They definitely give the industry a bad name . . . shame on them
We can only hope they get caught red-handed and suffer some consequences as a result of their actions
Incompetence is just that . . . fire the guy if it’s justified. In some cases, the guy can actually hit the books, go to night school, etc., and improve his automotive/diagnostic skills. But in other cases, the guy is unwilling and/or unable to grasp the concept(s) and shouldn’t be turning wrenches professionally. Those are the guys that should be weeded out, whether he realizes it himself or comes face to face with it when he’s fired
But I view dishonesty more harshly. That’s active deception and cheating people out of their money. That’s knowingly charging for services which were not rendered. There should be legal consequences for such bad apples, in my opinion
It doesn’t do anything it just happened again for the 2nd time and I got video of it but I’m not sure how to show that here. It makes a mild sound as if it’s trying to start for literally less than a second and then nothing. Lights work, AC works… it literally just won’t start. That was initially what was going on… then it became super frequent (almost every time it started) when it was originally like a once a week ordeal. Then it started stalling while we were driving… then it became a situation where we had to jump it off every time and then even when jumped off it would just entirely power down (automatic windows were significantly slower, AC barely blew any air, and lights dimmed until it just died and couldn’t be jumped and had to be towed).
He’s done previous work on my S10 but it’s just a back up vehicle I don’t drive unless I don’t have the van. It recently had brake work and back axel work done and my brakes don’t feel right (a problem my brother didn’t tell me since he’s the one driving it and I thought he’d say something if he noticed anything but boy was I wrong). I’m not an expert but to me it feels like there’s air in the brake lines (if that’s a thing). I can’t trust my truck to stop in an emergency if I had to and that scares me. I don’t know if it’s something to do with the vehicle being rusty since it’s from Michigan and a 1994. It was my first vehicle so I feel like I’d know if something wasn’t right or off.
I’ll never go to this guy again after all of this. Thank y’all for everything and all the advice!
If the S10 brakes feel spongy when you press the pedal, you probably do have air in the lines. Get a mechanic to look at it. It may be as simple as bleeding the brake lines and adding more brake fluid. Don’t go back to Spanky for this one. Find another mechanic.
As for the spongy brakes on the S-10, I might suggest that the rear brakes also be inspected. Vehicles with worn or out of adjustment rear shoes can easily mimic a failing master cylinder or air in the lines.
I also feel this is a case of incompetency so I’m in agreement with db4690 as usual. These things are hard to read as it becomes an embarassment to the profession and all mechanics get tarnished with the yo-yo brush because of someone like this.
I’ve worked with some incompetents and a smaller number of weasels. It’s no fun either way because when someone gets hosed they tell everyone that ALL of the mechanics at such and such a shop are fools.
Maybe starting a topic with tales related to crooked or incompetent mechanics would bring a few chuckles; in a black comedy kind of way…
This may sound like sacriledge to some, but here goes . . .
I’ve known excellent mechanics who’ve let their ase credentials lapse. Yet they hang with the best of them, and can quickly diagnose and repair things many people have never even heard of, let alone understand.
I’ve also known mechanics that have more credentials than you can imagine, but they just don’t know how to efficiently diagnose and repair things. In some cases, they don’t even understand the concepts, and therefore, they hardly know where to begin
I’d rather have the former. Sure, maybe the guy can’t brag that he’s certified, but if he can do the job and outperform the young certified whipper snapper fresh from school . . .
I learned a few new things this last week, at work. Translation = I didn’t diagnose the problem(s) quite as quickly as I would have liked. But I won’t make the exact same mistake(s) again. If that makes me a fool, so be it. But I’d rather be labeled a fool, versus being labeled dishonest
About 5 years ago there was a foreign car shop about 30 miles away that closed. They were considered the “go to” shop in that area for foreign car service. They had been in operation about 40 years until the owner retired.
The entire wall behind the service counter was plastered from one end to the other with ASE certs and countless other certificates from various car manufacturers and so on. They had a large sign out front stating they were an ASE certified repair facility.
They were also the biggest bunch of both incompetent and conniving low lifes on the planet. I could write a small book on the number of people whose cars I serviced and discovered the issue was minor compared to what they were told by this shop.
Everything that entered the shop had an 800 dollar fuel injection problem. Including one lady who owned a very nice, older Subaru with an EEC controlled carburetor…
I think we got into this a couple years ago so I’m not going there again. I’ll just say if you are having your transmission fixed and the guys name is Rollie, RUN, don’t walk. I’d have to check again to see if he still owes the state half a million in sales tax. I assume he paid it since he is still in operation.
Another update- I just found out my vehicle was broken into and parts were stolen during the last 11 weeks he had it thanks to the sheriffs department!
The sun doesn’t rise and set by ASE Certifications. After all, ASE stands for Ask Someone Else.
I think there are 2 kinds of ASE certified mechanics. One, who gains and maintains certificates because jobs ask for or require it. Two, a professional who takes pride in his work and understands that being employed in an industry also carries the responsibility to maintain and improve the image and standing of that industry.
My current employer “prefers” that the techs are ASE certified. So we have one guy who has one ASE certification. He will renew that one when it expires but will pursue no more. He’s doing the bare minimum to be certified. Does that mean he’s not a good all-around mechanic? No. He’s quite competent. But I don’t think he has any interest in ever being more than a competent mechanic.
I maintain several certifications, not only because it keeps me abreast of latest developments in auto technology, but also because it shows I care about my chosen field and it makes me more marketable if the need ever arises.
