new to area and dont know any shops
#11
#13
Re: new to area and dont know any shops
shit, i hate dealing with dealership customers. they are the first to bitch about any little thing (that whole payment thing really pisses people off and they want to find a way to get something for nothing i reckon...)
i forget which one it was, but i met a dude that worked in the nissan shop a few years back at Freddies. he seemed rather knowledgeable, but i forgot his name. there are always good and bad techs anywhere, but i have had quite a bad bunch of issues from the shops down yonder.
a TDi that came through here last year, some interesting issues with various control lines going to the VNT actuator were dick rigged. it had just been in for various other complaints, and was specifically on the invoice that there had been all lines replaced.
another TDi jedduh was in for a hard brake complaint, had been in four months ago with same complaint to that shop. was told nothing wrong. like the rest of them, the plastic vac. line off the vac. pump was split, causing the booster to not function correctly.
every single time i took my wagon in for service, per the tires for life agreement, i had oil spilled under the hood or on the manifold and not cleaned off, smoking when i left. twice it had handprints on the hood and oil on the steering wheel.
a Tourag that a customer of mine owned was rejected by me for the airbag light on, back about a year or so ago. it had 2k on the clock, and was needed the harness recall performed. after it got done, there were numerous other electrical issues (ie, lights randomly dimming, radio cutting out, indicators coming on at any given time, etc) that happened. the man traded it in quickly and got another brand, i am not sure how many times he brought it back in, but it was more than twice.
brake light switch recalls being performed and the old black switches still being installed. had one go in on a new beetle that had the black one installed as the replacement, only to have it fail on her again in a few months. i keep 10 of the new style switches (green, a few of the second design purple ones are still here somewhere) just because there are so many still out there with the faulty switch design. i check them on all cars that come through my doors when they are in, no matter what, and see if it has the new one. if its not in there, i generally dont charge them for the new switch, which makes both of us happy.
i never saw this one, but i was informed of a customer being told they had to pay for the EGR cooler on their ALH golf, which i was pretty sure was covered under their campaigns due to the cracking. that one is heresay, i dont hold that one with too much weight because of that.
the standard practice of VoA to replace the turbos on the ALH and BEW engines when the VNT rings seize or the actuator fails, both of which are a nice labor intensive, parts cheap repair really gets me sometimes. i understand wanting to sell a turbo on a car with high mileage and if it has wear, but replacing it due to seizure or an actuator failed doesnt really make sense to me.
still insisting on replacing known failing water pumps on any of the engines with a plastic impeller, with a plastic impeller. Geba brass units are actually cheaper than the plastic one, and will actually last the full life of the T Belt.
changing the price on the AZG and AVH O2 sensors every other frikking week, along with the MAF pricing. i finally got sick and tired of it and buy from other sources anymore, they are more consistent and reliable.
the parts dept. is pretty good, on the few times i get stuff from down there.
#15
Re: new to area and dont know any shops
you should see some cars that i have seen from dealers in other states!
we have a few customers that come in from NC, SC, TN, and one from MI to have service work done on their TDi's, and the horror bills i have seen from some dealers scare the fuck out of me! replacing an IP on one for over 2 grand just because there was an optical sensor failing on it? couple hundred bucks took care of it in a heartbeat.
#17
Re: new to area and dont know any shops
just like the 6.0 Powerstroke is a defective design, its not the techs fault they are stroked in the flat rape system and perform shortcuts and/or dont repair them to last longer than the warranty period?
or how about GM intake manifold gaskets, they have to be a manufacturers defect right?
Ford clocksprings?
Dodge balljoints?
BMW brake pads?
Volvo speedo cluster gears?
Audi valve cover gaskets?
all are examples of having aftermarket re-engineering of parts that are superior to OE fuckups, and most have been sourced to provide service parts for the OE dealers on some commonplace pattern failures.
that is pure bullshit. ANYTHING can be fixed, and fixed correctly. i dont give a damn if its considered a manufacturer defect or not, there is always a way to fix something and have it be reliable. some techs can do it, others cant. there are a shitload of people out that can do everything the book says to repair something, but cant think outside the box on repairs if the need arises.
