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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 1, 2009 16:50:41 GMT -5
Well, I caught them.
Figuring I could get an alignment done faster I went to CT rather than a small garage I usually go to. The original cost with the inspection and alignment would have been just under $100. Later that evening I get a call from the mechanic who told me that I have a front-left bearing job that has to be completed before the alignment can be done. The new price tag; $450.00
I told him to put it back together and take it off the hoist. I went to pick it up and still had to pay the initial inspection charge of $27.11 taxes included.
This morning I took my car to the local dealer not far from home, which I've gone to before quite often in the past. I didn't say anything about the bearing just to see if I'd get the same story. The mechanic asks me why I wanted an alignment done and I told him that the tires looked to be scalping a bit. I figured an alignment would take care of that so long as I kept the tire pressure up.
When I picked up the car I asked the mechanic if he noticed anything unusual before starting the alignment. He said he gave the entire undercarriage a good going-over and didn't notice anything out of sort. Why? I told him that a mechanic at CT told me that a front-left bearing job was necessary prior to the alignment. He told me the bearing seemed fine. He'd have noticed it if it required replacing.
After paying the $99 bucks, I went back to CT and asked to talk to the manager. I got the assistant mgr and told him the story. I didn't go in guns-a-blazing and kept my cool throughout. I think it had more of an impact actually. He offerred an apology, wrote down my story on a read-out form and said the manager would be calling me in the morning. He also refunded my $27.11.
However, I asked him to please remove my car and truck from their data base. He said he'd like me to talk to the manager first. I said, "sure."
I'm thinking of a letter to the editor; don't know just yet. But depending on what they say tomorrow we may end up in court.
Cheers!
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Post by cigarviper on May 1, 2009 17:03:49 GMT -5
It's been my experience that this is standard operating procedure for CT, Dis. I remember my father going to CT for the simplest maintenance items and having to pony up for unscheduled repairs required while his vehicle was there. I wouldn't trust them to change the oil or fill the tires. Stick it to 'em.
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Post by CrocRob on May 1, 2009 17:19:18 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, what grounds would you have to take them to court with?
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 1, 2009 17:46:45 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, what grounds would you have to take them to court with? Right now I have them on deliberately making repairs to a part that didn't need any repairing and proof of that. I have the original work order and the testimonial of another mechanic who didn't notice anything wrong with the car. The manager will be calling me tomorrow. That's all I'll say for now. Cheers. |
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Post by CentreHice on May 1, 2009 17:59:38 GMT -5
If you can get a former CT mechanic/automotive employee to corroborate this MO, you've really got something.
Good luck, Dis. We trust these people and they abuse it because they know/hope most of us know jack about all the parts.
We've dealt with an independent mechanic for 20 years, and he's been a straight shooter. His policy is to show you the part and explain why it needs replacing.
Enough goes wrong with vehicles legitimately....they don't need to gouge like that. It's theft through consumer ignorance. Caveat emptor your wallet out.
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Post by franko on May 1, 2009 21:58:08 GMT -5
Ah, yes . . . car horror stories . . . don't we all have at least one [and Canadian Tire seems to be prominent]. How's this one, though:
We were visiting my sister-in-law one day, and she said "I hate Canadian tire". I asked why and she told me that her last oil change cost her $750. She had dropped her car off one morning and when she went to pick it up in the afternoon they told her that the brakes were so bad that they really couldn't let it out of the shop. She balked at the figure that they gave her and they lowered the cost [to the $750] and told her they would rush it through and do it immediately -- she could wait for it; it would only take an hour.
"$750!" I said -- "that's highway robbery!" She replied that it wasn't as bad as the year previous, when it cost her $900 to do the brakes. In fact, this was the third year in a row that they'd done the brakes -- she wondered if there was a defect with the brakes. I wanted to tell her that the defect was with her brain, but held back -- just said "I think you are being taken -- go somewhere else for your oil changes from now on". She replied that CT hadn't let her down, and always did the work quickly for her . . . and that they were very friendly.
