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Another "horror" mechanics story!

4K views 44 replies 18 participants last post by  FrugalAstro 
#1 ·
Well I just about avoided a complete disaster....

Radiator on the 1999 Cargo was leaking. Was going to be on vacation so I figured I would pay to have it replaced.

Came back yesterday, noticed coolant on the shop floor. Couple things stuck out.

-Hose clamp never tightened on upper
-grease on bumper
-2" hose clamps used (way oversized IMO) also not the compression type
-radiator cap does not want to come off without an arm wrestle
-never could find the other leak on the lower???
 

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#5 ·
CreepiE said:
I will still patronize the establishment. Mistakes happen, it is all how things are handled on the business end. ...
Leaving the hose clamp off the radiator hose is not a "mistake". It's just plain incompetent. How things should "happen on the business end" is that guy should be invited to pursue a career with a lot less important things to remember.

It would be a mistake if Joe Blow handyman forgot to put his OWN clamp on. Not when you pay $85/hr to a guy and trust your engine and perhaps life with. If he can't remember something so glaringly obvious as that, just imagine what he might forget in a less obvious spot. Maybe some spot that won't show up as easily. Maybe 3 months down the road you're driving on the freeway and your engine melts and you never get the chance to discover what went wrong.

Continuing to patronize them? Jeez. Just plain MoFo'n Jeez.

Lump
 
#6 ·
I had a similar experience ( not that bad ) at Mr.Lube . I asked to have my front end greased . A few days later I had the hood opened and my overflow cap was missing , then I looked the van over . It was odvious that they had not greased it either . I was going to the wreckers anyway so I picked up a replacement cap , and greased my own front end . 5000 km later back at the same Mr.Lube , I mentioned what had happened last time . Now the manager thanked me for not freaking out , gave me that oil change for free and I get Ten bucks off oil changes for life .
 
#10 ·
That's why i do my own work nobody will
Take care of ur car/van like u that was pure
Neglegence glad you caught it before it got worse
 
#11 ·
Lumpy said:
CreepiE said:
I will still patronize the establishment. Mistakes happen, it is all how things are handled on the business end. ...
Leaving the hose clamp off the radiator hose is not a "mistake". It's just plain incompetent. How things should "happen on the business end" is that guy should be invited to pursue a career with a lot less important things to remember.

It would be a mistake if Joe Blow handyman forgot to put his OWN clamp on. Not when you pay $85/hr to a guy and trust your engine and perhaps life with. If he can't remember something so glaringly obvious as that, just imagine what he might forget in a less obvious spot. Maybe some spot that won't show up as easily. Maybe 3 months down the road you're driving on the freeway and your engine melts and you never get the chance to discover what went wrong.

Continuing to patronize them? Jeez. Just plain MoFo'n Jeez.

Lump
Mistake, incompetent whatever you call it. I caught the error. What about this?

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=17539
 
#14 ·
I have been on both sides of the fence. So I have to agree with the OP, that people make mistakes (but to

really screw up, you need a computer). Maybe the shop was rushed b/c of trying to cope with normal traffic,

then getting this job on top of everything else going on. IDK, b/c I wasn't there. Next item on the agenda;

All of youse people that NEVER made a misstake can raise their hands now...Gee, really ? That is just too

hard to believe ! Now, honestly, if you never made a mis-steak, raise your hand. Remember, y'all are

under oath, swearing with yer right hand on a copy of the FSM...

hee hee

Uncle Honest Bob
 
#16 ·
One thing for certain. You should at least know where not to go for future repairs. Make sure you tell all of your friends and anyone you may encounter that is looking for a good repair shop in the future. One of if not the most important thing for the survival of any auto repair business is their reputation. Spread the word.....
 
#17 ·
No attempt to buy my silence by the mechanic or his business partners by giving me 10% off oil changes or similar in the future is an insult to the guy paying money.

BUSINESS OWNER:
"Oh I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention when I failed to put your engine back together correctly. You know that job that you paid $85/hr for a professional to do. I'll 'have a talk' with the mechanic who wasn't paying attention. You continue to come back and I'll make it only $76.50/hr."

At some point a consumer has to say "Enough is Enough". I would hope that point is something non-life threatening like a radiator hose clamp. Not wait till it's a blown engine or failed brakes.

Lump
 
#18 ·
CreepiE said:
-Hose clamp never tightened on upper
-grease on bumper
-2" hose clamps used (way oversized IMO) also not the compression type
-radiator cap does not want to come off without an arm wrestle
-never could find the other leak on the lower???
Horror mechanic story? Hardly! A loose hose clamp is far from a horror story! An accident, over-site, or mistake.. probably. Obviously the hose clamp wasn't too loose or the hose would have come off under pressure.

Wrong size clamp? Tight radiator cap? Grease on bumper? LOL! You're digging...

Fortunately, you found the problem before it became a bigger one.
 
#19 ·
I tend to agree with Lumpy (God help us) on the incompetent part. I have had many similar experiences and just had to cross that shop off my list.

