I have high respect for car geeks.

You would think that those responsible for managing said geeks would be knowledgeable, honest, etc.

I drive a '93 Chevy Blazer. 4x4. w/ ABS. Those who pay attention to such things know that Chevy did a recall on them a few years ago. It seems that the ABS on 4x4 models would, on occasion, forget that it can operate as a 2x4 and switch itself into 4x4 mode for no reason. This causes, in Chevy's own cursed words "extended stopping distances"

Of course, we found this out a few weeks after I had a minor fender bender while trying to stop in the rain...

It took nearly a year for the dealership to even acknowledge that a recall was going on (despite going up to the manager and shoving the letter from GM in their face)

It took months after that for them to 'fix' the problem.

I'm not sure exactly what they fixed. The brakes will still, upon occasion, do that "extended stopping distance" thing.

I no longer trust my brakes.

So, as I noted above, I don't even trust myself to change my own oil. The thing's also recently developed a cold idle/stall problem, so I took it into a local brand name shop for them to do an oil change/tuneup.

They find that the dealership I bought the thing from had not ever done maintenance to the car. Ever. Many parts that should have been replcaed tens of thousands of miles ago, haven't been. Among them, my feul filter, which they blame for the idle/stall problem when cold. And a suspension bar up front, which is bent and is causing some odd wear patterns.

Flash back to 9 months ago. My front passenger wheel bearings begin making noises. So I take that in for repair. Oops, the entire front wheel assembly needs to get replaced also, as it and the wheel bearing are a single component. You would have thought that they would have dicovered said bent bar during the realignment.

Back to the present. I paid them upwards of $500 to fix the problems. Gladly so, why should I believe that they weren't telling me the truth?

The idle problem didn't get fixed. I set up another appointment with them, making it exceptionally clear that they were to diagnose and solve the problem, at no cost. I got a call from corporate HQ the day after, and they confirmed that that is what the dealer WOULD do (read: Dealer has no choice in the matter)

I feel quite empowered as a consumer. Good call, corporate HQ.

So I take it back. "Oops, we can't find the problem because the car's computer doesn't begin troubleshooting the problems like this until a few minutes have elapsed since startup, and since by then the car's warmed up and the problem's gone away... Oh, but we can provide extensive diagnostics if you leave it overnight and pay $$$..."

I haven't gone back. I don't have the time to leave a car overnight. I live alone and the busses don't go anywhere near close to work. Okay, actually, they do, but I'd have to bus hop over 10 times to get there...

They also noted that my brake pads could probably do with replacing.

Flash back to last month. Over about two days, I lost my antifreeze entirely, but didn't realize it until after the fact... the thing nearly overheated before I could get it into a dealership maintenance department that was conveninently on a corner to the freeway...

I paid $1000 to get that fixed. They had to flush the system out three times, and it still didn't come clean... Hey, at least it runs quite a bit cooler than before.

They also noted I should get my brake shoes replaced.

So what do I do? I get them replaced.

Knowing what a PITA doing brakes is, I expect to be waiting for hours. I'm surprised when half an hour before they should be done, the guy doing them comes in and asks me to come out and look at something.

Disc brakes are pretty simple. There are two components - the wheel and the caliper that grinds against it to performt he stopping.

The caliper bits are held onto the right spot using a variety of mechanisims. The ones on my car are a set of bars that are threaded at each end, etc, etc.

The threaded bits on the axle side of the housing are gone.

The guy gets the rod right through it.

He says they've been like that for MONTHS, declares the thing unsafe, and has already started the search for a replacement.

That will take until tomorrow, because at that point it's 5:30 and all the places he could obtain one are closed.

So much for not having time to drop the car overnight.

Why am I so angry? Not one, but *TWO* different places had to perform major surgery on my car. Both of them had to do enough to note that the brake pads were grinding a little low. One would think that both of them would have had to take off, or at least alter the caliper bits in order to see this. (According to my most recent knowledge of what the things look like, circa 1993 when my father last did brakes on a family car)

I feel angry. I've been potentially swindled by not one, not two, but THREE different places.

Is there anyone I can actually *TRUST* with my car?

I also feel totally unsafe.

I've been driving around that car for years. It's only failed me two times - the fender bender and an odd stall before some train tracks.

What else is hiding in there, undetected?

*sigh*

I just hope they can get the work done tomorrow. Jubes is flying in for what was supposed to be a completely undisturbed weekend... no car == no picking her up, andor asking a friend to do so, which still == no going where we were going to go == SUCK.

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: Charles Capps ]

I'm lucky: my folks have gone to the same mechanic for the past ten years, and they're very honest ... although, it can often be frustrating getting work done (just because, in the line of business I'm in, they tend to be expensive ... last time I had to replace the brakes, get a new serpentine belt, a tune-up, and a variety of other odds and ends which added up to $1400) ...

Can you rent a car? Or a cab? Best o' luck getting your vehicle fixed, you might want to look into hiring a lawyer. Sounds like that Chevy dealership has fucked you. It might also explain why I witnessed a Bronco fail to stop and crunch the rear of an Eclipse, but, hey ...

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: MIB ]

Waste my time and theirs. Really fucking good plan.

I've had it to here with lawsuits. The day I fucking sue someone is the day I fucking DIE.

Oh, and a little bit of news for all you Saturn owners out there (god only knows why there are so many...), Saturn is dropping the "Series" naming scheme within a few years. This trend can already be seen with the new Saturn VUE. No longer will there be an SC-Series, it is going to replaced by the Saturn ION.

There's also rumor of the 2002 Saturn Sky concept convertible becoming a production car (although it'll be a death-trap on wheels. Why do you think the Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible has been delayed nearly 3 years?)

Oh, and Charles, seriously, look into a little car called a KIA RIO. They cost $8,995 stock (which includes CD Player, A/C, Airbags, all the usual stuff), and they aren't dorky looking! You can even get them in puke green!

Oh, and there is no "Chevy HQ". You gotta go straight to the "General" (GM) if you want to complain.