Janko Import Cars Repair & Sale

My vehicle was brought in JANKO IMPORT CAR REPAIR INC. (9912 Capital BLVD WAKE Forest NC XXXXX) for repairs.1. Air-condition needed repairing. Wasn't cooling properly.2. Front-end alinement. Front two tiers where worn completely. [redacted] (The owner of Janko Import Car Repair Inc.) called me and told me that I would have to replace the two front tiers before he could do an alinement on my vehicle, he also told me that I would need to replace the left front tie rod. I told him to go ahead and purchase the tie-rod and the two new tiers so that the front end alinement would be done correctly. He said ok. Janko Imports also told me that they couldn't find any leaks anywhere in the air-conditioning system. So they proceeded to charge the system. I [redacted], [redacted] went to retrieve my vehicle from Janko on 6/13/2015 at 8:18 am. [redacted] told me that everything was ok and my vehicle was ready for pick-up.The total amount for Janko servicing my 1996 sl500 was $600.00 per [redacted]. That amount was paid in full with my visa debit card, then I left the premises. On that same day (6-13-2015) after parking in my drive way, I realized that the driver side center cap was missing off of the wheel. I was not informed that there was a problem with the front center caps. I proceeded to call Janko, the call was made at 12:23 pm. I was told by the mechanic that they tried to glue both center caps back on the car and that they had broken some of the clips off the center caps. At that time I was also instructed by the mechanic on the phone to go ahead and remove the passenger side center cap (right) because that center cap will come off as well. The mechanic told me that he would let [redacted] know and they will go ahead and order some new center caps.A couple days later I called Janko. His wife, who is the office manager told me that the new center caps was there and that I could come by to pick them up.On 6-18-2015, my air-condition in my 1996 sl500 that was repaired by Janko Import Car Repair Inc. stopped working properly, the system was putting out hot air again. I called Janko and he said for me to bring the vehicle back to his shop on 6-19-2015. I arrived at his shop, [redacted] ask me to put my car in bay #2 and for me to wait in the waiting room. After about 35 min. He said that he couldn't find any problems underneath the hood but there were problems underneath the dash compartment. The cost to repair that problem would cost me an additional $2500.00. [redacted] told me that I would have to pay for the services that he performed today along with the purchase of the center caps. The wheel center caps that they had purchased was the wrong center caps. At the end of our conversation [redacted] mentioned to me that he didn't have time to work on my vehicle, he had other vehicles to work on and that he isn't going to pay for something that I ([redacted], [redacted] had broken. At this time I feel betrayed used and taken advantage of. Services wasn't rendered. (A. My air-conditioning system isn't working and that's what I paid to have fixed. (B) My center caps are broken and one is missing. Will someone please contact me at their earliest convenience concerning this mater. [redacted], [redacted](XXX) XXX-XXXXDesired SettlementMy air-conditioning system isn't working and that's what I paid to have fixed. (B) My center caps are broken and one is missing.Business Response /[redacted]/Contact Name and Title: [redacted] OwnerContact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXXContact Email: [redacted]@gmail.comWe have attached a copy of the customers repair order. We charged $60.00 to perform an A/C system test, pressure and leak test. The leak test was performed by putting a vacuum on the system. No leak was found under Vacuum, therefore we must charge the system with freon to discover any further leak on the low pressure side of the system. We also added 8oz of dye at no charge. (should have been an additional $60). Dye is used to find leaks visually. Mercedes A/c System requires freon to turn on. 2 lbs of freon were added and charged to the customer for $48.00. After performing this test we concluded that the A/c system functions properly and cools, HOWEVER there is a leak at the evaporator core, which is inside the dashboard and requires further work to replace. The smell of freon gas was emitting from the blower vents. Evaporator core is under low pressure and if the leak is here it takes longer for the gas to escape, that is why the customers car functioned for the 5 days that he had it. This was all explained to the customer and we informed him to fix the leak would require removing the dashboard and replacing the evaporator core. The price on this job ranges from $2,000- $2,500. customer declined work at this time. I have also attached a copy of the manufactures recommended labor times and parts prices. Janko Import cars labor rate is $80 an hour, again we were only charging this customer $60 an hour. Customer stated he cannot afford the $2,000 to repair the air conditioning system at this time. Only $108 dollars was charged in total for the a/c system test diagnostics and for the 2 lbs of freon gas. The car was brought in for an alignment as well. Front tires were worn down to completely bald with no tread remaining. Our attachments for alignment require tire treads to hold onto the wheel. We informed the customer of this and he approved the purchase of two front tires. 2 tires were sold to the customer at $217.80 for both and labor of $40 for mounting and balance. While working on the car, preparing it for alignment, the mechanic noticed the tie rod was broken on the drivers side AND the tie rod on the passengers side was installed incorrectly previously by someone else. The mechanic had to remove the right side tie rod to correct the problem and the customer was not charged for this procedure. A new driver side tie rod was replaced per customers approval. And the alignment was carried out successfully. The complaint is on the missing center cap from the wheel. Center caps must be removed from all wheels to balance and mount them. This car is 20 years old and plastic deteriorates over time. When the center caps were removed they both fell apart and were not reusable. The mechanic recommended to glue them back in or to replace them. These wheels are chrome and possibly aftermarket. At Janko Import cars we perform work on many wheels of the custom and race variety. Using glue to hold a cosmetic piece in place is common procedure. In Conclusion the glue did not hold and the cap fell out. The customer called us and informed us that 1 center cap was missing and he still had the other one. We told him that was not a problem and that we could provide him with a new one. which we did. We gave him 2 replacements, again at no charge, and these caps cost us $40. The first caps were ordered from OEM Mercedes which were grey not chrome. we had to return these and we were able to source 2 chrome center caps that matched his set. The customer was here on 6/27/15 to pick up the center caps at no charge.Yes [redacted] said we should charge him for the center caps, and yes we told the customer we should charge him for any further diagnostic on the air conditioning system. Which the customer refused to pay. Therefore we let him go to prevent any further complaints. Consumer Response /[redacted]/On June 24, 2015 I [redacted], [redacted] received from [redacted] owner of Janko Import Car Repair & Sales Inc. a set of center caps to replace the center caps that was broken during repairs made to my 1996 sl500 Mersedes Benzs. Taking under consideration that efforts were made by [redacted] to rectify the problem I am satisfied. Final Consumer Response /[redacted]/