How bad did my mechanic screw me? Integrity wise and value wise? Please look!
12-19-2013, 10:16 PM
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How bad did my mechanic screw me? Integrity wise and value wise? Please look! Sorry this may be long;
Heres the whole deal. First off let me say he has never showed me ANY of the old parts he has swapped out of my car. This all started last year when I paid him to install my third fuel pump after the original and the second Delphi pump I had installed had gone out. (Still no idea why I keep going through fuel pumps.) With the first install he said he was dropping the tank to change the pump, I find out after I paid for the repair and was investigating he cut into my rear t-top area WITHOUT telling me to swap the pump. He said he dropped the tank and never did. So I said okay, oh well now it will be easy to change. He also said when doing it that it was a Delphi pump with a 1 year warranty and the labor he would warranty for life if it went again. Sure enough a few months after the warranty was up the pump went out again. Instead of free labor he quoted me $75 to replace the pump and $225 for another Delphi pump as he said his parts guy was cutting some of the price off the new pump as it failed just out of warranty. So $300 for the pump and re-install with filter and strainer. Once he was done with the pump he said "I quoted you $300 plus $75 labor" but said he would honor the $300 price I said he quoted me. I should have known he was out to make some extra money.
Now to what happened after. Last week I won a couple grand on my fantasy football league, and its freezing here in Michigan; so I figured I would pay him to take care of a few other things that I had been putting off. It started off with him quoting me for struts. He said he was going to get me "Monroe Sensatrac 3s" for struts and TIW or TWI strut mounts which were better than moog. I had never heard of sensatrac 3 struts only the normal sensatracs but just went with it as I didn't have time to look until today. He charged me $150 labor on the struts and mounts, $90 per strut mount and $119 per strut, so say $575 total for the struts. I come to find out now there is no such thing as a sensatrac 3 strut yet he still says there is. I didn't find any of this stuff out until AFTER I paid and picked the car up today.
Next I had him change my dex-cool coolant and to green coolant and flush the system, he charged $100 total for this, which I assumed was reasonable?
I also had him change my differential fluid and clean inside the pig and outside the pig. He used synthetic gear fluid with limited slip additive. He charged $100 for this as well.
I figured hey hes doing some reasonable priced work at this point, took his word about the struts; the "sensatrac 3" which he assured me were not common and not sold at the generic stores like autozone. He kept talking about TWI or TIW as where the parts were coming from. I asked about a tune up. He said sure, iridium plugs are $8.50, the wires are AC delco and are $85, and ill charge you $150 for the labor. So this came out to about $305 for the tune up.
so far were up to $1380.
So I ask him why my car is not starting the first time I turn the key, but always on the second time. He says my Mass Air Flow Sensor needs to be replaced, that its bad. I thought well why wasn't my check engine light on before the fuel pump went out if this was the case? Though he said it always wont throw the check engine light when a MAF is bad. So I didn't question him as he said he would just put the part on for free and charge me for a NEW MAF which would be $120. I thought fair enough.
I then ask him to check out why my wheel is shaking when I stop as I just had bought new slotted and drilled rotors this year and couldn't believe they could already be warped. He checked out the problem free for me, and said one of my calipers was seized and that I needed new front pads. He said he would also put these on free for me before I picked the car up. He said the wagners were better than the bendix and those would cost me $72. He said there were two remanned calipers to choose from a $50 one and a $68 dollar one. He said the $50 one was a generic foreign caliper and the $68 one was a remanned ac delco caliper. I believed him and since he would put them on free and I wouldn't have to do it in the cold I let him go for it.
This put us up to $1640 total.
He also fixed my exhaust rattle with a new hanger for free, but heres for the shady part
The mass air flow sensor he said was new was re-painted. I could scrape the black paint off of it. I called him about it when I noticed today and he acted like he called someone and cussed them out for bringing him a remanned MAF instead of a brand new one. He said tomorrow he will swap the used one for the new one. Though; I realize after I never needed a MAF as it threw no code meaning my MAF wasn't bad, and after he changed the MAF I still had the hard, cold start on the first key crank. So $120 wasted on a part I didn't need. The cold start I fixed once I got it home, it ended up being a dirty key. I cleaned the chip on the key and it works great now.
