Have the feeling I've been ripped off.?

Question

Yesterday I had my Alternator 'replaced' because it was allegedly faulty. I had flickering lights amongst other strange symptoms, I suspected a short, or maybe alternator, but it was outputting a good voltage; however I check with garage and they said it was alternator, which they subsequently replaced.

They did the work, and my problem disappeared, BUT and it's a big but; I';ve had a look at the alternator tonight and it doesn't look any different (pot marked and dust coated), certainly not new, and there are no 'clean bits' around it on the wires which is what you'd expect at least to some degree.

There was a loose connection behind the stereo that was causing speakers on one side to go off (until I pushed the radio a bit); I told them this, and now I no longer have the Speaker/radio problem either. I suspect all they've done is remove the radio and reseat the connections at the back which is what has sorted my flickery lights problem.

Not sure, but very suspicious - any ideas?

Also, tonight some of the symptoms have reappeared, albeit in a much milder form, the output of the "new" alternator seems no different to what I had before.

*** Thanks for all your feedback, I'm going to jack the car up and have a real good look tomorrow to see whats what ***

Answer 1

Best check your bill to see if they put a "new" or "re-manufactured" one in. It should look new after one day. If they put a used one in, it might not look any different than the one they took out. If the bill says new, have the car checked by another shop to make sure to see if someone is breaking the law.

Answer 2

It would not suprise me, however, you have no proof. I have heard of car repair places (even some of the big national chain guys) doing stuff like this. Charging you for new parts and never changing a thing is an old trick. You needed to know what part you had on there before they did the work.

Every now and then, some investigative reporter will do one of those hidden camera things. They install cameras in the hood of the car that can see the engine. They take the car in and have the mechanice work on it. Later they compare the bill to the work on the video. They usually have no problem finding a rotten repair place.

Next time you are suspicous about a part, get the serial number off of it before you take it in. Heck, mark it somehow. Take a Dremel and put a mark in it in a couple of different places. That way, when you get the car back you can inspect the part and see if it was actually changed.

Answer 3

If he owns a storage, then legally you have a number of of rights, inclusive of 'the automobile could be greater healthful for purpose', which for sure with the 2nd and 0.33, they have not been. in case you took him to a small claims court docket (that's lots much less complicated than you're able to have faith) then you definately could, if the above is right, very merely win. desirable element to do is to place in writing all the way down to him or her in a letter detailing what you opt for as an consequence of this all explaining which you will take this to the small claims court docket and so on. which will probably artwork, yet while not do it, you will a minimum of have the possibility to air your perspectives to a Justice of the Peace, so in case you get presented not something on the tip of the day that's going to likely be by using fact he believes youhave not been ripped off, so a minimum of there is closure. bypass to the voters advice beaureax, they are you desirable beginning factor, with a letter typed out and notice what they think of. desire this enables, oh and bypass sleep along with his/her different 0.5 too...

Answer 4

check the brand or serial tags of the alternator and do a little snooping to see if there are tags on it that might illustrate it is a stock part for your car brand and was in fact not replaced (google the part). The dust and grime on it should be a big tell it wasn't swapped. If you want to call them on it, you need to prove there is still a stock part in your car and ask for a full refund of the replacements and man hours on the alternator repair (even if they did other work, they were deceptive and only charged you for alternator repair/ replacement). Then proceed to go to new auto repair shop (see AAA list of approved auto repair shops). You could even ask them what alternators they carry and use as replacements to see if that in fact was installed... They could have even been deceptive in installing another used but working alternator....so dont immediately play the blame game...

example pic of part:
http://www.2carpros.com/discovery/images/alternator.jpg

(note: I am not a mechanic or expert)

Answer 5

You may have been ripped off......Sometimes it's cheaper to replace an alternator with a re-conditioned one and this is reflected in the price. You should have a receipt for the replacement part to say whether it's new or re-conditioned. It does seem however that you have paid for an alternator that is working perfectly well. I should be looking for loose and dirty connections all around the main electrical components.

Answer 6

You can take a picture of the alternator then take it back and tell them you don't believe they replaced the alternator. You can ask them for a receipt for where they got it from a parts store or junkyard. Just make sure what you're looking at IS the alternator.

Answer 7

Yea it does sound like you've been had , but about all you can do is not go back , and maybe bad mouth them till they go out of business . Perhaps you have some sort of misunderstanding as to what actually transpired and what was replaced . Things have been slow in the auto repair business , maybe he needed to make a payment on his yacht .

Answer 8

You seem pretty smart. Why on earth wouldn't you fix your own car? If you can look at an alterator and tell it's dirty, you're much smarter than the average driver.

You're the first person who ever posted here that knew that his alternator was putting out enough voltage. I'd let you fix my car based on that alone.

Answer 9

My friend, you have been ripped off by the worst of them all,EG, auto electritians. Worst case senario is to send the car to a different shop and tell them what your problem is and how you came to it. Afterwards you take the bill to the guy that said he fixed your car. You can actualy claim it back in court if you have to. Bottomline,HE DID NO WORK ON YOUR CAR....