Question:
I've taken my car to a mechanic with what i figure is a vacuum leak or some sort of air induction/acceleration problem. after 8 hours i come back and the car doesn't even have the hood up. the mechanic says he thinks it might be a vacuum or carburetor problem and will need some tests, but he can't start until first thing tomorrow. so today i came in at 12pm, and he says he hasn't really done anything to it yet (it's sitting in the parking lot), he thinks its the carburetor and it needs to be replaced and will cost over $600. He said he'll see about it and call in an hour. he hasn't called in 10 hours. my car has a throttle body, not a carburetor. So, i want to take my car back and go somewhere else, but i'm worried he'll give me a hard time. in the past two days i have heard nothing good of this shop from anyone ive spoken to, and feel stupid for not researching first. What should I do if he tries to overcharge me for "inspection" and "storage", and won't give the keys until i pay?
Answers:
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Let him or her know that you need your car back. At the same time be nice about it. Ask them to show you what all they have found and at the same time see if you can make an appointment to bring the car back to let them work on it. Offer to pay for there time. After you have your car back and you are at home, call them and let them know that you won't need there services after all. Believe it or not this will send them a message that they are not as smart as they would like you to think they are. This will ease any tension that might occur.Since you have an idea of what the problem is ( you say a vacuum leak ) it might save you a little money if you start your car, let it idle with the hood up and try to listen for a hissing sound like a vacuum leak. If you don't hear one then get a can of starting fluid and spray around the base of the throttle body. ( quite a few people still call a throttle body a carburetor ) If the engine speeds up then you have found where the leak is because if it is a vacuum leak it will suck in the starting fluid. Check as many vacuum hoses as you can. I have found many times that these leakes are at the point where the hose slipes over the connection. There it might be just a simple task of cutting off a quarter of an inch and slipping it back on. If that doesn't work then check around. It's like going to a doctor. Get a second oppion.
Well legally you can take the care back if no work has been done on it. Otherwise you have to pay for whatever he has done to it. If they said they did work to it, ask to see the work and receipts for the parts. At most you will have to pay for storage and any labor maybe but it does not sound like he did anything to it. If you take your car without paying he can put a mehanic hold on it, thats where you have tha car and eveything but you wont be able to sell it because of the mechanic hold on the title, thats has to be paid before you can sell the car.
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Tell him you really need to pick up your car and offer him some sort of fee for diagnosis -- this could take the wind out of him from the outset and he may even let you out for nothing. Otherwise he can shark you for at least one hour for 'checking' your car and possibly storage. No matter...you need to find another mechanic ASAP!i fill my radiator with antifreeze and i get home and it just starts smoking?
take it to a good mechanicno tom dick or harry
He doesn't own your car you can take it back whenever you want. If he tries to charge you, tell him you'll need detailed proof of everything he did, and that you will be filing reports with the better business bureau and possibly taking up charges of fraud.
Get ahold of the manager, and look in your local phone book to see if there's an agency that helps people who are being scammed. Report to the manager and any and all scam agencies whats going on. Its ridiculous. Local news chanels are always into these kind of stories, so feel free to look up local channels on the internet and see if they have a consumer advocacy story where they put the smack down on bad businessmen.
You don't need to do anything. He can not charge you storage. If he worked on the car and called you to pick it up and you showed up 10 days later than he can charge you storage.
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Call them and tell them you don not have any more time to spend at this shop and let them know you want to pick up the car.
The car is your property. If they did work on it and you did not pay for it they might have the right to hold the car until the bill is paid.
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But from what I see here they are slacking and do not have the time to get to your car.
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Call them and let them know they had the car long enough and you are going to take it to a different more time conscious shop.
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do not tell them you are taking it to another shop until you get it back, you dont want them to do anything to it out of spiteare my trucks valves adjusted right?
just tell them you need to use it, that you will bring it back another time, what do you owe them?
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I think you should call the police and a wrecker have them bring it to another shop. Good luck!The interior glass fogs up when I turn on the heater in my 97 Mercedes c-280?
It's your car so you can take it when ever you want.He has no grounds to charge you for storage as it was his choice to let it sit. It he charges you for diagnosing it ask him what he did exactly and call bull on him if you are certain that he is lying (IE, a carb problem with a throttle body) if another customer is around it might help cause he won't want to look bad to a second customer. You could give him a check and then go your bank and stop payment on it. It will cost around $10 but it's better than letting him chump you!
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