Tires Plus Management tried to coax an $800 repair job out of me that I didn't necessarily need Hudson Wisconsin
I recently visited Tires Plus in Hudson, WI because I suspected a possible problem in the front end of my 1998 Pontiac Grand Am. I had brought my car there at least once or twice before for an alignment.
A mechanic named Matt did an inspection on my car. The management let me go in the shop so Matt could explain what was up with my car. While he didn't find anything wrong with the front end, he said that I had a minor intake leak which was causing the coolant to slowly leak. He told me that it wasn't anything panic about, as long as made sure my coolant didn't get low. He mentioned that this was a common problem that resulted from Dex-Cool Antifreeze, as well as the 3.1 Liter Pontiac motor. He also mentioned that many people with this problem don't bother to look under the hood, and eventually the car overheats. I explained to him that my car has never overheated, the coolant leak only seemed minor, and the car runs like a watch. Like I mentioned earlier, he didn't figure that I should worry too much about the problem. Matt seemed like a nice guy and I trust the details that he explained to me. While I was talking to Matt, a manager named Joe comes back into the shop and rudely asked Matt if he could get my car off the ramp so they could work on other cars. The front tires were still off the car when he pulled this stunt. Joe seemed like an arrogant little f*ck.
After I went back up front, another manager named Terry asked me if I wanted my intake manifold gasket changed. I told him that Matt told me not to worry about it. He said in a snotty voice that he didn't know why Matt told me that. He showed me an estimate that the job would cost $800. I think this is the reason that he wanted me to go through with it, so he could get me to spend $800. I had a feeling that management must get paid commissions or bonuses for sales, so it must be easy for them to try to coax an expensive repair job out of me.
I wasn't going to think about having any such repair job done on my car until I got opinions from other people I knew. I talked to my fiancee's dad and her two brothers. When I went to visit them, none of the three felt that I had anything to worry about. One of my fiancee's brothers thought that Terry was just trying to f*ck me over. I'm glad that I didn't let Terry talk me into having the intake gasket replaced. I don't think that I can trust Tires Plus anymore, and I don't plan on going back. If I ever had to have the intake gasket replaced, I think I could find another shop that will have a better deal than $800.
Andy
Hammond, Wisconsin
U.S.A.
9 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
Labor guide says 6.5 hours for the 3.1 Intake
#10Consumer Comment
Thu, August 17, 2006
Figure on spending from $600-$800 on the repair, including labor, parts, fluids, tax, supplies, etc.
There are a couple TSB's for that engine, but they just tell the mechanic what he already knows. It's a good engine, after you fix it. Sort of like that 4.6 Ford makes. From the factory, it has a plastic water passage between the two heads. The replacement manifold, when the customer is out of warranty, uses aluminum. During the warranty period, the customer gets another crappy plastic one.
How about the 2.3/2.4 Quad-4 engines? There are 6 different head designs, and each one has it's own specs. You get to figure out what you have, as none of them are marked.
You have to love the way the manufacturers operate.
Robert
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
Labor guide says 6.5 hours for the 3.1 Intake
#10Consumer Comment
Thu, August 17, 2006
Figure on spending from $600-$800 on the repair, including labor, parts, fluids, tax, supplies, etc.
There are a couple TSB's for that engine, but they just tell the mechanic what he already knows. It's a good engine, after you fix it. Sort of like that 4.6 Ford makes. From the factory, it has a plastic water passage between the two heads. The replacement manifold, when the customer is out of warranty, uses aluminum. During the warranty period, the customer gets another crappy plastic one.
How about the 2.3/2.4 Quad-4 engines? There are 6 different head designs, and each one has it's own specs. You get to figure out what you have, as none of them are marked.
You have to love the way the manufacturers operate.
Robert
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
Labor guide says 6.5 hours for the 3.1 Intake
#10Consumer Comment
Thu, August 17, 2006
Figure on spending from $600-$800 on the repair, including labor, parts, fluids, tax, supplies, etc.
There are a couple TSB's for that engine, but they just tell the mechanic what he already knows. It's a good engine, after you fix it. Sort of like that 4.6 Ford makes. From the factory, it has a plastic water passage between the two heads. The replacement manifold, when the customer is out of warranty, uses aluminum. During the warranty period, the customer gets another crappy plastic one.
How about the 2.3/2.4 Quad-4 engines? There are 6 different head designs, and each one has it's own specs. You get to figure out what you have, as none of them are marked.
You have to love the way the manufacturers operate.
Robert
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
Labor guide says 6.5 hours for the 3.1 Intake
#10Consumer Comment
Thu, August 17, 2006
Figure on spending from $600-$800 on the repair, including labor, parts, fluids, tax, supplies, etc.
