Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: CAP1 on January 21, 2011, 10:39:31 AM
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had a customer(korean lady that barley speaks english) recommended to me by another customer.
she had had her minivan at another shop about a mile from here. she took it in for no heat. they gave her a laundry list, telling her she needs the following:
brake pads all around
p/s front outer tie rod end
radiator
now granted, i got a customer because of this, which is good........but WTF do friggin BRAKE PADS have to do with a lack of heat?! or that tie rod end?? and for the record, her pads are 50%+ all around, and the tie rod barley has any play in it at all....to the point i'd have no problem telling her it's good for at least another year.
it does need the radiator, which has a slow leak, which caused her to not get heat.....but what the hell? shops like that are what makes us all look bad. :furious :furious :mad:
<rant off>
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lol BMW tried to tell me I needed new tie rod ends + shocks on my 850i, when I told them I heard a clunking coming from underneath, they wanted 6000$ for everything, so I said f that took it home, and it turns out it was just an O2 censor that was broken and hitting the chassis, so I ordered a new one for 200$ and put it in myself
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I have said it once and will say it again, you are a honest mechanic that is passionate about his job, not the paycheck. WTG!
Now, other than Angels List, is there a way that you can report this place to a organization about their shady operation?
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Cap~ya thats friggin bullcrap, I know exactly what you are saying, what sux about my business tattoos dont go away, all these new shops tattooing young kids hands and neck just absolutly drives me crazy. That's just one thing that sux about this world, its all about the money and most people will do whatever it takes to make a buck. your a stand up guy......rare now a days.
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Good on you CAP. :aok
I was amazed in November when I took my old truck (2000 Silverado where you gave me some maintenance manual info last year for troubleshooting...thanks again!) in for an alignment and front end inspection. I had to swerve to avoid an idiot in a a parking lot on a wet slippery day and twanged my right front wheel against a curb while on my way to work. I took such a huge chunk out of the rim I was amazed the tire was holding air at all being right THERE on the bead. The alignment was off and I was nearly sure something had to be broken with the impact as hard as it was. I took it to a shop in Thorndale on my way home from work after the trip. I mounted my spare tire because I didn't have confidence in the tire to hold air. While it was off I didn't see anything broken after a quick look but prepared for the worst and to haggle over a $1200 bill.
I told the guys what happened, how I wanted my 265 regular tire mounted on the spare rim which had a 245 size tire, front end inspection and alignment. While I was there and it needed it, an oil change too.
I walked out with a bill for $150. Nothing broken, nothing bent and no BS maintenance upcharging or phantom problems. Worth every penny. This included the inspection, alignment, mounting/balancing of the regular wheel on the spare rim. The tech who did it kept the old rim after he asked if he could ($20 scrap value or so) and I gave him the OK. All in all a great experience.
$40 later I had a "new" matching aluminum rim from a scrap yard. I needed 4 new tires so the place I bought them (and bought the last 3 sets of tires from in eastern Ohio) mounted/rebalanced the rim and the spare rim free of charge.
Then on December 25th I was involved in a 7 car accident that totaled the thing. :mad:
The tire shop I'd been to before and am a loyal customer. Free mounting/balancing/aligment is part of their schtick. The local shop in Thorndale was quick, honest and reasonable and I'd go back there without a second thought for work I wasn't doing myself.
Keep up the good work Cap. There are other good shops out there and they should be recognized for not being slimy ultra melons.
When my 2005 Silverado starts showing a little age I'll be sure to hit you up for maintenance information again :lol
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As a young man I used to have a mistrust of local mechanics and would only consider having a dealership service my vehicle. However, I now trust local mechanics far more than the dealership guys and I usually will go to them first before I ever set foot in a dealership garage. My father went through a horrific time dealing with a dealership and fixing a transmission for our jeep. To make a long story short after months of repeated repairs that never worked he took the jeep to a local transmission shop. They found the problem (bad module), fixed it in just a few hours, and only charged us about 60 or so bucks compared to the several thousand with the dealership.
I'll have to tell you the complete story sometime CAP, it will make your freaking head explode. And on a side note the dealership that failed to fix the transmission but charged us out the wazoo anyway went out of business several years ago.
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A good honest shop should never be empty. Shame there aren't any around here I know of. The guy across the street wanted $40 for an oil change. I never asked him again.
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I've had two shops try to figure out why my Caddy is sporadicly overheating.
One changed the thermostat, it still overheated. $185.00 (its a Northstar, its a head gasket)
I drove it (overheating) aprox.1/2 mile to another shopand dropped it off, they pressure tested it and hooked it up to a computer and said they could find nothing wrong. It would NOT overheat for them.$50.00 (its NOT the headgasket)
It hasn't overheated since. (but it will)
I think the 2nd shop has magicians working there!
