meiklejohn86

My car ('87 350 trans-am gta) has been at the shop for a few days, and I went to pick it up last night... it turned over a few times and started slowing down, with the classic signs of a dying battery. It has a problem with the alternator, and has been on a charger on and off for the last few days. I phoned the guy at the shop this morning, and asked him to try charging it over the day so I can pick it up tonight... I get a call in the afternoon and he tells me the battery won't hold a charge, so I should bring jmper cables when I come to get it, fair enough. Funny thing is, I locked the car last night and had the keys with me today... how could he have even got under the hood today to charge the battery??? I highly doubt he jacked the car up to open it from underneath.. could he have opened the hood without pulling the hood release? (I also closed the hood fully last night too)

Shift06

Unless you didn't lock it. Are you 100% positive? I don't see why he would lie to you about a battery, he probably wouldn't make a whole lot of money off of it or anything.

84redta

iTrader: (34)

not terribly hard to break into a thirdgen...sorry, lol. Not fun but possible, could do it with slim jim, clothes hanger if your crafty with experience, but i doubt he'd throw it up on a lift to do so much more work than making you come down with the keys. Could have very easily crawled under and fiddled with it to make it pop. I also am skeptical that he would outright lie about it, he already lost the business or didn't get any, not necessary to **** you off so you never come back. Sadly anything is possible.

meiklejohn86

Well I'll be checking whenever I go to get it if the doors or locked but I'm pretty sure.. The title maybe was a bad choice, as it seems like I'm mad about it... I think he's tired of dealing with it, so I imagine it would benefit him to tell me that theres nothing he can do as he wouldnt have to do extra work.

Well he told me before that he didn't have time to charge the battery right away, cause he had to pull it out to charge it...

84redta

iTrader: (34)

yea it did sound like your a bit steamed. Either way anything is possible. Most you can do is check the car, but if i was a mechanic and owned my own shop and was liable for what was in my posession reguardless i wouldn't leave any cars unlocked. I live in upstate NY where towns are 15 minutes apart and neighbors are a mile up the road and i still lock my cars, lol. So i suppose that may just be me. I don't think there is any concrete way to check. You could always ask when you get there and if he studders and then says something it's prob b.s. Just walk away and know your car isn't wort his time. If he comes out with a story like it's second hand...still a chance it's a lie but at least he made the initiative to make a really big believeable lie about it , lol. Good luck!

BluFBdy

iTrader: (1)

why not have him load test it with you there? Or have him try a different battery? Shops have always got them on hand, you wouldnt believe the kidn of things ive found for my car in the backroom of my shop i work at

zrated57

I would just ask him how he did such a thing when you had the doors locked. Sounds to me like the doors were probably left unlocked. The auto tech may have locked the doors after he was done working on the car and that's why it appeared they were locked when you picked up the car.

meiklejohn86

Nope they were locked tonight, and I was the one who locked them yesterday (after finding the car unlocked yesterday night )

So the battery is in exactly the same state as last time, and I know they didn't open the doors because the trim gets caught if you don't hold it a certain way and both were the way I left them... I think the guy is full of it... anywho, it wouldn't take a jump tonight so it's a new battery and new shop for me i guess

DENN_SHAH

iTrader: (1)

you may be surprised at what mechanics know about opening or closing doors on cars that have loose trim pieces or bad hinges.

he probably got in it the same way i do, tried keys from other cars at the shop.
there at at least a half a dozen customers with older fords who come to the shop i work at that have cars or trucks i can unlock with my truck keys, i can start a lot of those too.
i have used the door key for my Monte Carlo or Regal quite a few times to unlock doors on GM cars.
a couple of months back one my customers had lost his car keys, i knew i had keys that would work better than his did, so i used the door key from my Regal & the ignition key from my Monte to get a new set cut for him. it saved him a chunk of money, he didn't even need to get the car towed in.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

I know that I could get into your car, start it, and drive away in under 2 minutes, WITHOUT keys, not that I would do anything like that.

rosco88ta

iTrader: (3)

Ok, you already stated you have a bad alternator and the battery won't hold a charge, so why don't you put a new alternator and battery in it and be done with it? Instead of being a little **** about it do something about it!!!!!!!!!

89RS_82Z

iTrader: (2)

Air_Adam

99% of mechanical and body shops will have a Slim-Jim set, and theres always someone there who knows how to use it. I was that guy at my last job. They have that set there exactly for situations like this... keys are MIA, locked in the car, etc etc.

Just food for thought.

BluFBdy

iTrader: (1)

heres something else to think of, cant you just ask him if he popped the doors? Since they were locked and all, i doubt he'd lie about it, if he did, then he could have tested the battery, if he says no, then he didnt and he lied to you. End Of Story.

meiklejohn86

Yah sure, I'll just do a bunch of work in their parking lot... great idea.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

Its less than a 30 minute job to install BOTH.

rosco88ta

iTrader: (3)

Whats up with tha Blah? The guy has probably wasted enough of the mechanics time and has already figured out there's no money to made off of him so he's lost interest in the whole deal. Don't blame the mechanic he's there to make money not waste time so take your blah and shove it!!!!

meiklejohn86

Actually partner, this fellow has made too much off me for my busted throttle and leaky rad...

89RsPower!

i'm confused, if you know whats wrong with the car why didn't you just havem fix it while it was there? Why did you take it there in the first place and not leave the keys?

BluFBdy

iTrader: (1)

heres a new idea, how about you stop talking and let him make his own decisions? Alot mechanics are rip offs and its hard to find an honest one. Why should meiklejohn86 put up with his crap? If that idiot of a mechanic is just in it to make a quick buck he should find a different line of work.

meiklejohn86

Long story short I took it there for other problems, and it developed problems while it was there. I get a smoking good deal on parts (cost) from somewhere, and I can do some work myself. So the cost of tow plus parts is still way cheaper than having them do an alternator