need legal advice

rikbar

The_Economist wrote: »

If you are refering to the piston rings then they should be able to do a compression test. This doesn't require a complete strip down of the engine.

A compression test tells you there is no compression, I think Conor was stating that to understand the cause of a lack of compression, as in your example, you would then have to remove the head to see why the compression was low, there are a number of potential causes not just limited to the rings.

Ultimately engines are hard to diagnose as symptoms can be similar in a number of cases with very different causes, and no matter how many pointers you can try to use that require little dismantaling ultimately they are only pointers and not perfect indicators.

I can only wish you luck with sorting out your smoking engine

Rikbar

Conor_3

sturll wrote: »

Mechanics are over paid grease monkeys that charge stupid amounts of money for doing minimal work most of the time.

Are they? Can you repair cars?

Like £190 for the inlet pipe, so not only do the garage know the owner of the car is distressed because their car is knackered, but they continue to take advantage of his need for his vehicle by charging a stupidly overpriced amount for a pipe that costs approx 600% less.

How do you know the retail price isn't that?

The fact is mechanics are nothing other than rip off merchants who prey on the misfortune of others and exploit the fact a car to most is a necessity and milk it for as much money as they can possibly get. In reality all they are is usually high school drop outs or undereducated commoners that charge a high price simply because they can.

So I take it that because you think they're more stupid than you, you service your own vehicle? You're completely capable of replacing the timing chain on an engine or changing the dual mass flywheel on a Mondeo TDCi then?

If they're so uneducated, the people who post for advice in this forum must be complete utter retards then mustn't they if they can't even work out how to fix something a "undereducated commoner high school dropout" can fix. Do the rest of the people posting in this forum know how stupid you think they are?

Tell me, what is your experience of mechanics? I've got an ECM fault on a Scania that needs repairing. I'll bring it round to yours eh? After all, you know what the ECM system is, what the components are in it and how to fix the problem don't you?

Conor_3

The_Economist wrote: »

If you are refering to the piston rings then they should be able to do a compression test. This doesn't require a complete strip down of the engine.

Not sufficient. The piston rings could be fine and it could be the oil scraper ring that's knackered. The trouble is that with it being oil, it can fool you into thinking it's OK when doing a compression test. If you recall, one of the things to do when checking for worn rings is to put some oil in the bore. If the compression raises on the test, it indicates worn rings.

But of course sturll knew that. I wonder why he didn't suggest it.

Conor_3

big_gay_kirk wrote: »

not all mechanics are rip off merchants.. ma and my dad certainly aren't.. but we generally deal with older cars, the ones that you can actually fix..... although may i say that most mechanics are what we would have called fitters in days gone by.... a fitter puts on a new alternator.. a mechanic strips the old one, and gets it working again....

Sadly due to the complexities of a modern car, that's pretty much all they're capable of doing. Take my Mondeo. It's a TDCi. Once upon a time if an injector went, you whipped it out and put in another. On this you've got to hook the car up to a computer and programme the ECU with the field values of the individual injector.

anewman

Computers suck, lol. The joys of the relatively simple Bosch Monomotronic system.

goldspanners

sturll wrote: »

I think what you say only addresses part of the problem. Whilst what you say may be true in practice it is not.
Mechanics are over paid grease monkeys that charge stupid amounts of money for doing minimal work most of the time. Like £190 for the inlet pipe, so not only do the garage know the owner of the car is distressed because their car is knackered, but they continue to take advantage of his need for his vehicle by charging a stupidly overpriced amount for a pipe that costs approx 600% less.
They tell him that it will be done tomorrow and that its 'definitely' this fault - then it turns out its not. Should the mechanic not have said "i cant be 100% but am pretty sure"
The fact is mechanics are nothing other than rip off merchants who prey on the misfortune of others and exploit the fact a car to most is a necessity and milk it for as much money as they can possibly get. In reality all they are is usually high school drop outs or undereducated commoners that charge a high price simply because they can.

Its no wonder that after Estate Agents mechanics are the most hated 'profession' (if indeed you can call them that) in the UK.

what is it you do for a living?

have you seen a car mechanics payslip? its not as good as you might think. because you pay £50 an hour labour doesnt mean the mechanic fixing your car takes this home.
the average mechanic in a dealers will be lucky to take home £300 a week. hardly over paid considering what he is expected to know and be capable of doing.

sturll

goldspanners wrote: »

what is it you do for a living?

have you seen a car mechanics payslip? its not as good as you might think. because you pay £50 an hour labour doesnt mean the mechanic fixing your car takes this home.
the average mechanic in a dealers will be lucky to take home £300 a week. hardly over paid considering what he is expected to know and be capable of doing.

