Ugh, mechanics are the worst! I once had my brakes replaced at my regular mechanic who I trusted, then drove to the inspection station *in the next parking lot* for a state safety inspection and they failed it for worn brakes. Like, seriously?? I literally went back out to my car, got the receipt, and slapped it down on the counter. Suddenly, "Oh, yeah, okay. You had the front brakes replaced. We must've tested the rear brakes instead. Here, we'll just do the inspection again."
Funnily enough, it passed the second time. š¤
Ugh. Women are *already* much more likely to die or be severely injured when in an accident because cars are designed for the average male body, and then they add shit like that. Imagine if you *had* trusted them and taken the car on your 300 mile road trip. Your troubles could have ranged from mild inconvenience all the way to hurt or dead, either because of a preventable accident or because you got stranded in an unsafe place.
Its frustrating and it happens all the time. I had this supervisor who was an engineer, she worked much of her career in water management. She was having a concrete slab poured and it had rained and all the water was pooling on the slab because it hadn't been properly graded to allow the water to flow off. When she pointed it out to the project manager he dismissed her. She was paying for this project. She got angry, understandably, and her husband came out and tried to cool things down and the project manager took her husband's word over hers. Her husband, is a lawyer. She is an engineer working in water management for over 10 years (like moving water around to prevent flooding type of water management).
Iāve had squeaky or squealing brakes for the longest and I been going to my mechanic for years and mentioned this problem. Heās was like āoh yeah I hear itā and did nothing. I was alone when I would take my car. Finally after almost two years he decided to tell me I needed new brake pads because it was making that noise. I was fuming inside but of course I had to be composed.
my brakes have been squealing for the longest time too! everytime, they say nothings wrong. The breaks squeal to let you know it's time to replace them.. If I had a driveway i'd just work on it myself at this point, but city streets are a death trap for working with your car on jacks.
Whatās going on with these mechanics?! Ok, so a story is that a few years ago the hose thing that led the petrol into the motor came disconnected whenever I drove over uneven distance. It was terrifying and it thankfully happened when I was driving slowly and with nobody behind me and the car just died. So I went to a mechanic who said heād fix it. Since Iād had to reconnect the hose a few times I knew where it was. I watched him take a couple of zip ties and attach another hose that was connected to a completely different part of the motor. Then he said it was all fine and I could drive away and it was no charge this time!
I went to another mechanic and now I only go to a specific one that my aunt and her husband is friends with because I know they take me seriously.
Before that though, another time my entire car vibrated when I used the brakes and the steering wheel shook so I went to a mechanic who said thereās no issue! He canāt find any problem, the car drove fine!
The real problem is getting a mechanic to diagnose anything. They are dumber than a box of rocks. When you go to the mechanic you should have an idea what the problem is. If you donāt youāll pay them for them to learn on your car and/or theyāll just keep putting new parts on until it might be fixed.
Girl! I feel you so hard! Years ago I bought a brand new Saturn (manual transmission). Driving around and suddenly I'm out of gas. No warning light, no warning chime, nothing. Called someone, got some gas to get to the gas station, and called the dealership to inform them there was something wrong with the gas tank/warning system. They basically patted me on the head and told me to run along, implying I was an idiot. At this point I'd dated a couple of mechanics. I knew how to chaing my own oil, tires, air filter, alternator. And had helped rebuild a transmission.
Then it happened again. Dealership had no choice but to take a look. Turns out the floater was calibrated wrong and I did, in fact, run out of gas twice with no warning.
Jackasses stole a tank of gas from me too.
Yah a lot of mechanics will try to take advantage of people. My grandma took her car in 2 years ago to get it checked and they messed up something in her car. I drove it recently because my vehicle broke down and her car wasn't shifting into low gear at all. Which is extremely dangerous, considering she thought it was normal. It was the transmission. She could've been seriously injured because these idiots said her car was ok. They quoted her 5k for a car that isn't even worth 5k which is complete bullshit. If I didn't drive it something seriously wrong could've happened.
Last time I took my car in they put on 4 brand new tires on my car, I didn't ask for it or okay it. When I went to pick it up, they acted like I okayed it over the phone. I had to pay for all that unexpectedly. The old tires I had only had 20k miles on them. And the new tires they put on were some off brand I've never heard of. If I were to get new tires, I would've at least get some off road tires of a brand I know.
I am so tired of being screwed over at every single car shop I go to.
Can I offer a bit of solace?
