I only fix small-time stuff (some electrical, exhaust, fans). I just had my master cylinder, booster, and the front flex lines replaced on my '89 civic station wagon that I love (always starts, runs great, 97,000 mi) by a local small shop.
They waited to call me until the end of the day. They tell me my car needs a "tuneup", that it is missing but is better after it warms up. This was news to me.
Pulling out of the shop, seemed like the idle was set high and it was driving funny. Harder to get it moving forward. Clutch seemed somehow different.
Damn if it doesn't break down within 5 or 6 blocks. It dies, blocking the road. A cop comes by, we think of getting it moved off the road. It starts, I have him follow me. It's running bad. I'm going down a hill and depress the clutch to take some of the strain of the engine and it is not rolling like a normal car would. It dies again on a boullevard, a tow truck conveniently pulls up to my left and he pulls me the block into their parking lot. Of course, they've cleared out. The engine is hot, antifreeze is leaking out.
I show up in the am before they get there. They say they'll fix it like it was.
What's wrong? The radiator is cracked just above the integral support bracket for the air intake, one of the spark plugs is covered in oil, and the booster they just stuck in is not releasing so the brakes are locked up.
They are trying to tell me these things "just happen" and they "just happened" at the wrong time.
I suspect someone leaned on the air intake and cracked the radiator. They are telling me that over the years it just kinda "cracks on its own" due to "vibrations".
Re the oil leak, they are telling me that my car that was running fine has old seals and they "just fail at any time".
As for noticing the locked brakes, two different people drove it and never noticed anything was wrong with the car. I could tell it was driving poorly and there had to be some kind of problem. After they replace the radiator, discover the reason they're having problems getting it running is oil in a cylinder but finally get it going, I ride in the car with one of the guys. He says how it is working great and drives fine. I tell him to let it roll down a slight hill. EXCEPT IT DOESN'T. Moves slowly but nowhere like it should in neutral. By the way, this guy tells me they design brakes to drag -- that it's a "safety feature" and the back brakes are always dragging. Right.
Anyway, they put it on the lift and all the brakes are locked up.
They needed ME to tell them this??? They claim the new booster is not releasing and is defective. I don't know if they installed it wrong or not.
They insist that old age and happenstance caused the seals to fail and the radiator to spew antifreeze (by the way, the antifreeze sprays onto the distributor which they replaced two months previously).
They stick to their guns that I should pay for this stuff that they are only responsible for the brakes and failed booster. That they DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE WEREN'T WORKING.
So, from where I am, none of this would have happened if they had not somehow cracked the radiator (pic:
http://www.guinealynx.info/photos/radiator3.jpg ) and installed a faulty booster, not even noticing that it wasn't working right, so my car is under heavy load and likely overheats (it was 98 degrees on this day in Virginia). I leave their shop under the impression things are fixed, tested, the car needs new wires and plugs, and in less than a mile, it breaks down.
So, being a primitive being with a rudimentary knowledge of cars (and having fixed simple things only), maybe I have mistaken expectations of what is reasonable to expect them to do. What do you all think?
The owner was on vacation. He'll be back tomorrow, when the new booster should be in.
What should I expect them to do?