“Since you fixed my car”… GW readers recall hilarious customer anecdotes

Difficult customers: can you beat these...?

“Since you fixed my car”… GW readers recall hilarious customer anecdotes
The number of vehicle owners attempting to repair their own car is on the rise but many end up paying for a garage to fix their mistakes. Image: Bigstock.

You know the ones – those that tell you how to fix a fault or why a job you’d previously completed have stopped the windscreen wipers from working and how they can buy parts way cheaper on eBay.

Every trade has difficult customers and independent garages get their fair share, which is why GW is embracing a friendly smile and advising motorists that repairs are best left to the experts.

You wouldn’t be in business without them and you’d prefer that you only dealt loyal customer’s keen to stay on top of their vehicle’s service schedule.

For most though, that’s not the case.

Recalling some of the best customer anecdotes on the GW Facebook page, Paul Robbie said: “Since you customers are the best.

“I once fitted a set of brake pads to a Nova and the car came back two days later with a ‘since you fitted the brakes the radio has stopped getting Radio 2’.

“His wife had retuned to Radio 1 as she had collected the car from us after the brakes were done.”

Steve Phennah commented: “We had a great one the other day – ‘you know when you did my service, did you change all the filters?

‘Because the light is on saying I need to change my DPF and I thought you would have changed it for me?'”

GW readers share their best “Since you’s…”

  • Since you fitted my tyres my pads have worn down.
  • You tested my car last month and now the headlamp isn’t working.
  • I don’t want you to fix the air bag system just turn the light off.
  • Since you did my wipers my Bluetooth doesn’t work.
  • Now that I have had my MOT the car will be OK for the next 12 months.
  • Since you did my service my oil isn’t black any more. Are you sure you put oil in. Its supposed to be black isn’t it?

Colin Field posted this disclaimer on the GW Facebook page.

As a safeguard, Colin Field suggests garage owners should introduce a polite disclaimer form in a bid to minimise “since you” claims.

Andy Dawson said he often gets the “can you just plug your computer in and tell me what the fault is please?

“It will only take a minute.”

Replying, Melanie Harris said: “That’s a favourite, using our expensive equipment and expertise and then they go and fix it themselves.”

Andy Dawson added: “The look on their faces when they have a go themselves and it doesn’t go to plan is priceless.”

Share your favourite customer anecdotes in the comments below.

12 Comments

  1. I read in a motor mag about a customer who’d complained that since having his car serviced he and his wife have been putting their lives at risk by driving at night with no lights on. It was then realised that the car had automatic / darkness sensing lights and the mechanic had simply turned off the automatic lights when checking the lights for operation, all the customer had to do was turn his / her lights back on to auto.

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  2. Since you have had my car in for service the tyres have worn out, even though the vehicle never left the premises !!

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  3. Upon being told a her car had failed its MoT and she needed 2 front tyres she replied “Well that’s strange they were alright last year”

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  4. “you’ve damaged the clutch on my car!!” since you’ve serviced my Meriva I keep crunching the gears….What are you going to do about it???!…..The tech then rechecked the car..perfect..All that was wrong was he had to move the seat back to get in the car! we moved the seat forward and her little legs could work the clutch again…..

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    • A solicitor, or accountant could have paid for a golfing holiday on what he charged for stupidity like that, us mechanics just resolve the issue under a cloud of doubt and mistrust, its always our fault.

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  5. A garage local to me many years ago used to have sign in his reception area that read, “Can you just- from £10”

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  6. Yeah, in Yorkshire it’s an everyday phrase….
    ‘Since i brought my car in for the wipers changing last month, my rear tyre now keeps going flat…’
    ‘Since you MOT’d my car,my ashtray will now not open!’
    ‘You serviced my car 8 months ago, and now the red oil light stays on!’
    ‘Since you changed my headlight bulb, my center brake light doesn’t work anymore!’
    the list goes on……and on….. and on….. haha

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  7. We have theses all the time and we get fed up with it. We service a car and the owner drove 60 miles away and telephoned the garage with abusive language because his tyre went down. My husband told him that if he was a prophet he could have forewarned about the puncture.

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  8. Had one of these immediately after reading this article. Jinxed!

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  9. Having suffered lots of this type of complaint and accusations of damaging cars bodywork,syphoning petrol, and stealing c.d’s my revenge came the last couple of weeks before I retired. I was not abusive, threatening or unpleasent.I just told them how stupid they were and as if talking to a child explained how wrong they were and why. One chap even threatened to get me sacked!
    The best laugh was a regular who always moaned about the price, work done which he didnt need work which was not done which should have etc. He asked me why I wanted to retire. In a polite and friendly manner i told him it was because misserable gits like him kept complaining about nothing! His face was a picture

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  10. Once changed brake pads and disks for a customer. Came in a month later wanting to know where the insert for his rear/center console glove box was and demanding compensation. Got one off e bay for £4 to shut him up.

    Reply
  11. We were accused of stealing a tyre! Showed the cctv evidence of car from start to leaving garage to customer and she still wouldn’t believe it!! Morons.

    Reply

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