This is going 2 b a bit of a bitch thread ok fellas. Im really starting 2 get fed up with car shops around the place charging the world and giving #### service . Its starting 2 be come a trend i have noticed and many others will have 2.Unless you know the owner of the damn shop, there going 2 makke you pay like you own a money tree. I have encountered it 13times over the last year an a half and i could name shops and im very tempted 2, as 2 warn others . but i wont go that low. The service us paying customers are receving is appauling. is it because we drive old cars and some people dont give a crap about them or is it because we are young and they think they can get away with the stuff they are doing?. For instance here is a list of examples:
Get a radiator 4 a good price from a wreckers, take it 2 get rebuilt and all the works at a shop. pick it up and pay 150bucks. get it in the ute. the ute heats up and gets me wondering. take it 2 another shop a week later. they take the radiator out and say it had never been pulled apart and cleaned, was still completly full of rubbish!!
again another example:
Go 2 tire shop 2 get new tires they put tires that are 2 big on and hang out my guards.drive it up the road and return 2 shop 2 mins late, they say no they will not change unless i pay and come back at a later date!!!!!!
Another example:
Go 2 get a new filter 4 the ute. buy 1. take it home WRONG SIZE!!!take it back and they guys says, ow i thought that was going 2 be the case!!!!
Another example:
My engines was running really bad, decided 2 take it 2 a carby tuning and engine shop. they have a look clean the carby out cause theres a bitta water in the fuel in the carby. they charge me $$$160. i get half way home and it starts carrying on again.pull over and have a look 4 meself. the fuel filter was not replaced like i had mention and was full of crap. the part where the fuel guage reader on the ute mounts in2 the tank in the tray of the ute was all lose and was not sealed. they had washed my ute with water and my tank was half full of water. again, wasnt there problem and they told me 2 get of there property when i went back 2 complain!!
And another example.
Get extractors put on the ute. they change 2 welsh plugs while there at it. forget 2 put colant in the engine. i drive home an warped the head on my old a12. wasnt there fault but cause i had my music on and should have noticed and pulled over. How ridicolous can you get!!!.
Got my cat converter done 2 day an a carbon canister, which i provided , cost 400 hundred bucks. i was quoted 250!!!. the end result wasnt top notch either with my throttle jamming up ????, it was changed around 4 sum un known reason, the canister mounted shocking, and coming lose on the way home. it was mounted rubbing on the engine 4 crying out loud. Im really starting 2 wonder is there anywhere that provides good service now in canberra???, let alone australis. I could provide many more examples of bad service from business but i have made my point. Sorry fella's just had 2 get it of ma chest!!! Im gettin sick an tired of it and am starting 2 wonder, why didnt i under take a mechanics apprenticeship or something in the field
excuse my language aswell

language excused.
welcome to a the world of capitalism.

that's shocking to hear.

on the flipside - all the more reason to do things yourself - no matter how limited your mech knowledge is. if you're paying for sh1t like that then how much worse can you, yourself, be at it?

that's stuff that a first year apprentice would mess up.

like the bright apprentice down the road from me that cleaned an engine bay to "fill time" in the middle of a major service. dimwit forgot to check whether the sparkplugs were or were not in. guess what? they weren't. guess what else? someone found out. wanna hear something else? the owner made them pay for a rebuilt engine. guess who he got to install it? yep - same workshop.

Geez you've had a shocking run Tommy! Are you a member of any car clubs in Canberra? If not, maybe have a chat to a couple of clubs to see which places their members go to. One of the car clubs I was in had an arrangement with a couple of garages where we got a small discount but, more importantly, the service and workmanship was always top notch as the garages didn't want to lose so many paying customers.

Anyway mate best of luck!
Matty

Mate i dont trust any of them. Exhaust shops and even tyre shops. Got a wheel allignment once.(obviously cant do at home) and guess what they broke the linkages in more door. Pulled it apart to find considerable forsce had been used becasue they tried to open it without first unlocking it. Duh.

I do absolutely everything myelf or with a little help from family members. I must admit though dad and my uncle are/were qualified mechanics and have taught me alot. There is only so much they can help you with though. The rest i learnt just by stuffing around and doing it without asking. Sure a 15min job may take an hour but i know how to do it next time.

its all too common... the best way to learn is to jump in the deep end..

sure there will be problems but hey you have been paying other monkey's to give you problems anyhow

theres nothing more satisfying than fixing something yourself and then enjoying the drive with you new self repaired car..

and the bueaty of 1200's are they are very simple to work on.. and are not as expensive as most cars when something does go a little wrong..

Thats just it, do it yourself, tune-ups are easy, if you need internal engine work done, use a engine builder, if you get work done, head reconditioned, radiator recored, ask for a warranty, then atleast you've covered your arse.
What does a minor service cost? 100-150?
for the price of two services,
buy a good timing light with dwell/rpm etc, $100
compression gauge $150+
feeler gauges $25
shop manual $25
now you can tune your car yourself,
get more tools, and do more!

im here in bendigo and before geting me 1200 i bought a toyota camry waggon from a car dealer ship and had to go get a raod worthy turns out these a hole in the exhaust i drop it of at te dealer ship then some1 came pick it up and took it to the shop got it fixd $400 i get it back 2 weeks later told theres a hole it the block i have a look its not just a hole its the the size of a tennis ball me dad has a look at it he says go see a mate he says hes never seen any thing like it theres peaces of the block in the fire wall we go back dad has a go at the manager he said that he was sitting at the lits and bang bull #### i get $250 to relpace the motor took $800 to get it up and running again

i have had plenty of bad exsperiances with work shops trying 2 rip me of with dodgy bills and added things in ONE word of advise check everything b4 u leave workshop and double check the bill i had nearly 900$ over on a part i suplyed and they decided 2 charge me for it,
another bad exsperiance i had was dyno tunning paying for there f*ck ups wiring up crank angle sensor backwards and drove my car 2 quick on the dyno resulting in a 3'' cat that is now 2.75'' and lost 30hp so i now have 2 run around with no insides in my cat grrr cause oif a careless mechanic, sorry just added my bitch

so its not just me thats had trouble. i have recently learnt not 2 let anybody work on me car. i had 2 get a catalytic converter put in for engineering the ute, i wouldnt be confident doing that myself, i ended up taking the carbon canister back out and installing it properly myself. Its so annoying, there used 2 be that saying get it done once done right, more like do it yourself once and it will be done right. Its hard enough having a done up car on an apprentice wage, and these shops just rape ya of all your money. I have recently started doing alot of the work on my ute, and i must admit, it does make you feel alot better. I suppose its all a lesson in its self!!!!!!