BTW--this is the second time in about 6 months this has happened. I starts overheating(260) then a few days later it will just suddenly stop.
Unfortunatly my only other option might have to be a Caddy dealership, and we all know what will happen to me there!! :noid
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had a customer(korean lady that barley speaks english) recommended to me by another customer.
she had had her minivan at another shop about a mile from here. she took it in for no heat. they gave her a laundry list, telling her she needs the following:
brake pads all around
p/s front outer tie rod end
radiator
now granted, i got a customer because of this, which is good........but WTF do friggin BRAKE PADS have to do with a lack of heat?! or that tie rod end?? and for the record, her pads are 50%+ all around, and the tie rod barley has any play in it at all....to the point i'd have no problem telling her it's good for at least another year.
it does need the radiator, which has a slow leak, which caused her to not get heat.....but what the hell? shops like that are what makes us all look bad. :furious :furious :mad:
<rant off>
Yeah, I hate it when shops tell me all the BS to try and fix things that are not broken. Thats why once I find a good mechanic, I stay with them. Also, its why I've bought cars from the same MFG 3 times now.
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You're a good man Charlie Brown. Good to know there are honest shops still around. If you were close, I'd probably use you to service Bullseye. (My 2005 Ford Escape)
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As a young man I used to have a mistrust of local mechanics and would only consider having a dealership service my vehicle. However, I now trust local mechanics far more than the dealership guys and I usually will go to them first before I ever set foot in a dealership garage. My father went through a horrific time dealing with a dealership and fixing a transmission for our jeep. To make a long story short after months of repeated repairs that never worked he took the jeep to a local transmission shop. They found the problem (bad module), fixed it in just a few hours, and only charged us about 60 or so bucks compared to the several thousand with the dealership.
I'll have to tell you the complete story sometime CAP, it will make your freaking head explode. And on a side note the dealership that failed to fix the transmission but charged us out the wazoo anyway went out of business several years ago.
My dad was similar, he likes Fords and bought an Explorer about 15 years ago. He loved the thing, then it started to idle rough one day, took it into the dealership like 10 times in less than two years for the same problem. Finaly, the idle got so rough it was misfiring and reluctantly he tried a shop I got a recomendation for. Same thing, they found some faulty computer module for less than $100. They put in a new one and then did the best they could to make it idle well but basicaly got it to as good as when it first started to noticabley idle rough. The independent mechanic said that was the best he could do after what the dealership guys did, or at least the best he could without almost a couple grand engine rebuild but that overall he thought it looked good enough to get a bit more moneys worth outa it, and I believe that since there were no other major problems and my brother eventualy took it to college with him in 2004 and drove it into the ground finaly sometime in early 2009 (head gasket was starting to leak radiator fluid into the oil, which surprised me because I had money riding on him snaping an axel or tire off the way he drove it like a 4x4 jeep offroad sometimes).
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1Boner~electric fan or clutch fan? I would guess thats the issue, no matter what type of fan, it's working sometimes, somtimes it aint.....electric fan loose wiring, clutch fan the clutch going bad.....allthough I am a tattoo guy not a mechanic ;-)
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Same, my Passat had a small hose, litterally 5 inches long that had a break in it. They wanted like 1,000 bucks to fix it, brought it to another place and it was like 50 bucks lol.
-BigBOBCH
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I wish we had mechanics here like you Cap, they are all crooks here as well looking to make the big bucks not what the customer needs.
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I took my Chevy S-10 into a shop because I experienced loss of power. $2000 and two weeks later I got the truck back with a whole laundry list of replaced parts and associated labor. Took the truck around the block and came back to the shop because they didn't resolve the loss of power. After a heated exchange I took the truck down the road to a Midas.
Their technician pull a broken OEM spark plug out from the cylinder most obstructed by the steering column. New plug. Power restored. Another $600 to replace the destroyed catalytic converter, and I was back on the road.
But I will NEVER, EVER, visit
Lamb's Automotive
Four Points
FM 620 & 2222 (Next to Taco Bell)
7515 N FM 620 BLDG 2
Austin TX 78726
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lol BMW tried to tell me I needed new tie rod ends + shocks on my 850i, when I told them I heard a clunking coming from underneath, they wanted 6000$ for everything, so I said f that took it home, and it turns out it was just an O2 censor that was broken and hitting the chassis, so I ordered a new one for 200$ and put it in myself
What year?
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Well......she left with a new radiator, and hea blowing like a furnace. She was happy, and is coming back for her next oil change and/or other service.
Seeing stuff like that just sets me off,,,,there was aq shop in orlando that tried that same crap on my mom.....thankfully, she thought something didn't sound right and called me first.....
