Nice old mechanic cost me $300, fight or forgive??

[bcguy]

The tensioner should last more then 80k. Sounds like it was made from a cheap manufacturer. I would suggest the next time you take it in, if the mechanic can check it, tell him to do a free spin test "more then three turns, its bearing is dry" but at least, your engine wont eat valves next time. Also, buy a car with a non interference engine next time and this expensive damage wont happen if the belt snaps.

My car has cost me about $2,600 in the last six months. I had to replace two rear struts to pass inspection, buy a new tire and my junk Korean engine needed some serious work on it. The idler pulley (a part that holds my timing belt in place) broke when the engine had very close to 80,000 miles on it. It bent my valves and I needed to replace the engine head because of it (that cost me $1,890). I had the timing belt replaced at close to 57,000 miles but it did not matter.

Sorry about the rant. I just do not like my car.

[bcguy]

Hey everyone, if you think you are getting scammed and have the parts before paying, just email me the pictures of the parts. Also, a video can be helpfull. Just send it to [email protected] I can also submit the part in question to the mechanics on iatn.net if I cannot answer it.

[bcguy]

Actually, that is not a change oil lite, but it is called a Malfunction Indicator Light or "MIL" light. It is called called a check engine light. Its purpous to to show that a Diagnostic trouble code is stored inside the cars computer. In your case, the purge valve system was not sealed. A sensor sensed that the gas cap was open and the tank was not sealed. A pressure sensor in the purge system tripped this code.

Just moved back to a small town, my car is out of warranty- and lo and behold my hairdresser's father is a mechanic.

The mechanic I used to go to here in this town has retired, so I knew I would have to look for another. I really hate going 25 miles to the next town to have the car worked on at a dealership, especially since it is out of warranty.

Anyway, my "Change Oil" light and message kept flashing every time I started the engine. I had just had that done so the message shouldn't have been there. I checked the owners book, did what it said to reset the message and it still flashed.

So I went back and told Shep what was happening. He, brought out a hand held diagnostic tool, fiddled around under the dash and then unscrewed the gas cap and screwed it back on.

The message went away. He said that sometimes the gas cap doesn't get put on correctly and this will cause the messages. After I get gas now, when I get home, I removed the cap and put it back on - just to make sure it is on tightly and correctly.

Shep has done some other really minor things for us- like attach the front plate on the cars. In AZ you only have the rear plate. Here in OR you have front and back. He didn't charge us anything for doing it. We were getting hair cuts (Hubby too) at the time by his daughter. He also attached the rear window wiper for me, and added washer fluid- no charge again.

After the "Change Oil" thing, I stopped by and told him that my rear left tire felt odd. It acted odd - did I have a bump it it, or what. He tested it, then told me that I would be needing to rotate the tires shortly. I told him that Husband was going to get me new tires after our taxes were done. He recommended the place up in the next town, rather than the place in our town. Yep, we were going there anyway- they have such a better rep. Les Schwab Tires - love that place!!!

Come Spring, I will be taking the car in for a complete check up- spark plugs, oil, fluids, etc. I can probably get an oil change cheaper up at Oil Can Henry's- but then I have to drive 30 miles one way to get there, and sit and wait until it is my turn. Here I drive 2 miles, and he or one of his workers will take me home. Then when my car is ready I get a call. Hubby will then take me there OR Shep will deliver it!! The extra cost is really worth it to us to pay to a local and for the added personal service.

Finding a good mechanic is really hard to do. Just as hard, time consuming & costly as finding a good hairdresser!! Husband and I really lucked out when we found Shep and his daughter- Oh, they share a building too. He bought the building AND land, and added on a Salon for his daughter.

[bcguy]

And even dealerships make mistakes. Cars are outlight very complex. Think about cars made in the mid 1980s! they were of the same complexity as the appolo space caple.

Anyway, friend who thought he could figure out the problem him self, over two years, replaced 24 coil on plug coils on his Toyota four banger. He told me that and I said what???? Then asked him, did you save money vs taking it to a shop? he said no!

