It might be difficult to get your money back. Was it Amex? They might be more willing to help but it really depends on the situation. It sounds like you want to do a charge back due to misdiagnoses with repairs that didn’t ultimately work. This could qualify under not receiving goods and services but technically those specific services you paid for were delivered albeit the wrong solution to your vehicle’s problem.

I think you need to go to the mechanic and tell them that it still isn’t fixed and that as you’ve already spent $2500 they need to provide a solution.

What is the car doing? THe engine light is on but what is happening with the car? Is it a misfire?

3/8 to 1/2 adaptor piece I have no idea what he means by this.
-half inch drive pneumatic impact wrench that’s adjustable I have no idea what this means or how to find one that’s adjustable. Which parts are adjustable?

First 3 are generic items you don’t really need to worry about brands.

Note: Anywhere you go to shop for these tools will have someone who can show you exactly what your bf is asking for, don’t be intimidated, these are basic tools.

Snap-on tools are my go-to, but I’ve got stuff from Harbor Freight just on convenience and price. Price difference on impact wrenches are $500+ from Snap-on vs $100 for Harbor Freight. I guess it depends on budget, but Home Depot and Lowes are also options, Matco, Mac Tools, etc.

The adapter piece is just 3/8 on one side going to 1/2 on the other. Just look for the section labeled sockets, extensions, adapters or any combination of those. Or just ask someone where they keep the socket adapters.

For the impact wrench, it’s just that…a 1/2" air impact wrench. The 1/2" is the size of the bit on the end, it allows it to fit into 1/2" sockets, and I’m assuming he wants a wrench that’s got adjustable speed.

Mechanical engineering is a an engineering degree and won’t really teach you automotive mechanics. It’s actually a good job to have, engineers make good money and some have good job security. If you’re in California there are great schools for that.

If you want to become an automotive mechanic and eventually open your own shop, I suggest community colleges that offer automotive programs. If you get an associate’s degree you can also take business classes that may relate to you opening up your own business. I did my associates but also transferred afterwards and finished my bachelor’s in business all while working at a dealership.

Can you clarify when you say they broke a spark plug and it’s stuck? Did the dealership do this? If so, they should fix it.

I’m not sure for Canada, I’m in California and we have something called the Bureau of Automotive Repair, which is where I’m licensed as a professional repair facility with the state even though I am concentrating mostly on the performance aftermarket.

Also, insurance. Since you’re a legitimate shop, you should get whatever Canada’s version of garagekeeper’s insurance is (there are a lot of people here who just open “shops” without any license or insurance or anything just because they work on their friend’s cars). I have this in addition to my business owner’s policy. It also covers fire or someone who might get hurt at my business, even fraud issues. I know someone who was in a car accident in a customer car and he had to pay out of pocket to replace it.

Also, check for used oil pickup or disposal, coolant too. You’ll need to comply with local laws depending on what kind of shop you have. If you’ll be having barrels on site you might have to be signed up with a government agency for compliance.

I’ll always advocate for education but you seem to be fine since you’re in the position to buy a shop. Check your local province or county or city to see if they might have requirements. Cities here in LA country normally require business licenses in addition to professional license, like my BAR license, but I know some local small businesses that have not filed for that and haven’t had issues.

My questions are why did the customer think the head gasket was blown and why does your brother say there’s nothing wrong with it? Did your brother fix anything or just check what the guy said? Was it overheating? The oil won’t necessarily tell you if the head gasket is blown. A blown gasket would caused by something so it’s curious that the customer thought this while your brother thinks nothing is wrong.

There are a few things that could’ve happened here after the full rebuild by the second guy. Did he deck the block? It’s possible the deck was warped and for some reason, not all people will deck the block when they bring it for machining.

Second, what oil did he use after rebuild? It should’ve been break in oil, any synthetic will not let the rings to seat and cause a rebuilt engine to smoke.

I guess start there and see what happens. But if it’s smoking because he used the wrong oil then the rings will never seat.

The only way it could be wrong is if they typed the VIN incorrectly, which is always possible. If you have aaa you can ask them or even call the DMV customer line and they can double check for you as well. I’ve never experienced that, but I guess it’s possible if it really is salvaged that they sold it to you with the old title.