i got riped-off by a mechanic

this is what happened, I was leaving work about a month ago on saturday when i got in my car i noticed my clutch was all the way down. So i took it to a mechanic he said it was the clutch, and he said he would change it for $400 parts and labor. me not knowing about hydraulic clutches said OK. Monday it was working he said he installed a new clutch so i payed him $400. i got pissed off cuz it rained and he didnt bother to close the windows so it was all wet. i drove the car and the speedometer didnt work. when i got home i oppened my hood and i remembered the clutch resevoir being dirty and it was like new. So i was like WTF!!! so i asked him if he changed it and he said "no just the clutch" i knew he lied cuz it also needed fluid and he added some and he said he didnt touch it. so i payed him another $50 to fix the speedometer. so yesterday i was looking in different forums what fluid to use in the clutch cuz it was running low and some guy told me if the liquid keeps going down you will need a new clutch soon. So thats when i got Mad. Today i went with the stupid mechanic and it turned out he didnt know shit about hydraulic clutches and he didnt give me a recipt so im screwed now i need to buy another clutch and have another mechanic install it so a simple $100 clutch will now cost me $800. i had though about going and breaking some of his windows but then i realized how will this help me it wont give me my money back. what do you recomend i do?

NOTES:
*needed new clutch
*mechanic cleaned reservoir and added fluid
*charged me $400 + $50
*Still need new clutch
*Dont know what to do to get my anger out

Sounds like your slave cylinder is bad. No harm done, as long as he really changed your clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing. It was probrably worn out anyways, but I'd be suspicious of his work at this point. Otherwise you'll be needing to re-do it soon. If all that is done, just have the cylinder changed now. I always give the customer their old parts. Is this guyt legit? $50 to re-connect the speedometer is crazy. He took it off when he pulled the transmission and forget to put it back on..

well at least he said he would give me a 30 day waranty and what i thought sucked is that i asked him for the old clutch and he said he took it back for his core charge. and i asked for the recipt and he said the other mechanic had it and told me to come back the next day when i returned the next day he said he looked for it but didnt find it so then i was sure he was lieing

A few things...
-ALWAYS get a receipt and give them hell if need be in order to get one.
-This is a large automotive forum. Ask around here first about a problem. Somebody here is bound to be knowledgable! ;)
-Always get more than one opinion (go visit different mechanics).
Finally...
-Live and learn

If you payed with a credit card dispute the charges. if you payed with a check or debit card you might be quick enough to stop the transaction, or at least have a record of the payments.

Bad mouth his business. It works. Trust me.

I was thinking about this last night, and more red flags came up. I wouldn't go back to him, he's what we call a "pirate." Tell everyone you know to avoid him, there is definitely something wrong. He HAS to give receipts. if he doesn't he's in violation, for one thing. Find a good mechanic and stick with him, even if he seems more expensive at first. They are out there. Just don't buy your parts and bring them to him, that's an insult.

That's why you take your car to trusted ASE professionals at the dealers....like me.....well....not yet, i'm only non ASE certified in Engine overhaul at the moment, but by the end of the semester i'll be well certified!!! But seriously, take it somewhere where you know it will get done right next time, it may cost a little more but you know it will get done right.

is there any "test" i can do? like tell him to change another part and if he doesnt do it right i could take him to court.

Check with your Better Business Bureau, they should be able to tell you if he has other complaints under that business name. Maybe call your state auditor and ask why he didn't give you a receipt? This is if course assuming you are ready to do battle.

Well, one thing is for sure; never go to this mechanic again.

I agree with aloharocky, check with BBB. Defently report him. Who knows who else he has done this to. Seems like this guy is all to comfortable when it comes to ripping people off.

I got ripped off by a mechanic who "changed" my bad starter and (2) days later it broke again. I come to find out he replaced the bad starter with a "used" starter and charged my warranty company for (2) new ones. I called the warranty company and they charged him and he went out of business within a year. So I guess he was doing this to everyone !!!

Well I guess you learned your lesson. But good mechanics are hard to come by. Just go by word of mouth. Luckily I have a good mechanic who fixes the car properly and also tries to give me some more performance each time he does a repair.

