<p>While I was away for business my D called to tell me that she went away (2 hours from campus) for a days shopping but that when she was going to leave her car starting making really loud noises when put in gear. I told her to find a garage and drop the car there and let me talk to whoever was there. She did and she also made arrangements for a class mate to drive the 2 hours to pick her (fantastic friend). I told the mechanic to do nothing but give me a quote for the work needed then I would decide. He called me back 3 days later and told me that the trany was shot and would cost about $3000 to rebuild. I told him to forget it as the car is 99 sunfire with 300,000 miles on it and that I would get a tow truck. Through my car club I had it towed to a friend of mine who is only 25 minutes from the Canadian border, thinking that if could at least get it back to Canada and had to get rid of it it would be a lot easier. My W I got back from my trip on Saturday and did not even come home but went right down to take care of the car. When I got there I opened the hood and found that a bolt holding a retainer that keeps two hoses together had broken free and the hoses were touching the fan belt (hence the noise). It took half an hour (cause I am not a mechanic) and a $0.75 nut and bolt to fix the car. I called the mechanic and asked him if he even looked under the hood and he said he didn’t have to given the noise it was making he knew what it was. When I told him what it was he called me liar and hung up on me. Thank goodness that is all it was but I want to report this mechanic but don’t know if it worth it.</p>
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<p>Wow! If we’re talking ethics and car mechanics, something tells me this is going to be a very long thread.</p>
<p>It could be equally as long if we shift to contractors, dry cleaners, financial advisors, or doctors and dentists.</p>
<p>We had a horrid experience at Toyota of Kirkland (WA) with our truck. The tech who decided to change the spark plugs could not get one out correctly and claimed that the car “needed” a $1800 fix. :eek: They were not willing to pay for their own stupidiy, so H got the truck to a local mechanic, who fixed the damage and did some required PM for much, much less $$!</p>
<p>My mom had a horrid experience at her Chrysler dealership in Austin. She dropped the car off for repairs and handed the employee the car keys. Later that afternoon, she got a call - “Um, Mrs MLmom, did you come pick up your car today? We can’t find it…” Long story short, it had been stolen. The employee had put the keys in the ignition and thieves were waiting. My parents had to retain an attorney to get the car paid for - the dealership tried to claim that it wasn’t their responsibility! My mom still misses her 300 - it was a beautiful car. She refused to buy another one after the way she was treated.</p>
<p>I was given an outrageous repair quote by an out-of-town mechanic once, when I was in college. The car was drivable, so I told them I wanted a second opinion. When a local mechanic looked at it, he assured me that the problem was something simple and cheap to fix…and it was.</p>
<p>When I expressed indignation about how the out-of-town mechanic had lied, the local mechanic said, “If you had been from out of town, we might have told you the same thing.” :(</p>
<p>I recently bought a 2002 Silverado “as is” from a family friend. It needed new tires and the shop I took it to also told me a ball joint was “bad” and needed replaced. Well, I waited a couple of months and recently took it to the dealership where it was originally purchased from. New tires, ball joint, and they also told me the control arm needed replaced. Fine, $1700 later I go to drive it the next day and when I hit the brakes it makes a loud grinding noise and vibrates. I took it straight back out to them.</p>
<p>They ended up finding a bolt or something that they hadn’t properly tightened so they fixed it. The manager called me to tell me that and also informed me that something with the drive train was making a noise. He fixed that and ended up not charging me since I had to bring my truck back for the mistake they had made…</p>