how to deal with a mechanic?

Question

I have a van that has been stalling out occassionally and I took it into the mechanic last week and they had no problems with it so they could not fix it, it ran good for a couple of days and then started stalling out again, so I am taking it back tomarrow and they are going to look at it again, what if it doesn't act up... should i tell them to keep it and keep driving it until it does act up again or should i take it back and drive it myself and wait for it to act up again, which is usually the most inconvenient times..., and do mechanics charge you to drive your vehicle to see what is wrong with it?

Answer 1

First of all I could have been greater help if you had mentioned Year Make and Model of Van Engine litre size... etc.

but however advice is going to be same... yes they need to make it act up for them to find out what is wrong...
sometimes it may not happen with them driving the vehicle

because the mechanic or technician may drive it very different from how you drive it...

First double chech that you have takenit to a Shop with the Blue & White ASE seal (Automotive Service Excellence) it looks like a blue flower with letters ASE in Middle in white...

next a good teck will start by notr and cold testing any suspected defective electrical part which could cause this problem...

to speed up the hot testing process often an ordinary hair dry set on high heat setting with the smallest nozzle that came with it is used to super heat a component...

they should test the ignition module, (sometimes found in or on the distributor) the ECU (electronic Control Unit/the main computer), ignition coil or coil pack...many other components also can be tested this way like the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor), CPS (Camshaft Position sensor) the Crankshaft position sensor...

then all of the same should be cold tested thru use of a can of Cold Shot its like refridgerant in a can like WD-40 but what comes out is an ultra cold liquid gas...

eash component also needs shot with this one at a time with engine running...

if engine stumbles or acts up at either the super heating test on a component or the cold shot test the part is defective have them replace it...

this shortens diagnostic time and also will allow the tech to make better use of their time and also your money

Answer 2

there is a great number of work that is going into an engine change, granted 0.5 a month is too lengthy, except that is a hectic storage. Even then in case you're a customer, that you of route are, your motor vehicle might want to get performed in a well timed way. and easily that fee is about acurate on an engine change, maximum mechanics get round $75 an hour for demanding artwork, so hes charging you for a ten hour pastime, it truly is fantastically life like, easily its lower than what maximum different places would can charge you. better than likely what is going on is that via the indisputable fact that is a time eating pastime, he likely has to handle a great number of smaller jobs to save the corporate going. also no matter if that is a fee mechanic, he merely receives paid even as he completes a job. So he nevertheless needs to artwork on different vehicles merely to save a paycheck coming. What you need to do is bypass down there, and word what the postpone is, dont be afraid to ask why its taking see you later, if he receives aggrivated or pushy, merely call a wrecker to %. your motor vehicle up and tow it to a mechanic that receives paid via the hour, they have a tendency to get higher jobs performed extra right now. yet 2 weeks is a lengthy time period for an engine change. i'd say 2 or 3 days max! And thats operating round an entire save. So yeah bypass and inquire and next time dont use him on your mechanic, you opt for to discover someone extra solid. Ask questions and also you'll really be in a position to discover the right one.

Answer 3

A mechanic likes to get paid for his work just like you do so yes, with a drivability diagnostic like this where the symptoms may take a lot of time to appear I would expect them to charge you.

Why should they work for free? I bet you don't.

The best way to diagnose the problem if it is something intermittent is to let them keep it as long as they need to diagnose the problem.

Answer 4

A mechanic should not charge you for "Checking out" your vehicle, on the same hand, he will not drive it for an hour and not get paid. Try putting isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol in your tank. (Whole bottle.) You may just have slugs of bad gas (water,) also check your fuel filter and air cleaner.

Try filling up at a different gas station. This is not the mechanics fault. How can one tell what is wrong, when it dosent happen to him.

Answer 5

yes they do charge to test drive your vehicle, it's called diagnosing, I think you should have them check your fuel pump, it sounds like it's going bad on you.