Just got dumped by my mechanic!!

mama79

Hi

Recently bought a (2000) 320d BMW 95k on the clock in a private sale. Wasn't much in the difference in price between what I sold my previous car for and the price of the beamer and she'd passed the nct the day we bought it. Drove the car for a couple of weeks and had one issue with the car - handbrake needed attention but was planning on bringing it to our mechanic anyways for a once over so no biggie as we'd recently changed the timing belt on our other car (03 VW passat 130bhp 6speed) and was happy with the work done. Brought the car up last Tuesday and was told we'd have her back by Wednesday evening. Got a call on the Wednesday from the mechanic to say he needed more time but didn't really explain why. As we'd used this guy for the timing belt on the vw and other stuff we didn't think too much of it. Heard nothing until an ominous phonecall on Monday of this week - mechanic said he needed to speak to my hubby in person re the car. He told him that there was "air in the system" and the so called BMW "specialist" in the garage then went onto say that the overhead cam cover needed to be changed to sort out this air problem. However we were told there was no guarantee that this would work. Then they changed their mind and said it didn't need to be changed after hubby researched online the diagnostics from them and questioned their diagnosis. At this point my hubby raised the original issue of the handbrake and was told that this was all news to them eventhough I highlighted it when i brought up the car and it wasn't fair of us to load all this work on them.

As the car was with them 8 days at this point we asked for the car back. Was summoned to the garage and was told that our car was fixed but as we went onto the internet and questioned their judgement the guy in the garage said that there was now a major trust issue and that he couldn't work with us if we didn't have complete trust in him.. I mean WTF??? I didn't realise that i was in a complicated long term relationship with my mechanic. I honestly thought I was just paying the guy to fix my car. So the upshot is I've been dumped as i've hurt his feelings and in his words " the trust is gone"....:eek:

Am I being unreasonable in thinking this guy is a total primadonna? Or am I that insensitive to his emotional needs???

Anyways sorry for the long post but just wondering if anyone knows of a decent mechanic in Cork who is looking for a long term business relationship with no strings attached.

Just looking for a quick service - no dramas or long term commitments please...

cheers....:cool:

Mr Benevolent

Sounds like he was trying to rip you off, then got annoyed when you called his bluff.

peasant

mama79 wrote: »

Just looking for a quick service - no dramas or long term commitments please...

cheers....:cool:

As weird as it sounds ...a good mechanic needs (and is worth) a bit of TLC. More like a relationship ...deffo not a f...buddy.:D

But from the sound of it the one you had there isn't worth the effort.

aido 1976

I don't know any mechanics in Cork, but that is classic. :-)

dirtydiesel

What would he say if your exhaust was blowing!

mondeo

Your ex mechanic sounds so childish.....good luck to him, sounds like a right chancer aswell.

mama79

I'm all for a bit of give and take in relationships but this guy had an all or nothing attitude. He got really snotty when my hubby mentioned he'd looked up the problem on the internet and said he never wanted to see us or our car again.....also initially the BMW specialist in the garage (main mechanic is a VW specialist) said we'd bought a dud of a car ..when we raised the issue with the dumper (seeing as I am the dumpee i suppose!) he said ah sure don't mind that....I just thought that was really irresponsible considering they knew I have to ferry my 6month old son around in this so called dud....

I just hate having to look for a new mechanic....:mad:

daveharnett

Two possibilities: They are very good guys with more business than they can handle, and they don't need the hassle of customers who don't trust their competence or honesty. Or they are bad guys who'd rather that their customers only question the amount to write on the cheque.

Based on one side of the story, and without knowing the people involved, it's impossible to know which has happened here.

I didn't realise that i was in a complicated long term relationship with my mechanic. I honestly thought I was just paying the guy to fix my car.

Do you think about your doctor the same way? Don't scoff at the importance of a good relationship with your mechanic. You are placing your car, your wallet and your safety in his hands. Find a good one, treat him well, and he'll look after you.

mama79

Also...my car actually rocks...she drives like a dream so I don't know what they were on about...all I wanted was a basic service and a quick check over....(not to be confused with a quickie or one night stand I am still talking about my car....!!):)

mama79

I hear what you're saying Dave but I'm the type of person who will always ask questions whether its doctor, lawyer or mechanic. This guy dealt with us before and we always relayed our trust to him...I'm thinking he was just too busy....

fonecrusher1

Sounds to me like he got caught inventing problems & was embarrassed & annoyed so he had a tantrum.:rolleyes:

Pique

LOL, I love this thread.

So daveharnett believes everything implicitly his doctor or mechanic tells him ? 'Treat HIM well' ? I think first and foremost he's supposed to treat YOU well. You're paying for the privilege!

