Confessions of a Mechanic!

RealExpert

Have you a story to share of trickery you seen pulled in garages?
I will get the ball rolling.
I bought a car from a main ford dealer over 20 years ago and part of the deal was that they replace the two front shocks which I was told they didnt have in stock.A couple of weeks later I booked the car in to have the shocks replaced and because I had some knowledge of the motoring trade I got my center punch and marked the top of each shock.When I went to collect the car first thing I did was to check for the markings I had put there.One of the original ones was still under the car and the other was changed with a secondhand one.I quickly pointed this out to the head mechanic and he was gobsmacked.He eventually told me only one shock needed replacing but he could not answer why it was a secondhand one that was fitted.There were a couple of red faces but two hours later I drove out of that garage with two new shocks.

I have a few more that I could add, not as a customer but as a mechanic!

PizzamanIRL

My confession is I don't trust mechanics. They could **** up something in your car just so you have to come back to get it fixed.

Corkladddd!!

Worked in a garage for a bit over summers etc..dodgiest thing i saw was a engine swap for the guys father; his own was about to go so engine was pulled out and the car was covered/hidden.
The customer dropped off his car for a service on a Fri evening and drove away with a shoddy engine that blew 2.5 months later.Worst part is he paid the guy i worked for to source and install a new engine!!

The owner was also partial to a few litres of diesel if a full tank came in so he could top up his own van...I never said a word; amazing how your morals disappear when you're 17 and broke!!

babi-hrse

i was drivin my mkiv golf which i love never had a problem out of it save for front shocks that needed replacing.
one day i drove through a massive puddle and i believe the heat difference caused stress on the catalyic converter because three hours later there was a rattling noise that developed when the engine revved.

bought it into one of those tyre/exhaust/service garages and asked him did he sell exhausts for a vw golf!
he nonchalantly said yes we do all. (im a bit of a perfectionist. i read the internet about every single thing about a car until my head is like a hynes manual.) so i was specfic about which i wanted.

after lookin at and givin it a few hits he told me he would have to change the dorsal pipe which is basically the pipe that comes of the engine manifold and bends under the heatshield. this added two hundred euros to a 300 euro cat bill.
after the job was done and issued a warrenty a month later i did a service on the car myself and while gettin under to take the sump bolt off i noticed there was a weld on a larger pipe that was basically slagged (jerry rigged) down to a smaller diameter pipe to connect to the dorsal pipe. this pipe is not the correct dimension for my exhaust but its the correct one for the cat. i believe they didnt have the right cat and just use their cats and cut your pipe off and weld another car's pipe on for 200.
i basically just paid an extra 200 quid for them to degrade the exhaust.
i was livid but too much time had gone by to start goin back on a mad one.

kona

RealExpert wrote: »

Have you a story to share of trickery you seen pulled in garages?
I will get the ball rolling.
I bought a car from a main ford dealer over 20 years ago and part of the deal was that they replace the two front shocks which I was told they didnt have in stock.A couple of weeks later I booked the car in to have the shocks replaced and because I had some knowledge of the motoring trade I got my center punch and marked the top of each shock.When I went to collect the car first thing I did was to check for the markings I had put there.One of the original ones was still under the car and the other was changed with a secondhand one.I quickly pointed this out to the head mechanic and he was gobsmacked.He eventually told me only one shock needed replacing but he could not answer why it was a secondhand one that was fitted.There were a couple of red faces but two hours later I drove out of that garage with two new shocks.

I have a few more that I could add, not as a customer but as a mechanic!

Shocks do be replaced in pairs? Some cowboy.

dangerus06

i had a fiat punto and the exchaust fell off one day ,i went to a place in naas to get fixed needed the whole thing think it was about 400 to get done ,job done went to pay bill got charged 150 happy days ,they forgot to charge me for front part .got it checked by a friend to make sure it was all done front and back and it was ,:)

lway

I worked with a guy who worked shift so on his days off he helped out as a mechanic at his father's garage. They had a guy come to them who had been going to another garage every few months to have a rattle from the back of the car fixed, he was so annoyed at having to go back so often he thought he'd try my friend's garage instead.

They diagnosed the problem as a loose number plate and found bits of styrofoam behind the plate, appears the other garage was showing styrofoam in behind the number plate and it was degrading over time so the rattle kept coming back. :rolleyes:

bazz26

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

My confession is I don't trust mechanics. They could **** up something in your car just so you have to come back to get it fixed.

That's a pretty big brush you have there. Like any business you have your professionals and you have your cowboys.

dangerus06

lway wrote: »

I worked with a guy who worked shift so on his days off he helped out as a mechanic at his father's garage. They had a guy come to them who had been going to another garage every few months to have a rattle from the back of the car fixed, he was so annoyed at having to go back so often he thought he'd try my friend's garage instead.

They diagnosed the problem as a loose number plate and found bits of styrofoam behind the plate, appears the other garage was showing styrofoam in behind the number plate and it was degrading over time so the rattle kept coming back. :rolleyes:

thats just awfull

biko

So far not many actual mechanics in this thread..

Quazzie

I served my time as a mechanic, and some of the stories I could tell you would make you laugh, or cry depending on how you look at it.

