diplomacy with the nice mechanic

[leicesterboy15]

Sounds like you are getting ready to lay down. If you don't ask they ain't gonna volunteer.
Before you accept the car test drive it WITH the owner, if all mechanically is okay then it's time to bring up the damage. Once your dough is in his hands it will tend to remain there.

Bang On! As soon as you hand over your money you will not see it again! If you are not happy you should say something, even if its only to express your dissatisfaction. As mentioned take the car for a test drive (with the mechanic) and before handing over any money bring up the issue and show them. If they get all hard nosed and funny then you have the option of just paying up and leaving or taking it further. If you pay first and then bring up the issue your mind is made up for you, the only thing you can really do is pay & walk. That would be how I would approach it, and theres no need to bring it up in a nasty way, be nice at first and you never know. If you approach it like this and they are reasonable I think the most likely outcome is that they knock some money off your bill as a goodwill gesture. That way you get something back and you can get the work done properly yourself. I doubt they would take enough off to cover all the damage but at least 1/2 if not a bit more.

[timandbim]

ok so i'm not pissed about this, i'm happy this guy's being thorough... i think...

turns out an exhaust valve had cooked (completely burnt and bent - he showed me)- he's waiting for the part... engine's in pieces again. said he had it together and it was together but firing on only 5 cylinders so he went back in and found that. it seemed pretty believable and i don't think this guy's trying to jerk my around, scratches or not. going to charge me labour for hg+pump=8hrs + 2hrs for the valve replacement- seems fair to me. he could have tried to give it back to me on 5 cylinders and if i had insisted he would have put it back together and let me drive it away i'm sure.

anyway he says he's worked on lots of bimmers and for some reason it's always the same cylinder that goes (#2 i think he said)... is that true? i'd feel really confident about him if it were. said that could cause an overheat real fast... said the water pump wasn't necessarily busted but it was really old and 'loose' so it was best to change it anyway (i agree!). he has the parts to show me. as for the scratches i tried to take a peek discretely but couldn't really... i was ready for a debate but i care so much less about the scratches than getting my car fixed so i avoided it... for now... more wondering how i cooked an exhaust valve- if it had something to do with me screwing with the icv when it froze... and if i wouldn't have noticed it missing in the very short time i had it running between the overheat and the shop. (might i have missed it missing? i caught it recently on an '86 dodge... but maybe not right away) this is my original overheat thread in case you are inclined to take even more time to deal with my problems. guys i really appreciate the responses - i would have been totally freaking out if it weren't for some of your feedback... i'm still kind of freaking out...

whats this, you have working prostitutes in the bus shelter or am i getting this all wrong?

there were prostitutes at the bus shelter in -20' at 5-30am... this morning i got a lift from a friend and one of them thought he had actually stopped for her - it was pretty funny 'cause i'd been talking about it the day before but it took my buddy a while to figure out what was going on lol. whether or not they're getting any work i don't know - i wouldn't touch them with a wetsuit on. i think it's nuts in this case because of the cold, not the location (less snow there than on the sidewalk )... and FH... ten dollars????

wow this is really long- sorry guys... i better run and buy some cheap smokes so i don't give all my winstons to the ladies tomorrow morning - i'll try to remember my camera so i can take pics for jeff- happy new year to you too! i'll try and send you some quality montreal krakkhhorrr photos tomorrow.

[BigKriss]

nice. any good lookers among them?

there were prostitutes at the bus shelter in -20' at 5-30am... this morning i got a lift from a friend and one of them thought he had actually stopped for her - it was pretty funny 'cause i'd been talking about it the day before but it took my buddy a while to figure out what was going on lol. whether or not they're getting any work i don't know - i wouldn't touch them with a wetsuit on. i think it's nuts in this case because of the cold, not the location (less snow there than on the sidewalk )... and FH... ten dollars????

wow this is really long- sorry guys... i better run and buy some cheap smokes so i don't give all my winstons to the ladies tomorrow morning - i'll try to remember my camera so i can take pics for jeff- happy new year to you too! i'll try and send you some quality montreal krakkhhorrr photos tomorrow.

[repenttokyo]

so not only did he scratch your car, tim, but he did repair work that you didn't authorize, in fact, he didn't even call you to tell you a - why your car was taking so long and b - that he was doing this extra work and would be charging you for that?

any work in quebec that is performed without an estimate, verbal or written given before hand, is not legal! these guys really don't seem to be treating you well

[repenttokyo]

nice. any good lookers among them?