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1Boner~electric fan or clutch fan? I would guess thats the issue, no matter what type of fan, it's working sometimes, somtimes it aint.....electric fan loose wiring, clutch fan the clutch going bad.....allthough I am a tattoo guy not a mechanic ;-)
Yup, my thought is temperature sensor that tells the fan when to turn on and off.
Cheap and easy to fix.
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Yup, my thought is temperature sensor that tells the fan when to turn on and off.
Cheap and easy to fix.
a temp sensor would be a more consistant failure.
i'm with ink thinking possibly loose wiring, or possibly a bad fan relay.
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lol BMW tried to tell me I needed new tie rod ends + shocks on my 850i, when I told them I heard a clunking coming from underneath, they wanted 6000$ for everything, so I said f that took it home, and it turns out it was just an O2 censor that was broken and hitting the chassis, so I ordered a new one for 200$ and put it in myself
reason # 236 why I am OVER BMW for life. granted...my last one was a 328i...but my Genesis is everything I want in a car. power, handling, megga comfort, insane great price, and Hyundai backs it all up with an amazing warranty.
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reason # 236 why I am OVER BMW for life. granted...my last one was a 328i...but my Genesis is everything I want in a car. power, handling, megga comfort, insane great price, and Hyundai backs it all up with an amazing warranty.
Obviously you don't know much. Since its debut , reviewers have consistently said that handling is the Genesis’ main shortcoming.
BMW backs it up with just as amazing warranty and free maintenance, plus it doesn't loose 50% of its value within first year. Over 40 thousand for Hyundai :rofl Congrats, you got screwed.
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Obviously you don't know much. Since its debut , reviewers have consistently said that handling is the Genesis’ main shortcoming.
BMW backs it up with just as amazing warranty and free maintenance, plus it doesn't loose 50% of its value within first year. Over 40 thousand for Hyundai :rofl Congrats, you got screwed.
What he wants in a car isn't something that you or I get to put our two cents in on. What I want in a vehicle might not be what you want and I wouldn't be a dick to you just because you bought something that wouldn't have the same value as me.
Shrug. :headscratch:
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it does need the radiator, which has a slow leak, which caused her to not get heat.....but what the hell? shops like that are what makes us all look bad. :furious :furious :mad:
<rant off>
I hear that CAP, see it all the time... I hate the DB's that make us real techs look bad..
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A good honest mechanic is worth his weight in gold. CAP if there is anyone in the Flemington area you could recommend I'd appreciate it. I had a great guy in Keyport for years and just moved out here a couple of years ago, feel lost without a mechanic I can trust.
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What he wants in a car isn't something that you or I get to put our two cents in on. What I want in a vehicle might not be what you want and I wouldn't be a dick to you just because you bought something that wouldn't have the same value as me.
Shrug. :headscratch:
That is true. My Apologies.
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A few years ago I took my car into the Chrysler dealer, only because it was still under warranty. They told me I needed a front brake job and that my rotors needed replaced as they were under min spec.
The car was less than two years old and the rotors had never even been turned before!
Never went back to that dealer.
Found a Dodge dealer closer to my house and every time I take it there they almost never recommend a repair, to the point I almost wonder if they are inspecting it adequately.
Have had those "too thin" rotors turned twice since then and continue to go to this Dodge dealer even though the car is well out of warranty.
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What year?
1992
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BMW backs it up with just as amazing warranty
did you really just say that?
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A good honest mechanic is worth his weight in gold. CAP if there is anyone in the Flemington area you could recommend I'd appreciate it. I had a great guy in Keyport for years and just moved out here a couple of years ago, feel lost without a mechanic I can trust.
how far north of mcguire are you?
there's s&s auto in seacucus, houstons auto in columbus, and tynans in hackettstown. i've dealt with all three of them through civil air patrol, and they've all been honest and straightforward with me.
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reason # 236 why I am OVER BMW for life. granted...my last one was a 328i...but my Genesis is everything I want in a car. power, handling, megga comfort, insane great price, and Hyundai backs it all up with an amazing warranty.
I like Hyundai, my dad has the Verracruz and he loves it, I love my BMW's aswell, although since there is snow on the ground for 7 months of the year here, I dont get it out much, my E30 is great in the winter though for a 2 door ( and I only paid 2000$ for it)
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did you really just say that?
he probably did.
my friend bought a 2004 z3. he loves it. it's a friggin bullet on rails.
so far, the few things it's needed, including front brakes, he hasn't paid a dime for. it's all been covered.
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A few years ago I took my car into the Chrysler dealer, only because it was still under warranty. They told me I needed a front brake job and that my rotors needed replaced as they were under min spec.
The car was less than two years old and the rotors had never even been turned before!
Never went back to that dealer.
