Guest Zenobia Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 So, today while we are out running some quick errands, the check engine lite comes on and the car stalls. History: Two weeks ago, we had the engine replaced by a nearby mechanic which cost close to $3,000. The mechanic had told us the power stearing pump is leaking and also needs to be replaced (funny the pump didn't have any problems before they replaced the engine, but that's another story....) Anyway, we drive the car to this same mechanic thinking maybe today's problem has to do with the replaced engine. Hopefully its just some minor thing related to what they did before and we won't get bilked out of more money. We sit in the waiting room for around 45 minutes while someone's obnoxious little boy runs around eating popcorn loudly and constantly trying to get attention. Meanwhile, the mechanic supposedly checks out the car. Finally, the mechanic wanders out from the shop and prints out the diagnostic, reads over it and says "Well, doesn't look like anything is wrong. Your power steering pump was leaking and needs to be replaced, but I don't know why the check engine lite came on or why the car stalled. You sure you didn't just flood the engine or something?" We answer, "Yes, we are sure." The mechanic says "Well, it looks fine to me." So we drive home. On the way home, the engine overheats and the car stalls again. My husband has a serious heart condition and the day has already been stressful for him, so I look under the hood and lo and behold one of the hoses has come unhooked and is dripping fluid. Plus the coolant tank is empty. Bear in mind, I am probably the least mechanically-inclined person I know. But it's a big fucking hose, and it's in plain sight. Why the fuck didn't the fucktard mechanic notice this? We call for a tow. While waiting for the tow, I call the mechanic and tell him the car he just looked at broke down and we are having it towed back to him. The mechanic says "We'll check it out." I'm staring right at the disconnected hose while I talk on the cell phone. "I can tell you what the problem is," I say, and describe the big disconnected hose and leaking coolant. He says, "Well we looked and we didn't see any loose hose or leaking coolant." Impatient, irritated tone. Obvious he's thinking, stupid woman thinks she knows about cars... I say, "I'm looking at it right now and I can tell you the coolant is bone dry and the hose is hanging loose - it's right here in front of me. I don't think we should pay anything for you to fix this, obviously someone didn't tighten the hose when they installed the engine" He interrupts me, clearly annoyed, "We'll check it out." We wait an hour for the tow. Neighborly people stop by and ask, do we need help? Have we got a tow? Do we want a beer? Do we want a bowl? Finally, salvation turns the corner. The towtruck driver is a paunchy, greasy but good-natured guy. I tell him about the hose and he offers to fix it on the spot. He connects the hose, tightens it with a flat-edge screwdriver, and follows us home to make sure we are OK (it's only two miles from where we broke down and its cool out, so not a big risk of overheating again.) We throw some coolant in the tank, and we are good to go. The towtruck driver confirms what I already figured out - they didn't tighten the hose when they installed the engine. Hubby has agreed we won't go back to that mechanic again. I can't believe they didn't see the disconnected hose! They must have just run the diagnostic and not even looked under the hood - because there is no way they could have missed that. I'm gonna leave the mechanic a message letting them know how unhappy we are and that we are spreading the word to everyone we know. Ironically, the mechanic belongs to a local chain of shops that runs ads bragging on how neighborly they are, and how they are good Xtians. Well, remind me to find an atheist mechanic next time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWIM Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I can't believe they didn't see the disconnected hose! ... ...how they are good Xtians. Uhm, with the sentence edits, can you see you answered your own question They can't see all the utter nonsense when they read, study, and believe an old book, so.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zenobia Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 LOL so true, Swim, soooooooo true... We wouldn't have even gone to them in the first place except they are closest to our house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euthyphro's Thorn Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I'm gonna leave the mechanic a message letting them know how unhappy we are and that we are spreading the word to everyone we know. Hear hear! And make sure you actually do spread the word to everyone you know and warn them about his incompetence. This guy has no business "working" on cars, but shoveling cow dung all day would be much more appropriate for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysealclubber Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 My husband has a serious heart condition and the day has already been stressful for him, so I look under the hood and lo and behold one of the hoses has come unhooked and is dripping fluid. Plus the coolant tank is empty. Bear in mind, I am probably the least mechanically-inclined person I know. But it's a big fucking hose, and it's in plain sight. Why the fuck didn't the fucktard mechanic notice this? Err, that doesn't sound good. I always get nervous when it comes to