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Car Forum / Australian Car Forums / General Car Topics (Australian group) / February 2007What a ripoff!
Just had a friend call me and related a rather disturbing tale. His panel van developed a rather significant oil leak yesterday. He called the NRMA, the NRMA guy had a look under it and suggested it could be a blown sump gasket. My friend took the car to a nearby workshop attached to a service station. They put the car on the hoist, did a bit of poking around then told my friend the gasket was indeed blown and, due to a tight clearance, the engine would have to come out to change the gasket. The quote? $1600. My friend asked them to show him the blown gasket, but they declined to allow him in the workshop citing safety issues. They told my friend the job would be done by next Wednesday. He needs the vehicle a lot sooner than that, so he told them he would try and have it repaired elsewhere sooner. They refused to let him have his vehicle back saying it wasn't safe to drive and that they had quoted on the job.. By now, the vehicle was off the hoist so my mate jumped in and drove off to much swearing from the blokes in the workshop (I won't call them mechanics). My mate got the vehicle to his normal mechanic who hoisted the vehicle up and quickly spotted that the oil pressure sender unit was rooted. His quote, including a service (which was nearly due)? $80. I've been asked not to name the ripoff service station at this stage because my friend is intending to take this further with Consumer Affairs because one can be sure this isn't the first time this has happened. Unfortunately, they had not provided him with a written quote, so it is just his word against theirs. So, next time you get a large quote, get a second opinion! > I've been asked not to name the ripoff service station at this stage > because my friend is intending to take this further with [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > So, next time you get a large quote, get a second opinion! This kind of thing happens a bit, and it's normally from "specialist" repair centres like brake & exhaust outlets. I had a regular customer a few years ago who drove a then 7 or 8 year old mint condition XF Fairmont Ghia with less that 40k km's on the clock, and while waiting for his wife one day at the local shopping complex he decided to take up a local brake & exhaust outlet on their offer of a free "safety inspection". They put his car on a hoist, had a quick look at it and then told him that is was in appalling condition, with transmission & power steering leaks, the brakes were dangerously out of service and it needed "urgent repair" to the engine. Of course, there was nothing at all wrong with the car as the owner knew full well, and I'd only serviced it a few weeks previously and could confirm that it was in excellent condition. He demanded to see what was wrong, and like your mate they said they couldn't let him into the workshop for "insurance reasons". He thanked them for their check up and asked to have his car back, and it was then that they told him that they couldn't give it back to him as it was dangerously unroadworthy, and they'd be liable if he had an accident because of a mechanical failure. Fortunately, with this old guy being a retired copper, he knew full well that what they were telling him was complete horseshit, and he advised them that if the car wasn't off the hoist and parked in the driveway in five minutes, coppers would be there in ten to start arresting people. He had his car back promptly after some nasty language was offered up in reply, and he left vowing to warn anyone he could away from the place. As far as this kind of sh.t goes, it is totally *illegal* for *any* repairer to refuse to return a customer's car on the grounds of the repairer having an obligation to it's condition, and it's also illegal to do the same on the grounds of it being "quoted on". If repairers charge for quotes (some do and there's nothing wrong with that), the repairer has a legal obligation to advise the customer in advance of such a practise, and quoting on a repair in no way obligates either the customer *or* the repairer to having the work done. The *only* time any business has any lien on a customer's car is if there is an outstanding amount owing for commissioned work carried out, and in such cases it's perfectly legal to retain the vehicle until the outstanding amount has been paid. Short of that, *no one* has the right to refuse you your vehicle on any grounds whatsoever. The sooner such scumbags are run out of the business the better, and your mate should do everyone a favour and push the issue with the authorities for all it's worth. -- Regards, Noddy. >This kind of thing happens a bit, and it's normally from "specialist" repair >centres like brake & exhaust outlets. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >back to him as it was dangerously unroadworthy, and they'd be liable if he >had an accident because of a mechanical failure. It's at about this stage that he should ask them to document all the reputed faults in writing. That'll sort out the bullshit artists. They'll suddenly have to change their tune or commit to their lies and be exposed by any subsequent reputable check. >Fortunately, with this old guy being a retired copper, he knew full well >that what they were telling him was complete horseshit, and he advised them [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >mate should do everyone a favour and push the issue with the authorities for >all it's worth. >This kind of thing happens a bit, and it's normally from "specialist" repair >centres like brake & exhaust outlets. One of the most blatant I ever came across was a wheel aligner, who had no problem at all providing a written quote for a full suspension rebuild, and beyond, while claiming (verbally) that the car was in such poor condition he couldn't possibly do the alignment until the rest of the work was done. The worse his reputation got, the better his business became -- until he landed a stretch in the slammer over a non related deal. There was also a particular used car yard, in the same city, always in trouble with consumer affairs, and worse. Come Saturday morning you couldn't get a park within three blocks of the place. I used to come across heaps of their customers who almost always came up with the same line... "I know they're shonky, but I got a good deal from 'em... they didn't get me". "Yeah right (pig's arse they didn't)!" Lots of people actually deserve what they get!  SignatureJohn H > I used to come across heaps of their customers who almost always came > up with the same line... "I know they're shonky, but I got a good deal [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Lots of people actually deserve what they get! They do indeed :) It's really quite amazing to see people who normally would otherwise display a fair amount of common sense through it completely out the window when something looks too good to be true in terms of price. 99.99% of the time it something looks too good to be true it *is*, and people only get ripped off in such circumstances because their greed allowed them to be. -- Regards, Noddy. >>This kind of thing happens a bit, and it's normally from "specialist" repair >>centres like brake & exhaust outlets. [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >Lots of people actually deserve what they get! John that place would not have started with a T and ended with a C ant been on geelong road ??? Gono > The sooner such scumbags are run out of the business the better, and your > mate should do everyone a favour and push the issue with the authorities for > all it's worth. Remembering "blown sump gasket" by the NRMA guy started all this and it appears the workshop took advantage of ignorance, both customer ignorance and NRMA tool ignorance. I mean seriously, a leaking sender is common... but "blown sump gasket" ain't very fukken common at all. Why didn't the NRMA tool look a bit harder? Was he a qualified mechanic? Al SignatureI don't take sides. It's more fun to insult everyone. http://kwakakid.cjb.net/insult.html On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 10:10:58 +0000, tipsy wrote: > Just had a friend call me and related a rather disturbing tale. > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > So, next time you get a large quote, get a second opinion! A friend of mine was having trouble with his AU XR8's rear axle, it was making a terrible grinding sound so he took took it to a local diff "specialist" who supposedly fully rebuilt his diff at a cost of around $1500. A couple of days later the noise came back so he went back again and they "repaired" it. This kept happening until he got sick of it and went somewhere else and discovered that the noise was just a wheel hub that hadn't been adjusted properly. I wont name the "diff specialist" but will say that they're located in South Dandenong. Signaturea9x5l > Just had a friend call me and related a rather disturbing tale. > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > $80. BULLSHIT!! Where can you get a Oil pressure sender for $80 Fitted and a Fucken Service... Your a dick head mate... and why did 2 different unrelated People say the same thing, It looks like a Oil seal.... DH.. > I've been asked not to name the ripoff service station at this stage > because my friend is intending to take this further with [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > So, next time you get a large quote, get a second opinion! "A Queenslander" <qld@qld.com.au> wrote in message news:45cdc9a5$0$31844$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader- > BULLSHIT!! > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > and why did 2 different unrelated People say the same thing, It looks like > a Oil seal.... Does it? Which one? :) -- Regards, Noddy. >> Just had a friend call me and related a rather disturbing tale. >> [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > > DH.. Apart from the $80 price the story sounds feasible. Maybe it was a typo because $180.00 would be about right