Found a Dodge dealer closer to my house and every time I take it there they almost never recommend a repair, to the point I almost wonder if they are inspecting it adequately.
Have had those "too thin" rotors turned twice since then and continue to go to this Dodge dealer even though the car is well out of warranty.
a lot of shops, both dealer, and non dealer try that crap with the rotors these days. to be honest, i don't even cut them anymore, unless they've been damaged, or the customer requests it. i've found over the years that all it does, is waste the customers money.
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Gotta agree with you Cap... This is possibly even less ethical than helping a customer "quiet" a knocking rod to ready a vehicle for trade-in...
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Worst guys in the business..........Landrover!!!!
Never EVER buy a product from these scam artists. They are the worst built POS cars on the market...and their service department comes up with all sorts of BS to tell you why your rather expensive POS car is breaking every 4000 miles. There is a list but it is to long to type here. Just do a search for Service bullitens. The year that I had mine there were 295 known issues for my type of car. I had almost all of them. :furious Never again.
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I like Hyundai, my dad has the Verracruz and he loves it, I love my BMW's aswell, although since there is snow on the ground for 7 months of the year here, I dont get it out much, my E30 is great in the winter though for a 2 door ( and I only paid 2000$ for it)
I hate Hyundai's , I bought a brand new 97 Sonata and it still gets me to and from as the work car, but I have spent over 5K on broken timing belts that are breaking due to the tension pulley going bad well before its time and busting the timing belt, so now I just pay to replace the tensioner about every 30k to be safe so it doesn't cost me 1500 bucks to fix each time. Never again will I buy a POS Hyundai. The next POS I buy will be a Ford..... :P
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.but WTF do friggin BRAKE PADS have to do with a lack of heat?! or that tie rod end??
<rant off>
here is what more than likely happened... sales person aka service writer needed some money and saw that the mechanics inspection noted 50% worn brakes... in the services writers mind there worn out. loose tie rod end = very loose tie rod end to a service writer. There is a good chance the guy who looked at the car was just doing his job, its the BS sales staff that makes the mechanic look like a crook, at least the majority of the time. now don't get me wrong, there are alot of shady shops out there but more then likely its the sales staff that needs to be blamed. I know if i get a car in the shop for a particular complaint i am expected to do a full vehicle inspection regardless. so that means telling them about stuff that is unrelated to there issue that brought them into the shop in the fist place. people have the right to know what is wrong with there car no matter if it has anything to do with their complaint. but at the same time i know exactly how you feel in this situation! I always look at it this way. tell them what will fix the issue they are having but then let them know that there are other things that need to be addressed as well, let the customer sort them out and if they want some advice on what should be prioritized, i give them honest advice. And you already know that honesty goes a looooong ways in this biz. I just had to rant on this cuz i Fing hate the service writers at my shop. :furious :furious :furious :furious But its good to hear that there are other honest mechanics out there!!!!!!!!!! :rock keep up the good work
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Worst guys in the business..........Landrover!!!!
Never EVER buy a product from these scam artists. They are the worst built POS cars on the market...and their service department comes up with all sorts of BS to tell you why your rather expensive POS car is breaking every 4000 miles. There is a list but it is to long to type here. Just do a search for Service bullitens. The year that I had mine there were 295 known issues for my type of car. I had almost all of them. :furious Never again.
i've been lucky enough to only ever work on 2 of these POS's. can't honestly understand how they sell these crap piles.
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I hate Hyundai's , I bought a brand new 97 Sonata and it still gets me to and from as the work car, but I have spent over 5K on broken timing belts that are breaking due to the tension pulley going bad well before its time and busting the timing belt, so now I just pay to replace the tensioner about every 30k to be safe so it doesn't cost me 1500 bucks to fix each time. Never again will I buy a POS Hyundai. The next POS I buy will be a Ford..... :P
hyundai seems to have come a loooooong way quality wise, especially in the mid 2000's to now.
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here is what more than likely happened... sales person aka service writer needed some money and saw that the mechanics inspection noted 50% worn brakes... in the services writers mind there worn out. loose tie rod end = very loose tie rod end to a service writer. There is a good chance the guy who looked at the car was just doing his job, its the BS sales staff that makes the mechanic look like a crook, at least the majority of the time. now don't get me wrong, there are alot of shady shops out there but more then likely its the sales staff that needs to be blamed. I know if i get a car in the shop for a particular complaint i am expected to do a full vehicle inspection regardless. so that means telling them about stuff that is unrelated to there issue that brought them into the shop in the fist place. people have the right to know what is wrong with there car no matter if it has anything to do with their complaint. but at the same time i know exactly how you feel in this situation! I always look at it this way. tell them what will fix the issue they are having but then let them know that there are other things that need to be addressed as well, let the customer sort them out and if they want some advice on what should be prioritized, i give them honest advice. And you already know that honesty goes a looooong ways in this biz. I just had to rant on this cuz i Fing hate the service writers at my shop. :furious :furious :furious :furious But its good to hear that there are other honest mechanics out there!!!!!!!!!! :rock keep up the good work
i fully agree about service writers. i know what kind of crap they do. i'm good friends with a guy that spent about 10 years doing that for a goodyear shop. needless to say, he more than likely did exactly what you said, then some.