2nd, I found out the Monroe sensatrac 3 doesn't exist, even though he swears it does and I have sensatrac 3s in there.
3rd, he ended up putting ac delco double platinum plugs in for the tune up and not iridiums.
Remember he also cut a hole in my car the first install and never was going to tell me. And also said the labor would be free the next time if the pump ever went and the labor wasn't free.
At this point I question if he even changed my gear oil like he said he did. Also, I question if I even needed a caliper or if he just said that and cleaned up my old caliper and put it back on. It didn't look very new to me. Just looked cleaner on that side. Every part he said I needed of course had a core charge so I never got back any of the old parts (caliper, MAF) He said the MAF had a broken terminal on it, which I find hard to believe as I never had a check engine light. He also said he had to send the pump back as the company wanted to check the canister and pump to see why the pump had failed so quickly. I almost am not sure the pump was even bad at this point (though I couldn't hear it prime when the car wouldn't originally start) I never checked into any of it as it was going to snow the same night the car died so I just towed it to the shop and assumed the pump went again.
First, was $1640 reasonable for all of this work? Second, he got mad when I was asking all these questions, telling me I am questioning his integrity. Do you guys think he took me for a ride? What should I even do? Sorry for the long post. Sick of getting screwed. Who knows if he even bought me a new caliper or MAF (he has to buy the new MAF now, though it was un-needed and cost $120 for nothing) and who knows if he did my gear oil or even if it was the fuel pump originally that went bad again. I don't understand why these pumps keep going. This is the same guy that said I needed a new computer the last time my fuel pump died as it took the computer out with it (charged me 4-500 the last time for a new CPU alone when he put the 3rd fuel pump in) It was the first pump he put in but the third the car has had, the one now is the fourth now. Who knows if he even used a Delphi pump like he says.
What should I do? For what he actually did was that at least a reasonable price? Thanks.
Heres the whole deal. First off let me say he has never showed me ANY of the old parts he has swapped out of my car. This all started last year when I paid him to install my third fuel pump after the original and the second Delphi pump I had installed had gone out. (Still no idea why I keep going through fuel pumps.) With the first install he said he was dropping the tank to change the pump, I find out after I paid for the repair and was investigating he cut into my rear t-top area WITHOUT telling me to swap the pump. He said he dropped the tank and never did. So I said okay, oh well now it will be easy to change. He also said when doing it that it was a Delphi pump with a 1 year warranty and the labor he would warranty for life if it went again. Sure enough a few months after the warranty was up the pump went out again. Instead of free labor he quoted me $75 to replace the pump and $225 for another Delphi pump as he said his parts guy was cutting some of the price off the new pump as it failed just out of warranty. So $300 for the pump and re-install with filter and strainer. Once he was done with the pump he said "I quoted you $300 plus $75 labor" but said he would honor the $300 price I said he quoted me. I should have known he was out to make some extra money.
Now to what happened after. Last week I won a couple grand on my fantasy football league, and its freezing here in Michigan; so I figured I would pay him to take care of a few other things that I had been putting off. It started off with him quoting me for struts. He said he was going to get me "Monroe Sensatrac 3s" for struts and TIW or TWI strut mounts which were better than moog. I had never heard of sensatrac 3 struts only the normal sensatracs but just went with it as I didn't have time to look until today. He charged me $150 labor on the struts and mounts, $90 per strut mount and $119 per strut, so say $575 total for the struts. I come to find out now there is no such thing as a sensatrac 3 strut yet he still says there is. I didn't find any of this stuff out until AFTER I paid and picked the car up today.
Next I had him change my dex-cool coolant and to green coolant and flush the system, he charged $100 total for this, which I assumed was reasonable?
I also had him change my differential fluid and clean inside the pig and outside the pig. He used synthetic gear fluid with limited slip additive. He charged $100 for this as well.
I figured hey hes doing some reasonable priced work at this point, took his word about the struts; the "sensatrac 3" which he assured me were not common and not sold at the generic stores like autozone. He kept talking about TWI or TIW as where the parts were coming from. I asked about a tune up. He said sure, iridium plugs are $8.50, the wires are AC delco and are $85, and ill charge you $150 for the labor. So this came out to about $305 for the tune up.
so far were up to $1380.
