MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: WilSurf on May 18, 2012, 04:21:52 PM
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Last Tuesday I dropped the car of at my mechanic for the aircon and cycled to work from there.
The compressr needed to be replaced/checked/repaired.
I told them that I need the car back so I will pick up the car on Thursday evening.
No problem.
I called them on Thursday after lunch and asked if the ar was back as I am going to pick it up tonight.
Not yet, he will call the aircon shop but it should be alright. The compressor need replacement, but they could built it together so I could drive the car while they order a new compressor. He will call me back in a few minutes.
Half an hour (!) later I called them.
Sorry, the compressor and bearings are shot and they can't built it back, so no car for you.........
Aaaarghhhhh
If I hadn't called them, I had cycled up to their shop for nothing and had to keep cycling home.
Is this normal?
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From my experience, yes very normal.
LJ
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Yep after my experience with my camper recently I am very untrusting of anyone, if that's even a word! No one gives a Shit anymore and if you want stuff done and done properly you have to call and call and even call again.
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Haha I just came back to edit my post as I thought writing sh$t mighten be appropriate, only to find its already been bleeped out! Thanks computer :)
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I went to my autolec thismorning to get them to test my alternator, whilst there the aircon shatitself, they rang me half hour ago, already to go, BUT i have to take in just short of $1500 to pay for the work done, includes finding the little electrical gremlin i had.
I'm happy with the service as I'm off on a long road trip all over the place starting this thursday coming.
Good service but expensive, although i am in the pilbara where there seems to be a pilbara tax involved.
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unfortunately it is.....
Greg
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From my experience, yes very normal.
LJ
x eleventyteen
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x eleventyteen
eleventyteen +1
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Had the opposite experience last week.
Took the truck in for some panel work as a result of a recent tyre blow out. They said that they would need it all week and it should be ready on Friday. They rang Thurs and said that I could come and get it.
When picking it up, I asked them if they had a little spider clip to fix a bit of stray trim. They showed me a draw with a every clip and screw ever designed. 5 min later, all fixed. No charge!
Then when I went to pay the $500 excess, they asked if I kept the receipt for the blown tyre. Fortunately it was in the glove box. They took a copy of the receipt and took $300 (the cost of the new tyre) of the excess.
I will be going back there next time I ding my truck.
Cheers
JB
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I went to my autolec thismorning to get them to test my alternator, whilst there the aircon shatitself,
Did something similar many years ago, alternator needed replacing, picked the car up and the manager said the A/C unit was faulty, broken pipe. Do you want us to fix it?
Trouble was, it was fine before it went in. Got it fixed elsewhere.
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Yeah, I had a large multi-national company booked in for yesterday to move a MFD printer from one building on campus to another building. Got a call day before to say all is good for Thursday morning. Thursday morning came & went no show no call nothing. Called them at lunchtime & they said the movers must have been delayed, will call you back with an update in 20 mins. Guess what no call in fact still waiting for their call. Called our account manager & hit the roof etc etc. They arrived today very sheepish & moved it without so much as a howdy from them. The builders start tonight to remove all the asbestos from the building so I guess the bollocking I gave them and the comment that they could remove the asbestos them selves from the machine if they didn't get here pronto worked.
Why is it so hard to arrange things to happen these days?
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Try a dealer who tells you that a part X needs to be replaced so you tell them to order it and book the car in to be fixed after it arrives.
2 weeks later you drop the car off and in the afternoon they ring to say that part X needs to be replaced and, if it is OK with you, they will order it and book the car in to have it fitted. ??? ??? ???
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We are very lucky to have a great Mechanic who we know outside of servicing our private vehicle. However the service that my partner has had to deal with for his work car is unbelievable, when trying to get his air con fixed a lady on service counter told him it was normal for the air con to freeze over and just cut out. So one day when it spat ice out of one of the vents he drove it straight there and one of the mech's looked at it and said no that is not normal and proceeded to say what it needed to be booked in for. That is one of many stories would be great if work car could go to our mech.
