301 Auto Repair

On January 28th 2014, [redacted] scheduled to have a Virginia State Inspection performed on her [redacted], the cost was $16.00.  The inspection was properly done and the car passed inspection with no visible...

defects.
 
On February 27th 2014, the fiancé of the customer called and stated that he had a problem with the inspection we did the month prior.  He said that we overlooked a brake problem. He also stated that we did the same thing to his truck the year before.  He has never had a truck in our shop.  He has a [redacted] and it had been rejected two  years before on 2-22-2012 for rear brakes.  We then replaced the rear brakes on 2-28-2012 and did a reinspection. We did another inspection on the [redacted] on 2-26-2013 and it passed inspection.  I questioned him on why he would bring his car back multiple times if he felt we were not doing a sufficient job.  And he then stated  that he believed we over look too many problems because we “rush” through inspections and miss problems.  I told him that  I did not think that was an accurate assumption because we have had very little complaints, in fact we have had more complaints because some people believed we were too strict with the inspections.  He then stated that the right rear brake caliper was locked up, the brake pads and one rotor needed to be replaced on the right side. He also said the left rear brake rotor would need to be machined.  He told me that he had multiple friends look at the car. I then stated that a caliper could go bad with in a month of the inspection and that there was no way we could predict when a caliper would go bad.  I also stated that it was standard protocol to replace brake pads when you have to replace a brake caliper. I asked him how many miles the car has been since the inspection and he said it had been about 1,200 miles.  I then stated that is a lot of miles in a month and that she could very well need brakes now.  He then stated, that we should have let him know his brakes were close. He also stated that he was concerned about his fiancés safety, understandably.  I then asked what the pads were measuring and he could not answer, he just said they were thin.   I then asked him what he wanted from us?  He said he wanted us to pay for the repairs.  I then questioned  his response by asking, if we found the problem a month ago would we have been responsible for the cost of the repairs then?  He then got really angry and heated with me.  He used multiple curse words and I did not responded after that moment.  I told him I would get the owner, [redacted], to give him a call back that evening.  [redacted] was not at the shop that day, he had the day off.  [redacted] did call him back that evening on his cell phone.
 
[redacted] had a conversation with the customers fiancé.  Basically, [redacted] stated he would like to see the vehicle because he did not want to go on somebody else's word.  He also restated that a lot can happen in a month. [redacted] offered to look at the brakes free of charge with the customer by his side, so he did not have to leave the car at all. The fiancé then claimed that her car had been about 800 miles. [redacted] said that if he would bring the car in for us to see what happened, then they would talk about compensation after he looked at it.  Then her fiancé said,  “do you want to think about paying for the repairs over night?”. [redacted] said no, he did not need to think about it, he said he wanted to look at the car before he would commit to anything. The fiancé  refused to let us look at that time.  Then he stated that he was going to call his lawyer for a lawsuit and call 12 your side.
 
On March 3rd, [redacted] called and asked if we had made a decision, to pay for the repairs.  I then stated that we will not pay for them, that if they wanted any compensation that we would need to see the vehicle.  She refused to let us look at it unless we could guarantee that the car repairs would be paid for.  I told her that we  could not guarantee that, she refused to let us look at it again.  At that time the brake repairs had still not been done.  Which was almost another week, so from the time of the inspection, it had been five weeks.
 
We then felt it was necessary to call our Virginia State Trooper.  A conversation with the Trooper confirmed that we did every thing to protocol.  He said that we are not required to tell the customer if the brake pads are close.  We are required to measure the pads and if they pass inspection, then we are to pass the vehicle. We try to be vigilant in safety.  We see many vehicles a week and we try to also state on their invoices if they have a part that is close to being in need of a repair.  Nobody can predict when a caliper will go bad.  
 
I found a discrepancy from the complaint yesterday.  She stated that only the brake pads and rotors had to be replaced not the right rear caliper.  That is the exact reason we wanted to see the vehicle.  To actually see for ourselves what was going on with the brakes.  To our knowledge the brakes have still not been repaired, knowing that you have a severe brake problem, it should have been repaired the day the problem was found, to maintain a safe vehicle.
 
We are truly sorry we would not meet in the middle with the customer.  We felt we extended our services to only be rejected multiply times. 
 
Sincerely,
 
 
[redacted]
 
301 Auto Repair
[redacted]

Review: I had my vehicle inspected for my state inspection and they passed my vehicle with no problems stated. However, 3 weeks later my brakes began to fail. They were so worn and damaged that I needed the brakes replaced on both rear sides (which they had supposedly checked the passenger rear side) and they had gotten so bad that I also had to have the rotors replaced. I was not told at the time of my inspection that my brakes barely passed and would need to be replaced in the future.Desired Settlement: I was hoping that the mechanic shop would cover the expenses to have the brakes replaced and the rotors replaced at another mechanic shop.

Business

Response:

On January 28th 2014, [redacted] scheduled to have a Virginia State Inspection performed on her [redacted], the cost was $16.00. The inspection was properly done and the car passed inspection with no visible defects.