Waddell's Auto Service Center

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.The response from the business is not true by any means. The vehicle was never leaking any fluids, it just ran hot. I had the car towed to the business and was told they would look it over and fix the problem. I never saw or talked to another mechanic nor was I ever told I needed a thermostat until the business told me it was either the thermostat or the water pump. They called me back indicating that they found no leaks but the thermostat was stuck so they changed it and it was ready to be picked up. I picked my car up, drove about 15 miles and it ran hot again. There was no antifreeze in the radiator! It obviously wasn't the thermostat and they did not evaluated the overheating correctly causing the intake gasket to blow when I drove it away. I spoke to one of the mechanics and demanded them to refund what they had charged me because I had to pay $740 more to another business to fix the problem. One mechanic agreed to issue the refund and the other said no. I'am outraged regarding the lack of service and further damage they have caused. I will definitely see them in court.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.
The response from the business is not true by any means. The vehicle was never leaking any fluids, it just ran hot. I had the car towed to the business and was told they would look it over and fix the problem. I never saw or talked to another mechanic nor was I ever told I needed a thermostat until the business told me it was either the thermostat or the water pump. They called me back indicating that they found no leaks but the thermostat was stuck so they changed it and it was ready to be picked up. I picked my car up, drove about 15 miles and it ran hot again. There was no antifreeze in the radiator! It obviously wasn't the thermostat and they did not evaluated the overheating correctly causing the intake gasket to blow when I drove it away. I spoke to one of the mechanics and demanded them to refund what they had charged me because I had to pay $740 more to another business to fix the problem. One mechanic agreed to issue the refund and the other said no. I'am outraged regarding the lack of service and further damage they have caused. I will definitely see them in court.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: I put my car in the shop on August the 8th due to the car overheating and they told me to bring it in and they listed that there may be a problem with the thermostat or the water pump. Due to this I picked up a thermostat just in case, and took the vehicle there for them to fix the problem. Two hours later, I received a phone call that the car was fixed and it was the thermostat and it was stuck- so they changed it but I never received the old one and I was charged $163 and I left to drive to my job and then I discovered that the reservoir in the car was dry (no antifreeze in it) and the temperature hand had moved halfway so I called the shop and said I added water to the reservoir and when I get off from work and head home I will see how it does and Ill bring it back in the morning, and by the time I got home, it was in the red and my car was steaming. There was no water in the reservoir or the radiator. I had it towed back to the shop for them to look at it and see why it was not fixed and I was told that the intake gasket was blown, and when I asked how that happened they said the intake valve got blown from being over heated and I told them that was the purpose of me bringing my car to the shop and they did not fix the initial problem which caused this new, bigger problem and want to charge me an additional $700 and I do not feel that I am responsible for a mistake on their part. They told me that they refuse to give me my money back and I am now having to take them to court because they misdiagnosed the problem and caused further damage to my car. They are not willing to work with me so this is my last resort.Desired Settlement: To receive the initial money that I paid for the car repair and the damage after the fact that I now have to fix due to their negligence and misdiagnosis which was estimated at around $700. I am currently getting an estimate at another auto body shop and I also expect them to pay the court cost since they are leaving me with no other option but to take them to court.

Business

Response:

This is in response to the complaint from [redacted] regarding her vehicle, I have read her complaint and this is not what happened. [redacted] called my shop and left a message stating that her car was running hot. I got the message off my machine on Saturday 8/6/16, at that time I returned her call and spoke with her, she said her car was running hot according to the temp gauge and the coolant reservoir was empty. She also told me that she had placed newspaper under the car to find where it was leaking from, she said she could not see any coolant leak, I set her up with an appointment for Monday 8/8/16 to bring in the vehicle. She came into the shop with the vehicle midday on Monday, she had a thermostat with her and told one on my employees that another garage told her that was the problem, we put the car on our lift and did a visual inspection for the leak and we got find any evidence of a leak. As requested by Ms.[redacted] we installed the thermostat she had brought in. We refilled the coolant system with antifreeze, let the vehicle run to operating temp, rechecked for any leaks, none were found, also rechecked the coolant, which was fine. Took the vehicle for a 10 mile test drive and it did not appear to be running hot. Called the customer and let her know what was done and she could pick up the car. She picked up the car, paid the bill which only included the labor charge she was not charged for the antifreeze or the checking of the vehicle. The next day she called and said the car was running hot again and told her to return the car back to us, she had it towed bade. We rechecked the car and visually found the intake gasket was leaking, called [redacted] and let her know what we found, worked up a estimate of what it would cost to repair and she said she did not have the funds to repair the vehicle. After that she called many times, being very rude and angry,she demanded me to repair the car for free. At that point I told her should find another repair shop if she was that unhappy. She picked the car up and drove it off on Friday 8/U/16 with the intake gaskets not repaired.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.

Review: This business does not honor customer requests, adds additional services without the consent of the customer, and then charges the customer for the unwanted services. When asked about charges, fees, and associated costs the [redacted] does not provide all the information about the unwanted services, and demands that the customer pay for the unwanted services. When faced with a request for refund or reduction of cost caused by adding additional unwanted services, the owner/manager argues with said customer then claims that the unwanted additional services were required. This includes; tire rotation, adding windshield wiper fluid, and adding a gas additive when performing a basic oil change. To clarify, I had requested only an oil and transmission fluid change (only the fluids and filters), and a visual inspection of my exhaust system (no labor involved, no replacement parts). The shop proceeded to rotate the tires and add the additional fluids without consulting me. They charged $22.25 for the tire rotation, and $5 for the additional unwanted fluids. This was to drive up the bill, and charge me for services I had not requested.Desired Settlement: I am not seeking compensation, I just want this business to be investigated for fraudulent business practices.

Business

Response:

To Whom it may concern,
This letter is in response to a complaint that was made concerning my business, customer’s name [redacted]. He expressed that he was charged for services that he did not request, the car was left at my shop without any one being there with only a note saying that he wanted a service done using high mileage oil, also wanted the transmission serviced and the exhaust inspected for leaks. Tried calling the customer without any luck, our service includes oil, oil filter, fuel additive and windshield solvent and also rotation of the tires are included unless otherwise stated by the customer. [redacted] called and spoke with one of my employees and complained about the price of the tire rotation, fuel additive and windshield washer fluid. The message was relayed to me about the complaint, [redacted] was promptly called and was told that the tire rotation charged by other shops in the area was $25.00-$26.00. he was told that the charge for the tire rotation would be refunded to him. Within 30 minutes he was at my shop, at that time I refunded him $22.25 in cash. I feel this was handled in a professional manner. I always strive to make my customers happy and do not feel anything was done in a fraudulent manner.
Sincerely,

After much thought, I will be calling [redacted] tomorrow 3/3/14 to let him know that I will be refunding to him $20.87 which will be the fuel additive, windshield washer additive and the oil and service lube labor, this is in addition to the $22.25 that was already refunded to him on 2/25/14. I hope this will settle the matter.
Sincerely,