No shop cares about cars anymore, let me show you why i think this...
First, Got my windows tinted at the local tint shop. Tint job was amazing and cheap but, when i pulled into the parking lot to pick up my car he had one of his helper guys whipping down my car with a damn shop rag. I wasn't too pissed cause i knew he was only trying to do well but come on, A SHOP RAG?
Second, Got my Aftermarket wheels mounted, All locking studs and for a good price but when I walked into the shop to check on the progress I found three guys leaning on my car chatting. Told them to get off my f-ing car and they said," it's cool man, we have cover-alls on".
Next, Had to get my new wheels and tires balanced so I headed over to Pep Boys. I get a call about a hour into working on my car and they tell me that when trying to rotate my wheels (which by the way, I told them not to do and I have Single directional tires with staggered wheels) they broke my stud key off in my hub and possibly double threaded my hub. Luckily they didn't double thread and just had to buy me a new $80 lug key.
And Lastly, Went to Best Buy to get my Head unit and new speakers installed. Cost was ridiculous to get it all installed and then when I my car back they had broke my passenger side door handle. Didn't think to tell me that they f-ed it up either, had to find out myself later that night with my girl.

I've decided to do all my own work now...

 

I hear you. Try using only trusted shops and view the work while they're doing it.

 

Dude I can sympathize with ya, I had a shop change rear wheel seals on my pickup.....left the oil outta the rear end and when I picked it up and drove away after about a mile or so the rear end began to roar !!!
The shop manager wanted to buy a rear end from a junkyard to replace the burned up one and bawked when I insisted they purchase an OEM pumpkin from the Ford house.
They finally made it good after I threatened to call my lawyer and Marvin Zindler from Eyewitness News ! This was a reputable national chain store that was supposed to know what they were doin.

 

That is why I bought a Blaupunkt stereo and installed myself (plug and play --- required no brain to install). If I had to bring it to a best buy I would have just kept the factory radio. The less you bring the car in, the better. Nobody respects cars anymore!

 

I feel for you and I hear what you are saying. I would not take my car to one of those places. They (Best Buy, Pep Boys) do mostly everyday car stuff/repairs etc and the average person cares less about their car. What's another scratch? I only use people that I trust and how do I find them? I ask around, who mounted your wheels, who did this who did that. The shop that did my wheels also balances them? I'm surprised that you had to go to two seperate places. If you can't seem to find reliable shops ask your local hot rod shops, ask you local high end dealers who they recommend to mount aftermarket wheels. You need to do a little homework.

 

I do 90% of the work myself and when I am in a shop I am with the car the whole time.

 

When I traded my 06 Subaru Impreza in for the SRT6 I had to take aftermarket wheels and put stock back on. The guy at Tire Kingdom put my stock lug nuts on and stripped one so he put one of my aftermarket lugs on in place. I did not notice until at dealership...so without the key someone is screwed...and now I am missing a lug for my rims that I am selling.

 

Good idea... it not only avoids all the crap you dealt with but you end up knowing your car better and you can trust the work being done.

 

Hahaha, thats hilarious. I loved Marvin Zindler. I grew up watching his abc13 reports.

I actually graduated high school with his granddaughter Leslie.

It was a sad day in Houston when he passed.

 

Absolutely, always loved the blue glasses and that white tope !!! LMAO

MARVIN ZINDLER........EYE...WITNESS...NEWS ! God rest ya soul Marvin !

 

It's tough being a car fanatic in a world where most people consider them basic transportation. That's why idiots swing doors into them in parking lots, push shopping carts into them, sit on them, etc. These same folks work at all the places you mention.

Whenever I take my Crossfires or Audis into a shop, I buttonhole the manager and the technician and point out that my car is babied and, in the case of the Crossfires, blemish free. I tell them I don't expect problems, but I spend a lot of time/$ caring for them and want them back in the same shape as when I dropped them off. I make a point of visibly inspecting the car before I leave it. I check it out again when I pick it up. I've not had any recent problems.

It helps to deal with reputable people who understand you care about your car and respect it. When you find those types of shops, make sure you show them appreciation and give them referrals.

 

Goldwing you bring up a good point. The few times I've had my car into the dealership I do mention to the service writer there are no scratches, dings dents on my car. I ask him to please see its returned to me in the same manner. I also ask them to not give me the complimentary wash that a lot of dealers feel they have to do. No telling what they are using on your car.

