Mechanic f@k up my car

[DUST]

Hi guys, i put my car in for a compression test in a "franchise" workshop. I don't wanna mention any names as of yet. Came back and the mechanic tells me my car wouldn't start up. When i heard this, i was so f@ken pissed off.

So, i they tell me the coil in the distrubitor is probaly fry. They said its just a coincidence that it happens now. They get fried all the time he said. I was thinking in my head "f@ken dodgy f@kers"

Now i left my car at the workshop, but i am towing it out in the morning when it opens.

So i'll ask some questions;

1. what happened to my car for it not to start up, what would they have done wrong during the compression test?

2. what should i do now, i paid them $40 for the compression test and i aint gonna pay for something i didnt break...

Hope someone can help me out. Cheers, im so pissed off i could go kill some peeps :D

[Mr_will]

1. Start polite. even if you dont intend to remain polite. I guarantee you it will help.

You're going to be asking them to do something for you, whether it be give you something free, or a discount, or whatever. You are far more likely to achieve this with a persistent, but polite attitude, than with all guns blazing.

2. Tell them you are surprised that it didnt start, and ask why you were not called to approve the charges for whatever work they did other than the compression test if they did any.

3. If this is a franchise place, it may be worth your while going higher up to speak to someone. Most franchises care a lot about their brand image, so if you dont have any success with them, take it further.

4. If they cant explain it adequately to you, tell them youre happy to pay the $40 for the compression test provided they give you the results etc, but take your car elsewhere for an assessment of the distributor, and based on what another mechanic or two tells you, you might have a case to go back to them and ask some more questions.

[aaronng]

I am guessing that they forgot to put back the fuse for your fuel pump after doing the compression test.

[INTEG]

I went to check out the car for dusty, my first thing in my mind was check for spark and terh wasnt any, ask the mechanic how he done the comp test? he pulled the leads out and cranked it over. I was like ok then, at my work shope we unplug a sensor that wont allow the engine to start never heard of unpluging the leads and let it arc freely.

What i recon is the coil fried itself due to the coil finding the shortest path to earth through the coil somwhere inside the distrubetor. I could be wrong

[CRXer]

Maybe they didnt diconnect the dizzy when they were cranking the engine without the spark plugs hooked up.U can fry the coil by doing this.

[aaronng]

Make sure you get them to cover the cost of the coil replacement.

[bennjamin]

Maybe they didnt diconnect the dizzy when they were cranking the engine without the spark plugs hooked up.U can fry the coil by doing this.

99% this is the issue. On constant starting ( with a busted main relay , or in this case a WOT compression test) the coil will fry itself quite quickly.
They should of removed the ECU backup fuse and the dizzy loom for good measure. They owe you a new igniter coil (inside the dizzy)

[DUST]

1. Start polite. even if you dont intend to remain polite. I guarantee you it will help.

You're going to be asking them to do something for you, whether it be give you something free, or a discount, or whatever. You are far more likely to achieve this with a persistent, but polite attitude, than with all guns blazing.

2. Tell them you are surprised that it didnt start, and ask why you were not called to approve the charges for whatever work they did other than the compression test if they did any.

3. If this is a franchise place, it may be worth your while going higher up to speak to someone. Most franchises care a lot about their brand image, so if you dont have any success with them, take it further.

4. If they cant explain it adequately to you, tell them youre happy to pay the $40 for the compression test provided they give you the results etc, but take your car elsewhere for an assessment of the distributor, and based on what another mechanic or two tells you, you might have a case to go back to them and ask some more questions.

1. Yes im a man off patience and i had to hold my anger in so badly today. I ask him is he gonna pay for whatever is broken and the labour. He replies "No you will have to pay for that, nothing is free in this world" So i raise my eyebrows and nodded hmmm.

2. No other extra work was done, just the compression test.

3. Who do i speak to? The main guy that was talking to me is probaly the manager or supervisor.

4. Well the mech told me it would of fry sooner or later and its just a coincidence that it happen then. But he really dont know what happened to the car, as he was just guessing its the coils in the distrubitor. I already paid for the compression test and tomorrow i will be bringing around some mechanics to look at what has happened. Plus i will call up consumer protection aswell.

