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Anyone else get annoyed when this happens at the shop?

madoka

madoka

Diamond Member
I recently took a couple of my cars in for service. One for a leaking AC and the other to replace a bad fuel injector. Each time I took my car in with full tanks of gas and each time I found that the mechanics burned off about $40-50 worth of gas in idling the car for hours (there was no significant increase in the odometer). Was forced to get gas on the way home.

Has this happened much to others?
 
madoka said:
I recently took a couple of my cars in for service. One for a leaking AC and the other to replace a bad fuel injector. Each time I took my car in with full tanks of gas and each time I found that the mechanics burned off about $40-50 worth of gas in idling the car for hours (there was no significant increase in the odometer). Was forced to get gas on the way home.

Has this happened much to others?
Click to expand...

Engines only use about 1/2 gallon per hour at idle... At current gas prices you're effectively claiming that the mechanics had the car idling for 20+ hours.

I'm calling BS on this one.

ZV
 
When you bring your vehicle into a shop there are a few things that are fair game:
1) Anything in the glove box or console
2) Cigarettes, CD's, poker chips, or anything else laying around or under the seats
3) Spare change in cups, coin holders, or hidden
4) Anything in the trunk
5) Gasoline that can be excused by saying a test drive was necessary or extensive idling was necessary.

Any complaints will be dealt with by the handy sign of: Not Responsible for Theft, Please remove all valuables from your vehicle before service. (Yep, that should do it.)
 
RocksteadyDotNet said:
Yeah.. Burned off...

Burned off into a jerry can. :sneaky:
Click to expand...

Lol. My co-worker does this. Thank god the boss has no idea how much gas the trucks take.

My mechanic is right next door to my work and has the break contract with our company. Be dumb of him to screw me over that badly.
 
According to my scangauge2, my 2008 5.7L hemi burns just under 1/2 a gallon an hour at idle after it's warmed up. To burn off most of it's tank, you would need to idle it for approximately 40 hours straight.

My old company car has the GM 3.1L V6, and it only burns about 1/3 of a gallon an hour idling according to the scangauge2. So it would need about 45 hours of idling to nearly empty a full tank.
 
Raizinman said:
When you bring your vehicle into a shop there are a few things that are fair game:
1) Anything in the glove box or console
2) Cigarettes, CD's, poker chips, or anything else laying around or under the seats
3) Spare change in cups, coin holders, or hidden
4) Anything in the trunk
5) Gasoline that can be excused by saying a test drive was necessary or extensive idling was necessary.

Any complaints will be dealt with by the handy sign of: Not Responsible for Theft, Please remove all valuables from your vehicle before service. (Yep, that should do it.)
Click to expand...

many people must take their cars to the shittiest places

i leave everything in my car when it goes in, its always there when i get my car back, and im never missing gas
 
Anubis said:
many people must take their cars to the shittiest places

i leave everything in my car when it goes in, its always there when i get my car back, and im never missing gas
Click to expand...

Me too. I even take my cars to the sketchier appearing garage in town...
 
madoka said:
I recently took a couple of my cars in for service. One for a leaking AC and the other to replace a bad fuel injector. Each time I took my car in with full tanks of gas and each time I found that the mechanics burned off about $40-50 worth of gas in idling the car for hours (there was no significant increase in the odometer). Was forced to get gas on the way home.

Has this happened much to others?
Click to expand...
Your mechanics are assholes.

When I took my corolla in for transmission problems, the mechanic called me up and said he didn't understand what was wrong with it. I told him to take it on the highway and drive as hard as possible and watch for transmission slip. I get the car back with maybe 20 miles on it and the tank is still full :thumbsup:
 
A small piece of tape on the fuel cap or door would prove your point. They may claim they had to check the cap for security for the vapor recovery system, but they would know they got busted.
 
Anubis said:
many people must take their cars to the shittiest places

i leave everything in my car when it goes in, its always there when i get my car back, and im never missing gas
Click to expand...

I'm paranoid enough to pull my Valentine One before sending the car anywhere, but otherwise, everything stays. Even the GPS.
 
LTC8K6 said:
According to my scangauge2, my 2008 5.7L hemi burns just under 1/2 a gallon an hour at idle after it's warmed up. To burn off most of it's tank, you would need to idle it for approximately 40 hours straight.

