Today my feelign for local mechanics just got stronger. A day after my car got back from inspection I noticed that I started getting antifreeze under my car, no big deal, I thought I mighta have a rotten hose...well when I went to change my oil and tranny oil today I took a closer look at what that oil leak was... I can clearly tell that someone punctured the lower radiator hose. I'm gonna go back to this guy tomorrow and ask for an explanation...

 

Sometimes i think that the mechanic that my dad takes our cars to is incompetant. My civic's A/C doesn't work so my dad takes it to the mechanic. The mechanic replaces the compressor seal and refills the refrigerant. Get the car back, A/C still doesn't work. I asked my dad wat he did and he told me. I'm like if the compressor isn't turning how is changing the seal gonna fix it? And the A/C sometimes works, if the seal was broken and leaking refirgerant it would never work. I go investigating and i find the problem, busted compressor clutch. All i needed was a voltmeter, a schematic, and a little help from my auto teacher. What really pisses me off is when a mechanic fixes a problem that doesn't exist. Those guys jus start replacing parts till it works, while im paying for the parts that aren't broken. Here is another story, my mom's accord's A/C didn't work so my dad gives it to a diffrent mechanic. The guy charges $1000 to fix it. The guy changed the condensor (it was actually broken) he changed the expansion tube, and the drier. Still doesn't work. He figured out that the thermostat doesn't work. I'm like he should have known that the other stuff wasn't working when the compressor wasn't turning. I get pissed off everytime i think about it, it makes me not wanna take my car to a mechanic cause im better at finding problems than these guys are, and they do it for a living. And when my i ask my dad why he gives the car to a guy that doesn't know anything about A/C he says that not all ppl are good at electronics and A/C. I was gonna ask him how i can find these problems (im 17 and i am not gonna be a professional mechanic) and a mechanic (that does this for a living) can't. Stupid mechanics that don't know what they are doing really **** me off. If you can't do the work, don't try.

 

Whenever I take my car in (only for urgent work or inspections) I alwasy bring parts and thorough description of what I want done, not a bolt more. Some people gave me the B/S that the parts I brought didn't fit/were broken. The minute I get that B/S I tell them to take the car off the lift and put it back the way it was...all of the sudden new parts from the stealer or NAPA start working/fitting together... Now I even have a contract form that I always fill out and make the mech sign before any work is done to my car...

 

Whats the form say and where did u get it?

 

I made the form up...it basically has lines where I list the services I need and than make 'em sign it. Done.

 

I too hate mechanics. I had "clunking" sound comming from the front of the car and these morons at Midas said that the bushings need to be lubricated ($100 procedure). te problem was with the ball joints I only take the car to a shop for an urgent repair, which only happened once - my waterpump blew in Virginia. My dad knows a polish mechanic that has a shop in his backyard (he doesnt have anybody working for him). That's the only mechanic I trust to do repairs on my car and not rip me off.

 

Are you like a lawyer? Cause there is some stuff that if u put in a contract its not gonna be legally binding (i saw it on a court show)

 

there are not very many mechanics left. most of the guys working in shops are just "Parts Changers" , they just replace the first thing the book says might be the problem, and go down the list. a mechanic will test everything until he finds the actual problem, which he then fixes.

 

I'm not a lawyer, but I did get my money back when some smart-a$$ decided that I needed a headgasket on my old caravan, when in fact I all I had listed was a cooling system flush and a water pump...

 

Did he change the head gasket even though you didn't tell him to?