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Vehicle Service Rant

post #1 of 39
5/8/08 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 
A little background ... I am a Car Girl. I love cars. I love to drive them, I love to race them, I love to work on them with my own two little French-manicured hands.

This is my car.



It was a very special gift from my husband and I take ~extremely~ good care of it. In fact, over the last several months, I have put a lot of time and an absolute poo-pot full of money in making modifications to this car to get it race-ready. I spent the better part of last weekend detailing it - it was dusty and the redline paint really shows that sort of stuff.

All of the things I have done to this car have been both time-consuming as well as very expensive. I have dropped LOTS of money into my mechanic's shop and until today, I have been very satisfied with the way he has both worked on AND handled my car.

Anyway, I had my shop put a stiffer racing suspension in the car and I picked it up today.

I am LIVID! The car is absolutely filthy, inside and out! There is nearly 150 more miles on the car than it had when it rolled into their shop and about a third less gas in the tank!! When I got to the shop to pick it up, they had left it out in the rain with the windows down!!!!!!

So, what, in your opinion do I do? Do I contact the owner and complain or do I shut up about it and just find another mechanic for the rest of the work I want done?

Or a third option ... am I being a big cry baby? *smile*
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post #2 of 39
5/8/08 at 5:01pm
Nice car Gaye!

I'd have a few choice words with the owner of the shop, and demand an explanation. 150 more miles? That's totally unacceptable.

I have a MB E500 and if any of what happened to you and your car, happened to mine, I would come completely unglued.

One of the techs had to be joy riding your car. Contact the owner asap, is my suggestion.

And, no absolutely not, you're not being a cry baby.
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post #3 of 39
5/8/08 at 5:07pm
What he said, Gaye! I'm not sure I could speak in anything approaching a civil tone of voice if something like that happened to me.
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post #4 of 39
5/8/08 at 5:26pm
Thread Starter 
I realize that there are a lot worse things to get fired up over than this, honestly I do. But, I mean ... this is a very expensive, income-producing vehicle. It is not a "street" car. It cannot be driven to the local Food Lion or Home Depot. It is a road-race car. It doesn't understand stop lights and rush hour traffic. And it isn't legal for that kind of day-to-day driving. If it has to go somewhere other than on the track, it is trailer'ed.

If there were just a few little raindrop stains on the hood, I could let that slip. If there were a small handful of extra miles on the car and I knew for a surety that it hadn't been on the road, well, ok - I don't like it, but I can also let it slide off. But there was a thick layer of caked-on red-clay MUD all over the underspoilers and sideskirts, the windshield was almost greasy with some kind of I-don't-know-what and just the sheer thought of some snot-nosed kid tech abusing my car is making me so angry that all I can see is that $8500 redline paint job and the laser-etched NISMO logo ... all smeared over with crap from the road!!!!

*sigh* My hobbies are getting way too stressful and expensive.
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post #5 of 39
5/8/08 at 5:29pm
FIRST ... DO number 3 .....

Then GIVE the owner a piece of your mind
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post #6 of 39
5/8/08 at 5:47pm
It is standard procedure for vehicles to be kept outside. BMWs, MB, etc. My husband's place keeps them in a parking garage, but that is usual. Did you specifically request that it be kept inside? Were you willing to pay for that service. Mechanics often have two stalls working at the same time - they can work on one while waiting on parts for the other. If you car is kept inside, it takes away from the mechanics income.

Windows down - their error and not a good one.

Are you positive about the mileage? After putting in new parts, the car is often test driven to look for any problems. It is not ususual for it to take several attempts to get the effect that picky customers want, and that takes time.
Quite honestly, most mechanics don't like to test drive the vehicles as that is money out of their pocket since they can't charge for it.
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post #7 of 39
5/8/08 at 5:57pm
I'd be saying something. that is wrong. It doesn't matter if it is a race car or a junker, they have no right to put that kind of mileage on it.
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post #8 of 39
5/8/08 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
FIRST ... DO number 3 .....

