My truck starts making some squeaking and pinging noises so I call to schedule an appointment at the dealer to have it checked out and fixed(I am not mechanically inclined). I call on the 6th of July and they say the earliest they can get to it is on the morning of the 16th.
I don't want to tear it up worse so I get a rental car for the week. Turn it in on Monday morning then take my truck in to the dealer, thinking the truck would be fixed by lunch (as they said over the phone when I scheduled it)
I decide to go ahead and get a tune up and fuel system cleaned while its there. When I dropped off the truck I explained that the noise was comming from the rear of the truck. After having the truck for three days they tell me that they changed the fan belt and belt tensioner and that it is fixed.
I show up pay and drive it off, and immediately notice the sounds are there no diffrent from before if not louder. I take it back and have a mechanic from the dealer ride around the parking lot, the sound was obvious and he could hear it as well. Then they tell me it will be a week and a half before they can work on it again.
Fed up with all of this I just say screw it, take the truck to a small mechanic, he replaces the ujoints by the end of the day and the noise is gone.

After driving the truck around a little more I notice a funny noise when I accelerate. I pop the hood and notice my K&N air intake is just laying over the engine, not even secured! I'm guessing they took the intake off during the tuneup or cleaning the fuel system and forgot to put it back on? I secured it and tightened the bolt by hand as tight as I could and it was working like normal.

I don't see how this type of service would be acceptable to anyone and I certainly expect more from a large Dodge dealership!

 

There are idiots everywhere. I've learned to check my car over every time it leaves a service shop. I may look like an untrusting @ss looking it over, but after loosing gas caps at emissions stations, telling me my car was fixed when it wasnt, etc. i think its warranted. I do as much work as I have time for, but when I take it in i double check everything.

 

This is the truth. If you're not going to do your own repairs find a good mechanic and stick with him. Smaller shops are better. Dealerships will have everything from master mechanics to trained monkies, and you'll never know what you're going to get on any given day.

 

yeah i found a little shop by me that i take all my vehicles to. he wont work on anything without calling you and telling me what he believes needs replacement. And when i go and pick it up he spends about 15min showing me the part that he replaced (new and old). I have never had a problem with him before. plus he knows me by name and if i ever have any questions about anything he will take some time and explaine to me what he thinks. so in the end, just find a little shop that doesnt get a ton of business, because they are the ones that spend that extra time on your vehicle and can usually get it in the same day or next day.

 

Poor guy, shouldn't have taken it to the dealer anyways...

And for future knowledge if theres a squeek its probably nothing serious. Also your not going to "make it worse". There are only a few things that could go wrong that you could make it worse, like a bad wheel bearing. If thats on the way out stop driving, but other stuff is different. If its shot, worn out, or has play in it already needs to be replaced, so driving it around for a week until an appointment isn't goin g to hurt it anymore.

And as you've seen, the smaller mechanics or private shops often do much better work (because if they screw it up THEY have to pay for it) and do it much quick for cheaper.

I always recmcond to go spend $200 on a set of Craftsman tools and just start tinkering. The $200 on tools is nothing compared to what you'll pay in labor for any given repair. And besided, is you get stuck we'll be able to help you

 

I not going todefend the the dealers , because I work for one. But when large companys like sonic auto, auto nation and Lithia motor inc. Forcing techs to work under a piece work wages, they will make a lot of mistakes because they are trying to find a short cut and not fix the problem right the 1st time. Smaller shops pay there tech an hourly wage and in most cases the car or truck gets fixed. If you or any else take there car or truck to the dealer, ASK for an older tech. 45 years or older, because they will not take a short cut for any reseaon. I know because I have been a tech for 35 years. And all the techs that I meet at the trainning center say the same thing.

 

Yeah I was looking at my receipt the dealership was charging $85 an hour for labor. The smaller mechanic charged half that and did a much better job. I don't think the dealer even test drove the truck when they finished with it.
As far as fixing it myself. It took me half a day to install the cold air intake and I almost pulled all my hair out in the process. Some have the gift and some don't haha.

 

i understand Master tech, the guy i bring my truck to owns his own shop and does all of his own work, so we both know that if he screws up he cant blame it on anyone else, therefore he continually does a great job for me.

 

In many ways I so agree with that.. though I know there are the exceptions both ways.

If I can absolutely help it, none of my cars will ever see a dealer mechanic again. The messed up rear axel and engine heads that they did on my mustang made me never want to see another stealer mechanic again. It doesn't take much a genius to know that a rigid brake line resting against a moving shock will eventually put a hole in it.[:@] And the heads that had a crack in them from the factory, well the large amount of oil leaking from the back was diagnosed as me dumping oil all over my engine. So like most people on this forum, I have taken it upon myself to fix all that I can.