Tuesday, February 24, 2009
It’s 0730 Tuesday morning, after a sleepless night. I decided to talk to Dennis Lee, the owner of Japanese Automotive Repair (JAR) and want an explanation why am I being charge additional cost for what I believe is a mis-diagnosed issue by John, JAR mechanic. Got to the shop at 0745…too late…John already torn into the dashboard and Denny claimed John tested every wiring that he think may be the root cause of my car problem and ended up with a new diagnoses…he think the problem is the ECU and it would cost $250 for parts and an additional $370 for labor, total an additional $620 on top of the $1385 I have already paid. We had a heated but cordial discussion as to who is responsible for what. It’s obvious that Denny stand behind his mechanic works and that he think I should continue to pay for the additional labor! During our heated conversation, Denny did stated, "That John did initially check the ECU on Monday, February 16, 2009 but there could not find an obvious fault reading with the unit, hence, he did not think that the ECU needed to be replace, but after changing the two sensors and it still didn’t fix the CEL and O/D light flashing which caused the tachometer to rev intermittently during normal driving and car hesitation. Again, Denny insist that its part of what a mechanic job to track don?t a problem such as this by tracing wiring harness, etc?? The explanation and reasoning for why JAR had to do what they do continue and yet, not addressing my concern, so I stop the conversation and ask for a propose acceptable solution including cost with warranty and a level of assurance from JAR that the problem will be fix properly this time. Denny started with a $500 amount and I counter with $400 amount.
Anyhow, we ended up agreeing on a final price of $400 including parts and labor. What I get will be a used ECU which they claim will be order from Texas (cost of $250) and will get to Portland no later than Thursday, February 24, 2009. I asked for a warranty on the part and labor and was told that the part cannot be warranty because it is used. I insist on a written warranty for the parts and labor and John (JAR mechanic) agreed. The final agreement is for a written warranty, 1 year on all parts and labor with exception of the ECU which come with a 1 month warranty. Supposedly I will get my car back all fix (hopefully) by eod Thursday. I left JAR shop at 0830.
Can anyone out there let me know what is reasonable expectation from an auto repair shop when it come to diagnosing a CEL and O/D light flashing problem such as mind?
Do you think the initial replacement of the speed sensor and shaft sensor was not necessary?