Ahhhhh that's better!! However......

Uncamitzi · #1 02-19-2003, 06:51 PM

Interesting scene with the guy that put the bearings in at my, up until now, favorite under car shop (I'll wait to post the name pending how I feel about this incident in the morning). I let both the mechanic and the owner of the shop take the car around the block to "test drive" the car. I was so eager to get into the car and hear it after they were done I didn't look at the car that close. So I drove home marveling at how nice the car sounded. I could hear the engine wind up and everything felt so good!! I got out of my car when I got home and as I was walking away I turned to look at my car and ........ the back wheels were on backwards!!!!! So... I hopped back in the car and drove back to the shop. The guy said they must have been that way when I came in......

Check out my pictures in the locker of CDG and I at my hotel.... they are on correctly because I put them on that way!!!! He said it was fine because they aren't directional......

I am running Eagle II's M&S's right now and to a degree he was right... those tire are not directional... but I told him that the wheels are! He said he couldn't have made that mistake.......

I took him over and pointed out the direction marks on the wheels and he finally agreed to switch them.... I walked away to cool off for about 3 minutes.... when I came back he was torque the lug nuts.... I asked him what the torque wrench was set at and he said 100 lbs........ I asked him to back it down to 75 ftlbs and he said he couldn't do that... that the manufactures specs were always 100 ftlbs............

He said that "you're more than welcome to back them down when you get it home...." I gave up... said fine.... and came home........ Now... I got the bearings from subaruparts.com..... and they put them in for 350.-- with the bearing being about 150.00.... so 500 from this shop for what the dealer wanted to charge me 750.00 for.... Should I hold the grudge or just say yea.. and forget the misunderstanding about the wheels..... Oh by the way the same mechanic swapped the "packing grease for real bearing grease without being asked.....

/rantoff

SHISVX · #2 02-19-2003, 06:58 PM

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

steal their wipers...and find another mechanic...even the mechanic that i had at first with this car that didn't know it was a subie up until the day he sold it to me...knew the wheels were directional just by looking at them...

Kelli

you have every right to rant

SVXMAN2001 · #3 02-19-2003, 07:07 PM

Seems like something really petty to get upset over. If i were a mechanic i'd be kinda pissed, but that's me. You should be lucky the guy actually took the initiative to put real grease on the wheel bearings.

#4 02-19-2003, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SVXMAN2001
Seems like something really petty to get upset over.

Damn... Harshness.

Mike

Uncamitzi · #5 02-19-2003, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SVXMAN2001
Seems like something really petty to get upset over. If i were a mechanic i'd be kinda pissed, but that's me. You should be lucky the guy actually took the initiative to put real grease on the wheel bearings.

Petty?.... over torque on the lug nuts may cause rotor warp and cracked wheel (alloy) ... A directional wheel on backwards causes all kinds of stress on alloy wheels... and if the tires were directional... negates tread pattern... petty?

And I said that I was still considering how upset or even to be upset……
Petty? it's my car.... not his... or yours.... Petty.....

Subafreak · #6 02-19-2003, 07:36 PM

I could see may be switching them up at first by accident. But obviously if the costomer comes back noticing that the wheels where on wrong they most likely where not that way when the car came in. So I think they could have been a little more accomadating to fixing it and not giving you a hard time about it. Unless you went back with a atitued right from the start, that just pisses them off and you usually get the same tued right back.

Uncamitzi · #7 02-19-2003, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Subafreak
I could see may be switching them up at first by accident. But obviously if the costomer comes back noticing that the wheels where on wrong they most likely where not that way when the car came in. So I think they could have been a little more accomadating to fixing it and not giving you a hard time about it. Unless you went back with a atitued right from the start, that just pisses them off and you usually get the same tued right back.

I actually went back in a pretty good mood.... I told the owner that I understand that little mistakes happen..... It was the mechanic that had a un customer friendly attitude...

I work in a 5 star hotel... if a guest wants the bed on the other side of the room.... the bed gets to the other side of the room!!

lee · #8 02-19-2003, 08:39 PM

IMHO.....Everybody has a bad day now and again, and if yours matched the mechanics.....

So, if in the past you have had good luck at that shop I would go back to the shop, start out apologetic and say something like, "Sorry if I seemed over the top the other day, had a bad day at work, and besides I'm kinda anal about my car. I was told by the dealer that it was important that the wheels should only be torqued to 75lbs while you said 100 was OK."

