What to do with bad mechanic repairs?

[Lukas]

Hello everyone, I'm in a bit of a situation. Prepare for long, drawn out explanation lol.

 

My father and I have been restoring an import 1984 Z31 2+0 Turbo for about a 2 years now. We've done all the rust repair work ourselves as well as a lot of other smaller mechanical things (wheel bearings, brakes, etc, nothing engine related). It looks pretty rough as panels are different colors and the interior isn't the greatest, but overall it's 100 times better than it was when we got it, so we're quite proud of it. Plus it's sitting on some flush 17x8.5 +10 Rota RKR's  .

 

The only things left to address were the timing belt (preventative measure) and the slightest little fuel leak.We wanted to be able to drive it around without being worried it would catch fire (Z31's have a habit to do that lol). We had been driving it around before this but not much, as most of the time we were working on it. So we booked it in to the mechanics about a month in advance so they could order all the parts for us.

 

Anyway, on the day, they had

• Not ordered any of the parts
  
• Had no idea what work we wanted done
  

 

Fast forward a week, we decide to pick the car up because its clear they have done next to no work on it and don't plan to do any more. Before we get there they tell us the car is now overheating "slightly", and blame our radiator. We insist it was fine before they got it, but they can't think what else it would be. Keep in mind that they've replaced the timing belt, water pump, and thermostat... They also say they can't be bothered working on the fuel injection because it would be too hard...

 

The car ends up boiling twice on the drive home (15min drive) and it's leaking petrol like there's no tomorrow. Once we get home we have a look at the car. Turns out they took the intake manifold off and obviously had a poke around the area which has upset the old hoses (or they didn't clamp them back properly) and now there is petrol literally pooling on the intake manifold. We also spend about 5 hours diagnosing and then fixing the overheating issue: The new thermostat was put in backwards. Aside from this it was evident in many small ways (e.g. radiator shroud  loose) that they had not given a shit about the car. 

 

Needless to say i'm pretty upset :'(. So my question is, what do you think I should do? Chalk it up to a learning experience (ie, do all mechanical work myself from now on), or go and try to get my $800 back??

 

Feel free to share your own mechanic horror stories  .

 

Cheers,

Luke.

 

 

 

[Gordo]

Hi Luke , unfortunately it's a common story, as you seem to be a bit of a hands on guy I would be trying to do it all your self. As in most cases it's hard to find a good machanic. You will find it hard to retrieve your money, might have to chalk it up to a life experience . Cheers.

[260Coupe]

Report the mechanic to the relevant NSW Automotive body (the equivalent to the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce - VACC) and to the Dept of fare trading etc..............and put your claim in writing detailing all the issues and present that to the repairer for a full refund.

 

And find a decent mechanic

[PeterAllen]

I hate to say this but walk away and put it down to a learning experience. The fact that you have since carried out work means you cannot substantiate the errors they made. We have all had our fingers (and pockets) burnt at some time with matters like this so don't feel alone. You could write a letter setting out your points to the proprietor and he may take action against the employee and/or offer some compensation (repairs in lieu) to protect his good name (if he has one) but it's more than likely he was the actual repairer anyway.

 

Though not always possible, I always try to use businesses that have been personally recommended or are long established as some hedge against being ripped off, but it's not always a guarantee. Welcome to the money pit called “old cars”.

 

Some time back I would have suggested carrying out the work yourself to gain the experience but I'm now not sure of the value of that. Waaaaaaay back in my day cars were so simple all you needed were some rudimentary tools, a coat hanger and an oxy torch and you could do all the repairs needed but with today's electronics I don't even bother to lift the hood and just send them to a trusted mechanic.

 

Car story: I recently spent some time in the UK and hired a manual car. I hadn't driven a manual for 30 years. I couldn't believe how smooth the gear change and clutch function were but the engine kept stalling while I was waiting at the lights. Even though it was in neutral a couple of time I managed to catch it before it stalled by throwing in the clutch - I'm sure those of you au fait with modern technology are laughing right now. Anyway after a dozen or so episodes I realized that the engine cuts out rather than idles as a fuel saving technique and is restarted when the clutch is depressed. The kids are right… too old, too slow, and too stupid.  I hope that cheers you up.

 

[AussieZed]

Sympathies,

 

I have had a hell of a job finding a good mechanic since I moved to Australia... and it isn't just incompetency, it's people actively trying to rip you off!!

 

I would go back and say my piece to the mechanic ... if they gave the job to an apprentice or something who didn't do the job right then they need to know about it. If they are just useless hopefully they will give you at least some of the money back. When I complained about a wildly bad (and dangerous) job done on my car recently they agreed to reimburse me the labour costs and I paid for the parts.

 

Worth an ask....

 

R

[datozed]

if you walk away the only one who gets screwed is you  you work hard to earn your money  and you paid to have the job done not half a job  let them know what the problem was and let them know your not happy  your not the bad guy  never just walk away from shit like this  if he fixed your car and you didnt pay the bill you would be hearing from him    yes or no 

[Lukas]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

 

I decided to give them a call this afternoon, but the mechanic who worked on my car was off for the day (or hiding). The receptionist was nice and understanding - I didn't get angry at her but I made her understand I was upset. Should be getting a call from the mechanic tomorrow. Even if I don't get a partial/full refund I'd still like to let them know what I thought of their work, and that I won't be back  .

 

I'll keep this thread updated 

Cheers,

Luke.

[peter mc]

id be getting my cash back , well for the labour anyway and stay calm, just let them know that you will let all your friends know about there work 

[Six_Shooter]

While it would be nice to get money back for poorly performed repairs or labour, it seems to rarely happen that way, at least without getting the courts involved, around here anyway. I've found that it seems to be best to just walk away, let them know or not won't make a difference, unless there has been plenty of previous complaints about the same person's work, that might be the straw.

 

Either way the best thing to do is just not go back, especially if this isn't the first time that this same place has performed poorly. I have a friend that keeps going back to the same place that keeps screwing his wife's car up, EVERY TIME they touch it, yet he keeps going back. :facepalm: Another friend of mine and I would repair these mistakes, usually free of charge, we finally got to the point where we said that if the problem is something done by this shop, take it back to them, we're tired of fixing their mistakes.

 

Anyway, best thing you can do is find a good mechanic, which I know is hard to do sometimes, and learn to work on your car yourself.

[Lukas]

Well, good news everyone.

 

The head mechanic called and was very apologetic. He basically said what happened should never have been allowed to happen and acknowledged that it could have caused thousands of dollars worth of engine damage, so he said he'd give us a full refund on the labour charge. I kinda felt bad because he wasn't the one who worked on it, but I'm pretty stoked to get a refund. 

 

Once again thanks for all the responses. When I fix the fuel injection issues I'll go and take some pics of the car and share them - because we all know we want Z31's added to the community 

 

Cheers,

Luke.

[Gordo]

Good stuff Luke, I guess it never hurts to ask, you must be happy about that.

[lightmaster240z]

It sound like the head guy know what damage can be done by a disgruntled customerand has done the right thing .