Mechanic ruined my car. What should I do?

I went to pick my car up from the shop on 5/26/06. I paid $491.46 for
the work that was done on my vehicle. I took it in to have the timing
belt replaced. They changed the timing belt, balance shaft belt, seals,
and water pump. I have a 1990 volvo 740 GLE 16 valve. I went out and
decided to check all of my fluids before I left. I noticed that there
was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. In addition, I noticed that
someone had left some tools in my engine compartment. I proceeded to
fill up the reservoir with coolant. I went in to talk to the service
person about it and I gave him the tools back. He said that someone
must have forgot to replace the coolant that was lost while replacing
the water pump. He checked the reservoir and discovered that it needed
even more coolant, which was after I had almost emptied the one gallon
of coolant that I keep in my trunk. He said that there was likely air
pockets in the tank and that was the reason that it was low after just
filling it. As a result, the service person gave me $20 dollars cash
and said that it should not have happened.

With the service person standing there, I noticed that one of the
hoses coming of of my engine was missing. I asked him why the hose was
gone. He stated that the hose was taken off because it has a tendency
to burn out the sensor on the air intake. I now know that the missing
hose is called a pre-heat hose. The cost of the hose at the Volvo
dealers is over $50 dollars. I called a few people to ask what this
hose was for. A person at the service department at Jim Fisher Volvo
and Napa Auto Parts said that the hose heats the car up in order for it
to start properly. In addition, the said that I could not pass DEQ
without the hose. Furthermore, the Jim Fisher service guy stated that
he had never run a car without the hose, so he was not aware of all of
the effects associated with its removal.

When I was trying to leave the shop, upon startup, the engine shook
very badly and stalled three or four times. In addition, it was very
difficult to turn the wheel without some considerable effort. I asked
the service person about it and he said the idle was off and that it
took awhile for the power steering pump to work.
On my way home, I noticed that there was shaking coming from the
engine. In addition, there was a noise coming from the passengers side
in the engine compartment. It sounded like something was rubbing
somewhere. I wanted to take the car back, although it was a day that
the service person stays for people to pick up cars, there are not
mechanics on duty. When I got home, I checked under the hood and
noticed one of the screws on the timing belt cover had not been
tightened. As a result, one of the belts was rubbing into it.

While I was on my way to work the car started to over heat. By the
time I pulled into the parking area the car was starting to smell like
it was burning up. When I was done with work at 8:45 AM, I took the
shuttle bus back to my car. I checked to see what the coolant levels
was. I noticed that there was no fluid in the coolant reservoir. I got
some coolant out of my trunk and I poured it in. The coolant was
leaving the reservoir as fast as I could poor it in. Then I noticed
that the coolant was pouring out from the under the car. I looked under
the car and it seems like the coolant was coming from the engine
itself. I think that my car has suffered some significant engine
damage!
What should I do? I don't want these people working on my car any more.
The level of incompetence shown is above and beyond. Would they be
required to fix any damages that their incompetence caused?

 

Incompetence seems to be running rampant, look at the fellow that ended up
with glass beads in his motor. I would say "Get a Lawyer" you deserve more
than piece of mind. I would say it is time the incompetent were put out of
business or at the very least educated to the point where they might be able
to provide a reasonable service. $491.46 is one heck of a snowball.

Sorry but after reading your story I feel that I could use a little coolant.

 

Where do you live?
If in the USA I suggest

1) Call and ask to talk to the service manager explain and see what you
are told. If no satisfaction, which in this case means Volvo dealer or a
qualified shop doing the dx and repair go to2:
2) Call local consumer protection and the better busines bureau. Tell
them what happened.
3) Call the credit card company and fill out the forms to stop payment.

 

Wow, that's quite a mess. It sounds like the shop definitely screwed
something up and should be responsible.

That preheat hose though, I always rip those out myself whenever I work
on a Volvo. I've seen more than one $400 air mass meter ruined when the
preheat thermostat stuck open and sucked in hot air through that hose.
The original purpose is to help the engine warm up more quickly but
unless you live in a climate where the temperature regularly drops below
zero it's useless.

 

The short advice is get a lawyer. Tomorrow. Call the State Department
of Commerce and find out who regulates auto repair businesses and talk
with them. Do that tomorrow too. Take the car (have it towed on a
flatbed) to a reputable mechanic (e.g., a Volvo dealer) and have them
inventory and document the damage that was done. If there is a Better
Business Bureau locally, file a complaint.

Have your lawyer call the garage and demand the service records, the
name of the mechanic and his or her credentials. Have your lawyer offer
a settlement of refunding your money plus having the garage pay for the
towing to the Volvo dealer and pay for all repairs to restore the
vehicle to correct specifications.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. The mechanic must have been
either (1) totally inept or (b) stoned or (c) both.

 

Also, sort of '2a' -- the local newspaper(s) and/or television
station(s) in many cities and towns have a 'consumer advocate' reporter
who will support aggrieved citizens in cases such as this. The prospect
of widespread bad publicity is often a powerful factor in making a
recalcitrant service manager change his mind about what can or cannot be
done for the complainant.

cheers,

Henry

 

Which shop in PDX did this to you?

 

Hold on there

Just about everybody would like to know just who the culprit is but so far
the best thing the fellow with the original complaint has done is not to
have stated who.