If he's a good guy he should respond with something like, "Yeah, bad day for me too. I know not all wheels get torqued the same, etc...." If he sticks to his 100lbs for all, I'd think about another place to get my repairs done. By then you should wonder to what value he torqued the axle nut - that's maybe more critical than the wheel lugs.

If he owns up to a bad day/error, then he'll also probably remember you & your car, and probably be more careful next time. We all can fall prey to treating people with some preconceived notions. Maybe I'm naive, but I think if you come in with a trashed car they will think, hey this guy don't care much. Act like you care a lot, and they will too (assuming a good place of business).

SVXMAN2001 · #9 02-19-2003, 09:36 PM

Mitch, what iam saying is if you want something done right do it yourself. I know it sounds harsh, that's the philosphy i have when it comes to mechanics. They don't care as much about your car as you do. And i'd be pissed just as much about the situation if i were you, probably more. Hopefully everything works out for you

Uncamitzi · #10 02-19-2003, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SVXMAN2001
Mitch, what iam saying is if you want something done right do it yourself. I know it sounds harsh, that's the philosphy i have when it comes to mechanics. They don't care as much about your car as you do. And i'd be pissed just as much about the situation if i were you, probably more. Hopefully everything works out for you

I live in an apartment complex that doesn't allow me to work on my car... I got a warning when I checked my oil last week...!

Also I don't have the gear to break down the hub that is required to replace the wheel bearings....

However I have thought it over and come to the conclusion that the guy had been working on 2 different cars, as the shop seemed understaffed today.... I'm sure in his mind he was trying to make the car safe.. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this time. The fact that the car feels and sounds so much better and that he did change the grease (which he said looked a little thin compared to the High temp bearing grease he put in) Is enough for now.....

svxjoe · #11 02-20-2003, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SVXMAN2001
Mitch, what iam saying is if you want something done right do it yourself. I know it sounds harsh, that's the philosphy i have when it comes to mechanics. They don't care as much about your car as you do. And i'd be pissed just as much about the situation if i were you, probably more. Hopefully everything works out for you

Every time I drop my car off at any shop..... it always comes back to me with an extra flaw... being a a new scratch on the paint, a new scrath on the rims (usually around the lugnuts from them not being carful taking them off and putting them back on.), greasy steering wheel, wires that were attached (tied down) or tucked away are now just pulled out and just hanging freely, spilled fluids (ex. brake fluid) after refilling.......etc, etc, etc.

It's plain carelessness!

-SVXJoe

cbx-man · #12 02-20-2003, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Uncamitzi
... I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this time. The fact that the car feels and sounds so much better and that he did change the grease (which he said looked a little thin compared to the High temp bearing grease he put in) Is enough for now.....

Next time you see him, thank him for noticing the poor quality of grease and replacing it. And how lesser mechanics wouldn't have noticed or CARED. You can always catch more flies with sugar than vinegar...
You can also confirm the "packing" grease by saying how you later learned that the dealers themselves didn't change out the bad grease and caused most of their own bearing failures.

Earthworm · #13 02-20-2003, 04:55 PM

I never assume that anyone I let touch my SVX knows exactly what to do. There's just not enough of them around for them to get experience. I don't blame them.

That is why I will always give them the picky details BEFORE they do anything.

I printed out the how-to's for swapping the speakers/headunit for the car shop to use when upgrading my system. Unfortunately they still punctured a hole in the dash in the stereo cavity.

I also don't expect anyone putting on the wheels will torque them to any specifications. I don't trust them even if they do. Also they should be re-torqued after 150 or so miles anyway.

I have come to live and accept the fact that people will only do what you tell them to.

lhopp77 · #14 02-20-2003, 06:44 PM

What would concern me about these folks, would be "attention to detail". Were the bearings cleaned and repacked with quality grease? Did they properly seat them to the right depth? Did they apply the proper torque on the wheel nut? Anyone of these things haphazardly done will result in being back shortly to have the same job done. If they can't notice the direction of the other set of wheels on the same car---did they overlook one or more of these critical factors? Hummmmmm.

Maybe I am too picky?

Lee

SVXx4

CigarJohnny · #15 02-20-2003, 08:43 PM

I can understand your anger, Mitch. Little things like can get the best of me too. Since you've had good experiences with them in the past I would give them one more chance before I write them off.

As far as your complex goes, I can't believe you'd get a warning just for checking your oil level.

What's up with that?? Hasn't any one of them owned a vehicle before? Geez...I know what it is like to be forced to live somewhere you'd rather not due to circumstances but stuff like that would really get my goat.