Is it just me?

[69chevytrucker]

i know of a shop in my area that a parts runner took a customer $80,000.00 mustang to the local napa to get some parts and when he was leave he decided to show off and went sideways hit the curb put the car on its side the axle snapped hit the gas tank and the car caught fire the owner only dropped it off to get a muffler tip put on and lost his car

[DUD2STUD]

I fired 2 of my techs after a customer sent me a picture of his truck in the Starbucks drive thru. They told me they thought it was ok because some of my other techs were doing it. Needless to say some people got some unpaid vacation time and I made it clear that it is never expectable. I felt so bad I gave the guy his entire job for free. I would be pissed if some one used my baby for a parts run

[ho70]

Looking on the bright side.....the truck got complimented

[Tinkermc]

I would be very nice check it out with a test drive and then go over the bill to see if they filled up the tank and what discount thgave me off the bill for my insurance and maintenance cost. Uncle Sam pays over 50 cents a mile. Then don't ever say you will never be back it lessons their reason to discount, a lost custome never gets a discount.
Ask for what you want and inform them it;s in their court now but I may have to ask my lawyer for a change of venue.

[Hugh Mongus]

To be clear, he wasn't going after my parts. I had already bought everything needed for the job as I was going to do it myself. I just didn't have the time. So whatever he was running after was for someone else.

I dropped it off for a head swap and cam install. He was supposed to start on it Saturday, but when I talked to him Monday he was just getting started. So, for all I know he was driving around in my ride all weekend.

My truck has a new crate motor in it and he knew that because it was discussed up front. There was no reason for him to be driving it until after the work was completed and that, to me, is questionable.

I am going to take some of the advice here. I am going to go over to pick it up and check it over good. Then when he presents me the bill I will simply ask him where the discount is for the miles, fuel, and wear and tear he put on my truck without my permission. From my perspective that is the same as theft. If a thief steals your car it's still theft even if they return it later.

This pisses me off every time I think about it. I have a bad temper anyway. Hopefully I can get it back home without going to jail.

[KyleSeal]

Just put a boot on your car next time you send it off for work, that'll solve your problem.

[trac209]

Originally Posted by DUD2STUD

I fired 2 of my techs after a customer sent me a picture of his truck in the Starbucks drive thru. They told me they thought it was ok because some of my other techs were doing it. Needless to say some people got some unpaid vacation time and I made it clear that it is never expectable. I felt so bad I gave the guy his entire job for free. I would be pissed if some one used my baby for a parts run

Good on you! Too many so called "shops" pull this crap and sometimes it does end up in vehicle damage etc. I've had friends who work in shops tell me some techs and owners do this type of stuff all the time. One of my friends had his newer truck come back with twigs and branch remnants in the bed after a weekend sitting at a dealer who used it to do some dump runs.

This whole topic really strikes a nerve with me. Any shop owner who would let this practise go on is looking to lose his business.

[jlaird]

Do yourself a favor and just pay the bill and walk away, never to return. Nothing good will come out of bringing it up. Just my 2 cents...

[69chevytrucker]

just let him know you will be letting others know not to bring stuff there because his guys like to joyride and if you have anything broken that you will send him the bill

[franken]

Queue the Ferris Beuhler clip...
Wrong thing to do.
I think the liability alone would make the shop owner (fill in the blank).

[litew8]

Call and write the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint.

[Cercious]

Definitely I'd let them know when you pick up the truck that it's not ok, and you don't feel comfortable with that happening. Best thing is handle them with respect, but be stern, and illustrate just how unhappy you are. I've always tried to do all the work to my truck myself, and never really thought about this until the other day when I had work done to my car, and my license plate was all bent out of shape when I got it back. I've already decided not to go back to them for work again, though. As for my truck, she's nothing special to anyone but me, so I don't think I'd have to worry about this that much.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

I grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone else, and it was not uncommon for mechanics to test drive the vehicles to diagnose the mechanical problem and run errands simultaneously to kill two birds with one stone. So I was pretty used to this sort of thing back in the day. But if you do not know this guy and did not give permission then this clearly IS a problem.
Long after I moved out of that small town, I had a mechanic who had picked up my broken down 81 C10 from the side of the interstate actually LOAN OUT MY TRAILER that was attached to it!!! I went to his house/shop with a seperate vehicle to pick it up and it was not there. I was beyond FURIOUS!! I later found out that he had blown up my new engine in this C10 truck when he picked it up because he drove it 60 miles WITHOUT A WORKING OIL PUMP. This MORON was so fired by me that I would NEVER consider using him again.

