Start "Start Mart" aka Schuckmans, & Checkered Flag, & Auto Zip rip-off artists *UPDATE Consumer Advocate Advise
I paid them to rebuild the starter in my wifes mini van. Six days later the starter failed leaving my wife and child stranded. Since I am a mechanic myself, I disassembled the starter and found that all of the internal components, brushes, the armature, etc are worn out. It appears that the only repairs made to the starter was a paint job.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
You will normally have better luck purchasing a new starter or grab one from a salvage yard for $20 or $30 bucks
#20
Tue, November 28, 2000
This email is a rebuttal to RipOff #3925.
It was sent by Robert Sokol at wangel@kansascity.com.
Start "Start Mart" aka Schuckmans, & Checkered Flag, & Auto Zip (#3925)
They filed the following "Consumer Advocate Advise" to the above Rip-Off Report:
Their email: wangel@kansascity.com
Their name: Robert Sokol
ADVISE:
Most garages/repair shops do not rebuild their own starters and
alternators. There are some starter/alternator rebuild shops that buy starters and alternators from salvage yards for $20 or $30 a piece, test and paint them and then sell them to garages. Normally they will warranty them for 1 year or less.
On the other hand, did you pay them to totally rebuild your starter or to repair it. They are not the same thing. To repair a starter, they would replace the failed component and then put it back together.
To properly rebuld a start can only be done with specialized equipment which repair shops do not have. Most tarter/alternator rebuild shops put as little as possible into a starter playing the odds that it will last past the warranty period.
You will normally have better luck purchasing a new
starter, or from a major rebuilder, or grab one from a salvage yard for $20 or $30 bucks. Starters today last much longer than they did from years ago.