So I ask him why my car is not starting the first time I turn the key, but always on the second time. He says my Mass Air Flow Sensor needs to be replaced, that its bad. I thought well why wasn't my check engine light on before the fuel pump went out if this was the case? Though he said it always wont throw the check engine light when a MAF is bad. So I didn't question him as he said he would just put the part on for free and charge me for a NEW MAF which would be $120. I thought fair enough.
I then ask him to check out why my wheel is shaking when I stop as I just had bought new slotted and drilled rotors this year and couldn't believe they could already be warped. He checked out the problem free for me, and said one of my calipers was seized and that I needed new front pads. He said he would also put these on free for me before I picked the car up. He said the wagners were better than the bendix and those would cost me $72. He said there were two remanned calipers to choose from a $50 one and a $68 dollar one. He said the $50 one was a generic foreign caliper and the $68 one was a remanned ac delco caliper. I believed him and since he would put them on free and I wouldn't have to do it in the cold I let him go for it.
This put us up to $1640 total.
He also fixed my exhaust rattle with a new hanger for free, but heres for the shady part
The mass air flow sensor he said was new was re-painted. I could scrape the black paint off of it. I called him about it when I noticed today and he acted like he called someone and cussed them out for bringing him a remanned MAF instead of a brand new one. He said tomorrow he will swap the used one for the new one. Though; I realize after I never needed a MAF as it threw no code meaning my MAF wasn't bad, and after he changed the MAF I still had the hard, cold start on the first key crank. So $120 wasted on a part I didn't need. The cold start I fixed once I got it home, it ended up being a dirty key. I cleaned the chip on the key and it works great now.
2nd, I found out the Monroe sensatrac 3 doesn't exist, even though he swears it does and I have sensatrac 3s in there.
3rd, he ended up putting ac delco double platinum plugs in for the tune up and not iridiums.
Remember he also cut a hole in my car the first install and never was going to tell me. And also said the labor would be free the next time if the pump ever went and the labor wasn't free.
At this point I question if he even changed my gear oil like he said he did. Also, I question if I even needed a caliper or if he just said that and cleaned up my old caliper and put it back on. It didn't look very new to me. Just looked cleaner on that side. Every part he said I needed of course had a core charge so I never got back any of the old parts (caliper, MAF) He said the MAF had a broken terminal on it, which I find hard to believe as I never had a check engine light. He also said he had to send the pump back as the company wanted to check the canister and pump to see why the pump had failed so quickly. I almost am not sure the pump was even bad at this point (though I couldn't hear it prime when the car wouldn't originally start) I never checked into any of it as it was going to snow the same night the car died so I just towed it to the shop and assumed the pump went again.
First, was $1640 reasonable for all of this work? Second, he got mad when I was asking all these questions, telling me I am questioning his integrity. Do you guys think he took me for a ride? What should I even do? Sorry for the long post. Sick of getting screwed. Who knows if he even bought me a new caliper or MAF (he has to buy the new MAF now, though it was un-needed and cost $120 for nothing) and who knows if he did my gear oil or even if it was the fuel pump originally that went bad again. I don't understand why these pumps keep going. This is the same guy that said I needed a new computer the last time my fuel pump died as it took the computer out with it (charged me 4-500 the last time for a new CPU alone when he put the 3rd fuel pump in) It was the first pump he put in but the third the car has had, the one now is the fourth now. Who knows if he even used a Delphi pump like he says.
What should I do? For what he actually did was that at least a reasonable price? Thanks.
12-19-2013, 10:30 PM
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Also to add, the second pump I had installed (right after stock pump went) was a racetronix pump, which this mechanic ^^^^^ said was garbage when he changed the pump the next time for me. So I have had stock, racetronix, and the Delphi fail now.
12-19-2013, 10:34 PM
#4
12-19-2013, 10:42 PM
#5
Sounds like you have a shady mechanic. I would have dumped him the second he hacked an access door in my car without telling me. He probably never changed the MAF, just took your stock one and painted it to look like a new one. Even still, he shouldn't have been changing it without verifying that it was bad.
12-19-2013, 10:50 PM
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made me LOL. I don't know why this thing keeps going thru pumps. Ill ask tomorrow if he checked the voltages at the pump. I doubt he did. Was around $1650 at least about reasonable for what he did?