I suggested again that she look elsewhere for oil changes, and told her that she'd save money if she did. Funny thing -- she had that car for 5 more years and didn't need another brake job!
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Post by Cranky on May 1, 2009 23:35:45 GMT -5
Car horror stories....none. I repair my own, or at least use to until now. Now I need a Phd in rocket science to fix one. I think I already wrote a story back in these page about a rip-off garage that I worked for. And another story about a family member who was ripped off and I went with him to provide the ugly deterrent face. From my experience, a good percentage of small shops tend to be very dangerous unless you know them and they have a shred of honesty. Dealerships that have NO percentages to the mechaninc are far better. As for CT, I'm suprised that they work on percentage. Dis.....a bad bearing is easy to diagnose and it's rare. It's far more likely that you have a bad ball joint then a bad bearing. Second, if he really "diagnosed" a bad bearing, he can't really know if the bearing is a bit lose, no cost as it's really not much more then turning a nut to tighten it, OR the bearing is worn, which is a twenty dollar fix OR you have steering knuckle spindle damaged and he has to replace the entire assembly. Here is a very simple way for you to find out if you have a bad bearings. Jack up the car on the side that has this "bad" bearing. Take a hold of the wheel on TOP and BOTTOM and see if you detect any play. If you do, bearings inspection time. If the mechanic had your car already on a lift, opening the assebly and inspecting everything would have been a ten minute job for him....  |
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Post by CrocRob on May 2, 2009 0:04:14 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, what grounds would you have to take them to court with? Right now I have them on deliberately making repairs to a part that didn't need any repairing and proof of that. I have the original work order and the testimonial of another mechanic who didn't notice anything wrong with the car. The manager will be calling me tomorrow. That's all I'll say for now. Cheers. No offense, but that two professionals disagree on what repairs need to be done is hardly grounds for a lawsuit. You "have them" on one mechanic using his judgment to believe repairs need to be done, while another doesn't. Grounds for a CTV News expose? Sure. Grounds for a lawsuit of any kind? Not in my opinion. I took my car to VW a while back and they estimated $3G in repairs, then took it to my guy who did some of the repairs for $800, and opined that some of them were unnecessary for the time being. The caveat being that parts wear and the standards for each mechanic are separate and while I think you probably caught them trying to pull one over I think a lawsuit is absolutely unnecessary and will only fill up our courts with additional meaningless rubbish. Call the BBB, file a complaint, they'll deal with it eventually if there are too many. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I feel pretty strongly about meaningless litigation. I know you're not asking for my opinion, but I guess that's not stopped me from sharing it. edit: As CH said, if you've got a current or former CT employee that says such practices were encouraged and fostered by CT then you have something (and it's no longer meaningless, since it's theft). Otherwise you at best have a he-says-she-says lawsuit against CT which will hide behind the employee's judgement (and probably that employee's complaint-free record) as a defense. edit II: I think this is worded stronger than I intended, but the point remains. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 2, 2009 7:43:26 GMT -5
Right now I have them on deliberately making repairs to a part that didn't need any repairing and proof of that. I have the original work order and the testimonial of another mechanic who didn't notice anything wrong with the car. The manager will be calling me tomorrow. That's all I'll say for now. Cheers. No offense, but that two professionals disagree on what repairs need to be done is hardly grounds for a lawsuit. You "have them" on one mechanic using his judgment to believe repairs need to be done, while another doesn't. Grounds for a CTV News expose? Sure. Grounds for a lawsuit of any kind? Not in my opinion. I took my car to VW a while back and they estimated $3G in repairs, then took it to my guy who did some of the repairs for $800, and opined that some of them were unnecessary for the time being. The caveat being that parts wear and the standards for each mechanic are separate and while I think you probably caught them trying to pull one over I think a lawsuit is absolutely unnecessary and will only fill up our courts with additional meaningless rubbish. Call the BBB, file a complaint, they'll deal with it eventually if there are too many. