Another Lying Mechanic

[TickleTimeTim]

so, if you read my thread "knocking and shaking" you will see i had some axle problems. Well i took my car to the shop on Friday at 1pm. By the end of the day all of their mechanics had driven it and thought it was axle related. On saturday he tried to explain the problem to me, something needed balanced. He said he had to wait til monday to speak to a toyota tech for more info.Monday i called at lunch and he said the part would be in tuesday morning and it would be ready by noon and cost around $200 (a whole new axle i think)

So here is where the problem occurs

On my way home from work at 1128pm, i had to stop by my moms house and pick up my little brother which is located about 10 mins away from my house (the shop is 2 blocks from my house). While sitting at a red light at 1128 i see my unmistakeable yaris pass by the intersection im sitting at. The same yaris that wont be able to be fixed til tuesday morning and has a shaky and very loud raggedy axle.

I WAS PISSED

i stop by the shop 10 mins later and see water trails leading up to my car (showing it had just returned) and now my car is parked outside instead of in the bay where i last saw it. I reach inside of it with my spare key and see that the radio is turned up pretty loud ( i always turn my volume down to 5 when i get out).

So this guy has been cruising in my broke down yaris instead of fixing it. Same thing happened to my friends 05 mustang he had a lot of work done when he took it to a different guy. in his situation the guy installing audio into his car was letting his wife drive it as her daily

What Is Going Through These People's Minds?

what should i do? ask for discount? report them? Help me out here.

[fnkngrv]

Did you happen to get pics or have another witness? This would make a person wanna have one of those cheap gps loggers installed. Sorry to hear that one. Not sure which route I would take off hand.

[Damo]

Just so I'm clear, you don't believe it was a test-drive to zero in on the problem?
The stereo could have been turned up afterwards while it was stationery, being worked on?

My advice would be to always get an odometer reading prior to handing you car over to anyone.

If it is what you think it is, then that's poor form on behalf Of your mechanic.

[TickleTimeTim]

yeah im positive. hmm, it was 1130 at night and they had already test drove it and said they couldn't work on it til today. just seems skecthy.

and when i dropped it off he was kidding around and said, do you know what your odometer read? when i said no he said good and started laughing..

[why?]

if you really think they did wrong get your car back.

[JumpmanYaris]

Get your car get the mechanic and his boss and ask questions about that day, then confront him in front of him,

I'd report them to BBB and a whole lot of shit more

[Hershey]

I'd take it to someone else . Then get pics of the whole car inside and out . Also get a picture of the total mileage on it . Who knows how good the quality of the work will be . Good luck .

[TickleTimeTim]

yeah, ill prob report him. im nervous about how hard they were prob riding it. not to mention the axle felt ready to fall off as it was.

getting the car today. my wife wants to do the talking. haha. she will rip them up.

[1.5]

That sucks. Imagine if something had happened to your car. I doubt too they would be test driving the car at midnight.

[Spidermandud]

I'd yell and scream. Its the only way to get through to mechanics in TN at least. If you speak nicely they think it means they can take advantage of you, or that you don't know jack about whats going on with your car.

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

WHY did you leave it there???

[mazilla]

I would have called the police and reported it stolen and stayed on the phone until they pulled the car over.

[TickleTimeTim]

WHY did you leave it there???

I wasn't sure what to do or what my options were. Nobody was awake for me to call and get advice from. Suck situation. My wife talked to him today since i was out of state and the mechanic said he had no idea what had happened because nobody was supposed to drive it. Apparently one of the younger mechanics took it out. He apologized but offered no discount or rain check. I just dont know. I was mad.

[47_MasoN_47]

I had something similar the last time I had mine in the shop. Some dick hauling scrap metal threw a pipe out of his trailer and it bounced under my car and poked a hole in my rear bumper/tore all the little clips off. I noted the odometer reading when I dropped the car off just because I'm kinda OCD about that stuff. When I got it back, the EQ and everything in my radio had been dicked around with and some honky bullshit radio station was on. Car had nearly 60 miles more on it than when I brought it in. One of the mechanics had been using it to take people to lunch and whatnot in. I complained to the shop owner and he said that his guys wouldn't do something like that and wouldn't hear me. I just won't do business with them anymore.

[TickleTimeTim]

I had something similar the last time I had mine in the shop. Some dick hauling scrap metal threw a pipe out of his trailer and it bounced under my car and poked a hole in my rear bumper/tore all the little clips off. I noted the odometer reading when I dropped the car off just because I'm kinda OCD about that stuff. When I got it back, the EQ and everything in my radio had been dicked around with and some honky bullshit radio station was on. Car had nearly 60 miles more on it than when I brought it in. One of the mechanics had been using it to take people to lunch and whatnot in. I complained to the shop owner and he said that his guys wouldn't do something like that and wouldn't hear me. I just won't do business with them anymore.



See, thats what im talking about. Unfreakin real. My buddy had a show car 05 mustang a while back and when they were putting speakers in it, which took 2 weeks, the guys wife used it as her daily.

[shinlee]

I'd be contacting the BBB, the owner of the shop, any and all news affiliates that will listen (I BET one of them would LOVE that as a news story!), a lawyer, and hell, I'd even write your damn congressman. I'd be going freaking ape shit over that...

[Billiam]

I know it pisses you off to see someone driving your car, but you may have little to no recourse. Once you sign the release form it gives them the right to drive it.

[shinlee]

yes, they can drive it, but i'm sure there is a clause in there that states only within a certain range for diagnostic purposes or something. That just doesn't sound like someone is doing a test drive at 1130 at night, someone is joy riding a customer's car.

[fnkngrv]

I know it pisses you off to see someone driving your car, but you may have little to no recourse. Once you sign the release form it gives them the right to drive it.


Depending upon the state I am sure that is not the case. In Maine your vehicle can only be operated by a shop during their normal business hours legally.

[J_Lynn]

Ohhh please post what your wife does.
I'd tear that sorry son of a beech a new one; I would have followed them right then and there - you should have done that also. And then asked why the hell they think it's OK to be driving your vehicle that time of night. I would have lost my ever-loving mind.