Damned Crooks!

[randyp]

I got a sweet lil niece raising 2 kids alone. She came by house today, having car trouble. She said couple of weeks ago, it wouldnt idle, kept dying at stop signs and such, she would put it in neutral and rev it up to keep it going. She took it by a shop, they charged her a fortune to put an alternator on it, left shop. still died, drove it a while, took it back, they charged her a double fortune to put a fuel pump on it, car still wouldnt idle, she was too embarresed to take it back, just kept putting up with it. She came by and told me she was too broke to take it anywhere else, and figured I was too busy to work on it the first time. I lightly chastised her for not coming by when it started, cleaned throttle body up and checked IAC valve, it wasnt working, put a new one on it for less than $20.00 and all is well now. I do believe I will pay those crooks a visit early Monday morning, yall may not hear from me for a while, may get my silly ass in jail, but I am gonna get me some satisfaction from them sumbitches. That just aint right! I am pissed. randyp

[Rob]

I got a sweet lil niece raising 2 kids alone. She came by house today, having car trouble. She said couple of weeks ago, it wouldnt idle, kept dying at stop signs and such, she would put it in neutral and rev it up to keep it going. She took it by a shop, they charged her a fortune to put an alternator on it, left shop. still died, drove it a while, took it back, they charged her a double fortune to put a fuel pump on it, car still wouldnt idle, she was too embarresed to take it back, just kept putting up with it. She came by and told me she was too broke to take it anywhere else, and figured I was too busy to work on it the first time. I lightly chastised her for not coming by when it started, cleaned throttle body up and checked IAC valve, it wasnt working, put a new one on it for less than $20.00 and all is well now. I do believe I will pay those crooks a visit early Monday morning, yall may not hear from me for a while, may get my silly ass in jail, but I am gonna get me some satisfaction from them sumbitches. That just aint right! I am pissed. randyp

Was the car one of those GM sequential Multi Port Injection systems; maybe a 3.1, or 3.4, or 4.3 V6 engine? Those damned things clog the upper intake terrible and won't idle when they get about 70,000 miles or so.

Seen lots of shops misdiagnose those with fuel pumps, EGR valves, and MAP sensors. I think the IAC motors should be replaced at about 80,000 miles as preventative measure.

Rob

[theakerstwo]

Was the car one of those GM sequential Multi Port Injection systems; maybe a 3.1, or 3.4, or 4.3 V6 engine? Those damned things clog the upper intake terrible and won't idle when they get about 70,000 miles or so.

Seen lots of shops misdiagnose those with fuel pumps, EGR valves, and MAP sensors. I think the IAC motors should be replaced at about 80,000 miles as preventative measure.

Rob

When my som still lived at home he had a D50 dodge pickup with a messed up carb. He took it off and we took it to a tune up store that is a large chain of stores cross the country to clean and put a kit in it.before i left work they called and said it was rady. My wife went over and picked it up then back by and picked me up. When i got in the cab i smell raw gas so i looked at the carb. Not a screw had be turned and it still had gas in it. They charged around 200 dollars for repairs . I called him and the manager was still there.He kelp saying he him self cleaned the carb and put a kit in it. I told him i would keep the carb in town all day to morrow and he could come out and see him self. I stopped payment on the check. He never cme out. About three months later a man from corp office in some other state called ask what i wanted him to do with the bad check. I told him first to listen to what happen then i said now do you want me to tell you what to do with the check.He replyed no and i would have done the same thing.

[vision386]

I hate to see anyone taken advantage of by these type pirates! especially women! normally i take care of all our vehicle maintenence,but recently while i was on the road,my wife told me something was wrong with the right front tire on her car,(which both were wearing prematurely) described the problem to me over the phone,(cord showing through sidewall) so i says "take the car back to wal-mart,these are waranted for 60,000 miles" so she goes back,explains the problem,they say "sorry lady we dont carry those tires anymore,guess you're SOL!' so she gets the manager involved,there "cure" is to knock $15.00 off the price of 2 new tires,and "backdate' the new warranty against the old tires! so i tell her to take the car home as-is, and drive my pickup till i get home,and I'LL pay wal-mart an angry bob-tail visit! so i made Goodyear aware of wal-marts waranty practices with their brand of tires,and after a few choice words in person,and a call from Goodyears service rep,we got 4 new tires (with day one 60k warranty) for free, the service woman fired,(with a better understanding of the "JERSEY" attitude) all and all a good day!...........nice to piss a little"goodnews" in somebody elses ear for change!...........Mark

[David]

