Problems with a mechanic -- what are my options
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Anonymous
| Audi’s are a known money pit. If money is this tight for you, you should have bought a Camry. |
Anonymous
| Replace them and move on, you will never get satisfaction with that shop. go on your neighborhood list serve and find the knowledgeable honest mechanic that your area uses. I am a single female and I only buy certain manufacturers depending on whether I have a trusted mechanic, which narrows me down to 2. Saves you a lot of anxiety. |
Anonymous
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I think you should push back on this a little. You don't have to demand full reimbursement for the fan but you can say, look, this is a problem. How do I know the fan was broken at all? Then ask if they can give you a discount on the fan repair. You can be perfectly respectful to them but emphasize how they could understand that this is a legitimate problem for you. They might refuse to do anything but they might also accommodate you to a certain point. It doesn't hurt to name the elephant in the room so to speak because they'll be hoping you go away quietly - if it's their error. You're not being difficult. You're being reasonable - even if they didn't make a mistake.
I've been fortunate to find a mechanic widely recommended in the neighborhood who I trust to do the right thing after long experience with them. You might want to seek out someone with a rep like that for future repairs. Good luck with this, OP. It sucks. |
Anonymous
| 11:26 again. Just want to add that I had always thought that your two choices were between completely acquiescing or being an asshole and insisting on getting your way. Then I took a class in negotiation and learned that you could push quite reasonably for a partial win or a compromise. If there is any truth to your suspicion and these guys know it they might be willing to give you some kind of discount just to keep you off of yelp and keep you as a customer. |
Anonymous
But discouraging others from owning Euro cars past a few years old will likely be VERY helpful to others, especially single women who don't know much about cars. It may help them a great deal. |
Anonymous
If $$$ is tight maybe you shouldn't be driving an 8yo German car? |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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Is it a new mechanic? How did you find them? There are some mechanics that are known for servicing European Automobiles.
I had an 11 Year old Audi A4 and made sure that I got oil changed every 3K miles and had a conversation w the mechanic as to what they were seeing w scheduled maintenance. My POV is that it is worth paying a little more for an oil change to own my car longer. If you do not feel comfortable with where you bring your 30K car, find another place to go. |
Anonymous
$30k car? 
A 2010 A4 is worth ~$6k. A 2007 is essentially scrap metal. |
Anonymous
| ^sorry, KBB confirms a 2007 A4 is worth $2980. |
Anonymous
| This is the downside to the folks who say “keep your car forever” and never seem to have mechanical problems with their cars. |