As we all know, there are many dodgy (and good) mechanics. Sometimes people don't even know if there car has actually been serviced or not.
What are your experiences with mechanics that you've been to?
Ever Been Ripped off by a Mechanic? What Did You Do
immrnonamehello on 25/11/2021 - 09:35
Comments
Mechanics that give you a gentlemen's agreement on price for a job, then significantly overcharge.
= Don't give anyone an open cheque book. Everything in email / writing.
Add stupid things like engine oil flush products and fuel system treatment products as part of a service schedule, totally unnecessary.
The other thing is when you ask for a price on a job, and they say "I don't know". That's either laziness or they don't like to give a price because they don't care, take it or leave it. In other words they don't like customers who are sticklers.
I always wondered if somebody gives you a quote and they charge you way over the quote are you still legally obligated to pay for the service?
If you don't have anything in writing, you're up $hit creek my friend. I would still take them to task on anything that doesn't seem right.
I was talking to someone in the industry, they're trying to have people accept up to 200% part supply markups as the norm.
Actually happened to my partner recently. I could easily have sourced parts from the repco up the road for 1/3rd the cost. My mistake for not supplying them I guess, we just reluctantly accepted it.
Sitting upstairs at the independent mechanic waiting for them to finish a service on my Subaru.
Saw an unauthorised charge for a pollen filter on my bill. 85$. I asked why they didn't call or come see me in the waiting room and they shrugged.
Showed me the old one. I told them to put it back I wasn't that happy. Yes it was dirty.
Ordered the part for $22 on eBay. 2 minutes to drop out the glovebox and replace. Call me cheap.They bank on you being totally unable to understand their work.
I'm not a genius but I know enough to change my oil, and replace filters, change simple stuff.
I was just wanting the work done for me as it's a lease car.I don't go there any more.
Yeh they took my pollen filter out when I asked for oil change only. Though he took a photo of it like had so many twigs and leaves in it..I think he just put them there and charged me $50 . I didn't say much because didn't want him to damage the car
When I was 17 (a long time ago) I took my first car in for a checkup post purchase. This was a 6 year old small hatch that has no obvious issues but being a clueless teenager thought getting it checked out was the right thing to do. Unsurprisingly they bled me dry but worse was the damage they did to the car in the process. Back wheel ended up locking up a few days later as it turns out they overtightened the hub rooting the bearings. Lord knows why they even touched it given they could have just claimed they had to inspect it and I would have been none the wiser. Possibly they sabotaged it on purpose to get more work but it would have been a ballsy move given the potential accident it could have caused. Front tyres ended up wearing out after 1000km even though they where more or less new due to severe toe in after their alignment.
After that early bad experience I decided I couldn't just rely on outsourcing services entirely to others without having some idea what was involved. Ended up buying a service manual for the car and have done the majority of my car servicing myself since which I accidentally discovered I quite enjoy. It's a bummer that it is a bit tricky legally to service new cars yourself and maintain the warranty. This is despite dealerships being quite happy to skip important services such as bleeding brakes every 2 years despite being a logbook service.
I find this problem isn't exclusive to mechanics but with any trade where it isn't easy to verify their work. Have had a similar issue with an ac installer who did such a crappy job relying on the fact I wouldn't go into the roof space to inspect. This is despite him asking if their were any power sockets in the roof to plug in his light and told him where they could be found 🙄
BMW 1 series with a flat tire.
BMW dealership.
Quoted $480 to replace but on pickup charged only $90 (? Alignment) so assumed they had patched the tire. Looked new though.
About 3 years later I get an angry call that they'd forgotten to charge me for the tire and I needed to bring in CASH that day (no cards)
I told them to send me a written invoice and I'd think about it.
Never heard from them again.Good that you let them wear it. Doesn't quite go far enough to make up for the proverbial reaming everybody gets at BMW, but I digress…
hahaha 3 years, i would have told them wrong number and to shove it.
What three years? They should have asked for interest as well .that's when you know they're serious
Have had 2 rip off attempts for jobs I didn't want to do myself. Seized O2 sensors and clutch replacement. knew enough how much the job should cost and was able to neg 50% discount for O2 sensors.. pivot fork in clutch broke after warranty period of the clutch replacement and claimed to replace the clutch again.. I stared at the invoice I just said Im not paying for that again. and that was from a friends friends mechanic that worked on the car when it was with the previous owner. after that I said to myself doesn't matter how big the job is I'll do it myself. after that my 2 piece tail shaft needed new uni joints.. so I took it out and got a one piece tail shaft replaced and installed it :P next project is engine replacement.. not sure if I shouild go LS v8 engine in the old 300zx z32, or get inline 6 turbo.. hmmm Sisters astra genuine OEM parts for major service was $2000 from Holden but from UK same parts was $560 delivered.
why not a rotary? or a v12?