#18
Re: new to area and dont know any shops
shit, i hate dealing with dealership customers. they are the first to bitch about any little thing (that whole payment thing really pisses people off and they want to find a way to get something for nothing i reckon...)
i forget which one it was, but i met a dude that worked in the nissan shop a few years back at Freddies. he seemed rather knowledgeable, but i forgot his name. there are always good and bad techs anywhere, but i have had quite a bad bunch of issues from the shops down yonder.
a TDi that came through here last year, some interesting issues with various control lines going to the VNT actuator were dick rigged. it had just been in for various other complaints, and was specifically on the invoice that there had been all lines replaced.
another TDi jedduh was in for a hard brake complaint, had been in four months ago with same complaint to that shop. was told nothing wrong. like the rest of them, the plastic vac. line off the vac. pump was split, causing the booster to not function correctly.
every single time i took my wagon in for service, per the tires for life agreement, i had oil spilled under the hood or on the manifold and not cleaned off, smoking when i left. twice it had handprints on the hood and oil on the steering wheel.
a Tourag that a customer of mine owned was rejected by me for the airbag light on, back about a year or so ago. it had 2k on the clock, and was needed the harness recall performed. after it got done, there were numerous other electrical issues (ie, lights randomly dimming, radio cutting out, indicators coming on at any given time, etc) that happened. the man traded it in quickly and got another brand, i am not sure how many times he brought it back in, but it was more than twice.
brake light switch recalls being performed and the old black switches still being installed. had one go in on a new beetle that had the black one installed as the replacement, only to have it fail on her again in a few months. i keep 10 of the new style switches (green, a few of the second design purple ones are still here somewhere) just because there are so many still out there with the faulty switch design. i check them on all cars that come through my doors when they are in, no matter what, and see if it has the new one. if its not in there, i generally dont charge them for the new switch, which makes both of us happy.
i never saw this one, but i was informed of a customer being told they had to pay for the EGR cooler on their ALH golf, which i was pretty sure was covered under their campaigns due to the cracking. that one is heresay, i dont hold that one with too much weight because of that.
the standard practice of VoA to replace the turbos on the ALH and BEW engines when the VNT rings seize or the actuator fails, both of which are a nice labor intensive, parts cheap repair really gets me sometimes. i understand wanting to sell a turbo on a car with high mileage and if it has wear, but replacing it due to seizure or an actuator failed doesnt really make sense to me.
still insisting on replacing known failing water pumps on any of the engines with a plastic impeller, with a plastic impeller. Geba brass units are actually cheaper than the plastic one, and will actually last the full life of the T Belt.
changing the price on the AZG and AVH O2 sensors every other frikking week, along with the MAF pricing. i finally got sick and tired of it and buy from other sources anymore, they are more consistent and reliable.
the parts dept. is pretty good, on the few times i get stuff from down there.
i forget which one it was, but i met a dude that worked in the nissan shop a few years back at Freddies. he seemed rather knowledgeable, but i forgot his name. there are always good and bad techs anywhere, but i have had quite a bad bunch of issues from the shops down yonder.
a TDi that came through here last year, some interesting issues with various control lines going to the VNT actuator were dick rigged. it had just been in for various other complaints, and was specifically on the invoice that there had been all lines replaced.
another TDi jedduh was in for a hard brake complaint, had been in four months ago with same complaint to that shop. was told nothing wrong. like the rest of them, the plastic vac. line off the vac. pump was split, causing the booster to not function correctly.
every single time i took my wagon in for service, per the tires for life agreement, i had oil spilled under the hood or on the manifold and not cleaned off, smoking when i left. twice it had handprints on the hood and oil on the steering wheel.
a Tourag that a customer of mine owned was rejected by me for the airbag light on, back about a year or so ago. it had 2k on the clock, and was needed the harness recall performed. after it got done, there were numerous other electrical issues (ie, lights randomly dimming, radio cutting out, indicators coming on at any given time, etc) that happened. the man traded it in quickly and got another brand, i am not sure how many times he brought it back in, but it was more than twice.
brake light switch recalls being performed and the old black switches still being installed. had one go in on a new beetle that had the black one installed as the replacement, only to have it fail on her again in a few months. i keep 10 of the new style switches (green, a few of the second design purple ones are still here somewhere) just because there are so many still out there with the faulty switch design. i check them on all cars that come through my doors when they are in, no matter what, and see if it has the new one. if its not in there, i generally dont charge them for the new switch, which makes both of us happy.
i never saw this one, but i was informed of a customer being told they had to pay for the EGR cooler on their ALH golf, which i was pretty sure was covered under their campaigns due to the cracking. that one is heresay, i dont hold that one with too much weight because of that.
the standard practice of VoA to replace the turbos on the ALH and BEW engines when the VNT rings seize or the actuator fails, both of which are a nice labor intensive, parts cheap repair really gets me sometimes. i understand wanting to sell a turbo on a car with high mileage and if it has wear, but replacing it due to seizure or an actuator failed doesnt really make sense to me.
still insisting on replacing known failing water pumps on any of the engines with a plastic impeller, with a plastic impeller. Geba brass units are actually cheaper than the plastic one, and will actually last the full life of the T Belt.
changing the price on the AZG and AVH O2 sensors every other frikking week, along with the MAF pricing. i finally got sick and tired of it and buy from other sources anymore, they are more consistent and reliable.
the parts dept. is pretty good, on the few times i get stuff from down there.