Service mechanic claims my Prius was involved in an accident

Carfax is only good if the body shop does their job and reports the repair. Did they show you the issue or just describe it? I would think the brains for the remote A/C are under the dash or somewhere in the interior?

 

No having seen the car or the part in question, I cannot determine whether the mechanic's claims or right or wrong.

The part could have been damaged on the "assembly line," of all of the parts attached laterappear to be factory perfect. This could and does happen. The quality control technician or operator could have passed it on as "adequate" or deid it to "save face" hoping that it might not be notice.

Then, again, not all fender benders are registered with Carfax or other data bases. The owner might have paid cash and had it fixed. The hood is aluminum, I guess, and required special tools to repair. That leads me to believe it might have been a "factory" job.

Agaim without examining it, myself, I cannot come to a valid conclusion.

 

I think in order for accidents to show up on carfax, the damage must cost above certain price. cleanliness of certain part doesn't mean it's been replaced. Previous owner could have buffed the hell out of that part to test out wax pr polish. Major body parts on the Prius have VIN numbers, check if they match. Wires don't go bad unless there's physical element that cause it to go bad like corrosion. If wires need to be replace, then it needs replacement wires, therefore it needs parts. I would only pay the money if the mechanic can show you the work involved. If something got unplugged, then I can see why the repair doesn't require any parts but then again, $300 for him to plug in a plug seem kind of steep.

 

Can you take it to another dealer for a 2d opinion and for the experts, would the first toyota dealer document this under the VIN so you can't get a 'clean' new estimate from a 2d dealer?

 

Maybe the previous owner lost a remote and got a remote with an AC option which the car did not come with that feature in the first place. Always get a second opinion from a different dealership.

 

does the a/c work fine and just the remote that's the problem?

 

Why? It all sounds very plausible. You don't know the car's history because you are not the original owner. It is possible that the prior owner had a minor incident and paid out of pocket for repairs, esp. if underneath his collision deductible.

I don't know of any mechanics that are particularly well-off. The reason that you are being charged $300 is that you don't have the expertise to fix it yourself. But, it is your choice to waste your time and that of others to get a second opinion because you are a cheapskate.

 

The vehicle "could be" in a accident or not. Every car dealership will have some kind of paint measuring device on premise that they use to tell if any type of paint work has been done on the car. The device isn't really that expensive and very portable.

 

Stati, can you post the dealer service history so we can see if something looks odd?

 

Please post a picture of the shinny metal and the specify the location of this part. We'll see if this particular has anything to do with the AC remote function.

 

It is cheap people like you who are pushing the good people like galaxee's husband out of the business. I personally have been on the fence as to whether to open a shop full time or go back to work in finance, and this story has definitely pushed me towards the latter. By shear luck, you happened to stumble upon an outstanding dealership tech, who told you exactly what had happened and gave you information worth far more than $300 in terms of this and future repairs, yet all you have done is put the chinga to him.

 

Looks like the headlight may have collided with a protruding object, like a steel pole or side of a flat bed truck, taking out the headlight and bracket behind it.That being said, I would guess all remote wiring is done under the dash/or firewall and not wired to the front of the car.

 

Look, seilerts, give the OP a break.

There's a ton of good mechanics out there. No problem with that.

There's also mechanics who shouldn't be touched with a ten foot pole. Or maybe that's OK, if one is swinging the pole.

This guy gets a pretty good story about what's wrong with his A/C, he doesn't know if the guy is on the level or not, so he asks for advice. He got it, and it looks likely the previous owner put the car into a pole.

Remember: Con men (not saying this mechanic is one, mind you) are successful because they >do< appear trustworthy and reliable. Especially when they're not. Heck, you say you work in the financial industry: There's plenty of good brokers and such out there. And there's that list of, what, ten or so people every week in the Wall Street Journal who're being thrown out of that industry on their ear by the SEC. And that's the ones who were caught. How long did Bernie Madoff go before he turned himself in?

Asking for advice when one isn't sure if the story is right or not is a good idea. I'm glad the guy came here. So, lighten up, hear?

KBeck.

 

If the bill was $300, the tech would have seen at most $100 of that. Knock $100 off, and now the tech is down to $66. The fact that a repair estimate was not given that would have involved replacing computers and wiring harness for thousands of dollars shows how unusually lucky the original poster was.

I am dead serious here, good guys are leaving the field because they don't get paid crap for diagnostic work, or repairs that don't involve new parts. Most people will not spend that much on actual repairs on their Prius over the life of the car, but when something happens, you definitely want an expert to fix it. If something goes wrong and it is only a few hundred bucks to fix it, be thankful that it was so cheap and quick, lest you find in a few years that the experts are nowhere to be found.

To be honest, I found the original poster's comment of mechanics living in mansions to be grossly insulting, and about the furthest thing from reality.

 

agreed. if there is something seriously wrong with my car, i want a great technician and am willing to pay for it. what gives the industry a bad name and makes people sceptical is when you want an oil and filter change, they try to hard sell you the 15,000 mile $400. 'lookover' service and then proceed to add too much oil. you find a good tech, you stick with him/her. most of us never need it with these cars.