you will never believe what happen to me
By annjilena
@annjilena (5618)
United States
February 5, 2009 7:44pm CST
saturday night me and my grandson and daughter went to get something to eat my van just went dead in the middle of the street.tried to start it.it would not start so a man came up to me.and try to help me.meanwhile i called my son-in-law to come to help to move it out of the busy highway.he called another friend and three guys move the van to a well lighted bank.i knew it couldn,t stay there.so they try to get it start and finally they did i drove it home it barely made it before acting up.
next day i called my machanic he said it would be wednesday before he could tow it i felt this was to long i need my van to get around.however i was told of another mechanic i called he came and got the van in 45 minutes next he called and said it was ready.he even came and got me and took me to my van.
he was ticking and the ticking got worse we took it back guest what he told me i needed a engine.so if i needed a engine why did he tell me it was the timing chain and the oil seals he replaced.if i had known up front i needed a engine i would have paid for the tow and had the van junked and i could have used my 350.00dollars towards down payment on another car.
i felt this was dishonest i knew nothing about cars he knew it needed a engine.so what do you think was this right are not?how would you deal with this situation.
5 people like this
14 responses
@sanuanu (11235)
• India
6 Feb 09
This is always the case. The mechanics would never let you know about the exact problem. In my childhood, we had a B&W TV which was in a bad shape. It had some kind of problem. I took it to the mechanic and he told me that it would take 125 bucks to repair it. I gave it to him. The next day he told me that another part is damaged and we need to pay him extra Rs. 50 for that!
All in all they know that we don't know about mechanics. They just look to make money from it. That is the story.
1 person likes this
@annjilena (5618)
• United States
6 Feb 09
i said go see all thing that was honest money it was all i had he would not even come over to talk to us about the problem.this was so unprofessional i felt cheated because my van is still torn up and he stand ther laughing
1 person likes this
@sravani128 (65)
• India
6 Feb 09
i really feel very bad which happen to u....be strong at this time don't feel bad....
1 person likes this
@annjilena (5618)
• United States
6 Feb 09
i know i should but at the time he was all i had to dealt with.
@mentalward (14691)
• United States
6 Feb 09
If your engine just shut off like that, and he replaced your oil seals, I'd say that all he did initially was to put a 'bandaid' on it.
You may have needed a timing chain because I had a car once that just konked out like that in the middle of the road and that's what I needed. But, once it was replaced, the car was fine. Well, not quite fine. I did have an oil leak, too, but I ALWAYS checked the oil level each time I put gas in the car. Letting the oil run out will definitely damage your engine!
That ticking sound is a piston. That can be caused by lack of oil. I'd say there's a good chance that you DO NOT need a new engine, but you should have that piston fixed ASAP!!! I can't stress that enough! If you don't, it's gonna blow and THEN you'll definitely need a new engine. I know, that also happened to me.
You should report that mechanic to the Better Business Bureau. At the least, his methods are unethical. DON'T go to him for the piston repair! Take it to your regular mechanic and simply do not drive any more than absolutely necessary! Make SURE you have plenty of oil, too. If that ticking gets real loud, stop driving right away.
You really need those pistons looked at, right away! Good luck.
@annjilena (5618)
• United States
6 Feb 09
thanks mentalward iam just going to get rid of it and replace it i have had it two years now,iam just a little depressed how people will do you i would never take advantage of people like that.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
6 Feb 09
Hey annjilena! That's always the problem with mechanics when
they deal with women! They know that most women, not all of
them don't really know that much about cars and that's what
they are counting on! Especially if you don't know the
mechanic and he doesn't know you they will try to make as much
fast money as they possibly can and that's what this guy did!
He knew that you needed a new engine right away, but tried
to make some money anyway! I don't know if there is anything
that you can do being that you had already paid him! Next
time you should try to know your mechanic and be able to trust
him!