even when i used to sell the work for the last couple shops i worked at, i concerned myself with the problem at hand, not other bs that had nothing to do with the complaint.
in the case of this radiator, she should have been told nothing about anything outside the area of her complaint(like hoses, thermostat, etc.) until the heating problem was solved.
i'm somewhat familiar with the shop she took it to before coming to me. till recently, i've never heard a bad word about them. it seems in the past year or so, i've been hearing stuff like this. there was a nissan 200sx i had a couple of weeks ago, that had been taken there for a stalling problem, and non-functional speedometer. they put a vss in it, and let it go. didn't solve the stalling, and it still had a non-functional speedo. i put a used instrument cluster in it for the speedo problem. solved that. the stalling went away when i put some gas in the tank for them.
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hyundai seems to have come a loooooong way quality wise, especially in the mid 2000's to now.
(http://4carpictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/c378_dub-hyundai-genesis-sedan-front-quarter-main.jpg)
that is EXACTLY when they made the changeover..around 2004...and started building much better cars..packing them with free/included upgrades...and backing them better than anyone. we bought our niece a 2003 elantra...it now has 114K miles.....and nothing has broken on it...ever. she says it still runs like a champ. Sontata (made in the usa) is about to replace Camry....and the Genesis was voted best north american luxury car in 09. I have the sedan..but the Coupe is off the charts.
I have no doubt that Hyundai will win over more hearts and minds. it takes time...just like it did for "Datsun" and "Honda". I did my homework on the Genesis..it's built and backed well..and in many ways as I said above..it out performs my old 328i by leaps and bounds. handling..I'll still give to BMW..but that's about it.. and quite frankly..unless I drive the Autobahn I really don't think that's as big of an issue as I did back in the day.
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BTW..this is Hyundai's jump into the hyper luxury market...the new Equus..
(http://www.carshowp.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/hyundai-equus-a.jpg)
(http://autocast.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2011-Hyundai-Equus-Interior-Design.jpg)
(http://autocast.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2011-Hyundai-Equus-Rear-Interior.jpg)
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Obviously you don't know much. Since its debut , reviewers have consistently said that handling is the Genesis’ main shortcoming.
BMW backs it up with just as amazing warranty and free maintenance, plus it doesn't loose 50% of its value within first year. Over 40 thousand for Hyundai :rofl Congrats, you got screwed.
And BMWs handle like tugs compared to Hondas and Fords. Want to compare sticker prices now?
Not to mention that BMW has had to catch up in the warrenty department in the last couple years or they would of gone out of buisness. Sales a couple years ago plummeted when all BMWs started needing two weeks in the shop to re-set an apoxy-mounted bumber whenever the car would love-tap something with its bumpers. Just look back at the difference in waranties during that three-month span, they went from one of the worst warrenties to one that addressed customers concerns on certain items to one that covered whatever it needed to to make the sale happen, most unusual for a company that for decades had almost no attention given twords customer warrenties beyond the bare basics. Some loyal customers finaly realized how greedy and horribley deisgned they were and BMW reluctantly bent over and has been using it as their main sales pitch since. And just because BMW has been doing this for only two years now out of its entire history, doesn't mean I would consider them a stelar alternative by a very long shot.
did you really just say that?
Yes, yes he did! Does this mean I should of just cut to the chase and imediatley pointed and laughed?
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WTG CAP...If you were down here in Alabama I could point you to about a dozen shops that do what you describe. On the flip side of that coin you describe there are easily just as many who play the way you do with your customers. For that I :salute you bud. WTG!
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WTG CAP...If you were down here in Alabama I could point you to about a dozen shops that do what you describe. On the flip side of that coin you describe there are easily just as many who play the way you do with your customers. For that I :salute you bud. WTG!
i actually know of a few like that here in jersey. i get to deal with other shops as a customer, through civil air patrol. i'n nj wing lgt, and due to this, i cannot steer the work to my own shop(conflick of interest there).
i've dealt with houstons on rt 206 in columbus nj, s&s auto in secaucus nj, tynans in hacketstown nj, borchers auto in blackwood nj......and a few others i can't think of right now.
each and every one of them as given us spectacular service, and have all been more than honest with us. all work estimates come through me, and i rarely let on that i have my own place, till after i've dealt with them a couple of times. they've all treated me good.
had a ford dealer that tried to rake us over the coals........i didn't let it happen, and we take nothing there anymore....not even warranty work.
