Never leave a shop without checking all their work first.

[Who]

Word to the wise. Never ever leave a shop without checking all their work first. I hope my recent experience can help someone else avoid a catastrophe.

So I was getting ready to replace the coolant hoses on the back of the engine. I was feeling lazy, my back has been sore and I wasn't looking forward to replacing the hose on the back of the engine piped across the back of the block. I called a shop that has a reputation for working on high performance cars and in particular Supras. I actually considered using the shop for a preventive maintenance head gasket job and I thought this would be a good and safe way to test the shop out before a big job.

I had the hoses in my possession and they gave me a good price on the labor and I figured hell I will treat myself. They replaced the hoses and took it for a test drive. "I was ready to go" they said to me. I was talking to the owner of the shop and I told him I was going to check under the hood. "No disrespect" I told him but my father taught me to check everyone's work even if its just a oil change before you leave the shop. He was cool about it and told me he would to. I lifted up the hood and the first hose I grab pulls out of the the nipple on top of the head and spews coolant everywhere. :aigo: He looks at me and his eyes bugged out. He actually thanked me because he would of been doing a free head gasket job if I would of left and not checked their work. At least he admitted the royal f_ck up and the burden of the repair would have been on him.

So now I'm driving back home all paranoid watching the temp gauge, looking for steam and sniffing the air for coolant stink. When I get home I check for leaks and it seems ok but the speedo cable is pinched underneath the 90deg. hose and a lot of the vacuum hoses are out of their holders and guides and just dangling or leaning against valve covers. It might sound picky but the constant pressure clamps were replaced with worm clamps as well. WTF!!!

Sucks when you open up your wallet for professional work and peace of mind and you get none of the above. Try and fix it yourself first.

 

[gaboonviper85]

Good save! In all fairness we all make mistakes....I wouldn't be too upset about the hose..

 

[CyFi6]

I wouldnt mind the hose so much as long as they admitted to the mistake, but vac hoses all over the place... sounds more like a rushed job than a simple mistake.

I had my car at the body shop recently and they somehow managed to break my headlight switch stalk, they wouldnt admit to it however, it was "broken when we got it". Finally they fixed it at insurance cost, yet when they put it back together they left the detent ball out, so it would flop into high beams every time you go over a bump. They blamed my cars old age for the fact that it is "falling apart as we fix it". I argued but they would not admit to anything, finally took it apart myself and found the detent missing... Just goes to show some shops just don't give a rats ass, and even if they fuck up they might not admit it.

 

[reydio]

It does happen, even to a reputable shop. It all comes down to the mechanic working on your car. I don't mind paying, but I do expect a good work done on the car. There is time when I don't want to deal with it or something I can't do at home. It's sad that shops don't take it seriously or take care of the car like it's theirs.

Lifting the car without using the correct lifting points, lots of un-tightened screws, missing screws, you name it......I got it.

 

[IJ.]

Just lucky they didn't "clean up the engine bay" for you Who and just chuck them all in the bin as you "don't need em".... :nono:

 

[Poodles]

I learned long ago that ANY mechanic that works on your car is not going to care nearly as much because:
- He gets paid by the hours the work calls for, if he finishes early, he still gets paid the same and can do other cars
- It's not his car
- Most people won't know
- They can deny everything and say it came in that way as most people won't know (or be able to prove it)

I do all my own work since I had a shop bring a lift down on my door and saying it came in like. They also clamed we were trying to scam them. The clutch job they did FAILED over and over and I later replaced EVERYTHING they fucked up. If I had learned how to do it myself, and bought all the tools, I would have spent less in the first place instead of having them fuckup my car and having to deal with the issues over and over again.

 

[LilMissMkIII]

Ugh, don't get me started on this.

Got really good FRIENDS of mine - who own one of the most reputable performance car shops in the area/state - to do a few things as we were running out of time ourselves to get things done in time for a big show (baby = no time for supra)...

Car came home with:

- BHG
- They used green coolant instead of the Toyota Red we supplied
- Exhaust not bolted on
- clamps missing
- a previously unmolested wiring loom was FUCKED (daisy chain of about 30 offcuts of wire was made, and it was all twisted together with no heat shrink)
- AFPR was put in a horrible place
- Car wasn't properly tuned - had a horrible miss/detonation
- They fucked my brand new rad (then charged me for it to be fixed!)