I think you should go up to him and piss on his leg, if he wants to be a dog to you and rip you off, be a dog back and piss on him...

well at least he said he would give me a 30 day waranty and what i thought sucked is that i asked him for the old clutch and he said he took it back for his core charge. and i asked for the recipt and he said the other mechanic had it and told me to come back the next day when i returned the next day he said he looked for it but didnt find it so then i was sure he was lieing


Tell him to give you another recipt! If he doesn't take his azz to court for faliure to render service, but first take it to someone and have them reasure you that nothing has been done to the clutch or anything else he has replaced. I did that and got my money back and 1000, dollars extra!

Just don't buy your parts and bring them to him, that's an insult.

^ why is it an insult, mechanics provide a service not a product. You have the right to choose what stuff goes on your ride, plus 50% of the time a mechanic will swap in stuff they find at junkyard or rebuilt crap and charge you like its new.

In any case if you really want take him to court, a lawyer will charge you about 170 bucks to take legal action but you will recieve three time what you payed in return. i.e. $1600 approx.
I have done it three times in the past 5 years and have always won my cases. once for a simple tune up that ended up frying my ECU, a alternator that shortted out caught fire and once for a crappy paint job that lasted 1 year! the longest case lasted 6 months but I always got my money back and then some. In your case the clutch went to the floor cause of a leaky slave cylinder or bad master cylinder. the job costs around $280 to fix, he lied about you needing a clutch and its bullshit that a bad slave cylinder will damage your clutch, the hydraulic clutch is completely independent of the transmission. find a lawyer dude!

I work at a garage and NOBODY leaves without a receipt.

Many people mark the part they need replacing inconspicuously so they can see if it was truly done. as far as the parts and insults go, they get a commission on the mark up of each part, so it may be insulting to them...depends.

This guy did you wrong and I would demand a receipt and threaten a law suit.

oooh, a shop girl :naughty:

The mechanic realizes a small markup on the parts, so it's sort of like not tipping at a restaurant. But the main reason I don't like it is that 99% of the time, the customer buys the cheapest, crappiest parts he can find, like from Checkers, brings them to you to put on, and then complains when his parts fail or don't fit. If a customer wants to supply his own parts, I simply tell him to go somewheres else to have them installed. perhaps some work-at-home guy working out of his pickup. I figure if he doesn't trust me to use good parts at a fair price, then I don't need him or the headache he'll give me later. Face it guys, that $80 part that you got for $15 WILL BE a Chinese-made piece of junk. If you value your mechanic over the long term, treat him right.

[QUOTE=Musashi3000GT]^ why is it an insult, mechanics provide a service not a product. You have the right to choose what stuff goes on your ride, plus 50% of the time a mechanic will swap in stuff they find at junkyard or rebuilt crap and charge you like its new.

I've been around this business for quite a while, and I've NEVER seen or even heard of any mechanic "swapping in stuff they find at a junkyard." There are reasons for this. a) it's illegal and will cost him his license. b) it wastes time, and time is money. c) it's not at all profitable, the difference in markup is minute. d) the chance of finding the correct part that would pass as new is small. e) Mechanics aren't criminals, and if they are they are really stupid. Armed robbery would be more profitable. f) (and most importantly) We rely heavily on REPEAT business and reputation. No person in business wants bad-mouthing by ex-customers.

That's mostly Bullshit, you can't find a dishonest technician where i'm from, maybe one or two, that's it. The only reason they made that piece is because it's good TV, my dad runs a GM Service Dept. and he watched that same episode and thought it was BS and only proved to put down the already untrusted automotive industry, there are only a select few bad eggs out there who ruin for everyone else.

Want happiness? Find an honest mechanic, and stick with him. Two years ago while visiting Phoenix, my son's car broke down on us. We were luckily next to a shop, and they were good. In appreciation, I still send them Macadamia nuts from Honolulu, and my son takes his car only to them. I even stopped by their shop this year, just to let them know how I appreciate them taking car of my kid's car. A good mechanic is valuable to me. A car is probrably the most expensive thing you own, next to a home.

I think you should go up to him and piss on his leg, if he wants to be a dog to you and rip you off, be a dog back and piss on him...

Or sniff his nuts and shit in his front yard...

