Scorned client continues his daily vigil Scorned client continues his daily vigil (July 30, 2004)

His picketing is helping business, says auto body shop

By David Herbert

Look up "persistent" in the dictionary and you might find a picture of Harold Turner.

Turner is not the first person to feel swindled by a mechanic. But what's different about this Mountain View resident is that he is taking it to the streets. For the past four weeks, Turner has sat outside Fortes Auto Body on Villa Street, usually Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., with various picket signs. His most recent reads, "Guess who ripped me off?"

"They sold me a part I didn't need," he said, referring to the water pump housing for his Cadillac El Dorado, which cost him more than $400. Turner is not contesting another $400 in charges to replace the water pump, which he said he needed.

Suspecting the pump housing was not cracked as Fortes mechanics claimed, Turner took the old part to Tadlock's Auto Supply in East Palo Alto, which found after numerous tests no reason for its replacement.

"If it were my personal vehicle, I would not have replaced the part," said Tadlock mechanic Larry Aceves.

Turner, who works for Tyco International, tried bringing in a mediator to resolve the situation with Fortes, and after both parties failed to reach a compromise, he took the auto body shop to small claims court. The judge ruled against him, but Turner isn't going to let the issue end there -- he wants his $400 back.

"If you give me my money, I'm gone," he said. "If not, I'll stay here until it's raining, and when it stops raining, I'll come back out."

Mike Fortes, general manager of Fortes Auto Body, dismissed Turner as unreasonable, maintaining that the water pump housing needed to be replaced. He also noted that the garage didn't charge him for labor when it installed the housing, (the car was initially in the shop for a broken water pump, which was replaced) and that Fortes Auto Body paid for a rental car for Turner while repairs were being made.

And as to whether Turner's daily picketing is hurting business, Fortes receptionist Marlo Tremont has found the exact opposite.

"It's helping business. People come in and ask, 'What's that sign about? Do you do oil changes?'" she said.

But Turner also said that Fortes Auto Body is starting to make the fight personal. There were two tow trucks parked several yards away from his post on Monday, their engines left running, he claimed, in an attempt to discourage him with noise and air pollution. Mike Fortes said that they need to leave the trucks running as part of their servicing and that neighbors protested their previous placement in the back of the lot. Turner is undeterred but now wears earplugs.

He said, however, that he won't be disappointed if he never gets his money back. "If they don't give me my money, at least people will be aware and get their cars fixed right."

E-mail David Herbert at dherbert@mv-voice.com

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