Frustrated with frequent service

N

Nav45

New member
I've been detailing my car for the past few months now - some polishing, cleaning, LSPing, etc. The car looks pretty good considering the age and mileage. I usually take it in for the routine service but occasionally I may have to bring it in for something. Lately, it seems like I'm at the car dealership/car mechanic a lot and it's driving me crazy.

I'm constantly worried about them bumping into the car, touching something the "wrong" way or doing something that may require polishing. For instance, I had to leave the car at the dealership overnight recently. Thankfully, it was fine when I picked it up.

Well today, I had a little tire problem today and went into a local tire/service chain. It turns out the tire has to to be replaced (along with another one). Since my tires were pretty worn, I replaced them all. As soon as I thought it was done, the mechanic and the manager had a screwup with the hood! I don't know why but the mechanic was checking out the battery and apparently did not put the battery cover back on the battery. They were trying to push the hood back into place anyway but the battery cover wouldn't let them. Maybe it's just me but I now see that the hood is very slightly angled. One side sits very slightly different than the other side. This may have been the case before but I'm now scrutinizing it more so maybe it's just me.

Of course, when they were trying to wrestle the hood back into place, they left all sorts of smudges and whatnot all over the front end of the car.

I re-LSPed this past weeked too.

Anyway, I will stop my whining. I should accept what is happening with a better attitude.
 
Ronkh said:
Besides the fingerprints, i'd be worried about it bending and alignment of the hood.
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It seems to close fine. I've tested it multiple times. But I'm seeing an ever so slight difference between one side and the other when the hood is closed. Not sure if it was there before or not.
 
Nav45 said:
..Anyway, I will stop my whining. I should accept what is happening with a better attitude.
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Nah, I wouldn't accept that sort of [stuff]. One of the primary reasons I have the vehicles that I do is that I can get 'em serviced without anybody [messing] them up.

You might have to be a bit more paranoid up-front and so some more explaining about how particular you are. As in, "don't touch *anything* other than what we discussed, and don't touch the paint under any circumstances. But...sigh...then you still have to hope they listen.

I too had a *terrible* experience last time I needed an emergency tire replacement- "you want me to bring in some Adhesive Remover to remove the weights with?"
"Nah, we have some". They gouged the barrel so badly (by apparently scraping the weights off with a screwdriver) that I had to Dremel it just to avoid cutting my hand....didn't seem to understand why I was so displeased. At least it was just the Tahoe, but still...
 
Accumulator said:
Nah, I wouldn't accept that sort of [stuff]. One of the primary reasons I have the vehicles that I do is that I can get 'em serviced without anybody [messing] them up.

You might have to be a bit more paranoid up-front and so some more explaining about how particular you are. As in, "don't touch *anything* other than what we discussed, and don't touch the paint under any circumstances. But...sigh...then you still have to hope they listen.

I too had a *terrible* experience last time I needed an emergency tire replacement- "you want me to bring in some Adhesive Remover to remove the weights with?"
"Nah, we have some". They gouged the barrel so badly (by apparently scraping the weights off with a screwdriver) that I had to Dremel it just to avoid cutting my hand....didn't seem to understand why I was so displeased. At least it was just the Tahoe, but still...
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You make good points. I figure I would sound a little too "uptight" or whatever if I started with a list of demands. But maybe nowadays, that's what we have to do. I mean ... c'mon! Pay a little attention to what your doing.

And sorry about your wheels. I also hear you on why you keep your cars for a while. Makes sense. If you or someone you trust can work on them properly, then there's no need to go elsewhere. With the newest cars, one usually has to go occasionally due to the technology, etc.

Tt's like they work on so many cars yet these sorts of things happen.
 
Nav45- Yeah, the tech aspects of today's cars would worry me; my Audi Service Manager says he's *really* glad I have older ones. I gather that keeping *me* happy is a lot easier when things are (relatively) simple.

With regard to coming across as all up-tight, I explain that it's better for everybody if I come across as a picky SOB compared to how I'd be if they messed something up ;) I say it all nice and friendly, but maintain eye contact and let 'em know I'm dead-serious.

