Be careful folks who you let work on your baby

[chambers]

Last week I went to look to upgrade my Stereo and Speakers in my Viper RT. When the guy ask me waht type of car it was I told him it's a Dodge Viper RT. He got very excited and said it has been a while seen he seen one of those. So he goes on to tell me about the various speakers and stereos and I ask him what is a good time for you guys to install it. Is Saturday avialable? He says let me check and he comes back and says we can install it two weeks from now. He could see I was think hard about this because I was trying not to take a day off of work to get this done. So he says why dont you just bring it up here at 10:00am and leave it all day we will have it ready by 5:00pm. I guess he forgot that he mentioned to me earlier that it would only take an hour and a half to complete the installation. Now that raised a red flag with me

The guy must think I am some SAM Sausage head. I say to myself....You want me to leave my car all day with you so you can go joy riding. I dont think so. So we decided on the date for the installation and I went to the counter to pay for it. So I told him I will bring it up here in two weeks and I will hang around the shop until it is completed. As I was leaving I had parked my car right in front of where they pull the cars in for service. I noticed four of the service people surrounding my car. That's when I said to myself I made the right descion to stay with my car while they work on it. I was referred to this place by a friend who said they do excellant work. I am not questioning their work, but i do not feel good about leaving my car without me around.

 

[TowDawg]

Hell, my stereo guy had my car for over a week while I was in the Dominican on vacation. He had a good bit of fab and paint work to do, so I knew it would take him a while anyway.
The shop itself does mostly high-end cars anyway and I've never seen them mess with anyone's car and used the install guy at another shop before he even came to this one. I was introduced to him through a friend who has had him work on his real exotics and never had an issue. I guess it depends on how well you know and trust them. If it was some new place like your situation, no way I would have it left it there.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Exactly. There is a big difference. If you are taking your car to the right place, you should not be one bit afraid even if they DO drive your car, because you should know it wasn't a "joy-ride". There is a big difference between a responsible shop owner/personnel taking your car around the block to test out something they have done, or having a ***** at a minimum wage place beat the hell out of your car because he feels like making it one of the perks of his job. For the most part, High-End shops employ people who are truly car savvy, and have seen/driven similar cars. They are looking at your car as a responsibility, not as an opportunity.

Ask yourself:
Would you be worried if most of the tuners/shop owners that are known on this forum took your car for a spin- even if you have never actually met them? Highly unlikely a worry would cross your mind. It is a different grade of personnel and owners. You should be looking for people that earn your trust at that level, and save yourself the worry.

 

[97snk]

I usually note my mileage in front of the owner and check the mileage once the car is done. Make sure you let them know that you are keeping track of the mileage.

 

[Jance GTS]

Get a quick release steering wheel. Joy riding problem solved

 

[bluesrt]

Get a quick release steering wheel. Joy riding problem solved

right on!!!! but what if they drive it with vise grips...lol

 

[7TH_SIGN]

Don't trust any shop with your car. The only time I would leave my car unsupervised at a shop was when the shop was owned and run by three close friends I knew for 10+ years.

 

[cfiiman]

I do not trust shops either and have always done all my own work, with that said, it really just sounded like the guy was trying to help you out. In fact I don't think I'e ever heard a shop NOT say drop it off and leave it and it will be done at the end of the day I think that is pretty standard at shops.

 

[IDM]

I have only met a couple of mechanics that I am comfortable with. I do not trust shops, I dont think, actually I almost know that nobody takes the care and does the job that I do on my cars. When I do not know how to do something I take it and I am always hands on. And there is always something shady that they are getting ready to do even right in front of me. Ahem yeah you cant lift the car like that, or you are getting grease on my paint job. Or watch the polished parts it takes hours to get the underhood that clean.

Any how be very careful. NEVER go somewhere without your friends raving about it, even then it might ****.

 

[99VPRGTS]

Thats why I always work on my own car. If I ever need help, I call Chuck, come on here or the Alley, or call my good friend Mike (99RT/10).

