I've replaced the....

What's up with people who just start replacing parts when their car doesn't work right? Is it really that difficult to TEST the damn thing before you replace a perfectly good whatever?

Refering to a "clicking" no-start situation:

Some dumbass: "Yeah that problem was a bitch to find. I had to replace the battery, battery cables, starter, alternator, alternator belt, ignition switch, and clean the alternator bracket where it bolts onto the engine"

Me: "Wow, all that was bad?"

Some dumbass: "...well..."

I seriously wonder if he was looking at a list of starting system parts and randomly picked what to replace. The correct fix the first time would have cost absolutely nothing except maybe a wire brush (the ground cable off the battery went to the alternator bracket, and the bracket was covered with rust where it attaches to the engine), but he spent hundreds of dollar for extra parts that he'll probably never need.

People get mad at me for doing that, but I justify it by letting them know that the very vew chances I actually get to work on my car are so far apart that I might as well get as much done as possible. But obviously I try to pinpoint the problem and not just throw in parts hoping it will work.

In most cases we call that a situation of "more money than brains."

Man 1: So what's wrong with your car?
Man 2: Well, the engine is ticking a little and it wants to die when I slow down to a stop.
Man 1: Oh, wow, that sucks. How did you fix it?
Man 2: I threw money at it and replaced parts that probably weren't bad but looked like they might work if I replaced them.
Man 1: Oh. And that worked?
Man 2: Not yet. I'm going to replace a few more parts and see what that does.

That is too funny ^^ Sounds true too, especially when they spend all kinds of money and a rubber hose has a hole in it and they could've just wrapped some duct tape around it for free.

Are these people like the ones that buy brand new cars and when something goes wrong they take it right back to the dealership without even opening the hood and spend not hundreds but thousands of dollars?

:lol2:

:( I have a feeling my mechanic was a bit like that. I took it in for a new starter motor and a major service and came out 3 days later and $1700+ poorer.

Needless to say I think I'll find a new mechanic.

You can't place a value on a good, honest, smart mechanic. My mom has been going to the same guys for almost 20 years now and they've always been honest and fair... even before they realized I would be able to tell her if she'd been had. I've heard some horror stories about mechanis visits that did nothing but empty pockets and cause headaches.

I always try to think cheap. Test the most inexpensive parts first. In some cases you do have to replace a couple of parts at one time. Bummer.

I hate when my BF says, oh, it's probably the "something" and he hardly ever gets it right :/. (it's usually the "something else) :eek:

Ya gotta love people like that. Also being a mechanic we get alot of my alternator is bad. test the alt, its fine. Check the starter and its actually bad. Call the custumer and he says "no it needs and alternator, your mechanic is an idiot. So we change the alternator and low and behold still has the same problem. Then the customer complains we didnt do anything because the car is still not starting. Threatens to call his lawyer if we dont give him a refund, says he will complain to the better buisness bureau. Of course that is all just a bluff and he buys the starter as well as a new alternator he didnt need. Myself, the service writer, and the company all go home with a little more money, while he goes home with a little less because he knows more about our job than we do.