Ever been angry at a car repair shop?

metload1 · 01-05-07, 07:30

wow I am PISSED OFF!!!

I took my car into get something fixed... Not only do they "not find the problem" they charge me $55 to diagnostic fee and guess what?

SOMEONE WAS SMOKING IN MY CAR!

My car always smelled PERFECT, I strived very hard to keep it this way and now it smells like smoke. When I got in it reeked! I'm tempted to try and get my money back but how will I prove it? It's impossible. Ya know, it's actually worse than smoke, it smells like a combination of smoke and cheap cologne. UGH!

So now I guess I gotta do a complete detail before the smoke settles in for good. I guess that goes in the list with installing my new garage door opener tomorrow.

How inconsiderate. You just can't have anything nice, unless you keep it locked up in your garage. Well, the PC can fix the key marks (another story, thank God for a plastic spoiler!), hopefully I can also find something to get rid of the smell too.

So, any suggestions? I've never dealt with cigarette smoke before, what should I do besides do a complete detail? Should I get/rent an extractor and even extract the ceiling and everything?

Crap.

Anyone else have horror stories to share? lol

jdpro · 01-05-07, 08:15

LOL sorry for laughing, but I couldn't help but think of the Seinfeld episode where someone parks Jerry's car then when he gets it back, it smells like B.O.

You might try putting a couple of those zeolite odor eliminators for a while. I don't know if it removes smoke and bad cologne odor, but it would be worth trying. Or you could try something like this: SCOE 10X Super Concentrated Odor Eliminator

Hope you get the reek out. Did you complain to the company? Maybe they will reimburse you for the cost of deodorizing your car.

BigJimZ28 · 01-05-07, 08:26

just let it air out for a few days before you go crazy with it

what kind of a problem is your car having?

themightytimmah · 01-05-07, 08:59

My buddy was a pack a day smoker and I got the smell out. Just clean all the fabric surfaces with 1:6 woolite and water, esp. the headliner. Use a rag dampened with the solution for the headliner.

metload1 · 01-14-07, 08:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJimZ28

just let it air out for a few days before you go crazy with it

what kind of a problem is your car having?

Brakes and EGR valve. Plus some other small things that I want fixed, but don't really have the time to do myself, but I guess that's what I'll be doing from now on. I told the guy that my hand brake was not working, the car rolls in neutral when it's on, so later he tells me that he got going real fast on a main road, and the hand brake locked up my rear wheels, so there is no problem. Well thanks for hotrodding my car but that's not what I'm using the brake for. Anyways I then explained to him again that the car rolls backwards in my driveway when the brake is engaged, something it never used to do, and he tells me that it's the "nature of the beast" and that parking breaks only work when going forwards.

Doesn't make any sense to me. I know a lot of my friends who had the same problem, all it took was a readjustment. I got my rotors faced a while ago and I think that was when this problem started, so they probably need to be adjusted to accomodate what rotor material I lost when I had that done.

Well, needless to say I'll never be going there again. It's a shame too because they've had great service for a long time.

Oh, and get this... My grandma lives right next to a small mom and pop car shop, so I went over to talk to the guy that owns it for a second opinion. He laughed when I told him what the other guy said, and told me to bring my car in the next Monday at 1:45 pm. He said he wouldn't have much to do that day and could real quick throw my car on the lift and check it out to see what's causing the problem with the hand brake, no leaving it there or anything, just come on by and they'll do a quick check. I get there and the guy that was supposed to be there didn't show up that day, and they'd have the car on the lift in an hour at worst. No problem, I can deal with that. 1 hour later I come back nothing. The guy says another hour at worse again. Ok, not a problem, stuff happens, especially when you are working on cars. I come back an hour later, nothing, the guy is sitting there staring at a piece of paper. Forget that. I got my keys and was outta there, I had a lot of stuff to do that day. Irritating. If the guy woulda said they worked like that I would of planned to leave my car there all day. I used to laugh when my supervisor would joke with me and say "you just can't find good help these days", now I think I'm starting to agree. Oh well, it happens. So:

Mechanic #1: Bust
Mechanic #2: Bust (at least he didn't charge me lol)
Mechanic #3: We'll just have to wait and find out! lol

DFTowel · 01-14-07, 09:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by metload1

...parking breaks only work when going forwards....l

Oh by the way, do you always park your car in neutral and the parking brake? This isn't a good idea as it places excess strain on the brake, always leave the car in gear when parked. 1st for uphill, R for downhill, Park of course for automatics.

metload1 · 01-14-07, 09:25

I have an automatic so I always leave it in park. The thing I'm worried about is that one day my park pin (in the trans) is going to snap and there will be no brake to keep it from rolling away into my neighbor's drive across the street. He's got a car out there so that wouldn't be good! lol

yakky · 01-15-07, 05:31

The forward/reverse braking is kind of true on drum brakes as the forward motion has the effect of pushing the pad further against the drum. Certainly not true for discs. It shows that the guy doesn't know how to adjust your rear discs. Sucks about the smoke smell but with a quick interior cleaning it should go away.