By stating who the whole thing could backfire on him. Best to wait until
the situation has been resolved especially if he or she resorts to legal
consult.

sorry, just wouldn't want things to get any worse than they are

 

On the one hand I can understand your perceived need for caution and
anonymity, I suppose, but really, how could him posting the name of the
shop backfire?

Assuming his report is factual, "truth is a defense."

I pretty much do my own wrenching now anyway, but it is nice to know
who the incompetents are in the local area, so I can avoid making a
referral.

Also, I am just wondering if it's anybody I know.

 

Because the consumer can't make the statement, "if you don't make good
on this, I will let the whole world know about it". In fact rather than
giving you a favorable resolution to your complaint, they will be
setting out attorney's to try to silence you and get revenge for a
misinformation campaign before they had a chance to square things.

Naming names is a powerful tool today with the internet. Don't overlook
this any time you have any consumer problem. You can quickly broadcast
the names to the whole world, but it is too powerful of a weapon to
loose before you have used it to your advantage. Once you use it, you
are facing a dealer or shop that is seeking revenge rather than a good
solution.

Don't let naming names get ahead of the possibility of a favorable
resolution. It will provide little or now leverage and may backfire.
However the threat of naming names will provide a great deal of leverage.

 

Not to beat a dead horse (oh what the hell, I guess I'll flog it), this
is a fairly low activity ng, and information here will not notify "the
whole world."

A better forum for that would be Turbobricks.com, but the moderators
probably would delete the reference forthwith.

FWIW, how could telling the truth constitue a "misinformation campaign"
warranting the shop "setting out attorney's to try to silence you?"

Odds are the putz running the shop couldn't afford to buy lunch for a
lawyer, let alone retain one.

 

Ahhhh...Yes

But in order to Flog a Dead Horse it must first be Dead

Patients, Patients the Horse is not Dead until it stops talking.

We must wait until austjeremy slays the Horse.

Then we can have a Flogging Good Time

 

In language you can understand. Don't piss off the dealer unless he
doesn't make good on the complaints. He has just discovered what went
wrong and has offered to make good. If he doesn't make good, then it
doesn't matter if you piss him off, but now it is not a good idea. In
fact the threat of pissing him off might help make him get off his A**
and doing something, where pissing him off will just make him mad enough
to do not do anything.

Honey will get better results than SH**.

 

Thank everyone for your responses! I called the shop and said that I
needed to have an independent evaluation of my car to access the
damage. The owner said that he could have it towed to his shop and he
would fix the problem. He did not want to pay for another shop to fix
the damage because it would cost him so much. In addition, he did not
want to pay for 2 tows. While I was waiting for the tow, I figured out
what caused the car to lose its coolant. When the shop did the pressure
test they blew the heater hose. I called off the tow because I did not
want them to be charged for it. I took the train and bus to pick up a
new one. Today, I picked up some 2 gallons of coolant and put it in my
back pack and went back and fixed it. I talked to the shop and they
said that it was ok to drive.
So, I drove it to their shop. When I got there they tried to act like
they did not know why I was there. While I was there, I opened up the
oil cap and noticed that it was milky. In addition, the oil dipstick is
all milky and frothy. Also, the dipstick reads that the oil is above
the full line. I just had the oil changed not to long ago at JL. They
always leave the oil in between the minimum and maximum. As a result, I
would have to have about a quart of coolant in my oil! The shop person
said that it rained recently and that caused the water. LOL. He said
the engine shaking on startup was also normal. I talked to another shop
and they said that I probably have a blown head gasket and that the
shaking is probably caused by the water leaking in.
So, after I learned this I called the shop back. I said to him that I
thought that he was messing with me and I did not appreciate it. He
said that he would pay for only 50% of the damages. I told him that
this was not right because he caused 100% of the problems. I can prove
this because I had the car evaluated at a dealership after I bought the
car only a few weeks ago. In addition, when I had the car evaluated
they did a cold start on it and it did not shake like mad. I said that
I would try other mean of resolving the problem. I also told him that
he should not be surprised when he saw me in front of his shop the next
day with a sign. I then said that if he changed his mind he could call
me back. I then hung up.
15 minutes later he called back and said that he really did not want
me in front of his shop with a sign It looks like I do have leverage
and a bargaining position after all. I'm glad I read Fisher and Ury's
Getting to Yes. As result, he would do the work. He still tried to say
that he was not the cause of the damage. So, tomorrow he is going to
pay to have the car towed to his shop. Its funny, he wants it towed
because he does not want it to cause more damage. Although, when I was
at his shop an hour prior it was ok for me to drive home with coolant
in my oil! I will see how he acts after it is towed to his shop
tomorrow. I will keep you all informed about how it is going.

 

Your tale is woeful.

I'm trying to figure out what happened, and my guess is that after the
work was done, the hose wasn't put back on right, causing a coolant
leak.

Probably the tech ran the car for awhile to make sure it was OK: it
would be fine, for a bit, until overheating set in, but odds are he
turned it off and waited for you to pick it up, blithely unaware of the
coolant / overheating problem.

By the time you got it, some damage had already been done, and it got
worse the more you drove it, leading to a warped cylinder head due to
overheating.

These blocks are tough, but your head will need, at minimum, to be
magnafluxed and resurfaced (and quite possibly replaced).

I wouldn't trust those guys to add air to the tires, let alone work on
my car.

 

gee im sorry to hear about that, my partner is a volvo mechanic and maybe
able to gove you advice, on what or who to contact

Cheers rachael