Horror story involving a local shop (long story)
*If you guys remember, I had mentioned in that Kal Tire thread that I will be posting my horror stories regarding my dealings with local shops for the last 15yrs. Well here's the most recent one.....
So the BMW 325is that I sold to my cousin needed a rebuilt head due to someone's half-ass helicoiling skills. Eventually the #5 spark plug turned itself out of the plug hole with the helicoil attached to it, and finally went straight up through the coil and stripped what little thread was there for the helicoil to use. My cousin never blamed me, but I still wanted to make sure that he got the best service possible he could, so I referred him to a shop that I had used before for this very same car. Although the previous work was minor, I had been happy with the service, which as you know can make up for a shop's shortcomings in other areas. Even though my cousin had an uncle that owned a shop and was capable of doing the repairs, I had vouched for this shop, so he heeded my advice and dropped the BMW off at this shop. He actually decided to go with a complete used engine swap because the labor was almost the same but he'd get a lower mileage engine PLUS a new clutch/flywheel was needed on the advice of the shop's owner, who incidentally we had been dealing with from day one.
I wanted to be up-to-date with everything that went on with this repair because 1) it was my cousin's car 2) I felt bad that this had happened only a short while after he had bought it 3) this shop was very close to my work so it was easy for me to go and check up on the progress. Duing one of my visits, the used engine assembly had arrived and I asked the shop owner how was the general condition of the engine, which in turn he had said good with only 140K. I had also stated that if ANY seals/gaskets needed to be replaced to do so, because with my knowledge of the industry, no company warrantees seals/gaskets, and that money wasn't an issue here. When the job was done, the owner said only the valve cover gasket was leaking and that was the only gasket replaced. So after the engine R & R job AND clutch R & R job were done, my cousing paid the shop the almost $6 grand bill and left.
About a month later, my cousin notices a coolant leak. He takes it back to the shop that installed the engine, and they diagnose that the headgasket is leaking. Eventually, the shop's owner and my cousin come to an agreement to swap in another used motor and split the labor (shop said they won't cover all of it) but the bonus was that the motor would be warranteed by the vendor. So they setup a dropoff date and all is supposedly well. When my cousin calls the shop to confirm the day before, the shop gives excuses as to why they cant do it that week, and to call back next week. Same thing the next week, and the next week and the next week etc. At one point the original shop was going farm out the job to another shop, but THAT shop was very behind on work, as was the original shop so they said.
It's now 4 fucking months later and my cousin has been having to add ~1L of coolant everyday, because it leaves a fucking puddle of it everytime he turns the car off. Now I'm usually a bad-tempered guy right off the bat, but I just kept telling my cuz/myself that this shop and owner would do him right, and stand by their WORK, but most importantly, their WORD. That wasn't the case at all so I finally had to have a word with the owner. I went down there today and told the owner that my cuz is sick of getting jerked around and given the runaround, and that the car HAS to be fixed. I reminded him that I SPECIFICALLY said to make sure to replace ANY seals and/or gaskets that need replacing (I'm pretty sure headgasket fits in that category duh) because everyone knows it's ALOT easier to replace these while the engine's on a stand. The owner took full responsibility for not replacing the headgasket and then gave more excuses as to why he hasn't booked the car in yet. After our 'heated' discussion, we came to an agreement and the owner told me that we can drop off the car Monday morning and it will be done in a week. I even said thanks to the owner (even after everything) and I left. My cuz and I felt good that this issue was finally getting resolved, especially after 4 months of being bent over about it....
About a half-hour after I left, the shop owner calls my cuz and tells him he doesn't appreciate ppl. coming to his shop and bitching at him blah blah blah. Now remember kids, this is AFTER he ALREADY setup the appointment to get the car done next week...My cuz is ALOT calmer guy than I am but he also was tired of being fucked with by this so-called mechanic/mechanic's shop and so the shop owner and him both got into over the phone, and eventually the owner told him he WILL NOT work on my cuz's car ever again, and to take it somewhere else to get fixed because he's 'done' with it, and to NEVER bring it back to his shop then hangs up on my cousin!!
**EDIT forgot to add this**
My cousin called back, but an employee picked up this time and told him the owner was busy, Then my cuz told the employee that he'd be leaving work right away and going down to the shop to discuss the matter further with the owner. When my cuz gets there, he finds the front door LOCKED, and all the lights turned off. Why would they hide if they didn't feel responsible for this sad sad scenario??
For those of you that actually read that whole thing (including the owner of this shop because he IS a member of beyond.ca, and some of you know him very well) I have withheld the name of the shop and the owner's name to give him/them ONE MORE CHANCEto do right by my cuz, and to do the job next week as the owner had promised. I had told the owner that we were going to get this taken care of regardless, and it was up to him what avenue we should be taking, but yes surprisingly he offered to do the job next week and be done in a week.
To the owner of the shop: All we want is for you to do what you promised and to do the engine R & R job next week. You know who you are, and who my cuz and I am, and what our phone numbers are. If I or my cousin don't hear from you by Friday May 18, 2007 @ 1200pm, then we WILL exercise EVERY legal action to the extent of the law while pursuing this matter further via lawyers and a lawsuit. Trust me, there will not be ANY shortage of money involved in this matter, so be prepared to be fighting this out with us for a long time to come. I will also be talking to all the media, especially The Calgary Sun, and btw remember that story that you guys were in with that other customer of yours? AMVIC, CMDA, BBB, and EVERY other auto repair-shop related group in Canada will be notified of this scenario. I will also be replacing yours and your shop's anonymity throughout this post with yours and your shop's NAME. Last but definitely not least, other potential customers will be notified of the facts of this sad matter via word-of-mouth, the worst negative advertising for a small shop to encounter, which has brought many-a-entrepeneur down.
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Beyond makes me feel like I'm on a neverending episode of Suvivor-automotive edition.
but yes vince the car leaves that amt. of coolant EVERY time he turns off the engine. He's probably spent over $300 just on coolant for the last 4 mths. which he won't get back until we sue....
Originally Posted by DonJuan