for a minor service plus replacing an oil pressure switch? Daryl In article <45ce4787$0$502$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader- 03.brisbane.pipenetworks.com.au>, walford@iprimus.com.au says... > >> Just had a friend call me and related a rather disturbing tale. > >> [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > Maybe it was a typo because $180.00 would be about right for a minor > service plus replacing an oil pressure switch? Cost me $7, the last oil pressure switch I replaced on the bike in '95. Damned NT rocks. Al SignatureI don't take sides. It's more fun to insult everyone. http://kwakakid.cjb.net/insult.html > and why did 2 different unrelated People say the same thing, It looks like > a Oil seal.... Use your brain queenslander. The owner told the garage the NRMA guy thought it was the sump gasket. They thought a "confirmation" of the problem would be an easy con. Michael >> Just had a friend call me and related a rather disturbing tale. >> [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > > DH.. A sender from the wreckers and an oil change would be about $80. >> I've been asked not to name the ripoff service station at this stage >> because my friend is intending to take this further with [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> >> So, next time you get a large quote, get a second opinion! > A sender from the wreckers and an oil change would be about $80. A brand new sender is about 12 bucks from any auto parts store (which takes all of 38 seconds to change), and 68 bucks for an oil & filter change sounds like a bit of a stiff to me. Maybe they washed the engine as well :) -- Regards, Noddy. > > > A sender from the wreckers and an oil change would be about $80. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Maybe they washed the engine as well :) They put in a new filter as well. > > > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > They put in a new filter as well. Well I hope your friend dropped of a carton of tipsy beerloving beer to the guy as well. Al SignatureI don't take sides. It's more fun to insult everyone. http://kwakakid.cjb.net/insult.html I once replaced the clutch master cylinder ,and some how pushed the cruise control switch back when i lifted the pedal to replace the pin and circlip. Some weeks latter going on the F3 i noticed the cruise wasn't working, it so happened i had the car booked in for a AC service that week and asked the auto electrician to check the cruise while it was there. Imagine my surprise when i picked it up and was told the computer was had it and needed a new one $600,i asked him if all connections had been checked and he said every thing ealse was ok ,so i booked it in for a latter date. When i got home i started to think about when it stopped working and decided to check the clutch switch my self, And there it was just hanging there,I went strait back [was i angry] and with people standing at the counter i let him know he was trying to rip me off. The car was out side and he refused to take it for a drive to show i was right. As he was a member of the RTA, i wrote to them and i got a letter from the repairer apologizing and offering a free serviceAir con service. Any easy mark is money for little work. Signatureamber.2 >> A sender from the wreckers and an oil change would be about $80. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Maybe they washed the engine as well :) Bet you charged a lot more than $80.00 for a job like that:-) Most charge at least $90.00 for a minor service plus supply and fit an oil pressure switch so the total would be about $150.00 at most workshops. Daryl >>> A sender from the wreckers and an oil change would be about $80. >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Daryl You guys all go to the wrong mechanics then, my old 323 died a while ago, just stopped dead, I got it around to my mechanic (the same one I have been going to for 20 + years) and he found the fault, (rotor button) replaced it and the entire bill was $46 $11 for a rotor button and $35 for half hour labour. Signature"My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober." G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936) > You guys all go to the wrong mechanics then, my old 323 died a while ago, > just stopped dead, I got it around to my mechanic (the same one I have > been going to for 20 + years) and he found the fault, (rotor button) > replaced it and the entire bill was $46 > $11 for a rotor button and $35 for half hour labour. Jesus, half an hour to diagnose a crook rotor button? Get a new mechanic for f.ck's sake :) -- Regards, Noddy. >> You guys all go to the wrong mechanics then, my old 323 died a while ago, >> just stopped dead, I got it around to my mechanic (the same one I have [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Jesus, half an hour to diagnose a crook rotor button? Get a new mechanic > for f.ck's sake :) Seems reasonable. They can arc inside the dizzy so it's impossible to see the fault. Michael >>> You guys all go to the wrong mechanics then, my old 323 