Then GIVE the owner a piece of your mind
& when you talk to him, make sure he knows that you're taking your business elsewhere!
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post #9 of 39
5/8/08 at 6:05pm
Well, I tell ya, I am the same exact way you are with cars. If I were in your shoes I would go straight to the shop owner and DEMAND that the car be totally, professionally detailed inside and out, at least! If it went in the shop clean and shiney, it should come out the same way. I'd totally be raising some......you know what! You think they would have done that if some guy brought it in?? Nope! No way would I let it slide.
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post #10 of 39
5/8/08 at 6:52pm
I know what you mean. I had tinkerbell seat covers and steering wheel cover. When I dropped off my car they were clean. When I picked it up, they all were filthy! The best part is, even after 4 washings, the stains are still there! Then they told me my wheel was coming off because I did something too it, not because they didn't tighten it. Needless to say I am never taking my car back to that place!
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post #11 of 39
5/8/08 at 7:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by eburgess View Post
I had tinkerbell seat covers and steering wheel cover.
I ~adore~ those Tinkerbell Seat Covers and Wheel Cover!!! They are soooooo cute!!! I almost bought them for my day-to-day car but my husband also drives that and he put his steel-toed work boot down firmly and said I couldn't put them in the car. *grin*
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post #12 of 39
5/8/08 at 8:09pm
Wow... I just found out about a whole other side of you sweetie! That's SO cool! I LOVE your car!

I'd rip the repair man a new one. A girl that knows how to drive a car like that shouldn't put up with anything.
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post #13 of 39
5/8/08 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by taterbug View Post
Well, I tell ya, I am the same exact way you are with cars. If I were in your shoes I would go straight to the shop owner and DEMAND that the car be totally, professionally detailed inside and out, at least! If it went in the shop clean and shiney, it should come out the same way. I'd totally be raising some......you know what! You think they would have done that if some guy brought it in?? Nope! No way would I let it slide.

Ditto. I, totally, agree with tater. I wouldn't let it slide either and they owe you a tank of gas in addition to the car being fully detailed inside and out.

PLEASE let us know what happens.
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post #14 of 39
5/8/08 at 8:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kai Bengals View Post
Nice car Gaye!

I'd have a few choice words with the owner of the shop, and demand an explanation. 150 more miles? That's totally unacceptable.

I have a MB E500 and if any of what happened to you and your car, happened to mine, I would come completely unglued.

One of the techs had to be joy riding your car. Contact the owner asap, is my suggestion.

And, no absolutely not, you're not being a cry baby.

yea that. I would be demanding to know why.
and not being nice about it.

I can see a few miles to test the feel of the new suspension. But still that would be up to you if you like the feel of it or not. Also no way would it take 150 miles to find that out.

BY the way, why a racing suspension on a street car?(unless you do race it).. lol never mind i saw your post a few down lol
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post #15 of 39
5/8/08 at 8:42pm
OMG! They took it out on the STREET!!!!???? Maybe you could mention the, um, ILLEGALITY of that to the owner. What a horrible experience. You are NOT a crybaby!
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post #16 of 39
5/8/08 at 8:52pm
Is it too late to get pictures? The shop owner needs to see what happened to your car. Somebody there needs a good chewing-out, or worse. I think you should be reimbursed for the cost of clean-up, the mileage, and the gas used. If you've been happy with their work in the past, I wouldn't take the car elsewhere. That car isn't a car to be worked on by the average mechanic. (Maybe that's the problem, here. The tech who normally does your work might have been gone. That's no excuse, of course.)
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post #17 of 39
5/8/08 at 8:58pm
It's outrageous that there's 150 more miles on your car and insult to injury, it's filthy as well. These idiots didn't even *try* to conceal the fact that they had a good ol' time with it.

You have every right to complain to the shop owner. The condition of the car was disgraceful. The owner should make this right by having the car detailed inside and out and your bill should be adjusted to at least offer some compensation for 150 miles that shouldn't be on the odometer.

Do *not* let them get away with this!
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post #18 of 39
5/9/08 at 10:48am
Totally agree with the majority here. I would go in and talk to the owner. He may have had a different guy/new guy work on your car this time instead of the one who knows your car inside and out, and knows you as a customer.

If this is a small shop, and you've been happy with them in the past, give the owner the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure he doesn't want to lose your business.

I had a great mechanic shop where I went to college, and I would still be going to Todd if it weren't 800 miles away. I have yet to find another good shop like his. He had one guy who always worked on my car. I walked in and they knew me by name. I would actually wait until after summer vacation to go back to Nebraska to get my car serviced there. Shops like that are few and far between, and frankly even fewer who respect a woman bringing their car in and knowing what she wants and expects. If these guys have met your expectations previously, I'd give them another chance but I sure wouldn't let this incident slide!
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post #19 of 39
5/9/08 at 10:53am
So what did you say when you picked it up? I would be LIVID too! Did you call the owner yet? I really think you should. You deserve an apology and to be compensated and the owner deserves to know what happened so he can fire the idiot that did it!
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post #20 of 39
5/9/08 at 5:24pm
I was instrumental in a local truck dealer losing his franchise. Every time I took my truck in for service, it always came back with problems. Finally the manufacturer's customer service people explained to the dealership that when a customer picks up his vehicle, the only way he should be able to tell it was even moved is that whatever was broken is fixed. No grease. No scratches. No stations changed on the radio. Nothing.
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post #21 of 39
5/9/08 at 8:59pm
IMO, dealers are the most disrespectful of vehicles, whether it's the customer's, or one off their lot they're driving. Having seen how some of them drive, and having bought a dealer demo (which turned out to be a piece of junk), I think just having a whole lot of cars in which to wallow does something to a person's concept of their value.
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post #22 of 39
5/10/08 at 8:56am
Now, I know NOTHING about race cars (except what I learn watching NASCAR ), but leaving the windows down in the rain would be enough for me to complain to the owner. And with it being a race car, is it even licensed to be driven on the open road?