I'd agree that "millions" of people CONTEND that they've been ripped off, but I'd still say they are mostly full of shit. Most of the people that complain don't know shit about their cars, otherwise it wouldn't be broken in the first place. For instance, one common complaint is that the mechanic wants to change the water pump and idler pulley along with the timing belt. "RIPOFF" they scream. I won't take the job if they complain about it, because to do the job half-assed would be worse than sending them to someone else.

Lurker_Rex (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=170418) is right it is hard to find a good mechanic, but i will learn from my mistake next time i take it to a mechanic i will make sure I get a recipt for the labor, and a recipt for the parts that he bought. i will also try to take it to a well known shop.

Try telling that to 89tracerman (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=220363), or any of the millions of people who have been ripped off by dishonest mechanics. I've found that most mechanics are either incompetant or dishonest (that's why good ones are hard to find). I'm sure your dad would say something like "the only reason they made that piece is because it's good TV" - he's a mechanic. BTW is wasn't even good TV - kind of boring. I only watched it because there was something good on after the show.

BTW I'm not saying your dad's incompetant or dishonest. I've never even met the guy for gods sake.

Was a mechanic, service manager now. However i can comprehend what you're saying and i understand. It's just that the automotive industry doesn't need that kind of flak right now, that's why people nowadays need to take their car to known trained professionals, there's so much stuff nowadays that being an apprentice under someone just doesn't cut it. Most independent mechanics might be dishonest and imcompetent but most trained mechanics are very intelligent, try and learn OHM's law and you'll kind of figure out what i'm getting at. I'm not mad at your statement it just irritates me when i hear or see people giving the auto industry a bad rep.

Try telling that to 89tracerman (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=220363), or any of the millions of people who have been ripped off by dishonest mechanics. I've found that most mechanics are either incompetant or dishonest (that's why good ones are hard to find). I'm sure your dad would say something like "the only reason they made that piece is because it's good TV" - he's a mechanic. BTW is wasn't even good TV - kind of boring. I only watched it because there was something good on after the show.

BTW I'm not saying your dad's incompetant or dishonest. I've never even met the guy for gods sake.
Try telling my dad that he's incompetant, and then watch him do a transmission job in 2 and a half hours by himself, or an engine job in a day. There are plenty of good technicians out there, you just have to search around. Take your car to reputable places. It may cost a little extra, but at least you'll know what you're paying for.

It won't cost him "extra", just a fair price for a job well done. The other guy keeps his costs down by using inferior parts, not cleaning parts, and cutting all the corners he can withiut getting caught.

No offense - I'll take it on your word that your dad's a good tech. However, if I went to a mechanic I've never dealt with before, and he told me he'd rebuild my transmission in 2.5 hours and complete an engine (swap?) in one day, I would go somewhere else. I know that I would be losing out on having my car fixed in a hurry, but I just wouldn't blindly trust a mechanic who rushes thru a job (unless he's someone I've known my entire life). I know most people would agree.

Remember, I don't know your dad, wouldn't recognize him if he walked up and slugged me in the face. I'm not saying anything personal about anyone, just stating my opinion.
I understand what you're saying, and that's why I say search around. Ask people who would know about it who the best people to take your vehicle to are, and other such things.

Want happiness? Find an honest mechanic, and stick with him. Two years ago while visiting Phoenix, my son's car broke down on us. We were luckily next to a shop, and they were good. In appreciation, I still send them Macadamia nuts from Honolulu, and my son takes his car only to them. I even stopped by their shop this year, just to let them know how I appreciate them taking car of my kid's car. A good mechanic is valuable to me. A car is probrably the most expensive thing you own, next to a home.
That is very nice of you! It definatly pays to find a good mechanic. I only had one run in w/ a shady mechanic but that is because I do most of my own repairs. I own a POS Mits. Eclipse( first & last mitsu I own!!) and it would not stay running. I was a freshman in hs at the time didn't know much about cars, took it to a local guy and he wanted $600+ for parts & labor (turned out to be the Mass Airflow Sensor). It sounded a little high and my car still ran, just a little rough, not a big deal! I told him I appreciated hd diagnosis but I didn't have the money at the time. I ended up buying a brand new MAS at the local dodge (DSM) dealer for about $250. As for labor all I had to do was open up my airbox and there was the MAS. $600 for a $250 part and ten minutes(literally) of labor??