My car started to make a noise. As I had to take it to my regular garage for something else I asked him to check it out and tell me what it was. He told me it was the catalytic coverter would cost around $400.00 to fix.
I didn't have the money as I was paying for the repair that he just did so I let it go. The noise kept getting louder. Well inspection time came. I had to get my car repaired as my car wouldn't pass because the noise was so loud. So I went to a second garage to see if they could fix any less. They told me it was the muffler system and it would all have to be replaced for the cost of $600.00. Then he wanted to take the inspection sticker off because the car wouldn't pass-this was April 4th and the sticker is good to the end of the month. I stopped him and he said it would have to come off by the end of the month, it wouldn't pass. He finally left it on.
Leaving the garage I prayed and asked the Lord, what do I do now. Then I remember a friend of mine had taken her car to this third garage and they had been a lot less expensive then most garages. So I went there. The man looked it over and said he could fix it for $60.00 and bring it back after lunch. I told him what the other garages wanted and he said he could charge that, too, but $60.00 should about do it.
The total bill came to $68.77. All it needed was to replace a bracket on the muffler system. He also replaced one of my tires with a used one and inspected the car. That was the total bill $68.77 with an inspection sticker on good until April, 2014.
I think some garages take advantage of people especially women because most of us don't know much about cars. There are some exceptions as my friend's daughter-in-law is a garage mechanic, but they live a long way from where I live or I would have taken the car to her. What is sad is there are a lot of great garages out there-the problem is-you have to find them.
I have the bill hung on my refrigerator door and ever time I go by I thank the Lord for sending me to that garage. Didn't mean to go on so, but I want others to know what happened to me.
Marilyn
44 comments:
I didn't mean to go on so, but I believe that this is something we should be aware of.
Marilyn
sorry you had to go through that. it happens only too often! my tip for car repairs is when you know a part has to be replaced, make a mark on it that the machanic will not notice. take a pic of it. when you go to pick up your car check to see if the new part has the mark you made on it. if so, they did not replace your part!
Thank you jaz, I would have never thought of that. I will do that the next time I have to have a part replaced. I am sure others apppreciate that information, too.
Marilyn
It's a shame that the majority of car repair places are out to cheat people out of as much money as they can.I would take that 68.00 dollar bill to both places and ask why they do business like that..it won't change them or their practice,but it might make them aware that not all people buy their baloney....I had a coworker who used to be a car mechanic,he switched to nursing because of the declining ethics in his job.
I am glad you found an honest mechanic!
Gerritje
Hi Gerritje,
I was going to do that, but people talked me out of it. One of the garages was one I have been going to for years. It makes me wonder, he took me there, how many previous times had he taken me. I am sure the medical field is glad your coworker works for them now, but it is sad about garages.
Marilyn
So sorry you have had to deal with this problem. So many out there that will treat you this way. I am very grateful you found someone who was kind to you, and gave you a fair price. Yes, I believe that God helped you when you asked for the help.
Hi Annie,
I agree with you, God helped when I asked. This problem is happing to a lot of people and that's sad.
Marilyn
Marilyn - i would make certain to keep using the third garage from now on....they seem like they are honest and good people.
please tell Jean that i have caught up on all of the Easter posts and enjoyed every single one of them!
your friend,
kymber
Hi Kymber,
I plan on staying with the third garage. They were honest. I will also give Jean your message. I know she will enjoy that.
Marilyn
How sad Marilyn! I am so happy you found an honest mechanic. We found one too. A good Christian man with 14 children!!
Hi Vickie,
I am so glad you found one. One of the garages that I thought was Christian had 12 children. I am not sure about the man that fixed my car.
Marilyn
Marilyn - I am so glad that you thought about the garage your friend had suggested. Someone must have been looking out for you. I have been through this same kind of issue this past couple of years. Sometimes it is not the owner or mechanic being intentionally dishonest. Half the time I find that many mechanics do not have good knowledge,training or experience for diagnosing problems correctly. It is still true that some shops will take advantage of because they do not expect you to women because they hope we know nothing about cars. Now, before I talk to the mechanic, I go on the computer or a book and search for the noise or problem I am having along with the year & model of the car. I have learned a lot about car problems, but it lets me talk to the repair shop using the correct terms & parts. It puts them on notice that I may be a woman, but I know what I am talking about and will not easily be taken advantage of.
Yes, some mechanics are dishonest, but many of them are ignorant about car repairs even thought that is their business. Mechanic tend to not work long for one employer so the turnover is high and so lack of experience is often an issue.
