Complaint Review: Lucas Tire And Alignment - Chicago Illinois

Labor- $50 hr. If you supply your own "cheaper" parts- $65 hr. If you brought it from a different shop- $75 hr. If you watch me work- $80 hr. Questions answered at $10 per. I'm not your trainer. If you help- $100 per hour. If you worked on it before bringing it in- $150 hr. The wording may vary but get the idea?

I wrote about the labor charges going up because they would if EVERYBODY wanted details. That doesn't mean you shouldn't get it if you ask! Many people that come to the automotive shop really don't care to know the details and just want it fixed, that is why it is the customers responsibility to ask details. That being said, I agree with you that in the end it costed both of you more time than it would have if he took the extra step to begin with and explained why that wouldn't work. This is assuming that he did infact "Know" that the part replaced would not work. I thought it was *possible* that he didn't know it wouldn't work until the light came back on. He might have assumed that you had diagnostic work done elsewhere. In that case it would make sense that he did what you asked and when it didn't work, he offered his diagnostic services. The most important thing a customer can do is be interested and ask questions. You should never state "I want it fixed". In the best shops this will lead to miscommunication. In the worse shops this will absolutely lead to ripoff! Obiviously he did not care for your business so it was time to find a new mechanic that you like. If you had been going there for 2 years he shouldn't have acted that way. So good for you, it sounds like you have found yourself a good mechanic and that's the way it should be.

You state you're an architect. Someone comes to you with the plans for a house or building they wish to build. I don't know if they bought the plans, were given the plans or got the plans off the internet. You tell them they have to pay you to redraw the plans. They say that's "pointless" because they already have a set. They want you or someone else to to supervise the construction of the house or building. They start having numerous problems, the soil's not right, or it's not up to local code. They come back to you and what are you gonna' tell them. You should have paid me to draw the plans. Then we wouldn't be having these problems.

Jennifer, Thanks for your input, and how you addressed this situation. I have one comment about what you said.. "They don't tell everyone every detail because if they did the labor rates would go up 20% to cover the extra time. So if you are interested- ask. But if you give your mechanic the attitude (even unknowingly) that you know everything already he wont take the time to explain." In my profession, we charge about quadruple the man hour for time spent on a specific client than does a mechanic. And you know what, they want us to. You can't address a persons problems with out discussing it with them. Nobody wants to address an issue they are having by placing it in somebody elses lap, unknowing of how that person is going to fix it. The owner of this shop doesn't do any work in the shop. He does paper work, and deals with customers, and directs his technicians. After this happened, he took about 20 minutes to explain to me why "he isn't going to do sh**", when he could have spent the 20 minutes before hand telling me how we need to address this problem. I don't think the "I don't have time to talk to you" is a legitamate complaint. Secondly, my attitude as stated in my original post was "I want the car fixed". With that being said, he took the direct measures of charging me over 200 bucks knowing that wouldn't fix the car. I'm absolutly amazed that some people are trying to justify that. I said, "here is the error code, can you fix the car" he said "do you want us to do a diagnostic?", I said "I dont think its necessary its already been done" (at this point doesn't it make sense for him to take 10 minutes to describe why it truely hadn't been done?). At this point he said, "fine, so you want us to change that valve?" (knowing that wouldn't fix the car) and I said "i want the car fix"... its really pretty simple to see how he intentionally ripped me off. 2 year relationship or not... Obviously my patronage isn't very important to him. As I was leaving, I calmly stated "if this is how you do buisness, then im afraid im going to have to go somewhere else" and he stated "thats fine, I'm turning people away as it is". Fair enough, just letting people know that he doesn't value his customers, and doesn't feel like its his job to describe to people what he needs to do to their cars. In my eyes, that isn't somebody I think that should be dealing with the public. Anyway, I'm all done with this newly created forum. I went to a different mechanic this weekend, explained the whole situation, and you know what, he explained the whole technical side back to me. The car is having tests run as we speak, and I have full faith that this individual values my buisness, and makes sure to take the time to retain it. It took him 10 minutes, to explain how the system works, what could be the problem, and the actions he was going to take to determine it, as well as the cost associated. The funny thing is, my old mechanic used to be like that. Maybe he was having a bad day, and took it out on my and screwed me, and thats fine. It's 200 bucks but I think it's fair to warn people of his actions.