I once, under instruction from the boss, had to take old brake cylinders off of a Punto that was crashed three years previous to fit to a customers car as they were needed for NCT.

fatbhoy

Awesome thread! Keep the stories coming.

keithsfleet

bazz26 wrote: »

That's a pretty big brush you have there. Like any business you have your professionals and you have your cowboys.

Have a feeling a lot of this thread will be similar views.

Can people just keep in mind that there is thousands of parts that can fail in a car and not every one of them is blatantly obvious.
Can sometimes be hit and miss when diagnosing a fault and allot of the time it's easier and cheaper to replace a cheaper part and then work up to replacing more expensive parts.
I'm not standing up for cowboys, just reminding people that a lot of indy mechanics are genuine.
I myself have been shafted in the past but I've had more genuine good experiences than bad experiences.

smilerxxx

Currently having a cry, brought my car for rebalance or whatever that's called. Next day my car won't tik over. Mechanic says it might need to be scrapped. It's an 03 fiesta I've no idea how I'll replace a car. I've nobody to help and I really really believe I'm being screwed

mickdw

smilerxxx wrote: »

Currently having a cry, brought my car for rebalance or whatever that's called. Next day my car won't tik over. Mechanic says it might need to be scrapped. It's an 03 fiesta I've no idea how I'll replace a car. I've nobody to help and I really really believe I'm being screwed

You might get more replies if you start a new thread detailing your issues.
Give an much info as possible. Which engine have you got? What work did you get done? Have you had anything like this problem before? etc

smilerxxx

I'm afraid to post too many details in case he is on boards and recognises the post. I really want to believe he's honest. I really do. Is IT possible for an ecu from another make of car to be put into it? The reason I'm asking is, there was a car there that was "scrapped" by a girl cos the ecu went. Could her faulty one be inserted into mine? This is conspiracy theory stuff and I feel like I'm crazy but my gut is saying different. The car has a full service history, 90k, never a thing wrong with it. It was my sisters and I bought it from her she had it new. Never failed an nct and I had a flat tyre once.

I think I just need a rant I don't want to think bad of the Man

SeanW

Corkladddd!! wrote: »

Worked in a garage for a bit over summers etc..dodgiest thing i saw was a engine swap for the guys father; his own was about to go so engine was pulled out and the car was covered/hidden.
The customer dropped off his car for a service on a Fri evening and drove away with a shoddy engine that blew 2.5 months later.Worst part is he paid the guy i worked for to source and install a new engine!!

The owner was also partial to a few litres of diesel if a full tank came in so he could top up his own van...I never said a word; amazing how your morals disappear when you're 17 and broke!!

I have a similar story, though again not as a mechanic but as a customer, well family of a customer.

My mother had a VW Polo which had a minor malfunction, busted mirror or a damaged door or something, so she sent it some cowboy in a nearby town (the cowboy, the town and the person who recommended said cowboy shall all remain nameless for legal reasons) who came well reccommended for quickie/cheap fix-ups.

So he has the car for a weekend and not only does he manage to completely FUBAR the part he was supposed to fix, but somehow managed to put the odometer on the fritz as well. :pac: Sure enough, the engine starts drinking oil and ceases up a few months later. And he charged for the "service."

He kinda did her a favour though because the car was a horrible POS anyway that was **** to drive and was always needing repairs and she has more comfort now with the Toyota she had to buy to replace it.

@bazz26, I agree there are professionals and cowboys in the mechanic trade. Problem is if you do pick a cowboy, you might not find out until it's too late. So, yes, a reliable mechanic is worth his weight in gold

smilerxxx

I also know that sometimes **** happens, so I guess I should suck it up and stop bloody crying

Kenny Logins

smilerxxx wrote: »

Currently having a cry, brought my car for rebalance or whatever that's called. Next day my car won't tik over. Mechanic says it might need to be scrapped. It's an 03 fiesta I've no idea how I'll replace a car. I've nobody to help and I really really believe I'm being screwed

Scrapped why exactly? That doesn't make sense.

smilerxxx

I don't understand either but that's my idiocy. I should know more later or at least know what the problem is anyway. Knowing the significance of said problem is another story altogether

Hellrazer

Im not a mechanic but have been in the trade for 20 years.

Some of the things Ive seen in the past are just mad.

Ive seen

Diffs stuffed with bananas or sawdust to quieten them down<<<this actually works until the poor eejit who bought the vehicle decides to change the diff oil.

Engine oil in gearboxes again to quiten bearings<<not sure if that worked.

Abs lights /Airbag lights wired into the oil light switch to make sure they go off to pass the NCT.

Some of the best Ive seen were drivers marking parts with UV before a service and then catching out so called garages who never actually changed anything other than new oil.

So called mechanics just writing the timing belt mileage on the timing cover and not actually doing the belt.

No doubt Ill remember more but thats a few that stick out.

sean1141

Neighbour bought a car a 03 merc of a local dealer (main dealer but not for this brand) Took it to his local mechanic to get it serviced a couple of months later. Mechanic told him the rear brake lines were badly rusted, the injector washers were gone and loads of carbon build up around them and the steering rack was damaged some way as it gives a jerk every now and then.

He took it back to where he bought it and argued with them, they saying his waranty was up. Long story short they aggred he would pay for parts and they would cover the labour. 200 quid he had to pay. The dealer replaced 1 injector washer, painted the brake pipes and said there was nothing wrong with the steering!!! C*&ts