10 dollars for a blowjob = i'll let you do the math on how attractive they probably were.

[632 Regal]

agrees neither in the USA without a written authorization cant be completed so the charges are alleged...might want to get your car outta there before you contest charges

so not only did he scratch your car, tim, but he did repair work that you didn't authorize, in fact, he didn't even call you to tell you a - why your car was taking so long and b - that he was doing this extra work and would be charging you for that?

any work in quebec that is performed without an estimate, verbal or written given before hand, is not legal! these guys really don't seem to be treating you well

[Ross]

Ah, bring the Winstons. They might be used in a barter arrangement with the bus stop ladies to motivate your mechanic.

[bmwpower]

In my experience every mechanic fails my quality/care test eventually. It's a shame, but so is life. People just don't give a crap about your stuff.

You were stuck in your situation, so I understand not doing it yourself.

How is he replacing the valve? Lapping it in? Machine shops around here won't do just one valve - it's the whole head or nothing since you can't be guaranteed a good seal otherwise and the whole burn valve thing happens all over again.

[timandbim]

Ah, bring the Winstons. They might be used in a barter arrangement with the bus stop ladies to motivate your mechanic.

i think they'd work no matter what i gave 'em so long as they could smoke it- i think i will save the ladies for revenge if i need it

sorry guys no pics- woke up late and took a taxi!

[timandbim]

so not only did he scratch your car, tim, but he did repair work that you didn't authorize, in fact, he didn't even call you to tell you a - why your car was taking so long and b - that he was doing this extra work...

agrees neither in the USA without a written authorization cant be completed so the charges are alleged...might want to get your car outta there before you contest charges

i'm not sure that's entirely fair, although i appreciate you guys saying so...

disregarding the scratches, which i haven't had a proper look at, for now i'm concerned with the engine and i'm trying to see the situation from the owner's point of view.

i originally took it there to change the thermostat cause i couldn't get the part myself and thought what the heck maybe these guys will do it quick and easy which they did. they only just opened and were still moving stuff but the owner told me he was positive the headgasket had gone (which it had - i saw) but we had to wait for the gear to be sure. i authorized the 6+2 hours on the hg and the water pump (which he never said was busted although i could see right away it was ancient and assumed it was the problem) but it had to stay the weekend. 2 bummers the next week- the new intake gaskets are bad (also the first hg to arrive was for an m50) and the mechanic doing the work slips up realigning the timing belt... bummers but understandable... they redo a lot of the job twice at no cost to me. this takes even longer because the owner is away from the shop a lot moving equipment (not expecting these hiccups i imagine) and the shop was closed over christmas - plus parts were pretty slow coming due to lousy weather, holidays, and i imagine right now a strong demand here right now.

yesterday when they finally had the job done and fired it up it was only running on 5 cyl so they took it apart and found the burnt exhaust valve and ordered the part and left it like that until i dropped by, which they were expecting. they quoted two hours for that job and i authorized it so in total are going to charge me 10 hours of shop time.

disregarding the scratches, which i haven't had a good look at and don't care about anymore (although i intend to check them and talk about it before i pay yessir you guys are so right) it all seems pretty straight-up to me and it looks like the only thing they made a mistake on was putting the timing belt on wrong... just a bummer being stuck there over christmas and new years. this sucks but i don't want to blame the mechanic unless i have good reason to. i did overheat pretty badly - goddamn montreal rush-hour snowstorms i know not to let it get that hot even though it never happened to me before.

three things i would like to know... 1) i'm wondering if he should have maybe noticed the burnt valve in the first place? 2) is it really always the same one that goes on this and similar bmw motors? 3) cracked heads aside (not forgotten), please tell me how much worse can this get?

You were stuck in your situation, so I understand not doing it yourself.
How is he replacing the valve? Lapping it in? Machine shops around here won't do just one valve - it's the whole head or nothing since you can't be guaranteed a good seal otherwise and the whole burn valve thing happens all over again.

that is an excellent question and i have no idea... i will be sure to inquire and try to read-up on the subject- thanks! i can change belts and starters and stuff and i'm ok with electrical stuff but i think this is a bit out of my league even if i had the space and tools.