I had a guy break my ignition key off in the colum and then tell me the van wouldn't start! I mentioned that I didn't push it there but drove it fine & he then fixed it.

Better to find a competent shop. Its nice they tried to appease you but that's not a replacement for just doing it right.

Hope you don't pick your surgeons with the same method.
 
#20 ·
Could have been a horror story easily. Not notice it is leaking. Parked in gravel etc. Drive it. Why is it smoking and locked up?
My gosh he was putting a radiator in. How can you forget to hook it up. That right on par with the clowns who change oil and forget to put the oil filter on. What did he have 2 clamps and 2 lines. Sounds pretty incompetent to me. I run them and check for leaks after they hot when I do that stuff. But i don't make 87 dollars a hour either.
 
#22 ·
Many years ago... I dropped my van off to a national tire store to have a new replacement tire installed on my shiny, expensive, relatively new mirror-finish polished Centerline wheel. These were my babies!

When I went to pick up the van later that day... it was pouring down rain. But even in the heavy pouring down rain.. I did something a little out of the ordinary (considering the conditions) and ran back to check the wheel that had been worked on. I discovered that the wheel had been bent (quite obvious even in the rain) and even worse that surprisingly none of the lug nuts had been tightened and were still all lose... hand tightened only! I can't believe I actually discovered this.

To add insult to injury.. they left my windows down in the pouring down rain as well! When I went in to complain.. they quickly tightened up the lug nuts, apologized for my soaking wet interior, and sent me on my way. (Of course when they did the tightening of the lug nuts it was with the full weight of the vehicle pressing on the wheel where it had been parked). Final insult, I also found they had backed my van into the wall.. evident by the matching paint mark on my bumper.

What makes this story particularly horrifying... is that the place was right next to the interstate highway where I got on to go home. Can you imagine my rear wheel flying off on the highway at highway speeds in the pouring rain packed with heavy traffic!

When I brought my van back the next day regarding the bent rim.. they pulled my highly polished aluminum wheel off, and proceeded to try to straighten it with a hammer.. then proceeded to sand it where they had hit it, with sand paper. Needless to say they only made it worse! Then they tried to pass it off as acceptable.. which it wasn't!

I wrote the corporate office a long detailed letter of the huge host of mistakes made on my vehicle that day.. and how they had also put my life in danger as well!

* Lug nuts loose... hand tightened only
* Huge bend in polished aluminum rim
* Deep scratch on face of polished rim
* Vehicle windows left down in the pouring rain
* Vehicle backed into a wall
(there may be more but this is all I remember now)

That letter brought about some serious local store action.. as well as someone fired... and got me a brand new rim. To add final insult to injury.. when they were (a week later) dismounting my new tire from the bent rim... apparently the rim was improperly placed (on the machine)... somehow got loose and launched into the air then smashing to the floor. Talk about a LOUD bang! I laughed and told the guy to have at it.. since that rim was now theirs!

I NEVER went back to that place after that...and now I always stay, wait, and watch any work being done. Mounting tires on rims is about the ONLY thing I don't do myself.. but I have gone as far as carrying them in and out.. and doing the final vehicle mount myself! We have a LOT of incompetence here in South Florida.. with plenty of low paid inexperienced laborers.

NOW THAT IS A MECHANIC HORROR STORY! (don't even tell me about your semi-loose hose clamp) :hand:
 
#23 ·
Mmusicman said:
...I discovered that the wheel had been bent (quite obvious even in the rain) and even worse that none of the lug nuts had been tightened and were still all lose... hand tightened only! To add insult to injury.. they left my windows down in the pouring down rain as well...

...When I brought it back the next day regarding the dent.. they pulled to highly polished aluminum wheel and proceeded to try to straighten it with a hammer.. then sand it with sand paper. Needless to say they only made it worse!...

...when they were dismounting my new tire from the old rim... the improperly placed rim on the machine somehow launched into the air then smashing to the floor...
Hey, the guy just made a simple mistake.

Lump
 
#25 ·
Most common thing I got is they go to a shop. 3-4 times. Pay thousands. Problem is never solved. They hear about me and I get er done for a couple hundred or less, including my cut. Years later they still having no problem.

So the hillbilly under the shade tree is stuck fixing what they screw up 9 times out of 10. Thing that kills me is what they say needs done, and what I do are very often 2 completely different things. Can you say just replace things till it goes away. Who knows what is wrong. All we know is if we replace everything we eventually will stumble on the problem.

I saw the same things working at shops. But i am a idiot with no experience. And they got the 150 thousand dollar toolbox and experience. I used to say "I ain't screwed enough shit up to deserve a raise yet"
 
#26 ·
Cargo -

What, you don't have a bead breaker and balancer installed in your Van? I think you could rig up a slideout right next to the clothes washer. Balance your tires while washing your undies. Then mount 'em up with your onboard air and zip gun, followed by a hot shower and a bug proof nap.

:shrug:

Lump
 
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