this sh*t. They come back and what was supposed to be a $60 alignment and a $13 wheel balance, total $79 with tax, turned into $126 without tax included. They also wanted to charge me a delivery charge since they had to have the shims delivered.
I called my commercial buddy back at O'reillys and he tells me those kits are $1.77, which means Car-X marked up damn near $20! So they set the tow and I told them to drop it cause that price was complete bullshit.
What really REALLY pissed me off was three days later, I was replacing my harmonic balancer, I looked at the wheel and was wondering "Where the f*** are the weights?" I bitched to corporate and took the wheel back and got the dumbass looks. They were like "well we balanced it and used the clip on weights on both sides". Yeah BS, chances of having both clip on weights on the front and back of the wheel fall off is slim to none. Lost an ipod charger out of my truck at the same shop a year ago when I took it for inspection another shop left my gf's valve cover cap off and she almost blew the motor. I will never deal with Car-X again.
It starts out by them saying that they are unsure if they can align the car because of the drop spindles and the stock dimensions are used in the computer. I explain to them that it shouldn't be a problem because Sears a few years ago and Pepboys never had a problem aligning it. So they start on the alignment and eventually they come back saying they need to order in two shim kits from the local parts store. I also watched the guy put my ralley wheel on the balancer and thought he put weights on it. But we'll get back to that later. Now keep in mind, I work for O'reillys and know what prices are on this sh*t. They come back and what was supposed to be a $60 alignment and a $13 wheel balance, total $79 with tax, turned into $126 without tax included. They also wanted to charge me a delivery charge since they had to have the shims delivered.
I called my commercial buddy back at O'reillys and he tells me those kits are $1.77, which means Car-X marked up damn near $20! So they set the tow and I told them to drop it cause that price was complete bullshit.
What really REALLY pissed me off was three days later, I was replacing my harmonic balancer, I looked at the wheel and was wondering "Where the f*** are the weights?" I bitched to corporate and took the wheel back and got the dumbass looks. They were like "well we balanced it and used the clip on weights on both sides". Yeah BS, chances of having both clip on weights on the front and back of the wheel fall off is slim to none. Lost an ipod charger out of my truck at the same shop a year ago when I took it for inspection another shop left my gf's valve cover cap off and she almost blew the motor. I will never deal with Car-X again.
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