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Did something similar many years ago, alternator needed replacing, picked the car up and the manager said the A/C unit was faulty, broken pipe. Do you want us to fix it?
Trouble was, it was fine before it went in. Got it fixed elsewhere.
What???
You broke it while working on it. You fix it. I aint paying.
Same as a panel beater, overspray. Would you pay to have it removed?
As an AC mechanic, that sort of Shite gripes my cookies big time.
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hm wanted to post a similar question
booked in at Opposite Lock Penrith 2 month ago to get a bull bar, cargo barrier, UHF installed.
I requested no drill job for UHF installation (i.e bracket behind the console no screws in dash board) and to have the flairs
for the wheel guards to be glued on not just pinched together as i read that it won't hold.
1st the job ended up taking 7 days instead of 1 day as they got sent the wrong cargo barrier and then it took 6 days to get a replacemnet, then the UHF was smack bang drilled in the dashboard, yesterday I lost both flairs while driving on the highway (no glue detectable) and then while closer inspecting I realized they cut with the saw in to the metal behind the fender and did not bother fixing it so it started rusting.
Am I to fussy???
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We are lucky we have a fantastic mechanic we go to in Townsville. Yes, we travel from Weipa to Townsville to get our car serviced! That takes us 14 hours to drive there. Definitely worth it! We have been going to him for 6 years.
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My first post but I've been reading here for a while ,absorbing the "good oil " before we bought a camper trailer . In my humble opinion , service and business responsibility seems to have gone missing somewhere in pursuit of the might dollar .There is an alternative -small country towns. Our local town ,pop.290 , has a servo/mechanic who is brilliant ,capable of most jobs ,with a paddock of wrecks out the back for an older spare ! We have an Outlander ,a Rodeo ,and a Hyundai Exell --he services them all for about half the price of a dealer or city based meachanic .His service is brilliant .It has to be or he wouldn't be able to get a beer at the pub !
By the way ,after 35 years of tenting it on the Murray ,25kms from home ,my old knees and back have convinced to sleep up on high !! --- in an Outback Camper ,being built now ,and ordered thrrough Jeff's Shed in Kyabram ,another brilliant country business.
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What???
You broke it while working on it. You fix it. I aint paying.
Same as a panel beater, overspray. Would you pay to have it removed?
As an AC mechanic, that sort of ****e gripes my cookies big time.
We would have to prove they broke it. Boss may not know what happened. Bloke working on car broke it and said he didn't? Hard to prove.
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Sadly, unfortunately,...... yes.!
So many replies, each of them justified, and we all have to ask teh same question,
WHY? and HOW?
Why must we put up with this crap.
and
HOW do they stay in business.
There is no 'service' anymore. No one gives a damn, and to be brutally honest. Its typically Australian.
Ignorance, arrogance and just dont give a sh$t.
Sadly, all to common.
Unfortunately, happens all to often.
Yep, I'm a cynic. All to justified. Seen too much of that crap.
Too many people 'just put up with it'. Perhaps thats why they get away with it.?
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We are lucky we have a fantastic mechanic we go to in Townsville. Yes, we travel from Weipa to Townsville to get our car serviced! That takes us 14 hours to drive there. Definitely worth it! We have been going to him for 6 years.
Holy crap! Your car would need a service again by the time you get it back home!!
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Holy crap! Your car would need a service again by the time you get it back home!!
Repeat business????
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Replaced the hydraulic master cylinder on the camper trailer, but went to screw the metal brake line into the new master cylinder and realised the thread on the nipple was different. No drama, I'll just take it to the brake shop and get them to cut off the old nipple, and slip on a new one and re-flare the brake line - 15 minutes of work tops for a brake shop I thought.