Bought a used Kia from the dealer not only at full cost but paid extra warranty and darkest legal tinting and paint protection. It rained first time after 4 weeks and water entered a headlight. Reception told me that it was my fault hitting something and quoted $1500 for the light and up to 300 for fitting. But left the car for a whole day only to find they had order it in and now were going to do it under warranty. Once part in I left it at 7.30 and at 4.30 pm the job still had not started. Eventually they swapped the light without adjusting, looked like a 5 min job. Now I had a yellowish light on one side and a white on the new one. Pointed out on next service so it came back with the new light changed with an old scratched one so both lights were equally dull. Car had a dent at the back, a broken wiper that was good when brought in and the battery pole was corroded. 5000km later the car was coughing and the oil so black they sure did forget to change it. Sorry no time for 3 weeks. So I put in quality oil, the Kia loves it. Every time they gave me a huge lesson that I had the tyre pressure at 2PSI too high but I do this to get equal wear. They are actually good cars, but I have yet to find an owner that knows a good mechanic. Now the dent got fixed after fair trading intervened after 6 months and the rear camera was dull. Aparently it was part of the radio that had a 2 year only warranty and they given up on them!
during my uni days was super broke and going through a bad patch
when my first car died the guys at AJF motors found me a cheap civic did it up, moved my first cars stereo and amp and sub that came with it into it then did services for cost of parts until i got back on my feet was very sad when i moved so far away.a good mechanic is hard to find and worth keeping, i do my own servicing now and havent had any issues.
Took my Honda to 2 different mechanics because the air conditioner stopped working. Got quoted $900-1000 by both. Told it needed a new compressor.
Trusted the first mechanic because I had always taken my car there without issues. My friends did to.
One day I decided to google it. See how hard it was to change the compressor. When I did that the first thing YouTube told me was to check the relay. Swapped the horn relay out with the aircon.
Boom, straight away aircon was working cold as it always was and horn didn't work.
$15 for a new relay was all it took. Since then I have been servicing my own car. YouTube videos helped me change my suspension on the front of the car, flush the coolant system and diagnose some other issues.
It might not be for everyone but if you have some mechanical aptitude and your car warranty had finished (and have the time) . Working on your own car is so rewarding. With some much information available online it's not nearly as hard as it used to be.
Yeh I agree so rewarding .but I usually leave brakes etc to the professionals lol
Met a mate of a mate of a mate who was in the same car club as me, ex-BMW mechanic, nice guy who dreamed of owning his own garage, hard worker and honest.
The guy started his business, and after a year or two I was able to book in my car to them for minor parts replacement I didn't want to do myself on my car. Went smoothly and was happy. Seeing heaps of positive online reviews from friends and family taking their cars to him, great.Another year or so later I thought I'd send them one of my family members cars there as their dealer warranty expired, was served by this mates' colleague. I supplied them my own oil and filter, they did the service but didn't return the excess oil (2.8L remained from a 6L bottle) - told me don't worry about it and deduct it from the next service, that's when I noted they aren't quite as honest as they once were. They noted that the brake pads need replacement next service.
I purchased new brake pads from Repco prior to the next service. Was again served by that colleague. They serviced and charged a price above their standard 'minor service', but the invoice told another story. They didn't replace the brake pads, said it was ok, but instead changed the cabin air filter, topped up the washer fluid, charged for new oil, sundries etc, so ended up paying more. The car did not feel like it had anything done to it, and was left pondering how good the brakes are.
That was the final service there, I didn't bother complaining to the mate, he's gotten more mouths to feed with family growing, but the business integrity has suffered substantially in my eyes so I no longer give him any business. I couldn't help but notice their staff morale is very low with unhappy faces the last time I was there. Their recent social media has been quiet too, the lustre is long gone.
Went to one bringing my own engine oil. I knew there's gonna be some left if filled properly, but told me all inside engine. Never gone back since, and have learned to do it myself since.
