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wolfwingsTwo days ago, I got my driver-side front drive axle and CV boot assembly replaced. It's been clicking, as the CV boot was torn nearly off and had no grease inside, and I ran that poor axle into the ground.
I'm annoyed. I came in, said, and I quote, "Hi, how much to replace the driver-side front drive axle on a 1985 Honda Civic 3-door Hatchback with the 1.3 litre engine and a 4-speed manual transmission?"
Can you get much more specific in what service you're requesting than that? I just detailed what year, make, model, body style, engine, and transmission assembly the car has, and what part I want what done to.
This shop has always been populated by people that have English as a second language every time I've gone there. There's a reason I research what I want done before-hand, and an so explicit when I drop the car off. It's cheap, and fast service.
Apparently, they just hired someone that... well, to say they speak fluent English is an understatement. They have a mastery more commonly found in used car salesmen and lawyers, and they stand out among everyone else there like a dandelion in a coal heap, a glaringly pale, balding, slightly overweight cauccasion among a shop full of wirey, tanned Vietnamese and Mexicans.
Anyways, to make a long story short... previously, on the drive to work, there is a steep hill I have to drive over. Before getting my drive axle replaced, I could cruise over the hill in 3rd gear at approximately 55mph, with the speed limit benig 50mph so this is a Good Thing. On the highway there, I could hit 85mph if I needed to pass a fast moving vehicle for some reason.
Now, I can't even make 40mph on the same hill in second gear. And I can't even break 70mph on the freeway. And it's now running so roughly that I feel just about every single RPM in my seat, it's 'rumbling' along so strongly now. Before, it purred, and was a very quiet-running engine.
To say I'm pissed is an understatement. I looked over the 'worksheet' they gave me, with recommended maintenance. Reading it in detail, and comparing it with my previous work-notes... I see about ten red flags.
It claims I need a new distributor cap and rotor. Why the hell did they even touch the distributor at all when I was paying them to replace the drive axle? You can't reach the distributor assembly except from passenger-side top. You remove the drive axle from driver-side underneath. I know, I have a copy of the service manuals that detail the removal, and reassembly of the driveshaft components in explicit, vivid detail.
It also claims I need a tune-up and new spark plugs. Um... no. I just got a tune-up approximately 9-10 weeks ago. With new spark plugs.
Those are just the most glaring two attempted rip-offs they did. They're also claiming I have a bad enough brake leak in the rear passenger side (um, no, the front passenger and master cylinder are the ones with the blown seals, ThankYouVeryMuch) that I have no braking on that wheel so the car is unsafe to drive, because the drum brake assembly is being soaked in brake fluid. So why, when I was driving home and tested that on a straightaway with no traffic at a stoplight, did my rear wheels, both of them, lock up before and instead of my front wheels?
They are about... 20 minutes away from possibly getting reamed a new asshole, and if they don't fix my car so it runs well again... I will take them to court. Not for my money back, to force them to repair the car until it runs as well as it did. I may go to the mechanic for some things, but it's not because I don't know cars or how they work. It's because I don't have the tools or parts suppliers to do major repair work on them myself.
I'm annoyed. I came in, said, and I quote, "Hi, how much to replace the driver-side front drive axle on a 1985 Honda Civic 3-door Hatchback with the 1.3 litre engine and a 4-speed manual transmission?"
Can you get much more specific in what service you're requesting than that? I just detailed what year, make, model, body style, engine, and transmission assembly the car has, and what part I want what done to.
This shop has always been populated by people that have English as a second language every time I've gone there. There's a reason I research what I want done before-hand, and an so explicit when I drop the car off. It's cheap, and fast service.
Apparently, they just hired someone that... well, to say they speak fluent English is an understatement. They have a mastery more commonly found in used car salesmen and lawyers, and they stand out among everyone else there like a dandelion in a coal heap, a glaringly pale, balding, slightly overweight cauccasion among a shop full of wirey, tanned Vietnamese and Mexicans.
Anyways, to make a long story short... previously, on the drive to work, there is a steep hill I have to drive over. Before getting my drive axle replaced, I could cruise over the hill in 3rd gear at approximately 55mph, with the speed limit benig 50mph so this is a Good Thing. On the highway there, I could hit 85mph if I needed to pass a fast moving vehicle for some reason.
Now, I can't even make 40mph on the same hill in second gear. And I can't even break 70mph on the freeway. And it's now running so roughly that I feel just about every single RPM in my seat, it's 'rumbling' along so strongly now. Before, it purred, and was a very quiet-running engine.
To say I'm pissed is an understatement. I looked over the 'worksheet' they gave me, with recommended maintenance. Reading it in detail, and comparing it with my previous work-notes... I see about ten red flags.
It claims I need a new distributor cap and rotor. Why the hell did they even touch the distributor at all when I was paying them to replace the drive axle? You can't reach the distributor assembly except from passenger-side top. You remove the drive axle from driver-side underneath. I know, I have a copy of the service manuals that detail the removal, and reassembly of the driveshaft components in explicit, vivid detail.
It also claims I need a tune-up and new spark plugs. Um... no. I just got a tune-up approximately 9-10 weeks ago. With new spark plugs.
Those are just the most glaring two attempted rip-offs they did. They're also claiming I have a bad enough brake leak in the rear passenger side (um, no, the front passenger and master cylinder are the ones with the blown seals, ThankYouVeryMuch) that I have no braking on that wheel so the car is unsafe to drive, because the drum brake assembly is being soaked in brake fluid. So why, when I was driving home and tested that on a straightaway with no traffic at a stoplight, did my rear wheels, both of them, lock up before and instead of my front wheels?
They are about... 20 minutes away from possibly getting reamed a new asshole, and if they don't fix my car so it runs well again... I will take them to court. Not for my money back, to force them to repair the car until it runs as well as it did. I may go to the mechanic for some things, but it's not because I don't know cars or how they work. It's because I don't have the tools or parts suppliers to do major repair work on them myself.
Re: Oh, they didn't actually <b>replace</b> anything...
Date: 2005-01-22 05:04 pm (UTC)Good luck.