Should you really trust your mechanic?

[deepblueE34]

The simple answer is NO.Please allow me to share a story.I frequent a well know bmw mechanic, and untill this point I had no complain about their work nor their attitude. He is highly rated on the forum and tirelessly recommended. I'm not going to mention the name of the shop here.recently I went to them because I had strange noise coming from the rear of my car. I was confident that the suspension mounts were the cause, but had to convince the boss and his right hand man until they agreed to remove my back seat to reveal a very worn-out suspensions mounts. But before doing so they had to take a couple of tests rides and lifted the car to check under its belly. In the process they found that the "pitman" joints where loose and needed changing.The price that I the boss quoted me was RM100 X 2 for mounts, RM162 X 2 for joints and 200 for labor. We agreed about the price after I insisted that he uses the oem part. Then I left the car with him and went home.The next day when I collected the car I found that the joints' color was funny and they looked cheap. When I asked the boss about the brand he slipped and said they are Meyle. I told him that we agreed that you'll use oem, then he called his worked and said he was wrong and it was the oem. That was pretty suspicious. I took the car and went to check the OEM part at a spare parts shop, and as expected the color was different from the one in my car and it had a brand logo clearly stamped on it and the quality difference was clear. I also saw the meyle part which looked exactly like the one in my car. In a couple of hours I was back at the shop. When I confronted the boss, his face changed, but had nothing to say. He talked to his worker on the phone, then asked me to come back tomorrow and someone from the spareparts shop will come to check the part and if we find out that it was not oem he'll change it for me. I insisted that this is not even close to oem and that oem looked different. At this point his worker/partner came, but had nothing much to add. He tried to put the blame on the supplier, saying that he asked for the right part but they brought this. which is can't be true. I was pretty pissed but talked to them calmly. I felt that they tried to take me for a ride. The OEM part at the spareparts shop is sold for RM120 and it comes complete with bolts, nuts and washers. And they charged me 160 for a cheap piece of sh*t which probably cost them not more than 100. I don't know the price of the mounts or the quality they used, but they probably also put a healthy margin on them. All this on top of the RM200 for what I expect a 2-hour job.The next day they silently changed the parts for me and gave me back rm40 without much argument.Lesson learned, never trust your mechanic, no matter how nice they seem. Always check for the price of parts yourself and make sure that the correct parts are used.cheers,

 

[bmw7833]

When u mentioned the workshop is highly rated in the forum, only two i guess..

I suffered by one of them but still visit them, just no more trust to them.

 

[ICEMAN 68]

deepbluee34 ....if possible some location of the workshop and if possbile the name as well too ? as such matter can keep other on alert note..

TQ

 

[moots]

live and learn bro....live and learn.......

whenever i have to rely on the shop to c/out any parts replacement...i give specific instructions on what needs doing and watch them like a hawk while they do the work.no matter how trusting they may seem to be........

 

[pussy]

Deepbluee34,

I can understand your frustrations on these workshops, sometimes they do forget who is the paymaster and the works they have to do to get it right and please the customer for return jobs, but sometimes on their sides they too have their frustrations on customers too i.e. fussy customer, never pay customer or late payment, customer that says he is right always on the problems, etc...

Trusting a workshop is a long way relationship with you, your car and the workshop, not withstanding your bank account. I trust workshops by giving them a inch a visit till i m confident they can send and deliver my car to my house and the boss on call 24/7 !!

However, i can relate this all as i have seen feuds on workshops and customer and i too had a fair share of it, even helping friends to solve the issues with the workshops. I not to say fair to them nor to the customer, but it needs a trust/earned relationship that needs to grow and at any one time, a small issue can turn big, usually starts from the customer !!...

