Wanted to share an experience I had with a customer and get your thoughts. A car was towed in because it wouldn’t start. The customer mentioned the starter had been making odd noises for a while, getting worse over time. When I tried starting the car, the starter made a horrible crunching sound—clearly, the starter was broken. The customer had already bought a rebuilt starter from a local auto parts store because it came with a lifetime warranty.
I quoted the labor cost based on a guide that estimated 2.5 hours to replace the starter. He agreed and signed the work order, which clearly stated there’s no warranty on customer-supplied parts. I replaced the starter, and everything worked fine. The customer was happy, paid, and left. For about two months, all seemed fine as I saw him drive by daily.
Then, I got a call from him saying the starter was acting up again—making strange noises and sometimes not cranking. I went to his house to check it out (since he lived nearby) and found the starter behaving erratically. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it made a crunching sound, and sometimes it just spun without engaging. I inspected the installation: bolts were tight, electrical connections were solid, and the battery was charged. I told him the rebuilt starter was likely faulty and advised him to contact the store where he bought it.
The store told him to return the defective starter for a replacement. The customer then asked me to replace it again, but I reminded him that since the part was his, labor wasn’t under warranty. He’d need to pay me for labor again. That’s when he got furious, yelled about how unfair it was, and accused me of being a bad person. After a few minutes of ranting, he hung up.
I haven’t heard from him since, and honestly, I hope I don’t. Would you have handled it differently?
Thanks for sharing this story! If you’re asking for advice, it might help others if you include the car’s make, model, year, mileage, and engine type. Just a tip for future posts!
Once someone starts yelling, I’m done. If it’s a phone call, I just hang up. I’m willing to have a calm conversation, but shouting gets them nowhere with me.
I would’ve cut the call short as soon as the yelling started. Customers need to understand it’s not the mechanic’s fault if their cheap part fails. If they want more work done, they need to pay up.
I had a friend who brought in his own radiator to save a few bucks. It failed three times. He paid labor each time without complaining, but it was a lesson for both of us. You went above and beyond by going to the guy’s house. That’s not standard at all.
You were completely in the right. The work order made it clear that customer-supplied parts carry no labor warranty. If he doesn’t remember signing it, that’s on him. Also, keeping other local shops informed about his behavior might save someone else some headaches.
This is why I always explain upfront: ‘I didn’t buy the car, I didn’t break the car, and I didn’t pick your part.’ Cheap parts are usually not worth the trouble.
Unless there’s something else causing the starter to fail, like an issue with the flywheel or electrical system, you’re not at fault. Some cars do take hours to replace a starter, so I don’t think you overcharged him at all.
It could still be the starter, but there might be another issue, like electrical resistance or a voltage drop. Either way, you’re not responsible for the part failing.
You did everything right. Maybe in the future, make it extra clear to the customer upfront that there’s no labor warranty on their parts. It might help avoid misunderstandings like this.
You were right to stick to your policy. The only thing I’d suggest is avoiding comments like ‘Do you work for free?’ It’s better to stay professional, even with difficult customers. And maybe tell them upfront about the no-warranty rule instead of relying on the fine print.