Exhausted all my options?

[hounddog]

Small claims is the way to go, but, you will probably have to sue him in Ohio court. 
Which means, you will "probably" have to go there to file unless they have a place to file on their website, which I doubt, then return there for the court date.

I have in my possession a copy of my receipt signed by the manager at a Monroe Muffler saying that the part that broke was, indeed, brand new. He said if there's any problem, the mechanic in Ohio should call him.

He also said there's no way on earth is couldn't be a new part.

If you sue the first mechanic, have the second get the receipt and a written affidavit notorized so that the first cannot claim you created that yourself.

Best of luck, Teuton.  Sounds like a rotten situation.

[SVT666]

Fighting the guy who installed it to begin with is going to cost more than just fixing it.

[the Teuton]

Guess who is getting his car fixed for around $30 or however much gas costs from Pa. to Ohio...

[the Teuton]

Oh, fun times, fun times...

My dad spoke with the mechanic this past week to make sure the parts would be available to do the job -- the flex pipe and whatnot. He said it would. Okay, cool, I thought.

I get the car back today, and as soon as a I open the hood, I notice the pipe is exactly the same. The car is quieter again, but all they did was weld it back on with some reinforcements. That's not what I was expecting, especially given the fact that I just spent $400 to have it replaced two months ago.

My dad calls the guy up (he was busy towing a car, so one of his mechanics gave me my receipt and key back when I was there), and he says that the part would've been ordered from the same company, and he felt that this weld job would be stronger. I said that I didn't pay $400 for a greasemonkey weld job. I told him that it was either the integrity of the people who put it on or the part itself, and perhaps he should order better quality parts, to which he said he'd have to charge me more if that were the case. I said why should I have to be charged more for the job to be done right?

In the end, he told me that this will do, and he feels that he doesn't think it'll break. The conversation basically ended there with a rather sarcastic "Let's hope" from me. He hung up on me. What a fucking piece of shit.

The car is fixed now, but I am not happy. I will be calling the Better Business Bureau next week to express my discontentment.

[280Z Turbo]

Oh, fun times, fun times...

My dad spoke with the mechanic this past week to make sure the parts would be available to do the job -- the flex pipe and whatnot. He said it would. Okay, cool, I thought.

I get the car back today, and as soon as a I open the hood, I notice the pipe is exactly the same. The car is quieter again, but all they did was weld it back on with some reinforcements. That's not what I was expecting, especially given the fact that I just spent $400 to have it replaced two months ago.

My dad calls the guy up (he was busy towing a car, so one of his mechanics gave me my receipt and key back when I was there), and he says that the part would've been ordered from the same company, and he felt that this weld job would be stronger. I said that I didn't pay $400 for a greasemonkey weld job. I told him that it was either the integrity of the people who put it on or the part itself, and perhaps he should order better quality parts, to which he said he'd have to charge me more if that were the case. I said why should I have to be charged more for the job to be done right?

In the end, he told me that this will do, and he feels that he doesn't think it'll break. The conversation basically ended there with a rather sarcastic "Let's hope" from me. He hung up on me. What a fucking piece of shit.

The car is fixed now, but I am not happy. I will be calling the Better Business Bureau next week to express my discontentment.

You are hard to please.

[Cookie Monster]

If the welds hold up, then what's the problem?

And before contacting the bbb I'd ask for a warranty or something.

[the Teuton]

If the welds hold up, then what's the problem?

And before contacting the bbb I'd ask for a warranty or something.

I have a year warranty.

[the Teuton]

You are hard to please.

A job worth doing is worth doing right.

[280Z Turbo]

A job worth doing is worth doing right.

I'm sure the welds are fine.

[Rupert]

Oh give me a break. You're a dick, Teuton.

[the Teuton]

Oh give me a break. You're a dick, Teuton.

And you're a hippie. We all have our problems. I paid good money for a half-ass job. Simple as that.