'Air in the system' (cooling system airlock) and 'overhead cam cover' (is this the Cyl head or the rocker cover?) have nothing to do with each other.

I've often mentioned stuff I found out from enthusiast forums when getting my car serviced and the mechanic never took the hump with me.

You're well rid, OP !

LinHaX

You won`t get your car fixed breaking every mechanic`s heart, really.

fonecrusher1

LinHaX wrote: »

You won`t get your car fixed breaking every mechanic`s heart, really.

Yeah but you'll get fleeced if you never ask questions & just nod yes to everything he says like a zombie.

mama79

Hi everyone

thanks for all your replies. If anyone can recommend a decent mechanic in the cork area i'd be really grateful. I'm not too pushed as to whether or not they specialise in certain makes of cars just want a good one!

thanks again.....

E39MSport

daveharnett wrote: »

Two possibilities: They are very good guys with more business than they can handle, and they don't need the hassle of customers who don't trust their competence or honesty. Or they are bad guys who'd rather that their customers only question the amount to write on the cheque.

Based on one side of the story, and without knowing the people involved, it's impossible to know which has happened here.


Do you think about your doctor the same way? Don't scoff at the importance of a good relationship with your mechanic. You are placing your car, your wallet and your safety in his hands. Find a good one, treat him well, and he'll look after you.

That's odd to say the least m8.

Doctors and Mechanics are light years apart. What oath has your mechanic taken?

@OP: - Tell your 'mechanic' to go fcuk himself. There are plenty of good mechanics out there. You won't even need to give them a blanky.

biko

It's good to have the same mechanic over time as they get to know your car.
Just get another one and stick to them, telling them you left your old one because they tried to rip you off.

Viper_JB

I'm not too sure if they do BMW's but I use Turners cross motors for my mazda, very good communications, always let you know what's going on with the motor.

i presume it is not a main dealer you are looking for, i can highly recommend con forde in greenmount, i have been dealing with him 10 years, i bought my first car from him and he got me my second one is it was a trade sale from a main dealer and they wouldn sell it to me as is. Very honest and reliable chap and a great mechanic, perfectly normal too ! I go to him less and less now as i do my own basic servicing and change my car every few months so it is rare enough that i need a garage, he would seldom keep a car overnight, book it in a few day in advance and 9 times out of 10 collect the same evening, 021 4963536, his son works with him too, they are both genuine car enthusiasts and take great pride in their work.

keithclancy

Horgans Garage
Kerry Pike Carrigrohane Cork
(021)4870042

Few guys where I worked in cork and a few locals in Ballincollig used this guy. Good work and wasnt a rippoff. Also left you get your own parts if you liked and he'd only charge for labour.

mama79

thanks a million for the tips...i'll definitely check them out....!!

Grimreaper666

Ha ha, this is funny but I know a couple of mechanics who are exactly like this and I know a panel-beater/spray-painter who genuinely thinks he's an artist!! He is a genius in fairness to him but will only work when he feels inspired but will work through the night when he's in the mood for it and his work is better than new!!

daveharnett

Pique wrote: »

So daveharnett believes everything implicitly his doctor or mechanic tells him ? 'Treat HIM well' ? I think first and foremost he's supposed to treat YOU well. You're paying for the privilege!

Of course not, I constantly ask questions. I like to understand what's going on, and any mechanic or doctor worth visiting will appreciate that, and explain things at whatever level they think you can follow.

My point was that it is a relationship - a two way street. If you treat people like professionals, you will (generally) get a professional service. If you treat people like (grease) monkeys, don't be surprised if they throw sh*t at you.

daveharnett

E39MSport wrote: »

Doctors and Mechanics are light years apart. What oath has your mechanic taken?

Oaths? I don't see how Hippocrates really comes into this. If your point is that one is regulated by a professional body, I would direct your attention to Neary, cancer screenings, and the various locum scandals. There are no cast-iron guarantees of competence and integrity.

My point is that you as a customer can only evaluate specialists to a certain level, because you don't know how to do their job. Unless you can establish trust that they know how to do their job, you should not be doing business with them.

aujopimur

Try Mark Murphy rear of St. Patrick' woolen mills near tesco in douglas

johncm

work in the trade myself for a main dealer. If you are looking for a bmw specialist try murphy motor works. They are down monahan road.
Cant argue with the recommendations above. Can honestly say i never heard a bad word about the garages named.

Pique

daveharnett wrote: »

Unless you can establish trust that they know how to do their job, you should not be doing business with them.

This is exactly what the OP is on about.