Seriously though, I understand WHAT Jacob is saying, but however you did bring it upon yourself. Your mechanic asked if you wanted to pay for correct diagnostics, which you turned down stating what you were told by Autozone. That makes sense from your point of view, you have no idea how a check engine light works. Like many people, you assume that "diagnostics" is hooking up a computer and knowing exactly what the problem is and how to fix it. Unfortunately, technology is not that advanced yet. Even when it is the price of diagnostics is going to go even higher due to the much higher cost of the already expensive equipment (and knowledge of the technician). But your mechanic assumes that since you already know what is going on that you had it checked out. So unfortunatly you had a misunderstanding with your mechanic. If you trust your mechanic, take his advice when he recommends something. Thanks to people going to Autozone and getting a free "diagnostic" people are even more confused about how check engine lights work. So if ANYONE ripped anyone off it was autozone. They should have informed you that thier tests don't mean squat and that you need it properly diagnosed. Did they try to sell you the EGR valve while you were there? Just because it is free doesn't mean it wasn't a rip off. They gave you bad advice and should have explained better. That is why you go to a trusted mechanic for advice, not autozone. We wont replace anything, not a starter, fuel pump, etc. without us testing it first. And yeah, we do charge for that. The fact is you loose money during the hour of diagnostic because the shop is making money on labor only, no parts are being sold during that hour. So were not happy about it either, but it has to be done on new cars. Otherwise you are really spending wasted money. If we do change something out because the customer insists we make full notes that we are replacing it as per customers request. The part has not been tested and may not be the cause of the problem customer is having. Customer declined testing and diagnosis of problem. In the future you should ask your mechanic details. They don't tell everyone every detail because if they did the labor rates would go up 20% to cover the extra time. So if you are interested- ask. But if you give your mechanic the attitude (even unknowingly) that you know everything already he wont take the time to explain.

Im an architect not a automobile mechanic. To me, an error code states what is wrong with the car. Isn't it the mechanics job to tell me that it could be numerous things from one code? If i tell a doctor my leg hurts, he doesn't just amputate my leg, he says "well it could be something in your spine causing that, we need to run additional tests" at which point I would have already stated I would have said "fine". Instead, this mechanic replaced a part that he knew wasn't the problem. I don't care how you slice it, thats a rip-off. Instead of taking 3 minutes to explain that this part isn't the problem (knowing this part wouldn't cause the error code), that this error code doesn't represent that particular part but instead the whole system, essentially, if he did HIS JOB, then we wouldn't have this problem. Because he was pissed off, because I didn't realize the error code doesn't diagnos the specific problem, and he didn't want to explain this, he ripped me off. Its slimy, and typical. Thanks for all your input, if I came off angry, its because I was. The issue here isn't who ran the code, its that fact that he KNOWINGLY ripped me off, not because of something I did or didn't tell him to do, but because I didn't understand and he didn't take the time to explain it. Typical of most car mechanics, they take advantage of the fact that their customers have no knowledge of the services they need to perform. A personable individual will explain these procedures to their customers, explain the details and clarify the situation so that instances like these don't happen.

Im an architect not a automobile mechanic. To me, an error code states what is wrong with the car. Isn't it the mechanics job to tell me that it could be numerous things from one code? If i tell a doctor my leg hurts, he doesn't just amputate my leg, he says "well it could be something in your spine causing that, we need to run additional tests" at which point I would have already stated I would have said "fine". Instead, this mechanic replaced a part that he knew wasn't the problem. I don't care how you slice it, thats a rip-off. Instead of taking 3 minutes to explain that this part isn't the problem (knowing this part wouldn't cause the error code), that this error code doesn't represent that particular part but instead the whole system, essentially, if he did HIS JOB, then we wouldn't have this problem. Because he was pissed off, because I didn't realize the error code doesn't diagnos the specific problem, and he didn't want to explain this, he ripped me off. Its slimy, and typical. Thanks for all your input, if I came off angry, its because I was. The issue here isn't who ran the code, its that fact that he KNOWINGLY ripped me off, not because of something I did or didn't tell him to do, but because I didn't understand and he didn't take the time to explain it. Typical of most car mechanics, they take advantage of the fact that their customers have no knowledge of the services they need to perform. A personable individual will explain these procedures to their customers, explain the details and clarify the situation so that instances like these don't happen.

