Just wondering what your worst mechanic stories are (except you dr.j )

The one time I took a car to a mechanic (I hated doing it, but didn't have the time/space to check it all out myself), I asked them to check out a gas leak the car had developed that morning (i figured it was prolly just the fuel filter - it was my wife'* car shortly after we were married, and it had the original filter at 106k).

after 'checking' for the fuel leak twice, the mechanic concluded that the gas puddle forming on the ground must have been because the engine was flooding when i tried to start it.

when he told me that on the phone, i stood silent for a minute, not believing that a 'certified' mechanic would tell me that. i mean really?! so I asked him how the gas got from the cylinders to the ground back underneat the passenger seat... and he just went silent and said that he had some work he had to get to...

on the other hand, i've worked in a shop with some mechanics for a while, and those guys (at a gm dealership) knew their crap and went out of their way to make sure people knew they weren't getting screwed.

but yeah, just wondering what your 'worst mechanic' stories are.

matt

The certified GM mechanic (at a Pontiac dealer) that thought my aftermarket console switches were stock, and couldn't 'remember' what they were for on the SSEi.

I don't so much have stupid mechanic stories as stuff like "hey missy-were you aware your car needs this and this and this and this...(and we'll need to replace the fluid in your headlamps...sorry...stolen joke....crMJWNWIII)...that'll be about $700 please"...like I went to get a tire replaced because it was all chewed up...and the guy said, "Well...we're gonna have to bring it in and see what kind of tire it is before we can get an estimate"...So I told him what kind of tire it was and he just stared at me and said..."well....it'* going to need to be matched so you're going to need two and if it'* wearing like that we're going to have to align it"....I said I was broke and it was a rear tire so it could wait on the matching and it wasn't veering at all and I just wanted the damn tire replaced THANKYOU...ugh...also, it turns out that it wasn't an alignment it needed, it was a strut problem...

My dad is a master mechanic. I've never had problems.

My brother is a mechanic but getting him to look at or give me advice on my car is nearly impossible...

O boy, I got a boxful of em!

1994 GMC truck, company delivery vehicle for the place I used to work. I wasnt the regular driver but I took it for some errands, before leaving for a 500 mile trip. Regular driver was out sick that day. I noticed the oil pressure kept going to zero at times. I called the boss...he said to take it to the GM dealer. After waiting there for about 30 mins...service manager came out and said that the dashboard circuit board had failed and they would order a new one. In the meantime" We put a more sensitive oil pressure switch in it so you wont see the gauge go to zero"

I told him that I had a 500 mile trip to take...would it be safe? "Oh yes..we checked it out thouroughly and its just fine"

I took the truck back to the shop, loaded up the trailer and truck and started my preflight checks, washer fluid, belts tranny fluid and oil, like I always do before a long trip. just IMAGINE my SHOCK when I pulled the dipstick and it was BONE DRY!!. 6 quarts of quick shop oil fixed the PROBLEM! Regular driver got a good chewing for that one LOL. I didnt get to call the dealership back, boss did, I don't know what was said.

Or the time my sister took her Civic to the Honda dealer because the key wouldnt turn. After we got it back..the Cruise control wouldnt work. I traced the circuit and discovered that they changed out the gear selector indicator with a NON-cruise model. Keep in mind that this was in the console and the key switch was in the column. So I had her play dumb, call the dealer back, they said" Oh yeah..we meant to tell you that the cruise control brain was bad too...we ordered it for you and have it right here, just bring it in, shouldnt cost more than 400 bucks or so"

THEN I took the car in..along with the schematic, I was REALLY nice and said..."well you said this car needs a new cruise control brain, but I found something interesting here" BOY that guy was SPEECHLESS! ROFL!. He promptly ordered the RIGHT switch...it was in the next day, I asked him how this other one made it in there...he said..."I really cant answer that. I will let you have the new switch at no charge and you can keep the old one"

some mechanic try to pull a fast one mainly becasue of $ and lack of knowledge and just plain lazyness

dont have problems with mechanics cause I do my own work. However inspection time I get all kinds of bull

I got some service storys, but this ones worse...
I was at the dealership wrighting up some order forms for my trucks, and the guy said "Top of the line model, comes with new heated mirrors, and the whole package"... I had to take him outside and show him the word 'heated' on the trofeo mirror. Then I popped the hood, and showd him the heated windshield box, and he just about **** himself. Then he said "This is an old car!, what is it?". What made this worse is this was a middle aged guy.

Its the on e about the lady that took her Mustang to the shop because she sadi it was too slow or something and the mechanic joyrides with a friend of his and speeds down the road and brags about it online. Then finds out the owner of the car belonged to the same forum.