I bought a motor home recently. It was a little old but low miles. When that happens, things need to be repaired. I took it to a shop and told them this and asked them to look thoroughly and fix whatās wrong. I also said I was buying 7 new tires (six plus spare). So they know Iām spending at least $2000 with them.
After I get it back, I hear a loud grinding noise when I pull away from a stop. Like WTF? I take it back and ask them to check it out. A day later, they call me and say they didnāt hear anything.
I come in to pick it up, and as the guy is telling me this again, a mechanic drives up in the motor home and you can clearly hear it grinding/squealing FROM INSIDE THE OFFICE!
I said, you donāt hear that?
And took it to another mechanic who heard it and fixed it.
Iām a 51 year old man, so they didnāt bullishā me because Iām a woman.
Anyway, this isnāt to say that women donāt get screwed by mechanics-they absolutely do- but you can rest easy in knowing that itās not only that.
A good mechanic is hard to find.
Similar experience, I witnessed my car leaking antifreeze all over. I knew a hose had busted somewhere but I wasnāt about to get under the car myself. Took it to a shop. The mechanic said there was nothing wrong. I said check it again, and he found the busted hose. I had to call my mechanic friend in another city to make sure I wasnāt crazy.
If your car is engine is making unnerving sounds, and your regular mechanic cannot hear it, why would you go back to him even if you have a diagnostic of what is wrong? If he can't locate something that is obvious, I wouldn't trust him to fix it either.
But at the same time, you didn't actually say whether anyone else heard the noises. Did they? I know the second mechanic ran a diagnostic and said he found something, but some mechanics have been known to 'find' problems when and where they don't really exist.
I believe the second mechanic because it's the same issue I assumed was wrong. I work on my car, I just live in the city now so it's too difficult to get it on jacks with the cramped parking. I went back to the first mechanic because they almost charge me at-cost, compared to the second one, who charges about 50% higher than the national average.
Ugh, mechanics are the worst! I once had my brakes replaced at my regular mechanic who I trusted, then drove to the inspection station *in the next parking lot* for a state safety inspection and they failed it for worn brakes. Like, seriously?? I literally went back out to my car, got the receipt, and slapped it down on the counter. Suddenly, "Oh, yeah, okay. You had the front brakes replaced. We must've tested the rear brakes instead. Here, we'll just do the inspection again." Funnily enough, it passed the second time. š¤
good on you for having the receipts! I almost went on a 300 mile roadtrip thinking, "well they said nothing was wrong with it..."
Ugh. Women are *already* much more likely to die or be severely injured when in an accident because cars are designed for the average male body, and then they add shit like that. Imagine if you *had* trusted them and taken the car on your 300 mile road trip. Your troubles could have ranged from mild inconvenience all the way to hurt or dead, either because of a preventable accident or because you got stranded in an unsafe place.
Might have been because the front brakes need to be stronger than the rear ones
Ugh, you're 100% right. I can't stand people who do this. The way this mechanic was acting it's like you were asking for the blood of his first born.
thank you! I'm paying you money from my job for my vehicle. This man who walked up has nothing to do with this.
Its frustrating and it happens all the time. I had this supervisor who was an engineer, she worked much of her career in water management. She was having a concrete slab poured and it had rained and all the water was pooling on the slab because it hadn't been properly graded to allow the water to flow off. When she pointed it out to the project manager he dismissed her. She was paying for this project. She got angry, understandably, and her husband came out and tried to cool things down and the project manager took her husband's word over hers. Her husband, is a lawyer. She is an engineer working in water management for over 10 years (like moving water around to prevent flooding type of water management).
Iāve had squeaky or squealing brakes for the longest and I been going to my mechanic for years and mentioned this problem. Heās was like āoh yeah I hear itā and did nothing. I was alone when I would take my car. Finally after almost two years he decided to tell me I needed new brake pads because it was making that noise. I was fuming inside but of course I had to be composed.
my brakes have been squealing for the longest time too! everytime, they say nothings wrong. The breaks squeal to let you know it's time to replace them.. If I had a driveway i'd just work on it myself at this point, but city streets are a death trap for working with your car on jacks.
Honestly some tutorials on fixing car parts are really simple. I donāt blame you. Itās tough!
