FTO AUSTRALIA

Daniel2019 wrote:Absolutely. 30km is quite a lot. Test drives typically shouldn't be more than a few kilometres depending on the problem. For an IDLE issue, car shouldn't have to have been driven around the block more than once, and around 1/4 tank in that amount of kilometres says the car has been thrashed quite hard, thats very high fuel consumption. No way 30km was needed, they have obviously taken your car for a bit of a cruise. We test drive around 2km at work typically. Shouldn't need more than around 5.

Edit: just don't forget to wipe off the kilometres you drove to get the car home.

yup, i did wipe the kms i took to drove home, it was at most 1km(takes me just 10mins to walk to the mechanic from my place). i was thinking one of the only possible explanation is that they drove it back to their place from another mechanic. because he briefly mentioned to me that he had trouble diagnosing the problem and is having it sent to another friend's place who was better equipped to handle these situations(hence the extra towing fee).

do you think he was crapping about that part as well?

As said $200 brand new part. That leaves $460 (minus mark up on the stepper) for one hour labor (some places charge minimum one hour). Auto elecs aren't THAT expensive

hm, so Mytek Auto called me back and referred me to the electricians that did the job (Auto-Fix) and again, they seem quite reliable based on the online reviews. but anyway, according to George from Mytek, he said that the electricians charged a lot as a lot of hours was spent diagnosing the issue and parts were expensive. he admitted that normally electricians can command a much higher price and that he as a mechanic only normally does oil changes or parts changes which is a lot cheaper. George said he has known the guy for 30 years and would frequently send cars over to his place instead when it comes to electrical issues.

Brand new part $200 (if they replaced it + $100 mark up) still leaves $330/hour.

Too expensive. Wouldn't go back.

Wait so your car died at the lights, cause the rpm was to low (i presume) and you didn't try and crank it again with a bit of accelerator pedal. Which im sure would of started if it was just the "stepper motor". This whole thing is to suss. And yes you got ripped off.

Also where did the lengthy test drive come from?

hm, yeah, you guys have a point...guess i should avoid him from now on. there is just too many discrepancies. i checked out the address of the place, it was at most 10km away between shops, so it doesnt explain the 20 extra kms on it and the quarter tank fuel missing. and i am not exactly keen on calling them as im pretty sure that the auto electricians would just bombard me with terminologies and come up with weird ass excuses that would throw me off.

so in the event that something like that happens again, what should i do? like, what address should i give the tow truck? back to my place?

No, you should ask here first & we'll tell you you what's wrong after doing some simple diagnosis. Then tell you where to get the part from for a reasonable price & how to install it. You got taken for a massive ride dude...

Familiarise yourself with this thread. You could have diagnosed your own problem (there is a specific error code for the idle control / stepper motor) in minutes...

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=14667

Oh & btw, I advise anyone buying a 20 year old car to whack up & pay the $90 bucks a year for NRMA / RACV / RACQ membership. 20 kays free towing is just the start of the benefits

oh man, now i feel like a complete idiot. i guess i panicked a little cause i stay in college, so i figured i didnt really have much of a place to work on my car so i just dumped it at my "regular" mechanic.

yupp, i do have Allianz road side assistance, was the cheapest one available. im just hoping i dont have to call them again

Don't worry about it.
Live and learn.

Yup, we may come across as nobs, but we can be helpful! Sometimes!

Yup.. like mentioned post up here first. Next time I'll put the stepper in for you