I appreciate your comments . . . and agree with many of them
Yet, I’d still pit some of these guys with lapsed certifications against 25-year old current ase masters with a chip on their shoulders, but don’t know where to begin
credentials could be seen in a similar light as a fault code . . . a starting point
Studying and staying up to date could provide a good foundation and starting point
Yet on the other hand, there are always those guys that aren’t certified that can outperform the others in every way
And there are always those cars that have a serious problem, yet no fault codes. You still have to diagnose and repair them. I notice it’s often the more seasoned guys . . . often without current certifications . . . who solve them, while the younger guys just stand around watching and twiddling their thumbs
Ms IU … it seems like this vehicle has considerably more than one problem and is giving you lots of grief. What you need to focus on is finding a good shop to fix it for you. Or at least tell you it can’t be economically fixed. The best way to find a good shop is to ask friends, co-workers, family members, fellow church-goers, fellow bar-hoppers, anybody you have a trusting relationship with, ask them who they use to maintain and repair their cars. From that list choose a shop that specializes in Chrysler or at least American branded cars. Be sure to let the shop owner know who it was that recommended them to you. That gives you a little leverage. B/c of all the issues, you might want to start with a service called a “general inspection”. They’ll put your car on a lift and poke and prod all its sensitive areas, and check the fluids, and let you know what needs to be done immediately, what needs to be done, but can wait a few months, and what needs to be done eventually. At that point they’ll have some experience w/you and your car and you should be good to go.
@db4690, the shop I mentioned closed only because the owner was near 70 years old and decided to hang it up.
Many people got hosed there but had no idea they were hosed so all was well in their thinking.
One night I was in a car wreck after broadsiding a blind woman in a full size Blazer. I went to the hospital and my Subaru went to the impound lot which was shared with the weasel who owned that shop.
A few weeks later I dropped by to get my Subaru out of the impound lot and found parts missing; including the alternator and battery.
I discovered the alternator had been removed and sold to the Methodist minister who lived across the street from me and who was also a Subaru owner. Strictly by chance did this conversation come up and his car repair…
The shop owner tried to tell me that the impound part of it had nothing to do with them and that “homeless people had been jumping the fence and stealing parts”.
Right. An 8 foot high chain link with razor wire on the top.
When I pointed out that this conscientous thief also reinstalled the defective alternator and left all of the mounting bolts loose along with the near new Interstate battery which had been swapped out with a well used AutoZone battery the darting eyes and mumbling took over.
Heh heh, sometimes its just best to come clean rather than risk getting your neck wrung. I had a guy that worked for me that would just say if you say I did then I did. I heard he told the judge that last year too. Kind of a passive aggressive response admitting but not admitting. Kinda like the famous no contest plea.
So now there’s parts missing off the car? You really should try to recover something from the guy. 3k is a lot of money plus 11 weeks without the car. Get it fixed first. If it’s not the safety switch, it’s probably something with the throttle body.
I’m going to seize on this and suggest the likely culprit is a malfunctioning “park” safety switch. It keeps the engine from starting if the transmission is in gear. Starting it in neutral was a work-around for this kind of problem, so it surprises me replacing this part wasn’t your mechanic’s first step. He seems to be throwing expensive parts at the problem without doing any diagnostic work.
This mechanic might be good at doing the basic maintenance on your car, but he isn’t a very good automotive diagnostician (troubleshooter). It’s time to fire him and give another mechanic a chance. Personally, I’d go to a dealership. They’re likely to have seen this issue before and know what the problem is.
You could upload the video to YouTube and post a link to it here.
Yikes! I wouldn’t put it past him to have stolen them himself and then report the crime to cover his tracks. This all seems very suspicious. I think you should tell the police to investigate your mechanic for possible fraud, theft, and filing a false police report.
You’ve raised an interesting question. The college I retired from had an associates degree program in automotive technology. Because of safety and oversight requirements in the labs, maximum lab capacities (driven by safety requirements), the large amount of contact hours, the requirement for acceptance of having or getting the “loaded” tool chest (this was arranged for the accepted students and covered by financial aid), and various other acceptance requirements including a clean driving record, good mathematics assessment scores, as well as the criticality of managing the students through the program in controlled groups, it wasn’t feasible to offer the program nights.
Is anyone here familiar with an evening automotive program at an accredited institution? Does one exist?
I’ve seen them at private schools, but I would avoid those programs in favor of one offered at a college because the ones I’ve seen didn’t seem very trustworthy. Actually, I considered going this route when I was a young man, and the private schools I visited seemed more interested in selling me tools and over-promising when it came to job placement than educating me, so after touring the schools, I left and never looked back, but they did have “accelerated” six or nine week programs at the time.
Personally, I’ve heard mixed reviews about WyoTech, but they offer a nine-month automotive technology class. I’m not sure if they offer night classes though.
it just happened again for the 2nd time and I got video of it but I’m not sure how to show that here. It makes a mild sound as if it’s trying to start for literally less than a second and then nothing. Lights work, AC works… it literally just won’t start. That was initially what was going on… then it became super frequent (almost every time it started) when it was originally like a once a week ordeal. Then it started stalling while we were driving… then it became a situation where we had to jump it off every time and then even when jumped off it would just entirely power down (automatic windows were significantly slower, AC barely blew any air, and lights dimmed until it just died and couldn’t be jumped and had to be towed).
