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Generally a mechanic will not remove a part w/o having a NEW one on hand or positive that a supplier will have the CORRECT one in stock/delivered. As for replacing that part (small I would hope) can/does happen on some occasions.
Did they charge you for the R&R labor?
I am a retired mechanic/business owner and pulled my engine for a ring job while giving a parts place the CORRECT part number and they still got the wrong part for me. Three days later they finally came up with the CORRECT part.
What does happen is that a company will have their own in house parts ID number system that creates some headache.
I also owned a parts house and knew the part number by memory so someone goofed down the line.
Now days so much garbage calling itself "imported from ........."
New car recalls that had some part made in another country that have a common failure.....air bags anyone?
I took my car into Sears auto center for an oil change. I didn't hear the rattling and the constant tapping until the next day because I wasn't running my a/c on full blast. So I called Sears to explain the issue and they said cars sometimes do make strange rattling noises. I explained to the guy that new vehicles don't, and this noise was not here the day before I had the oil change. The mechanic told me to bring it in. When I brought it in, the mechanic said I would be charged $25 inspection fee. Nope, whatever they did during the oil change is causing the noise, therefore, I will not pay the fee. The mechanic said if its something they did, the fee will be waived. Turns out, during the oil change, the mechanic forgot to install the splash guard, so it was causing the rattling. The mechanic tried to hand me the keys and ignore the fact that I was right.
I have a 1998 Dodge van (B1500 5.2) I took it into the shop for a front end repair.
They had told me "It's dangerous to drive on this, it needs repair"
Fine, have the $$$ now and so I put it in the shop.
Get a call at 3 pm "We didn't fix it" They are claiming the owner didn't like the quality of the replacement parts. Yet, they didn't call me for MY choice and they put the old parts back on......
Whenever you go to any shop for repairs. You need to STAY at the shop.
I would never ever leave a vehicle at a shop and just say "Fix it".
As a one time shop owner and long time manager I'd have to say that the shop went around the normal conventions with respect to customer communication. 1998 is a way back there in the parts world and they probably got a part from an aftermarket supplier, OEM parts most likely not being available on a stat basis.You didn't state what the particular problem was nor did you state what parts are in question, that alone may be enough to suspect that you may not have a very good understanding of the front end mechanics of your vehicle nor the level of "danger" they were implying in their initial diagnoses.
Talk it over in detail with the shop manager, not fully understanding the problem may drive you to unnecessarily seek another shop's advice and further complicate things. There is usually a good explanation for shop managers decisions, no parts means getting the vehicle out of the production area and re-stage the days work accordingly. Putting the old parts back on may not be the best solution for driving the vehicle, but, it does make it movable, and that is simply accommodating the shop and not you, ask them to give you a full explanation of the car's current safety status before driving it .
As a one time shop owner and long time manager I'd have to say that the shop went around the normal conventions with respect to customer communication. 1998 is a way back there in the parts world and they probably got a part from an aftermarket supplier, OEM parts most likely not being available on a stat basis.You didn't state what the particular problem was nor did you state what parts are in question, that alone may be enough to suspect that you may not have a very good understanding of the front end mechanics of your vehicle nor the level of "danger" they were implying in their initial diagnoses.
Talk it over in detail with the shop manager, not fully understanding the problem may drive you to unnecessarily seek another shop's advice and further complicate things. There is usually a good explanation for shop managers decisions, no parts means getting the vehicle out of the production area and re-stage the days work accordingly. Putting the old parts back on may not be the best solution for driving the vehicle, but, it does make it movable, and that is simply accommodating the shop and not you, ask them to give you a full explanation of the car's current safety status before driving it .
Agreed. This needs to be a conversation with the shop manager. Knowing that Dodge is having a LOT of problems with front end components, including several redesigned OEM torsion struts and sway bars that are still not as good as aftermarket (MOOG) brands, they may have gotten a part that was either the wrong component or they felt was not up to par with their standards.
A shop will not roll your vehicle back out without fixing it if there isn't a real problem. They want your money, remember? They are not in business to have you leave without fixing your vehicles, so go talk to them and find out what is going on. In the adult world we call this communication. Some people even do it face-to-face, rather than on a forum with only one side being represented.