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I feel pretty strongly about meaningless litigation. I know you're not asking for my opinion, but I guess that's not stopped me from sharing it. edit: As CH said, if you've got a current or former CT employee that says such practices were encouraged and fostered by CT then you have something (and it's no longer meaningless, since it's theft). Otherwise you at best have a he-says-she-says lawsuit against CT which will hide behind the employee's judgement (and probably that employee's complaint-free record) as a defense. edit II: I think this is worded stronger than I intended, but the point remains. Thanks for the feedback Red. However, why did I receive an apology from CT if they didn't do anything wrong? Why did they refund my money? To me, an apology is an admission to doing something wrong. Refunding my money is pretty much the same thing. I haven't decided to go ahead with anything at this point. I may not do anything at all other that insist today that they remove my vehicles from their data base. But, as I was saying earlier, depending on what the manager says might sway me one way or the other. Cheers. |
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Post by franko on May 2, 2009 7:53:31 GMT -5
why did I receive an apology from CT if they didn't do anything wrong? Why did they refund my money? Good customer service [commendable, I might say -- my experience is that CT brushed people off. Depends. Was it "I'm sorry we tried to take you to the bank" or and "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding/misdiagnosis"? Big difference. RS has it: two mechanics who disagree on a problem -- afraid unless collusion [between management and worker] can be proved it'll be laughed out of court. |
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Post by CrocRob on May 2, 2009 10:57:03 GMT -5
Refunding your $27 is nothing if it means you're somewhat placated and might return as a customer. That might not be the case, but lots of companies will hand money back on the premise that they could be encouraging return business.
Obviously, if they'd said no you would never return and spread that they screwed you. Now that they've returned their money, the story you tell might be a bit different (they admitted their mistake, refunded what you were out of pocket and offered an apology). They're just trying to smooth things over IMO.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 2, 2009 11:22:43 GMT -5
Refunding your $27 is nothing if it means you're somewhat placated and might return as a customer. That might not be the case, but lots of companies will hand money back on the premise that they could be encouraging return business. Obviously, if they'd said no you would never return and spread that they screwed you. Now that they've returned their money, the story you tell might be a bit different (they admitted their mistake, refunded what you were out of pocket and offered an apology). They're just trying to smooth things over IMO. I don't doubt that, Red. However, my point was they're apolozing for a mistake they made. That's an admission to something they did wrong. As for return business, they won't miss my business; however, it's not just my business they'll be missing, hopefully. Nothing works better than word-of-mouth. And my complaint is only another in a long line of similar complaints, made by people under similar circumstances. Why the similarities and why is it I keep hearing about it from CT? There has to be a reason for that. Franko, I can't say for sure, but if you'd have seen the look on this assistant manager's face you might feel different. I got the impression he was truely sorry, but I also got the impression that he's had to deal with this sort of thing more than once. Cheers. |
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Post by franko on May 2, 2009 12:09:14 GMT -5
I don't doubt that, Red. However, my point was they're apolozing for a mistake they made. That's an admission to something they did wrong. Or an error was made by their tech -- no fault of the garage. But I'm more of the mind that they were saying "while we think that our diagnosis was right, we don't want you to spread vile and vicious rumors about us". Rogers Cable even goes so far as to call their refunds "good will customer reversals". Yet you went there anyway . . . |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 2, 2009 13:11:03 GMT -5
Yet you went there anyway . . . And now I know first-hand ... forgive and forget? No. |
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Post by CrocRob on May 2, 2009 16:55:44 GMT -5
You went to CT even though you suspected they'd run up your bill? I can't say I'd have done that, but to each their own.