[INTEG]

Maybe they didnt diconnect the dizzy when they were cranking the engine without the spark plugs hooked up.U can fry the coil by doing this.

that what i was getting at haha

[NightKids]

I payed for a guys compression test once because i wanted to buy the car & the mechanic did exactly the same thing. He had to pay $$$ to get a new distributor or something...

[DUST]

Sup guys, i went to tow my car home today. I took out the coil in my car and i went down to Honda dealers to test out the coil. Turns out its arched, dead, fried! Not surprising! So i bought a new coil of Honda for $184 and replace it into my car. Turn on the car, first try, first start!

Only problem now is, how do i get my money back! Plus 1 day loss of income from work!

[Limbo]

department of fair trading. You might need to get another mechanic's opinion to backup your story also

[NightKids]

Yeap the guy that did the compression test definately fried it, happened to me as well. Gotta get your money back man, cause it's not your fault

[omgzilla]

At least go back and have a word to the Service Manager about the incident. Explain that you took the car to another mechanic and they told you that they'd seen this occur before, on carrying out a compression test and not following correct procedures.

They should give you something out of it. I'd be inclined to take with you, your receipt for the cost of the coil at least.

[Fo55il]

isnt it:

if u leave d car at d mechancs its their responibility. id they **** it up dun they hafta fix it?

[aaronng]

Not if they were dodgy.

[misteR_bilzz]

just go through the department of fair trading.

[riceburner]

exact same thing happened to me m8, so i got them to do the exact same test on my mates car and it was fine, so i took it as a matter of time that the dizzy was on its way out and the test just gave it some help so i payed the $200

[AsH_]

whats the upate???

[DUST]

Hi guys, the update is, the mechanics win! f@kin b@st@rds...

Since i have no proof but my word of mouth that they fried my coil, i have no case. Once a mech finds out which franchise shop i took it to, they just didn't want to know me after that.

Also i did another compression test on the weekend with the results, 210,210,210,200. The franchise gave me a result of 200,200,180,160. Now it seems like they also jipped $40 from the comp test, or my new results were not accurate.

Anyways all in all got jipped $40 for compression test + 183 for new coil + $150 for a day of work. I rang up consumer protection, they said without proof, i won't be seeing my money back. Such is life and i hope karma comes around 10 times worse on these mother f@kers.

The franchise starts with A-M and its colours are mainly Yellow, black letters and a hint of red. Hope you guys know which one im talking about. :D

So stay clear from this franchise, dodgey as f@k!

[JDM80Y]

Hi guys, the update is, the mechanics win! f@kin b@st@rds...

Since i have no proof but my word of mouth that they fried my coil, i have no case. Once a mech finds out which franchise shop i took it to, they just didn't want to know me after that.

Also i did another compression test on the weekend with the results, 210,210,210,200. The franchise gave me a result of 200,200,180,160. Now it seems like they also jipped $40 from the comp test, or my new results were not accurate.

Anyways all in all got jipped $40 for compression test + 183 for new coil + $150 for a day of work. I rang up consumer protection, they said without proof, i won't be seeing my money back. Such is life and i hope karma comes around 10 times worse on these mother f@kers.

The franchise starts with A-M and its colours are mainly Yellow, black letters and a hint of red. Hope you guys know which one im talking about. :D

So stay clear from this franchise, dodgey as f@k!

Yo Dude! Sorry to hear you lost out on this one, it sux how the machanics won this time.. cause clearly it was their fault - not following the correct procedures when performing an engine compression test.

Thanks for providing the update on this "Dodgy" franchise, perhaps you could also advise which branch it was? or have you already!!

and yep... what goes around, comes around !

[aaronng]

If it is a franchise, there should be a head office. Send a formal complaint there. You still won't get your money back, but at least they get a little frying from their incompetence.

[DUST]

Yo Dude! Sorry to hear you lost out on this one, it sux how the machanics won this time.. cause clearly it was their fault - not following the correct procedures when performing an engine compression test.

Thanks for providing the update on this "Dodgy" franchise, perhaps you could also advise which branch it was? or have you already!!

and yep... what goes around, comes around !

