Be careful who you have work on your Vette!
03-05-2016, 12:04 PM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Be careful who you have work on your Vette!
Many of you may have the knowhow and facilities to handle renovation projects that go beyond the basics. However, my guess is that there are many others like me that love and want to care for our Vette but don’t have the knowledge, facilities, or equipment to tackle renovation projects that go beyond basic care.
In late April of 2014 I took my 1994 LT1 coupe to a local independent shop recommended to me as reliable, experienced in restoration work, and Corvette knowledgeable. I wasn’t interested in a full restoration but my Vette was in need of some “refreshing”. Nothing (or so I thought) really major but tasks that were beyond my capabilities. I provided a list of what I wanted to be done and an approximate budget was set.
My list included things like flushing and replacement of all fluids, replacement of broken vacuum lines and wires, replacement of the driver’s side actuator, a tune up, and an overall check of the entire car for wear and possible need of items in need of repair or replacement.
I told the shop owner, that I’d like to have the car back in a few weeks but I wasn’t in a hurry. I wanted quality work and parts. If more time was required for quality it would be worth the extra time to have the work done correctly. I made that statement with the thought of the difference of a week or two didn’t matter because I’d be getting quality work rather than a rushed finish.
I soon began to learn of the mistakes I made. Several weeks went by and there was always some reason the car wasn’t finished. Reasons for delays included difficulty in finding parts, breakage when disassembling, and even closing the shop down for vacation.
Just when I thought I would be taking delivery of my refreshed Vette, I was told the clutch should be replaced. I hadn’t noticed any sign of slippage, but thought I might as well have it replaced as part of the project. Unfortunately, that led to more delays. Things like broken bolts, shipment of an unmatched pressure plate and clutch, a broken clutch fork part that he could not find a replacement for (I found a supplier of the part and gave him the ordering information). Delays continued because he said he had alignment problems and had to uninstall and reinstall the clutch and pressure plate assembly several times. Eventually, he called and told me the clutch had been installed but he discovered a problem with the engine. He said the rear main bearing was worn to the point that the crank moved. That movement caused the problem he had with getting the clutch installed.
He suggested that I should replace the engine. I declined.
I took delivery of my Vette In late August 2014. He had it from late April until almost the end of August. After paying him an amount over what the anticipated budget was set at, I went to get into the Vette only to find the door panel falling off and my light gray seats grease stained. When I went back in to ask about the condition of the door panel and seats, the mechanic that supposedly did some or most of the work said the door panels were falling off when I brought the car in and the seats were already stained. The mechanic was aggressive and the owner just shrugged.
When driving home from the shop, the car seemed to run rough and I had to down shift from 6th to 5th or 4th at slow speed much sooner than I recalled needing to do previously. I brought the car home and in days that followed cleaned the seats and repaired the door panels – yes both sides had been damaged.
It is now March 2016. I’ve only put about 750 miles on the car since August 2014. Unfortunately, I’ve found that much of what I paid for wasn’t done or was done incorrectly. Worse, I’m now having a new engine installed. I had to have the Vette towed to a local Chevrolet dealer who checked the car out and found five cylinders were misfiring and the compression was low. Spark plug wires were improperly installed and arcing. I was told the engine apparently had been run hard and had lots of wear. The odometer has 86,500 miles on it and while there have been times I’ve ran it up a little, those times have been few.
When I bought the Vette in 2002 it had a little over 64,000 miles on it. That adds up to a little over 22,000 miles in my twelve years of ownership. I don’t know much of the Vette’s history prior to my purchasing it. When I took the Vette to that shop in April 2014 the engine showed no signs of wear. There were no knocks to be heard and the oil pressure was very good.
I can’t say that the place I took it to in April 2014 is responsible for the engine failure but I must admit I have my suspicions. Perhaps the car was run hard prior to my purchase of it. Perhaps it was just time for the engine to fail or perhaps test drives consisted of eighth or quarter mile acceleration tests. I have thoughts but little proof.
Bottom line is that I made decisions about where to take my Vette based on recommendations that I didn’t thoroughly confirm. I didn’t adhere to the saying of “trust but verify” and now I’m paying the price.
My purpose in sharing this experience with the Forum is to hopefully prevent someone else from making such a costly mistake. I’m not blaming anyone. I made the decisions and I’m responsible for my decisions but my hope is that by sharing my mistakes perhaps such missteps can be avoided by someone who reads about my experiences. Please check references. Check with the Better Business Bureau. If possible talk to others that have experience with the shop you plan on having do your work. Ask about warranties. If there is a stated need for extended repair time, drop by the shop periodically to see first-hand what is being done. Trust but verify. These are all things I didn’t do. You may do all of these things and more and still have a bad experience but the odds are that you stand a much better chance of satisfaction by doing the homework and oversight during the project that I failed to do.