So I ring a few brake places and the only one that is interested in doing it is an hours drive away. No probs, so I speak with the guy on the phone and arrange for a day to bring the camper trailer in, when he's not so busy the following week at 8.30am. I tell the guy I'll have two little kids with me and I'm an hours drive away, so I will have to wait around for him to fit a new nipple. I'm assuming that's okay?
"Oh no, you will have to leave the camper trailer with us all day" he says. WTF? It's 15 minutes of work! You just need to slide on a new nipple and re-flare the line - one little threaded nipple, no need to fill up the master with fluid, no need to bleed the brakes, no need to screw the nipple in, I'll do that at home.... I'll even cut the old nipple off for you before I get there.
To his credit he eventually agreed to do it while we waited, but man, it took some convincing! On the day it took him a whole 6 minutes to do the job, and he charged me $30. Not bad.
I'm glad I paid for customer service ???
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My mechanic is a legend!
He goes over the entire car, never does work I have not asked for, works hard charges fair, informs me of upcoming issues I should budget for. Has the car ready onetime and gets me cheap deals on other items I need
Mick - absolute auto - slacks creek
Took me too many years of dealing with dicks to find a good one
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I went to a so called reputable mechanic that is affiliated with a 4wd magazine, and after 2 weeks of phone calls and emails, due to the fact I was on Fraser Island at the time, I had informed the sales guy of exactly what I wanted. 150K service and change the timing belt while you are there! simple. Got back hours later after trying to ring and getting no answer and about to pay for it when he told me the price. "WOW thats cheaper than you quoted" I says. "Did you change the timing belt?" "No, we weren't sure cos its only done 148K." "Didn't think to ring me and ask me?" "Take a seat and we'll do it now. It's a 4 hour job but I've done it so many times I can do it in one hour."
"So why the hell am I paying for 4 hours??"
I wouldn't go back there if I lived next door.
cheers
tig
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I'm down to the last mechanic in a 30k area - he's new & so far good.
Don't know what I'll do if he turns out to be a dud as well, we don't have the luxury of heaps of mech's around us like city folk!
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Yup- pretty much normal these days.
When you get better service over the internet, quicker delivery from China than from a local company, and better communication from some one who does not speak english as their first language- you dont have to think for long about why people are not buying from local business' .
As the old saying goes, people will vote with their feet about service.
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Can't get your car serviced in China...
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You've really got to wonder when you ring to book the car in and inform them of the issues inc split intercooler hose two weeks ahead, drop it off and tell them they can have it for a week why they only "discover" on the day it's due to be picked up that not only do they not have the hose in stock, but that there are none available in Aust! Bear in mind this is the stealership itself that's done this, and then when I asked how I was supposed to get 1200km home for work 3 days later (also pre-notified) they couldn't give me an answer. Many polite phrases were used >:D
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D4D - I know, but the bad local service, ever decreasing transport costs - it may soon be worth sending your car over seas to have the work done! :D
I have been lucky and found a good service mob, I will never use stelerships for cars or my bike again due to the extreme attitude, bad service and extreme pricing (cheaper to buy a 2nd car some times!) I have copped in the past.
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Haha I just came back to edit my post as I thought writing sh$t mighten be appropriate, only to find its already been bleeped out! Thanks computer :)
This is an option in your profile ... to see or not to see ...
Kit_e
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Sad to say, but this discussion has put a smile on my face :laugh: , because now I know I'm not the only person in the world who these things happen to. Just about everything that has been said has happened to me at some point in time. My wife wonders why I get so irritable about this stuff, I began to think someone had put a hex on me to make my life miserable because anytime I want to do something there is some kind of setback, and its not just the vicissitudes of life. Now I'm resigned to the fact that whenever you want something done on your vehicle, house, whatever, the fine fellow that your handing over good coin to to do the job is either gonna rip you off, install improperly, order the wrong part, not do the job your actually paying them to do, not ring when they should, not turn up, break something, scratch something, leave a great bloody mess etc etc. >:D
But, on the bright side I've become very good at fixing up the problems left behind and at understanding their jobs well enough to be able to tell them exactly what they should be doing when I can see what they're doing is not going to work - because its been tried before. Its been an education for me.
