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Helpless in the jaws if life
Topic Started: Jan 12 2007, 12:16 AM (169 Views)
Eral
Kopi Luwak
I know what you're thinking. Is this about George's decision to completely ignore everyone and go full steam ahead in Iraq? A comment on more anti-Muslim articles in the paper? A reference to a serious, tragic illness?
No.

Car. Service. Mechanics. Are you sensing it? Do you already know what I'm going to say?
I bought my lovely little Barina in 1999. It has never had a thing wrong with it. Every year I take it for a service at the dealer, and all is car stress free.

I have noticed the dealer charging higher and higher prices for the service, and decided it was time to find someone else. Prices getting up to $500. Hmm. Difficult. Choice between finding myself at the mercy of Dodgy Bros.Pty.Ltd, and Price Gougers Inc.
Anyway, a pleasant young woman rang from the dealer, and when I discussed my dilemma, she insisted that this service would be $308. Well, that's not too bad, I thought to myself. So, I duly took my little car in to them.
In reception, I was asked did I was the electronic fuel injection system serviced? Oh, how sad, I thought. Stooged. That would add another $155 onto the price. And did I want the wheel balanced checked? Another $30. And how about the windscreen wipers? $45. I pondered saying, no forget the whole thing, but decided that it would be absolutely the last time I ever went back there. I agreed to the fuel injection service (seethe, seethe) and went home.

Shortly, they rang to say my brakes needing fixing, and it would cost $500. Yep, on top of the $455 I was already paying. Oh, and your front tires need replacing (that's true) and that would bring it to a grand total of $1200. We are talking a 1.4 litre 4 cylinder manual.
Well. Needless to say, they did not get the go-ahead, and on collecting the car we paid a grand total of $308 dollars. We promptly took it to K-Mart, where for another $300 on Monday, the brakes will be fixed and the new tyres applied.
But do you know what really bothers me? I took the car there, it's running perfectly, not a sound. On the trip home, every time I applied the brakes, I heard a harsh squealing. Gee, those brake pads deteriorated fast. :medusa:
I am without a car until Tuesday.

After i get over my car rage, we can discuss George's brilliant new strategy.
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
I feel your pain. Luckily for me, I have a mechanic who has been very good to me. Its funny 'cos my brakes were dodgy as well. I got the light coming on about brake fluid low. Turned out the rear brake cylinder was leaking and the whole rear braking system had to be replaced. It was near enough to the service/MOT time so I had the whole lot done and still had change from £250, which includes the £50 charge to be tested for the MOT.

My first car that I had for 11 years, the engine was still running as sweetly as the day I got it, I was very sad to see it go, but everything else was falling apart from around the engine. Clutch, rusted bodywork, tyres, gearbox. Would have cost many times more than the car was worth. Also the hatch didn't open properly from when I parked the car and left the handbrake off (for the first and only time). It rolled backwards round a corner down a hill and was stopped by a lamppost that was bent to around a 60 deg angle. I thought my car had been stolen when I went to look for it, but I was very lucky it hit the lamppost and was stopped instead of running into another car.

:blush:

(I'm still teased mercilessly about it).
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Regullus
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Reliant
I hear you and I have the same suspicious attitude. Dealers make a lot of money from repair/maintenance work. You do have to shop around. I remember I was replacing a timing belt and I called several dealers and the price varied considerably. I'm lucky because my husband is knowledgable about mechanics and he's dosen't mind dealing with mechanics or fixing the vehicles when he has the time.

He's strangely defensive about mechanics and automobile manufacturers. One time my windshield wiper broke because snow built up on the roof of the car and fell on the wipers. He pointed out one should always clean off the roof but what got me is he defended the manufacturer over the design flaw. :unsure: :huh1: :angry:

The design flaw (or I think purposeful design flaw) was that a 3 cent piece of plastic would break if too much snow weight fell on the wiper but you couldn't buy the 3 cent piece, you had to replace the wiper motor which costs $200.00 + mechanics fees. The only way to avoid replacing the motor was if by extreme good luck you could find an old wiper motor that happened to have the 3 cent piece of plastic intact. :penguin: :penguin: :penguin: Yeah, I'm still bitter.

Why do I know all these facts? The mechanic told me and scoffed at the stupidity of the design flaw. My husband's argument was it was designed that way in order to prevent the motor from burning out. :blink:

He actually maintains that mechanics cheat a lot less than what is supposed and I guess he should know because he has worked as a service writer at a repair shop and the shop under his management had an excellent reputation. He blames the customers for idiotic behaviors that cause uneeded additional work.

For example, a man came to the shop and said his vehicle wouldn't start and he asked them to check the electrical system which they did and then it turned out his spark plugs were fouled (due to bad maintenance on the owner's part) and not getting any spark. They spent 90 minutes going over the man's electrical system and the customer had to pay for it, after all the shop has to pay the mechanics.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Boeing
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Yellow
There used to be a reliable mechanic I used up until the place closed two years ago.

Much like Krazy's car, I was sad to see it go.