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While we are talking machanics, anybody know any good, honest, and reliable shops in South Georgia? I am in Douglas, Ga and it seems every shop here (dealer or otherwise) tries to rip you off. You go in for one thing, they may fix it, but they try to fix 100 other things while they are doing it.
I don't know if anybody else lives in this backwards area, but if anybody knows of a good shop within 50 miles of Douglas, GA I would be happy.
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While we are talking machanics, anybody know any good, honest, and reliable shops in South Georgia? I am in Douglas, Ga and it seems every shop here (dealer or otherwise) tries to rip you off. You go in for one thing, they may fix it, but they try to fix 100 other things while they are doing it.
I don't know if anybody else lives in this backwards area, but if anybody knows of a good shop within 50 miles of Douglas, GA I would be happy.
check here.....
http://www.iatn.net/
go to the member directory. you should find someone there.
this is a forum of automotive professionals that network together to help other shops out. i've found them to be generally honest on here.
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I would say that it is the service writers more than the mechanics that try to screw you
The last place I worked at as an inspection mechanic had a blanket policy (verbal, of course, from the service writer) which stated that every car that came into a bay had SOMETHING wrong with it, even if it was just wipers.
One of my grandparents friends came in for an oil change one time, but I was off that day. They charged her $35 for an oil change and another $30 to change a turn signal light. Unbelievable! The worst part is that the love muffin mechanic (who was the service writer's brother) left the oil filler cap off when he was finished. I almost felt like telling her to run it dry of oil til it seized and sue them over it.
There was another time that a friend of the service writer had come in for an inspection and his rotors were way under spec. Almost .015" or something ridiculous like that. The service writer told me to put a sticker on it anyway. I flat out refused and told him to put his license in jeopardy, and that he should sign off on it if it was so important. It would be MY bellybutton in a sling if his buddy's brakes failed and he hurt someone because of it. He said he couldn't because his inspection license was issued in N.J. and, if I didn't do it, he was going to make my life "very difficult" I told him to blow it out of his bellybutton and that I would make his life simple for him. I quit immediately with a garage full of cars, two of which I had on a lift, in various states of disrepair.
It is usually the family owned shop with a full parking lot (usually meaning he is popular and does good work) with an owner that will come out with smile, a greasy handshake and dirty coveralls to shake your hand, being the shop you can trust.
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yup I met a mechanic many years ago and I brought my challenger to him alone, now he is retired, but his son took over the business, he was at the shop as a 10 year old kid, the only guy I bring my cars to, and its cool that he is into Tattoos :-)
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I used to work for a shop back in 2k. My salary was 8% of whatever the shop made and we are talking including taxes and whatever. thankfully the owner was honest and never asked me to overcharge anybody. he fired the prior guy for overcharging people, since that way he could make more money. A lot of sales people work on commission or bonuses and they will stick it to you, because they're greedy.
I once had a guy wanting to charge me 80 to turn the rotors when they were doing the brakes. I told him that normal charge was about 20 buck and he insisted that they was a lot of work involved, I laughed my bellybutton off and asked the mechanic to explain to the guy what extra work was needed to remove rotors when brakes were already out. he still insisted on the 80 dollar charge so I told him to forget it and put all my stuff back and I went next door. that was at midas, but also had similar experiences at meineken and most major auto repair shops. including dealers.
the dealer wanted 700 to replace the motor and center console for my gf's car when her window wouldnt roll down. I laughed about that also, I went to auto zone bought the motor for 25 bucks and had the windchill replace place install it for 30. most mechanics are a bunch of thieves in my opinion. there's some good ones, but they are rare, specially in los angeles where I live.
semp
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Again, I'll say that shops are the one thieving before it is the mechanics.
Especially the box-store shops.
Pep Boys, R & S Strauss, Meineke, Midas, Aamco, etc.
Most mechanics are stand-up guys that are just trying to earn a living by bending wrenches.
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I used to work for a shop back in 2k. My salary was 8% of whatever the shop made and we are talking including taxes and whatever. thankfully the owner was honest and never asked me to overcharge anybody. he fired the prior guy for overcharging people, since that way he could make more money. A lot of sales people work on commission or bonuses and they will stick it to you, because they're greedy.