He eventually replaced the cars computer and has not had a problem since. Would have been cheaper just to have a qualified shop take care of the problem.

Unfortunately, you're lucky to get a refund on his labor. I think the old man did as well as he could considering his situation. He probably has the scan tool he used to pull the code as his only diagnostic tool. Most likely the tool doesn't tell him any more than that.

Many people are under the misunderstanding that when a computer turns the light on, you just pull a code, and it tells you exactly which part is the problem. All a code does is tell you what circuit or system that it is detecting a problem with. Most of the time, probably 80% of the time, the indicated sensor is in fact the problem. But there are also many times where a code is indicating a problem and it is up to the technician to track down the system and determine where the fault lies. This is where a piece of equipment more sophisticated than a basic scanner some into play. Good scanners cost from $1000 to upwards of $5000, and that's only to diagnose one line of cars. Plus you have to update them at least once a year, sometimes more often. Imagine spending that kind of money for each brand of car out there. Most independent shops can't afford to spend that much money, but the better shops will spend the money to buy a universal scanner that will show a lot more than the basic scanner, but not as much as the ones the dealer has. And they still don't tell the technician what exactly the failed part is. They give him a direction to go to find the problem. And in situations such as yours, even if the guy had the right tools, he likely would not have been able to find the problem without spending a lot of time and your money chasing it down. Technical books are out of date the minute they are printed. The only way your mechanic knew what was wrong was he either had a friend at a dealership who told him where to look, or he pays for a subscription to a service that gives updates daily on new things that come up for different cars.

It's unsurprising that the old guy doesn't spend the money on that stuff, he probably doesn't work on enough cars to justify the expense of those subscriptions, and dealers are generally too busy to give out free information to strangers over the phone who aren't will to pay them for it. You only paid $80 for this old guy's time, which is cheap in the auto repair world. You likely weren't even charged for diagnostic time since he really didn't do any.

Now, if you had gone to a larger, more established shop in a chain or a dealer, you would probably have been treated differently. Larger shops have access to the better gadgets, information, and scanners that help make the diagnosis right, but even then they can't guarantee they will hit on the right problem the first time. They would likely have charged you more in labor fees as well, because their diagnosis is more precise.

Also, you have to remember the reason why your shop knew that when they see the one code, to replace an entirely different part. The main reason is that someone else, probably someone at a dealer, had an issue similar to yours, where they changed the indicated part and it didn't fix the problem. So when it came back, they did a lot more digging into exactly what was causing the issue. The manufacturer probably got engineers involved, and they determined that the problem was not in the indicated part, but in another sensor that tells the computer what's going on. Then they wrote a bulletin and sent it out telling their dealers that if this particular code is indicated, the real problem is something else seemingly unrelated to the untrained. Then the aftermarket crowd got wind of it, and your trusted mechanic got all their efforts delivered to his desktop for a fee. All of that time and effort costs someone, and it's not cheap.

Long story short, yeah it happens that way sometimes, and it's best to chalk it up as an expensive learning experience. Dealers will charge you more, but you can rest assured that they are also the most up-to-date and best trained people to work on your car. And if they make a mistake, they will usually have more latitude in fixing the problem and making it right with you. Old guys (and even young guys) in small shops usually don't have the operating margins or repair volume to give you much if they make a mistake. About all they can do is say "Oops".

[Still_Small_Voice]

The tensioner should last more then 80k. Sounds like it was made from a cheap manufacturer. I would suggest the next time you take it in, if the mechanic can check it, tell him to do a free spin test "more then three turns, its bearing is dry" but at least, your engine wont eat valves next time. Also, buy a car with a non interference engine next time and this expensive damage wont happen if the belt snaps.

I am looking at buying a Scion coupe next time I buy a car. I am done with General Motors cars. I would take Ford over General Motors. General Motors just redid the Aveo. They gave it a timing chain and made a few other improvements on the car and now call it the "Sonic."