another (horror) story

[Barney Eaton]

This lady takes her '90 into Precision Tune for a tune-up and oil change. She tells them it is a little rough at idle. <P>They change the oil, tune it? replace the plugs and one plug wire. When she picks it up they say it rough because it needs a valve job and they can't fix the rough idle. <BR>However it is much worse that when she left it so she takes it back. <P>They claim it took them 2-3 hours to determine there was no spark to #1. They replaced the ECM and said everything was fine. The car stalled in the lot as she was leaving and would not restart. They think it is a timing chain.<P>The next day she has it towed to a (real) mechanic. Here is her note on what he found.<P>"It's Wednesday evening and I got my car back from the mechanic today. I had went to<BR>Precision Tune on Saturday and then back again on Monday, then had to get my car towed Tuesday night from Precision Tune. My mechanic ran a computer diagnostic and it revealed no codes present. Precision<BR>Tune put the spark plug wires in the wrong position on Coil Pack. They also installed the wrong wires. When my mechanic corrected the firing order my car started.<BR>It still was missing, with further inspection he found #3 spark plug gap closed. He also did a fuel injection cleaning and so now this little tune up and oil change has cost me over $500.00. My mechanic put AC Delco<BR>plugs and wire set on it. I had to pay him $286.20, but he had to figure out what Precision had done to the car. Don't ever let anyone you know go to a Precision Tune, just this week I have heard 3 other horror stories about them and what's scary is they are<BR>different locations. Also the plugs they use at Precision costs about 29 cents. I am going to dispute the credit card charges at Precision. Well I was just wanting to let you guys know what the outcome was and thanks alot for all your information."<P>I don't know where this "Precision Tune" was located. <P>_<BR>

[Guest]

BUMMER !!!<P>Try: <A HREF="http://www.precision-tune.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.precision-tune.com/</A>

[Guest]

I also have had a very bad experience with Precision Tune. I would stay away!

[bigrog]

I've also heard dozens of these stories about them. Stay away.

[Guest]

The shop that originally f'd-up the job should pay for damages.<P>I used to work for a shop where one of my co-workers 'forgot' to put the plug back in the oil pan. The owner of the shop found out exactly how much the engine on a Mac Truck cost when his insurance company said, "but you didn't tell us you were going to work on those too".<P>~Brenda<P>------------------<BR>REATTA SITE:<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/gohighr/reatta.html" TARGET=_blank><BR>http://members.aol.com/gohighr/reatta.html</A>

[Guest]

Percision Tune Does not pay/hire good help. When they hire guys out of high school that don't know much this is what you get. When they can't fix it (or make it worse) they still want to get paid in full. Then they will blame the cars problem on somthing major and expensive that they don't do. I used to hear customes say "Percision Tune said I had bad valves" or valve springs all the time when it was something elce like a EGR valve. <P>I did not notice when but they disappeared around my area. For every bad shop gone another one takes it's place. They tend to be the ones that give rock bottom $9 oil changes, $45 brake jobs, and $29 tune ups. The work tends to cost way more. When it's all said and done they seem higher for the whole job than average. The workers and parts are not allways desirable. It's too bad one shop will give the whole repair industry a bad reputation.<P>Tom

[Guest]

You know, those little drive-through auto care places are convenient, but the people working there are under pressure to get your car out the door ASAP to make room for the next customer. To them, you're just a number. <P>If you want really good car care, you need to establish a relationship with a local mechanic who will take the time to do things right. When you visit them a few times, you're no longer just a number but a steady customer and after awhile they'll even recognize you and they'll know your car because they worked on it before. It may not seem as handy as a drive-through place, but in the long run it's worth it for your own peace of mind.

[Guest]

Barney, The Precision Tune I went to was in Acworth, GA, the other 2 stories I heard about were from Marietta, GA. One other thing, the manager was the only one there I saw that could speak English.

[bigrog]

Couple of tips, look for a local custom exhaust shop. These places depend on a good reputation to keep business going. A good exhaust fabricator tends to take pride in his(or her) work, as most custom work is scrutinized by not just the customer, but every mechanic within 50 miles. This same person will usually be well trained in suspension and brakes, but probably won't be much good in the driveability, heavy engine, transmission, or electrical. Your best bet there is probably a dealership(I hope). Sorry to hear so many Buick dealers are afraid of the Reatta. Try to find a dealer with Technicians that have been there 10 years or so, although that could be a tall order too.

[TheBlackMoon]

Here's another note to worry about...<BR>Did you know that most of the Precision Tunes and All Tune & Lubes out there use reconstituted oil. "Usually" this means refurbished, but not always. Sometimes it's just filtered! This is why most of them recieve it in bulk and will charge you more for anything heavier than 5W30 weight. That's the consistency after they've strained it. That's why I do my own oil, filter, and brake pad changes. I also do my own tune-ups for the same reason. The norm of the industry is to give you whatever is on hand and/or cheapest. Not to make sure it's the best (or even correct) for your automobile.<BR>It's really a sad world that we live in!

[bigrog]

Sorry, champ, not at MY DEALERSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!