And dont you hate it when you've had something done, you want to know how they did it so you can understand the problem, how to stop it from recurring etc or fix it yourself next time and they wave their hands in the vague direction of said item and mumble useless rubbish like they think you wouldn't get it or they just dont want you to know - like its a trade secret or they just want you to keep calling them next time. (eg Me - 'so i'm paying you $200 because you used one of my own rags to wipe moisture off a sensor? It was that easy? So where is the sensor?' Tradie Reply 'under there', points in general direction. me- 'thanks for that, where under there? Which part is the sensor?' Reply 'just under there' vague waving of hand - said with a smile.
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"Typical Australian" does that even exist any more now Australia is Multicultural.. :(
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I can see this thread going on from a while.
I can see this thread getting filled very quickly.
Shameful.
Absolute disgrace.
The sad part is that we think its normal and it seems we have to put up with it.
I reckon I could employ a boat load of refugees to do a better job than some of the local so called tradies I've had to look at the house I'm renovating. Be a damn site cheaper too.
The government might even pay me $300 for the privilege. >:D
Absolute shameful that these people call themselves tradesmen and Australian.
been burnt too many times not to be judgemental first and cynical. All very well justified.
I've worked in some dodgy places in the past. With some dodgy workers, Australia ranks up there with the worst of them. And the worst thing,it ain't even cheap here.
Absolute shameful.
Sadly all too normal. But WHY?
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Auto-electricians never seem to listen to listen when asked not to put things in my knee space.
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I might as well add to this. I have had 3 great joys with local mechanics.
Toyota Smithfield
First experiance was when the cruiser had a service and the brake fluid cap was loose and starting to perish. Picked it up and checked that they topped up the brake fluid on the service and then walked back in and told the service guy to look at this. He said they must have missed it. Wtf, they had to take it off to top it up. He ordered a new one that day.
Second... Left cruiser to be serviced at 8.30am after booking it in 2 weeks prior. Arrived at 4.45pm to pick up and they said sorry been too busy to look at it. Hmmm I said 2 weeks notice and you are too busy to do it what about a phone call. Too busy to do that. Told them to forget it and also called their service manager who was just as hopeless.
Kmart
Had the car serviced and after checking the things they did they had charged me for new wiper blades but somehow they never made it onto the car. What else was charged and not done !! I emailed Kmart head office with my complaints and the redo of both cars. I had a call the next day and he was very apologetic and advised it was hard to keep good mechanics as they quit and work in the mines. He not my problem so I got a free service done.
I have 4 mechanics all within 1 kilometre so I use 2 and very happy with them.
Today the word service does not exist, you need to be on the back foot and untrustworthy of tradesman, mechanics etc which is ashame. If I get great service I will tell them and will always go back even if they are more expensive. Yes you now have to pay for great service.
Mark
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It is for this very reason I try and do most things myself, and find I'm getting braver each time with the technical level, thanks to the internet and great people and their advise from forums such as this one.
The other reason I do things to the car myself is I am the only one to blame if the wheels fall off, and then I am the one who may have to put it back together in the middle of nowhere, so all that practice at home builds some confidence in your ability to get out of a tricky situation without having to rely or wait on someone else.
The thing is I am very anal about things to do with cars, especially if I pay someone for the work, I like all the covers back in place properly, the cable ties and hose clamps to be affixed correctly, dirty hand prints and oil spills to be wiped or cleaned off, all the bolts put back in bash plates and not stripped cause the lazy bastards use air tools and not spanners and dont check to see if the thread is started correctly......etc etc etc, you get my point, I dont think that we ask too much for work that we pay for to be done correctly and charged at a reasonable rate.