As for your pigment '8' arms, the price outside is a region of RM120.00 each from any reputable parts shop, though BA sells it cheaper sometimes than workshops !!
As for your 'OEM' you requested, the only good OEM is Lemforder which used to be from Germany, now it comes from China(under licencee), the colour used to be black covers, now clear yellow ones. Please dun dispute Meyle, as Meyle is one of the biggest OEM for BMW and it comes from Germany still, even my brake disc from BA oem is Meyle and it's the only OEM available for the e30, forget ATE, as it is hard to get under special order(i did a group buy last time). I think i would have rather had the Meyle on it rather than the Lemforder, as mine gave way after 9 months. Now i m with 'something' else which is i bit the bullet to buy original.

So, prices from RM120 to Rm160 charge is usually, there is some mark up from the workshops need to make due to the lesser costs of labour chargers to the customer, sometimes we wonder why can't be like overseas, parts are cheap, labour are RM160.00 a hour on your car !!. Our local BMW authorized outlets charge more. To me a Rm40 to RM80 i rather give them, dun forget they also changed your rear suspension absorber top mounts which for the e34 is RM100 a side from RM80 last year prices on labour. All this extra labour goes of to paying the skilled mechanic's salary and the workshop to make sure the workers are with them for years. getting a good skilled mechanic's these days are RM3k above.
Dun forget, these days mechanics need to survive with the current times, with spare parts rising costs, oil costs, 30days payment credit terms, etc.. even the best so called sunway workshops closed up due to such high expenditure costs, customers stay away form them.

As for your case, these kind of frustrations can sometimes pissed you off, hence a thread on it, i feel too, but after a while it settles down after i think of it.

And this workshop that did it, i think they are honorable as they did replace it to the ones you wanted and return your differences. many dun do it.

have a cold one and relax.

 

[ICEMAN 68]

Deepbluee34,

I can understand your frustrations on these workshops, sometimes they do forget who is the paymaster and the works they have to do to get it right and please the customer for return jobs, but sometimes on their sides they too have their frustrations on customers too i.e. fussy customer, never pay customer or late payment, customer that says he is right always on the problems, etc...

Trusting a workshop is a long way relationship with you, your car and the workshop, not withstanding your bank account. I trust workshops by giving them a inch a visit till i m confident they can send and deliver my car to my house and the boss on call 24/7 !!

However, i can relate this all as i have seen feuds on workshops and customer and i too had a fair share of it, even helping friends to solve the issues with the workshops. I not to say fair to them nor to the customer, but it needs a trust/earned relationship that needs to grow and at any one time, a small issue can turn big, usually starts from the customer !!...

As for your pigment '8' arms, the price outside is a region of RM120.00 each from any reputable parts shop, though BA sells it cheaper sometimes than workshops !!
As for your 'OEM' you requested, the only good OEM is Lemforder which used to be from Germany, now it comes from China(under licencee), the colour used to be black covers, now clear yellow ones. Please dun dispute Meyle, as Meyle is one of the biggest OEM for BMW and it comes from Germany still, even my brake disc from BA oem is Meyle and it's the only OEM available for the e30, forget ATE, as it is hard to get under special order(i did a group buy last time). I think i would have rather had the Meyle on it rather than the Lemforder, as mine gave way after 9 months. Now i m with 'something' else which is i bit the bullet to buy original.

So, prices from RM120 to Rm160 charge is usually, there is some mark up from the workshops need to make due to the lesser costs of labour chargers to the customer, sometimes we wonder why can't be like overseas, parts are cheap, labour are RM160.00 a hour on your car !!. Our local BMW authorized outlets charge more. To me a Rm40 to RM80 i rather give them, dun forget they also changed your rear suspension absorber top mounts which for the e34 is RM100 a side from RM80 last year prices on labour. All this extra labour goes of to paying the skilled mechanic's salary and the workshop to make sure the workers are with them for years. getting a good skilled mechanic's these days are RM3k above.
Dun forget, these days mechanics need to survive with the current times, with spare parts rising costs, oil costs, 30days payment credit terms, etc.. even the best so called sunway workshops closed up due to such high expenditure costs, customers stay away form them.

