Auto Repair Nightmares: Auto Mechanics Tell All
Sure, there are plenty of stories out there on the internet about bad mechanics ripping off customers by performing unnecessary automotive repair or messing up auto repairs due to sheer incompetence or deliberate ill will.
But what about bad customer stories, such as customers who come into an auto repair shop after they’ve tried to “fix” a problem but instead made it ten times worse. Or those who rudely demand the mechanic do this or that to their car because they know what is wrong with their Beemer.
Here are some auto repair horror stories we’ve gathered for your reading pleasure. And remember, while it’s savvy and good practice to ask your San Diego mechanic questions about the type of repair work they’re doing, how much it will cost, how long it will take, etc., it’s never okay to be a jerk.
The Stubborn (and Cheap) DIY Auto Repair “Expert”
Nearly every auto repair mechanic in San Diego and across the country has met this particular individual. He prefers to do their automotive repair and maintenance at home in their own garage with their limited range of tools and gear. This individual reads the auto manual and repair guide, a good first step, but thinks he is competent to perform just about any auto repair or maintenance job on their own.
Maintaining your vehicle’s engine by performing a simple oil change every 5000 miles, or per the manufacturer’s specifications, is a job that can be performed by some do it yourselfers with the right tools, knowledge and equipment. Yet even at-home oil changes can be problematic. You can re-fill the vehicle with too much or too little oil, either of which will cause problems for the engine. You can do a bigger “whoops!” such as forgetting to re-add new oil after draining the old oil or forgetting to put the oil cap back on.
Most mechanics who have been around for a while have had to rebuild an engine or perform extensive engine repair due to a home oil change that went horribly wrong. In trying to save $50 by doing an oil change at home, now these DIYers are spending hundreds of dollars on engine repair.
DIY Oil Changes Gone South? That’s Just the Start of It …
More than gone-bad home oil changes, there’s a slew of oh-no auto repair stories mechanics have heard. There’s the one about the DIYer attempting to perform brake repair when he realized half-way through that he didn’t have the tools necessary to complete the job. (The vehicle had to be towed, as is, to the nearby auto repair shop.)
As cars become more complicated, specialized tools and diagnostics are required to perform auto repair jobs for all makes and models, particularly BMWs, Volkswagens and Mercedes. As such, it has become more difficult for laymen to perform more involved auto repairs at home.
Transmission Fluid, Coolant Fluid, Does It Really Matter?
Another error veteran mechanics see is amateur DIYers adding the wrong fluid to the wrong component. For example, adding transmission fluid to the cooling system or even adding coolant to the engine instead of oil. Years ago, it was harder to make these mistakes because people could better see what the component were. Nowadays, with so many plastic covers and closed systems under the hood, such as sealed transmissions, people are less familiar with what goes where. As such, they unknowingly add the wrong fluid to the wrong part.
The Outta-Sight, Outta-Mind Auto Repair Customer
In addition to DIY screw-up stories, there’s plenty of tales of the head-in-the-sand drivers. Rather than spending money on car repair, this type of customer goes to extreme lengths to ignore problems. They put black tape over illuminated dashboard lights, pretend they don’t hear brakes squeaking, and are somehow oblivious to vibrating or shaking suspension systems. (Even though dashboard light notifications are sometimes incorrect, they usually signal a problem. A mechanic can disengage them accordingly if they are lighting up when they shouldn’t be. Putting tape over the light is not a “solution.”)
Ignoring Blinking Lights, Squeaks and Shakes Can Ruin Your Car – and Worse
Putting off necessary auto repair or turning a blind eye to it is a bad idea. Most problems will not go away and will only get worse and more expensive the longer they are ignored. Many mechanics report how surprised they are at how some people seem to lack basic car maintenance knowledge. Stories of not needing oil changes because they are “just a trick to try to get my money” are more common than one may believe. In one particular story, a driver had gone 85,000 miles without an oil change, somehow, and didn’t understand why their engine was busted.
Closing Your Eyes to Bad Brakes Is Straight Up Dangerous
While it’s somewhat normal for people to postpone some auto repair or maintenance work for a bit, mechanics have reported pure shock at how some drivers, families with kids, are willing to risk their lives and the lives of others on the road by driving on brakes that are in desperate need of repair. Driving a piece of machinery 60+ miles per hour and not being able to stop that piece of machinery when you need to is alarmingly unsafe. If there’s only one auto repair you must not postpone it must be brake repair.
So while stories of awful mechanics may abound in our tell-all internet society, remember that there are at least an equal number of terrible driver stories as well.
