Taken for a fool and sucker-punched!

I love giving good reviews, but feel TAKEN FOR A FOOL having just received the parting punch to the gut...

My car was having electrical problems, so rather than take it to my usual mechanic, I thought to take it to a recommended mechanic: Mike's. They determined that the alternator was not working properly.

They stripped the alternator and deemed that it was irreparable and that a new alternator would cost R2900. I called Goldwagen and it was the same price that they had quoted, so I figured that I was getting a new alternator of at least the same quality, though in retrospect I should have insisted that it come from Goldwagen. Anyway, the total quoted seemed exorbitant at R5200. Why so much? Apparently determining that the old alternator was faulty cost me extra labour, obviously, then vat on top of it all. This video shows it takes just under 1 minute to open an alternator (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oe_LirN-Q8).

I pick up the car and two days later the battery dies after parking for two hours at my sisters. I charge the battery overnight but later in the day there is a repetitive sound from the engine which then turns into a regular hum and the battery light turns on - it's the new alternator that is determined to be overcharging. They tell me that it is risky to drive it, but I have stuff that needs to be dropped at home. They phone me to tell me that as I'm driving the car, any problems are due to me and all warranties are void. Nice one.

I bring back the car and insist that I want a Goldwagen alternator. I'm told that it's too late, that they've ordered the replacement and that they have to replace it with a replacement from the same company. The following day they tell me (correctly) that the fan belt is too short and that the battery was shot, offering to replace the battery for R1500 and that they would charge me 15 minutes of labour for replacing the battery, and 15 minutes of labour for replacing the fan belt. They stated that I needed a new battery because using the old battery was compromised and would jeopardize the electrics.

I decide to get my own battery and replace it (2 mins). I then get my hands dirty replacing the fan belt which took 10 mins as I've never done it before.

I tell them that a person from the battery place laughed at me when I told them about my experience, because he had just had his alternator refurbished, and it cost R600 for the alternator refresh and R800 for labour, less than 1/3rd the cost of a new alternator and 1/3rd of the total cost. They apologised for mistakenly charging for battery and belt replacement, but insisted that the labour cost was fair. I asked to see the invoice for the alternator, but at this point he gets angry, telling me that it's a business and that it's ridiculous request. What business shows their invoices. So for all I know, they probably put in a second-hand or refurbished alternator but charged me for a new one - at least the first time. Sometimes transparency is better than protecting your business, but I guess not when you're being underhanded.

The final gut-punch: I took my battery just now to have it tested. It came back with 100% health and 100% charge. After all that, they didn't even bother to have it charged and tested properly. So I'm pretty darn upset with them, and feel thoroughly RIPPED-OFF!