Good luck with whatever follow-through you're going to take with it. Keep us up to date.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 2, 2009 18:23:54 GMT -5
You went to CT even though you suspected they'd run up your bill? No, I didn't say that. You did. I never suspected anything. I think your conclusion and your judgement are faulty, but .... to each their own. Really? Too bad you weren't there. You might have felt different. Cheers. |
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Post by franko on May 2, 2009 18:39:51 GMT -5
Yet you went there anyway . . . And now I know first-hand ... forgive and forget? Nope, not what I'm saying at all, Dis . . . now that you know what you might expect I can't see you going back . . . and I can see you warning others off. You went to CT even though you suspected they'd run up your bill? No, I didn't say that. You did. I never suspected anything. I think your conclusion and your judgement are faulty I thought the same thing as RS did -- that you had warning or the possibility, based on this: my complaint is only another in a long line of similar complaints, made by people under similar circumstances. Why the similarities and why is it I keep hearing about it from CT? There has to be a reason for that. But that is getting away from the main thought which I agree with: K-Mart CT sucks |
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Post by The New Guy on May 4, 2009 12:20:04 GMT -5
My wife took our Honda CR-V (second hand, about 6 years old at he time, the previous owners had taken okay care of it but not great) to Canadian Tire in the fall of 2006 to have winter tires put on it. While there they talked her into getting some kind of valve or staunchion or something replaced on the tire (my wife - so this information is all second hand). At the same time she had asked them about the engine, which was knocking a little on start up. They took a look and came back to her and said that one of the head gaskits was gone, and that it would cost us $6k to replace.
At this point she called me, and I said "nope, not a chance" so we picked it up that evening. They told me there was no way I was getting home in the CRV (funny, says I, since I drove it to Richmond Hill the day before without any problems besides the start) but I told him I still wanted a second opinion before I dropped that kind of cash on my vehicle (also, I don't trust CT worth a dam to take apart my engine thank you very much). I drove it home that night and the crowd at CT were right - I barely got home it shook so much (and had no power). I took it the next morning to Active Green & Ross and asked them to look at it, and then drove my rental car to work. They called me that evening and told me that tey couldn't find anything wrong with the head gasket (although, they said, that didn't mean there was nothing wrong - just that there was no obvious problem they could find for a $100 inspection) but the reason that I had had so much trouble driving home? They had left half the spark plugs disconnected.
In the long and the short of it there was damage to something in the engine (head gasket seems likely, as it was burning fluid and what have you) so I ditched it (I could pay $5000-$6000 to have someone take apart the engine and maybe fix it or trade it in +$7000 and get a 2005 Nissan - I took the Nissan), but I'll never bring my car to crappy tire for anything ever again. Anywhere but there.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2009 12:49:49 GMT -5
Legal action would seem even more difficult if you accepted their refund and apology. That on its own suggests that you agreed on their terms by taking back the money that was charged. On a legal basis, they'll look at that and say that it was settled, so I don't think it would stand up in court.
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Post by Cranky on May 4, 2009 12:50:52 GMT -5
My wife took our Honda CR-V (second hand, about 6 years old at he time, the previous owners had taken okay care of it but not great) to Canadian Tire in the fall of 2006 to have winter tires put on it. While there they talked her into getting some kind of valve or staunchion or something replaced on the tire (my wife - so this information is all second hand). At the same time she had asked them about the engine, which was knocking a little on start up. They took a look and came back to her and said that one of the head gaskits was gone, and that it would cost us $6k to replace. At this point she called me, and I said "nope, not a chance" so we picked it up that evening. They told me there was no way I was getting home in the CRV (funny, says I, since I drove it to Richmond Hill the day before without any problems besides the start) but I told him I still wanted a second opinion before I dropped that kind of cash on my vehicle (also, I don't trust CT worth a dam to take apart my engine thank you very much). I drove it home that night and the crowd at CT were right - I barely