I am glad that I have a good degree of mechanical ability and if I had the time and tools would prefer to do every job on my car even full engine rebuilds, the people I feel for most are those with no mechanical aptitude who rely solely on these clowns to keep their cars running safe and sound and having their family at risk due to the poor attitude of some so called professional.
Now my rant is over I will plug a business that due to time constraints had to have them do a little bit of auto elec work on the ute, when I dropped by one afternoon to discuss the problem they were very helpful and discussed a couple of options that they said could be looked at the next afternoon due to being a bit busy to do much on this day, no probs I didn't expect them to either as I had just dropped in off the street with no notice.
I turned up as arranged the next afternoon to find they were flat out with 3 times as many cars lined up than the previous day, I thought it would be best to probably leave it for another day as I was going to wait for it to be looked at and had other things I could do that afternoon anyway, but the guy said to just hang on for a few minutes as he will slip mine in and the others can wait because they were all booked in for the morning and didnt turn up till after lunch. So they spent about an hour and a quarter chasing a break in the loom from the boost sensor back to the ECU which was done when the head gasket was repaired, fixed the problem retied everything and taped the loom back up and run the diag machine on it all for the grand total of $45, I was more than impressed and an more than happy to refer people to them. Plus they are 4wd and camper fanatics to boot.
So if your on Brissys northside or are prepared to travel for good service and quality work try
Adventure Auto Electrics
Beattie St
Kallangur
See Mark there, they are good blokes.
No affiliation etc just a happy customer
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I am glad that I have a good degree of mechanical ability and if I had the time and tools would prefer to do every job on my car even full engine rebuilds, the people I feel for most are those with no mechanical aptitude who rely solely on these clowns to keep their cars running safe and sound and having their family at risk due to the poor attitude of some so called professional.
x2 to that one.
LJ
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Holy crap! Your car would need a service again by the time you get it back home!!
Not quite LOL! The great thing about living here is you don't have to go far to go to work. We do get it done roughly every 3 to 4 months according to the time of year.
We are very glad (as sad as it is) that we have found a trustworthy honest mechanic. My hubby can do any mechanical stuff needed but would rather pay the mechanic for servicing now we have found a good one.
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I'll throw a spanner in the works here:
Many people these days (conditioned by cheapness from everything from Bunnings to Ebay) don't feel the need to pay for good service. Everything is cheap, cheap, cheap... so for a good service person to ask for a fair day's pay for a fair day's work is getting difficult.
For instance, In my mate's tyre business (where I hover sometimes), I've seen and heard people bitch and moan about a (for instance) $40 wheel balance on a $80,000 4WD wearing $1800 worth of tyres. They justify the whinge by saying things such as "I expected this as part of your service!".
Ummm... No - you paid to have the oil and filter changed, and said you wanted the tyres balanced, too. That's a jack-up, four wheels off the car, balance, then back onto the car. That's at least 40 min time investment by the tech. That's way more time and effort than an $80 filter flick 'n fill. And for half the $.
I am not sticking up for stealerships, just putting a diferent slant on things - there is always another side to the story.
I read about someone on a forum recently, pretty much boasting about how he ripped off a retailer/manufacturer for warranty: his kids broke the product (his admission) and he thought he'd 'try it on' to get a replacement product, citing 'not fit for purpose' reasons (IIRC). It wasn't - it was an outrageous lie that cost the manufacturer the price of the product. Now, in the grand scheme of things, one giveaway product in 1000 sales might not hurt this manufacturer but it would sure as hell hurt somone with much lower sales volumes. Did this dude care? Nup - he's go his new jobbie.
So, by all means be vigilant about being ripped off (yes it happens) but always support - and be willing to pay for! - a good tradesman and good service. Find one and be loyal. It's a two-way street...
