shonks & rippoffs

[vsl67]

Recently I had to replace my o2 sensors in my Vs statasman, they didnt want to come out to easily,after a lot of cursing I replaced the one on the passenger side with minium damage to the threaded hole in the extractor,no worries I thought ,the drivers side was easier to get too ,so it shouldnt be too hard ,boy was I wrong it completly stripped the hole in the extractor so after a couple more hours of trying to get the new one in I gave up (or maybe I just ran out of expletives) anyway I though it would be best left to the pro's , so I took the poor stato to a well known exhaust franchise and ask if they could run a thread in the o2 sensor hole or weld it up and make new one, after about ten minutes they told me that the extractor has to be dropped and the hole ground out and a new thread cut ,but first they had to remove the steering rack and I would need a wheel alignment ,the quote was geting bigger and bigger about $400+ , so I went somwhere else and ask them if they could do the same thing as before 15 minutes later & $30 it was fixed
This is not the first time Ive had this happen on other cars Ive had $800 quote to fix a rattle in the front end turns out to be one loose nut!
On my 57 pontiac ,a brake place poored brake fluid on the ground and told me it had been leaking and the hole system had to be rebuilt for $1700( it only went in for a brake booster diaphram )and has never leaked before or after that day Has anyone else had these exsperiences?

[Morton]

All the time. Just for laughs, I usually take my car down to the local Ultra Tune on the way home from Repco or Bursons, for a repair "quote" on the problem I'm about to fix. Sometimes their diagnosis is completely wrong, but usually involves the part that's actually broken, and a whole lot of expensive periphery that is totally unnecessary.

My favourite was an exhaust rattle (extractor on bellhousing) that was diagnosed as a broken link pin bush. (the guy didn't even look.) He said "$250, and I'll have it sorted by the end of the day".

[vsl67]

I dont know how these so called reputable businesses get away with this stuff,I think they prey on the inexperienced and nieve .I have heard stories of women going away crying after the news their cars is going to cost thousands to fix and all it might need is brake pads

[Grennan]

Yeah I had fun with my transmission - what i thought was the transmission. It felt like it was playing up. The car would surge into second. Took it for a service thinking yeah may just be a service issue. Guy kept telling me yeah its stuffed needs to be rebuilt etc etc. Then said ive also got a couple of minor leaks, power steering return hose etc and would cost 280 dollars to fix them all on top of the service to the trans. I said just give me the service thanks and was on my way.

Still wasnt fixed so I took it to a trusted mech that my friend works for. I told him to have a look at the problem and give me a price on a rebuilt while he installed my new shocks and springs. He changed the fuel filter and it was running perfectly again.

[Morton]

Oh, I like that one Grennan hahaha

[alien]

Yea, my mate asked a mechanic i know for just a tune, the guy tried telling him he needed a new dizzy cap (yet it was replaced by him just 2 weeks prior), power steering pump and a few other things. He's not an idiot and went with my advice for just a tune, and my mechanic mate didn't charge him for it when he found out he knew me.

I've never had a problem with that guy. He's always told me what's wrong (even though i already knew). However there have been a few things which i've had to tell him. Like the Fel-Pro gaskets (head and inlet manifold) not needing re-tensioning like he thought they did. I guess everyone is entitled to make mistakes once in a while.

[STEALTHY™]

I took profix to court and won, after they tried charging me for a rack that failed just after i picked the car up. Bastard claimed bankrupt, so i wont see a cent.

I make sure i tell everyone to stay away from them now.

[Zuicider]

it pretty much works on if the mechs want to really work on the car or not. if they dont they will get you to pay top dollar. mind you i had my vr at the mechs for 17 weeks. trying to sort out a problem that no one knew how to fix. he even asked the mechanics around his area *i know them too* and they had no idea. cost 2300 in parts and labour but they only charged me for 30 hours labour not 45- 50 as they believed they worked on my car

[vsl67]

I dont know of any auto transmission places Ive gone into who hasnt told me or mates there gearbox needs rebuilding no matter what the problem is,even if its a standard service and running perfectly I think its a standard line they use to try to get you buy a reco box

[faroogoo]

I go to my Local K-Mart auto store to get my work done the guy there is cool about it if you want HIM to work on the car.Also you get a written quote before they touch the car & he assured me before if anything is damaged i.e wheels scratched etc they will cover all the costs.

Never had 1 drama with those guys.