As for your case, these kind of frustrations can sometimes pissed you off, hence a thread on it, i feel too, but after a while it settles down after i think of it.

And this workshop that did it, i think they are honorable as they did replace it to the ones you wanted and return your differences. many dun do it.

have a cold one and relax.

that is why for good advises just call 1-800-88-PUSSY

the BEST OF THE BEST

 

[wolverine]

There's always pros & cons for everything. So, have a cold one & chill it out bro. Cheers

 

[seewai]

Gentle reminder to myself and everyone that, this is an imperfect world we all live in.

The last time I had a bad day, I "inadvertently" drove recklessly after I was provoked by a small matter. But I forgive myself and remind myself not to repeat the same mistake.

I hope you forgive your mechanic and hope that your mechanic and/or the worker forgive themselves and not repeating the same error.

But, trustnooneok.

 

[Ecc0]

The simple answer is NO.

Please allow me to share a story.

I frequent a well know bmw mechanic, and untill this point I had no complain about their work nor their attitude. He is highly rated on the forum and tirelessly recommended. I'm not going to mention the name of the shop here.

recently I went to them because I had strange noise coming from the rear of my car. I was confident that the suspension mounts were the cause, but had to convince the boss and his right hand man until they agreed to remove my back seat to reveal a very worn-out suspensions mounts. But before doing so they had to take a couple of tests rides and lifted the car to check under its belly. In the process they found that the "pitman" joints where loose and needed changing.

The price that I the boss quoted me was RM100 X 2 for mounts, RM162 X 2 for joints and 200 for labor. We agreed about the price after I insisted that he uses the oem part. Then I left the car with him and went home.

The next day when I collected the car I found that the joints' color was funny and they looked cheap. When I asked the boss about the brand he slipped and said they are Meyle. I told him that we agreed that you'll use oem, then he called his worked and said he was wrong and it was the oem. That was pretty suspicious. I took the car and went to check the OEM part at a spare parts shop, and as expected the color was different from the one in my car and it had a brand logo clearly stamped on it and the quality difference was clear. I also saw the meyle part which looked exactly like the one in my car. In a couple of hours I was back at the shop.

When I confronted the boss, his face changed, but had nothing to say. He talked to his worker on the phone, then asked me to come back tomorrow and someone from the spareparts shop will come to check the part and if we find out that it was not oem he'll change it for me. I insisted that this is not even close to oem and that oem looked different. At this point his worker/partner came, but had nothing much to add. He tried to put the blame on the supplier, saying that he asked for the right part but they brought this. which is can't be true.

I was pretty pissed but talked to them calmly. I felt that they tried to take me for a ride. The OEM part at the spareparts shop is sold for RM120 and it comes complete with bolts, nuts and washers. And they charged me 160 for a cheap piece of sh*t which probably cost them not more than 100. I don't know the price of the mounts or the quality they used, but they probably also put a healthy margin on them. All this on top of the RM200 for what I expect a 2-hour job.

The next day they silently changed the parts for me and gave me back rm40 without much argument.

Lesson learned, never trust your mechanic, no matter how nice they seem. Always check for the price of parts yourself and make sure that the correct parts are used.

cheers,

I do agree with every word you said, but i found rather irelevant this post as you refusing to expose wrong doers (mechanic), while at same time, pointing out about high recommendations mentioned mechanic, have here, and eventually leaving others in a fog of suspicions and doubts, without actually helping any of potential victims here. Just my 2 cents about 'deaf phones' statements.

 

[deepblueE34]

Thanks gentlemen for your insightful replies.

Pussy, thanks for your advice. I'm sure you have seen a lot of this sort in your long automobile history it is not a big deal I know. I understand what you mean by mechanic trying to make a living and all that, but I don't think this is the right way to do it. It is not about the money. I wouldn't have had any problem if they had charged me RM80 over the sparepart shop for the OEM parts. But I think they over did it. It is abuse of trust I feel. They think this guy trusts us lets rip him off.

