all the right in the world and at no cost then find another
mechanic
I took my 92 Maxima in because it was running hard, idling
low and acting
like it wasn't getting any fuel.  The problem was on and
off, but mostly
on.  The car ran better when it was in neutral, worse when
it was in park.
My mechanic checked the fuel pump, but said it was fine,
then he replaced
the cap, plugs and wires, flushed the fuel injectors and
replaced the
plenum vacuum?  It was $630. The car ran well for about
three miles and is
now the same as it was.  What rights do I have to ask my
mechanic to
correct this problem?

When they can't really find and fix the problem the first time chances are not
good they will do any better the second next time. But they will always keep
charging you no matter what happens. My advice is find someone who really
understands  Nissans and let them have a shot at fixing yours.

When was the last time any of this stuff was replaced? How much of the cost
was for diagnosing the problem? Was he able to duplicate your complaint in
his shop?

Sometimes a car comes in and won't act up for the tech, there are no codes
in the computer so he has to make a best guess at the problem. Sometimes we
see a car -we think- is running like crap and the customer will say "it's
running fine right now" when on a test drive with them and the problem they
are talkling about is worse than what we are seeing at the moment.

If it was over due for a tune, I can't see how anyone would expect this to
be refunded. I have no way of knowing if the car had a vacuum leak or not
so hard to say if that needed to be done. given it's a 13 year old car, it
could easily have needed this stuff done.

I'd take it back and talk to them. Maybe like I said it wouldn't act up for
them and they need to keep it until it does. We also run into the "I can't
leave my car that long" so it's hard to figure out what's wrong when we
can't have the car long enough to get it to act up. Another point is if it
only acts weird once a day and needs to be driven for hours to get it to do
this, are you willing to pay $75 a hour for someone to drive it until it
does? These intermitant problems are the WORST kind, nobody like to see
them.

I know from a consumers standpoint everyone wants this stuff to be cheap,
fast and 100% accurate as well. Many times it's just not possible with
intermitant type problems. I bet they saw nasty/the wrong plugs etc and
assumed this was the problem. This is just the POV from the other side of
the counter.

Depends on how your conversations with him went... did he make any
assetions or guarantees that he had fixed the problem? or that you
should bring it back if he didn't?

What is most important: did you approve the repairs (the tune-up in
this case) before he started but after he had a chance to perform
diagnostics? Did you go in asking for a tune-up? (maybe thinking it
would fix the problem).

It seems  you received some value for your money... the tune-up...
even though it didn't fix the problem you went in with.  That fuel
pump diagnostic was a shot in the dark... did he do it because you
suggested it when you brought it in?  Did he charge for it in the
itemized bill?

Assuming he performed the work with your approval, at best you should
expect more time to diagnose and find the real problem... but any
further repairs will be yours, IMO.  However, based on his attempts so
far you probably should find a mechanic with better diagnostic
abilities.

BuddyWh