[vsl67]

thats pretty rough stealthy,I had another experience with rebuilding my 455 pontiac motor supplied all new parts and paid in advance (big mistake) it took 3 months longer than it should of ,got the car back on the road had nothing but troubles with the motor for about 7months until overheated so bad it burnt the piant of the block,when I stripped it down ,it had nothing I supplied (it was all second stock crap)plus they took my lumpy top pistons,guess what the shop had closed down

[vsl67]

Yer theres some good mechanics and shops around it always pay to get a second opinion ,and never tell them what they bloke before said until the jobs over

[STEALTHY™]

thats pretty rough stealthy,I had another experience with rebuilding my 455 pontiac motor supplied all new parts and paid in advance (big mistake) it took 3 months longer than it should of ,got the car back on the road had nothing but troubles with the motor for about 7months until overheated so bad it burnt the piant of the block,when I stripped it down ,it had nothing I supplied (it was all second stock crap)plus they took my lumpy top pistons,guess what the shop had closed down

It was worse because i paid him $1200 to do the rack. Then it blew straight away, i rang him and he said bring it in in the morning. Went to pick it up, and they showed me a bill for $1100. They wouldn't release the car unless i paid half, so i paid $500, and took them to court. I should've sued for the whole 1700 just because he was a moron about it.

[vsl67]

sounds like they have had plenty of practice at it , did they give you anything in writing a reciept which was itemised for the original work and some kind of warranty? or did they just give you a reciept saying repairs for X amount so they could get out of any claims?

[STEALTHY™]

sounds like they have had plenty of practice at it , did they give you anything in writing a reciept which was itemised for the original work and some kind of warranty? or did they just give you a reciept saying repairs for X amount so they could get out of any claims?

Yeah it was all itemised, and 3 months part warranty, 12 month labour warranty. I barely made it home , so unless the warranty was a carpark warranty, they should have been covering it.

There was no way i was leaving my car there, which is the only reason i paid them 500, with every intention to take him to small claims court. He didn't even bother showing up, but as soon as i showed the recipt for one day, and the 2nd recipt a day later for the same work, the judge ruled in my favour.


Coincidently, the guy also had a VP SS, i realise now he was after my motor. When the extractor gasket went, his words were 'this motor is ****ed, you'll need a new one'. Good try, but not biting!

[vsl67]

sounds like real sob ,Ill bet he will open up again under a different name sooner or later,and the business will be registered to a relative so hes untouchable

[STEALTHY™]

Yeah i've seen him drving a modded VX SS, If i ever see him doing business, i'll be sure to stand out the front day in day out and tell my story to his new customers

[DannyboyDS]

why not just bang his wife? Stealthy its a shame that things like this happen, did you also go through fair trading? i'm sure you could have him stripped of his papers somehow.

[STEALTHY™]

why not just bang his wife? Stealthy its a shame that things like this happen, did you also go through fair trading? i'm sure you could have him stripped of his papers somehow.

I didn't need to, other businesses that had dealt with him took care of that. It wasn't long after i filed court docs that he was closed down. The shop still runs, but not sure who owns it now, and particularly don't care, thee all getting tarred with the same brush now (Except the Port Adelaide pro fix, top blokes there)


lol, just realised it looks like i'm referring to the bang his missus. Don't think he has a missus.

[commsirac]

On my 57 pontiac ,a brake place poUred brake fluid on the ground and told me it had been leaking and the hole system had to be rebuilt for $1700( it only went in for a brake booster diaphram )and has never leaked before or after that day Has anyone else had these exsperiences?

Ive heard of that happening a few times at those franchaise brake service places......
One reported that they showed a leak under the master cylinder, wiping it on a rag and it wasnt even the same colour as what was inside the master cylinder!(brake fluid comes in different colours)
Id never take my car to one of them, they survive by preying on the average persons fear of the brakes failing due to skimping on costs. I recently tried to get the guy that I allow to work on my car to replace the pads and machine the discs. He told me he reckoned they was at least another 20% left in them and no point machining the rotors til then, with my driving is probably another 20000km..lol. Had to talk him into doing a brake fluid flush.

[vsl67]

yer its unbelievable what some people try to get away with, hopefully other ppl will read this thread and be made aware these ppl are out there especially those new to the car scene and also i think it is important that ppl spread the word about them but even more so they tell everyone about the really good mechanics and shops so they can avoid being ripped off