In late April of 2014 I took my 1994 LT1 coupe to a local independent shop recommended to me as reliable, experienced in restoration work, and Corvette knowledgeable. I wasn’t interested in a full restoration but my Vette was in need of some “refreshing”. Nothing (or so I thought) really major but tasks that were beyond my capabilities. I provided a list of what I wanted to be done and an approximate budget was set.
My list included things like flushing and replacement of all fluids, replacement of broken vacuum lines and wires, replacement of the driver’s side actuator, a tune up, and an overall check of the entire car for wear and possible need of items in need of repair or replacement.
I told the shop owner, that I’d like to have the car back in a few weeks but I wasn’t in a hurry. I wanted quality work and parts. If more time was required for quality it would be worth the extra time to have the work done correctly. I made that statement with the thought of the difference of a week or two didn’t matter because I’d be getting quality work rather than a rushed finish.
I soon began to learn of the mistakes I made. Several weeks went by and there was always some reason the car wasn’t finished. Reasons for delays included difficulty in finding parts, breakage when disassembling, and even closing the shop down for vacation.
Just when I thought I would be taking delivery of my refreshed Vette, I was told the clutch should be replaced. I hadn’t noticed any sign of slippage, but thought I might as well have it replaced as part of the project. Unfortunately, that led to more delays. Things like broken bolts, shipment of an unmatched pressure plate and clutch, a broken clutch fork part that he could not find a replacement for (I found a supplier of the part and gave him the ordering information). Delays continued because he said he had alignment problems and had to uninstall and reinstall the clutch and pressure plate assembly several times. Eventually, he called and told me the clutch had been installed but he discovered a problem with the engine. He said the rear main bearing was worn to the point that the crank moved. That movement caused the problem he had with getting the clutch installed.
He suggested that I should replace the engine. I declined.
I took delivery of my Vette In late August 2014. He had it from late April until almost the end of August. After paying him an amount over what the anticipated budget was set at, I went to get into the Vette only to find the door panel falling off and my light gray seats grease stained. When I went back in to ask about the condition of the door panel and seats, the mechanic that supposedly did some or most of the work said the door panels were falling off when I brought the car in and the seats were already stained. The mechanic was aggressive and the owner just shrugged.
When driving home from the shop, the car seemed to run rough and I had to down shift from 6th to 5th or 4th at slow speed much sooner than I recalled needing to do previously. I brought the car home and in days that followed cleaned the seats and repaired the door panels – yes both sides had been damaged.
It is now March 2016. I’ve only put about 750 miles on the car since August 2014. Unfortunately, I’ve found that much of what I paid for wasn’t done or was done incorrectly. Worse, I’m now having a new engine installed. I had to have the Vette towed to a local Chevrolet dealer who checked the car out and found five cylinders were misfiring and the compression was low. Spark plug wires were improperly installed and arcing. I was told the engine apparently had been run hard and had lots of wear. The odometer has 86,500 miles on it and while there have been times I’ve ran it up a little, those times have been few.
When I bought the Vette in 2002 it had a little over 64,000 miles on it. That adds up to a little over 22,000 miles in my twelve years of ownership. I don’t know much of the Vette’s history prior to my purchasing it. When I took the Vette to that shop in April 2014 the engine showed no signs of wear. There were no knocks to be heard and the oil pressure was very good.
I can’t say that the place I took it to in April 2014 is responsible for the engine failure but I must admit I have my suspicions. Perhaps the car was run hard prior to my purchase of it. Perhaps it was just time for the engine to fail or perhaps test drives consisted of eighth or quarter mile acceleration tests. I have thoughts but little proof.
Bottom line is that I made decisions about where to take my Vette based on recommendations that I didn’t thoroughly confirm. I didn’t adhere to the saying of “trust but verify” and now I’m paying the price.
My purpose in sharing this experience with the Forum is to hopefully prevent someone else from making such a costly mistake. I’m not blaming anyone. I made the decisions and I’m responsible for my decisions but my hope is that by sharing my mistakes perhaps such missteps can be avoided by someone who reads about my experiences. Please check references. Check with the Better Business Bureau. If possible talk to others that have experience with the shop you plan on having do your work. Ask about warranties. If there is a stated need for extended repair time, drop by the shop periodically to see first-hand what is being done. Trust but verify. These are all things I didn’t do. You may do all of these things and more and still have a bad experience but the odds are that you stand a much better chance of satisfaction by doing the homework and oversight during the project that I failed to do.
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bullguts (10-15-2016)
03-05-2016, 12:20 PM
#2
Drifting
Many of you may have the knowhow and facilities to handle renovation projects that go beyond the basics. However, my guess is that there are many others like me that love and want to care for our Vette but don’t have the knowledge, facilities, or equipment to tackle renovation projects that go beyond basic care.