I check in at Kwik-Fit now and then. Somehow I have a niggling feeling I can get better than a Kwit-Fit fitter.
I want you. I want you so bad. I want you so bad it's driving me mad. She's so heavy!
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
The car dealers here are alleged to have a policy of making profits from the servicing, rather than the sale of the car. When I bought my Barina, central locking and power windows would have cost me $2000 more. Now new Barinas come with them standard. My nephew says it's a well established marketing procedure. I wonder how much it costs to have a new Barina serviced.
:penguin:
I believe in paying for labour: and as my dad said, if I drove a big V8 Commodore, I could expect the price of fixing the brakes to be hefty.However, this is a small car. I believe it is a Holden price-fixing racket. The other Holden dealer close by also charges $500 min to fix brakes on a 1999 Barina. And charges $290 for a service.
:o

I remember the days of taking my little Datsun to the mechanics every six months, for a grease and oil change/ service: and I remember my trust and gratitude, and the fact that I wasn't being ripped off. :rooster:

I hope K-Mart does a good job. The nice young Lebanese Australian man in reception filled me with confidence.("If you'll just bear with me for a moment", he said to everyone if they had to wait.) As we were leaving he began detailing the work done on a big V8 Commodore to it's owner, and you could tell it was one car lover to another. :)
Fingers crossed.
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Regullus
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Reliant
Earlier in this thread I mentioned my husband was experienced in mechanical service departments and he tended to defend mechanics and service departments, well, not anymore.

My husband drives a 10 yr old Subaru Outback which he bought second hand four years ago. The car had 7,500 miles when he bought it and today it has roughly 55,000 miles on it. This is not excessive miles for the car.

A couple of weeks ago my husband did an 8 hr round trip with the car. Before he left, he did an oil change, new air filter, checked all the fluids, tire pressure, etc. During one point of the trip the car started to over heat and my husband thought it might be due to one of the fans not working. Otherwise, the trip was problem free.

A week later, he was driving to work and the car severely overheated but he happened to be close to a Subaru dealer and he drove the car there and asked the service department to look at it. He went and rented a car and continued on to work.

Later in the day, he receives a call from Milford Subaru ( :badmood: :rooster: ) and they explain the engine is blown and to repair the car would cost $4,200.00. :o :faint:

We discussed possible choices: Is the car worth repairing vs. its market value? No. Is the car worth it for us to repair? Maybe. Luckily for us, we have second car to fall back on, a 2003 mellow yellow, Volkswagon convertible which we normally store in the winter.

My husband wanted a second opinion and arranged for the car to be towed to our local mechanic. He paid the Subaru dealer a $59.00 diagnostic fee and paid a $140.00 to get the car towed.

Our mechanic looks at the car and says it's a thermostat that needs to be replaced, they see an aged Subaru needing a new theromstat about once a month. Cost, $114.00. :sweat: :nana: :lol:

The result of all this is my husband finally understands what the rest of us have gone through over the years, he understands why some customers would be suspicious of mechanics. He wants his diagnostic fee refunded from the dealer and because they have been less than reasonable about the situation, he now wants his towing fee too because there was no reason to tow the car and if he doesn't get satisfaction, he will tell everybody about the situation and picket the place on his day off. :titter: :rolf:
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Eral
Kopi Luwak
*applause*

I completely support him, and will join him at the picket.

(K-Mart did a wonderful job, so far as I can tell; brakes and tires for $360. Holden dealers? :rooster: )
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Silk
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Black
I have a Nissan Sentra 5 door (hatch). It's a bit old now and things need replacing.

I started to notice the fuel and temperature gauges worked when they wanted to. So, off to have it fixed. Done, they said. Wrong. Those gauges still work only when they want to.

Same with the hydraulics on the hatch. I started noticing that it would hit me on the back of the head when I least expected it. The car needed a service - would they fix the hydraulics in the hatch? Sure, no problem. They tested them, my dad tested them ... you can guess what happened. First time I put the hatch up, it hit me in the back of the head.

*sigh*
"We'll try being kinder if you'll try being smarter"
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
:'(
I remember well my 1983 Camira. Bits of it used to fall off as I drove along. Police would pull me over constantly for roadworthy checks, and be amazed that the car was in fact legal. (I'd be amazed, too.)
The odometer would refuse to work, one day the heater decided to disgorge every last drop of water from what appeared to be the radiator, and then never worked again, indicators would go off randomly.
It was better than the Mazda, though. The gearstick didn't come out when you put the car into second, and the indicator never came off in your hand.
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Silk
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Black
:rolf:
"We'll try being kinder if you'll try being smarter"
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
You laugh, but I am still nervous when I indicate or change into second gear to this day. ;D
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Silk
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Black
Oh, come on, Eral, it's hilarious compared to me getting hit on the back of the head with the hatch or having the gauges not working!

:rolf:
"We'll try being kinder if you'll try being smarter"
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
Being hit in the back of the head is pretty funny. :ph43r:

I admit, not as funny as the look on the face of the passenger in the Mazda, when I took a corner re-inserting the gearstick and the indicator at the same time.
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Silk
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Black
:rolf:

Actually, being hit in the back of the head looks funny on here but it hurt like hell. I had a bump on the back of my head for the next few days. Now, if I want to open the hatch, I need a broom to hold it in place.

I loved my Escort, though. The indicators and windscreen wipers are on reverse sides from most cars, involving some hilarious moments during rain or indication.
"We'll try being kinder if you'll try being smarter"
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
I have a Barina, same deal. Whenever Mr.FPS and I swap cars, the windscreen wipers go on to indicate a turn. Not much help to vehicles in the rear. :blush:
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Silk
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Black
:rolf: Fun, isn't it?
"We'll try being kinder if you'll try being smarter"
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