Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Crooked car mechanics

I sold my 1997 Blazer 4 X 4 to my grand daughter for considerabe under the market value. I had just had the transmission replaced and a door rehung, so she was just paying for the repairs, and I gave her the car.

When I sold it to her, she asked if there was anything else wrong with the car. I told her "Yeah, the heater doesn't work. It doesn't hurt anything, but when winter rolls around you are going to want to get the heater core replaced. It will cost you around $500. When you take it in they will tell you that the intake manifold gaskets need to be replaced, the water pump is bad and the radiator is bad. This is a lie. The coolant used by GM is called Dexcool. It breaks down over time and turns into two components, and acidic liquid which eats the gaskets out of the intake manifold, and a second substance that is like mud that plugs the heater core and radiator. I have had the radiator power flushed and it is fine. The gaskets are still fine, but the heater core is still plugged."

Late last week, she called me from a repair shop "Grandpa, they say I need to spend $1200 to replace the manifold gaskets and replace the water pump. What should I do?"

"Go to Schmucks and buy a gallon of antifreeze and put it in the radiator. Then go find an honest shop. Tell them you want to have the heater core power flushed. It won't fix the problem completely, but it should give you some heat."

Her foster mom knew someone who was a mechanic and just opening a new shop, so she went there.

They power flushed the radiator for free.

She now has heat, and it didn't cost her a dime.

They did tell her she will need to replace the heater core, and it would cost her about $500.

When she left the crooked shop, her "Service engine soon" light had come on and she was in a big panic, The mechanic at the crooked shop had gone in and disconnected the CO2 sensor so that the lght would come on.

The new shop told her there was nothing wrong, and reconnected the sensor, and voila' the light went off.

It really burns me up that places will see a young woman coming in for something done on her car and see dollar signs on her forehead. And charge her for a bunch of work that doesn't need to be done.

The reason I know all of this is because the local Chev dealership tried to pull it on me.

The Repair guy told me I had real problems with the car (this same Blazer). He told me I needed a head gasket, but pointed to the intake.

I asked to see the manager. I told the manager "Your guy told me I needed a head gasket, and then pointed to the intake manifold. Either he doesn't know the difference, and is incompetent, or believes I don't know the difference, and he is a crook. This reflects very poorly on your dealership. I am going to let this slide, but if you ever try to screw me again, you will be hearing from my attorney."

After that they have treated me real nice.

But I wonder how many other people they have screwed?

8 comments:

sue said...

I hate that. My husband and son both work on vehicles and are honest as the day is long. I don't know why that particular profession seems to be riddled with crooks, but it certainly is.

Al said...

Sue: Yeah, I do my own work most of the time, but if I can't or won't do something, I have a guy that I go to. When you find an honest mechanic, you hang on to them.

Anonymous said...

I drove an '87 Camry for a long time, and we found a great mechanic guy who would straightforwardly tell me that X, Y and Z were wrong with the car, but that none of it was a safety issue, and as I was a grad student with little-to-no money and was probably going to be buying a new car shortly, that I shouldn't worry about it. This was great, and then when he did tell me things were a safety issue, I was much more inclined to believe him and pay for the fixes. Granted, this could have been his way of getting me to believe him, but he was nice enough about it, and I saw him do it with other people, that I prefer to believe him. So, not all mechanics are creeps, you've just got to sift through the bad ones, especially if you're a girl. Good luck to your granddaughter in learning the difference!

Al said...

Sarah: Since I do all my own work, she usually calls me up to ask if the diagnosis sounds reasonable, so she is getting an education along the way. I will do minor things for her, like a tuneup, but I don't want to feel obligated to do all of her automotive repair for her. She is not afraid to call BS if I tell her so, and I have never yet steered her wrong.

Rick said...

Auto mechanics fall just below used car salesmen on the trustworthy scale, and just four spots above attorneys.

Al said...

Rick: You rate them that high?

But then, you do live on the high class end of Latteland.

I rate them right above knuckle dragging troglodites.

rennratt said...

That's why I call one of our friends, who is an HONEST MECHANIC.

If he can't figure out a problem on our vehicles, we are not charged. When we try to convince him that his *time* is worth something, he shrugs and says "But there was no labor. It was a MACHINE running tests."

Al said...

Renn: When the grandaughter asked me what I would charge her to replacce the alternator and serpentine belt in the Blazer I replied "It sounds like a six-pack job to me."

But it has to be good quality beer.