*update* Car makes strange noise after taking it in for repair...

[BigToque]

*Update*

I brought my car back to them to find out what was wrong. They took a look and say that my rear, driver side stabilizer link has seized and that's what's making the noise.

They looked at it for free and they don't do retail repairs, so they didn't just cause the problem (intentionally at least).

I'm taking the car to the dealership and this will be replaced for free because the car is still under warranty.

--------------------------------------------











I took my 2002 Saturn SC2 in for repair to get the rear bumper cover replaced (very minor incident where I backed into something going like 2mph).

When I took the car in, there was absolutely not even a hint of any noise fro m my car. When I got my car back, I had not even driven 5 feet before it made this awful noise that coming from the back that almost sounded like someone left a tool inside the bumper cover.

I went into the shop and told them of the problem, a guy came out and sat with me in the car and I drove another 5 feet so he could hear the noise himself. He right away said it sounded like my struts or strut mount (something like that) was broken.

My car was totally fine before I took it to them, and in the 1 week that they had the car, and had maybe put 1 mile on the ODO (maybe 5 if they took it to get it washed outside their collision center), my struts just happened to break? How could that just happen? I noticed it the second I started driving it, so whoever parked my car after the service would have noticed it as well, yet they didn't say anything to me.

:|

What am I supposed to do about this?

 

[iamwiz82]

It's easy to do since they were launching it off speed bumps.

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
It's easy to do since they were launching it off speed bumps.

What's a speed bump? (well, I know what a speed bump is, I'm just curious if you're talking about something different)

Do you think they caused the damage? Or did they just expose an already existing problem?

 

[BigToque]

bump

 

[NoMoMoney]

I've had that happen. If you can't prove it you are screwed. Take it to another repair shop and have them look at it. They'll be able to tell you if it is just a coincidence (they had started to go and them lifting and lowering your car was the final straw) or someone tool a wrench/hammer/something else to them.

How many miles are on the car? and do you drive in and out of a city or on bumpy roads a lot?

 

[Asharus]

American car dealerships FTL

 

[radioouman]

Who repaired it?

Not trying to play devil's advocate, but I took my truck in to get a shock bolt extracted. The removed it, but they also punch one of my CV boots at the same time. Honestly I don't know whether they did it on purpose because they were working near the boot, but it wasn't leaking before I took it in, and it was after I got it home.

On your car, it's very possible that they forgot to install the clips on the bottom of the bumper. Your bumper (cover) wraps around the bottom and if they didn't re-attach those clips, it could rattle. Did they only replace the plastic or did they replace anything else? If they had to replace any of the structural parts of the bumper, it's possible that they didn't bolt them back on properly.

However, I don't see why they would need to take a strut loose to replace that bumper cover.

 

[BD2003]

My GF took in her car to get her brakes replaced, and when she got it back, the AC wasnt working right. She never did take it back, and I googled around and found the problem - a detached hose in the engine bay created a vaccuum loss. The only reason they should have been in the engine bay for a brake job is to get to the master cylinder, and this hose was *nowhere near* the brake cylinder. It certainly didnt just come loose by coicidence, so I find it very hard to believe they didnt do it on purpose.

There are definitely sleazy mechanics out there that will break your stuff to create work for themselves.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: BigToque
He right away said it sounded like my struts or strut mount (something like that) was broken.

Based on what you're saying, no true diagnosis was done. You're going to need a definitive diagnosis. All he told you was what he thought it sounded like.

Find out what's wrong and go from there. Maybe you're right and they left a wrench in the car.

 

[BigToque]

*Update*

I brought my car back to them to find out what was wrong. They took a look and say that my rear, driver side stabilizer link has seized and that's what's making the noise.

They looked at it for free and they don't do retail repairs, so they didn't just cause the problem (intentionally at least).

I'm taking the car to the dealership and this will be replaced for free because the car is still under warranty.