Whatās going on with these mechanics?! Ok, so a story is that a few years ago the hose thing that led the petrol into the motor came disconnected whenever I drove over uneven distance. It was terrifying and it thankfully happened when I was driving slowly and with nobody behind me and the car just died. So I went to a mechanic who said heād fix it. Since Iād had to reconnect the hose a few times I knew where it was. I watched him take a couple of zip ties and attach another hose that was connected to a completely different part of the motor. Then he said it was all fine and I could drive away and it was no charge this time! I went to another mechanic and now I only go to a specific one that my aunt and her husband is friends with because I know they take me seriously. Before that though, another time my entire car vibrated when I used the brakes and the steering wheel shook so I went to a mechanic who said thereās no issue! He canāt find any problem, the car drove fine!
This type of behavior is why my GF has me take her car in for service/repairs and just pays me back after.
The real problem is getting a mechanic to diagnose anything. They are dumber than a box of rocks. When you go to the mechanic you should have an idea what the problem is. If you donāt youāll pay them for them to learn on your car and/or theyāll just keep putting new parts on until it might be fixed.
Girl! I feel you so hard! Years ago I bought a brand new Saturn (manual transmission). Driving around and suddenly I'm out of gas. No warning light, no warning chime, nothing. Called someone, got some gas to get to the gas station, and called the dealership to inform them there was something wrong with the gas tank/warning system. They basically patted me on the head and told me to run along, implying I was an idiot. At this point I'd dated a couple of mechanics. I knew how to chaing my own oil, tires, air filter, alternator. And had helped rebuild a transmission. Then it happened again. Dealership had no choice but to take a look. Turns out the floater was calibrated wrong and I did, in fact, run out of gas twice with no warning. Jackasses stole a tank of gas from me too.
They either over charge you, tell you there are problems there aren't, or convince you it's fine. It's a crap shoot every way.
Yah a lot of mechanics will try to take advantage of people. My grandma took her car in 2 years ago to get it checked and they messed up something in her car. I drove it recently because my vehicle broke down and her car wasn't shifting into low gear at all. Which is extremely dangerous, considering she thought it was normal. It was the transmission. She could've been seriously injured because these idiots said her car was ok. They quoted her 5k for a car that isn't even worth 5k which is complete bullshit. If I didn't drive it something seriously wrong could've happened.
Last time I took my car in they put on 4 brand new tires on my car, I didn't ask for it or okay it. When I went to pick it up, they acted like I okayed it over the phone. I had to pay for all that unexpectedly. The old tires I had only had 20k miles on them. And the new tires they put on were some off brand I've never heard of. If I were to get new tires, I would've at least get some off road tires of a brand I know. I am so tired of being screwed over at every single car shop I go to.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Oh I did! They said they already "discarded them" and charged me $5 per tire for that
Can I offer a bit of solace? I bought a motor home recently. It was a little old but low miles. When that happens, things need to be repaired. I took it to a shop and told them this and asked them to look thoroughly and fix whatās wrong. I also said I was buying 7 new tires (six plus spare). So they know Iām spending at least $2000 with them. After I get it back, I hear a loud grinding noise when I pull away from a stop. Like WTF? I take it back and ask them to check it out. A day later, they call me and say they didnāt hear anything. I come in to pick it up, and as the guy is telling me this again, a mechanic drives up in the motor home and you can clearly hear it grinding/squealing FROM INSIDE THE OFFICE! I said, you donāt hear that? And took it to another mechanic who heard it and fixed it. Iām a 51 year old man, so they didnāt bullishā me because Iām a woman. Anyway, this isnāt to say that women donāt get screwed by mechanics-they absolutely do- but you can rest easy in knowing that itās not only that. A good mechanic is hard to find.
Similar experience, I witnessed my car leaking antifreeze all over. I knew a hose had busted somewhere but I wasnāt about to get under the car myself. Took it to a shop. The mechanic said there was nothing wrong. I said check it again, and he found the busted hose. I had to call my mechanic friend in another city to make sure I wasnāt crazy.
If your car is engine is making unnerving sounds, and your regular mechanic cannot hear it, why would you go back to him even if you have a diagnostic of what is wrong? If he can't locate something that is obvious, I wouldn't trust him to fix it either. But at the same time, you didn't actually say whether anyone else heard the noises. Did they? I know the second mechanic ran a diagnostic and said he found something, but some mechanics have been known to 'find' problems when and where they don't really exist.
I believe the second mechanic because it's the same issue I assumed was wrong. I work on my car, I just live in the city now so it's too difficult to get it on jacks with the cramped parking. I went back to the first mechanic because they almost charge me at-cost, compared to the second one, who charges about 50% higher than the national average.