[Cookie Monster]

And you're a hippie. We all have our problems. I paid good money for a half-ass job. Simple as that.

Not really, though. The mechanic has a point. If a new part he put on there broke, why put on yet another identical part and potentially have the same issues? He tried to fix it a different way this time. And if everything works, you can't complain. If it doesn't work out, then you have a year warranty.

And I don't see why you expect him to put a better pipe on without paying extra for it...

[the Teuton]

Not really, though. The mechanic has a point. If a new part he put on there broke, why put on yet another identical part and potentially have the same issues? He tried to fix it a different way this time. And if everything works, you can't complain. If it doesn't work out, then you have a year warranty.

And I don't see why you expect him to put a better pipe on without paying extra for it...

I expect him to put the parts on the car that will do the job properly. If that means a more expensive part, then so be it. That's not my problem. He probably pocketed a good amount speaking that he charged me $100 for the part.

I am not going back there unless it breaks again. There's no need. But if it does, expect me to not give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Rupert]

Dude, it works like this:

Part (crappy, breaks) $100
Labor $300
___________________
Total $400

If you want Part (not crappy, doesn't break) $150, then you pay extra, durr.

[280Z Turbo]

$400 isn't that much for what you had done. You can't expect Chip Foose to work on your car for that much. You remind me of Dr. Zoidberg with his tricky dick fun bill.

The weld that they put on may be stronger than the original weld. Also, there may only be one supplier for that part. I think you're making too big of a deal out of this.

[the Teuton]

Dude, it works like this:

Part (crappy, breaks) $100
Labor $300
___________________
Total $400

If you want Part (not crappy, doesn't break) $150, then you pay extra, durr.

I don't care what he uses, but for the amount of money I spent, I expect it to be a) a new part and b) not break within two months of purchasing it.

Think about it like this: If you bought a new shirt and didn't see that it had a hole in it when you bought it, you'd go back and have it exchanged for a new one in better condition. Now what if all they did was tell you, "Wait a second while we hire a seamstress in the back to put a patch on it," and then they gave it back to you.

Wouldn't you be a little upset?

[the Teuton]

$400 isn't that much for what you had done. You can't expect Chip Foose to work on your car for that much. You remind me of Dr. Zoidberg with his tricky dick fun bill.

The weld that they put on may be stronger than the original weld. Also, there may only be one supplier for that part. I think you're making too big of a deal out of this.

Well, that's what I have to work with now. If it holds, we're good. If it doesn't, then I will be the first person to say "I told you so."

If he wanted to reinforce the parts new before putting them on the car so he'd never have to see me again, I'd be cool with that. But this is a band-aid fix. I didn't drive 120 miles to have a band-aid put on my car as a "warranty" fix.

[The Pirate]

I expect him to put the parts on the car that will do the job properly. If that means a more expensive part, then so be it. That's not my problem. He probably pocketed a good amount speaking that he charged me $100 for the part.

I am not going back there unless it breaks again. There's no need. But if it does, expect me to not give him the benefit of the doubt.

I hope it's fixed for you.  I think that the point that Rag and the others are trying to make is that you paid for a certain quality of part (and though $400 is a lot of money to you and I, it's probably towards the low end of the quality spectrum).  If it was discovered that an upgraded part need to be installed to provide satisfactory performance in your application, I think it's reasonable for you to pay the difference, even if he was covering labor and original level of part cost.  You can't pay for part x and expect quality and longevity of part y.  

I deal with this all the time at work (positively and negatively).  One can buy a bicycle rear derailleur for $40 that will shift acceptably for a lot of applications.  The rear derailleur on my bike retails for $215 and essentially performs the same task.  But it will last longer and shift more efficiently, offering a higher level of performance.  

[the Teuton]

I hope it's fixed for you.  I think that the point that Rag and the others are trying to make is that you paid for a certain quality of part (and though $400 is a lot of money to you and I, it's probably towards the low end of the quality spectrum).  If it was discovered that an upgraded part need to be installed to provide satisfactory performance in your application, I think it's reasonable for you to pay the difference, even if he was covering labor and original level of part cost.  You can't pay for part x and expect quality and longevity of part y. 