On a related point, a well known and supposedly very reputable (and by no means cheap) mechanic near me had the wifes old Saxo VTR in to remove cooling system airlock and to check an ABS sensor. We asked beforehand if he had a diagnosis machine and he claimed he did. When we rang about collecting it, he told us it was at another place geting the diagnosis done !
Anyhoo, he also claimed that the HG was gone. I said there was no temp increase, no white smoke and no 'mayo' in the oil cap. He showed me a minute amount in the cap which I reckoned was due to condensation. He disagreed and was adamant that it was the HG. I asked him if he did a compression test. He said no, but it was def gone. €400 quote to repair on a car worth €1600 (at the time).

He charged €80 for the work (including new wiper blades and a couple of new bulbs....none of which were noticed on the way to the place as I followed the missus in my own car)...which suddenly became €120 when we took out a chequebook to pay !! In hindsight I should've refused to pay for those 'extras' as they weren't asked for.

I took the car to another guy I'd heard of, who properly fixed the cooling system airlock and told us that the water pump 'might' have a slightly damaged impeller but was ok and fixed a leak that became evident when the system was under pressure. He scoffed at the idea of the HG being gone.

3 years later, the car is still running fine.

If I'd 'trusted' the first guy, I'd be €400 more down for no reason. Trust is earned. If they can't answer educated questions without getting stroppy, then it's time to drive away.

kasper

off topic here but i think this would make a great script for a block buster movie

The Sparrow

kasper wrote: »

off topic here but i think this would make a great script for a block buster movie

It's already been done by Seinfeld:

The Bottle Rocket part 1
http://www.seinology.com/scripts/script-131.shtml

[Outside Auto Shop]

(Jerry looks a touch anxious as Tony approaches. Tony is still real intense.)

JERRY: Hey, Tony.

TONY: Thanks for coming in, Jerry.

JERRY: Sure.

TONY: I think I know what's goin' on here, and I just wanna hear it from you. But I want you to be straight with me. Don't lie to me, Jerry. You know that motor oil you're puttin' in there? (reproachful) From one of those quicky lube places, isn't it?

JERRY: Well, I change it so often, I mean to come all the way down here...

TONY: Jerry, motor oil is the lifeblood of a car. Okay, you put in a low-grade oil, you could damage vital engine parts. Okay. (holds up component) See this gasket? (throws it down) I have no confidence in that gasket.

JERRY: I really wanna...

TONY: Here's what I wanna do. I wanna overhaul the entire engine. But it's gonna take a major commitment from you. You're gonna have to keep it under sixty miles an hour for a while. You gotta come in, and you gotta get the oil changed every thousand miles.

JERRY: How much money is this gonna cost me?

TONY: (contempt) Huh. I don't understand you. It's your own car we're talking about. You know you wrote the wrong mileage down on the form? You barely know the car. You don't know the mileage, you don't know the tyre pressure. When was the last time you even checked the washer fluid?

JERRY: The washer fluid is fine.

TONY: (angry) The washer fluid is not fine!

JERRY: Alright, you know what, uhm... I just wanna take my car, and I'm gonna bring it someplace else.

TONY: What d'you mean?

JERRY: Just, can I have my car? I wanna pay my bill, I'm gonna be on my way.

TONY: Well, the car's on a lift.

JERRY: Well, just get it down.

TONY: (subdued) Alright. Okay. Well, uhm, wait here and I'll uh, I'll bring it around.

JERRY: Okay. Thank you, very much.

(Tony walks away into the auto shop. Elaine arrives.)

ELAINE: Hey. Where's the car?

JERRY: He's bringing it.

ELAINE: Good.

(There is the sound of a car starting up, then a squeal of tires and Jerry's Saab emerges from the auto shop at high speed. It passes Jerry and Elaine and Races away down the street. They stare open-mouthed after the car, and at each other in astonishment.)

Pot Noodle =

Just looking for a quick service - no dramas or long term commitments please.../QUOTE]
:eek:

mama79

daveharnett wrote: »

Of course not, I constantly ask questions. I like to understand what's going on, and any mechanic or doctor worth visiting will appreciate that, and explain things at whatever level they think you can follow.

My point was that it is a relationship - a two way street. If you treat people like professionals, you will (generally) get a professional service. If you treat people like (grease) monkeys, don't be surprised if they throw sh*t at you.

Dave

You seem to confuse asking a question with outright unprofessionalism on the part of the customer. If a mechanic says you absolutely need something for your car and then changes his mind and says you don't need it after all just because you ask him a few questions about it then that raises alarm bells for me personally. Its a machine we're talking about so as far as I'm concerned its pretty black or white. Either the car needs something or it doesn't and a mechanic who goes from saying something is an absolute priority to "ah sure it'll be grand as it is" just because of a few questions doesn't exactly inspire confidence.