Conor:

Yes i do most of the work on my car, your ecm fault is simple. Connect the diagnostics (maybe you can use the papaerclip on the scania? - not 100% on that) when you get your code fix it. Most ecm/u faults are sensors so relatively easy to sort.
But in terms of things such as timing chains etc yes i would go to a friend who is a mechanic, since i havent been taught how to do that - most other things are self taught however since the workings of most cars aren't exactly rocket science. I have changed my own gearbox, clutch and slave using nothing other than a digi cam and haynes and it was in and out within a day. You can rub yourself up as long as you want to but to claim mechanics are anything other than look and learn grease monkeys is wrong.
I know the retail price isnt £190 since i bought one for a Clio years ago for less than £20.

Goldspanners:

Its quite irrelevant but im i lawyer who specialises in private equity and trusts. I spent 4 years at university, 2 years 'training' and 2 years previous to that doing my A levels. Does that mean im 'better' than a mechanic? No of course not, but to sit there and lecture me about the knowledge of mechanics is patronising. Cars are extremely straight forward piece of machinery that provide a vital piece in most drivers lives - mechanics exploit that.

goldspanners

sturll wrote: »

Conor:


I know the retail price isnt £190 since i bought one for a Clio years ago for less than £20.

Goldspanners:

Its quite irrelevant but im i lawyer who specialises in private equity and trusts. I spent 4 years at university, 2 years 'training' and 2 years previous to that doing my A levels. Does that mean im 'better' than a mechanic? No of course not, but to sit there and lecture me about the knowledge of mechanics is patronising. Cars are extremely straight forward piece of machinery that provide a vital piece in most drivers lives - mechanics exploit that.

so ford parts are priced the same as renaults? i doubt it.
mechanics exploiting people. not as much as lawyers who specialise in taking obscene amounts of peoples hard earned cash. take a look at your own proffesion before slating others.
cars are not vital, they are luxuries,if you can afford to buy and run a car then great,if you cant then get the bus. if its it is such a vital part of everyones life then everyone should learn how to fix them,then there would be no problems with rip off garages.

garages are buisnesses,a buisness can only work if it makes money. thats why the garage has added a mark up on to parts,all garages do it, in fact all buisnesses do it.

big_gay_kirk

lets be honest here.. most of the money you give to the mechanic pays for his premises, tools, power, tax, rates, and the multi-million pound salary of the car manufacturers chief execs.... a garage don't come cheap... even the self employed guy in a small garage is trying to pay two mortgages.... its like people who hire couriers tend to forget.. it might only cost about a tenner in diesel to get from A-B, but if it takes the guy two hours, he's going to want at least six pounds an hour.... and then he's got to pay for his van... and maintenance.. its like the old "if spuds are tuppence a pound, why are chips sixpence a bag..." argument....

sturll

goldspanners wrote: »

so ford parts are priced the same as renaults? i doubt it.
mechanics exploiting people. not as much as lawyers who specialise in taking obscene amounts of peoples hard earned cash. take a look at your own proffesion before slating others.
cars are not vital, they are luxuries,if you can afford to buy and run a car then great,if you cant then get the bus. if its it is such a vital part of everyones life then everyone should learn how to fix them,then there would be no problems with rip off garages.

garages are buisnesses,a buisness can only work if it makes money. thats why the garage has added a mark up on to parts,all garages do it, in fact all buisnesses do it.

Goldspanner,

Ford do not mark up their prices so much that £20 would become £190. Added to that the garage buys a part, they are charging stupid amounts to tighten a few bolts why further cream money by adding it onto a part?

Your analysis of a car being a luxury is feeble. Let me elaborate; I have two children, i start work at 9. I have to drop them both off at separate carers and then drive the 10 mile or so to work. Without a car i would not be able to do this, since the childcare is not open until 7.30. So the car is 'vital' to my lifestyle and millions of others. My home is also vital, should i learn to lay bricks? The school is vital, should i learn to teach?

My own profession - whilst all my mates were out working i was studying, i left university with in excess of £30,000 worth of debt and lived hand to mouth for many years. To gain my qualification was very very hard and cost me tens of thousand of pounds, given that i wasn't working for 4 years and going by the average of £18,000 take home plus my student debt it probably cost me in excess of £100,000 to get to where i am now. That must surely be taken into account. Not only that but say for instance i am dealing with a client who is leaving £2M in a will, i make it so he pays absolutely nothing in inheritance tax saving him (his family) hundreds of thousands of pounds. Slightly different to fastening a few bolts id say.

I appreciate the ethos of business, but please dont try and convince me mechanics (most) are anything other grease monkeys who fasten a few screws and prey on the misfortune of others exploiting everything and anything at every oppertunity.