 

Well working at a Credit Union we often talk about Customer Service and good experiences and bad ones we have had out and about and how we can avoid giving our members the bad stuff. One thing that happened to me after buying my xfire I noticed I had Michelin PS2's on the front and Pilot Sports on the rear since the pilot Sports were near brand new and the PS2's were wearing when it came time to replace them I ordered some front Pilot Sports from tire rack (Will go back to the PS2's next set because then can at least be swapped the Pilot sports can not) At any rate I went to two shops trying to get them put on and when they heard I had my own tires and didn't want to buy there's, my wait increased about an hour.... You would think that if your coming to them to give them an all labor job with brand 2 brand new tires it's a 15-20 min job and they get around 60 bucks from it ....the math says this is more then what there paying the guy who's doing that work by about 4 times. Eventually I went to discount tire who quoted me on some future PS2's with shipping it will work out to be maybe 5 or so dollars more then Tire Rack and it will save me hassel of driving around trying to find a shop. They got me in and out in about 25 minutes told me I had free flat repairs and balancing for the life of the tire and I was on my way.


I think a good rule of thumb is treat car work like food you don't want to be rude to the guy cooking your food but you also don't want to eat at a place you don't trust. I will mainly just keep an eye on the work being done an will wait there and watch them if they screw up it's handled right then if they do a good job they get a tip. If your a guy putting on tires and a guy gives you 5 bucks for putting on two tires when he comes back for four your probably going to want to take that ticket. Hope this helps. Any good service bad service stories?

 

Sometimes you get what you pay for. I would not take any of my cars to any old shop, because they aren't any old cars. The crossfire will go to the dealer since it's under warranty, but when it's out, it will go to one of the few indy shops that specialize in european cars. The other aspect is that I don't like to let kids drive my cars around, especially when the car is modded. I take my VW to an Indy shop that does mostly Porsche work, but they seem like an excellent group. First time I went there, one of the owners gave me a tour of his shop and explained to me how he likes to run his shop. They are expensive, but I will always go there when I need the help of a mechanic. I know that it's done right and since these guys are used to driving nicely modded Porsche's etc all day, I doubt anyone will get excited with a modded VW. The crossfire will get the same treatment one day.

 

You are pretty much on the money but I dont think that its just our cars its anything that really isnt an exotic. Lives have just become soo hectic and shallow that another persons propoerty is not of much valut to someone else. Its sad but true.

I like the statment that was made by Goldwing in getting the service manager to be aware that you baby your car and ensure that they know that you want it the way you left it (if not better).

I do as much of my work that I can as well. It is the only way to go!

 

You had a 06 Impreza? Nice car. Also, Shop employees driving my car is another thing, dudes are always trying to adjusts my seats and stalling my car out.

 

I took a car to a nationally recognized tire and wheel store to swap out my winter tires and wheels to a summer set. I know - it is a brainless job but I was pushed for time. I wanted to make sure they were bagging the dirty winter wheels instead of just throwing them in the back, so the manager said I could go into the shop and check it out. I looked on the floor and there were three wheel spacers laying there - they did not put them on when they changed wheels. I wonder if they were just going to throw them away if I did not make them take the wheels back off and install the spacers.

If you want something done right I guess you really do have to take care of it yourself.

 

I resemble that remark!

In about 1981 I reached the point where you are now. I asked for tools for Christmas (still have those and more...) and a factory service manual.
Still, there are times I have no choice. Mostly related to mounting tires and alignments. So for those jobs I do three things:

1. Make an appointment at the same shop and develop a relationship with them.

2. Stand there and watch them do the work but stay out of the way and speak ONLY if there is a problem.

3. Tip well.

If I see anything happening that I don't like I quietly let them know right away. Sometimes they take it well, sometimes not. Not my problem. It's my car, I'm paying, and (sorry) I'm right. All while being nice.

Lately I have had a string of bad ones too.

1. Had brake rotors replaced and oil changed (didn't have time) - lug nuts on so tight I broke the lug wrench trying to fix a flat a couple weeks later! They put Valvoline dino-oil in my 5.7 HEMI (Jeep Commander Overland) that I run 20-50 Extended Service Mobil 1... The stinking service record can be read by a 5th grader...

Result:

• Didn't pay for Oil Change, did it myself when I got home.
• Got replacement lug wrench for free, replacement lug nuts that got ruined trying to remove them.
• Got a set of tires mounted and balanced for free to compensate for inconvenience. (see 2)

2. Brought back to get tires mounted after the flat and they didn't balance them right. Major vibe. I have to have the tires balanced again.

Bottom line they completely failed to deliver on the convenience that I went to them to receive. The part that really hurts is the letter I wrote thanking them for going above and beyond with the tire mounting - I wrote it before I discovered the vibes...

Bottom line, learn how to do it yourself and don't think you can get all three of the following:

• Cheap
• Fast
• Good

Edited to clarify to which car the HEMI belongs

 

I know what you mean, completely.

Do you have any pictures of your car? It sounds pretty nice.

 

Sorry, the sad stories were about my other car - the Jeep Commander. I would love a HEMI in my other cars but I'm not that talented or well funded.