my cutlass takes a beating and keeps on ticking

[FreakingGomer]

I decided to go ahead and replace the struts on my cutlass to go along with the new wheels/tires and well, all did not go as planned

 

I started out with making an appointment with Les Schwab (local huge tire/suspension place) I made the appt for Monday May 3rd. I missed the appnt and called and moved it to tuesday May 4th (fucking work). I dropped it off around 1:30pm and let them have it until around 5:45-6pm when they called me up and let me know it was done. My first Problem, they charged me $30 more than the $430 they quoted me supposedly for bushings. I paid for it and figured hey, no big deal, I got a four wheel alignment and all 4 kyb gr2's installed at a decent price for what I figured.

 

Thats when the problems started, on the way from Les Schwab to my work (about 3 bocks) I heard a clunking noise, but decided maybe to take it back in the morning, maybe the struts needed to seat or something, I know nothing about suspensions, so I get off work at 8-8:30pm and am driving around on our back roads, a couple highways are great to test suspensions on, rough fairly straight so you can get some speed and some sweeping corners that let you hold speed, and I am rocking around topped my car out, calmed down the driving and went home.

 

The next morning May 5th, I am on my way to work, it had rained fairly hard the previous night so the roads had the slickness that accompanies such acts, and I was going into a corner and hit the brakes hard, locked them up (or rather locked up the front left tire only) due to a truck blowing a stopsign and cuttig me off mid corner, and instead of stoppingg straight (which would have put me on another street) the front left tire pulled me into the ditch. I was doing probably 35mph when I tagged the ditch.

 

I get myself out of the ditch, pull over to see if my car is still driveable (I don't dare leave myself in a ditch and look, the police would prolly find something illegal in the act of avoiding an accident) it looks ok, so I keep driving on my way to work and when I get there I have one of the techs put my car on the rack and take a gander at my cars suspension. The entire impact was on the front left, my right side never hit the ditch. ALL THE DAMAGE WAS ON THE RIGHT SIDE WHERE I HEARD THE CLUNKING NOISE WHEN I PICKED MY CAR UP FROM LES SCHWAB

 

So I made an appt with the manager of the Les Schwab so that I could see what they would do about my car ending up in the ditch, I should have told you that the tech said that the strust was loose and pinching the brake line between the strut and the frame rail so I had no front right brakes.

 

les schwab said they stripped the strut housing nut ? and charged me 120 in parts and nothing for labor because t was their fault, then they never balanced my tires, i had to make them realign, it was a cluster fuck.

 

Basically, my car hit a ditch at 35, had no body damage, no suspension damage, just deabeaded a tire, no big deal really, but all the tires need to be balanced because there is a shimmy/shake to the steering and ride.

 

Lesson learned never take your car to a shop, they always fuck you.

[Baddflash]

Lesson learned never take your car to a shop, they always fuck you.

 

 

Yeah pretty much!

[Justin]

Any reputable shop (dealership) would have never charged you parts for their own fuck-up. It's like clockwork, pay more right away or pay big later, you're lucky that truck didn't flatten you.

[GP1138]

 

Sounds like you should have brought your own. They'd have charged you extra for it.

[FreakingGomer]

the funny thing is, this is the most reputable shop around pretty much, their prices are not that cheap, they aren't quick, they are just a large company that I used to have good luck with, I have used many other of their stores, mainly in Madras/redmond/Bend, but never have I used the shop in the town I live, that being Newberg, and in Newberg, I got screwed,

 

I am just amazed at the risiliance of the cutlass, if I would have been driving a civic or something I'd have been screwed.

[GnatGoSplat]

Lesson learned never take your car to a shop, they always fuck you.

 

Yep, I learned that lesson a long time ago, that's why I've been doing all my own work for 13yrs and anytime I come across something I can't do, like body work or paint, that depresses the crap outta me.

[FreakingGomer]

I would have undertaken myself but I have been working the past 13 days straight tomorrow is my 14th day in a row and today was 14.5 hrs and tomorrow is likely to be similar.

 

I just never have time, and both my olds and my baja are sort of project cars, the olds needs stuff just to make it nicer, the baja is a fucking pain n the ass pos but its fun as hell

[Baddflash]

anytime I come across something I can't do, like body work or paint, that depresses the crap outta me.

 

I cringe when I actually have to take my car to a shop, I try to do everything myself that I possibly can. Every shop I've ever taken my vehicles to, except Garms Auto in my hometown, has screwed me in some form or another.