The local Michelin store simply didn't care..guess they get plenty of business from normal people. Their loss, but every time I see those gouges it still bugs me (I ground/sanded them smooth and recleared the area, and nobody else sees it, and it *is* just an old dog-hauler, but still...).

They just returned Accumulatorette's A8 after fixing the doorlocks (you wouldn't believe what *that* cost), and it came through the two-weeks experience unscathed. They even called to make sure I was happy ("I kept it parked where I knew it would be safe and I kept an eye on it, everybody knows to not touch it").
 
My painter hates doing work on our own cars,on private work he is fine [less stressed] I suppose it cant be easy as our shops are about 20 feet away from each other.
 
Thanks everyone.

I went to the body shop and they sort of twisted the hood a bit and now it aligns better. But still, it's not exactly 100% aligned. If you look really, really closely, one side is very slightly positioned differently. It only appears so at certain angles and you have to really know what to look for but even then, it's too difficult to tell the difference. The people I have showed it to can't even tell unless I point it out and they look really hard and feel it.

I got in touch with the manager of the tire place where this occurred and he said he's willing to help. The question is, should I even bother? I mean, what can I really do? I can go to the body shop again and have them do a more thorough job. Then, ask the tire place to pay for it. But this scenario requires a lot more time and effort. Plus, who knows what kind of job the body shop might do.

Also, once again, I don't think anyone can tell anything happened besides me and even then, I have to really look for it. Me and my OCD behaviors!

So what do you guys think? Leave things as they are and keep it simple?

The car is around 7 1/2 years old and has plenty of miles on it.

Thanks.
 
If it bothers you to the point that you can't see past it, you get it fixed. They pay for it up to and including replacing the hood. If it's just an issue that has elevated your sensitivity and you still wonder if it might have been that way before the service, let it go. It's kind of a black or white question in my mind. Understanding this recognize that even if you have the hood replaced the paint might not be an identical match simply due to the age of the paint on the car. If you think that's going to bother you worse it should help you make your decision.
 
GearHead_1 said:
If it bothers you to the point that you can't see past it, you get it fixed. ... If you think [factors related to a repair] going to bother you worse it should help you make your decision.
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Agree 100%.

Nav45- I'm afraid that only *you* can really make this particular decision.

On my Tahoe I'd live with it. On any of my other vehicles (including the high-mile old cars...) I'd *probably* have it fixed. But I'd take a little time to make up my mind as sometimes when I live with some *awful* issue for a while it really does become a lot less awful over time. But#2, eh.. that's just me.
 
GearHead_1 said:
If it bothers you to the point that you can't see past it, you get it fixed. They pay for it up to and including replacing the hood. If it's just an issue that has elevated your sensitivity and you still wonder if it might have been that way before the service, let it go. It's kind of a black or white question in my mind. Understanding this recognize that even if you have the hood replaced the paint might not be an identical match simply due to the age of the paint on the car. If you think that's going to bother you worse it should help you make your decision.
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I'm getting better now at dealing with it I believe. I will see how it is for a few days and go on from there. I'm actually OK with it to be honest. I'm leaning towards not taking any action.

Your right about the hood replacement - who knows how that might be. Thanks.

Accumulator said:
Agree 100%.

Nav45- I'm afraid that only *you* can really make this particular decision.

On my Tahoe I'd live with it. On any of my other vehicles (including the high-mile old cars...) I'd *probably* have it fixed. But I'd take a little time to make up my mind as sometimes when I live with some *awful* issue for a while it really does become a lot less awful over time. But#2, eh.. that's just me.
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Yes, as I'm living with it, it's actually OK. I mean, I've got far worse problem areas (appearance-wise) on the car so this isn't even remotely close to them. After a while, I learned to live with those. Thanks
 
Accumulator said:
Nav45- Kinda funny how you really can live with some imperfection, huh? Despite the influence of Autopia ;)
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Hah, so true :)

I have to bend and look at the hood from all sorts of weird angles to even notice anything and even then, I'm thinking it's partially psychological the so-called damage I'm seeing. Maybe half centimeter or so difference? Just guessing here.

I've got some damage on the car that's clearly visible on some sections but it doesn't really bother me anymore. It's been there for years and I don't think I'll do anything to them. Thanks to people here and elsewhere, and you Accum, the car is looking better than ever!
 
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