I hate to see anyone taken advantage of by these type pirates! especially women! normally i take care of all our vehicle maintenence,but recently while i was on the road,my wife told me something was wrong with the right front tire on her car,(which both were wearing prematurely) described the problem to me over the phone,(cord showing through sidewall) so i says "take the car back to wal-mart,these are waranted for 60,000 miles" so she goes back,explains the problem,they say "sorry lady we dont carry those tires anymore,guess you're SOL!' so she gets the manager involved,there "cure" is to knock $15.00 off the price of 2 new tires,and "backdate' the new warranty against the old tires! so i tell her to take the car home as-is, and drive my pickup till i get home,and I'LL pay wal-mart an angry bob-tail visit! so i made Goodyear aware of wal-marts waranty practices with their brand of tires,and after a few choice words in person,and a call from Goodyears service rep,we got 4 new tires (with day one 60k warranty) for free, the service woman fired,(with a better understanding of the "JERSEY" attitude) all and all a good day!...........nice to piss a little"goodnews" in somebody elses ear for change!...........Mark

The manager should be gone also.

[Rob]

I realize I'm prolly in the minority but I was always a big fan of "dragging" an offender, or wrongdoer for correction/punishment. They used to use horses, saddlehorn, and a rope around an offenders' ankles but these days a trailer hitch on a pickup truck would do the same.

Rob

[randyp]

I realize I'm prolly in the minority but I was always a big fan of "dragging" an offender, or wrongdoer for correction/punishment. They used to use horses, saddlehorn, and a rope around an offenders' ankles but these days a trailer hitch on a pickup truck would do the same.

Rob

I agree Rob, but you have to be careful round here doing that, if you happen to knock over a mailbox or county road sign, they will make you pay for it, and the prices are somewhat inflated. However, depending on severity of offense, it is kinda fun to beat them a while with a mailbox post, after youve already knocked it over with them. Gas has also gotten a lil pricey here, so dragging overhead has increased accordingly. randyp

[Rob]

I agree Rob, but you have to be careful round here doing that, if you happen to knock over a mailbox or county road sign, they will make you pay for it, and the prices are somewhat inflated. However, depending on severity of offense, it is kinda fun to beat them a while with a mailbox post, after youve already knocked it over with them. Gas has also gotten a lil pricey here, so dragging overhead has increased accordingly. randyp

Use common sense and don't stop anyplace near the populace. However; mailbox posts are by all means less expensive than the legal system we have in place nowadays.

Rob

[b61fred]

Hi,

I have been a mechanic most of my profesional carrrer. I really hate it that all techs. have been characterized as a bunch of know-nothing theves. There have been more than one occasion that I have did a job for free because I just felt sorry for the customer. I suppose there is good and bad people in all occupations, some are just plain liars! Most times when a customer would come back totally pissed off we would make it right with them. I have to admit, I have made mistakes diagnosing problems. When that part would not fix the concern, I would reinstall the original part or if not that I would have to "eat" the part. I think all of you have ligit. complaints about your experiences here, but lets not make this a general mechanic bashing post please. Thanks

Morgan a.k.a. b61fred

P.s. I will get of my soap box now.

[Rob]

Hi,

I have been a mechanic most of my profesional carrrer. I really hate it that all techs. have been characterized as a bunch of know-nothing theves. There have been more than one occasion that I have did a job for free because I just felt sorry for the customer. I suppose there is good and bad people in all occupations, some are just plain liars! Most times when a customer would come back totally pissed off we would make it right with them. I have to admit, I have made mistakes diagnosing problems. When that part would not fix the concern, I would reinstall the original part or if not that I would have to "eat" the part. I think all of you have ligit. complaints about your experiences here, but lets not make this a general mechanic bashing post please. Thanks

Morgan a.k.a. b61fred

P.s. I will get of my soap box now.

Well, you know me; More than two wires involved and I'm lost.

Rob

[theakerstwo]

Hi,

I have been a mechanic most of my profesional carrrer. I really hate it that all techs. have been characterized as a bunch of know-nothing theves. There have been more than one occasion that I have did a job for free because I just felt sorry for the customer. I suppose there is good and bad people in all occupations, some are just plain liars! Most times when a customer would come back totally pissed off we would make it right with them. I have to admit, I have made mistakes diagnosing problems. When that part would not fix the concern, I would reinstall the original part or if not that I would have to "eat" the part. I think all of you have ligit. complaints about your experiences here, but lets not make this a general mechanic bashing post please. Thanks

Morgan a.k.a. b61fred

P.s. I will get of my soap box now.