Havent been ripped of by a mechanic, but by Mcdonalds plenty of times. Wheres my double quarter pounder!
dashcams can do wonders
I feel like these days its just a fact of laziness vs dishonesty. Do things by the book without thinking. i.e. the manufacturers script/list per 6-12-24-36M 15,000 intervals.
e.g. Some of my experiences.
I had a K&N filter, cleaned myself and at the 12m mark they took that and threw it out and replaced it with a OEM filter.
Front disc brakes were 31.22mm (I measured with Micrometre after they recovered from bin) from 32mm OEM factory spec. Argued that the Euro+ standards were they are to be replaced at 50%. Then crapped on about you have to change the rotors with the pads. Refunded after heated argument.
Charged for windscreen fluid - I topped it up and they had to gall to add one drop and charge OEM $48 x 2L. I challenged them oh how they got 2L in when it was full.
Also the brand I used was green dyed. OEM was purple.Engine oil - Line item charged 7 x 1L bottles. Engine oil capacity was 4.2L. thinking even with empty sump max 5L.
Did they spill 2L?
Yes, got ripped off by a couple of independent mechanics in the past, very bad experiences that I'd never forget. I only go to dealerships now for service and repair. They charge more but at least you know they use genuine parts and have had proper training and tools for the job.
Had a rental car incident in the back arse of no where in NZ. He saved my ass doing great work and the rental company was none the wiser. I noticed the bill was higher than expected but I was just happy to get away scot free.
This is probably more my mates fault for taking his car to the worst possible mechanic for his car.
But basically, he owned a Toyota Supra and he needed the rear suspension replaced. He goes to this local mechanic, not really specialised to work with sport cars. They replace the rear shocks, however end up installing some part the wrong way. The car start making a loud banging noise over speed bumps, and they convince my mate its since the shocks he provided were bad. Luckily we was able to do some research, and was able to fix it himself for free.
Was still a pretty bad experience.
Yep, didnt go back
Had a recall on my car to have a part replaced with the dealer. I almost booked a service with them and that would have cost 3x the price elsewhere.
Wow some of these stories are shocking. The best advice I was given about looking after cars when I got my license was when you take it to a mechanic for a service it’s usually given to the first year apprentice who’s about you’re age and similar ability, so you may as well just learn to do it yourself and not have to trust the mechanic hasn’t done pretty much any of the above stories. I’ve done everything myself on my cars ever since.
That was when YouTube was a couple of years in and had reasonable videos but I would imagine these days there would be brilliant tutorials for even the most complex mechanical repairs.
local mechanic I took my car to removed my front bumper while I was there. it started leaking fluid, I asked him if it was normal, he confirmed it was. I get my car back, my windshield wiper fluid keeps leaking. What they did is they did not unclip a connector that goes to my HID water spray nozzle. (for context, all cars with HID's need functionality to spray down the front headlights). I called him up, said that it was leaking and that it's never done it before as I'd know (I also work on my car sometimes) he denied it said it was like that when I took it in. Figured it's my word vs his and it's not worth the headache, removed my bumper myself and added some thread seal tape. Not going there ever again, honest mechanics are hard to come by. I do the work myself on basic things like oil changes, brake changes.
Another time before this, I took my car to a specialized VW mechanic. The front of his shop is always filled with Audis & VW's. I spent around 4k on my car at his place, cars still broken, didn't fix my issue. Painful to think about. He recommended I also re-build my engine and keep my car despite all the issues (of course he would, it's in his best interest).
Most people that don't know much about cars get ripped off, I can guarantee that. It's the same with most tradies, unfortunately. I hate to think about even going to a Mechanic or using the services of a tradie.
I worked in the industry but not as the mechanic so to speak. A group of us get our cars serviced at the same place because the mechanic there is a very good and is very honest. A new colleague recently took his car for the annual service and brought parts along with him. This is fine as they are OEM parts, but the owner was very honest and said; "I want to be upfront and honest with you, I mark up the prices on the parts I use for customers. If you supply these parts, I will need to adjust for that so that the job is economically viable".
New guy wasn't happy with that and quite simply wanted to reduce the margin of the workshop (which I can totally understand, but I also understand the workshop's viewpoint). New guy ended up going elsewhere and now isn't happy with the work done. The difference wasn't vast in terms of money and while every little bit counts, it's important to weigh up value with honesty, experience and future work. If you're trying to reduce every opportunity for a person to get a buck, it's unlikely they'll be motivated to perform the service/work or they'll look to redeem it in other ways.
The difference here was the person performing the work was honest and upfront about it.
