Sorry you are experiencing this difficulty, frustrating. I’m pretty sure rebuilding the entire engine would have taken longer though … lol … As posted above a head gasket job usually wouldn’t take more than a week. Unanticipated problems – either with your car or with other customer’s cars or the shop staff is out for some reason – can develop which might cause something like this to take longer. And if your car is unusual in some way, older, etc, parts procurement can be a problem too. What make/model/year is it?
My sense is that most of the delay is your car isn’t considered the shop’s high priority job. The reasons your priority can be pushed lower on the totem pole are numerous. One common reason is when a customer begs poverty. The shop will offer up a discount deal to help make it affordable. But the only way they can afford to do it that way and make a profit is to work the job into the shop schedule when they aren’t busy with other cars.
Oh, I never beg poverty. I have a good job and I’ve made it very clear that I’m willing to pay to have the beast repaired. I’m still making payments on it and owe more than I want to owe on it to trade it in, so I either pay to get it fixed or I make payments on something I can’t drive. Oh well, they know I’m very unhappy so maybe I’ll get it back this week. Maybe. It’s an 05 Chevy Equinox, so it’s not all that old or unusual. But they do have bad head gasket problems, I’ve learned.
I don’t have a solution… unlike what some others here are saying, I say you are being screwed. It should NEVER take that long for a reputable shop to fix your car, Unfortunately, if the car is in pieces right now, you do not have any options but to wait. I would take a trip down there with the biggest friend you have and very politely inquire about the status and actually take a look at the car and its progress.
It sounds like you are just having some bad luck there OP. One idea for future repairs, since I presume this shop won’t be on your list any longer, ask your friends, co-workers, fellow church-goers, fellow bar-hoppers, anybody you have a trusted personal relationship with, ask them who they use for car repair. Interview the shops that work on Chevys, preferably some will specialize on American branded cars, choose one and tell the shop owner which of their customers it was that offered you a personal recommendation. This gives you some leverage w/the shop, b/c the owner knows if you aren’t satisfied with the work done for, you’ll tell his other customer about it. And he might lose that customer as well.
I expect you already understand that if you offer to pay more for faster service, you’ll likely get faster service. That might be your best strategy at this point with this particular problem. Solve it with a big check.
George, that is really ridiculous. I should get prompt service for the price quoted and not have to pay a cent more for “preferred” service. All customers should be “preferred” customers and equally treated.
Month and a half is ridiculous. Like others said it shouldn’t take more than a week. The excuses they’re giving are dumb. Head gasket isn’t rocket science. I’d drive by and see if the car has even been worked on at all yet. They shouldn’t have taken on work they can’t do in a timely manner. Most people would be incurring rental car expenses from this.
Call me stupid but I am beyond getting quotes for service. I don’t know what it’s going to cost until I get the bill. I only deal with reasonable people though and I haven’t been disappointed. I might change my mind when I get the bill for the plumber but I was happy he showed up the next day and took care of the problem. I hadn’t called a plumber in 50 years. Really though the last couple of car repairs I was out of the country and just got an email of additional work that was needed. I just said OK and no mention of the cost. The bill was less than I expected. Now major stuff is a little different but that would be looking at the cost of options, like the brand of tires.
I would really appreciate it if someone could give me some helpful feedback on this situation I’m in!!!
To summarize: I had my truck towed to a dealership I used to work at for a fuel pump repair on 9/26/18. Next day they told me it was in fact the fuel pump, let’s replace that and see. New fuel pump on, still not working so they say it’ll need a fuel module. Wait two weeks for that to get installed and programmed and it still doesn’t work…truck sits for another week until I ask what’s going on, still nothing. Finally a month goes by and I demand that they put me in a loaner car until they fix the truck, which they did thank goodness. The last revelation they make is that the PCM crashed, put a new one in and programmed it and IT IS STILL NO GOOD. SO, they decide they can’t figure it out and have it towed to a “specialist”.
This is where things get extremely aggravating. My truck was towed to this new repair facility on 10/22 and has since been sitting outside untouched or acknowledged for roughly 2 MONTHS. The shop refuses to return my calls and messages. Keep saying they’ll make room in the shop but never do. I am beyond frustrated and would like to know if I have a legal case here? Thank you. (I am in the state of VA if that makes a difference)
We’re car repair guys. Not lawyers. If you want to know if you have a legal case, ask a lawyer.
Are they refusing to return the vehicle to you? Were I in your shoes, I would demand the return of the vehicle, and I would want money back (if you’ve paid any) or at minimum, not to be charged anything for them holding on to your vehicle forever.
Your former employer is incompetent. They don’t know how to diagnose problems, and so they just replace parts and hope. That’s something that’s fun to do on an OPM (Other People’s Money) basis. They get to do Mechanics-for-Dummies experiments on your dime. But it’s not so much fun when you’re the other people.
The specialist shop is either entirely too busy and doesn’t know how to turn away business, or it’s not busy at all because no one there does any work. Either way, the car sitting around for 2 months without anyone even looking at it, is inexcusable.
So, if they don’t give you the car back immediately, along with not expecting you to pay for their screwing around, then I’d definitely ask a lawyer if you have a case (unless your damages are below small claims limits in your state, in which case haul 'em in and pursue it yourself).
Sorry, but you have a legal problem . I guess you should be talking to the original service facility because nothing you get from anonymous people on a forum will be any help.
Just have it towed somewhere else. You’re lucky it’s not sitting inside and torn apart. I’ve towed my car 50 miles before to get it to someone I was comfortable with. That’s what tow trucks do. The other thing is, I’ve had OEM fuel pumps fail right out of the box. One time they were on the third one before getting a good one.
Somehow it works for me.