As Steve Bagu pointed out that "Generally" a mechanic won't pull a part without having one on hand. Usually that's correct, but I have spoken with other shop owners and they may have 3-4 mechs and 9 cars in various repair states. That way they can keep their good mechs busy all the time and make the $$$ roll in.
In fact, previously to this repair, this same shop replaced my water pump (That's how I came to know them) and in fact, the shop owner said "The first part was bad, we had to order another one"
This tells me, that if the parts WERE questionable, then they'd have reordered the parts and (Hopefully) called me. They did neither, so, recalling the conversation with the receptionist, I got underneath the van last night....Not a damn thing had been touched....
Not a bit of grease was off the nuts, the pins were still holding the castle nuts in place and nothing was disturbed.
In short, they never touched my van except for the damn oil change. Instead of admitting they were overbooked, they simply lied and IGNORED my vans need for repairs....They KNEW the condition, they KNEW I need this done...If their lack of concern for my life isn't enough for them to be honest....Well, why risk my life with them anymore?
Thanks again all, this shop is on my poop list for good.
As Steve Bagu pointed out that "Generally" a mechanic won't pull a part without having one on hand. Usually that's correct, but I have spoken with other shop owners and they may have 3-4 mechs and 9 cars in various repair states. That way they can keep their good mechs busy all the time and make the $$$ roll in.
In fact, previously to this repair, this same shop replaced my water pump (That's how I came to know them) and in fact, the shop owner said "The first part was bad, we had to order another one"
This tells me, that if the parts WERE questionable, then they'd have reordered the parts and (Hopefully) called me. They did neither, so, recalling the conversation with the receptionist, I got underneath the van last night....Not a damn thing had been touched....
Not a bit of grease was off the nuts, the pins were still holding the castle nuts in place and nothing was disturbed.
In short, they never touched my van except for the damn oil change. Instead of admitting they were overbooked, they simply lied and IGNORED my vans need for repairs....They KNEW the condition, they KNEW I need this done...If their lack of concern for my life isn't enough for them to be honest....Well, why risk my life with them anymore?
Thanks again all, this shop is on my poop list for good.
If you has 99 or higher car invested in OSD II code reader for your car
As Steve Bagu pointed out that "Generally" a mechanic won't pull a part without having one on hand. Usually that's correct, but I have spoken with other shop owners and they may have 3-4 mechs and 9 cars in various repair states. That way they can keep their good mechs busy all the time and make the $$$ roll in.
In fact, previously to this repair, this same shop replaced my water pump (That's how I came to know them) and in fact, the shop owner said "The first part was bad, we had to order another one"
This tells me, that if the parts WERE questionable, then they'd have reordered the parts and (Hopefully) called me. They did neither, so, recalling the conversation with the receptionist, I got underneath the van last night....Not a damn thing had been touched....
Not a bit of grease was off the nuts, the pins were still holding the castle nuts in place and nothing was disturbed.
In short, they never touched my van except for the damn oil change. Instead of admitting they were overbooked, they simply lied and IGNORED my vans need for repairs....They KNEW the condition, they KNEW I need this done...If their lack of concern for my life isn't enough for them to be honest....Well, why risk my life with them anymore?
Thanks again all, this shop is on my poop list for good.
Of course. All these lines the shop gave you are bulli**** lines I have heard before by crooked mechanics.
You should report them to the BBB and local consumer affairs. The "your car is unsafe" line is the oldest one in the book. These guys couldn't give a fVck if a customer mowed down a school bus full of nuns.
As I probably stated above being a former Mechanic/Business owner and now retired (age 84) I last week pulled my VW engine for possible new rings depending on what was found upon disassemble. No score marks so a ring job would suffice.
Honed the cyls and checked the valves in the heads......all okay.
Now getting the Correct rings was another matter. Do have many part numbers by memory with my old catalogs for backup and still it took a week to get the correct part. (American GRANT rings in a VW)
As for the OP situation a after mkt part may or may not be correct via a experienced visual inspection by a mechanic. Giving all the newer models and overlapping of some parts yr to yr a problem could be an issue (been there and seen that)
Anyway my Turbo custom engine runs like a sewing machine...rings worked out well and the 30 mile test drive today was like being in a NEW car.
Last edited by Steve Bagu; 06-14-2016 at 04:02 PM..
Reason: add info
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