In late April of 2014 I took my 1994 LT1 coupe to a local independent shop recommended to me as reliable, experienced in restoration work, and Corvette knowledgeable. I wasn’t interested in a full restoration but my Vette was in need of some “refreshing”. Nothing (or so I thought) really major but tasks that were beyond my capabilities. I provided a list of what I wanted to be done and an approximate budget was set.
My list included things like flushing and replacement of all fluids, replacement of broken vacuum lines and wires, replacement of the driver’s side actuator, a tune up, and an overall check of the entire car for wear and possible need of items in need of repair or replacement.
I told the shop owner, that I’d like to have the car back in a few weeks but I wasn’t in a hurry. I wanted quality work and parts. If more time was required for quality it would be worth the extra time to have the work done correctly. I made that statement with the thought of the difference of a week or two didn’t matter because I’d be getting quality work rather than a rushed finish.
I soon began to learn of the mistakes I made. Several weeks went by and there was always some reason the car wasn’t finished. Reasons for delays included difficulty in finding parts, breakage when disassembling, and even closing the shop down for vacation.
Just when I thought I would be taking delivery of my refreshed Vette, I was told the clutch should be replaced. I hadn’t noticed any sign of slippage, but thought I might as well have it replaced as part of the project. Unfortunately, that led to more delays. Things like broken bolts, shipment of an unmatched pressure plate and clutch, a broken clutch fork part that he could not find a replacement for (I found a supplier of the part and gave him the ordering information). Delays continued because he said he had alignment problems and had to uninstall and reinstall the clutch and pressure plate assembly several times. Eventually, he called and told me the clutch had been installed but he discovered a problem with the engine. He said the rear main bearing was worn to the point that the crank moved. That movement caused the problem he had with getting the clutch installed.
He suggested that I should replace the engine. I declined.
I took delivery of my Vette In late August 2014. He had it from late April until almost the end of August. After paying him an amount over what the anticipated budget was set at, I went to get into the Vette only to find the door panel falling off and my light gray seats grease stained. When I went back in to ask about the condition of the door panel and seats, the mechanic that supposedly did some or most of the work said the door panels were falling off when I brought the car in and the seats were already stained. The mechanic was aggressive and the owner just shrugged.
When driving home from the shop, the car seemed to run rough and I had to down shift from 6th to 5th or 4th at slow speed much sooner than I recalled needing to do previously. I brought the car home and in days that followed cleaned the seats and repaired the door panels – yes both sides had been damaged.
It is now March 2016. I’ve only put about 750 miles on the car since August 2014. Unfortunately, I’ve found that much of what I paid for wasn’t done or was done incorrectly. Worse, I’m now having a new engine installed. I had to have the Vette towed to a local Chevrolet dealer who checked the car out and found five cylinders were misfiring and the compression was low. Spark plug wires were improperly installed and arcing. I was told the engine apparently had been run hard and had lots of wear. The odometer has 86,500 miles on it and while there have been times I’ve ran it up a little, those times have been few.
When I bought the Vette in 2002 it had a little over 64,000 miles on it. That adds up to a little over 22,000 miles in my twelve years of ownership. I don’t know much of the Vette’s history prior to my purchasing it. When I took the Vette to that shop in April 2014 the engine showed no signs of wear. There were no knocks to be heard and the oil pressure was very good.
I can’t say that the place I took it to in April 2014 is responsible for the engine failure but I must admit I have my suspicions. Perhaps the car was run hard prior to my purchase of it. Perhaps it was just time for the engine to fail or perhaps test drives consisted of eighth or quarter mile acceleration tests. I have thoughts but little proof.
Bottom line is that I made decisions about where to take my Vette based on recommendations that I didn’t thoroughly confirm. I didn’t adhere to the saying of “trust but verify” and now I’m paying the price.
My purpose in sharing this experience with the Forum is to hopefully prevent someone else from making such a costly mistake. I’m not blaming anyone. I made the decisions and I’m responsible for my decisions but my hope is that by sharing my mistakes perhaps such missteps can be avoided by someone who reads about my experiences. Please check references. Check with the Better Business Bureau. If possible talk to others that have experience with the shop you plan on having do your work. Ask about warranties. If there is a stated need for extended repair time, drop by the shop periodically to see first-hand what is being done. Trust but verify. These are all things I didn’t do. You may do all of these things and more and still have a bad experience but the odds are that you stand a much better chance of satisfaction by doing the homework and oversight during the project that I failed to do.
In late April of 2014 I took my 1994 LT1 coupe to a local independent shop recommended to me as reliable, experienced in restoration work, and Corvette knowledgeable. I wasn’t interested in a full restoration but my Vette was in need of some “refreshing”. Nothing (or so I thought) really major but tasks that were beyond my capabilities. I provided a list of what I wanted to be done and an approximate budget was set.
