Corolla '95 GLI A/T Tsikoteers pls help-Newbie here!

[nice&clean]

Hello people! At last, I finally managed to register in this
site, dati pa akong pabasa-basa sa mga threads (dati pwede
pang ma-view sa office ngayon hindi na)dito but due to some
reasons e.g. laziness I wasn't able to do so until now. Bago lang
po akong driver and I'm passionate to know everything about
cars - I even want to be a mechanic para ako na lang mag-ayos
ng car na ida-drive ko.

There's something bothering me this past few weeks na, I'm
driving a Corolla '95 GLI A/T and it's not mine, although I'm
partly responsible for it's maintenance. Acquired it last year as
2nd hand.

1.) I decided to avail an engine detailing in this shop near our area,
(I'm kinda hesitant to name the shop) because I want the
engine to be clean so I left it there for the whole day. When I came
back for it after at least 6-7 hours it was dawn already, may
problem daw - Ayaw mag-start. May nag-aasikaso naman, kaibigan ng
nag-manage ng detailing shop sabi he owns a motor shop too.

After at least 30 mins. finally nag-start din. Nagkaproblema daw sa
Distributor coil? nabasa siguro. Sabi pa tune-up ko na daw tapos he
said something about distributor oil (can't remember it clearly na) and
wala daw sa timing. So I said na sa shop ko na lang nya dalhin.

So far wala naman naging problem pag-drive ko at least 2 days then
I decided na nga na pumunta na sa shop nya. Iba ang nag-asikaso sa
akin. Sinabi ko un nangyari sa engine detailing ko. Then ginawa na
yung Timing, tapos palitan na nga din daw un spark plugs.

Then eto na: After ng konting paghihintay, biglang sinabi na kailangan
daw palitan yung distributor coil, worth 2,100. Kasi ayaw daw
magstart pinakita sakin. So mejo nagtaka ako. So wala akong magawa
sabi ko palitan na lang nga. In the end I thought gastos lang ako ng
at least 1k+ naging 3k+ iba pa yung labor sa kabit ng spark plugs
and yung labor sa iba pa.

:surrender: Q: Have I been ripped off? Mejo maliit na halaga lang naman kung
iisipin pero the chance na baka naisahan ako eh yun ang mahirap
kasi nakakainis yun di po ba. Tagal ko pang naghintay dahil may
lunch break yata at naghanap pa ng distributor coil. Di ko rin alam
kung bago pero sabi nila, bago daw.

I have nothing against the detailing shop. I'm kind of happy naman sa service nila kasi accomodating mga tao dun. And na-detect yung electrical
ng headlights ko as defective/dangerous kaya pinapalitan ko na.

2.) Baka meron po kayong pwedeng i-refer na mechanic na alam nyong
hindi magsasamantala sa mga rookie driver like me.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH SA INYO!
Sorry medyo mahaba po yung story ko. Madami
pa akong inquiries thank you po sa time ninyo!

[macsd]

you surely have been ripped off. una, dinala mo yung kotse without a problem for detailing. obviously, kung sino man ang nagdetail ng car mo, is not experience because not or hard starting ay common problem after engine detailing dahil nababasa ang coil and/or distributor.
kalokohan sira ang coil mo when u brought it the shop. sabi mo nga , ginamit for 2 days, walang problem kang binagit so it should be doing fine until you brought to the shop.

i suggest, huwag mo muna pagalaw kung kanino mang mekaniko ang kotse until meron ka ng nakilala na magaling at mapagkakatiwalaan. don;t even think of going back dun sa 2 shop na binangit mo, dahil surely pagsasamantalahan ka lang, knowing na wala ka pang alam sa kotse.

[nice&clean]

Thank you Boss MACSD!

Kaya gusto kong mag-aral na lang din kahit basic
car maintenance para maiwasan yung mga ganitong
insidente.

An honest mechanic is scarce nowadays...

[v6dreamer]

WTF, kinatay ka doon ah! Magpadetail ka kaya muli, siguro next time na sasabihin palitan yong dalawang piston.

