Has anybody else experiences with the 'new' BAKER'S AUTO (old LINCOLNs) in Putnam, CT?
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Hello everybody (pardon my English, but I am a native German)!
Sorry for the lenghty note, but I am trying to be precise and
consistent with facts and chronological events. So bear with me if you
can.. I really would likle to hear your feedback!
I am asking any car enthusiast, esp. LINCOLN 'classic car' owners or
recent customers of Baker's Auto to comment on the attached bill from
Baker's Auto, Putnam CT (now run by a Steven Ouellette, 'SRO Inc.').
The bill is, IMHO, full of inconsistencies, double, undefined,
unneccesary work and appears to be a hoax. Plus it exceeded the
agreed upon amount by 30%.
Before I go further and inform the Attorney General of CT and the
local BBB, I'd like to get as much public opinion as possible to see
whether I am dreaming this up!
Recently (Aug-17) I brought my aging 1975 Lincoln Mk IV to a shop in
Putnam CT, that specializes in the repair/restoration of old
Lincolns. I have used their service before, but I was unaware that
the ownership had changed ~ 2 years ago (the place still runs under
the old business name).
When dropping the car off I asked to look into and (if possible) fix
three issues:
1. car does not start very well when cold/sitting for more than 2 days
2. engine runs rough at idle and during rides
3. under rare but specific conditions the car bruns oil in the right
cyl. bank (hot engine, full stop followed by a LEFT turn; weird but
true!)
We agreed that expensive work is to be done only after confirmation
over phone.
Indeed Steven called two days later (Aug-19) and explained:
1. and 2. are caused by a bad Holley carb, can't be fixed, needs a
full replacement
3. is caused by a 'tired' engine, with excessive blowby, major
overhaul needed
Based on these findings I agreed to attack 1. and 2. only, by
installing a 'rebuilt' (off the shelf) carb for $332, plus an
estimated 2 hours of work ($44/hr).
When I picked up the car, I was presented the attached bill, exceeding
the expected range by 30%
In addition the shop:
- installed a used carb from another car, that needed additional hours
of repair and several hours of 'adjustment'; in total I was charged
NINE hours of work for the single agreed upon task
- even charged for the deinstallation of that same used carb from a
salvaged car
- did a compression test, another (2.) ignition and timing test one
week AFTER we agreed on fixing only the carb (problem 1. and 2.)
- found, cleaned AND THEN REPLACED (the cleaned?) a fouled spark plug
a day after doing the unwanted compression test, for another $56,
again woring on the already declared 'tired' engine
- somehow managed to reduce the content of my gas tank by 8-10
gallons, while doing 'road testing' for less than 20 miles according
to my trip meter.
When confronting the owner of the shop with the discrepancies, he
cheerfully offered to "put the old carb back" if I wished.
What do you think? Comments, ideas, suggestions are highly
appreciated.
Please respond to wal...@gis.net - thank you very much!
Attachment: Questionable car repair bill from Baker's Auto, Putnam, CT
**** PRICE QUOTE **** PAGE: 1
BAKER'S AUTO REPAIR ORDER: 0040051
196 PROVIDENCE PIKE ORDER DATE: 08/18/99
PUTNAM CT 06260 WRITTEN BY: STEVEN OULLETTE
CUSTOMER #: WALT75M
VEHICLE: 1975 MARK IV
TELEPHONE:
BILLING:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEM CONSUMED UNIT PRICE TOTAL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8/18 LABOR - BRIAN W. 3.37 HOUR 44.00 148.28
CHECKED ROUGH RUNNING CONDITION. TIMING AND TIMING CHAIN AND
GEARS OK. BLOCKED ENGINE VAC PORTS
AND ATTEMPTED TO ADJUST IDLE-SCREWS CORRECTLY = CANNOT.
PROBLEMS ARE INTERNAL TO THIS REPLACEMENT
HOLLEY CARB. RECOMMENDED REPLACING WITH REBUILT ORIGINAL FORD
UNIT. REPLACED CRACKED FUEL HOSE TO CARB
REMOVED BOTH VALVE COVERS TO CONFIRM OIL PASSAGES NOT CLOGGED.
MOTOR HAS EXCESSIVE BLOWBY.
GASKET, VALVE COVER 1.00 EACH 19.95 19.95
HOSE-FUEL 3/8 0.50 FEET 1.30 0 .65
8/26 LABOR - BRIAN W. 5.14 HOUR 44.00 226.16
REMOVED CARB FROM RUNNING PARTS CARD AND INSTALLED ON
THIS ENGINE, CHECKED COMPRESSION.
GASKET, CARB 460 2.00 EACH 4.95 9.90
GOOD USED CARB 1.00 EACh 125.0 125.00
8/27 LABOR - BRIAN W. 3.08 HOUR 4.00 135.52
REPLACED ACCELERATOR PUMP WITHIN CARB AND PUT ON SCOPE TO
CHECK IGNITION, TIMING ETC. FOUND #1 PLUG FOULED. CLEANED AND
REPLACED SAME.
8/31 LABOR - BRIAN W. 1.29 HOUR 44.00 55.76
MADE FINAL ADJUSTMETNS TO CARB AND ROAD TESTED.
---------------
NET ORDER:
722.22
SALES TAX:
43.33
---------------
ORDER TOTAL: 765.55
Joe
haven't done anything all that useful.
In article <3802a71f...@news.gis.net>, mw21...@hotmail.com (Shaved
and Uncut) wrote:
--
Joe