My list included things like flushing and replacement of all fluids, replacement of broken vacuum lines and wires, replacement of the driver’s side actuator, a tune up, and an overall check of the entire car for wear and possible need of items in need of repair or replacement.
I told the shop owner, that I’d like to have the car back in a few weeks but I wasn’t in a hurry. I wanted quality work and parts. If more time was required for quality it would be worth the extra time to have the work done correctly. I made that statement with the thought of the difference of a week or two didn’t matter because I’d be getting quality work rather than a rushed finish.
I soon began to learn of the mistakes I made. Several weeks went by and there was always some reason the car wasn’t finished. Reasons for delays included difficulty in finding parts, breakage when disassembling, and even closing the shop down for vacation.
Just when I thought I would be taking delivery of my refreshed Vette, I was told the clutch should be replaced. I hadn’t noticed any sign of slippage, but thought I might as well have it replaced as part of the project. Unfortunately, that led to more delays. Things like broken bolts, shipment of an unmatched pressure plate and clutch, a broken clutch fork part that he could not find a replacement for (I found a supplier of the part and gave him the ordering information). Delays continued because he said he had alignment problems and had to uninstall and reinstall the clutch and pressure plate assembly several times. Eventually, he called and told me the clutch had been installed but he discovered a problem with the engine. He said the rear main bearing was worn to the point that the crank moved. That movement caused the problem he had with getting the clutch installed.
He suggested that I should replace the engine. I declined.
I took delivery of my Vette In late August 2014. He had it from late April until almost the end of August. After paying him an amount over what the anticipated budget was set at, I went to get into the Vette only to find the door panel falling off and my light gray seats grease stained. When I went back in to ask about the condition of the door panel and seats, the mechanic that supposedly did some or most of the work said the door panels were falling off when I brought the car in and the seats were already stained. The mechanic was aggressive and the owner just shrugged.
When driving home from the shop, the car seemed to run rough and I had to down shift from 6th to 5th or 4th at slow speed much sooner than I recalled needing to do previously. I brought the car home and in days that followed cleaned the seats and repaired the door panels – yes both sides had been damaged.
It is now March 2016. I’ve only put about 750 miles on the car since August 2014. Unfortunately, I’ve found that much of what I paid for wasn’t done or was done incorrectly. Worse, I’m now having a new engine installed. I had to have the Vette towed to a local Chevrolet dealer who checked the car out and found five cylinders were misfiring and the compression was low. Spark plug wires were improperly installed and arcing. I was told the engine apparently had been run hard and had lots of wear. The odometer has 86,500 miles on it and while there have been times I’ve ran it up a little, those times have been few.
When I bought the Vette in 2002 it had a little over 64,000 miles on it. That adds up to a little over 22,000 miles in my twelve years of ownership. I don’t know much of the Vette’s history prior to my purchasing it. When I took the Vette to that shop in April 2014 the engine showed no signs of wear. There were no knocks to be heard and the oil pressure was very good.
I can’t say that the place I took it to in April 2014 is responsible for the engine failure but I must admit I have my suspicions. Perhaps the car was run hard prior to my purchase of it. Perhaps it was just time for the engine to fail or perhaps test drives consisted of eighth or quarter mile acceleration tests. I have thoughts but little proof.
Bottom line is that I made decisions about where to take my Vette based on recommendations that I didn’t thoroughly confirm. I didn’t adhere to the saying of “trust but verify” and now I’m paying the price.
My purpose in sharing this experience with the Forum is to hopefully prevent someone else from making such a costly mistake. I’m not blaming anyone. I made the decisions and I’m responsible for my decisions but my hope is that by sharing my mistakes perhaps such missteps can be avoided by someone who reads about my experiences. Please check references. Check with the Better Business Bureau. If possible talk to others that have experience with the shop you plan on having do your work. Ask about warranties. If there is a stated need for extended repair time, drop by the shop periodically to see first-hand what is being done. Trust but verify. These are all things I didn’t do. You may do all of these things and more and still have a bad experience but the odds are that you stand a much better chance of satisfaction by doing the homework and oversight during the project that I failed to do.
The reason I wrench, and have almost always done so, is precisely what you discovered. A trustworthy mechanic/shop is as priceless, and about as rare, as hens teeth.
When someone offers me the number of their "trusted" mechanic, I usually smile and decline. The only exception to this in my 58 years was a guy who serviced Hondas in a small town here back in the 90's. He was incredible. I drove Hondas in large part because of his service!
A guy with his own shop in Waterloo SC came highly recommended. I took my pickup to him for brakes (not breaks!) because I had too many projects at the time. On the drive home, the front brakes locked up. He skipped the front calipers altogether, and didn't flush the fluid. It was dark brown sludge. I just finished fixing his $400+ abortion job yesterday.