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Many people these days (conditioned by cheapness from everything from Bunnings to Ebay) don't feel the need to pay for good service. Everything is cheap, cheap, cheap... so for a good service person to ask for a fair day's pay for a fair day's work is getting difficult.
x2
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Wow what a replies :-)
It seems that I am not the only one.
The next was another great day.
I had ordered a Sahara bar for my early 2002 LX470. This was all stated in an email.
To be sure, I called them on Monday if the bvar was in and if I could collect it on Friday.
No problem, the bar is in.
So I drove down to them, around 50 minutes drive and asked for the bar.
Long story short, they ordered the bar for a Sahara Landcruiser which is different and doesn't fit.
Luckily they found one in SA and will get it to Perth.
I told him that I wasn't happy to drive all the way down for nothing.
Now they will drop it off at our front door.
It takes some effort, but it will happen.
But again, not without a hiccup.
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Many people these days (conditioned by cheapness from everything from Bunnings to Ebay) don't feel the need to pay for good service. Everything is cheap, cheap, cheap... so for a good service person to ask for a fair day's pay for a fair day's work is getting difficult.
So, by all means be vigilant about being ripped off (yes it happens) but always support - and be willing to pay for! - a good tradesman and good service. Find one and be loyal. It's a two-way street...
I agree that there is a vast majority that are solely focused on getting the best price regardless of quality, but when you get stung top dollar for crap service it leaves a sour taste in your mouth, I'm more than happy to pay extra for good service, it's just a pity that we now have to pay extra to just get what we should expecting as standard levels of service. >:(
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We are lucky we have a fantastic mechanic we go to in Townsville. Yes, we travel from Weipa to Townsville to get our car serviced! That takes us 14 hours to drive there. Definitely worth it! We have been going to him for 6 years.
Who is it if you do not mind. Feel free to Pm me if necessary. Thanks in advance.
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I had ordered a Sahara bar for my early 2002 LX470.
nice, with or without hoop?
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I agree that there is a vast majority that are solely focused on getting the best price regardless of quality, but when you get stung top dollar for crap service it leaves a sour taste in your mouth, I'm more than happy to pay extra for good service, it's just a pity that we now have to pay extra to just get what we should expecting as standard levels of service. >:(
OK this should probably go in the rant section, but I had a great mechanic nearby that actually gave great service and charge a fair price...... ;D ;D ;D ;D
But then the buggers went and had their shop burnt down in a bl@$#y fire....................
While I sympathise with them and wish them the best, it really is damn inconvenient >:D >:D >:D >:D
I need my car serviced and they are the only ones I trust after years of looking round.
Geez I hope they get on their feet again..............
Good blokes are hard to find.
Waiting patiently
Brian
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nice, with or without hoop?
With hoop, black bar.
BTW, did you change your rego Jon?
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With hoop, black bar.
BTW, did you change your rego Jon?
i did indeed. the "special" rear bumper makes my car easy to spot!
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I would agree with most of the comments here, i recently wanted a stone guard made
so i took photo's and measurements and spoke to the owner on the phone for about 30Min's got a quote $560 mmm OK i live in the pilbara so proberly double that here so OK mate I'll have it, my mate picks it up and brings it back the 1600km form Perth, when i saw it i almost cried my 16yr old son could have made a better one at school, I'm straight on the phone and i get what's wrong with it??? ummm it's crap mate , yeah i didn't think it was to good when i saw it the bloke goe's OK bring it back and we'll give you your money back,,, Lucky for me i was going down 6 weeks later.
So back on the net and phone i find one that's on a particular hard floor camper in Perth , $765 yep no worries mate a 50% deposit and it will be made and delivered SWEEEET i drop off the first one get my cash thanks bye, around to pick up the new one......... pay my my balance of $382.50 and remember that this is 7weeks after i ordered it 15 minutes later the guy comes out and couldn't get it in my Ute quick enough,,, wouldn't let me touch ect ect it felt wrong so i pick it up and yep black paint on my hands,, Is this secondhand?? arr yeah mate we sold yours I'll give $100 off the price your 5h1tting me???? arn't you??
