Basically I have a BMW 4 series that recently broke down. I had it towed to the mechanics were they were happy to work on it, just for clarification the issue is that whenever I attempt to start the car it fails, I left my car with and came back a couple days later to find they had replaced my alternator, the car was turned on when I arrived and I took it home once I turned it off I found it still had the same issue It wouldn’t start I had already paid and was told that it was an issue with my battery losing charge after driving, before I got home I drove it for 30 minutes, I phoned back were they claimed my battery must’ve completely gone flat I got my battery and new alternator test and found that both where completely fine yet the problem persisted, after bringing my car back to the mechanics they are now claiming it to me an issue with my starter ignition, which leads me to think why have I paid for a new alternator when questioned on this the mechanics claimed it was also broken, which I do not believe and makes me unwilling to pay anymore, my car has a start stop ignition and I’m unsure how to advance with this if it is my ignition that is the problem I can’t see why my alternator was concluded to be the issue when I paid for them to take time to find the issue any ideas ?
I don’t think they’re trying to scam you, it just seems like they genuinely don’t know what they’re doing. You need a new mechanic
its unlikely youre being scammed, and that being the first thought you jump to makes you seem like a total ass. cars dont tell you whats wrong with them, even engine light codes are only giving symptoms, like going to the doctor with a stomach ache. there are a lot of things that can cause a stomach ache. one of the first things to check in your scenario is the alternator, and if the voltage readings while running werent 14.5ish, that signifies a problem with it, and needs to be replaced. like if you told your doctor you ate spoiled food out of the trash can yesterday, he would reasonably conclude that was why you had a stomach ache. then when you go back a week later and say you still have a stomach ache, he would then do further tests. same thing, he found a problem, believed that to be the cause of your issue, because a bad alternator can absolutely cause the problem you described. now you have the same issue so they had to do more diagnostics to see what else was going on. stop assuming mechanics are scamming you
If they cant figure out if its a starter problem vs alternator problem, they shouldnt be working on it
Being that, u said it has trouble starting, can u give us more details about it?
Like do the dash lights come on, do you hear any specific noises, are u able to jump it? How long did u drive it for when u got it back?