I would rather buy whatever tools are required and finger it out myself. Less expensive and less painful.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 12:22 PM
#3
Safety Car
Sorry to hear of your problems.
As far as where to take our cars, one suggestion is talk to the local Corvette Club. Many members take their cars somewhere for work, find out who they recommend and if they've ever had to have the same work done in the past.
I'm lucky in that I've had the same mechanic for about 15+ years I've had excellent results with. He is not a Corvette specialist but works on a lot of Chevrolets in addition to other brands. When I have something to be done by someone else, I've discussed it with him and see if it's something he feels comfortable tackling (many things are the same in GM's whether Corvette or not) and he's even recommended someone else that was set up better to do the work (like 4 wheel alignments). I also copy sections of the FSM and take it along if he's going to do it for reference though he has Alldata available. Most of the work I give him on the Vette relates to putting the car up on a lift (wish I had one) to do some work. I've even had an occasion where I used some of his space off hours to do something I didn't have room at home to do.
As far as where to take our cars, one suggestion is talk to the local Corvette Club. Many members take their cars somewhere for work, find out who they recommend and if they've ever had to have the same work done in the past.
I'm lucky in that I've had the same mechanic for about 15+ years I've had excellent results with. He is not a Corvette specialist but works on a lot of Chevrolets in addition to other brands. When I have something to be done by someone else, I've discussed it with him and see if it's something he feels comfortable tackling (many things are the same in GM's whether Corvette or not) and he's even recommended someone else that was set up better to do the work (like 4 wheel alignments). I also copy sections of the FSM and take it along if he's going to do it for reference though he has Alldata available. Most of the work I give him on the Vette relates to putting the car up on a lift (wish I had one) to do some work. I've even had an occasion where I used some of his space off hours to do something I didn't have room at home to do.
Last edited by hcbph; 03-05-2016 at 12:27 PM.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 12:23 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
Sounds to me like someone at that shop had them a toy to play with for a few months and drag raced the crap out of your car.
Burnt the clutch up and damaged the engine in the process too.
But that's just a guess from reading what you posted.
Burnt the clutch up and damaged the engine in the process too.
But that's just a guess from reading what you posted.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
Good of you to share though, so hopefully others will learn from this cautionary tale!
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 12:37 PM
#6
Drifting
I wouldn't be hard on yourself. Nowadays, you can find horror stories all over the internet about shops that rip off their customers. Some of the TV investigative reporters have done hidden camera segments showing shops not doing the work or claiming non-existent problems with vehicles.
With regard to your engine, I would bet the reason it needs to be replaced is that the owner and/or mechanic beat the hell out of your car after hours. Would explain the broken doorcards and greasy seats - ie. carelessly getting in and out of the car while using it. Some years back, I remember a friend of mine was furious when he went to check on his '69 Chevelle getting new tires at a shop. His brother gave him a ride and when they parked in the lot heard a car coming closer racing through the gears. His car then screeched into the lot. An employee had used (and abused) it to get lunch for the shop after putting on the new tires. A new car dealer in the next county here is being sued for "losing" a car brought in for service and it appears that it is not the first time - I wouldn't be surprised if they were stolen while employees were driving them.
Even when you think you have done your due diligence in looking for a competent repair place, it can still end up with problems.
I found that the best thing I can do is do all the work that I can by myself. If it is at all possible for you, try to learn and do all that you can on the car. Start small - oil change, air filter, brake pads and move up from there. If you can't, you definitely have my sympathy as years ago when I was too busy I got ripped off a couple of times for maintenance/repair work on vehicles I owned.
PS - I learned this from a friend. From now on when you take your car in and you're not going to wait for it, write down the odometer reading on a piece of paper or the work order sheet, date it and have the shop manager/owner sign it acknowledging the mileage. Should cut down on extra use of the car.
With regard to your engine, I would bet the reason it needs to be replaced is that the owner and/or mechanic beat the hell out of your car after hours. Would explain the broken doorcards and greasy seats - ie. carelessly getting in and out of the car while using it. Some years back, I remember a friend of mine was furious when he went to check on his '69 Chevelle getting new tires at a shop. His brother gave him a ride and when they parked in the lot heard a car coming closer racing through the gears. His car then screeched into the lot. An employee had used (and abused) it to get lunch for the shop after putting on the new tires. A new car dealer in the next county here is being sued for "losing" a car brought in for service and it appears that it is not the first time - I wouldn't be surprised if they were stolen while employees were driving them.
Even when you think you have done your due diligence in looking for a competent repair place, it can still end up with problems.
