Mechanic Expensive Misdiagnosis

[dude8383]

Early models have a pin in the flywheel for crank reference. It is common for the pins to fall out an cause a no start.

As a shop owner this would look really bad on my part. I couldn't on good conscience call the customer expecting them to pay for the complete repair...

[15Michaeljoseph]

While I don't know how you'd handle this situation (threaten legal action/ agree to just pay for parts on misdiagnosis?) I would be wary of this next diagnosis.

Low enough compression on ALL cylinders to cause a no-start? I'd imagine that the car would have been practically undrivable before you encountered this problem... And there probably would have been so much oil blowby that you'd have had some very noticable exhaust smoke.

Perhaps he's got no idea what the issue is and is trying to convince you that you need a new engine/ rebuild so that you decide not to fix it due to cost?

Sounds a little fishy to me.

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[parkerbink]

As far as a solution, I'd suggest shaming him into paying as little as possible and not letting him work on your car anymore.

Clearly he is spitballing.

[jeffnhiscars]

no absolutely not. You brought the vehicle in with a no start condition and it was mis diagnosed. You are not responsible to pay for anything that does not fix the problem. Your approval to complete work is contingent on the vehicle running afterward.

fwiw there is no such electrical sensory that gives signal to motronic on the flywheel.... crank position is metered via crank pulley/tone wheel at the front of the engine.


someones an idiot or we are not getting the whole story

Its an ETA so the sensor is on the flywheel...having just replaced one. I also think in the interest of compromise, its ok to offer to pay for new parts that were installed WYAIT.

[lolcantturn]

Went to the shop today and after a couple of minutes of debating back and forth, I ended up not having to pay labor. I won't reiterate his side of the argument, but essentially it's very clear cut that the engine should have been compression tested before it was decided to throw ~$2000 into it.

[Stanley Rockafella]

win/win

[dude8383]

Good compromise.

[lolcantturn]

Agreed. Unfortunately it was a burn of bridges, as I know I won't be able to go back there again. But if anyone has a S50/S52 in the east coast let me know! :-)

[dude8383]

How soon...

I just picked up one of these for myself:

[lolcantturn]

How soon...

I just picked up one of these for myself:

I'll message ya on the FB's ;)

[varg]

Couldn't one just peep into the sensor mounting hole on the transmission either by eye or by scope and visually confirm the condition of the pin before recommending such an expensive repair? Something tells me this mechanic didn't eat his wheaties.


from http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=359355

[bobdavisnpf]

"Reputable" and "up to the challenge" can be 2 different things, especially when you do so much of your own work - the only time they see your car is when it's a non-routine thing.

Feeling lucky my shop puts it all in writing and is clear about disclaimers. They've also got a tendency to over-estimate and charge a little less than estimated. Made it much easier to be ok with it when a brake fluid flush & inspection turned into a weekend without the car and parts replaced that didn't seem to improve braking performance much. I'll take it in to ask for next steps or a do-over, but their past performance leaves me expecting a positive end result.

[MrBurgundy]

Just so you know, a verbal agreement on the phone is like signing a work order, for what that's worth, this far along on your situation. I feel like you got a fair settlement. Glad it didn't go completely sour.

[SirMaxximus]

glad you at least argued it man... As a mechanic, people make mistakes. Even people with great knowledge on a subject can rush to conclusions on diagnosing a problem...

But also, I cant imagine diagnosing a flywheel for a misfire/no start without at least confirming compression/spark/fuel... there realistically no just way they shouldn't have checked compression first... either way, Unfortunate situation all around.

[jeffnhiscars]

Just so you know, a verbal agreement on the phone is like signing a work order, for what that's worth, this far along on your situation. I feel like you got a fair settlement. Glad it didn't go completely sour.

Oral contracts are still contracts. The problem is proving what was said which makes them very difficult to enforce. Something like "he said she said" comes to mind.