Poor Mechanical Work being performed on my s13
Poor Mechanical Work being performed on my s13
Way back in January I had a local shop locate and install a rebuilt ka24e longblock in my car. It took them 3 weeks to get the car back running and into my hands again, which was all fine and dandy *if* the work they had performed would have turned out to be any good. First, the lifters ticked. I took it back in probably 3 times and got the same thing, that it woudl stop after a couple minutes of idling and this was "normal." Knowing full well that this was not a normal thing for an engine to do, and wanting to make it right, I took it back again and said I will not take my car home until it stops ticking. This time, I got service. They put in a new lifter set, only for it to start ticking 1 week later. I took it in again, and this time they put in another set, all had been fine since. Then, I thought I had a motor knock. It came from the bottom end and this began to worry me. It got louder and louder as the days went bye. I took it in when I found time off from work, as I had the car parked for maybe a weeks time during this adventure. They took off the transmission since the noise was coming from the rear of the motor. They found that the clutch hub had broken, so they replaced my clutch. All was well, 400 dollars later. Then a few months down the road, after getting it back from having a coolant leak fixed, I started to spew white smoke all over. Headgasket was out. Luckily it was the week that my family was going on vacation so when we got back my car was finished. FYI, the head was not resurface and it had been overheated atleast twice. Then after getting my car back, I began to notice a large black spot forming above my mufffler tips on my back bumper. Naturally, I checked my oil. Hmm 1.5 quarts low after only 1000 miles and this was RIGHT after I got the car back from the shop. Now mind you this motor has a 2 year warranty
^continued, ran out of room...
So seeing that I am now burning oil I take my car back to where Ive had this work performed. He told me that I need to "document" the oil it is burning and make sure I write down how much Im adding and when. He said that he hasnt been paid a dime for his warranty work that hes done on the engine from this company. Being enraged I said ok and walked out peacefully not wanting to start any arguments. I drive the car for a few weeks, new clutch begins to slip. I once again travel down to my mechanic describing my problem and he adjusts my pedal. Was fine till this weekend. This tuesday I am once again traveling down to my mechanic, but this time I am bringing all the receipts for the work he has performed for me, and the documentation of the oil burning that I have and I am going to ask that these problems with my clutch and new motor be worked out. I just want my car to run right and not burn oil.
So seeing that I am now burning oil I take my car back to where Ive had this work performed. He told me that I need to "document" the oil it is burning and make sure I write down how much Im adding and when. He said that he hasnt been paid a dime for his warranty work that hes done on the engine from this company. Being enraged I said ok and walked out peacefully not wanting to start any arguments. I drive the car for a few weeks, new clutch begins to slip. I once again travel down to my mechanic describing my problem and he adjusts my pedal. Was fine till this weekend. This tuesday I am once again traveling down to my mechanic, but this time I am bringing all the receipts for the work he has performed for me, and the documentation of the oil burning that I have and I am going to ask that these problems with my clutch and new motor be worked out. I just want my car to run right and not burn oil.
In all seriousness, I'm sorry to hear you're having so much damn trouble with the car. If you've had what is basically a horrible experience (and it sure sounds like what this is).. with his initial work on your car, what makes you think his warranty work(that he's not getting paid for) will be any better?
The only fix to your problem is a new mechanic who,
A. knows what he's working on, and B. can handle a workload and a schedule.
Most people can't do either very well, which is why most consumers are dissatisfied, just like you are. Sorry bro. I'd chalk it up as a bad loss and start looking for a better shop/tech. Maybe one that charges a little more, but can do the job better? "Cost more, worth more" Karma at play here.
The only fix to your problem is a new mechanic who,
A. knows what he's working on, and B. can handle a workload and a schedule.
Most people can't do either very well, which is why most consumers are dissatisfied, just like you are. Sorry bro. I'd chalk it up as a bad loss and start looking for a better shop/tech. Maybe one that charges a little more, but can do the job better? "Cost more, worth more" Karma at play here.
Altiman94 wrote:well the thing is, since he installed the motor for me, arent I obligated to take the car back to him to have the oil burning fixed? Obviously I dont want to, but I have no choice
That's just it. You're not obligated to do business with anybody you don't want to do business with. If you're looking to get warranty work done, and you both know he'll be doing the work for free, then he has no incentive to really do a good job. That's the sad truth behind warranty work. The other side of it is, sometimes you'll be in a situation where the shop only wants to be done with you, after warranty work on your car has put them significantly behind, timewise and dollarwise. Maybe he'll say, "damn, I'm sick of this kid and this car, let's throw enough money/time at it to make it go away for good." That's a hard one to pull off though, because you can't really make a career mechanic work any faster or harder, unless he wants to. And if it's warranty work where there's no incentive to work faster or harder, well, you see the cycle...
That's why I originally said, maybe it'd be best to cut ties with this shop and start searching for a better one. Usually, better shops are cleaner and charge more per hour, but have better people and better equipment. You'd be paying more money to a better shop, for their expertise, which is apparently what the present shop is lacking.
You don't just pay to have a job done, you pay to have a job done right. That part usually costs more though. Sucks to be in that situation.
Word of mouth will tell you who's best. Ask around, see what shops have top notch people, and that's the shop I'd go to, even if it costs more, which it should.If I were you, I'd look into who rebuilt the engine, and into the warranty included with it. The mechanic you are using sounds questionable, and if you could get another mechanic to look into your car (the warranty shouldn't be fixed to one mechanic, I'd be shocked if it were), your chances of it running the way it should would be much higher. Just my 2 cents . . .
Heh, interestingly enough, quite a few of my dad's friends recommended a certain mechanic to him. My dad brought our Olds Aurora to him for new shocks/struts, and he quoted him a price (we wanted the fronts or rears done, can't remember which, not that it matters for these purposes). NEVER said "per side", etc, and the price sounded inline with expectations, so we had it done . . . came time for the payment, and he doubled the price, saying "oh, of course it was only per side". He finally did it for the price quoted, but the moral of the story is that recommendations don't always hold up to be as presented. Hopefully, you could find someone else in the area who can do better work; it sure sounds as though you couldn't find worse. ;-)