I don't want to get ozhonda sued because of my bad luck, so i can't mention name of the franchise. If anyone would like to know, just pm me. Especially if you're in PERTH.

[bennjamin]

Worst luck there.

Hopefully , word of mouth will hurt this "franchise" more than anything else....

BTW if you intend to get your coil covered it may cost much more in legal fees etc to win against them. So , its not worth it.

[SINISTR]

oh crap! i just saw this...

this is an idea:

1: can you obtain from this dodgy mechanic a list of steps of how they performed the compression test... - it is likely and hopefully going to come with their letter head which should be enough.

You could point out to the mechanic - if he refuses - that he should have nothing to worry about if he believes he's a 'professional' - mind you that could end up with you getting abused.

2: obtain from HONDA the correct way of testing the compression ie: make point of any parts/components that need to be disconnected prior to cranking the engine over. Either direct from HONDA themselves or from a service manual - Ask if you can - what can possibly fry the coil...
3: armed with those two things, your old coil - head to consumer affairs!
4: alternatively head to Today Tonight :P and exposed the fkrs dodgy workshop!

We had dodgy experiences with Deering Autronics... id never recommend those ppl to anyone!
good luck!

[EK4R]

LOL i had the EXACT same problem. compression test and my car wont start.

funny thing was the old coil would spark but once the leads were placed, no more for me.

i duno y??? anyways ended up replacing my ignition coil because it started to short. and everything was fixed.

[DUST]

Did you dissconnect the distributor cables before you crank the engine?

[EK4R]

i didnt do the compression test. reputable mechanic in melb did it.

[DUST]

Oh ok then, so are you demanding your money back for the coil and the comp test?

I just spoke to head office and the man just told me to ring up the owner of the store, which is not the manager of the store.

[EK4R]

na man i just paid for the compression test and coils.

you cant really blame him for doing his job. dizzy they sometimes just die. not like every compression test he does a dizzy die.

[bennjamin]

na man i just paid for the compression test and coils.

you cant really blame him for doing his job. dizzy they sometimes just die. not like every compression test he does a dizzy die.

well you are supposed to remove either the ECU backup fuse or just totally disconnect the dizzy when you do a compression test - it wont always fry a coil or igniter unit on a car but it has a high chance of doing so.

[DUST]

na man i just paid for the compression test and coils.

you cant really blame him for doing his job. dizzy they sometimes just die. not like every compression test he does a dizzy die.

They won't die if you done the comp test properly. If you brang in your car in perfect working order, you'll expect it to come out the same way.

I would have except your opinion if the mechanic had not touch the car. Plus they gave me a false reading on the comp test! I did another comp test and all cylinders were working fine...

Btw anyone knows whats the compression readings are for a DC2 VTIR on all cylinders? I got pretty much 210 on all 4s.

[turbo convert]

man that sucks, i hear more and more of these stories on the forums and they always end in the same outcome.........i have had some bad experiences myself which is why i do everything myself, makes it hard on the big jobs but at least i know its done properly.

[NSPYRE]

They won't die if you done the comp test properly. If you brang in your car in perfect working order, you'll expect it to come out the same way.

I would have except your opinion if the mechanic had not touch the car. Plus they gave me a false reading on the comp test! I did another comp test and all cylinders were working fine...

Btw anyone knows whats the compression readings are for a DC2 VTIR on all cylinders? I got pretty much 210 on all 4s.

is brang even a real word?

[aaronng]

It's "brought". Some dialects use brang or brung though.... But in proper english, it's brought.

[DUST]

is brang even a real word?

Hey man it would had helped if you gave me some inputs on compression readings of DC2 VTIR, not some bs english lesson.

Still waiting on the compression readings...

[NSPYRE]

HAHA, take it easy mate.

in regards to ur compression test, the main thing is that all four numbers are within 5% of eachother. from memory, out of the factory, vti-r should be 225psi +/- 5 (someone correct me if im wrong). so to have 210, i would say u got a pretty good result.

[sretocz]

if you really want your money back and they dont wanna give it and you really really want it back i guess just take it to a small claims tribunal or something along those lines