My buddy's been driving my 3g while I'm out of state, and it started making what he described as a "chuffing" noise, so i told him to take it to a shop and get it figured out. Turns out the timing belt was going, so I was like, "Have 'em quote for doing the full kit and send it to me."
So he sends me the quote along with their "60+ point inspection report." The inspection is bogus. They've got a dozen things listed as "major faults." Then I look at the quote for doing the timing kit and a coolant flush. $2400 with a Parts cost of $750! I'm like, Whoa, not even Napa overcharges that much for the timing kit! Then I look at the coolant flush charge and (along with being 3x more expensive than it should be) it specifies green IAT coolant!
So I call the shop to try to clear things up. I start by telling the guy that the Eclipse engines are from the DSM coalition and they use Dexcool, not plain green, so if we're doing a coolant flush it needs to be Dex, and that I want to see the itemized invoice so I know what I'm paying for, because it's a $250 kit, not $750.
And dude decided to throw himself a little hissy fit! He says he's been in business since the 50's and has fixed hundreds of cars, so he knows what he's doing. All antifreeze is the same, but he can tint it purple if it makes the customer happy and none of the silly brand names mean anything except a price hike by the manufacturer. Then he said his price is his price, he's never itemized an invoice and nobody's ever had a problem with that. But if I want to question his knowledge and his methods, he won't work on my car and I can tow it to another shop!
So I called my buddy and told him to just get it towed back to the house and I'll order the damn kit and fly home to fix it! He sets up the tow, and an hour later gets a call from the actual owner of the shop apologizing for his head mechanic!
The owner says that they've already put on a new timing belt, won't do the full kit, and one of the apprentices is putting the engine bay back together so my buddy can come pick it up in the morning. Total cost for the inspection, belt, and gasket will be $600.
So, points to the shop for having a decent owner, but I'm gonna be telling folks never to take their cars there because their procedures suck, they overcharges, and the head mechanic is a true POS!
So he sends me the quote along with their "60+ point inspection report." The inspection is bogus. They've got a dozen things listed as "major faults." Then I look at the quote for doing the timing kit and a coolant flush. $2400 with a Parts cost of $750! I'm like, Whoa, not even Napa overcharges that much for the timing kit! Then I look at the coolant flush charge and (along with being 3x more expensive than it should be) it specifies green IAT coolant!
So I call the shop to try to clear things up. I start by telling the guy that the Eclipse engines are from the DSM coalition and they use Dexcool, not plain green, so if we're doing a coolant flush it needs to be Dex, and that I want to see the itemized invoice so I know what I'm paying for, because it's a $250 kit, not $750.
And dude decided to throw himself a little hissy fit! He says he's been in business since the 50's and has fixed hundreds of cars, so he knows what he's doing. All antifreeze is the same, but he can tint it purple if it makes the customer happy and none of the silly brand names mean anything except a price hike by the manufacturer. Then he said his price is his price, he's never itemized an invoice and nobody's ever had a problem with that. But if I want to question his knowledge and his methods, he won't work on my car and I can tow it to another shop!
So I called my buddy and told him to just get it towed back to the house and I'll order the damn kit and fly home to fix it! He sets up the tow, and an hour later gets a call from the actual owner of the shop apologizing for his head mechanic!
The owner says that they've already put on a new timing belt, won't do the full kit, and one of the apprentices is putting the engine bay back together so my buddy can come pick it up in the morning. Total cost for the inspection, belt, and gasket will be $600.
So, points to the shop for having a decent owner, but I'm gonna be telling folks never to take their cars there because their procedures suck, they overcharges, and the head mechanic is a true POS!
