Q – I feel lousy. I love my car but it just dumped on me. I took it in for an oil change and my mechanic mentioned that my clutch pedal felt rough when pressing it down or letting it up. I wasn’t really concerned about it since the clutch was replaced about a year and a half ago. I mentioned that…and he suggested that I take it back to the place that replaced it and get their opinion.
So I did, and they agreed that it was a problem. So far so good, I authorized them to take it apart again to see what had gone wrong.
Now I want to state that I am not hard on a clutch and it still felt very strong, it just had this odd sensation in the pedal. They took it apart and said that other parts in the system had failed and that when they did the work originally, they were OK. So I said “go ahead and replace them but I want to speak to the service manager about the issue”. Well they fixed it, and presented me with a bill for about $2,500. That is almost what it cost to have the work done the last time. I am very upset and I hope you can explain it too me. I am not a mechanic. Chuck
A – There are many ways to approach a problem and deal with it. If one were to do only what is asked and nothing more, disappointment down the road is inevitable. When I was young, my Dad, who was an engineer, stressed the wisdom of spending a little more time to think a problem through and figure out how to make it better. His philosophy was “if you can improve the design for lifespan, performance or cost, you could make an informed choice about how you want to do it”. So when one is given only one choice, not the range of possibilities, details can get overlooked with devastating consequences.
I was young when my Dad started hammering this concept into my pubescent brain, so I usually ignored him and tried to do things quickly. I did not want to take the time to do them well. I had a party to go to, a gig to play or any other immature excuse. I was frequently bitten. I learned that if you did not take the time to do things right, somehow you could always find the time to do them over again. After I started my career, I discovered that folks do not take kindly to being charged again. They get quite testy about it. You learn fast.
Getting charged again would frost me too. On one hand, if they had given you a choice to replace the widget while the thing was apart, you would have said “yes of course, it only makes sense” After all, you love your car and you can afford a Porsche, so why didn’t they?
My theory is that the person working on the car did not know you. He did not know how you felt about the car or how much you loved it. Your advisor may not have been familiar with the car or the potential problems that could crop up later. In fact, that guy might have already moved on to another place. It sounds like a disconnect…a breakdown of communication.
I apologize for your frustration. You did not deserve it and even though I was not involved in the decisions, I empathize. You deserved better and I wish I had been there to advise you. MC