I found that the best thing I can do is do all the work that I can by myself. If it is at all possible for you, try to learn and do all that you can on the car. Start small - oil change, air filter, brake pads and move up from there. If you can't, you definitely have my sympathy as years ago when I was too busy I got ripped off a couple of times for maintenance/repair work on vehicles I owned.
PS - I learned this from a friend. From now on when you take your car in and you're not going to wait for it, write down the odometer reading on a piece of paper or the work order sheet, date it and have the shop manager/owner sign it acknowledging the mileage. Should cut down on extra use of the car.
Last edited by Silver96ce; 03-05-2016 at 12:43 PM.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 01:51 PM
#7
Race Director
Terrible story. Hope things work out for you. Some people can be trusted, but unfortunately, they are few and far between. Hope things work out. I've learned that with a good of tools and an FSM. you can pretty much build a Corvette from the ground up.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 02:54 PM
#9
any more, I don't trust them to even change the oil. 
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 05:23 PM
#10
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Sep 2015
Location: Bang Bang Chicago Illinois
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I have owned my Corvette since new in 1990 until it was ten years old I never did anything except maintenance. When something broke I was able to get it fixed right away. It may have been costly but my car always ran great. In 2014 I had the clutch master and slave cylinders replaced spent the money and as soon as I drive away the clutch starts chattering. I bring it back within 24 to have looked at it. The so called Vette expert tells me the same thing the OP was told “it was like that when you brought it in” of course it was not like that when I brought it in. Less than 3 months later the car won’t shift and I am blocking a lane of traffic in the middle of nowhere. I had to be towed twice because the first guy would not tow me to the shop about 15 miles away. It gets back to the shop they fix it under warranty because they put on a defective clutch master cylinder. The guy I used was recommended by the members here in the Great Lakes section although not lately by them. In 2015 I had the clutch replaced. That was another nightmare. I went in in June they did not get it right, they tell me that I need to drive it 250 miles to break it in (not brake it in). So I do and it’s no better. Chattering. I brought it back 3 more times until it was finally right. They kept installing a bad clutch. I got it back on October 31. And the interior was a mess with mine too. These guys were also recommended. Now it finally runs right… I think LOL!!!
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 06:12 PM
#11
Burning Brakes
This is why I rarely take any of my C4's to a regular shop for anything but State Inspection. I don't need them making up a wish list. Many of them, after check out my 20 + year old cars would probably tell me to scrap them all ! Our largest local "bowtie dealership", sells new C7's but want to have very little to with the older ones. Many of the younger techs don't have experience with OBD1 cars and are mostly good at switching out parts. They don't want to do any heavy engine work. Years ago it cost me $ 300 diagnostic time to tell me they couldn't find a run-ability issue. ( I later found the issue with a spray bottle of water of, at night in my garage, 8 new plug wires later I fixed the problem.)
Just my 2 cents worth!
Just my 2 cents worth!
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 08:58 PM
#14
Le Mans Master
I had problems with a dealer service on my first car when I was 16. Since then I do everything. If I need a tool it is still usually cheaper to buy or rent the tool than to have someone else do it. As a side note, this strategy has resulted in a pretty nice collection of tools over the years.
Even some of the well known dealers that specialize in Corvettes don't always do a good job. One of the big name dealers in another state had serviced the transmission on '95 for the previous owner. When I did some work on it I found they had broken 2 of the 3 exhaust studs on the manifold but instead of replacing them they left them broken. One of them the could barely get a nut to start on it and one is not secured at all. So I only had 2 of the 3 studs securing the cats.
On another car they had a new flywheel and clutch put in, but in doing it they damaged practically every fastener mounting point in the console and dash. (and the flywheel was incorrectly balanced and the clutch chattered horribly). They also put new shocks on it and the front top mount had the nut loose and it made a lot of noise on every bump. The previous owner had taken it to them again to find the noise. They couldn't.
In short, do everything you can do yourself or with help of friends. It is actually kind of fun.
Even some of the well known dealers that specialize in Corvettes don't always do a good job. One of the big name dealers in another state had serviced the transmission on '95 for the previous owner. When I did some work on it I found they had broken 2 of the 3 exhaust studs on the manifold but instead of replacing them they left them broken. One of them the could barely get a nut to start on it and one is not secured at all. So I only had 2 of the 3 studs securing the cats.
On another car they had a new flywheel and clutch put in, but in doing it they damaged practically every fastener mounting point in the console and dash. (and the flywheel was incorrectly balanced and the clutch chattered horribly). They also put new shocks on it and the front top mount had the nut loose and it made a lot of noise on every bump. The previous owner had taken it to them again to find the noise. They couldn't.