I once had a guy wanting to charge me 80 to turn the rotors when they were doing the brakes. I told him that normal charge was about 20 buck and he insisted that they was a lot of work involved, I laughed my bellybutton off and asked the mechanic to explain to the guy what extra work was needed to remove rotors when brakes were already out. he still insisted on the 80 dollar charge so I told him to forget it and put all my stuff back and I went next door. that was at midas, but also had similar experiences at meineken and most major auto repair shops. including dealers.
the dealer wanted 700 to replace the motor and center console for my gf's car when her window wouldnt roll down. I laughed about that also, I went to auto zone bought the motor for 25 bucks and had the windchill replace place install it for 30. most mechanics are a bunch of thieves in my opinion. there's some good ones, but they are rare, specially in los angeles where I live.
semp
midas and mienke are 2 of the worst. i worked for a midas shop. stayed there for 6 months. it only took me a month or less to realize how effing horrible they were, but it took me a little time to find another job........i ended up going back to work for the guy that gave me my first job in this field. after we talked, i gave notice, and he sent a rollback over to pick up my toolbox for me.
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LOL here is a good one pertaining to trucks but with the DOT. I had just picked up my truck and had less than 65 miles on it, before I left I did a thourough pre-trip inspection. I hadn't even gone 300 miles when at the first scale I got shut down due to the fact as the officer had said, my brakes were below federal minimum standard. WTF??? it has less than 500 miles on it and the nibbs on the tires were still there (somewhat). Well he called a mechanic to the scale house and the mechanic proceeded to tell me my fanbelt was worn the engine was leaking oil and i had an airleak that requires me to be towed to his shop for repairs. Between the fine handed to me and the towing and *cough*repairs*cough* it was a total of 11,345 dollars on a BRAND NEW TRUCK.
Well about 6 months later I went through that scale again, this time i had a "co driver" with me. Well the officer tried to do the same thing to me, bad brakes and an airleak on a truck coming off the show room floor. It was checked out by no less than 3 mechanics adn 2 DOT officers earlier that day. About this time my "co driver" steps up and makes his precence know, he was a Lt. with the Tennessee State police. 2 scumbags arrested and my company got reimbursed the money they doled out.
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BRILLIANT!!!! :aok
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ebfd~oh man I wish I coulda seen there faces....haha
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LOL here is a good one pertaining to trucks but with the DOT. I had just picked up my truck and had less than 65 miles on it, before I left I did a thourough pre-trip inspection. I hadn't even gone 300 miles when at the first scale I got shut down due to the fact as the officer had said, my brakes were below federal minimum standard. WTF??? it has less than 500 miles on it and the nibbs on the tires were still there (somewhat). Well he called a mechanic to the scale house and the mechanic proceeded to tell me my fanbelt was worn the engine was leaking oil and i had an airleak that requires me to be towed to his shop for repairs. Between the fine handed to me and the towing and *cough*repairs*cough* it was a total of 11,345 dollars on a BRAND NEW TRUCK.
Well about 6 months later I went through that scale again, this time i had a "co driver" with me. Well the officer tried to do the same thing to me, bad brakes and an airleak on a truck coming off the show room floor. It was checked out by no less than 3 mechanics adn 2 DOT officers earlier that day. About this time my "co driver" steps up and makes his precence know, he was a Lt. with the Tennessee State police. 2 scumbags arrested and my company got reimbursed the money they doled out.
ya know? i know a truck driver, and i never even thought of weigh stations trying crap like that............
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I'm a sevice manager at a mom & pop garage, and the dealers kill me with what they try to push off. It's at least twice a week I get a customer that calls and says they need brakes. I ask them what kind of problem are they having, they say the dealer told them it needs brakes right away. At least 75% of the time there's more then half the linings left :huh. It's sad, but I do make a lot of new customers by bringing them out and showing them the truth, and backing them out, no charge. I run by a simple policy that the owners agree with me with, "what would I do if it was my wife's (add family memeber you care about here) car".
:salute
BigRat
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I'm a sevice manager at a mom & pop garage, and the dealers kill me with what they try to push off. It's at least twice a week I get a customer that calls and says they need brakes. I ask them what kind of problem are they having, they say the dealer told them it needs brakes right away. At least 75% of the time there's more then half the linings left :huh. It's sad, but I do make a lot of new customers by bringing them out and showing them the truth, and backing them out, no charge. I run by a simple policy that the owners agree with me with, "what would I do if it was my wife's (add family memeber you care about here) car".
:salute
BigRat
the dealer brake thing......you're right. i see that a LOT.
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I used to work for a shop back in 2k. My salary was 8% of whatever the shop made and we are talking including taxes and whatever. thankfully the owner was honest and never asked me to overcharge anybody. he fired the prior guy for overcharging people, since that way he could make more money. A lot of sales people work on commission or bonuses and they will stick it to you, because they're greedy.
