Valley Auto Repair Center

Review: I took my vehicle in for a safety check on May 23, 2014. I asked them to please make sure our car was looked over thoroughly as my daughter and I were traveling to Texas. After leaving the shop I noticed they had added up my total wrong and was overcharged , I figured I would call when I was in Texas to let them know. On May 25th in Phoenix Az our car battery was completely dead our hotel had to jump start our car. Thinking we just had our car looked over we continued on, our battery died again in the middle of now where literally.We realized as well our car was smelling like rotten eggs, I looked it up and read that meant our battery was out of water and the smell was battery acid. This should of been noticed, exactly what I was trying to prevent from happening happened. My daughter and I stranded four hours, 7 miles from mexico border. I have called shop many times with no return call. I want a refund of $60.00Thank you,[redacted]Desired Settlement: $ 60.00 REFUND I do not trust them I doubt any work done at all

Business

Response:

We performed all services that were paid for. We did a general inspection and found nothing wrong. We tested the battery and it tested good. Anything that happened after the vehicle left the shop is out of our control.

Consumer

Response:

Hi this is [redacted] and I have attached documentation to support my case. Please forward this email to my case worker [redacted] as well. If you have any questions please contact me at 2[redacted]. Thank you for your help!

Review: The only reason I entered this establishment was because of the huge 29.99$ smog sign out front. after entering and talking to the gentlemen behind the counter I discovered there were more changes added on that were not listed out front. This is wrong but not the main reason for this complaint. In addition to this the smog technician ran a "evap" test on my car and told me I failed it due to a leak in the vacume lines. He then quite promptly explained that they would fix the problem for 70$. I told him I would do it myself. After many attempts to find a leak to no avail I called a shop "midus speedy oil" who helped me a great deal. They quoted me 120$ to find the leak. later I received a phone call from the shop stating the charcoal canister that need to be hooked up to the evap test machine was in the fender. Therefore we cannot easily access it. Which means by state law it's exempt from the evap test because its not possible to properly preform an evap test. They then smogged my car for me. It passed with flying colors and only charged me 120 for everything they had done. the receipt I was given from valley auto repair shows all sorts of conflicting information and inaccurate pricing due to the fact its for another customer.

Product_Or_Service: smog check

Order_Number: n/a

Account_Number: n/a

Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Refund

If possible I would like to be refunded the 120 I had to spend at the midus shop for no reason whatsoever. I believe the valley auto repair center should have to pay for that. However the most important thing is that it never happens to any other person. Truthfully I believe his certificates and licenses for preforming any automotive actions need to be stripped.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

The company states that the evap test was required in order to complete the smog test. He failed the evap test because of a leak. They gave him a quote for a diagnostic to locate the leak and he chose on his own to go to Midas. They are not responsible for money he chose to spend elsewhere. They had told him that if they did the diagnostic and subsequent repairs they would do the retest for free. He chose to go to Midas.

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

Per Valley Auto Repair Center's response: "the evap test was required in order to complete the smog test. He failed the evap test because of a leak." If you refer to the BAR - Smog Check Inspection Procedures, Page 23, Subsection 1.5.6, Low Pressure Fuel Evaporative Test, "Vehicles in their original factory configuration, with a fuel evaporative canister and fuel vapor hoses that are not accessible or would require the partial dismantling of the vehicle in order to gain access to them for testing." Under these circumstances, this vehicle is exempt from the evap test. Valley Auto Repair Center, being a BAR certified facility, should know this and therefore have completed the SMOG, which would have passed with no problem and no extra expense. In addition to BAR's verification Midas confirmed the previous statement and completed the smog with no issues. Therefore I believe that valley auto repair center do to either lack of knowledge or honesty owes some form of compensation to myself and In my opinion should not be allowed to continue business at least until proper training has been received.