My old company car has the GM 3.1L V6, and it only burns about 1/3 of a gallon an hour idling according to the scangauge2. So it would need about 45 hours of idling to nearly empty a full tank.
Click to expand...

1/2 to 1/3 is not the same ratio as 45 to 40. Math fail try again pls.

.5 / .3333 =1.5
40 x 1.5 = 60
 
I can't imagine why anyone would risk their business by allowing this to go on. I'd bring it up with the owner and if it happens again I'd simply find another mechanic.

And if the owner is in on it then he's a fucking dumbass.
 
ShawnD1 said:
Cars sometimes have big tanks. 1986 Pontiac Parisienne had a 24 gallon fuel tank.
Click to expand...

Some cars having large tanks has no bearing on whether the tanks of two unspecified cars are equally-sized. Your comment is true, but logically irrelevant.

ZV
 
Can't say I've had gas stolen from a repair shop. There also isn't anything in my car to take as I don't keep personal items in it, besides an umbrella and a sunshade.

I don't understand people who leave half their personal items in their car all the time.
 
OP's mechanics are siphoning gas from his tank, lol.

Next time partition out your gas tank so that it has two sections before you go in, have the top section internally separated from the bottom, which the fuel pump will use. Fill the top with stuff guaranteed to screw their cars over, like diesel or some such.

Yeah, it's a lot of effort. Alternatively you could put some indicator tab on your gas cap so that you can tell if it was opened and then ask the owner wtf he is doing.

BTW I've never had anything like this stolen. Truth be told I've often looked at change and even cash hanging around before dropping off the car, confident it wouldn't be removed and it's not. I've also done this trick at work to test the cleaning crew. So far they're honest 🙂
 
LTC8K6 said:
I'd be more than annoyed about theft of my fuel...
Click to expand...

this

Raizinman said:
When you bring your vehicle into a shop there are a few things that are fair game:
1) Anything in the glove box or console
2) Cigarettes, CD's, poker chips, or anything else laying around or under the seats
3) Spare change in cups, coin holders, or hidden
4) Anything in the trunk
5) Gasoline that can be excused by saying a test drive was necessary or extensive idling was necessary.

Any complaints will be dealt with by the handy sign of: Not Responsible for Theft, Please remove all valuables from your vehicle before service. (Yep, that should do it.)
Click to expand...

any shop that has stuff missing should restaff. my friend owns a good custom shop and had to fire a guy when a pair of ray-bans turned up missing out of an exotic they put a stereo in. if the customer had actually left the parking space before noticing it, it may have been a different story but the guy got caught dead to rights. there needs to be a certain amount of trust in the place you take your vehicle to.

JulesMaximus said:
I can't imagine why anyone would risk their business by allowing this to go on. I'd bring it up with the owner and if it happens again I'd simply find another mechanic.

And if the owner is in on it then he's a fucking dumbass.
Click to expand...

id do the same. if it seemed sketchy, id never go there again.
 
Doppel said:
BTW I've never had anything like this stolen. Truth be told I've often looked at change and even cash hanging around before dropping off the car, confident it wouldn't be removed and it's not. I've also done this trick at work to test the cleaning crew. So far they're honest 🙂
Click to expand...

i leave a $5 bill in the ashtray when i go through a car wash. if its still there when i pick up my truck, ill add a couple $1s to it and give it as a tip. if its not, ill let the lead guy know, and tell him to consider it the tip and never go there again. its only disappeared in 2 different car washes in the last 15 or so years.
 
Raizinman said:
When you bring your vehicle into a shop there are a few things that are fair game:
1) Anything in the glove box or console
2) Cigarettes, CD's, poker chips, or anything else laying around or under the seats
3) Spare change in cups, coin holders, or hidden
4) Anything in the trunk
5) Gasoline that can be excused by saying a test drive was necessary or extensive idling was necessary.

Any complaints will be dealt with by the handy sign of: Not Responsible for Theft, Please remove all valuables from your vehicle before service. (Yep, that should do it.)
Click to expand...

"Not responsible for theft" means if someone breaks into the car while it's on the lot, if an employee is stealing that's a different story and the shop would be responsible if caught.
 
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