In short, do everything you can do yourself or with help of friends. It is actually kind of fun.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-05-2016, 11:57 PM
#15
Melting Slicks
Dear god, everything you said happened to you has the ring of truth to it. In my life I can only think of about one actual honest to god real mechanic; the story I remember best is when someone brought Malcom a completely disassembled Maserati transmission in a cardboard box and Malcom put that transmission back together and it worked.
On the other hand, I had an actual FAA mechanic splice the heater hose on my wife's truck with a piece of straight tubing and hose clamps which then blew apart on the freeway. It would have take twenty minutes and $5.00 to go to the hardware store and get an actual hose barb.
I had Lonnie Jensen, famous in San Francisco, who must have been god only knows how old build a head for me from scratch, yeah it was pricey, but my truck never ran better...but of course the reason I needed to have a head built from scratch was that another shop had gone through the previous head, and (to save me some money???) had installed cheap valves with the stems welded to the valve head; of course a valve head separated from the stem and that was the end of that head....and engine. Another shop rebuilt an engine for me, I supplied the pistons which were forged and they bored and honed the bores nice and tight...perfect for a cast piston, but not enough clearance for a forged piston that expands more when hot and ...you guessed it...a piston seized and that was the end of that engine.
Or the time I thought I was too busy to do the brakes on my girlfriend's truck so I took it to BRAKE MASTERS...so a week later...after the friction material had broken free from BRAKE MASTERS brake pads and ruined not only the pads, but the rotors...I get to do the whole job over again..this time with all top grade parts. BRAKE MASTERS guarantee? oh yeah no charge for the defective brake pads ($6.00 !!!) but you'll have to pay for the labor to have the new ones put in. What a bunch of a**holes.
Or the two time's I took my truck in for a simple, I thought oil change. The first time, at a Chevron affiliated shop...should be good right? I paid for a engine oil change, a transmission oil change, and a rear differential oil change . $170 later I drive away. Pricey? you bet but I was paying for convenience and peace of mind. A week or two later, I'm under my truck for some reason or other and I look at the rear end plug, and its obvious no ones touched it. I pulled it and out drains stinky black oil that must have the factory fill; hey, gough me if you will, but at least do the overpriced work I'm paying you to do.
Same truck, another oil change, I get home, a mile or so from the oil change place, and there's oil pouring out from my oil filter. I grab it, and it's only hand tight....I could have been on the freeway and blown out all the oil from the engine, thank god I wasn't.
One last story, and I can't make this stuff up. Took a tire into a Good Year dealer where I bought the tires, slow leaker...had it patched. Tire continues to leak..none of the other tires leak. I have the missus take the tire back to Good Year..and I swear to god they told her "Mrs. Woolford, the reason your tire keeps going flat is that your husband puts too much air in it"; (actually their original patch hadn't sealed 100%).
Oh, Oh, just one more, two vehicles, total of six new tires, six new valve stems, all bought and installed at Sears, two of the six new valve stems leaked.
And people wonder "why don't I just take my car to a shop"?
On the other hand, I had an actual FAA mechanic splice the heater hose on my wife's truck with a piece of straight tubing and hose clamps which then blew apart on the freeway. It would have take twenty minutes and $5.00 to go to the hardware store and get an actual hose barb.
I had Lonnie Jensen, famous in San Francisco, who must have been god only knows how old build a head for me from scratch, yeah it was pricey, but my truck never ran better...but of course the reason I needed to have a head built from scratch was that another shop had gone through the previous head, and (to save me some money???) had installed cheap valves with the stems welded to the valve head; of course a valve head separated from the stem and that was the end of that head....and engine. Another shop rebuilt an engine for me, I supplied the pistons which were forged and they bored and honed the bores nice and tight...perfect for a cast piston, but not enough clearance for a forged piston that expands more when hot and ...you guessed it...a piston seized and that was the end of that engine.
Or the time I thought I was too busy to do the brakes on my girlfriend's truck so I took it to BRAKE MASTERS...so a week later...after the friction material had broken free from BRAKE MASTERS brake pads and ruined not only the pads, but the rotors...I get to do the whole job over again..this time with all top grade parts. BRAKE MASTERS guarantee? oh yeah no charge for the defective brake pads ($6.00 !!!) but you'll have to pay for the labor to have the new ones put in. What a bunch of a**holes.
Or the two time's I took my truck in for a simple, I thought oil change. The first time, at a Chevron affiliated shop...should be good right? I paid for a engine oil change, a transmission oil change, and a rear differential oil change . $170 later I drive away. Pricey? you bet but I was paying for convenience and peace of mind. A week or two later, I'm under my truck for some reason or other and I look at the rear end plug, and its obvious no ones touched it. I pulled it and out drains stinky black oil that must have the factory fill; hey, gough me if you will, but at least do the overpriced work I'm paying you to do.
