I just can't believe these positive reviews on here are for real. The majority of them smell pretty fake.
Dave Mays... from this smooth talker you can expect dealership prices. I was considering buying a 1993 van from a nice older couple but when I test drove it, it had some issues. So I told the couple I'd like to take it to a mechanic. They chose their long time friend, Dave Mays. They gave him a call and "luckily" he had time right then to see the van.
The first thing he did was a stand in front of me going through his records of past work on it. Then said he wouldn't have time to look at it that day and that it would be a $200 dollar fee.
I felt bad that I had caused the couple to have to drive there and leave the van so I decided to get his opinion on how much I'd be spending. So he took a quick look and said about $1500 but no more than $2000.
So I agreed to pay $2,700 for the van (that supposedly had only 80k on the motor but who knows because the ford econoline for that year doesn't display the 100,000 spot.) I gave the seller the money and left the van with Dave Mays.
A week later he calls me and says it's almost done, he just has to replace the real fuel filter which could be another $500. At that point, my bill was already up to $2,300... shooting right past that $2000 that he said it wouldn't go over, and it's not even done... another $500 had to be attached just for the part.
But he made it sound like he was getting me all fixed up. In his appraisal and all the work he did, and the huge amount he charged me, he gave me back the van but neglected to tell me that the shocks in the front are bad and that the steering wheel box is going out.
TaDAAAA! Final bill... $3,234. He took off $100 discount. I'm assuming that was to help offset the $115 charge for using a diagnostic tool?
(In my head, I always imagine him and the seller giving each other a high five. They worked nicely together.)
$115 dollars for diagnostics aught to tell you something right there.
I had a mechanic friend read it over and he said the jargon on the invoice was intended to make things look a lot more weighty than they actually were.
When he checked the brakes he SAID one or 2 of the bolts was stuck sideways and they had to drill it out... The charge? $230.54 labor, $8.50 for one wheel lug nut, and $12.93 for another wheel lug nut.
Things have changed but where I come from, when unexpected things like bent lug nuts pop up, you call the customer to let them know but more importantly, to give them the option to COME SEE FOR THEMSELVES! Because $230 bucks is a lot for something that may not even be true. When you don't know the mechanic, the mechanic should give you the chance to see they aren't trying to scam you.
But the very last straw is this... One of the things that didn't work right was that the air blew through the defrost vent only. When I picked up the vehicle, the air was on, and the front vent was working.
When I turned the vent off then turned it back on, it wouldn't work. I called him and he said I just had to toggle it between 'max vent' and regular vent and it'd come back on.
It didn't. So I called him and ask if there'd be more of a charge for that issue since it wasn't fixed and since he already charged me a total of $485.79 ($139.98 for Vacuum Reservoir and $345.81 for labor). His answer was that he wouldn't know until he looked at it.
I'm halfway thinking now that they knew it didn't work, they set the little lever under the port in the dash so that it was in front vent position when I turned the vehicle on so that it looked like they fixed it.
I didn't take it back and I will never take him another vehicle nor will I refrain from giving him a bad review whenever I talk to someone who mentioned they need their vehicle repaired.
I've talked to at least 3 mechanics that told me that I was taken for a ride. I had already figured that but there's nothing I can do at this point. Except let as many people as possible know that he will bleed you dry if he can. read more
