Why I don't trust most mechanics

[TunedN]

Recently took my car to get some exhaust work done. The owner of the shop said "bring it in Monday or Tuesday and we will have it done within a few hours." I dropped it off because he said they needed to get a few parts. Friday I call for an update and they said one of their lifts had broken and were waiting for it to get fixed. The next Wednesday I call and am told their lift repair guy was scheduled to fix it the next day. I call Friday to ask again what's the status and am told the lift is still broken because the repair guy was waiting for a part. They said my car would go on their other lift as soon as the one there was done. I drove over to inspect. Near the end of the next week I didn't call, but drove over to check things out and another car was on the second lift. Mine was where I parked it weeks before. I took it and left. Lesson learned.

Then I took the car to another shop. I asked them for a realistic time schedule. They said they would have to order part which would arrive around the end of the week, then work would be done before the end of the following week. That Monday I called and asked the status and was told they're having trouble locating a part. I spend about 15 minutes online and texted them the URL where the part was $40. Thursday I drove over and they had made no progress, so I took my car and left.

Now I've ordered all the parts myself and am taking it to a cheap muffler shop to have them weld it up in front of me. Third time's the charm I hope.

Lessons learned:
Always do your own work as much as possible.
Take a photo of your odometer when you drop it off and install a dash cam when you can afford it.
Use my AccessPort to put the car in valet mode any time I have to drop the car off somewhere.

This is only one project. It would take too much time to talk about all the other times I've been burned by dishonest mechanics.

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[gixxersixxerman]

Also a lesson, use reputable shops, I’d never leave a car that needed exhaust work for more then a day, if they need to order a part let me know when it comes in and I’ll bring it back then. Sorry for your aggravation, it’s gotta suck when you want something done and shitty shops give you the run around.

 

[TunedN]

Also a lesson, use reputable shops, I’d never leave a car that needed exhaust work for more then a day, if they need to order a part let me know when it comes in and I’ll bring it back then. Sorry for your aggravation, it’s gotta suck when you want something done and shitty shops give you the run around.

These were the "best" shops I could find in San Antonio with recommendations from pro racers. I think they saw my project as small change. Most of their customers were getting dual turbos, complete engine builds, rock crawler packages, etc. I've actually decided to do the opposite; don't go where they think they're better than you and watch while they do the work.

My mod was a bit hard to find a flange and gasket on my own to their credit. Custom from the turbo flange all the way back with a cutout running off boost reference pressure similar to some high-end euro cars. Both told me initially they could get the parts from suppliers in town. It wasn't until the run-around started that I got that red flag. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, knowing it was unlikely some of the items were available locally.

You're absolutely right though. Never drop the car off until they're starting the work and stay while it's done if possible.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Also a lesson, use reputable shops

That's apt to be the hardest part . . . and the more mods/repairs/maintenance you can DIY, the harder it's likely to be.

Perhaps the relevant tip here is that it's really handy if you can weld good enough to do your own exhaust system work.


Norm

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

Is the first shop you mentioned happen to be located off of Bandera Rd. in NW SA (Leon Valley area)? I have a good friend that has a similar story, except he left it there long enough to finally get the work done after several weeks. What a crock.

 

[Stage_3]

Also a lesson, use reputable shops, I’d never leave a car that needed exhaust work for more then a day, if they need to order a part let me know when it comes in and I’ll bring it back then.

^^BINGO!!!

I would NEVER leave my car overnight for an exhaust fix. Bring it to another shop and tell them you need the car back the same day, if possible.
I'm lucky. My 2 mechanics, (it's a 3 person shop, with 2 ASE mechanics with over 40 years combined experience and one office/bookkeeper woman married to one of the mechanics). They are friends and I've been doing business with them for multiple years. One of them is a great friend to my two cousins.

 

[GT-SV]

I have a good shop in San Jose that handles business correctly (they did my FRP Touring in one day, no problem).

 

[TunedN]

Is the first shop you mentioned happen to be located off of Bandera Rd. in NW SA (Leon Valley area)? I have a good friend that has a similar story, except he left it there long enough to finally get the work done after several weeks. What a crock.

The second one is in that general area. I think they would have done it eventually, but were supposed to give me a quote in that first week before ordering parts and it wasn't until "we have all the parts but one" [which I don't think was true] when I really pushed for a quote and they wanted $1500. I'm buying the parts myself for $400 and the welder I talked to said he'd do the install for $150 while I wait. Another $150 for ceramic coating, and it's half the price they wanted. I understand a shop has to make money, but poor communication, altered timeline, and double the cost of doing it almost myself was just too much to deal with.

I'm not going to name the shop because they didn't really do anything "bad" other than not sticking to the timeline of 2 weeks for an exhaust. They seemed like they're just more familiar with other types of mods. I wish them luck, but it's not gonna be with me.

 

[ModularKid21]

It’s doesn’t matter how big the shop is or how “good” people say they are. A reputable shop that cares about their customers will treat every customer the same. And if they can’t fit you in, they’ll schedule you on a day that they can get you in and out. The first red flag was that their “lift was broken”. If that really had been the case, you put that bitch on jack stands and roll around on your back. At most, they ask for an extra day to get you squared away. It’s unfortunate that you had to get the run around but the truth is, you never really know until you take your car to that shop

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

The second one is in that general area. I think they would have done it eventually, but were supposed to give me a quote in that first week before ordering parts and it wasn't until "we have all the parts but one" [which I don't think was true] when I really pushed for a quote and they wanted $1500. I'm buying the parts myself for $400 and the welder I talked to said he'd do the install for $150 while I wait. Another $150 for ceramic coating, and it's half the price they wanted. I understand a shop has to make money, but poor communication, altered timeline, and double the cost of doing it almost myself was just too much to deal with.

I'm not going to name the shop because they didn't really do anything "bad" other than not sticking to the timeline of 2 weeks for an exhaust. They seemed like they're just more familiar with other types of mods. I wish them luck, but it's not gonna be with me.

Curious if it's the same shop...This one gave similar stories; waiting for parts, one of the lifts was down, "your car is the next one up on the lift, I promise" then come back days later only to see another car on the lift and my buddy's GTO in the same spot where he left it weeks before...I kept telling him to take his car to another shop.

 

[Armageddon Turbo]

Luckily I know a lot of good mechanics and have never had an issue

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