HIZPANICGUY21

iTrader: (6)

Ok. My car dies while driving. Take the car to a new mechanic I've been referred to. He tells me it's the fuel pump. He quotes me $630 to replace fuel pump full assembly with a 90 day warranty on labor and 1 year warranty on part. I ask if its an ACdelco pump he says no it's after market. I ask how much more for ACdelco he says $200-$300 more. I decide to go with aftermarket. He calls me back and says he replaced fuel pump but car won't start. He said I need a new ignition coil. $140 including labor. I give ok to proceed. He calls me to pick up car it's ready. I go fill car up with gas 15 gallons BUT gas gauge reads 3/4 full. I call the mechanic and inform him of the problem, he says its probably a faulty fuel pump and to bring it in so he can replace it. He does the swap and I go to fill up and again the same iassue tank full of gas and gas gauge shows 3/4 full. I take car back to mechanic and he tests the gas gauge by unplugging the connector coming from pump's sending unit. He tells me it's the pump again and I have 2 options....

Option 1- if I want him to fix it to where it all works properly he has to install an ACdelco fuel pump and I have to give him $240 more for the difference in pump prices

Option 2- we leave the car AS-IS

I go to speak with him in person and we exchange words in a civilized manner. I tell him to just install another after market pump so I don't have to pay any more money and he says he would do that BUT if he replaces the faulty pump with another aftermarket pump and the problem is still present that he's done working on my car and that I'm just going to have to deal with it. I was like uhhhh no, I paid you for you to get it working properly and that I didn't care if he had to replace the pump 10 times till he got it to work right. I said I'm paying you all this money and you have to get it done right. IM STILL UNDER WARRANTY. He tells me ill just give you your money you paid for the labor and we can go our own ways. I'm like NO you need to fix the issue. So after about an hour of exchanging words I leave his shop and I tell him I'd call him up when I decide what I want to do. The next morning he calls me and says ok these are you ONLY options

Option 1- give me $240 more for me to get you an ACdelco pump and everything will work properly, if it doesn't ill give you back the $240

Option 2- I replace your faulty pump with another aftermarket but if I do and the problem is still there then you just have to live with it because I'm not replacing the pump anymore on your car (even though I'm still under HIS 90 day warranty)

Option 3- I found your old non working pump, I'll put it back on your car and give you back the original $630 you paid for me to replace your fuel pump and we go our own ways.

I'm leaning towards option 3 because I get the feeling he doesn't want to "deal" with me any more. To me, I think he should keep replacing the pump with after market pump until everything works like it should. I know he's worked quite a bit on my car and hate for him to basically have done it all for nothing. But I feel like I'm not getting the treatment I deserve as a paying customer. Please let me know what you would do if you were in my situation

bwkmaro

honestly i understand where hes coming from. if you read many warranties carefully it may say it has a 1 year replacement but thats a 1 time replacement whin in one year. its not his fault you decided to cheap out and put a **** pump in... everyone that has put a fuel pump in will tell you to never go cheap. he already seems like a reputable guy because he has already fixed it for free at his cost due to a cheap part. if i was him i WOULD not not open your car back up to put **** back in it again for it to break again. im sorry that you are having this problem but you dont seem to understand what it takes to make money. which he has already lost his *** on your car. spend the money on the acdelco pump

good mechanics are hard to come by and you just burned a bridge with one

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Gotta say...he doesn't sound like a typical dirtbag mechanic trying to **** you over.....

I'd have him put the A/C Delco pump in....if it doesn't work he'll have to figure out why.

BUT....you could also tell him to put the old pump back in, get your $630 back (RIP OFF) and buy a Racetronix Fuel System for under $300 and then your car will be good to 600 RWHP and its a GREAT system. I'm going on 11 years with mine.....

A race shop charged me like $150 to install it. See what he'll charge to install it...its easy.

.

