text: I was a loyal customer for about two years when I got a used Toyota Rav that had a knocking sound I had two mechanics at different locations look at it The first thought it was the tensioner belt pulley in the engine It was not Then I took it to Autotech where the mechanic assessed that the knocking sound was a loose bearing in the alternator The checkout guy said it was not something I necessarily needed to replace but to think about it down the line His advice I then was preparing to go on a road trip and took it in for a tuneup Again concerned I asked about the knocking and he said the same thing SAME ADVICEand then he wrote on the invoice that I denied alternator service I did so based on his informed opinion I am not a mechanicnn At the end of our road trip miles outside of Vegas the car warning lights on the dash all came on the car lost power and fluid had leaked out causing smokesparks from hitting the exhaust The engine would not turn over This is what I was hoping to avoid by bringing it in a nd time for adviceservicenn I brought it in to Autotech again and they said the water pump failed the serpentine belt broke and the engine cylinder head warped I had to replace the engine They took no responsibility for the misdiagnosis They held onto the idea that the alternator had a loose bearing It did not And they tried to portray it as a separate issue that the water pump failed I was simply trying to find and fix the source of this knocking Somy engine was now dead because of a loose bearing in the water pumpnot the alternator These guys did a horrible job diagnosing handling my problemand I got screwednnI brought it to CARS on Valley View who kick ass and they said it was a misdiagnosis as it was a loose bearing in the water pump that caused itnThe new mechanics also said my alternator is fine My new engine and labor was well over