I know there is more, but those are the main things.

They (of course) refused to admit fault. I missed the show, and the car has now been off the road for 12 months.

I no longer speak/socialise with them, and instead of referring work to them like I used to, I warn people not to go anywhere near there (so far have lost them at least $100K worth of work )

 

[toyotanos]

Poodles is right when it comes to the way *most* techs look at a repair job. It's sad, but true. Reydio also hit it on the head. At my shop, there's 3 guys in particular who just don't give a crap about what they're doing, and it shows in their work. There are also 2/3 guys who do everything they can to ensure a top-quality repair every time. The rest of the guys are just there to work, get paid, and then go home. Makes me mad that customers that come to us for repairs are literally rolling the dice on their car, and they don't even know it.

Lilmiss- I think that's why people feel the way they do about the auto repair industry, and it makes me mad every time! They treated you like crap and expected you to just say "oh well, the car runs, right?" I can't stand when shops do that to people.

 

[tsuper92]

they had one hose with two clamp's and messed that up,that's just plain careless.it's not like they did a head job and forgot a couple of clamp's.

 

[Bri7man]

Effff that you even gave them the hoses and they couldn't even tighten it down....??? So all they did was connect it.. There seems to be a inferiority complex with mechanics at shops thinking they can rush things because their experience exceeds their own expectations... I've seen this a lot and the reaction I get from them is all the same. "oh its np, I was working on your car so it's okay that I made that mistake and could of fucked you so hard but I didn't cause you found what I missed. Kthxbye.'

But yeah at least they admitted their fault. That's a huge step from what I've seen. I almost fought a mechanic for cracking my dash and then telling me it was heat induced.

 

[tissimo]

werd, people make mistakes, its good the check it out.

 

[Drake69]

This is why you find a shop that permits you, the knowledgable owner, access to the back WHILE they are working on it. This way, they have NO EXCUSE for broken/miswired/unplugged crap and sloppy installs. If your go-to shop won't even let you verify the mechanic's work just after he gets done, don't trust that shop, period. Me? No one works on my babies unless I'm in the shop with them.

I almost had the same nightmare one time with my Cherokee XJ when I had brought it in for a tune-up. The older mechanic assigned to my XJ took one look at the engine bay and asked me where the distributor cap was ('00 XJ = distributorless rail). When I told him he said "Good, glad to know that before I tore everything apart! THAT would have been expensive!!!"

I never wanted to deck an old fart som much in my life as that old-timer. I told him don't touch anything, I'm taking it somewhere else, and never looked back.

I still have nightmares of that SOB going to work on my baby with a giant pipe wrench...

 

[slightly_red_MA70]

yea, i went to an oil change place ONCE cause it was too bloody cold out and i was feeling lazy. My uncle (a licensed mechanic) said that the place was good and he sent people there before.

So i get my oil changed and everything seems good. Get home park the car for the night, go out the next morning.....4-5 liters of oil is now on my driveway..... i was pissed! They over tightened my drain plug and broke the washer/gasket on the plug.

So i went to Lordco and bought the most expensive oil i could find and bought a new gasket for the plug. Get everything done and no leaks. So i drive back to te oil change place and tell them what happened.

I ended up getting my money back for the oil change and the oil that i bought to replace it with(around $150 - $200) :-D

Anyways sorry to kinda steal your thread but i would agree with you.

 

[mecevans]

Poodles is right when it comes to the way *most* techs look at a repair job. It's sad, but true. Reydio also hit it on the head. At my shop, there's 3 guys in particular who just don't give a crap about what they're doing, and it shows in their work. There are also 2/3 guys who do everything they can to ensure a top-quality repair every time. The rest of the guys are just there to work, get paid, and then go home. Makes me mad that customers that come to us for repairs are literally rolling the dice on their car, and they don't even know it.

this is sad but SOOO true.:nono: i always get picked on at the shop for doing TOO GOOD of a job. i hate doing half assed work. most everyone at my job except for 2 guys half ass everything. i mean like drain a radiator half way then fill it back up and say it was serviced. they go all nuts just if i turn on the heater when doing a radiator service.:3d_frown:.