Same truck, another oil change, I get home, a mile or so from the oil change place, and there's oil pouring out from my oil filter. I grab it, and it's only hand tight....I could have been on the freeway and blown out all the oil from the engine, thank god I wasn't.
One last story, and I can't make this stuff up. Took a tire into a Good Year dealer where I bought the tires, slow leaker...had it patched. Tire continues to leak..none of the other tires leak. I have the missus take the tire back to Good Year..and I swear to god they told her "Mrs. Woolford, the reason your tire keeps going flat is that your husband puts too much air in it"; (actually their original patch hadn't sealed 100%).
Oh, Oh, just one more, two vehicles, total of six new tires, six new valve stems, all bought and installed at Sears, two of the six new valve stems leaked.
And people wonder "why don't I just take my car to a shop"?
Last edited by mtwoolford; 03-06-2016 at 12:00 AM.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-06-2016, 07:45 AM
#16
Safety Car
Member Since: Aug 2006
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If it's something that I don't want to tackle , I take it to a corvette mechanic that the corvette club members go to. He is excellent and a perfectionist. He owned a C2,C4 and has a C5. When I go there it's like going to a corvette car show. I have seen all of the years at his shop.
I would recommend anyone looking for a shop - ask your local corvette club who they use. It's a little more expensive but well worth it.
I would recommend anyone looking for a shop - ask your local corvette club who they use. It's a little more expensive but well worth it.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-06-2016, 08:31 AM
#17
Race Director
I doubt that's what happened but its pretty funny anyway.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-06-2016, 08:38 AM
#18
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '05
Discovered over time the LAST place to take a Vette is a "vette specialist"
Youre just going to get subpar work and overcharged. I only know of 2 "true" diagnostic techs/mechanics that do work right and are honest
Most mechanics just own tools and are hacks imo;worked in a few shops when I was young and you better believe cars like that get beat on seen it TOO many times
Looking for something older myself that Im not reliant on the web or some "expert" to fix simply dont trust anyone, most replacement parts are junk so may as well do it myself.
When I bought my first C4 knew I had to get online or Id never be able to afford ownership. In my 20s bought a 1973 Stingray, first Vette...I didnt have a PC so once I looked at ads and saw what parts cost I dumped it. Actually bought it for my brother as a gift, had to break the bad news just wasnt the car for him. He would have lost it in his divorce anyway
Too bad what a great looking car it was
Last edited by cv67; 03-06-2016 at 10:28 AM.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-06-2016, 09:05 AM
#19
Race Director
Men who make good technicians generally leave the business for something that pays more or is less difficult or both. Those who remain generally rely on "upselling" the customer on easy work that pays good. Your actual complaint and the actual malfunction will be a second priority. You WILL be financially victimized by the novice mechanic who will be learning the business and the cars on your dime. This is how the auto repair business works. Any shop that is willing to absorb the costs of a mechanic learning and the respective blunders that come along with it, simply cant stay in business. I have been around the auto repair business a very long time. This is how it works.
Fortunately, I can say for certain, there are very, very few straight-up dishonest shops.
Unfortunately, intentional deception, and mistakes made from ignorance look exactly the same from the customers point of view, because they are.
Fortunately, I can say for certain, there are very, very few straight-up dishonest shops.
Unfortunately, intentional deception, and mistakes made from ignorance look exactly the same from the customers point of view, because they are.
Last edited by PatternDayTrader; 03-06-2016 at 09:07 AM. Reason: exceptionally bad grammer ....
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)
03-06-2016, 10:33 AM
#20
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '05
Men who make good technicians generally leave the business for something that pays more or is less difficult or both
You are SO RIGHT
Unfortunately, intentional deception, and mistakes made from ignorance look exactly the same from the customers point of view, because they are.
The best diagnostic tech I ever knew closed his shop and took a low paying job with the city;in additon to his shop he used to instruct GM dealership techs;married to his work
He charged 100 and hr noone wanted to pay it, his new wife got sick of him being at work all the time trying to unscrew other peoples work; later got divorced anyway
Man I wish he was still around there was NOTHING that guy couldnt figure out, brought him some real EFI "problem childs" LOL he nailed it quickly.( Discovered the local Chevy dealer sent him a LOT of their cars as they would be happy to throw parts at a car but couldnt fix em btdt)everytime.
Its for this reason Ive been gunshy about buying another Vette, I know what they are about lol. Still look sometimes though
At the point I need to buy a real pricy scanner or just go back to carbed vehicles dont have the health or deep pockets I used to. Damn this economic collapse we had
Guys like him are a dying breed....
Going through code hell the last few yrs with my 02 Silverado I bought new about ready to park it and look for a clean 80s Toyota 22r. Its as dumb as I am and easy to fix
Sorry for the hijack!
Last edited by cv67; 03-06-2016 at 10:52 AM.
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Rick Schimpf (03-07-2016)