1 person likes this
@annjilena (5618)
• United States
6 Feb 09
i talked with my sister and he got her and my other sister i did not know it was him that did this.he don,t have to worry word of mouth can really slow business down for him.thanks for being concern and the advice
1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
6 Feb 09
Unfortunately these kinda jerks know that people don't know much about their trade and they take advantage of it. Luckily my grandfather taught me some basics because he was a mechanic. It's a shame you can't trust a "professional" to his trade without the worry of being taken for a ride. You should ask that 350 be put towards a new engine...very politely of course
It may be better just to replace it than buy a new car. Also..shop around. When I say this I mean estimates. That way you know what kind of price you should be looking at when negotiating him..with the 350 involved of course. If he gives you bull about it..pm me and I'll help you with this or at least try. Good luck.
It may be better just to replace it than buy a new car. Also..shop around. When I say this I mean estimates. That way you know what kind of price you should be looking at when negotiating him..with the 350 involved of course. If he gives you bull about it..pm me and I'll help you with this or at least try. Good luck.1 person likes this
@annjilena (5618)
• United States
6 Feb 09
thanks jen,i feel he must need it worse then i doif he have to steal it from me.nothing good will come of this money because of the way he got it.some how i will get another car but i will never require his service again are any of my friends.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
6 Feb 09
no not right that he didnt tell you it was the engine shot.
that sometimes happens when the timming chain goes.
THink I would turn him in to some place like BBB fo him not telling you up front.
MAybe your reg. machnic can rebuild the rngine!
1 person likes this
@skysuccess (8858)
• Singapore
6 Feb 09
annjilena,
Did you say that you have already paid for the "repairs"? I do not think you should be paying in the first place as the van had not been repaired and that this mechanic had been errant with his assessments.
I think you can bring this matter up with the local consumer protection body or legal counsel. I feel that you are entitled to a full refund here. Where I am from, we do not pay if the assessment and works are errant and even if we had paid there is a certain after service warranty period.
I suggest you check with the relevant authorities and have the money refunded back to you. I am sure you are entitled and right to do so here.
Have a nice day.
@Jenaisle (14078)
• Philippines
6 Feb 09
You're right, he should have told you earlier, so you would have the option of spending the money to buy a new one instead. I dislike it when people do these kind of methods to extract money from others. I call it dishonesty. Anyway, you should bring your van to another shop, he could do that again if you stay for his services. Good luck and happy mylotting.
@gracie04 (4549)
• Philippines
7 Feb 09
Oh my gosh, i hate it when it happens.. That's the problem with some mechanics(they are liars!).. They'll tell the customer that one part of the engine was broken so they need to fix it.. for sure, the next day another problem will arise.. oh, come on! same thing happened to our car. we have the car fixed so okay, we paid for PHP3,000. I thought it was the only thing needed to be fixed so when we were about to get the car, one of the mechanics informed my dad that he needs to replace something in the car so my dad got so mad.. He promised himself not to bring any of cars to those dishonest mechanics!
@messageme (2821)
• United States
13 Feb 09
That would piss me off!! It did when something similiar happen to me. My car broke down and the mechanic that came to look at it finally got it started so we drove it to his shop. It was there forever. He kept putting new things in it and still couldn't get it to work. Finally he told me he didn't know what was wrong with it and it pretty much just needed to go to the junk yard. He said he could call them for me and have them carry it away. I said that was fine because I knew my aunt had gotten me another car so I didn't have to worry abou this one. Well of course I owed this guy money for the work he had already done. I think I owed him like $200 or something. I asked him if I could just sign the title over to him then and he can use it as a parts car or send it to the junk yard if that would cover what I owed him. He agreed and not even a week after I signed the title to him, what do you know the car is up and running and he had sold it!!! I was told he sold it for way more than what I owed him!! I feel he should have at least gave me some of that money!!
@CRIVAS (1815)
• Canada
6 Feb 09
Well I have to say that I am not surprised. Mechanics are the worst sort, I have yet to meet an honest mechanic, in fact most of them out there, over charge and get you to buy things that you really don't need. I personally am very greatful that my husband and father in law know a lot about fixing cars because we haven't had to take ours to one yet. Hope you find a new vehicle and good luck.