HIZPANICGUY21

iTrader: (6)

Bwkmaro- So I paid him $630 for him to install a fuel pump that doesn't send the correct reading to the gas gauge? And I should not be mad at him when he doesn't want to make it right by giving me my car back with a FULLY functioning fuel pump? I do get that he's done a lot of work already....but I do not believe its right for him to install a pump (after market or not) that doesn't send the correct ohms to the gas gauge and say "HERE YOU GO, THIS IS WHAT IT IS,UNLESS YOU GIVE ME ANITHER $240 SO I CAN PUT IN AN OEM PUMP" sorry but this is not right

SS SLP2

iTrader: (8)

I do not thlnk a new pump will fix problem, I think problem is the sending unit, perhaps the floot arm was bent when installing the first pump
just my .02'

Johnny
ps : I think the man is a up rite and fair man

IROCSS

iTrader: (2)

I personally would put the old pump in an get the $ and your car back. I wouldn't want anybody with a grudge wrenching on my car. His ethics may be shady,but you never know what else he could do to the car. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but facts are stuff like that happens.

Chalk it up as a lesson learned and find a different mechanic. It's not like you will be taking your car back there again I'm sure.

Good luck!

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I mostly disagree with this.

If YOU had originally supplied the pump to the mechanic, and it turned out to be a cheap POS that didn't work right, then it would be on YOU. That is not what happened. He quoted you a price for a pump that HE was selling, and that HE would have to stand behind for the duration of his warranty. All of these pumps have been provided by HIM, and if he can't get one to work right then the issue is between him and the manufacturer/supplier, not him and you.

The reason why you pay a mark-up on parts is so the mechanic can somewhat cover himself on the extra labor in case he does have to replace the part under warranty.

This situation sucks for everyone involved, but it's crazy to think that YOU (the customer) would be on the hook for something that is out of your control (quality of pumps that are provided by the shop). If these pumps are so bad that they all have issues from day one, and the mechanic actually feels that this would not be an issue with an OEM pump, then he should stop selling this cheap brand and stick to charging more initially for parts that actually work in the first place.

Having said all that, I do agree that it would be reasonable for him to offer you a pump upgrade to the better brand for only the additional cost of the better pump, OR to give you a full refund, put the original pump back in the car and go your separate ways.

Of course, all of this assumes that what he replaced of the "pump" is actually the problem here. Did this new pump include the entire sending assembly? Or just specifically a pump?

Jon5212

iTrader: (2)

If all he is doing is replacing the pump and not the sending unit then the sending unit was either bent/float arm or the sending unit is bad. Both have nothing to do with the fuel pump itself.

bwkmaro

if your that pissed off at the situation take option 3 get your money back and take it elsewhere. sorry if i came off as a dick i used to deal with people everyday that have similar problems. so we stopped selling/ useing the inexpensive parts and only use o.e.m. yes we lost some customers but 95% of the headaches with it.

but remember even if you take your car to another guy chances are he uses the same junk as the first guy used so spend the extra money or racetronics

lt1pwr1

iTrader: (1)

I know you are frustrated but I"m sure your mechanic is too. Now, the part failing is between him and the supplier. However, do you realize the work involved in replacing your fuel pump 3 times and only getting paid for it once..?

You are essentially telling him to replace it again and what happens if you get the same result? Are you gonna replace it 20 times? He's running a shop to make money and he already lost on yours big time.

Either let him put an AC Delco pump in or get your money back. You are better off in the long run anyways.

OR

Get your money back and install your own AC Delco pump. You will save some money doing it that way and appreciate the work involved

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

You are expecting Ferrari service for a Yugo price. If the mechanic is giving you an option 3, he's not a dirtbag - and you are lucky.

IMO - If you end up with a working car for less than you'd pay a dealer to do the work, you are ending up ahead. (BTW - This is why I do my own work.)

This mechanic is not in business to loose money or back some random manufacturer's product with his own finances. If you want to cut costs and expenses by using an independent mechanic and aftermarket parts, then you shouldn't expect results-based service. (You get this from a dealer - and you pay extra for it.)

If you aren't going to pay the extra money for results-based service, then you should open up a bit and work with your mechanic to get the job done.

You also need to realize that this is a special kind of repair job with lots of risk. Testing this repair job is not easy with the tank off the car. The only way to really test the repair (and part) is to button the car back up and fill the tank with gas. If one tried to do this with the tank off the car, everyone could end up dead and the shop/car destroyed in napalm-like ball from hell. (Transmission/clutch repairs are a similar deal, without fire issue. You have to get the thing back on the car to know if its going to work.) If something isn't right, you have to take the whole thing apart again - and pay for the work.