got home it shook so much (and had no power). I took it the next morning to Active Green & Ross and asked them to look at it, and then drove my rental car to work. They called me that evening and told me that tey couldn't find anything wrong with the head gasket (although, they said, that didn't mean there was nothing wrong - just that there was no obvious problem they could find for a $100 inspection) but the reason that I had had so much trouble driving home? They had left half the spark plugs disconnected. In the long and the short of it there was damage to something in the engine (head gasket seems likely, as it was burning fluid and what have you) so I ditched it (I could pay $5000-$6000 to have someone take apart the engine and maybe fix it or trade it in +$7000 and get a 2005 Nissan - I took the Nissan), but I'll never bring my car to crappy tire for anything ever again. Anywhere but there. Head gasket? Wow......that's about the last thing I would look at. It you didn't have blue smoke, white smoke or blowby in your crankcase, the headgasket could be ruled out very quickly. Second, it doesn't cost 6 grand for a freaken head gasket. Pulling the head, replacing the headgasket and putting back the head is a days or so work. Unless you need to machine the head (a few hundred dollars), the gasket itself is a few hundred bucks. Maybe more for a Honda but certainly not in several hundreds. So a $1,500 job is worth 6 grand.....and almost CERTAINLY it's not even the problem. I didn't realize how much theft work is going on these days..... |
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Post by The New Guy on May 4, 2009 14:21:57 GMT -5
My wife took our Honda CR-V (second hand, about 6 years old at he time, the previous owners had taken okay care of it but not great) to Canadian Tire in the fall of 2006 to have winter tires put on it. While there they talked her into getting some kind of valve or staunchion or something replaced on the tire (my wife - so this information is all second hand). At the same time she had asked them about the engine, which was knocking a little on start up. They took a look and came back to her and said that one of the head gaskits was gone, and that it would cost us $6k to replace. At this point she called me, and I said "nope, not a chance" so we picked it up that evening. They told me there was no way I was getting home in the CRV (funny, says I, since I drove it to Richmond Hill the day before without any problems besides the start) but I told him I still wanted a second opinion before I dropped that kind of cash on my vehicle (also, I don't trust CT worth a dam to take apart my engine thank you very much). I drove it home that night and the crowd at CT were right - I barely got home it shook so much (and had no power). I took it the next morning to Active Green & Ross and asked them to look at it, and then drove my rental car to work. They called me that evening and told me that tey couldn't find anything wrong with the head gasket (although, they said, that didn't mean there was nothing wrong - just that there was no obvious problem they could find for a $100 inspection) but the reason that I had had so much trouble driving home? They had left half the spark plugs disconnected. In the long and the short of it there was damage to something in the engine (head gasket seems likely, as it was burning fluid and what have you) so I ditched it (I could pay $5000-$6000 to have someone take apart the engine and maybe fix it or trade it in +$7000 and get a 2005 Nissan - I took the Nissan), but I'll never bring my car to crappy tire for anything ever again. Anywhere but there. Head gasket? Wow......that's about the last thing I would look at. It you didn't have blue smoke, white smoke or blowby in your crankcase, the headgasket could be ruled out very quickly. Second, it doesn't cost 6 grand for a freaken head gasket. Pulling the head, replacing the headgasket and putting back the head is a days or so work. Unless you need to machine the head (a few hundred dollars), the gasket itself is a few hundred bucks. Maybe more for a Honda but certainly not in several hundreds. So a $1,500 job is worth 6 grand.....and almost CERTAINLY it's not even the problem. I didn't realize how much theft work is going on these days..... It was white, sweet-smelling smoke. I didn't mention it because it wasn't really related to the story (the interesting bit was that Crappy Tire left several spark plugs disconnected, causing the engine to essentially to, quite literally, not fire on all cylenders) but anyways. As for the price - well, I don't know about that. The gasket itself was cheap - a couple hundred bucks. But according to the three shops I checked (besides Crappy Tire) the CR-V engine is designed poorly, requiring a complete pull-down to get at the appropriate parts. This comes from the crowd at Active Green & Ross (who I trust a little, since they've done a couple quick fixes for me and my wife gratis), the local Honda Dealership and another shop I got from a car nut at work. The third guy suggested that I just buy a new engine for the thing. So I decided for the sake of a couple grand to just get a new(er) car. But yeah - thieves. Now ask me what I think of the people at Future Shop that fix your computers (-: |