I deal with this all the time at work (positively and negatively).  One can buy a bicycle rear derailleur for $40 that will shift acceptably for a lot of applications.  The rear derailleur on my bike retails for $215 and essentially performs the same task.  But it will last longer and shift more efficiently, offering a higher level of performance. 

Failure after two months and less than 1,000 miles is not the same thing.

[Cookie Monster]

I expect him to put the parts on the car that will do the job properly. If that means a more expensive part, then so be it. That's not my problem. He probably pocketed a good amount speaking that he charged me $100 for the part.

I am not going back there unless it breaks again. There's no need. But if it does, expect me to not give him the benefit of the doubt.

He's going to only put in the parts that you paid for. That is your problem. You want an upgraded part in the car, you pay extra for it. You can't expect him to pay for it. This seems like it'd be common sense to me.

[The Pirate]

Failure after two months and less than 1,000 miles is not the same thing.

Bicycle derailleur is merely an example of the broad range of quality available.  As to the first paragraph of my post, it's totally relevant to your situation.  Turn a wrench on a car and you'd know that.

[the Teuton]

He's going to only put in the parts that you paid for. That is your problem. You want an upgraded part in the car, you pay extra for it. You can't expect him to pay for it. This seems like it'd be common sense to me.

He marks up the price of parts about 15% from what he paid for them. I asked him.

[the Teuton]

Bicycle derailleur is merely an example of the broad range of quality available.  As to the first paragraph of my post, it's totally relevant to your situation.  Turn a wrench on a car and you'd know that.

It was a crappy example.

[Cookie Monster]

Teuton, the most he'll do without you spending more money is replace the failed part with another of the same exact part which has already failed on you once. Instead, he reinforced that part and welded it back up, and depending on the quality of the welds, you might even have a stronger part now than an exact replacement for the original. Plus you have the one year warranty. I don't see how this is the fault of the mechanic.

[Rupert]

The guy didn't charge you $400 to "just fix it." He charged you some money for the part, and some for the labor. If it took less time, he would charge you less. It it took a cheaper part, he would charge less. If the good part costs more, then he would charge more.

[Cookie Monster]

He marks up the price of parts about 15% from what he paid for them. I asked him.

Well duh, he's also in the business to make a profit. You can't expect him to take the time of ordering parts, getting them, stocking and making an inventory for them and then just hand you the part for the same exact price as what he paid.

[Rupert]

He marks up the price of parts about 15% from what he paid for them. I asked him.

And if he put on a more expensive part, he would still mark it up 15%.

[Cookie Monster]

It was a crappy example.

No not really. You get what you pay for.

[Rupert]

It was a crappy example.

Of the broad range of quality available? It's a perfect example. The cheapo derailler will be hard to adjust, won't stay adjusted, won't be smooth, will be heavy, etc. The expensive one will be easy to adjust, stay adjusted, be smooth, and be light.

[the Teuton]

The guy didn't charge you $400 to "just fix it." He charged you some money for the part, and some for the labor. If it took less time, he would charge you less. It it took a cheaper part, he would charge less. If the good part costs more, then he would charge more.

All I expect is for someone who said he was ordering a replacement part for my car to give me the damn replacement part with a smile on his face so I can have a smile on mine. When did customer service go out the window? When did it suddenly become okay to slam the phone on a customer?

If he wanted it to not fail again using the same part, he should have ordered a new one and reinforced it. It's under factory warranty -- it's not costing the guy anything but a little less than two hours of labor.

Not a difficult concept. And he'd keep me as a return customer. Now he's lost a whole family of business because he lied and did half-ass work.

I don't expect miracles; I don't expect freebies; all I wanted was a new, unbroken part that held up. It is what it is now, but I thought the manner in which he handled it was completely unprofessional.