A new one will be here Friday ,,, um i drive back on Tuesday that's OK we'll freight it up.. so after the old if you ring me up and say its to expensive to freight I'll fly down and shove it where the sun don't shine talk
so after paying $765 and now at 8 weeks I'm still waiting... >:D wouldn't let me take one off the camper on the show room floor so a quick phone call on Monday and I'll be flying to Perth, bad news for this bloke cause he's gonna cr^p stonegaurd's.
The service of business's is appalling people don't care so time to take a stand and shove the mongrel's back and spread the word so other people can avoid the
dodgy mob's.
P.S will Name the company after/if i get my stone guard.
;D
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Who is it if you do not mind. Feel free to Pm me if necessary. Thanks in advance.
I have no problem recommending Kirk. His wife Kylie is the receptionist. He services our 100 series TD wagon, our 96 model cruiser ute, and our daughters mazda 3 (when she thinks of it LoL)
Kirk's Auto Service
99 Perkins St
Sth Townsville
4725 5438
I have also PM'd you as well
:cheers:
Becboo
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This is an option in your profile ... to see or not to see ...
Kit_e
Oooooohhhhhh okay
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Getting a quote done for solar installation.
Out of 3 whom I contacted, only 1 has replied and then when the required home visit rep hadn't turned up 1/2 hour after appointment time nor called, I left him a note on the door that said: Your late - Your Fired - No Sale.
Now, I need to keep looking for someone that actually calls back and then turns up on time. I gave my re-roofing job to one bloke because he called and turned up on time, the boys doing the job were 5 minutes late and apologised and did the work in the time they said it would. Admittedly the end of the guttering leaks all the way around the house, but I short paid the final payment. I reckon we are square if they ever question it.
Kit_e
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Can't get your car serviced in China...
My old boss at the bike shop closed his doors for sales after 30 years in the 1 spot. Very successful business, but the internet has killed his accessory business.
He has now moved to a new factory complex doing only servicing.
He said the same as you, you cant get servicing from China or the interwebs.
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I have found the best way of getting a service done, is to specifically tell the mechanic what you want done. When you receive the inevitable phone call saying, this or that needs replacing, simply tell them to do the job they were asked to do, then shop around for quotes to get the other work done (if it needs it at all).
When you get the other work that may need doing you are better prepared for what it will cost you and you'll find it is sometimes a problem that can wait.
My son recently had the bushes replaced in the front suspension in his ute, this ended up costing him close the 3K after the alternator was replaced and a few other bits and pieces were replaced as well. As soon as the gravy train starts, it seems to never stop.
Always, and I stress always, ask for the old parts they are replacing, particularly if it is not a reconditioned part. Quite often your broken/worn part is reconditioned then resold (alternators spring to mind). Buying a reconditioned part is often a case of trading in your old part for a lower cost compared to an original part. If you are getting new for old, get the old part. This tends to keep them honest. If they say this or that is cracked, ask to see the cracked or broken part in-situ on your car, not after it's taken off.
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We're currently stuck in Cairns because the Holden service centre in Warragul don't know their own models >:( Had timing belts replaced by them (they weren't the cheapest, but we wanted the work done by someone who would do it right so we wouldn't be stuck in the middle of nowhere....). A part they said couldn't be replaced actually IS readily available (10 min research and we found that out, unfortunately not until after the fact), they set the timing belts incorrectly, did not replace seals that should've been replaced and all this after asking them to check over the car as we're travelling oz. Was quoted $800 and ended up paying $1300. Now we have to pay another 8hrs labour for the same work they should've done properly in the first place. Another part has also been damaged, which means we are carless for another week while the (awesome!) mechanic we're dealing with now sorts out their mess :/ Needless to say, we've called ACCC for advice as the dealer principal doesn't want to cover the labour bill as we haven't given him the opportunity to fix it...we're STUCK in Cairns idjit!!!! Everyone we've spoken to have said don't take it to the Holden dealer up here or something else will be buggered :/
We're just SOOOO lucky we made it here AND that more serious engine damage didn't happen.