I once had a guy wanting to charge me 80 to turn the rotors when they were doing the brakes. I told him that normal charge was about 20 buck and he insisted that they was a lot of work involved, I laughed my bellybutton off and asked the mechanic to explain to the guy what extra work was needed to remove rotors when brakes were already out. he still insisted on the 80 dollar charge so I told him to forget it and put all my stuff back and I went next door. that was at midas, but also had similar experiences at meineken and most major auto repair shops. including dealers.
the dealer wanted 700 to replace the motor and center console for my gf's car when her window wouldnt roll down. I laughed about that also, I went to auto zone bought the motor for 25 bucks and had the windchill replace place install it for 30. most mechanics are a bunch of thieves in my opinion. there's some good ones, but they are rare, specially in los angeles where I live.
semp
Oh yeah, definetley. My current Honda mechanic is golden. He used to work for one of the mega Honda dealers in Van Nuys, got sick of it and went into buisness with a budy who he used to work with at the same dealership. I bought a (i think) '84 civic hatchback from him when I was 19 that he was selling to help start his buisness, it was a great little car I put loads of mileage on while driving 80 miles a day for technical school and when I worked all over the LA area as a non-union sound production assistant. Was a real PITA for them to setup, get the proper diagnostic equipment and all that, but once that was done things have been smooth from there for them because word spread fast about their buisness, and he's got plenty of customers and steady buisness now. He also charges $35 still for an oil change these days, and he'll lookover the car top to bottom honestly and usualy (unless he's rediculously busy) will adjust the valves on my Honda for free.
Anyone around the central or west San Fernando valley that needs a good foreign mechanic (they do most of them these days) lookup R&M Automotive in Northridge.
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I've had two shops try to figure out why my Caddy is sporadicly overheating.
One changed the thermostat, it still overheated. $185.00 (its a Northstar, its a head gasket)
BTW--this is the second time in about 6 months this has happened. I starts overheating(260) then a few days later it will just suddenly stop.
lol....it sure sounds like a sticky thermostat, did they give you the old one?......
if that ain't it it's gonna be the engine controller or one of sensors (mass air, o2,), there are very few things that can MAKE the engine overheat...but the thermostat can stick from crud in the coolant and do this randomly and drive a mechanic half crazy (this one anyways).
When Michigan had the engine pollution testing mandated I had sent the wife unit out to gitter done....I told her to drive it around for at LEAST 20 mins. to make sure it was nice and hot to pass the test (a 1965 100K+ car would pass if hot enough)....she didn't, drove right over and it failed (of course) and the mechanic tried to talk her into getting the injectors cleaned for a discounted $159.95 a DISCOUNT !
I had her come back to the house, pick me up and we would go discuss the dirty injector issue with the mechanic. It was truly a kodak moment when we showed up at the shop....darn it if the car didn't pass that test with flying colors, and didn't seem to need that injector cleaning after all !?!
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the dealer wanted 700 to replace the motor and center console for my gf's car when her window wouldnt roll down. I laughed about that also, I went to auto zone bought the motor for 25 bucks and had the windchill replace place install it for 30. most mechanics are a bunch of thieves in my opinion. there's some good ones, but they are rare, specially in los angeles where I live.
semp
It's sad that people like this are able to stay in business praying on the ignorant masses. People like this need a decent bellybutton kicking for screwing the average mechanics reputation to the point of no return
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lol....it sure sounds like a sticky thermostat, did they give you the old one?......
if that ain't it it's gonna be the engine controller or one of sensors (mass air, o2,), there are very few things that can MAKE the engine overheat...but the thermostat can stick from crud in the coolant and do this randomly and drive a mechanic half crazy (this one anyways).
When Michigan had the engine pollution testing mandated I had sent the wife unit out to gitter done....I told her to drive it around for at LEAST 20 mins. to make sure it was nice and hot to pass the test (a 1965 100K+ car would pass if hot enough)....she didn't, drove right over and it failed (of course) and the mechanic tried to talk her into getting the injectors cleaned for a discounted $159.95 a DISCOUNT !
I had her come back to the house, pick me up and we would go discuss the dirty injector issue with the mechanic. It was truly a kodak moment when we showed up at the shop....darn it if the car didn't pass that test with flying colors, and didn't seem to need that injector cleaning after all !?!
a 1965 with injectors?
the thermostat would cause him problems much more often.....in my opinion anyway.
if not the cooling fan, or cooling fan relay, i'd want to think that the cadillac asperins aren't working quite right, and every so often, the cooling system is becoming hydro-locked from combustion pressure.
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It's sad that people like this are able to stay in business praying on the ignorant masses. People like this need a decent bellybutton kicking for screwing the average mechanics reputation to the point of no return
what you quoted, is also the main reason i take people out to their car, and show them exactly what i'm doing, and i make sure they know exactly why i'm doing it. if they're not here, i take pictures or video. even us almost old farts can come forward into the digital age. :aok