I personally found it disagreeable when somebody declined my repair estimate, had the work done elsewhere, then returned to have me double check the other guy’s work
Or even worse . . . the customer returns to have you fix the cheap guy’s work, because it’s obvious that the repair wasn’t entirely successful
Tom and Ray used to talk about “being unfaithful” on the radio show
A box of donuts may satisfy the guy’s sugar craving, but maybe not his hurt feelings and/or hurt pride
And I can’t blame him if he holds a grudge
The customers that get an repair estimate, declined it, have it fixed elsewhere cheaper, then come back the next month . . . those aren’t always the customers you want to keep
That last part wasn’t meant to be a blanket statement, by the way
I would really feel bad about going back to the shop that I didn’t give my business to originally. If I have a mechanic that I use for repairs/etc, that is the guy who gets my business. Now if I was stranded somewhere remote and had to fix the car, then that is a different scenario.
It seems like the OP has already done the repairs. I do not see why the quality in Mexico should be lower. Labor is cheaper there, life is probably cheaper there too, but head gaskets are pretty similar. I agree that they might not have the proper fluids, or more likely, they are not used to using them given high price, but that should be easy to fix.
At 170k miles and with overheating involved I would have also strongly suggested replacing the valve seals and doing a valve job at the same time.
Replacing head gaskets only on a fairly low miles engine is one thing but when the mileage is way into 6 digits odds are the valve seals and valves themselves are due.
I personally found it disagreeable when somebody declined my repair estimate, had the work done elsewhere, then returned to have me double check the other guy's work
I wouldn’t find it disagreeable at all. In fact I’ve had this exact thing happen. I recommended my client do it one way, he decided to do it another. Big mistake. He needed help in a major way after digging himself into a big hole, and I didn’t balk at all. In fact I was more than happy to help him. I think of this situation as a sort of “cash cow”. In my own work I’m always happy to be of help, in however my client needs me to be. Every request for assistance I get, from my point of view anyway, represents more work and more income.
The odds of a repeated failure of the head gaskets is high when the heads are not levelled and old head bolts are reused. And short of dismantling the engine and doing the repair over correctly there isn’t much that can be done to assure that the repair was done correctly. I have on a few occasions reopened engines with botched up shade tree repairs but only after getting 1/2 the estimated total cost of the job based on the worst case scenario. I pulled an intake and timing cover from a 3800 engine that was assembled with white carpenters caulk and found a new timing chain on old gears. It’s amazing what some people will do behind a garage door.
@RodKnox, Wow. White carpenter’s caulk to seal an engine? Damn. Someone was really scraping on that one. That pretty much defines shade tree hack jobs.
If you worked professionally as an auto mechanic, I truly think you would NOT find it a pleasant experience. In regards to those customers coming back after they rejected you for a cut rate shop, and things didn’t go well
I believe you can only speak hypothetically, at this point, until you turn wrenches for a living
And I won’t make any assumptions about your chosen career, and what that must be like
No worries @db4690 , I appreciate your point of view. I can’t understand what it means or feels like to have a pro-mechanic’s job b/c I’ve never done that job. A driveway diy’er like me who’s only worked on 3 or 4 of their own vehicles couldn’t possibly understand the responsibility involved with being a pro. I mean you pros are taking care of other’s peoples cars, and being required to diagnose and fix whatever car, old or new, Japanese, American, or European branded, is driven into the shop that particular day. And your billing practices are specific to your profession, so are likely not able to charge enough in a situation like that to make it worth your time. Still you still feel a responsibility to help the customer, which put you between a rock and a hard place.