[nice&clean]

I'm thinking of a conspiracy din actually,
kasi friends sila. Parang barbershop tapos gugupitan
ka ng masagwa tapos may kaibigan yung barbero na
nagtitinda naman ng sumbrero. So bili ka.

Well that's life.

Thanks V6dreamer!

[1D4LV]

in the first place, they should have not used water when detailing. degreaser lang dapat.

[macsd]

Thank you Boss MACSD!

Kaya gusto kong mag-aral na lang din kahit basic
car maintenance para maiwasan yung mga ganitong
insidente.

An honest mechanic is scarce nowadays...

studying automotive ain't bad if you have time & interest. but then again for those beginners, this is one reason why TSIKOT exist, so you can get help & idea. I suggest next time you have a problem, post ka muna so that you can get an idea on what need to be fixed before going sa shop. Sometimes you can get some recommmended good shops if you ask and specify your location.
good luck

[voltscastillo]

baka naman nagkataon lang talaga... the engine wash just aggravated an already existing problem. it's a 10+ year old car, bought 2nd hand pa... it will have its share of headache inducing faults for sure.

but the conspiracy angle is not to be discounted din naman. if i were you i'd let it go and chalk it up to experience na lang. it happens. even the most experienced, maintenance freak guys do get taken for a ride from time to time kaya don't feel so bad about it.

one thing i've learned though, is that it isn't practical to just go shopping around for a mechanic on your own. it's so much better to just ask for garage referrals in this forum, than to trust unproven mechanics. aba, hindi biro ang 3,000+ repair job bill ha. medyo matagal nako nagpapagawa ng mga cars ng familya at hanggang ngayon di ako magpapagawa ng kotse kung hindi ko kilala kung sino gagawa or kung walang feedback from others who've tried the service offered. it's much much cheaper that way, kesa suddenly getting up in the morning and deciding to have the aircon fixed dun sa medyo dubious aircon repair guy sa tabi ng daan.

when techs start working on your car, watch and remember how they put the whole thing back together. incredible how much you'll learn just by watching.

[nice&clean]

Wow I'm overwhelmed sa mga replies. Ganito pala dito.
Thank you sa mga replies!

Yes I've let it go matagal na charged to experienced na nga lang.
I'm just itching to post that para malaman din yung comment
ng mga tsikoteers. Hindi kasi ako mapalagay eh

Area ko po is Sta. Mesa. Maraming auto shops sa area lalo na sa Araneta
pero wala pang ni-refer sa akin. Meron po ba kayong REFERRALS?

Sa Banawe pa lang po ako nagpapagawa kasi refer ng officemate ko.

This is not the right thread but andito na lang din po ako
ask ko na po sa inyo about my BRAKES. Repost ko na lang po sa tamang
thread or search na lang ako :

1. Pinapalitan ba yung Brakes sa 2 rear wheels?
(brake drums ba tawag dun)
2. How about sa 2 front wheels? may naririnig na kasi akong matining
na sound pag nagb-brake ako.


THANKS TO ---- > 1D4LV, macsd, voltscastillo

[voltscastillo]

Wow I'm overwhelmed sa mga replies. Ganito pala dito.
Thank you sa mga replies!

This is not the right thread but andito na lang din po ako
ask ko na po sa inyo about my BRAKES. Repost ko na lang po sa tamang
thread or search na lang ako :

1. Pinapalitan ba yung Brakes sa 2 rear wheels?
(brake drums ba tawag dun)
2. How about sa 2 front wheels? may naririnig na kasi akong matining
na sound pag nagb-brake ako.


THANKS TO ---- > 1D4LV, macsd, voltscastillo

1. they're called brake shoes. sa front they're called brake pads. yes pinapalitan ang shoes, pero matagal...makaka tatlong palit ka na ng pads bago palitan ang shoes. pero since old na yung car, i guess its better na palitan na lang. bendix makes great brake pads, i'm sure they have shoes din.

2. you may need new brake pads, at depende sa condition ng discs (rotors), you may need to have them resurfaced.