Im an architect not a automobile mechanic. To me, an error code states what is wrong with the car. Isn't it the mechanics job to tell me that it could be numerous things from one code? If i tell a doctor my leg hurts, he doesn't just amputate my leg, he says "well it could be something in your spine causing that, we need to run additional tests" at which point I would have already stated I would have said "fine". Instead, this mechanic replaced a part that he knew wasn't the problem. I don't care how you slice it, thats a rip-off. Instead of taking 3 minutes to explain that this part isn't the problem (knowing this part wouldn't cause the error code), that this error code doesn't represent that particular part but instead the whole system, essentially, if he did HIS JOB, then we wouldn't have this problem. Because he was pissed off, because I didn't realize the error code doesn't diagnos the specific problem, and he didn't want to explain this, he ripped me off. Its slimy, and typical. Thanks for all your input, if I came off angry, its because I was. The issue here isn't who ran the code, its that fact that he KNOWINGLY ripped me off, not because of something I did or didn't tell him to do, but because I didn't understand and he didn't take the time to explain it. Typical of most car mechanics, they take advantage of the fact that their customers have no knowledge of the services they need to perform. A personable individual will explain these procedures to their customers, explain the details and clarify the situation so that instances like these don't happen.

"He asked if I wanted to run the test again at their shop and it would cost 75-100 dollars. I said that was pointless since we already had the code, and he said ok. I made an appointment for the following day. I went to the shop and had them make the repair based on the code and the replacement of the EGR valve." Wait...I know wher we ALL got that idea. It's because that's EXACTLY what you wrote.

Sir, you wrote in your original complaint that you obtained a free report from one place and took it to your reputable mechanic. You saw no sense in paying for a diagnostic that you just received so you told him to replace the part that was supposedly broken. I didn't ASSUME this information, I took it directly from your complaint. I think the bottom line here is that if we have a mechanic that we have trusted for the last 2 years and he asks if we want a new diagnostic done, spend the 75-100 dollars and let him do his job! I realize that you may be upset with your mechanic at this point but perhaps the person to be upset with is yourself. Just because someone offers you constructive criticism, there is no reason to accuse all of us who responded to your complaint of being theiving mechanics. I'm saddened to tell you that although I have grown up in the car business all my life, my father being an owner of a dealership, I am actually a nurse and have been one for 24 years. If you see your doctor and you tell him you have had a test and he thinks the test should be redone, do you say no! Operate on me with the original information I gave you! Of course not! Bottom line, you wanted to save money and in the end it cost you. Your fault, not the mechanic from where I sit. But, what does a dumb nurse know about cars? (Shrug) Probably nothing

But where did any of you read that I asked my mechanic to install that part? Did I say that, because that didn't happen. Basically you all have came up with this, that I gave direct instructions to the mechanic and asked him to install THAT part. The facts: I told my mechanic what the error code read, and he stated "So you want to change that valve". My response: "I want the car to be fixed". If he knew full well that the particular part he mentioned wasn't the cause of the problem... THAT is a rip-off. If he needed to do additional troubleshooting, and to decipher in the entire system what could be the problem, that is all he had to say. Instead, he replaced a part that he knew wasn't faulty. Its a mechanics job to decipher what is wrong with the car, not mine. He offered to run a diagnostic, or "pull the code" as he stated, for $75-$100, which was already done. A P0403 is a P0403, REGARDLESS of who hooks up the diagnostic machine under the dash. All he had to do was say "that could be numerous things, and we need to dig deeper to find the problem" and I would have said "fine". But thanks everybody for jumping to conclusions of the situation based on nothing but speculation. Im assuming that with most of your knowledge of cars, that most of your are mechanics... thanks for showing and affirming what the general population already knows about your profession. Was I jumping to conclusions too... oops :)

Haven't we had this discussion before? YOU told him his diagnostic check "was pointless" and to go ahead and replace to EGR valve. He was "your" mechanic, with whom you've had a relationship for two years and trust BUT you didn't trust his advice. Instead, you trusted autozone's free advice. So, who's fault is that? What a dumb, expensive move. As for your theory that "their"(sp} angry you didn't want to spend $100 to find out the same information you already know turns out to be false. It wasn't the EGR valve afterall, was it?