hot engines, you never know what extra wear and tear is happening to the internal parts. Please note, I'm not a professional mechanic, just seen a lot of engines sent to the junk pile for really stupid reasons like that. BTW, you're probably joking, but it's probably not be a good idea to rule out christian mechanics, the mechanic I trust with my vehicle is a member of the church I am attending (for the time being), and is very good. Also, to his great credit, he doesn't flaunt his religious beliefs to gain a few bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathGeek Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Never had that happen before. At least in my part of the world, religion is a private matter and it is kept out of polite conversation. Thankfully, if I have to have my car fixed in the future, I think I'll be fine when it comes to getting the job done. I'd rather deal with technical incompetence anyday instead of adding a religious component to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev R Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Three grand for an engine?! Just going by the story, this place is a horrible shop. If you continue to have problems with overheating and stalling it is this guy's responsibility to take care of it under warranty (unless his warranty is "Tail Light"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Zenobia: You can sue them for damages resulting from their repair job. If you paid for the tow truck to fix the car or anything getting you home, the repair shop may have to pay the cost. If the engine were damaged, they may also be liable for replacing or repairing the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RankStranger Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Good luck on finding an atheist mechanic. We're few and far between. Just for background information, what year/make/model car are you talking about here? Regardless of make and model, if the check engine light came one, then there would've been a stored code. Any competent mechanic should've printed that out and been willing to discuss with you exactly what said code means. From what you've posted, it sounds to me like the car was overheating from the start. This would've set a code, and he would've been well aware of the problem- and something like the loose radiator hose you mentioned should've been one of the first things he checked. I agree with everything Rev R said. They should definitely pay for the tow bill. And in theory, they're liable for any subsequent damage to the engine. Collecting on that isn't an easy thing, though. I'd suggest that, for now, you play nice and politely ask them to cover your costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysealclubber Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Three grand for an engine?! Actually, without knowing details, this is the one thing I thought could be reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zenobia Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Thanks for all your support everyone! Jesus Tits I was pissed yesterday! I just get so sick of so-called "professionals" who you can't trust to do their damn jobs! It seems I encounter them more and more often in every type of industry, and this is just one example. It's probably a result of corporations and companies hiring inexperienced, incompetent idjits because they can be paid less than someone who actually knows his job. Isker... too bad you don't live in Spokane, WA or I'd take the car to you!! LOL It is a 2000 Mazda Protoge (My husband's). To answer your questions the check engine lite did throw a code - but it had to do with "automatic" transmission. Since our car is a stick-shift, the mechanic said we could ignore that code. He said sometimes the code gets triggered on stick-shifts. But the overheating issue and the hose... I can't see how he could have missed that unless he simply didn't look under the hood. Because it was WAY obvious to me and like I said, I know next to nothing about cars... As for paying the bill, luckily we are with AAA so we didn't have to pay for towing and there was no cost to torking the hose on tight again. So we will just find another mechanic next time we need something done. Obviously these people are fucktards and we're pissed beyond belief that we've already shelled out $3000 to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomit Comet Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 3 grand for an engine transplant in a 2000 Mazda Protege? Yikes! Rock and a hard place: not quite yet feasible to replace it with a decent used car (I'm making the assumption that your finances are lean these days), but having to do all that major surgery on the car you've got is the biggest pain in the ass imagineable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysealclubber Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 It is a 2000 Mazda Protoge (My husband's). To answer your questions the check engine lite did throw a code - but it had to do with "automatic" transmission. Since our car is a stick-shift, the mechanic said we could ignore that code. He said sometimes the code gets triggered on stick-shifts. But the overheating issue and the hose... I can't see how he could have missed that unless he simply didn't look under the hood. Because it was WAY obvious to me and like I said, I know next to nothing about cars... I hate to be the one to defend your "fucktarded" mechanic, and no doubt about it, this should have never happened, but the check engine light sounds unrelated to the hose issue. He (or one of his employees) probably did check the coolant level, as well as looking for leaks. Because it was loose, it may have just taken a while to blow off. But once again, your pissed-offedness is entirely justified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euthyphro's Thorn Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Ah, but remember, the disconnected hose was discovered on their way home from the shop, immediately after the mechanic supposedly checked the car out, and the reason they took it to the shop at that time was because it overheated. Overheating before the shop, overheating on the way home from the shop... This tells me that the loose (or disconnected) hose had already leaked enough coolant to be noticeable by anyone who looked under the hood or under the car, especially a mechanic who is checking out a car for overheating and should know to look for this very thing specifically. iskerbibel, please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no mechanic, but if it was my car that was overheating, I would be checking all the hoses myself and making sure they are all firmly attached and not leaking before ever spending money on a mechanic. It just seems to me like the most logical place to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysealclubber Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Ah, but remember, the disconnected hose was discovered on their way home from the shop, immediately after the mechanic supposedly checked the car out, and the reason they took it to the shop at that time was because it overheated. Overheating before the shop, overheating on the way home from the shop... This tells me that the loose (or disconnected) hose had already leaked enough coolant to be noticeable by anyone who looked under the hood or under the car, especially a mechanic who is checking out a car for overheating and should know to look for this very thing specifically. iskerbibel, please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no mechanic, but if it was my car that was overheating, I would be checking all the hoses myself and making sure they are all firmly attached and not leaking before ever spending money on a mechanic. It just seems to me like the most logical place to start. Hmm. Yeah, you're right. I ate and slept since I read the OP, so I forgot some of the details However, Zenobia, could you confirm that the car was overheating before you took it to the mechanic for the second time though. You don't mention it specifically. It's really none of my business, but I enjoy hearing about other people's car problems for some twisted reason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysealclubber Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 However, Zenobia, could you confirm that the car was overheating before you took it to the mechanic for the second time though. Should read: "...mechanic for the second time?" I'm curious, how long does it take to get an edit button? I hate reading my posts and seeing stupid mistakes like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RankStranger Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I don't remember the exact number of post, clubber... but it isn't too many. What's that picture you have for an avatar? I worked on John Deeres for several years, and I'm quite sure that machine was never green... but I can't tell what it is. Zenobia- a 2000 Mazda is a long way from my specialty (I'd be much more comfortable with a 2000 Freightliner), so I can't really say one way or the other about that code. Sounds fishy, though... I tend to think you're dealing with sheer incompetence and ass-covering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manditag in AK Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 editing happens at 25 posts-I know cause I just made it there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zenobia Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 3 grand for an engine transplant in a 2000 Mazda Protege? Yikes! Rock and a hard place: not quite yet feasible to replace it with a decent used car (I'm making the assumption that your finances are lean these days), but having to do all that major surgery on the car you've got is the biggest pain in the ass imagineable. V.C.: Yeah my husband has tachycardia arrythmia. It's a life-threatening heart condition. He's had over $300,000 worth of surgeries since this suddenly started about 1 1/2 years ago. Thank the goddess for insurance - we've only paid around $5,000 so far out of pocket. But even so, we are beyond strapped even with both of us working. So the car thing really killed us. Babysealclubber & Euthyphro: The engine light had actually been on for days and we had assumed it was related to their engine transplant so we were going to take it back anyway. What happened that day was the car wouldn't start. It didn't want to turn over. We were finally able to start it and it kept killing - but we were able to make it to the shop because it was only a block away from where the car stalled. We didn't notice the overheating until after we left the shop. Then the car stalled again and that was when I noticed the disconnected hose. I tend to think you're dealing with sheer incompetence and ass-covering. Isker: I tend to agree!