[SS Tim]

Might be worth checking to see if there were any traffic violations or parking tickets issued. Here in CA I know of techs getting traffic cam tickets for the vehicle's owners.
Using a customer vehicle for a runner is way out of line.

[PowerdbyChevy79]

blood is boiling just thinkin about it...

[piecesparts]

I would think that going to the shop after you talked to them and picking up your truck before they did the work would have been a good thing for you to do. This guy apparently has no clue as to what is the right way to treat a customer, so you should demonstrate to him how you view his business practices. Now that the work is done, take friend along---it is good to have others there to just keep things normal, check your truck out, check the fuel gauge and then when he hands you a bill, cut the price of that bill by the amount of fuel that is missing. Use the highest priced station in town for the cost per gallon, as you write down (On the bill) what you think the bill should be reduced by. When he protests, tell him that he used your truck without your permission and that you are getting your investment back through a cost reduction of his bill.

He is going to push back and he will make a lot of noise, but he has already opened this door and what would he do if he had an accident, maybe it got door dinged at that parts house, while he was in there getting god knows what to haul around in your truck. I don't know about a lot of people, but it is easy for me to become a little anal about my vehicles.

[Jimjific]

Not to make light of the crime committed, but this popped into my head.

Jim

[68blazer]

Originally Posted by franken

Queue the Ferris Beuhler clip...
Wrong thing to do.
I think the liability alone would make the shop owner (fill in the blank).

crap you beat me to it, i was thinking ferris too

Dude i would be livid and besides this forum, i'd rip them on all kinds of social media, cuss them at every turn to anyone who will listen. i'd do my hardest to close their doors

[67 cst swb]

Originally Posted by jlaird

Do yourself a favor and just pay the bill and walk away, never to return. Nothing good will come out of bringing it up. Just my 2 cents...

Ditto

[JWSmith]

Mechanics I think do drive customer vehicles often, to hear that "clunk" or "ping" that some of us laypeople don't know how to explain. I don't necessarily have a problem with that. I have, on occasion, even asked that the tech drive my car so they can see/feel/hear what I am trying to describe. I think this is fairly commonplace.

Now then, based on what you are saying, there is no reason to drive your ride at all until the work you are paying for is done. A quick test drive after those components are installed MIGHT be in the cards, just to make sure they did the job right. But I say MIGHT, and I say that carefully.

By absolutely no means should your ride be used as his get around town vehicle for a few days. Regardless of insurance, or grabbing a burger while on a parts run - whatever reason they could give.

When I am about to go into a situation that I know I'm gonna be pissed - I check myself before going in, take a breath, and play the conversation out in my head. We are all human, we all make mistakes (some bigger than others). This cat may not see anything wrong in what he did. To him, it's another car. To us, our rides are an extension of us, and the care, time, effort, and money we have put into them should be considered by others. Heck, I won't even walk around a car show with my 4 year old son. I carry him. While the chance is remote, he may decide today is the day I wash that car with some gravel soap - I'm not taking the chance.


Anyway - good luck with it and I hope it works out.

[hooverfish]

I have a bad temper too, so I know all about how NOT to handle these situations. But in my quest to improve I think it would be wise to give them an opportunity to make things right. If that doesn't work, I would submit a complaint to BBB and flame them on social media. Then try to leave without making too much of a (fill in bad word here) of yourself like I usually do. And pass the word to anyone who will listen.
Good luck and I hope they at least do a good job on the work you needed.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Hugh Mongus

So, I dropped my truck off last week to have some stuff done to it. I called yesterday to make sure everything was going ok. The guy proceeded to tell me how much he enjoyed driving my truck around town to pick up parts, and that the guys at his local parts supply house really liked my truck too.

Am I just an asshole, or would you all be pissed if someone was out cruising town in your truck?

I would have been pissed, too. Call the local PD and file a complaint for 'unauthorized use". Then call the BBB. You might not get any satisfaction but you surely will tie a knot in their tail!