Ever Been Ripped off by a Mechanic? What Did You Do
Change Mechanic…
Yes, I got ripped multiple times by the same mechanice sadly. Payless Tyres cosgrove Road, Strathfield South. First time was all these made up repairs. They were at another location for these repais so i thought they had just gone out of business over time as there were multiple Payless tyres around..
So I didnt realise it was the same guy just managing a different store on Cosgrove road when i took it to him for a service and i was told to change my brake pads so i paid for Bendix Brake pads. He did the change etc. And then the brakes felt weird and made noises, He said give it a few weeks and it will settle down.
I had an accident due to my car not stopping as quickly or normally as it otherwise would. Nrma who fixed my car said there is something majorly wrong with the brakes and i need to get them fixed. I took it back and he went through it all and said he has cleaned it up and serviced it etc, and soon after i have a second accident in the same way. The car is unable to stop in time, that was 2 accidents in a few months. The NRMA repairers told me, there is definitely something really wrong with the brakes when they were fixing up the car, and told me dont take it back to that guy as he is the problem, take it to Toyota or someone else.
I took it to toyota as well as another service centre i knew. Toyota did a full brake analysis and report. Found major problems with the brakes, said the brake pads were some generic third party chinese pads that were used up and down to 2% of what they should be at new… Both the NRMA and toyota was said I was lucky my accidents hadnt been major life threatening accidents considering the conditions of my brakes.
I was told to take the repairers to court to pay for both my accident claims but NRMA said they dont get involved and i need to go through Dept Fair TRading. I contacted the Payless Tyres (cosgrove Road , Strathfield south) and spoke to the manager, he just got angry and said " I know what I am doing, how do i know you didnt do something to them or take them to someone else "etc. At which point i realised it could be tricky to actually prove a case like this when its only me against a company. I was surprised NRMA dont take them to caught to follow up on them paying for the damages.
all of these stories is why i don't trust mechanics with my car unless its for something critical like brakes or a major service (timing chain etc)
everything else minor i do myself , oil/plugs/tyres/coolant etc. it really isn't that difficult , and for anyone who wants to learn from a professional environment there are TAFE courses that cover basic servicing. You don't have to be a mechanic or working towards an apprenticeship to go learn the basics.
i am very fortunate as the only mechanic i trust with my car actually allows me the luxury of watching while he works on my car and i can actually see what he is doing first hand.
99% of most mechanic workshops won't allow you into the shop primarily due to OHS and issues regarding their business insurance (i.e so they don't get sued for personal injury claims) but if you make good with certain mechanics i am sure you can find one around that won't mind as long as you are not purposefully loitering or breathing down their neck , a decent mechanic worth his salt will always show and tell and offer simple explanations to what they are doing especially if asked…unfortunately these days honesty takes a backseat and its all smoke and mirrors just to earn a dollar.ill finish with the simple fact that from my experience with a lot of cars and motorbikes i have been fortunate to own and experience in my life so far..if you service your vehicle regularly with simple oil changes (including both engine oil and transmission oil) and follow the service manual for everything else , in 9 out of 10 occasions you won't ever run into a big problem as modern cars are built extremely well by comparison to cars of the past (circa 2000 and prior). if you simply look after your vehicle it will take care of you and can prevent the trip to the mechanics and the horrorfest of a read that this entire thread has been.
Oil is cheap , engines and transmissions are not.
And for safety sake , rotate your tyres once in a while and if your car is not driving true then go visit a proper suspension shop and get them to do a quick check and a wheel alignment. Bushings and rubber mounts don't last forever , same goes with shock absorbers.
ripped off by dealers yes but even so, its expected… i budget for their fuccery on new cars under warranty
i've been using the same circle of mechanics for over a decade
i personally dont care if they are 10-15% more expensive as i trust them… i pay more for expert advice… you might say 'car advice'
also being in good stead with these guys means they will do stuff like offer free obd2 diags etc.
Yes.
Rego Inspections.
Replacing Globes that are not broken for $10 a pop, it was a while ago I cannot remember if they said it was like 4 or 7 faulty. $70
I usually check all the lights before I do the rego check.
They said I had an oil leak and said I needed to fix it, $120.
It was an old car, every time I go for rego check, I get stressed out.
I paid what they wanted, I knew they were ripping me off big time since I could do the work myself if it was really faulty.
I just wanted the rego to pass, just paid it.
But I never went back to them again though after that.