How to approach mechanic

-Mike-

-Mike-

-Mike-

Soldato
Joined
22 Dec 2002
Posts
10,165
Location
Minehead
My car now, for the second day is still having its clutch and gearbox fitted. Diary is a little like this

Guy tells me drop it there monday night so its cold for him tuesday morning (will be done tuesday afternoon)

Tuesday evening 5pm - I ring to find out what the story is and how bad my old clutch was....... to which he tells me its not finished as he had a late start. Apparently it will be done today by lunchtime and he will ring me.

Fast forward to now 16:43 - No phone call, no nothing and it was supposed to be done at lunch time. I have just sent him a text message to which no response.

I'm a little annoyed at the lack of communication and the amount of time its taking him to do this. Problem being im friends with his son and his dad always knows when I find something wrong with my car. I dont want to fall out with him but surely this takes the michael somewhat?

What do i do? :(
 
D4VE said:
Call him. My experience is when someone promises to call, they don't.
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He did it last time when I had my left wishbone and droplink etc replaced. Said it would be done, and then oh it isnt finished it will be tomorrow. I'll wait until 5pm and if i've not heard then i shall ring.

Just really irritating, because while he seems cheap, the job takes forever to get done and lack of communication. Surely communication is important in any business.
 
Keep on top of it mate. Its not a good feeling if you not happy with what someone is doing to your car.

I gave a garage my Nissan GTIR to change the clutch. Took them 2 weeks to do and then they tried to charge me for taking too long. I told them to take the engine out and they tried to do it in situ and made a mess of it.

They threatened legal action and I said take your best shot - not a word! :)
 
EddScott said:
Keep on top of it mate. Its not a good feeling if you not happy with what someone is doing to your car.

I gave a garage my Nissan GTIR to change the clutch. Took them 2 weeks to do and then they tried to charge me for taking too long. I told them to take the engine out and they tried to do it in situ and made a mess of it.

They threatened legal action and I said take your best shot - not a word! :)
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Its not an engine out job on my 306 though is it? Shocking that they tried to bodge a car like yours ;) I wonder if my new clutch even gets fitted to be honest :mad:
 
Well he finally rang, when I asked how much he said he hadn't worked it out :( Could be interesting to say the least! Just going to get it now, I shall report back :)
 
-Mike- said:
Well he finally rang, when I asked how much he said he hadn't worked it out :( Could be interesting to say the least! Just going to get it now, I shall report back :)
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That means you wont be happy with the price and he doesnt want you ranting on the phone.... heheh usually
 
Its so hard trying to find a decent garage. Most of the garages round here look really dodgy and the expereince I've had with them is that they never ring you, it's always you chasing them :mad: The only garage I have had decent serivce from is my local Hi-Q, rang me 3 times to let me know the progress of the work done on it and it was fixed the same day I dropped it off. Was quite expensive though :(
 
next time include a late delivery penalty in the agreed price due to his inconsistent estimates.. that way you will at least get an honest timeframe

:D
 
Well I've got the car back, and been driving it for the last 3 hours or so. Its soooo nice to drive compared to what it was. I can turn the stereo off and all I hear is wind noise/tyres. The clutch took some getting used to, it bites practically as soon as you move your foot now.

Unfortunately due to the above and me being happy with it I didn't moan at all :(

Can any of you tell me if his diagnosis is right - when braking/accelerating hard the car pulls to one side. Now ages ago I had one track control arm and wishbone replaced, I thought it might need the other and he confirmed it. He wants £20 to change all that and me supply the bits. Reasonable? Correct diagnosis?
 
-Mike- said:
Can any of you tell me if his diagnosis is right - when braking/accelerating hard the car pulls to one side. Now ages ago I had one track control arm and wishbone replaced, I thought it might need the other and he confirmed it. He wants £20 to change all that and me supply the bits. Reasonable? Correct diagnosis?
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Sure the car just doesnt need tracking itself, if the toe/camber is off then that would cause this to happen.
 
Berger said:
Sure the car just doesnt need tracking itself, if the toe/camber is off then that would cause this to happen.
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No mate, I'm not sure of anything at all! When the left side was done however you could see that the gubbins of the wishbone and whatever other bit I had were very old. The car has done 141k and I've got nothing in the service history about the suspension components so it would make sense I guess (bar the work I had done).

Cheers for your help :)
 
cars can appear to pull when braking hard, moreso than accelerating, but if it does it too much then it needs tracking. did you get it tracked after you replaced the wishbones/balljoints?

£20 to do the other side is a GOOD price.
 
chopchop said:
cars can appear to pull when braking hard, moreso than accelerating, but if it does it too much then it needs tracking. did you get it tracked after you replaced the wishbones/balljoints?

£20 to do the other side is a GOOD price.
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He said he had it tracked up, I shall get the other side done and pay for some laser alignment I guess. Sensible idea?
 
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