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12-20-2013, 12:29 AM
#8
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Mate your own mind is telling you this mechanic is scum!
A lot of us have been down this road including me, forget what he's cost you.
Move on, find a reputable LS firm in your area from the guys on here & don't look back, it will eat you up thinking about what this ****** done with your car.
A lot of us have been down this road including me, forget what he's cost you.
Move on, find a reputable LS firm in your area from the guys on here & don't look back, it will eat you up thinking about what this ****** done with your car.
12-20-2013, 12:50 AM
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The way you paint it, I would've dumped this guy long ago. Is there a reason you are loyal to him?
Also, your receipts should state what parts are replaced and the make of the part. If he doesn't do this, odds are he has already been taken to small claims court and he's covering his ***. If it's a verbal, where he said he would use this or that, and doesn't use those parts, then it's a he said, she said, type of situation and not admissible in court as it's heresay. Get everything in writing next time.
Also, your receipts should state what parts are replaced and the make of the part. If he doesn't do this, odds are he has already been taken to small claims court and he's covering his ***. If it's a verbal, where he said he would use this or that, and doesn't use those parts, then it's a he said, she said, type of situation and not admissible in court as it's heresay. Get everything in writing next time.
12-20-2013, 01:03 AM
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12-20-2013, 01:09 AM
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The way you paint it, I would've dumped this guy long ago. Is there a reason you are loyal to him?
Also, your receipts should state what parts are replaced and the make of the part. If he doesn't do this, odds are he has already been taken to small claims court and he's covering his ***. If it's a verbal, where he said he would use this or that, and doesn't use those parts, then it's a he said, she said, type of situation and not admissible in court as it's heresay. Get everything in writing next time.
Also, your receipts should state what parts are replaced and the make of the part. If he doesn't do this, odds are he has already been taken to small claims court and he's covering his ***. If it's a verbal, where he said he would use this or that, and doesn't use those parts, then it's a he said, she said, type of situation and not admissible in court as it's heresay. Get everything in writing next time.
Last edited by Edx2x; 12-20-2013 at 01:18 AM.
12-20-2013, 01:15 AM
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For all I know he put a cheap pump in this time and last time that's how he can offer the price he did for Delphi (whole unit sending unit and all he says) for $225. He knows he can just open it up next time and replace it again if it goes. Next time if the pump goes I'm going to open the tank from his cutout and look and see what pump is in there. He even says the reason the pumps go is I have a contaminated fuel tank which my tank is plastic so I doubt it and Even if it was somehow he should have taken care of that before installing the new pump. Once my warranties are up which I think is 1 year on pump, 2 year maf, I think ill only use him to get my lifetime pads and lifetime calipers if they ever fail. I think I'm going to go back to not being lazy and doing my own repairs again. Unless its something I can't handle such as alignments and stuff like that.
12-20-2013, 05:38 AM
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I can do alot of stuff just so cold here and almost worth it to just pay if its reasonable.
12-20-2013, 06:45 AM
#17
The caliper thing may be true, I've had pins seized in nearly every Camaro I've bought. I always grease the junk out of them and use new brackets when I do pads and rotors now!
The MAF thing is shady, I wouldn't have diagnosed a hard start as a MAF without a code.
And I'd bet your pump issue is voltage like everyone's pointing out. I had a new pump fail on the highway, it was some Walbro knock-off. Since then, I've always done Racetronix with their harness and since then, no fuel pump failures.
12-20-2013, 07:24 AM
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I would have quit going back after he cut a hole in my car. I'm a mechanic for a living and I would think of doing that in anyone's vehicle. I don't know why youd keep goin back over and over to some one that would do stuff like that, shows what kind of work he does.
12-20-2013, 08:04 AM
#20
I hope he put some grease or assembly lube on your doookie before he slipped it to you. He has been screwing you from the get go. The hole in the floor was the first sign he was a jack leg mechanic. You can change fuel pumps in 1 1/2 hours with a lift. You always want to drop the tank and clean out all the crap in the bottom. Believe me there will be trash in the bottom of the tank. Find a REAL mechanic or do it yourself. A cheap labor rate is not a bargain when he is constantly screwing you every time he gets the chance. You saw all the signs he was screwing you and did not act on it. Whats up with that???