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Post by jkr on May 4, 2009 14:52:40 GMT -5
Head gasket? Wow......that's about the last thing I would look at. It you didn't have blue smoke, white smoke or blowby in your crankcase, the headgasket could be ruled out very quickly. Second, it doesn't cost 6 grand for a freaken head gasket. Pulling the head, replacing the headgasket and putting back the head is a days or so work. Unless you need to machine the head (a few hundred dollars), the gasket itself is a few hundred bucks. Maybe more for a Honda but certainly not in several hundreds. So a $1,500 job is worth 6 grand.....and almost CERTAINLY it's not even the problem. I didn't realize how much theft work is going on these days..... It was white, sweet-smelling smoke. I didn't mention it because it wasn't really related to the story (the interesting bit was that Crappy Tire left several spark plugs disconnected, causing the engine to essentially to, quite literally, not fire on all cylenders) but anyways. As for the price - well, I don't know about that. The gasket itself was cheap - a couple hundred bucks. But according to the three shops I checked (besides Crappy Tire) the CR-V engine is designed poorly, requiring a complete pull-down to get at the appropriate parts. This comes from the crowd at Active Green & Ross (who I trust a little, since they've done a couple quick fixes for me and my wife gratis), the local Honda Dealership and another shop I got from a car nut at work. The third guy suggested that I just buy a new engine for the thing. So I decided for the sake of a couple grand to just get a new(er) car. But yeah - thieves. Now ask me what I think of the people at Future Shop that fix your computers (-: Do you think they left the plugs disconnected so that you would think there was really a problem or were they just incompetent? |
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Post by Cranky on May 4, 2009 14:56:22 GMT -5
It was white, sweet-smelling smoke. HA's professional diagnosis: It's your head gasket and it's sucking in anti-freeze. $50.00 please.....for my hooker fund. |
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Post by franko on May 4, 2009 14:59:14 GMT -5
Do you think they left the plugs disconnected so that you would think there was really a problem or were they just incompetent? i'm going to have to keep this photo on speed dial  |
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Post by BadCompany on May 4, 2009 16:12:46 GMT -5
I brought my car into Canadian Tire once, simply because it was right next to my office and the convenience couldn't be beat. "Don't do it" my co-workers said, "Those guys are terrible."
How bad could it be, I thought? I just wanted the brake pads changed. Pretty bad, as it turns out, as they have me a $2000 estimate for my brake job. A brake job that for some reason included $100 for new wiper blades. Gold wiper blades, I assume.
I can see how they could give that spiel to somebody who doesn't know better, and that person would just say "really? I need all that? I guess I had better get it done then."
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Post by The New Guy on May 4, 2009 16:19:58 GMT -5
It was white, sweet-smelling smoke. I didn't mention it because it wasn't really related to the story (the interesting bit was that Crappy Tire left several spark plugs disconnected, causing the engine to essentially to, quite literally, not fire on all cylenders) but anyways. As for the price - well, I don't know about that. The gasket itself was cheap - a couple hundred bucks. But according to the three shops I checked (besides Crappy Tire) the CR-V engine is designed poorly, requiring a complete pull-down to get at the appropriate parts. This comes from the crowd at Active Green & Ross (who I trust a little, since they've done a couple quick fixes for me and my wife gratis), the local Honda Dealership and another shop I got from a car nut at work. The third guy suggested that I just buy a new engine for the thing. So I decided for the sake of a couple grand to just get a new(er) car. But yeah - thieves. Now ask me what I think of the people at Future Shop that fix your computers (-: Do you think they left the plugs disconnected so that you would think there was really a problem or were they just incompetent? I don't suppose I can ever really be sure, however I like to think it's just a case of a corrupt bunch of mechanics rather than an organization that willingly hires idiots. I mean honestly - the way that thing shook (and they knew it shook) and knowing my wife drove it in, you'd have to be an absolute idiot not to double check your work. |