I do agree though, before finding a new shop, talk to the owner first. If you've always been happy with their service it could be a new guy that didn't realize that this was a special car (or didn't care, which is even worse for them). The owner needs to be aware of this.

Gorgeous car, BTW!!!
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post #23 of 39
5/10/08 at 9:23am
Sounds to me like someone at that garage saw a nice car and decided to take it for a spin to see how it ran....to the tune of 150 miles!

I would go to the owner of the garage and let him/her know that you keep very good track of the mileage on your car and you know exactly how many miles it had on it when it was brought into the station, and how many miles it had on it when it left.

I would also show the underside of the car as proof that it was driven on a mud track or something.

So far as it having been left outside, that's standard. And so far as a car being "dirty" after it's worked on, that's pretty standard too. Mechanics work in grease dirt and stuff like that gets transferred. They would all go broke if they had to detail a car inside and out after doing mechanic work on every car they worked on. So a car own should be prepared to have to go and wash and clean their car after it's been in a mechanics garage having work done on it.

However, them having left the windows down in the rain is their mistake. If it caused damage to the vehicle other than just some wetness that has dried, they should be held responsible for it and pay to have the damage fixed.
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post #24 of 39
5/10/08 at 9:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by coaster View Post
IMO, dealers are the most disrespectful of vehicles, whether it's the customer's, or one off their lot they're driving. Having seen how some of them drive, and having bought a dealer demo (which turned out to be a piece of junk), I think just having a whole lot of cars in which to wallow does something to a person's concept of their value.
Depends on the make of car being represented by the dealership.
Mercedes Benz dealerships are immaculate, to include the service area. My cars are given top notch care. Never any greasy fingerprints or smudges in the interior.
If I take my car in for a repair and it's dirty, it's spic and span when I pick it up.
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post #25 of 39
5/10/08 at 11:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natalie_ca View Post
And so far as a car being "dirty" after it's worked on, that's pretty standard too. Mechanics work in grease dirt and stuff like that gets transferred. They would all go broke if they had to detail a car inside and out after doing mechanic work on every car they worked on. So a car own should be prepared to have to go and wash and clean their car after it's been in a mechanics garage having work done on it.
That I would disagree with, at least the interior. Even the dealerships that I've gone to use plastic to cover the seats and driver's side floor to keep the grease off of the car's interior. I never, ever got a dirty car back from Todd's shop. I don't think they "wasted" plastic like the dealerships (they didn't leave it on when you picked up the car), but they certainly used covers for the seats and floor. And this was for a VW Bug and Plymouth....something.
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post #26 of 39
5/10/08 at 1:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kai Bengals View Post
Depends on the make of car being represented by the dealership. .
Well, no, I don't think make of car has that much to do with it. I'm glad your experience is positive. But I think it has more to do with the owners of the dealership and their attitude toward customers and how well they manage their employees. And that includes their attitude toward their merchandise. They're not selling disposable diapers. They're selling something that's a major purchase for most people; probably the biggest purchase they might make for several years. There's an old saying: "familiarity breeds contempt." Surrounded by several acres of new cars they can pick and choose which one to drive today and not pay for, there's a certain attitude that develops in people. It's human nature to place less value on something in easy reach. And it's all too easy for that devaluation of the dealer's cars to be transferred to the customer's cars that come in for service. It's up to owners and management to make sure that employees treat the customers AND the customers' vehicles with respect. Too many dealerships are run by "car guys." They don't know now to manage employees.
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post #27 of 39
5/10/08 at 2:08pm
Thread Starter 
When you pay as much as I do for work on this vehicle, you expect a certain level of service. This was a speciality shop, well used to dealing with high-end cars and their oftentimes ultra-picky owners. The owners, mechanics and technicians are race car people ... they command a higher price and get it because of their knowledge, skill and expertise with racing vehicles. Each of the mechanics has a specific area that he deals with and only with that area. It isn't uncommon to see them all working on one car as a team. There is an engine man, a suspension man, a wheel and tire man, a body man ... you get the idea.

