Are There Any Honest Mechanics?

[scruffboy]

I had a leaky coolant system and took it to a mechanic my friend had worked for. He found the leak, it was the "upper return hose" and sat just under the distributor. L shaped hose about 4" long. Then he tells me to get it off he will have to remove distributor and this will cost me 225 dollars. When he goes to office I check the hose and can see the worm screw on the side, quite accessible under distributor. I go around to the front and move the fan blade and sure enough, there's the other one. It's a little tight but definitely doable. I says to the guy "Yo, buddy, you don't need to remove the distributor, here are the worm screws right here" and I point em out. He looks all perplexed and says "Oh yeah, alright, it will only cost 165 dollars". I said "What are u freakin nuts" and left. I went to auto parts store and bought hose for 6 dollars and two new worm screws, some anti-freeze and replaced hose. I went to strauss auto and asked them to do pressure check. They did it for a couple of bucks and said it was just fine. Two weeks ago, I went to the mechanic at the gas station I always fill up at. I asked him about putting in an O2 sensor. He said with thick accent "Oh, very difficult job, need special tools". I looked in my book and saw nothing difficult about it. I went to Autozone and bought O2 sensor for 50 dollars and put it on with one socket and a rachet. Is everyone out there to rip me off. How can I find an honest mechanic? Do they exist? I'm startin to get P.O.ed here. I live in North Jersey, and if anyone can recommend someone who they know will be straight with me, please let me know. I had a tune up done in the spring and now I'm wonderin if the guy even took off the throttle body to get to the rear plugs. People Su*k.

James in NJ

[ddmcse]

get yourself a service manual and a set of tools .

you better keep an eye on the blowing of hoses and water usage

make sure that hose you bought has a formed right angle or you'll be choking water flow at the bend .

do you have a rushing water sound in the morning when you start up ?

has the hose at the back of the block been replaced ? it's got 2 90 degree bends in it .. it might be the next to go

[scruffboy]

Yeah, I definitely bought a 90o hose, I did not just bend a straight hose. I do have manual and tools, but I work 2 jobs, and its dark when I leave for work and its dark when I get home. And lately the weekends have been like Biblical disasters around here. There are some jobs I am a little nervous about tackling. Like taking off that throttlebody, which I would love to do. I'd also like to replace valve cover gaskets as I think they could use it, but everything is so tight under that friggin hood. Anyways, are there honest mechanics out there, or is everyone out to screw me?

James in NJ

[TxSpeedBoy]

What manual are you using? Sounds like you know more than the mechanics to me. And if you think about it, doing somethings for yourself will help in future diagnostics when something goes wrong. But at least you have the common since to not let some greasy mechanic out to make a buck rip you off...good for you!

[suprra_girl]

agreed... learn how to do it yourself

but if you are one of those that don't have time at all for that then ask the mechanics the same question... how much to put in an 02 sensor

[mrnickleye]

Bring on over to my shop. I know supras well, and I've never ripped anyone off. There is enough work to make a good living, AND be honest.

The ripoffs are just lazy bastards that actually enjoy stealing from you !!

I've fired some when I was foreman at the Toyota dealer.

You don't EVEN wanna know some of the crap those kind do to your car, or don't do, but charge you anyways.

It sounds like you have some mechanical abilities. Get a Chilton manual so you have a reference book to get greasy while you fix things yourself. Use the TSRM, and print out the pages you need to do a particular job.

Ask all the questions here before tackling a job that may lay up your car for a day or 2.

That throttle body will come right off with a 3/8" 12" extension and socket. Those valve covers are easy to get off with a BIG tipped phillips screwdriver.

Make sure you use a fender cover, even a towel.

Take some photos before you start if you need, so you can see where it all goes back.

Get a muffin pan to keep the nuts and bolts seperated as you remove them. This will make re-assembly much quicker, and less headache.

Get all the parts and gaskets ahead of time. Keep 2 cans of 'brake cleaner spray' on hand. A magnetic tray is handy, or an old speaker magnet.

VC gasket job won't take you more than 2 hrs. max.

[Fuel]

Originally Posted by scruffboy

Is everyone out there to rip me off. How can I find an honest mechanic? Do they exist?