There are a couple TSB's for that engine, but they just tell the mechanic what he already knows. It's a good engine, after you fix it. Sort of like that 4.6 Ford makes. From the factory, it has a plastic water passage between the two heads. The replacement manifold, when the customer is out of warranty, uses aluminum. During the warranty period, the customer gets another crappy plastic one.
How about the 2.3/2.4 Quad-4 engines? There are 6 different head designs, and each one has it's own specs. You get to figure out what you have, as none of them are marked.
You have to love the way the manufacturers operate.
Steve
Bradenton,Florida,
U.S.A.
Some advice for Thomas and Andy..
#10Consumer Suggestion
Thu, August 17, 2006
First off that 70's model slant six head is a whole lot different than a late model car. Especially if you have a front wheel drive transverse mounted computer controlled engine. If I remember correctly that dodge slant six was simply an inline six that sat at an angle in the car and had 1 head.
Stop leak is a very temporary repair. Only should be used to get it home or to a shop, or tho the auction! It is NEVER a permanent or reliable fix. And, doing head gaskets or intake gaskets on a newer car is a nightmare and is usually at least 8 hours labor plus parts. It is very unlikely you could get a good job done by a competent mechanic for less than $800 on that 98 Pontiac.
Your real rip off report should be filed against GM for ever making that 3.1 engine! Thats the real rip off here! It should have been recalled.
Furthermore, places like "Tires Plus" should stick to selling tires and shocks, etc.. They have a hard enough time getting that right. A real ASE certified mechanic at a real full service shop should be consulted for that repair.
Thats like letting the guy at the jiffy lube do engine repair. A big mistake.
ANY coolant leak is a problem. Cooling systems are designed to operate at a specific pressure. A leak, no matter how small will get bigger under pressure. This is just physics.
Fix the leak properly or you will face major problems down the road. Guaranteed.
Robert
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
I love people like you
#10Consumer Comment
Thu, August 17, 2006
A bottle of stop leak fixed your engine. A can of fix-a-flat fixed the tires. A bottle of stop leak fixed everything. Why bother selling gaskets at all?
Good grief. There is a reason the factory used gaskets. That reason is because gaskets are a long term solution to a problem. "Stop leak" products are meant for the short term ONLY.
Your engine has problems directly related to the intake gaskets. ALL 3.1 engines do. The reason a competent repair facility did not tell you about the $4 bottle of stop leak, is because it doesn't FIX the problem. It masks it for a short time. When the issue pops up again, it will be major. You'll be lucky if it isn't catastrophic. Presuurized coolant entering the intake runners at 60mph does amazing things to an engine.
Thomas
Anderson,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
I swapped heads on a Slant-Six in 1970
#10Consumer Comment
Thu, August 17, 2006
and that job took maybe 4 hours. The intake & exhaust manifolds had to come off before the head was removed, and you shouldn't even have to take the head off. All you need is a decent torque wrench, a decent socket set, and a gasket. $800 will buy a lot of tools.
Andy
Hammond,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Intake leak solved by a bottle of Bar's Leak
#10Consumer Comment
Thu, August 17, 2006
I am responding back to the rebuttal submitted by Tires Plus. A bottle of Bar's Leak, which only cost a few dollars, took care of the intake leak on my car. Tires Plus never recommended a stop leak agent to me. They made it sound like the repair job would be my only option. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, they were rude about it when I didn't want to go through with the repairs. Since the Bar's Leak worked just fine, was the repair job really necessary? I still don't think that management at Tires Plus was trying to be totally honest with me.
Terry
Cottage Grove,Minnesota,
U.S.A.
Rebuttal to alleged repair coaxing
#10UPDATE Employee
Wed, June 21, 2006
When a guest comes into an auto repair shop, clear communication is very important. We must present the facts as clearly as possible and provide a solution for them. We must make all our guests aware of maintenance needs and potential driving hazards to prevent future unseen mechanical breakdowns. At Tires Plus, the decision to repair a vehicle is always left with the guest.
In our business guests hold us accountable for repairs recommended or not recommended. It is not a pleasant experience to hear that a vehicle needs repair. It is also not pleasant to hear that a very expensive repair, such as an engine replacement, could have been avoided by maintenance or a much easier repair. I would not want to be responsible for a serious mechanical break down that could have been easily avoided. Often times the guests complaining of an unnecessary repair recommendation would be the same one complaining of an enormous repair bill that could have been avoided.
A leaking intake is a necessary repair to prevent further mechanical damage. I can understand that this is something the guest does not want to hear. In this case the guest was informed and shown a leaking intake, therefore "coaxing him into an unnecessary repair" is simply not valid.