If we were talking about your regular, day-to-day car service center or shop, I wouldn't have had as high expectations as I did. I would expect that my regular car wouldn't have gotten the Gold Treatment unless I paid extra for that.

I haven't spoken to the owner yet, but plan to come Monday. I took y'all's advice and got pictures as best I could and made a copy of the mileage confirmation. I also wrote a detailed listing of everything I found amiss.
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post #28 of 39
5/10/08 at 2:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by coaster View Post
Well, no, I don't think make of car has that much to do with it. I'm glad your experience is positive. But I think it has more to do with the owners of the dealership and their attitude toward customers and how well they manage their employees. And that includes their attitude toward their merchandise. They're not selling disposable diapers. They're selling something that's a major purchase for most people; probably the biggest purchase they might make for several years. There's an old saying: "familiarity breeds contempt." Surrounded by several acres of new cars they can pick and choose which one to drive today and not pay for, there's a certain attitude that develops in people. It's human nature to place less value on something in easy reach. And it's all too easy for that devaluation of the dealer's cars to be transferred to the customer's cars that come in for service. It's up to owners and management to make sure that employees treat the customers AND the customers' vehicles with respect. Too many dealerships are run by "car guys." They don't know now to manage employees.
Sorry to disagree but make of the car has quite a bit to do with it. MB, Jaguar and BMW dealerships can't afford to get their clients upset, so they go the extra mile. Having owned these types of cars for more than 2 decades, I have yet to visit any dealership offering them, to not treat the cars and the customers with the utmost respect.
The attitude at these dealerships comes from the corporate office. Clients are spending big bucks for these cars, they expect a higher level of service and commitment.

Another old saying is: You get what you pay for.
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post #29 of 39
5/10/08 at 2:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gayef View Post
When you pay as much as I do for work on this vehicle, you expect a certain level of service. This was a speciality shop, well used to dealing with high-end cars and their oftentimes ultra-picky owners. The owners, mechanics and technicians are race car people ... they command a higher price and get it because of their knowledge, skill and expertise with racing vehicles. Each of the mechanics has a specific area that he deals with and only with that area. It isn't uncommon to see them all working on one car as a team. There is an engine man, a suspension man, a wheel and tire man, a body man ... you get the idea.

If we were talking about your regular, day-to-day car service center or shop, I wouldn't have had as high expectations as I did. I would expect that my regular car wouldn't have gotten the Gold Treatment unless I paid extra for that.

I haven't spoken to the owner yet, but plan to come Monday. I took y'all's advice and got pictures as best I could and made a copy of the mileage confirmation. I also wrote a detailed listing of everything I found amiss.
That's all I can say is document, document, and document to include taking pictures. If you show them proof, there is not much they can say against it. I would be livid! There is absolutely no reason for anyone to have to test drive your car for over 150 miles!

I can't believe the condition they left it in once you picked it up. Maybe they thought you wouldn't notice???

I would also have them compensate you on the extra miles that were added onto your car. It is considered wear & tear to the engine after all. Let us know how it goes. I would also let the owner know that you are extremely upset, disappointed, and expected better service, but due to this altercation you will be looking for another mechanic.
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post #30 of 39
5/10/08 at 2:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by coaster View Post
IMO, dealers are the most disrespectful of vehicles, whether it's the customer's, or one off their lot they're driving. Having seen how some of them drive, and having bought a dealer demo (which turned out to be a piece of junk), I think just having a whole lot of cars in which to wallow does something to a person's concept of their value.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kai Bengals View Post
Depends on the make of car being represented by the dealership.
Mercedes Benz dealerships are immaculate, to include the service area. My cars are given top notch care. Never any greasy fingerprints or smudges in the interior.
If I take my car in for a repair and it's dirty, it's spic and span when I pick it up.
Even when I take my 16 year old Honda in for work, it's treated very well by the Honda dealership. (I have to admit, my old Honda has been babied, and is in near MINT condition!) They use paper floor mats, plastic seat covers, protection around the engine compartment, etc. when work has been done. They also wash it before they send it home, as it's always cleaner when I leave, than when I arrived! I really like the Honda dealership where I take my car for service. I will absolutely go there when I purchase my next Honda!


You really should demand compensation from the mechanic shop. It is inexcusable, the treatment that your car received!
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