 

[moparracing]

i just put in my valet sct tune, limits to 2500rpm & 50mph......

 

[E_tar]

Same thing happened to me when I went to ask around for a welder to put in new exhaust chrome tips. Guy asked me to leave it when I left for work and pick it up in the evening..
I said, no freakin way, I dont mind waiting.. So I stood there the next morning from 8am to 9:30am while it was up on the lift getting tips welded. Paid him and left. Car didnt leave my sight the entire time... plus, he did an excellent job!

You cant trust someone not to give in to temptation and take the car out for a 'spin'. The viper is a great temptor !!

 

[DaDood]

In the guys defense and to play devil's advocate, depending on how busy the shop is, I would not think it would be out of the ordinary for a shop to say "Leave your car with us for the day" for any stereo install, regardless of whether or not it was a Viper.

Albiet, with that said, I never leave mine with a shop. I do everything myself, or watch the mechanic do things I can't do.

 

[Cobraken]

It's ok to leave your car for a day with someone you trust. He was just telling you that if you left your car he would fit it in after dealing with those that had appointments before you. The fact you were nervous about it means you should not deal with these folks. Unless of course, you're one of those guys that gets upset when your wife was at the Dr's for 2 hours for a 1/2 hr consult. Then you've got possessive problems. Not everyone is out to hurt your baby!

 

[ZYellow01RT]

I had an experience like that with my first RT that needed some paint on the front end. It was my first Viper so it hadn't really sunk in yet that it had to be treated differently than other vehicles when it came to repairs. Duh.

So, I dropped it off innocently on a Saturday morning and picked it up on the following Wednesday, and thought nothing of doing that. After I had picked it up, I noticed that it had mysteriously accumulated an additional 120 miles on the odometer. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but in looking back, I probably should have...especially since paint work doesn't require any test drives afterward. Plus, I wouldn't have any proof to show the paint shop that they were guilty as charged.

Lesson learned! So, unless my Viper tech, Eddie Martin, is working on it (whom I totally trust), I will need to set up a tent and camp out in the future!

 

[GTSnake]

Well I've had my car at a tuner in OH since July. For all I know it may have been parted out and sold off already. They're tuning the turbo system so they have to do a lot of street drivability testing. So it was useless to track the mileage. They said it's almost done soon so we'll see if I get it back in one piece.....

 

[cfiiman]

^^^^ I know it will be awesome when they are done but that would drive me nutz!

 

[Fatboy 18]

I took my car down to an exhaust shop for a cat delete, I had removed the side sills so everything was on show, I walked into the front office and sat there while they finished with another customer, then it was my turn, the guy barley looked up from the desk filling out a job card, I had only gone into the shop for advice, he then said what car is it? As I replied a Dodge Viper, he looked up and said I will need the keys please sir so we can put it on the ramps. You can guess my answer ........OFF
I ended up doing the work myself

There is NO WAY anyone is going to drive my car in the UK!

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Pretty much why I do most of my own work.

 

[GTS Warp]

When we first got our 97 GTS, I was going to take it to the local Dodge dealer for some minor stuff (wheel balancing, AC checkup, key fob). The "viper tech" told me they needed to have the car for two days (yeah right) and that they're "a pain to get on the rack". Talked to my local club members and found two great places for same day service. For everything else, I do my own work. New stereo going in next week!

 

[chiefchad]

Yeah I left my '69 GTO "for the day" to have an oil change done. It was a "trusted" mechanic who owned a '69 Camaro and other nice toys so I figured all would be cool. He had to go out in the afternoon to pick up parts and one of the 2 co-op students (under 19 years of age) he had working there took it out for a "test drive". Did I mention it was only there for an oil change? I was not impressed, and have never been back.

 

[1994viper]

right on!!!! but what if they drive it with vise grips...lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qczp-G7Wi4Q


LOL