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I don't know a thing about cars but isn't there, or shouldn't there be, a law about who is allowed to fix cars? Such as that a person needs to be certified or something? I'm thinking about the risk of accident due to shoddy work by an incompetent mechanic. There could be a multi-vehicle pile-up crash on a major highway--all because one mechanic failed to do his job due to ignorance or incompetence. Lives could be lost or altered forever as a result. Not to mention major insurance would need to be paid out to cover damages. Something doesn't quite add up for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MesaGman Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Ironically, the mechanic belongs to a local chain of shops that runs ads bragging on how neighborly they are, and how they are good Xtians. Well, remind me to find an atheist mechanic next time!!! During my momentary lapse of mental health, when I was was contemplating going back to church last summer, I listened to Shine FM, a Christian propaganda radio station. they featured an add over and over again, about new furnace installments. And it said "Chose a company that answers to GOD, now THAT'S intergrity". lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysealclubber Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 The engine light had actually been on for days and we had assumed it was related to their engine transplant so we were going to take it back anyway. What happened that day was the car wouldn't start. It didn't want to turn over. We were finally able to start it and it kept killing - but we were able to make it to the shop because it was only a block away from where the car stalled. We didn't notice the overheating until after we left the shop. Then the car stalled again and that was when I noticed the disconnected hose. Mmmhmm. *strokes imaginary beard* Yeah, I don't really know. But I can stand by my idea of giving him an infinitesimal amount of credit (because it wasn't necessarily overheating both before and after the visit.) It sounds as if there could be some other issues. If it were me, and I continued to have these problems, I would definitely take it back to the original mechanic until he gave me satisfactory answers and free repair, but I don't know if it would be worth it for you. The problem is that no other mechanic is going to be coerced into fixing the problem under warranty. I really do wish you the best of luck, and don't envy your position. I've experienced some shady mechanikin', and it's no fun. Life works out much smoother when you can trust the experts. If you haven't already done so, AAA can refer you to a mechanic, although I've never used this service. Also, check out this site by the guys at Car Talk. (excellent radio program BTW. On public radio on saturdays.) Mechanic's files What's that picture you have for an avatar? I worked on John Deeres for several years, and I'm quite sure that machine was never green... but I can't tell what it is. It's a McCormick-Deering, so no, it was never green It belongs to a friend in Montana, so I know very little about it. I do know that it was rusty as all-get-out, and that black and white looks better than rust. What sort of business did you have with John Deeres? We run them almost exclusively on our farm. I don't know a thing about cars but isn't there, or shouldn't there be, a law about who is allowed to fix cars? Such as that a person needs to be certified or something? I'm thinking about the risk of accident due to shoddy work by an incompetent mechanic. There could be a multi-vehicle pile-up crash on a major highway--all because one mechanic failed to do his job due to ignorance or incompetence. Lives could be lost or altered forever as a result. Not to mention major insurance would need to be paid out to cover damages. Something doesn't quite add up for me. Well, there is such a thing as a certified mechanic, (Automotive_Service_Excellence) and in order to get any kind of deal on liability insurance, I imagine mechanics have a pretty strong incentive to get certification, and also not to make mistakes. Of course, ideally they would have many other incentives not to make mistakes, such as the safety and sanity of their clients. But I imagine iskerbibel knows more about that. @Manditag: Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jincks013 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I took my car into a shop several years ago, remember my brown Cemi Zen?, because it has a massive oil leak issue. The dipstick mechanic tried to tell me some mumbo about a broken piston ring.. I took auto mech in school, I took small engine repair, I know my way around the internal combustion engine and I know what needs to be removed to even see if a piston ring was indeed broken, it wasn't. I tried to patiently explain to him I had a leaky seal not a broken piston ring. Which with me being a female and looking like I'd be horrified by dust he gave me a condesending smile and tried to 'explain' the problem.. until I cut him short. THere are four basic things that drive the ICM.. suck, squeeze, bang, blow.. my engines problem was in the suck it has squeeze bang and blow down and if there was a problem with a pistion or pistion ring the squeeze was affected.. now find and fix the dam seal! Zen can attest that when annoyed I am a formidable force for all I am only 5ft tall. Mechanics treat people like they are a new fresh treat sometimes.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zenobia Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Zen can attest that when annoyed I am a formidable force for all I am only 5ft tall. Mechanics treat people like they are a new fresh treat sometimes.. LOL you go Grrl... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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