I would always get a second opinion or a third one if you get 2different opinions. If your car legitimately needs a part replaced, I ask if I can purchase my own part and pay them to install it. This often saves me a lot of money as parts bought from Ebay or an auto parts store on the internet. The cost of the part is usually as little as 20% of what the shop was going to charge me.
I am so happy that you now have someone to go to and not feel you are going to be falsely charged for unnecessary work. When I find a good service provider I give them a good review online. I also give the shop with the false diagnosis & wanted to charge hundreds of dollars a factual review so others will now who they are dealing with.
It is unfortunate that life has become so difficult and you cannot trust people to be honest. You have to invest some time in researching the problem, but there is plenty of good free advise available on the internet if you need help educating yourself on a repair issue.
Thank you Ellen, you have given me some great advice. I know that if you buy parts from NAPA, they are usually cheaper than what it will cost at the garage. Learning about cars is great too. There should be courses for women on cars. When I bought one of my cars, the dealer gave you a free course on cars, It was very interesting. Usually a friend of mine's husband checks out and tells me what's wrong with my car, but seeing he just got out of the hospital I didn't think it was a good time to ask him. I appreciate your advice.
Marilyn
I'm glad that everything turned out okay and you're driving safely. ~Doreen
Thank you, Doreen, so am I. Have you seen the weather report lately? I don't think you are going to like it.
Marilyn
Good Morning Marilyn. Praise God you were directed to the help you needed at a price that you could afford. I have a regular mechanic that I can trust and doesn't charge an arm and a leg. But, I did have to take my car to the dealer for a repair that was quite costly. The next time I had a problem, the dealer quoted a price of $300 to replace a fan blower motor and thankfully, my mechanic was available to do it for $125. It was a $96 part and 15 min. of labor. The dealers have such huge overhead expenses so I'm thankful for the smaller business mechanic I have.
Hi dynnamae,
I Praise God everyday that He directed me that day. I know dealers are expensive, too. Out of sight. Glad you found a regular mechanic that you can trust. I think I have one now, too.
Marilyn
Why do some men think women are so stupid. Few years ago I was going to buy a new car. While I was looking around the lot, not a single person came out to see me.
I went someplace else and bought what I wanted.
Next day my husband and I went to the first dealer and looked around.
Three salesmen came out. Very eager to help him.
jodie
Unfortunately, that's the way it is. Being single, I have had that happen to me, too, Jodie.
Marilyn
Marilyn,
When you find a good mechanic, it is like gold. I found a very good one several years ago. It's a long story, but he did a very good turn for me the first time I visited his shop.
All his employees have been there for years. He treats them well, pays them a decent wage and they get regular training on all the new technology. Because of that, they are not cheap, they do charge a fair market price, but definitely not a high ripoff price. They are fair.
I know I am not being charged for things that don't need to be done, so I am saving LOTS in the long run by not paying for things I don't need.
Glad you found one also!
Hello Willow's Quiet Corner,
I am glad you found someone, too. The place I went to, I found out was third generation. The grandfather started, then it went to his father and now the son runs it. I plan on going to them the next time I have to work on my car. Thank you for your comment.
Marilyn
God is good!
God is good, April.
Marilyn
I am thankful that God led you to your current mechanic. I have 2 car stories of praying about the situation and God working out the details.
Hello Melissa M.,
I am still thanking God for what he did. God has a way of working things out if we pray.
Marilyn
I’m glad you posted something like this one. Consequently those people became aware in identifying Car Repairs. We know that somehow it will help people.
It’s more of some shops have mediocre mechanics, and their automatic reaction to something they can’t fix is to replace it. But I wouldn’t put it past them to do that just to make a quick buck. It’s a good thing that you were able to go to that 3rd shop, where the mechanic knew what he was doing. At least you know a place to go to if your car starts acting up again.
Enoch Ross
Another thing to be alert on car repairs is on the parts they use to replace the broken ones. Sometimes, it’s just a refurbished part that they had lying around, and they pass it off as a brand new part. I wouldn’t be nice to just come off repair and have the same problem due to a low quality car part.
>>> Ava
Hello,
Thank you for comments and help. I a lot of us, especially women, have been taken a lot in car repairs. I am so happy that I found a place that is reasonable and I can count on.
Marilyn
“…there are a lot of great garages out there-the problem is-you have to find them.”—I agree with you, Marilyn. Sometimes, we think that what we encountered first is the best, especially when you saw the potential. You may be even blinded by it. Anyway, it’s good to hear that you spared a little patience to find the third garage. Otherwise, you'll end up with regrets.
Kayla @GeorgeTownShell.com
Hi Kayla.
Well, I just got the car inspected until 2015. Went to the garage that did it last year. I am glad there are great garages around and sorry that there are bad ones. Wish I knew more about cars.
Marilyn
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