Grease Monkey

When trust breaks down and not only your vehicle

When Trust Breaks Down The cost of a Motor Vehicle Mechanic’s bad attitude and poor service. A vehicle is a significant investment for most of us and taking it to a vehicle mechanic should bring peace of mind. When we take our vehicles for service, repair or for a fault we expect honesty, professionalism, reliability and good service. When the mechanic demonstrates failure to communicate, poor service, charging for parts that were never replaced and does not keep his word, the impact goes far beyond simple inconvenience. It damages trust, your wallet and sometimes even your safety. Professionalism is just as important as technical skill in the automotive industry. Unfortunately, my resent experience with a local vehicle mechanic and a member of our community, trading as “Grease ******” as per his WhatsApp status was the exact opposite, a nightmare. My car broke down and at the end of the day I was referred to this gentleman who said he could help me. We had a brief telephone conversation. The next day we meet at his workplace, which turns out to be his main residence as well. We came to an agreement on the cost. Labor and the cost of replacement parts (as needed). A timeline was agreed upon as well as the need to communicate in advance if any parts needed to be replaced. Payment towards parts was to be paid in cash the mechanic did not have account (spears account) A week passed without a word from the mechanic. I called him, no answer. I texted him, no reply then I called his wife witch then got the mechanic online. His silent excuse was he lost his phone. In regards with the cost of the parts, he is still waiting for the parts shop to give him an indication of cost. In the meantime, I need to pay, R4,050.00, for parts needed. The mechanic gave me his word that he will give me all the invoices for the parts he bought, as this is the right thing to do, he said. Poor Service From the moment I handed over my car I was disappointed as there was no communication from the mechanic’s side. I had to contact him every time for a progress report. The mechanic kept on moving the timeline without considering communicating it with me. His reasoning afterwards was that he could not find a part he needed. I ended up getting him the actual part the same day. It took three (3) weeks longer for my car to be delivered. Delivery Day Instead of reassurance the mechanic told me that the vehicle is 100% except that he needs to replace the cambelt tensioner witch he could not find. He’s reasoning, “everyone is closing for the festive season”. As one can imagen, 101 questions came to mind, and I received a vague excuse and a guarantee on the safety of the vehicle. The vehicle was so dirty. It was covered in 3-week-old dust which was rained on a couple of times. The interior was dirty as if the windows were left open and forgotten. The back seat covers had grease stains on. Dishonest Practice The vehicle went back to the repair shop early in the new year together with a list of problems that suddenly occurred. New problems like the vehicle leaking oil and jerks when one accelerates. All new problems. A norther amount was paid for parts that he said he needed. I was promised the receipt of parts he bought as well as a receipt for the amount just received as he could not find his receipt book at the time. The most troubling thing is that to this day, after numeracy requests, I still don’t have the invoices for the replacement parts I paid for. The same Noice, the same complaint as originally reoccurred 2 days after the vehicle was finally delivery. On further investigation it now seems that none of the so-called parts replaced and paid for were fitted to my vehicle. I once again asked for copies of the invoices. Still, I have not received any. Not only is this a disgrace – it is outright dishonest. Quality and honest workmanship is the foundation of any repair shops reputation. Customers like u and me trust a motor vehicle mechanic with our vehicles (investment), with our safety (families) and with our lives. Charging for new parts replaced and not actually fitting them is a breach of trust and borders on *****.