Source
r/cars•
blondephantom

Reddit car experts/mechanics please help

I've had a terrible day - placed complaints with the BBB and California Bureau of Auto Repair and finally have my car with a good, recommended mechanic after dealing with a terrible one. I've owned BMW almost 9 years, always serviced regularly and paid for everything it needed or so I thought...

Several things happened...

  1. Brake Pad Light was on. Brought car in. Requested to call before doing any work. Now former mechanic did an unauthorized brake job on my car without my knowledge/consent. When I refused to pay, he took the brake pads & rotors off for $55. I'm disputing charges w/ bank. New mechanic said former mechanic

REMOVED ANTI-RATTLE SPRINGS FROM BOTH REAR CALPERS

Again, done without knowledge/consent. If I'd not gone to another mechanic immediately, what would have happened? Could this have endangered my safety?

Also, had oil service 2.5 months ago with former mechanic. Paid $120. Asked twice if anything else needed to be done since past 3 years I've had $500, $500 and $1200 bills. Former mechanic said nothing else needed - absolutely nothing about brake pads wearing. I told new mechanic car was smelling like smoke when I drove. He popped hood today and

OIL HAD LEAKED ALL OVER MY ENGINE

New mechanic said the oil appeared to have been leaking for months and former mechanic should have definitely told me about this at oil service 2.5 months ago.

Also, valve cover gasket was blown off and new mechanic said radiator appeared to have a crack that looked like it was going to break. There was so much wrong with my car they said they needed to do comprehensive inspection (no charge) and are also looking at all old service records to see if what I've paid for was actually done.

Former mechanic kept my car leaving me to wait outside his shop today 2.5 hours to remove unauthorized brakes. Could any of this damage been purposely done to my car today (know anti-rattle was removed for sure) or is damage from him simply not telling me anything was wrong with my car 2.5 months ago?

TL;dr Anti-rattle springs removed from 2 brakes, oil leaking all over engine for months (oil service supposedly done 2.5 months ago when I paid $120 (BMW)), valve cover gasket blown, apparent crack in radiator that looks like it's going to break.

Posted Dec 3, 2010, 4:14 AM UTC

210
superluke78 MGB, 71 Spitfire, 14 JK•

(Former mechanic/shop manager checking in)

You were definitely right to call them out for going ahead on the work without authorization. They may have thought they had a relationship with you and you were going to say to go ahead anyway, but that's still not their call to make.

If they had to take their replacement parts off and put your old pads and rotors back on, I wouldn't fault them too much for leaving the anti-rattle clips off - they're only there to keep the pads from squealing, you were perfectly safe to leave their shop (Especially since you were going somewhere else anyway) without them.

The oil leak should definitely have been reported to you as well - a valve cover gasket, again, is not a huge deal. As for the rad, it sounds a bit odd - they don't tend to crack ...

Now, one thing that drove me from the auto-repair business in the first place is that most people aren't like you - when you tell them they have a valve cover gasket leaking they think you're ripping them off and looking for anything wrong that you can sell them. It's a pain in the ass.

2
ozzeh•

Depending on what generation BMW it is, the 1995-2006's had a plastic radiator and water pump that was almost guaranteed to go out between 50-70k miles.

I know a few people that have had their engines overheat in a matter of seconds when those have failed while driving.

3
superluke78 MGB, 71 Spitfire, 14 JK•

Yikes... wasn't aware of that particular tendency!

2
blondephantomOP•

Thank you so much for your response and sharing your knowledge. It's so frustrating when you know nothing about cars and are doing the best you can to take care of your car. I am grateful for your insight.

1
blondephantomOP•

EDIT: The mechanic did not know that I was taking my car elsewhere. I'd read online reviews about him having a temper when customers even asked about the price of parts so I was not about to confront him. I am a 5'2 petite female. He is a 6'2-6'4 large male who I frankly find intimidating. I told him I didn't have the money for the repair price he was asking and just needed to pick up my car as-is.

Just curious ... would there be any significance if say I'd driven the car for a month without those anti-rattles?

1
superluke78 MGB, 71 Spitfire, 14 JK•

Not at all, you would have had a bit more squealing. maybe a clunk when you first apply the pedal, but with the pads already seated into the rotors it wouldn't make all that much difference.

1
theworldisabsurd•

I've heard stories of how owners of luxury cars, such as in your case, are royally screwed with because you have the ability to shill out a lot of money. Given a luxury courtesy vehicle during the servicing/maintenance always help with their self-esteem and along with other techniques, this is how repair shops work. I think you may have gotten trapped into that.

Also, where are you taking your car to? BMW dealer? Or is this a Jiffy Lube or some local guy?

I can't believe you paid $120 for an oil change. You totally got fucked. I pay about ~$10 after I buy my own engine oil and filter.

And if you can, get a new car. If your oil is not dripping, but rather all over your entire engine bay, then something is very wrong.

If you can give me specifics such as the year of the car, make, and estimates you've received along with at least the last year's worth of service payments, I'll let you know whether its worth keeping it.

But in the mean time, go to www.autotrader.com and start looking. Hondas and Toyotas are modest and good.

EDIT: Realize you're a woman. Alot makes sense now. Do you have a boyfriend?

EDIT2: You seem to be also asking whether he sabotaged your car? In order to do anything legal about it, you would need proof. For example, another mechanic working within the same shop says something. But similar to the above edit, do you have a boyfriend? He could kick his ass.

0
mikasaurE36 M3, E46 330i ZHP•

BMW has oil and safety services that should be done every other oil change. Along with changing the (expensive synthetic) oil and filter, they'll also do an inspection of the safety components of the car: brakes, lights, coolant, filters, etc. $120 sounds a little steep, but it's probably not out of the ordinary if you include labor and parts, assuming fluids had to be topped off and parts replaced.

And unfortunately, yeah, I think mechanics are more likely to take advantage of women because they assume they don't know anything about cars. A misogynistic assumption, but it happens.

Definitely find a mechanic you trust, OP, or better yet a friend who's capable of doing diagnostic checks. That way they can tell you if something's wrong and you can take it to a mechanic to professionally fix whatever problem you know is occurring and ONLY that problem.

Good luck with your bimmer, OP!

2
blondephantomOP•

From what I've been told and also what's in my BMW manual, BMW's have to have special synthetic oil, which is more expensive than regular oil and they only have to have oil service every 12,000 miles. I also live in Los Angeles, which is a pricey city. The dealership if you can believe it charges $1000 for an oil service. I've been taking my car the past 5 years to an independent BMW mechanic. I've called around and his oil service prices are in line with others in L.A.

Thanks for your response. I have a wonderful auto body specialist who is honest and fair. They sent me to their recommended mechanic yesterday. They are checking the car out completely along with my repair bills at no charge and will give me an estimate of the total damage. They already gave me an estimate for brakes, which is reasonable for L.A. prices. If the damages are in the thousands, I will buy a new car as my BMW is almost 9 years old. I too am very concerned about the oil. I'm grateful I discovered this before my engine was destroyed.

2
theworldisabsurd•

How did it all go? If you need any tips on car purchases, let me know. But it seems as BMW does a lot of milking in terms of car maintenance and services, which I continue to believe is because of vanity.

Anyways, you can get an Acura and replace your luxury car with sensibility and still make an impression.

Btw, my car maintenace costs me, with parts included, about less than $350 for the last year. And it was only that high because I hit the 50k mark and am replacing brakes and doing mild tune-ups.

1