Jacob, Unbelievable! You went to your trusted mechanic of 2 years and told him to replace the EGR valve based on the fault code you obtained from Auto Zone for free. You REFUSED to let your mechanic diagnose the problem for you before buying and installing the EGR valve. That $75-100 your mechanic quoted you was for more than just hooking up the scanner and getting a code, it was for the additional time to look over your vehicle and do some extra troubleshooting. You get what you paid for. That diagnostic at Auto Zone was FREE, so you got nothing. Everyone wants a mechanic to work for free and provide the use of the tools and equipment they have to buy for free. A check engine light is not a big emergency. You could have waited and just taken it to your trusted mechanic. Then it would have been done right. However, you were trying to shave the diagnostic fee off your trusted mechanic's bill! So who really engaged in the rip off here? You were trying to save $100 at your mechanics expense. Your mechanic did EXACTLY what you told him to do. He changed the part you requested. How did he rip you off? Never tell the doctor how to operate.

The P0403 code indicates an error in your EGR system. You used the brilliance of the part sellers to determine the EGR valve needed to be replaced. Guess what? In nearly every case, the EGR valve isn't the issue. It's the solenoid, or a fedeback sensor that's the cause. Other times, it's a restriction in the exhaust itself. Maybe 1 out a 100 will be the valve. P0403 is a generic code. It covers many things in the EGR system. That's why the same code came back up. If you had refused to pay me, you'd be recieving a letter from the DMV notifying you that I was taking possesion of your vehicle. All I need is 3 days to file, and 30 days later, it's mine. My guess is you'd pay. There's no sense in not getting paid, especially from someone like you. They didn't make you pay, and this is the thanks they got. You slamming them for doing what you asked them to do.

The mechanic offered to run the same test rendering the same results already performed for a fee of $75-$100 dollars. This was proven with the fact that they ended up running the same test and the results were the same. This being stated, its obvious that even if the shop ran their own test, with the same results, they would have performed the same action on the car. All I did was told them what the fault code was, after that it was up to them, and something I expect a competent mechanic to resolve. The idea that they would replace a part, based on nothing more than the fault code, knowing full well that the part they were replacing wasn't the item causing the fault code, and that it had to be something else in the system is silly.... and ignorant. Its quite obvious the shop was angry that I refused to pay 100 dollars for information already known about the problem, so they just screwed me out of money. If this is how this shop performs buisness, then its quite obvious they are a rip-off and deserve to be posted here.

I could swear I read that the second mechanic asked if you wanted him to run a diagnostic on your vehicle BEFORE he did the work and you refused. You told him to replace the parts and that's what he did. Perhaps the extra 100 dollars would have saved you the price of replacing parts that had nothing to do with the problem to begin with. If this was your reputable mechanic, just think of what a stranger could have done to your wallet. Everyone knows that car shops are standing ready to rip off any customer that they can. I think you should be more careful when telling a mechanic what you want done, don't you? I mean after all you have had a relationship with this mechanic for two years. He asked to run a diagnostic and you refused and then blame him? That's silly.

I could swear I read that the second mechanic asked if you wanted him to run a diagnostic on your vehicle BEFORE he did the work and you refused. You told him to replace the parts and that's what he did. Perhaps the extra 100 dollars would have saved you the price of replacing parts that had nothing to do with the problem to begin with. If this was your reputable mechanic, just think of what a stranger could have done to your wallet. Everyone knows that car shops are standing ready to rip off any customer that they can. I think you should be more careful when telling a mechanic what you want done, don't you? I mean after all you have had a relationship with this mechanic for two years. He asked to run a diagnostic and you refused and then blame him? That's silly.

I could swear I read that the second mechanic asked if you wanted him to run a diagnostic on your vehicle BEFORE he did the work and you refused. You told him to replace the parts and that's what he did. Perhaps the extra 100 dollars would have saved you the price of replacing parts that had nothing to do with the problem to begin with. If this was your reputable mechanic, just think of what a stranger could have done to your wallet. Everyone knows that car shops are standing ready to rip off any customer that they can. I think you should be more careful when telling a mechanic what you want done, don't you? I mean after all you have had a relationship with this mechanic for two years. He asked to run a diagnostic and you refused and then blame him? That's silly.

I could swear I read that the second mechanic asked if you wanted him to run a diagnostic on your vehicle BEFORE he did the work and you refused. You told him to replace the parts and that's what he did. Perhaps the extra 100 dollars would have saved you the price of replacing parts that had nothing to do with the problem to begin with. If this was your reputable mechanic, just think of what a stranger could have done to your wallet. Everyone knows that car shops are standing ready to rip off any customer that they can. I think you should be more careful when telling a mechanic what you want done, don't you? I mean after all you have had a relationship with this mechanic for two years. He asked to run a diagnostic and you refused and then blame him? That's silly.