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Post by Cranky on May 4, 2009 16:43:35 GMT -5
I brought my car into Canadian Tire once, simply because it was right next to my office and the convenience couldn't be beat. "Don't do it" my co-workers said, "Those guys are terrible." How bad could it be, I thought? I just wanted the brake pads changed. Pretty bad, as it turns out, as they have me a $2000 estimate for my brake job. A brake job that for some reason included $100 for new wiper blades. Gold wiper blades, I assume. I can see how they could give that spiel to somebody who doesn't know better, and that person would just say "really? I need all that? I guess I had better get it done then." Yeah, but you are not telling us the entire truth. That price also included a lap dance and a "special" massage by that saucy female mechanic in pigtails......  |
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Post by Yossarian on May 4, 2009 19:23:12 GMT -5
I once bought a car battery at CT, and they suggested that one of their mechanics install it for $30.00, as if I did it myself I could cause irreparable damage. I politely declined and changed it myself. My wife's 1999 Honda Civic is still running fine.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 4, 2009 19:40:08 GMT -5
Legal action would seem even more difficult if you accepted their refund and apology. That on its own suggests that you agreed on their terms by taking back the money that was charged. On a legal basis, they'll look at that and say that it was settled, so I don't think it would stand up in court. Actually, I really should have cooled off before making the original post. I had gone to this particular CT for a lot of minor stuff; tires (great deals there) and little things like wipers and extra oil. For major stuff I always use this small garage near my house. I think I felt more let down than anything else. I never had a problem up to that point and it stuck me like a dagger. I got a call from the manager asking me to tell him the problem once again. I did and he apologized for any inconveniences. I asked him to remove me from their data base and when my particulars popped up he reminded me that I still had just a little over 3 years warranty left on the tires to my truck. So, I decided against it. However, what he didn't do, thankfully, was offer me some sort of gratuity. I wouldn't have liked that at all. BC, W5 did their annual service station checks across the country. They were trying to ascertain which dealerships gave the best deal and which dealerships were the biggest rip off. To do this, they put a fault on a car and submitted it to each dealership for assessment. The most expensive was Canadian Tire in Vancouver, who wanted well over $1,000; $1200 rings a bell though; for a plethora of faults. The least expensive was a small garage somewhere in the country that said, "no charge." The fault was a disconnected battery cable. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 4, 2009 19:44:55 GMT -5
Car horror stories....none. I repair my own, or at least use to until now. Now I need a Phd in rocket science to fix one. I think I already wrote a story back in these page about a rip-off garage that I worked for. And another story about a family member who was ripped off and I went with him to provide the ugly deterrent face. From my experience, a good percentage of small shops tend to be very dangerous unless you know them and they have a shred of honesty. Dealerships that have NO percentages to the mechaninc are far better. As for CT, I'm suprised that they work on percentage. Dis.....a bad bearing is easy to diagnose and it's rare. It's far more likely that you have a bad ball joint then a bad bearing. Second, if he really "diagnosed" a bad bearing, he can't really know if the bearing is a bit lose, no cost as it's really not much more then turning a nut to tighten it, OR the bearing is worn, which is a twenty dollar fix OR you have steering knuckle spindle damaged and he has to replace the entire assembly. Here is a very simple way for you to find out if you have a bad bearings. Jack up the car on the side that has this "bad" bearing. Take a hold of the wheel on TOP and BOTTOM and see if you detect any play. If you do, bearings inspection time. If the mechanic had your car already on a lift, opening the assebly and inspecting everything would have been a ten minute job for him.... Thanks HA. I think what miffed me the most was a sub-$100 job turning into a $400-plus job. I distinctly remember peaking inside, but keeping my cool as I asked him to put the car back together and take it down off the hoist. Where I was let down was when I asked the second mechanic if there was anything wrong with the bearing and he said, "no. It's fine. I drove it around the streets ... yadda, yadda, yadda ..." I really don't know a lot about cars so this thread is turning into an education of sorts. Thanks again. Cheers. |
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