Assuming the risk is just like results-based service - it costs extra. If you go to an independent mechanic, you assume the risk, and save money in doing so. This may be a one time you've lost out a little, but over the long run, you'll end out ahead compared to dealing exclusively with a stealership. (Think of yourself like a casino owner. Sometimes, someone will jit the jackpot, but in the long run - the house always wins.)

redtan

iTrader: (5)

I would take this option quickly and RUN far far away from his establishment. Not saying he's a bad mechanic or anything, but obviously this place is not somewhere you want to go for quality parts and efficient repairs. Obviously something that he's doing, or the part he's using are not up to par. It doens't take 3 tries to install a fuel pump and still not get it right.

Not even gonna go into the amount of the bill, not matter how absurd it is.

Thank him for the attempts to fix your car, but say that you need to resolve this issue and obviously he cannot do such a thing so you will be taking your business elsewhere. And for gods sake, do not pay $870 for an OEM fuel pump installed

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

My thoughts as well.

I agree with those that have said the mechanic is not a dirt bag, as he has at least offered to make things right with the refund/square one option. However, I disagree entirely with the concept that it should/would be in any way reasonable for you to be expected to pay your bill and be satisfied with an unresolved issue that's a direct result of his repairs (or his choice of parts supplier). The mechanic quoted a price for parts and labor provided by HIM, and any customer would reasonably expect that their car would be returned with the problem solved and no new problems introduced as a result of his work. This is the only acceptable outcome if you have paid for a repair. The only exception would be any additional costs incurred if associated items break due to age/rust/etc. during disassembly to complete the repair - in these cases it's reasonable to expect the customer to pay for the additional items/repairs, since they were an unavoidable part of fixing the initial problem.

During the warranty period, the mechanic/shop is 100% on the hook for any item that HE chooses to sell to his customers AND offer a warranty on - especially a part that has issues from the moment it's installed. BUT, it does sound like he's willing to do the right thing by either allowing you to upgrade for no additional labor cost, or better yet just refunding your money and reversing the repair. For that I definitely give him credit.

SS SLP2

iTrader: (8)

I still think the problem is float arm bent and not the pump itself if you you/he installs an OE pump without repair/changing float/arm you will still have same problem, but problem MAY be in the elec reading of the sending unit, but still not in the pump.

"it an't the pump"--"it an't the pump", O by the way did I state " it an't the pump "
I may be wrong ( I was once opon a time)

I think the man is a fine up rite guy , how ever I think he should have found the problem after 3 tries
just my .02' Johnny

WS.SIX

iTrader: (3)

Get your money back and use it to buy yourself the tools to do it yourself, and some beer.

Chalk it up to a learning experience.

mike171562

iTrader: (4)

As others have said, the float arm is what controls your guage, not the fuel pump itself. I'm surprised this wasnt addressed by the mechanic. Get your money back, cut the access panel and throw a walbro in for less than 150 bucks.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The OP mentioned "fuel pump full assembly", I'm assuming that means he's been replacing the entire sending module and not just the pump.

TransamGCS

iTrader: (2)

my 2 cents, first he replaces the fuel pump and it still dosnt start then he has you spend more $ to replace the coil then it fires right up, so that leads me to believe that the original problem was the coil not the fuel pump in the first place, now as far as the fuel pump if its just the fuel pump that was replaced and not the sending unit then it wont matter how many times you replace the pump cause the problem is in the sending unit and thats what needs to be replaced.

Undertow74

iTrader: (45)

damn, $630 for just a pump sheesh......walbro255+ hotwire kit for around $300. and the install is nothing but easy. And anyways, sounds like its your sending unit that's fucked up not your pump if its reading 3/4 tank all the time. and i agree, i don't think it was a pump issue from the start if he replaced the coil and it started right up, but now the gauge reads 3/4 all the time, sounds like the sending unit/float got messed up on the install

roninsonic

iTrader: (3)

He screwed up when he installed the new pump in the old housing.