James in NJ

Atleast you were able to catch the mechanic before he ripped you off. The mechanic I took my car to charged me for parts I did not okay him to buy. He replaced a perfectly fine turbo hose which ended up costing me 132 dollars. Also parts that worked fine when I took the car in mysteriously stopped working or were broke when he got his dirty little hands on them. He went 500 dollars over his estimate and i only okayed, at max, 150 of it. I have since towed my car to another mechanic, who I can trust (hopefully), and he told me that I will need to replace 2 sensors. It will cost me atleast another 500 dollars to replace the Air Mass Meter and TPS.

[lethalwithasupra]

Just nosy but what is he trying to fix ? cos the Mass AFM and the TPS that sounds kinda odd.

[mrnickleye]

^^true....both AFM & TPS bad seems strange. I manage a smog repair shop, so I see these kinds of problems every day, and if only 1 of those items is bad, the car will run bad, or not run at all.

Those parts can be tested individually. Some shops/techs want to just replace parts, and not spend time to diagnose.

Here in Calif. I can NOT charge ANY more $$$ (even if I installed the part, and it ran perfectly with it) until I get the approval of the customer FIRST.

If I did do more than authorized, I can loose the $$ when the customer says he ain't paying it. Of course I can take the part off and put his bad one back on.

Any customer can call the Better Business Beurro(? never could remember how to spell that) or the Consumer Affairs, and complain. Those 2 can make you give them their $$ back, and put a mark against you. 3 marks and you 'could' loose your business license.

Some asshole customers do this on purpose, for free work. In fact, a few years ago we caught a 'lovely, Bible reading couple' doing just this. We knew many of the shop owners, and called to warn them. Finally the couple left town (after their car got all fixed up for free from several shops), and knowbody else would work on it.

They came in complaining that WE called everyone. We actually said to them, "no more pretending to be "Godly Christians, and then ripping off folks" !!! "So get the hell outa here before we call the cops on you for trespassing" !!!

They were pissed off, and we just laughed at them as they drove off.

You see, an honest shop will bend over backwards to try and make things right. And they don't want the BBB or CA getting down on them, so they'll give up the parts and labor to try and make someone happy.
But we know a thief when we see one. And we follow the rules to the "T".

If you don't have a good shop/tech that you KNOW you can trust to not rip you off, keep looking. You CAN'T afford to get ripped.

Like was said in the first post, that elbow hose replacement is a 30-45 min job for a beginner. Not a $200 job.

Also, be careful of the dealerships. Ask around from customers, and shops you trust. The ones in my town are VERY big rip-offs. It's more the service writers than the techs. The writers get paid on commission (as most techs do too). The higher the bill, the more they make. AND, they are under alot of pressure to "get those tickets up there".

I worked at the Toyota dealer here for 4 years, as top tech, then shop foreman. I know the business very well. The $$ generated through the service dept at dealerships pays for all the over-head. The rent, laundry, lights, water, all insurance, etc.

The sales depts, new & used, pays for itself (salaries, bonuses, managers, advertising, porters, etc).

The parts dept pays its own way.

This is why every time you go to the service dept, it cost soooo much.

i.e.: Cadillac Northstar engine oil leak at the pan gasket on one of our customer's cars, dealer=$2000, us=$800.

So many examples of this ripoff I won't bore you.

So be careful where you go.

[Fuel]

Originally Posted by lethalwithasupra

Just nosy but what is he trying to fix ? cos the Mass AFM and the TPS that sounds kinda odd.

I took my supra in to a shop to get a used engine put in. Aftrer it was installed the mechanic told me that the AFM and TPS were bad, which confused me since they worked fine when I brought the car in, so I had to replace them. I didn't have the same mechanic do it though because he left bolts loose, charged me for parts I didn't ok, and he lost a hood bolt and never replaced it. This guy boils my blood.

Now after spending 2800 on my car ( which wasn't expected because the mechanic went 500 over the quote, 140 to tow it to another mechanic, and 455 on the Mass AFM, TPS, and a hose. Thats 1095 more than I intended!) it over heats. I just getting frustrated with all the set backs. I am a senior and now i am forced to ride the bus to school. But anyways I think the problem is a bad fan clutch, but I previously replaced it and it less that 1 week of use. The reason why i think that it needs to be replaced it that it only kicks in when the temp gauge is almost to the red area other wise it does not kick in. (don't worry I pulled off to the side of the road and let it cool down when it reads 3/4) I'm most likely wrong so any help would be very appreciated.