died a while ago, >>> just stopped dead, I got it around to my mechanic (the same one I have [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >Seems reasonable. They can arc inside the dizzy so it's impossible to see >the fault. You don't need to see the fault (and I doubt if anyone who knew what they were doing ever bothered to look for one). Simply remove the coil HT wire from the distributor cap and hold the bare end near the rotor arm while using a screwdriver to make and break the points... if the spark jumps across to the rotor arm it's f.cked. Takes but a few minutes to test and replace. If there's arcing tracks inside the distributor cap, then it needs replacing as well. Not that it's likely to stop the car from running (as a crook rotor frequently does). SignatureJohn H > Seems reasonable. They can arc inside the dizzy so it's impossible to see > the fault. I was joking. It seemed reasonable to me as well :) -- Regards, Noddy. >> Seems reasonable. They can arc inside the dizzy so it's impossible to see >> the fault. > > I was joking. It seemed reasonable to me as well :) I did consider that maybe you were but with just plain text it's hard to tell. :-) Michael >> You guys all go to the wrong mechanics then, my old 323 died a while ago, >> just stopped dead, I got it around to my mechanic (the same one I have [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Regards, > Noddy. I see you miss read what I wrote, the TOTAL time from finding the fault, to sourcing a replacement and the installing and checking was 30 minutes, finding the problem took a couple of minutes, replacing the part took a few more minutes, he only charged me 30 minutes for the job, What was the minimum time increment you charged Noddy ?? Signature"My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober." G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936) > I see you miss read what I wrote, the TOTAL time from finding the fault, > to sourcing a replacement and the installing and checking was 30 minutes, > finding the problem took a couple of minutes, replacing the part took a > few more minutes, he only charged me 30 minutes for the job, I was joking. I thought it was pretty reasonable actually. > What was the minimum time increment you charged Noddy ?? An hour, at 50 bucks. -- Regards, Noddy. >> I see you miss read what I wrote, the TOTAL time from finding the fault, >> to sourcing a replacement and the installing and checking was 30 minutes, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Regards, > Noddy. :-) no problems. Signature"My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober." G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936) > > I see you miss read what I wrote, the TOTAL time from finding the fault, > > to sourcing a replacement and the installing and checking was 30 minutes, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > An hour, at 50 bucks. 10 times that for me because I no longer want to work on heaps of sh.t :-)))) ...unless it's our own. Al SignatureI don't take sides. It's more fun to insult everyone. http://kwakakid.cjb.net/insult.html "Albm&ctd" <alb_mandctdNOWMD@connexus.net.au> wrote in message > 10 times that for me because I no longer want to work on heaps > of sh.t :-)))) Lol :) > ...unless it's our own. They're the ones I usually like to work on the least, as there's no money in those :) -- Regards, Noddy. > >>> A sender from the wreckers and an oil change would be about $80. > >> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > and the entire bill was $46 > $11 for a rotor button and $35 for half hour labour. He felt sorry for for you obviously. Al SignatureI don't take sides. It's more fun to insult everyone. http://kwakakid.cjb.net/insult.html >> >>> A sender from the wreckers and an oil change would be about $80. >> >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Al If sympathy can save me money, who am I to argue :-) Signature"My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober." G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936) "D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message news:45ceb532$0$505$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader- > Bet you charged a lot more than $80.00 for a job like that:-) Actually, I didn't :) I used to charge 75 bucks for a straight oil & filter change, provided it was a "mainstream" vehicle that didn't hold 40 litres of oil or use some special filter that had to be flown in by private Learjet from Peru. If it was anything more than the standard 5 litres, it was 10 bucks per litre for any additional oil plus whatever the retail cost of the filter was if it was "special" > Most charge at least $90.00 for a minor service plus supply and fit an oil > pressure switch so the total would be about $150.00 at most workshops. Yeah, most likely. A bit much if you ask me, when an oil pressure sender for a plastic is all of 10 bucks at most parts outlets, and changing one takes under a minute. I actually found the roadside mechanic's diagnosis funny, as I've never seen a sump gasket "blow" in my life :) -- Regards, Noddy. > "D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message > news:45ceb532$0$505$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader- [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > any additional oil plus whatever the retail cost of the filter was if it was > "special" With prices like that which are considerably lower than anyone else the customers should have been queuing around the corner waiting for a cheap service:-) >> Most charge at least $90.00 for a minor service plus supply and fit an oil >> pressure switch so the total would be about $150.00 at most workshops. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I actually found the roadside mechanic's diagnosis funny, as I've never seen > a sump gasket "blow" in my life :) Exactly what I thought, how can a sump gasket "blow"? Maybe it might start to leak if all or some of the bolts fell out or came loose. Daryl > Exactly what I thought, how can a sump gasket "blow"? > Maybe it might start to leak if all or some of the bolts fell out or came > loose. Or if it was on a magna. > Daryl "D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message news:45cef0b9$0$506$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader- > With prices like that which are considerably lower than anyone else the > customers should have been queuing around the corner waiting for a cheap > service:-) Yeah, I used to be kept pretty busy :) The majority of my trade was fleet maintenance, and I earned a pretty good whack out of it. The downside was that fleet managers always looked at the bottom line, so you had to be reasonably competitive if you wanted to keep the contracts. That often meant being a little cheaper than most, being available for after hours work if it was necessary, and slinging the odd fleet manager a bottle of Glenfedich or some such luxury at Christmas. I used to charge my private customers the same rate, mainly because the fleet stuff paid the bills, and the privateers appreciated the help. > Exactly what I thought, how can a sump gasket "blow"? Fuked if I know. > Maybe it might start to leak if all or some of the bolts fell out or came > loose. Even so, the only time I've ever seen one piss oil out on a massive scale is when the gasket has been damaged by a rod getting chucked out the side :) -- Regards, Noddy. > Even so, the only time I've ever seen one piss oil out on a massive scale > is when the gasket has been damaged by a rod getting chucked out the side > :) I've seen one piss oil when used to squash a keep left sign. It wasn't my car luckily :-) Michael >> Maybe it might start to leak if all or some of the bolts fell out or came >> loose. > > Even so, the only time I've ever seen one piss oil out on a massive scale is > when the gasket has been damaged by a rod getting chucked out the side :) That will do it, those rods are pricks of things:-) Daryl > "D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message > news:45ceb532$0$505$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader- [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > I actually found the roadside mechanic's diagnosis funny, as I've never seen > a sump gasket "blow" in my life :) A sparked sump, can blow the gasket out,..but it also has some other very obvious symptoms :-) Jason This type of dishonesty and robbery occurs in any servicing industry where the customer is assumed to be totally ignorant of the techmology involved. In the electronics industry, and by this I mean any appliance which uses electronics: white goods thru to TV/audio gear, the situation is probably worse. Cheap throw away products while a questionable approach to how things should be done,.has lessened the scope for such stings. Cars are a different matter however, with large "profits" to be gained. Always get a second opinion, even if the car has been towed in,..careful questioning on what is claimed is wrong (over the phone ), can most times be checked afterwards. Jason > This type of dishonesty and robbery occurs in any servicing industry where > the customer is assumed to be totally ignorant of the techmology involved. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > questioning on what is claimed is wrong (over the phone ), can most times be > checked afterwards. I really can't wait for shitty throwaway cars from China. 3 blocks and the wheels fall off. What do you expect for $5? Keep the oil and filter, change the car. Seriously though, I find cheap electronic/electrical crap usually ends up with the consumer - ME - having to cart the fukken thing all over the place looking for a repairer that tells me it's not worth fixing and a vendor that won't take it back.. or they don't have any more in stock and I will have to wait 75 years for a replacement.. because it has a liftime warranty :-) This is why the Gov took guns off us, just take the offending piece out the back and... Al SignatureI don't take sides. It's more fun to insult everyone. http://kwakakid.cjb.net/insult.html |
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