What would you do if mechanic changed part which didn't cure the problem?

[sobi6111]

My buddy have a car,and we took it to mechanic to check,as it had clunks in his steering. Mechanic said it is inner tie-rods. So he paid $$$,and the problem is still there. Money is big amount as it is BMW m3, 500$ paid with labor. But problem is still there,nothing changed. So what are the options??? The only thing they did by replacing both tie-rods is fucked up the alignment,as now he need to align car,but the issue he wanted to fix at first place is not fixed

Just want to hear your opinion.

[BigGar]

I'd like to hear what the mechanic had to say for himself after the he put the tie rod ends on and the steering still clunked. Until I know what the mechanics reaction was, it's hard for me to form an opinion on the event. Was it an independent shop, BMW dealer, friend?



Gar

[sobi6111]

Originally Posted by BigGar

I'd like to hear what the mechanic had to say for himself after the he put the tie rod ends on and the steering still clunked. Until I know what the mechanics reaction was, it's hard for me to form an opinion on the event. Was it an independent shop, BMW dealer, friend?



Gar

local mechanic. HE said do an alignment and it will solve issue,but it for sure won't. What to do????

[Hit Redline]

Dealing with this issue myself. It can be frustrating. Do the alignment even thou you know it want solve the issue and then ask the mechanic, now what.

Another way to look at it is they most likely needed to be replaced anyway.

[BigGar]

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I would ask him to explain exactly how the alignment is going to cure the clunk and if it does not cure said clunk what he plans to do about it. Give you all your money back? Part of your money back? Ask you to keep throwing parts and money at the problem until it goes away or you go away? (most likely scenario). I think you'll agree, and most anyone with a little mechanical knowledge will also agree that it's pretty unlikely that proper alignment is going to fix your issue.
Any BMW techs here have any ideas?



Gar

[blktoptrvl]

Generally, I have always heard mechs say, "well, that part was bad anyway and you would have needed a new one."

I would say to them that whatever the price to actually fix the problem, they need to now correct it at their expense no matter what the actual cause is (due to the fact that they had "fixed" the problem and it is now under their warranty.)

[XCUSM5]

I will only say one thing since my family is in the business. People sometimes expect mechanics to be magicians and they aren't. Great mechanics will diagnose properly about 95% of the time (read on). Usually your issue will be taken care of the first time around, for those sometimes complicated situations its a step by step procedure because most customers don't have an open wallet to try and fix every problem. A complete misdiagnosis that didn't begin to solve your problem or simply abuse (that's why you should work with one you can trust) is something else though. I wonder what kind of relationship, if any, there was with this mechanic.

[sobi6111]

Originally Posted by XCUSM5

I will only say one thing since my family is in the business. People sometimes expect mechanics to be magicians and they aren't. Great mechanics will diagnose properly about 95% of the time (read on). Usually your issue will be taken care of the first time around, for those sometimes complicated situations its a step by step procedure because most customers don't have an open wallet to try and fix every problem. A complete misdiagnosis that didn't begin to solve your problem or simply abuse (that's why you should work with one you can trust) is something else though. I wonder what kind of relationship, if any, there was with this mechanic.

No relatiosnhip. But my buddy asked are you sure it will solve issue,and he said for sure it is inner tie rods and that shoudl fix it. But comes out that he spent money and nothing changed.

[Weasel]

As you suspect, an alignment won't fix a clunk noise. Sounds like a simple case of misdiagnosis. I'd tell them you don't want to get the alignment done until they find/fix the actual problem as the parts replacement will likely need an alignment after as well. And if they still insist on having the alignment done first that the next alignment will be on them...

I know if I were to missdiagnose a car it all rolls back to me, I would end up doing free labor and either have to put back the old parts or pay for them. (what a shop of 25 techs has to do to keep the newer techs in line because if the shop ate it they'd never learn and wouldn't care about work quality) In my early days, before I knew the BMW systems inside and out, I had to cover parts cost and do free alignments in a case like this... may have cost me some time/money, but it kept a really good customer relationship and was good for the customer and company/shop. That particular customer was the first to start requesting me to personally work on the vehicle on all their return visits as they then knew the level of work ethics and work quality to expect.

[faz]

If the parts needed to be changed anyway (is it a common issue and a part that goes bad after certain miles anyway?), then I would try and work with the mechanic and get whatever else needs to be done fixed... I would pay for the parts and he would do the labor for free or at a reduced rate, to make up for the misdiagnosis.