Me my self i have put in 40 or 41 years full time.But i can tell you this is not the same world it used to be.I know whats included in keeping a dealer open. The cost to the public is caused by many things. One is the manufactory demands so much cerifictions on the techs and the schooling is exspensive. So they charge 100dollars per hr and you know were you can get it done for 50 dollars per hr.First thing is a independent cannt get the info untill it is released thru the schooling then the techs have to release it to the indenpendents that dont have to pay any thing for it.Also a big cost to the dealer is warranty. The manufactory of a product will only pay so much for repair no matter how long you have to work on it. Cummins is one that never give enough time for a repair. They use to give .5 hr to maybe 1.hr to trouble shoot a problem and you know if it eletric its some times a all day job.The tools and software is exspensive also.

[cgallamore]

just wandering where to send cigarettes (for trading, i hear they are the preffered curancy in lockup)

havn't heard from randy this morning, figured he is in jail.....

[SOUTHBOUND01]

I got a sweet lil niece raising 2 kids alone. She came by house today, having car trouble. She said couple of weeks ago, it wouldnt idle, kept dying at stop signs and such, she would put it in neutral and rev it up to keep it going. She took it by a shop, they charged her a fortune to put an alternator on it, left shop. still died, drove it a while, took it back, they charged her a double fortune to put a fuel pump on it, car still wouldnt idle, she was too embarresed to take it back, just kept putting up with it. She came by and told me she was too broke to take it anywhere else, and figured I was too busy to work on it the first time. I lightly chastised her for not coming by when it started, cleaned throttle body up and checked IAC valve, it wasnt working, put a new one on it for less than $20.00 and all is well now. I do believe I will pay those crooks a visit early Monday morning, yall may not hear from me for a while, may get my silly ass in jail, but I am gonna get me some satisfaction from them sumbitches. That just aint right! I am pissed. randyp

I certainly understand your frustration, I had something similar happen some years ago at a Firestone Auto Center. I was still in the military and was actually TDY in Honduras when my wife was having car trouble. Long story short, that SOB had her running in circles and charged her more and more each time she came back in after being told the POS was fixed!! When I got back I paid him a visit, I was soooo! pissed I didn't bother to open the double glass doors, rather just kick the glass out of them!!!! Got everybody's attention real fast. They tried to get me to discuss it behind closed doors but I wanted everyone including customers to hear what I had to say. MAN I miss the GOOD OL' days.

Edited February 7, 2011 by SOUTHBOUND

[Freightrain]

Love how some places "just throw parts at it" , til hopefully something makes it run right.

Alternator? Did they use a voltmeter to check to see if it was working? Likely not.

Fuel pump?? Did they put a gauge on the rail to see if it was holding pressure?? Likely not.

They simply guessed, twice, and were wrong on both accounts. They apparently don't have "techs", only "parts handlers". Why don't they start with the cheap fixes first? (oh that's right, can't make money on them).

[theakerstwo]

Love how some places "just throw parts at it" , til hopefully something makes it run right.

Alternator? Did they use a voltmeter to check to see if it was working? Likely not.

Fuel pump?? Did they put a gauge on the rail to see if it was holding pressure?? Likely not.

They simply guessed, twice, and were wrong on both accounts. They apparently don't have "techs", only "parts handlers". Why don't they start with the cheap fixes first? (oh that's right, can't make money on them).

Larry i think what happen there is what happened when a guy brings in his truck in to the shop and says i have been working on it for two weeks but it want start. I have changed 4 battiers and starter and two new alternators and still same thing. You say how did you know all that was bad.Well i called some one.I have seen it many times and tought i bet he would get put out if i did that to him.But the art of testing is about to get lost in some places.

[Rob]

But the art of testing is about to get lost in some places.

Yup, it takes up to a dozen inputs to get one output. A lot of new "techs" don't know how to break something apart mechanically, or electrically and cannot progress any further so start to replacing parts.

I see it often in my job.

Maybe that's why they keep me around?

Rob

[other dog]

Yup, it takes up to a dozen inputs to get one output. A lot of new "techs" don't know how to break something apart mechanically, or electrically and cannot progress any further so start to replacing parts.

I see it often in my job.

Maybe that's why they keep me around?

Rob

Naw,that has nothing to do with it. They keep you around because they love you for your positive altitude, your smile, and the bright ray of sunshine and optimism you bring to work every day.

[Rob]

Naw,that has nothing to do with it. They keep you around because they love you for your positive altitude, your smile, and the bright ray of sunshine and optimism you bring to work every day.

Boy am I glad to hear that. I was starting to feeling as if my positive attitude was beginning to deminish.

How relieved I am.

Rob

[GreenGiant2]

Boy am I glad to hear that. I was starting to feeling as if my positive attitude was beginning to deminish.

How relieved I am.

Rob

someone better start a new story, we hava not heard from randy, is he in the klink. better get him the bear and some soap on a rope for the big house.

gg2