Horrible service stories

[Wayward Clam]

Got a couple to relate here, one computer related, one not.

1. My poor wife just about had a heart attack a few days ago. Our car we just paid cash for broke down, shortly after she drove it into the ditch, and despite it recovering on its own, we decided it was best for us to get a mekkanik to check it out. So the first person we go to charges us $90 and drops the bomb: the entire front end is shot. "If you try to bring this out on the highway, it will die." The final bill has two options on it: the "bare minimum" cost to make the car safe is $1100 more, and the "this is what you REALLY want done with it to feel secure" cost is $1800. My wife was in tears on the phone!
So naturally, we decide a second opinion is in order. This time, the car goes to a friend of my parents who we trust. He is not told about the previous mechanic and his diagnosis.
Second mechanic's report: $40 for the examination, and a "You'll want to get the front end checked again in another year or two." NO WORK NECESSARY NOW.

SOMEONE's riding a friggin' gravy train.

2. Working as a tech in that small town, I took over alpha tech status from another guy who seemed to have a pretty bad reputation. I was careful not to badmouth him or anything because I didn't know him and hadn't seen his work. The closest I came was a computer that some guy had called him for help with and he hadn't been able to figure out after a couple of weeks of trying; I had it purring nicely after two hours of work, so I felt pretty good about that.
Then just before leaving the town, I heard one of the reasons for his reputation. Apparently, he had been servicing the reserve outside of town, and there were a lot of people there who had more money than computer knowledge, and a huge network of PCs. Apparently he put a virus on their network (may or may not have happened, like I say, the people involved knew little about PCs) but then proceeded to charge them over $1000 to remove the virus from less than a dozen machines!



The person who told me this was VERY interested in the bill I gave her for $50 after cleaning a virus off of her home machine and installing AVG for her, and promised me that she would refer people to me in the future instead...

[Ya_know]

I would have to get another opinion on the car. You have two extremes here, and someone is wrong. What parts did the first shop want to replace? If they were talking ball joints, and steering linkages that show ware or damage, this would explain the high cost. Also, what actually happened, the car went into a ditch, and you were just concerned about the front-end drivability? You did kind of confuse me a bit in your explanation of what happened.

Additionally, how old is the car, and how many miles? I know you just got it, but I am presuming it is used. The age has a lot to do with the first shops estimate I am sure.

If it was ball joints, or something like that, they are expensive to replace, and a safety problem in the event they go unaddressed if in fact the ware does exist. I suggest you get to the bottom of this, and don’t just assume that someone was trying to rip you off, it could be that the second shop didn’t observe the same areas of the car…

[techguy13]

Originally posted by Wayward Clam
... Apparently he put a virus on their network (may or may not have happened, like I say, the people involved knew little about PCs) but then proceeded to charge them over $1000 to remove the virus from less than a dozen machines! ...

Our satellite site in Toronto paid a national PC tech chain a grand to come onsite and clean Klez, scandisk and defrag a single laptop. My office got the bill . They have consequently been instructed to contact us or over night courier systems to Regina.

[Stalemate]

I'm with Ya_Know on getting a third opinion for your car. It's very common for mechanics, through greed or altruistic concern, to suggest maintenance and repairs to women which are not critical.

The second opinion is so far removed from the first I'd check it one more time just to make sure.

As for replacing that tech of dubious integrity, you can't go wrong in this situation. Your reputation being spread by word of mouth is better than gold.

[Wayward Clam]

I have been thinking along the same lines myself, so the third opinion on the car is probably going to come from my brother, who is not a pro, but I trust his skill and expertise in the matter. He may be able to drive out there and look at it some time soon. If not, I'll see if we can spring to get it into another garage.

As for the nuts and bolts I'm sorry but I can't provide any more details. When it comes to cars I am like the ID-10-T lusers whose eyes gloss over and who make the sign of the cross when you try to explain to them how to change their passwords for themselves instead of having you do it for them... I don't know, and don't wanna know. I'll let my brother do it and fix his computer for him in exchange.

[XHBAOLXO]

I've always gone straight to my insurance company for anything that goes wrong with my car. Mainly so I can get a free rental out of it. The estimate is free and you only pay for your deductable, or less. Then again, not all insurance companies do this. I just had my car door repaired because the wind got a hold of it and bent the hinge frame inwards because the door opened WAY too much. They fixed it for like $150 and I got a free rental. I would check your insurance company and see if they could help out in some way.

[Ya_know]

Originally posted by XHBAOLXO
I've always gone straight to my insurance company for anything that goes wrong with my car. Mainly so I can get a free rental out of it. The estimate is free and you only pay for your deductable, or less. Then again, not all insurance companies do this. I just had my car door repaired because the wind got a hold of it and bent the hinge frame inwards because the door opened WAY too much. They fixed it for like $150 and I got a free rental. I would check your insurance company and see if they could help out in some way.

But, the more frequently you file a claim with the insurance company it does affect your rating and will soon affect your rates. I would be cautious using this method...especially if you already have great rates.

[Gollo]

Originally posted by Ya_know
But, the more frequently you file a claim with the insurance company it does affect your rating and will soon affect your rates. I would be cautious using this method...especially if you already have great rates.

Yep. My sister works in insurance and with her company (here in michigan but it is a nationwide company) if you make 3 claims the HAVE to drop you. Same for home insurance but that is a law or something.

[Jediab]

Originally posted by Gollo
Yep. My sister works in insurance and with her company (here in michigan but it is a nationwide company) if you make 3 claims the HAVE to drop you. Same for home insurance but that is a law or something.

Just another example of how horridly insurance companies have polititians in their pockets.


I am with other peeps here on getting the car looked at 1 more time. Better safe than sorry when dealing with auto saftey.