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Mechanic ripped me off
lynn8577
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Recently took my car to a mechanic shop because I was having engine trouble The mechanic did diagnostics and said my car had backfired and also needed A new cylinder and spark plugs charge me $640 picked up my car drove it less than 8 miles the oil light came on and a rod started knocking he refuses to get any money back any suggestions on what I could do I already filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau
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Back charges are less likely to succeed if you file them online.
That, and new plugs/pistons wouldn't be $640, and you don't just do one cylinder...
Can you get more details from the actual work order and the specific wording used on the repair? It may help some of us who are more car savvy to aide in identifying what this mechanic MAY have done.
Who picked up and drove the car when it went to shit? I feel like you mean you did (after he was done), but it reads both ways.
Was the $640 a diagnostic fee or was any repair work actually performed?
If the former, I don't think you have any grounds to ask for it back.
Valve cover gasket removal and replace
Spark plug -laser lridium
Ignition coil
Spark plug boot Coil on plug
He told me the car was only running on four cylinders
Disregard. You have clarified some points I was giving him the benefit of the doubt on.
"Not it"
Spark plug removal and replace
Spark plug -laser lridium
"Nope, that's not it"
Spark plug boot Coil on plug
"Still not helping. Fuck it..."
Ignition coil
One mystery solved.
If that is your yard/driveway/garage go get some cat litter and soak that up before it becomes runoff. Then shovel it into a bucket and take it to your hazardous waste processor in your county.
based on the work performed it seems like all that happened was he put some new plugs and wires on the cylinders that weren't working
and if they weren't running for a really long time it probably dredged up some new issues
you might want to consider a universe where this isn't strictly the mechanic's fault
what kind of car is this, how old is it, how many miles are on it, and when's the last time you had it serviced in any way?
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Speaking as a mechanic, leaking valve covers can absolutely ruin spark plugs and boots, and it's entirely possible for a bad plug to take out a coil. These repairs from the standpoint of a misfire are absolutely plausible. When you drove the vehicle away, was the misfire gone?
If a technician replaced a valve cover, I would expect them to check the engine oil level and condition.
I'm assuming that this is what your oil looked like after the engine started making horrible noises? There is metal shards in there, and that type of internal mechanical failure is not caused directly by anything the mechanic would have done.
This looks like one of two things to me:
1. Neither you or the mechanic checked your oil, and it got run dry. This is bad, and bad things happened as a result.
2. The vehicle has been running on a misfire for so long, that unburnt fuel filled your oil pan. This diluted your engine oil, causing a severe lack of lubrication, causing your engine to grenade. Again, this is bad, and a bad thing happened.
I can't be sure, but I would dare to bet that #2 is what actually happened. There was probably very little a tech could have done to prevent internal damage, depending on how long the misfire was driven for. You could talk to a lawyer, but mechanics don't have magic wands, and they can't predict catastrophic failure in the shop if the vehicle isn't presenting that symptom (you brought it in for a misfire, not a knocking sound as I understand).
I'm sorry this happened to you, but it doesn't look like the mechanic's fault.
It's in a oil pan
I only drove it less than a half a mile on the misfire. And parked it he only drove the car 2 miles the whole time it was in the shop I'm almost wondering if something happened when he was driving it
These failures can be a long time coming. I damaged my engine 9 months before the barely audible rattle of the initial harm suddenly degraded into something frightful and worth investigating.
Your car may have been fatally wounded long before you saw this guy and it just took it this long to die.
From what tone I've seen here, I imagine the third option is not possible as rightly or wrongly you and the mechanic have had words. I'd focus on what is most important to you, time or justice. If you go to small claims, even if you do find a way to prove the mechanic was at fault (which would take considerable evidence) it will not be a quick or cheap process and will probably cost you your lost total by time you see the end, and there is no certainty the judge will rule in your favor. Were it me, I'd take this as a sign to get a new/less worn used car and stop throwing money after something that will likely cost more than the car is worth.
I know I can file in small claims court for around 100 bucks and I have quite a few attorney friends that would help me prove the case this guy has bad reviews on Google also so I know I am not the only one he tried to screw over I honestly believe he knew the rod was knocking and was trying to get more money out of me he also try to charge me $700 for two oxygen sensors. And it was a Lexus SUV that still has quite a high value
Situation generally remains the same. Go to claims, or get the car repaired/replaced and move on.
I know this
Also filing in small claims and even winning doesn't guarantee an easy fix. You still have to collect.
Personally I think there's a chance the mechanic may have missed something, but I don't think the mechanic is 100% at fault here. I think this was just bad luck with a vehicle with some compounded factors.
If you're dead set on small claims go for it, but I'd walk away from this.
You took a high value luxury brand SUV to some cut rate dude with bad reviews?
I did not know he had bad reviews until after I got my car back
With the internet, that can help a lot. Always shop around wherever you can, and if you have to tow your car to get to a good mechanic, it is usually worth the $100 bucks to get it there. Since this is a lexus, I would nearly always work with the dealership or a specialty mechanic that focuses on Lexus/Mercedes brands. As much as it sucks, odds of recovering $600 bucks and being able to prove negligence are gonna be low. I'd tow the car to a dealership to see what will be needed to get it back into working order and, based off of that quote, determine your legal goals/if it is worth focusing on. It's no small amount of money for an individual, but for the likely 10-20 hours of time plus uncertainty in proving it, less legal costs, you probably won't come up even with small claims.
There is a lot of good in this article, even if not all of it is particularly useful for the average fellow: http://jalopnik.com/5930824/ten-ways-to-find-a-good-mechanic/
I agree with everything else, but just be careful regarding dealerships. In my experience, dealerships tend to be very interested in greatly increasing repair costs, and inventing things that your car doesn't need, just to increase the bill. I once had a dealership add in a "Complimentary Car Wash" that I never approved and never asked for, and despite the name, charged me $20 for it. I had a friend try to bring his car in to his dealership and they charged him $60 for a simple oil change...and they changed the sensitivity of his brakes without his approval and without even asking him, and added that to his bill.
If you bring it to a dealership I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to convince you that there was something wrong with your car that could only be repaired by that dealership. Maybe not, but just a word of caution.
Yeah, if you can find a well reviewed Lexus mechanic outside the dealership I'd try them first but if the dealership is all you got then at least you know they're people who dig around in those sorta cars all day for a living and know what they're looking at.
Also holy shit that is a terrifying amount of carbon your engine vomited out. That's like cleaning out the airbox of an older model EMD status amount >_>
@BouwsT I thought it was quite entertaining that you could use the charges list to follow the mechanic's train of thought. I certainly wasn't trying to imply he went too far.
I think that's just a side effect of the explosion in the engine that kicked this all off.
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I usually see that shit at places like Midas.
The ones around here are honest, but will upcharge like a mother.