I'm so disappointed in my mechanic that I could scream! (Evans City: inspection, to live)

[Hopes]

I loved my mechanic. I truly did. He always stuck with his quotes, never charged me extra.

I had been having problems on my left front side for a while. I can't remember all of the details over the past years, but I recall I could hear something on the left front side and my steering wheel would shake at high speeds or when I put on the breaks. It kept passing inspection via different shops even though I kept complaining about it.

At the end of the summer, I had new front struts put on my car by this mechanic I trust. When I picked it up, it drove smoother but the steering wheel felt tight and it squeaked. Within a few days, there was a brief clanking sound, like a bolt fell off. I took it back to the mechanic, he replaced the strut on the left side for free. It was under warranty.

Yesterday, my right front tire got a nail in it. I took it to Sears to get two new front tires. The Sears mechanic told me that the left front tire was worn down because my lower ball bearing was the wrong size. He could tell that the work was new. Since it's under warranty, he recommended I take it back to where the work was done.

BUT I'm furious. I asked the Sears mechanic how this could happen. He said that the other mechanics either didn't know what they were doing or they knowingly put the wrong size on my car. Well, both scenarios are unacceptable to me. Even though it's under warranty, I'm not thrilled about taking my car back there. They've had it twice and never truly fixed this problem.

It's under $200 to have it fixed at Sears. I'm tempted to just have the work done there. After all, the Sears mechanic found the problem I've been complaining about to so many people over the years without me even complaining to him about it. I just don't like the idea of making Sears my regular mechanic.

Even though this post is a vent, I'm mostly wondering if anyone has a great mechanic they can recommend. I can't tell you how many times I almost bought a new car over this. All I need is a good mechanic. I'll drive anywhere for a good mechanic.

[Lost_In_Translation]

How do you know the sears mechanic is correct?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

How do you know the sears mechanic is correct?

Because I have still been having problems with my left front end. And, the mechanic showed us the left front tire. It was all mangled up. My tires were new, put on when the other work was done less than 6 months ago. It shouldn't have been screwed up like that. The right front tire, the one that got the nail, wasn't mangled like the left tire.

I will call my mechanic on Monday. He is honest. If they screwed up, he'll admit it. I just don't understand how his shop could have my car twice for the same problem and miss this both times.

[South Range Family]

Lower ball bearing would really be a LOWER BALL JOINT. Shaking while putting on the brakes would be a warped rotor. I would stay away from Sears.

[cooky01]

I've been taking our cars to this shop for the past six years through my colleague's referral, and I love them.
Their price may not be cheapest, but they are straight shooters.

One time I complained to them about a weird noise coming from my previous old VW Passat.
They basically said they could fix it but didn't recommend it, because it came w/ the age of the car, and I would just be wasting my money.
I've never had any mechanic turning money away like that.

I used to live farther away from their shop, but was willing to drive the distance just to have someone I could trust work on my cars.

Stebler Auto
724.538.4838
1236 Mars Evans City Rd
Mars, PA 16046

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Because I have still been having problems with my left front end. And, the mechanic showed us the left front tire. It was all mangled up. My tires were new, put on when the other work was done less than 6 months ago. It shouldn't have been screwed up like that. The right front tire, the one that got the nail, wasn't mangled like the left tire.

I will call my mechanic on Monday. He is honest. If they screwed up, he'll admit it. I just don't understand how his shop could have my car twice for the same problem and miss this both times.

Could be some other issue that's manifested itself. Not saying that your mechanic didn't screw up, but I wouldn't assume a sears mechanic knows a bearing from a bushing

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by South Range Family

Lower ball bearing would really be a LOWER BALL JOINT.

The Sears mechanic says that the ball inside the lower ball joint is the wrong size.

Originally Posted by South Range Family

Shaking while putting on the brakes would be a warped rotor.

I had the rotor replaced when I had the new struts installed. I've read today that worn out ball bearing joints can cause the shaking too. I didn't just have shaking when putting on breaks. I also had shaking at high speeds too. And it has been shaking again, not to the extreme it was in the past, but the problem was clearly not resolved.

Originally Posted by South Range Family

I would stay away from Sears.

That's my instinct; however, he wasn't trying to get my business. He recommended I take it back to where the work was done.

[wanderlust76]

I also have a bad Sears auto story I wouldn't be so quick to throw away your current mechanic. Noone is perfect and cars are getting harder and harder to work on. Which is why used cars are more of a pain than they were back in the day. My car was overheating and no coolant leak or anything could be spotted. They said I had a crack somewhere in my head, not a cheap fix, and it was beyond the scope of work that they do there.

I took it to a backyard mechanic and all I needed was a new thermostat.

Shaking at high speeds can be a lot of things including warped tires in general, not just warped rotors. This can be caused just by not rotating enough but also it can be caused by a worn out suspension system which does wierd things to tires. Even ones that are not very old.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by cooky01

I've been taking our cars to this shop for the past six years through my colleague's referral, and I love them.
Their price may not be cheapest, but they are straight shooters.

One time I complained to them about a weird noise coming from my previous old VW Passat.
They basically said they could fix it but didn't recommend it, because it came w/ the age of the car, and I would just be wasting my money.
I've never had any mechanic turning money away like that.

I used to live farther away from their shop, but was willing to drive the distance just to have someone I could trust work on my cars.

Stebler Auto
724.538.4838
1236 Mars Evans City Rd
Mars, PA 16046

Thanks for the recommendation. Mars is more convenient for us than where I have been going. I've been driving into the eastern suburbs for this mechanic. I'll definitely give your recommendation a try. Hubby might even know them because he grew up in that area.

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Could be some other issue that's manifested itself. Not saying that your mechanic didn't screw up, but I wouldn't assume a sears mechanic knows a bearing from a bushing

Understood. I'm calling my mechanic tomorrow. I'm so tempted to go car shopping. I'm sick of this.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by wanderlust76

I also have a bad Sears auto story I wouldn't be so quick to throw away your current mechanic.

I know. I'm going to call him. I'm just upset. I'm glad they were closed yesterday. I have time to calm down before calling.

Originally Posted by wanderlust76

Shaking at high speeds can be a lot of things including warped tires in general, not just warped rotors. This can be caused just by not rotating enough but also it can be caused by a worn out suspension system which does wierd things to tires. Even ones that are not very old.

If it needs a new suspension, I practically have a new front end. I keep fixing this car because it has a new transmission in it.

At some point, I need to cut my losses, but I love this car!