Well, this whole scenario started with my windshield wiper being broken (this whole situation actually didn't start too long ago). Basically, because of the cold weather during the winter, one of my windshield wipers froze to the windshield, and the gear that held the wiper together apparently broke. Irregardless of what exactly happened to my windshield wiper, essentially one wiper worked, and the other wiper stayed completely still and was broken.

So, I take my car in so that my windshield wiper can be repaired. I figure as long as I'm getting my windshield wiper repaired, I might as well take care of some other repairs to help maintain my car.

I decided while I was getting my windshield wiper repaired, I might as well get an oil change too. There was also a strange noise coming from my car that I wanted to get checked out as well. I was previously told the noise was essentially nothing to worry about, but I decided to still get it checked out anyway.

So, while I was there, I specifically told the repair men that I wanted an oil change, my windshield wiper fixed (I also assumed that since the other windshield wiper wasn't in the best condition either that they would wind up replacing both of them, not just the one that was broken), and that the noise would hopefully be taken care of by the next time I came in.

So, they fix my windshield wiper, and proceed to fix the noise that was coming from my car by essentially taking apart my entire car. However, as soon as they take my car apart they realize, "Oops! We don't have the right part available to put this car back together again."

So now, a repair that was only supposed to take only an hour or two has left me completely without a car. They were nice enough to supply me with a rental car in the meantime, but I was still left without a car for a couple of days because they forgot to check to make sure they had the right replacement part available before completely tearing apart my car.

Well, my car finally gets fixed, and I immediately take it home. However, as soon as I take my car home, I realize they only repaired one windshield wiper instead of both of them (I never specified that they should fix both, but it didn't make much sense to fix just one, especially since both windshield wipers appeared like they needed to be replaced). Not to mention they never did the oil change I asked for, and the noise I thought they had fixed, disappeared for a few days and then came back later. So, my car was taken apart so that I could have one good windshield wiper and one bad windshield wiper, no oil change, and still have that same strange noise that I hoped would have been fixed in the first place.

Everyone who owns a car has to get it maintained or repaired sometime or another. So, anyone else have any bad car repairs? Or any good car repairs? Or if you don't own a car, do you know a relative/friend/acquaintance who has had a bad/good car repair? Or you can basically just talk about anything relating to this subject: cars and repairs. Post away.

lol... that's why I'm very grateful my fiance can fix ANYTHING when it comes to cars 8) <3 <3

I unfortunately got into a small accident....but it wasn't with another car or anything, I was being stupid and wasn't paying attention and I accidently drifted off the side of the road and the entire bottom of my car got scraped by a big stump. So if you looked at my car it looked 100% brand new. But when the car dealer raised it up and looked underneath it BAM! Massive damage. And the dealer fixed it and everything but then like...a few days later I had a BUNCH more problems....so they really didn't fix it.

My family owns a service and repair shop in two different locations. So if I never need it repaired, I either fix it myself or go to my father. I grew up around the sort of stuff, so I can usually tell what is wrong with a vehicle just by listening to it.

One person I wouldn't recommend fixing your car is my half sister's father. He's one of those guys that "fixes" things that don't need fixed. He'll "hear" something and be like, "Yep! That car has some major problems!" He'll tear it apart, put it back together (without making any adjustments) and then claim "it's good as new!" Other times, you won't see your vehicle come back to life at all when he is through with it. My half sister Michelle had to learn that the hard way, lol.

I went to get my headlight fixed. It didn't take very long and they told me it was done and I could take it home. I got home and realized that it still didn't work. I was miffed so I took it back and told them that they didn't fix it. It turned out that I had also had a tail light out that I didn't know about so they had fixed that rather than my headlight. They were nice about it though and I only had to pay for the parts, not the work on my headlight. I felt bad for being so pissed off at them.

My friend had a really bad story though. Her dad once took his truck in to get fixed and they told him that he had another problem that was really dangerous going on with his car. But the problem they told him wasn't possible with the type of truck he had. They were making up problems to make extra money for doing nothing! Luckily he knew enough about cars to catch them. I'm glad it wasn't me because I probably would have been like "Oh, thank you so much for catching that. Here's all my hard earned money."

I NEVER go to the dealership, I don't know where you took it but DON'T take it there. They will rip you off and fix stuff you don't need fixed. I go to a place that lot of friends go to and they are car savy so they know a good place when they see one. It seems the small shops are the best. the chain places are never properly staffed and are only out to make a quick buck. At least that has been my experience. Really check a place out ad get some referrals from people you know before you take you car anywhere again.

Some advice: big chains aren't the best place to go to. Do as crunky suggested and try smaller businesses/shops. Also, be specific in what you'd like repaired. If you're not sure, ASK QUESTIONS before they even touch your vehicle. Because some people like to scam others out of their money. Others will fix things that don't need fixed and still charge you for the repair. It's lame I know, but people do it. So the main big thing is to ask quetions. And tell them to keep you informed. At my fathers business, if people ask questions, we give them answers! We even call them and keep them informed if something comes up. And we give them our card if they've got any questions and would like to call us.

@ crunky and jennifer - yeah, I'm totally regretting that I didn't go to a smaller shop myself. The only reason why I went to that dealership is because I was recommended to go there because I was told the repairs I needed might be under warranty. But now that I think back on it, I would rather pay the necessary amount for a repair done correctly, then have to pay extra for a car repair that wasn't done properly. But I'm never bringing my car back to that dealership again. It was an obvious rip-off in my opinion. I also thought I was pretty thorough in stating what exactly I wanted, but they essentially reassured me that I had nothing to be concerned about and the entire job was incredibly simple to accomplish. I guess the thought of making sure they had the necessary parts in order to fix my car hadn't occurred to them, and it hadn't even occurred to me that I would have to ask whether they had the necessary tools to actually get the job done, especially after I had been reassured repeatedly that the job was relatively simple to do. I did make several inquiries about the noise because even though I was reassured the noise was nothing to worry about, due to the length the noise had been with my car, and the fact the noise was getting increasingly worse was causing me some concern. But the concept that they wouldn't have the tools required to actually fix the job they had just reassured me was a relatively simple procedure hadn't occurred to me. I also should have suspected something was wrong after they stated the car was repaired, and every time I tried to make an inquiry about my car, the repair man kept changing the subject back to the mistake he had made, and kept interrupting offering a "sincere" apology for the mistake rather than allow me to ask for a full evaluation of my car repairs. I guess we all learn from mistakes, and this is certainly one of them. I know my father unfortunately had a similar experience when he got a new car himself, where the people at a repair shop assured him that they had fixed his car. The second he got the car home, however, not a single thing was fixed and he had to pay extra to get the repairs done that they hadn't actually fixed in the first place. But I have learned from this experience, and I am never bringing my car to that dealership again.

A lot of people I know are of the opinion that they don't care if it costs extra to take a car to an independent, trusted mechanic rather than a dealership. I guess I agree - somebody you know or were recommended to by trusted people will invariably give you better care than the 'oh, that's good enough' kind of feel that dealership mechanics seem to have.

My dad used to know this auto mechanic. So since he knew him, we got discounts.
So. Our old car's breaks...broke. (Haha) Anyway, we went to this guy to have them fixed.
Little did we know, the man was a drunk. He was drinking while "fixing" the car. :shock:
So, we paid eighty bucks for him to guzzle some alcohol, flirt with my mother, and fix the front brakes while simultaneously breaking the back ones. DDDx
Needless to say, that man is no longer employed.