 

[LilMissMkIII]

^^The shop that worked on my car was too lazy to open the heater tap with a screwdriver (climate control thing wasn't in the dash) - just ONE of the fucked up things they did to cause my bhg.

 

[Bri7man]

This is why you find a shop that permits you, the knowledgable owner, access to the back WHILE they are working on it. This way, they have NO EXCUSE for broken/miswired/unplugged crap and sloppy installs. If your go-to shop won't even let you verify the mechanic's work just after he gets done, don't trust that shop, period. Me? No one works on my babies unless I'm in the shop with them.

I almost had the same nightmare one time with my Cherokee XJ when I had brought it in for a tune-up. The older mechanic assigned to my XJ took one look at the engine bay and asked me where the distributor cap was ('00 XJ = distributorless rail). When I told him he said "Good, glad to know that before I tore everything apart! THAT would have been expensive!!!"

I never wanted to deck an old fart som much in my life as that old-timer. I told him don't touch anything, I'm taking it somewhere else, and never looked back.

I still have nightmares of that SOB going to work on my baby with a giant pipe wrench...

Why would you take your car to a shop if you're going to be watching? You might as well do it on your own since its taking your time being there. Right?
I have heard this a lot but never understood it...

I understand if it's me and I dunno a lot and I want to learn so I watch but others that are experienced I do not understand.

this is sad but SOOO true.:nono: i always get picked on at the shop for doing TOO GOOD of a job. i hate doing half assed work. most everyone at my job except for 2 guys half ass everything. i mean like drain a radiator half way then fill it back up and say it was serviced. they go all nuts just if i turn on the heater when doing a radiator service.:3d_frown:.

There needs to be more paid mechanics like you. If you don't like to work on cars and half-ass everything I don't see why people are mechanics in the first place...

It's not an easy job to get into.

 

[TurboStreetCar]

I dont trust my car with anyone, i have done everything on my car myself minus the machine work to the engine because i simply just dont have the machinery.

I was going to rebuild the A340E myself and save some cash but this summer (yes technically this past summer, approx late april) I dropped off my tranny to a shop to have it rebuilt because i didnt have the time to do it myself and i wanted to get it back within a week or 2.

Well going on 4 months later i should have it back HOPEFULLY monday or tuesday, yes 9/14-9/15 from early april of this same year.

Almost 4 months to rebuild a fucking transmission!!! :runaway::evil5::thumbsdow:rant::rant2:ffwall:::shrug:::wtf:

Aggravation was 2 months ago, i cant explain what i feel now.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Pretty sad the way everything is run these days. That's why you ethier have to learn to do it yourself or find a friend/good shop

 

[Turbo Habanero]

I dont trust my car with anyone, i have done everything on my car myself minus the machine work to the engine because i simply just dont have the machinery.

I was going to rebuild the A340E myself and save some cash but this summer (yes technically this past summer, approx late april) I dropped off my tranny to a shop to have it rebuilt because i didnt have the time to do it myself and i wanted to get it back within a week or 2.

Well going on 4 months later i should have it back HOPEFULLY monday or tuesday, yes 9/14-9/15 from early april of this same year.

Almost 4 months to rebuild a fucking transmission!!! :runaway::evil5::thumbsdow:rant::rant2:ffwall:::shrug:::wtf:

Aggravation was 2 months ago, i cant explain what i feel now.

That is horrible

 

[Drake69]

Why would you take your car to a shop if you're going to be watching? You might as well do it on your own since its taking your time being there. Right?
I have heard this a lot but never understood it...

I understand if it's me and I dunno a lot and I want to learn so I watch but others that are experienced I do not understand.

Because I'm not that experienced. I know suspensions, radiators, axles, and basic to moderate maintenance, but I've never done my own tune-up. For something that touchy I'd rather have someone work on it who knows exactly what they're doing, and let me watch in the process. I learn quickly, but I ain't no master or nuthin'.....