AutoUnion0000

We are all aware of the inconsistencies between mechanics/performance shops. Many horror stories have been posted leaving customers feeling cheated and or abused taking advantage of our vehicle "status". I had one such experience recently which left me with a sour taste in my mouth. The cause for my visit was nothing unfamiliar to the typical B5 owner. No time to fix it myself (had a baby), and no time to get the car to VAST so my wallet gets emptied out at the local shop. I don't want to name any names so let's call this shop "European Import Services Inc. 3219 E Kilgore Rd Kalamazoo Mi 49002". The service was for an open ignition circuit on cylinders 4, 5 & 6 that had been plaguing me for months. Turns out the Cam Position Sensors were corroded to a point where they were not causing misfires but enough that the continuity levels gave me a DTC. The car is fixed now which is great, they were able to diagnose the issue and fix it. The price was high but that is no surprise, it's a Euro. So what is the issue???? Simple, my car has an air of abuse about it. The radio is on a station that I don't have programmed, it smells like cigarettes, the passenger seat is in the gangster position and I've got some unnecessary mileage added. Some may say these are nothing to really make a stink about but for me, my car is spotless and has 60K miles of unmolested driving on it. Enough said. Am I expecting too much from a shop to behave professionally and treat my vehicle with respect? We are paying a premium for service so where is my little mint on the dash for doing service with these guys? Why can't all shops be like VAST performance where the customer and the car are treated with respect? I think a lot of shops could learn from VAST's customer service.....

Blk-S4-01

Amen to that... And I'm not religious.

804S4

Although don't burn the shop at the stake just yet: while they are certainly responsible for their employees, this could be a case where a tech just went off the reservation. Again, I believe you are justified in being angry at the shop, but be sure to appreciate all of the circumstances surrounding your experience before making a judgment you may later regret in some form.

AutoUnion0000

Excuses for the gagster position of my passenger seat following my WTF phone call:

1. "Had to access the ECU from that side?" What?

2. "The main harness is on that side?" What?

3. "Ummm I don't know why it would be like that"

TPM2002

I feel your pain and cant stand when people do this kind of thing

Wrinkledpants

But yeah, the ghetto seat position and different radio are a bit annoying. Aside from the majority of the advertisers on here, I think it's too much to ask to get your car back in the condition you dropped it off in. Seems I always find random grease marks somewhere on the interior at the very minimum.

804S4

...and you're out at the old ballgame. sorry to hear about the experience.

2000SForce

how many miles did they put on?

AutoUnion0000

Roughly 150 miles...

Wrinkledpants

No way! Did you confront them about it? That's pretty ridiculous..... almost criminal.