Bad Experience with Sheldon's Auto Repair in Manitou Springs

First, I know there's a "Vendor Reviews" sub forum, but since this is a local shop, I figure the Colorado subform is more appropriate.

I posted a sliver of this story in the Colorado Trading Post (link to post), and caught some attention. I'm following up here with the rest of the story so I don't derail that thread.

I went to Sheldon's Auto Repair in Manitou Springs to get new bushings put into my upper control arms. I had planned to do the bushings myself--I bought new Toyota bushings and removed the arms from my truck--but found that I couldn't get the old bushings out with the tools I had. Sheldon estimated $55-90 to remove the old bushings and press the new ones in, depending on how stubborn the bushings were. That was in line with another estimate I got, but Sheldon could get the work done sooner.

Sheldon ended up charging me $75. He returned the arms to me with some significant marring, gouging, and deformation. He didn't mention the damage, and I was in too much of a rush to notice it until later that evening.

I don't have any "before" pictures of the arms, but they were clean and in excellent condition. You can see the "after" pictures below.

I went back to the shop today (Monday; I picked the arms up on Friday) and told him I was unhappy with the condition of the arms. He insisted that they were fine, that the damage I was pointing at was "just paint", and that I was just trying to get a freebie.

He eventually offered to refund the $75, which I accepted.

I believe he should have replaced the arms, but he didn't see a problem with the work and he wasn't interested in keeping me as a customer, so it seemed like a waste of time to push for anything more than the refund.

 

That's not the same guy.

This Sheldon said he's been working as a mechanic for 20 years, and one of the Google reviews mention that he's worked at other shops in the area. This particular shop is new, though. I found very little info on it it apart from the Google reviews, which are overwhelmingly positive so far.

 

Dang, he did a number on those UCAs. Glad you at least got the $75 back. Where in Manitou is the shop?

 

that's some bush-league shit right there. Sorry for your loss.

 

It sucks that he didn't do a better job.

That said I'd touch up the paint, put em on the truck, and move on. I don't see any critical damage.

 

exactly..

Also, $75 seems like alot to refresh UCAs? couldnt you have bought OE replacements for the same cost?

 

I hear that, and I know plenty of others will agree with you. I don't want these under my truck whether they're safe or not. I found a set of take-offs from another TW member that I plan to pick up tomorrow.

If you're getting a pair of new Toyota UCAs for $75, please DM me your source... that's the price one of the local u-pick salvage yards would charge

The OE bushings alone cost me about $160 from the local dealer. New OE arms (pre-loaded with
new bushings) would be about $400. You could find them a bit cheaper depending on where you buy--I paid something like 7% sales tax here.

Moog/Delphi/AcDelco parts from RockAuto run about $70-$100/side before tax and shipping, but I wanted OE parts.

 

Yup, at the end of the day you gotta do what's best for you.

 

Those are lower control arm bushings--we're talking about upper control arms here.

I did the LCA before the UCA, and used the Whiteline bushings there. If Whiteline UCA bushings were available, I probably would have used them.

Based on the advice in Timmah's videos, I stuck with Toyota for the uppers. He said that the Whitelines are good for lowers and Toyotas are best for uppers. That seems like sound advice for a reliable/long-lasting setup that will spend most of its time on pavement. I also looked at Energy Suspension, but the install process sounds unpleasant and I saw mixed reviews for quality. I wasn't aware of the Sonoran Steel bushings until after I was well into this project (they look nice though). I didn't give much thought to the RockAuto/Autozone brands because I assume they're all lower quality than Toyota. I'm not an expert... just someone who's read things on the internet.

I did the LCA bushings at home using the bottle jack method. It worked well, and I was going to do the same for the uppers until I got them off the truck and realized my bottle jack was too large to fit inside the arms.

Anyway. I have new (used) upper control arms now, and I've extracted the good bushings from the damaged arms. That puts me back where I started--I need to get the old bushings out of the donor arms, get the new bushings installed, and then get everything back on my truck. I've located a shop press that I can use, so with enough luck I'll get that sorted out this weekend.

 

looks like just paint

didn't know these were going to be worn on a female celebrity's necklace at an awards show

not really

new arms can be had for $30 but you do what you want

 

Those are some pretty unprofessional results, but personally I'd be okay running those in my truck with some fresh paint. I haven't heard of fatigue cracking around the control arm bushings... at least not on second gens (?) Heck, I've put similar gashes into mine just trying to hammer and pry-bar them back into position on the truck.

I'm not suggesting this is a great outcome, just trying to cheer you up. At least you got the refund--as a first time customer you can't expect much more without going to court. If I took this job to a random shop in my area they'd probably charge $100 and tell me to pound sand if I didn't like it.

At least that's what I was telling myself when I decided to spend $100 on a press last year:

(Sorry the coupon's expired though.)

Now I can ruin my control arms from the comfort of my laundry room, plus I get a free workout with each load of laundry because I have to drag this gigantic useless press back and forth on the concrete depending on whether I need to open the washer or the dryer.

Wishing you better luck as you make your truck right.

 

it's almost as if they're thick heavy steel or iron parts put on a truck designed to go off road

 

It seems to me that this friend did not approach the repair very competently, otherwise, how to explain the dirt and damage? He is probably a good master, but perhaps in this area, he is not as strong as he thought or as you would like. You can contact another service to be told what the error is and evaluate the work of this wizard. In fact, structuring the work of a car repair shop is a difficult task, so such errors are obvious. For those who want to open a workshop, it is worth checking out the tips for starting a business to avoid such cases https://autoleap.com/blog/how-to-get-your-auto-repair-shop-aaa-approved/. This area is quite difficult for those who want to invest for the first time. However, it will be easier if you are familiar with car repair.

 

Nice first post