We try to get the best value service/equipment/accessories/etc, not necessarily the cheapest.
Lil :)
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When you receive the inevitable phone call saying, this or that needs replacing,
You mean they actually can call you? No Way?! ???
I always found they just added everything they could to the bill (without even doing it) then argued with you when it came time to pay for it. >:(
Kit_e
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I always found they just added everything they could to the bill (without even doing it) then argued with you when it came time to pay for it. >:(
Hence the need to get a hold of the part they are replacing. If nothing else, if the part is recondition-able, you might be able to get this done yourself should the same problem occur again.
Cheers, Marschy
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they just added everything they could to the bill (without even doing it) then argued with you when it came time to pay for it. >:(
Kit_e
Hi Kit_e
Reminds me of when my Father and myself owned two cabs, our cabs were spotlessly clean, needed the computer looked at in one of them.
We got the bill in the mail at the end of the month.
$90.00 for cleaning the engine bay WTF ???
When questioned, the answer was, it is a standard charge.
All engine bays are cleaned after being worked on.
Around the same time Holden were advertizing that they would leave the replaced part in the boot so that we knew they had replaced it.
Several times we examined the part, only to find that there was nothing wrong with it.
My Father was a Diesel Mechanic by trade, we did all our own work except for the electrics.
;D
Hmmm
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I went to a so called reputable mechanic that is affiliated with a 4wd magazine, and after 2 weeks of phone calls and emails, due to the fact I was on Fraser Island at the time, I had informed the sales guy of exactly what I wanted. 150K service and change the timing belt while you are there! simple. Got back hours later after trying to ring and getting no answer and about to pay for it when he told me the price. "WOW thats cheaper than you quoted" I says. "Did you change the timing belt?" "No, we weren't sure cos its only done 148K." "Didn't think to ring me and ask me?" "Take a seat and we'll do it now. It's a 4 hour job but I've done it so many times I can do it in one hour."
"So why the hell am I paying for 4 hours??"
I wouldn't go back there if I lived next door.
Gimme an A! Gimme an M! Gimme an M! Gimme an S!
;D
I can pick that shop instantly, have read so many poor reports on them...
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Yes that shop is the worst ... stay away everyone ....
And tell that guy that does all the magazines and dvd's that he needs to be more careful about who he promotes .. makes him look stupid .
I unfortunately donated to their next dvd trip with alot of work which included their diesel chip which should really be called ROOted systems . And the customer service was the worst I have encountered ever .... >:(x10
Still they never fixed it , and I cut my losses and won't go back . There is a price on being humiliated like that ever again . :(
Anyway , back on the subject ... I have experienced so many recent poor service experiences , but they are getting that bad , that these aren't even to counter customers , these are suppliers to a business . They don't deliver on the promised day , so then my schedule is stuffed . They don't supply the entire order , and don't tell me when it will be fulfilled . Then they wonder why you take the business elsewhere . ???
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A colleague had his R51 TD serviced at a Nissan dealer.
When picking up, he read through the invoice.
"Can I see the spark plugs you replaced?" he asked the mechanic.
It was on the invoice, for a turbo DIESEL.
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I have to say the mechanic I use is unbelievable GREAT :cup:
He does not charge a fortune and will do extra things no charge. He explains everything and I am happy for my daughter to take her car there.
I have used a lot of mechanics from reputable companies, T......A, K....T, and they were a joke.
Mark
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we have a local mechanic who has done work for us...ended up being an electronic fiscal problem so taken the car to electrician and did not want any money for his part....he has fixed a few things no charge and didn't fix things that we were told needed fixing by dealership.....good to have a car that i can take back to him now