Also I havn't heard about Lemforder manufacturing in china, but melye is well know to have no manufacturing in germany, only in turkey, china and a couple of other countries. Usually thier parts considered second grade, always cheaper and you can always notice the quality difference.

Ecc0, it is not my purpose to expose the shop here. I consider this to be a lapse in their conscience, they were honorable enough to correct their mistake, and maybe one day I'll find myself forced to go back to them, so don't want to burn my bridges, hahaha. am just posting so that fellow forumers be more careful.

cheers,

 

[pussy]

Thanks gentlemen for your insightful replies.

Pussy, thanks for your advice. I'm sure you have seen a lot of this sort in your long automobile history it is not a big deal I know. I understand what you mean by mechanic trying to make a living and all that, but I don't think this is the right way to do it. It is not about the money. I wouldn't have had any problem if they had charged me RM80 over the sparepart shop for the OEM parts. But I think they over did it. It is abuse of trust I feel. They think this guy trusts us lets rip him off.

Also I havn't heard about Lemforder manufacturing in china, but melye is well know to have no manufacturing in germany, only in turkey, china and a couple of other countries. Usually thier parts considered second grade, always cheaper and you can always notice the quality difference.

Ecc0, it is not my purpose to expose the shop here. I consider this to be a lapse in their conscience, they were honorable enough to correct their mistake, and maybe one day I'll find myself forced to go back to them, so don't want to burn my bridges, hahaha. am just posting so that fellow forumers be more careful.

cheers,

Yes, if given any chance, all workshops will one to rip off every customer they get, but with the competition these days, they can't, unless you are naive to the workshop industry and chargers, pay every thing, like some who add this injector cleaner, that additive, this and that, like Perdua Workshops, the costs of this add on's are more than your service interval chargers....

 

[ICEMAN 68]

i believe this thread is worthless as it's not mentioning nor any lead for us to atleast be aware off such workshops ....

everyone have thier share of sad / cheated / frustration / ripped off ..but all i could say is try to be with your car when works are being carried out rather then leaving it and picking it up later ....

wonder how many ppl do spend their valuable time at workshops

 

[BloodDiamond]

i believe this thread is worthless as it's not mentioning nor any lead for us to atleast be aware off such workshops ....

everyone have thier share of sad / cheated / frustration / ripped off ..but all i could say is try to be with your car when works are being carried out rather then leaving it and picking it up later ....

wonder how many ppl do spend their valuable time at workshops

I believe deepblueE34 is just trying to remind all of us here not to let our guard down, so this thread is worthwhile after all.Not all of us have the privilege to spend the valuable time at workshops every moment even though most of us would love to. Cheers

 

[ramsing]

i believe this thread is worthless as it's not mentioning nor any lead for us to atleast be aware off such workshops ....

everyone have thier share of sad / cheated / frustration / ripped off ..but all i could say is try to be with your car when works are being carried out rather then leaving it and picking it up later ....

wonder how many ppl do spend their valuable time at workshops

i know a friend who went for a massage, had a ais krim and happy ending, and a month later his willy wonka fell off! but he's not sharing the name of the shop or worker who gave him my-willy-wonka-drop-off-disease, but just wants to you to be careful and dont trust ur masseuse.

i agree with iceman68, u should share the name of the shop. ur not burning bridges or doing something bad, but instead helping the rest to be aware if they frequent the shop. at least they are aware to check that they are getting what they agreed. and the boss shouldnt be mad if it was a genuine mistake. if not, then at least he knows we customers are not fools. :top:

 

[initialM]

i know a friend who went for a massage, had a ais krim and happy ending, and a month later his willy wonka fell off! but he's not sharing the name of the shop or worker who gave him my-willy-wonka-drop-off-disease, but just wants to you to be careful and dont trust ur masseuse.

Did your fren call this no 1-800-88-PUSSY ???
Do they provide delivery service? Please enlighten as I think i need to fix my "ball joint".