A1 Tire & Auto Service Center

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Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I paid money to this business and I came back for service whether it was for repairs or for an alignment During my initial visit, I specifically went there for an alignment unaware of any additional issues Of course I was not prepared to pay any cost beyond the alignment, but upon discovering there was additional issues, I certainly did not have enough funds to pay for $of repairs (about $of which was for labor alone = hours of labor) I indeed was on the phone, with my father, who is out of state in NJ who was willing to provide credit card information over the phone MrM*** refused so I told him that I would return next week for repairs with the physical card He said that a $fee would be assessed I asked him if I returned, if the money would credited He said yes, but he didn't specify for repairs or for alignment I had all intentions of returning back to A1, however, I had literally just started a new job that week after being out of work for several months and I didn't want to run the risk of anything happening to my car especially since I would be driving a long distance to work So I found some place closer to my house that did the repairs but they didn't have the alignment machine to align the wheels In fact, there are very few places in DC that do wheel alignments This is what brought me to Ain the first place and back after getting my vehicle repaired My argument is that had I gotten my car repaired at A1, the $would have be applied to the bottom line total for the repairs and the alignment It was not specified that the $credit would only applied to the repair bill Upon returning, I was accosted by the other man that works there saying that they are not in business to do diagnostics My intentions of going there initially was not to get a diagnostic or price hunt; I could have done that over the phone if I knew that there were additional issues with my car After being accosted, I didn't argue, I just left As I was leaving, the man yelled to ask me how much it cost to get my car repaired Really? What does that have to do with anything? Is it because they knew that their quote was severally inflated and labor would only take a maximum of hour instead of 1/(which I later found out)? I feel like I am being punished because I didn't get my car repaired there I did return, however, for a paid service regardless if it was for repairs or an alignment By the way, that sign was not thereThere was only a sign for labor for about $and the sign stating no checks were allowed as well as the credit card sign The sign also isn't very clear...front end check-up? So does that mean if there as an issue in the rear, there wouldn't be a fee? The sign also doesn't have a disclaimer regarding diagnostic fee waivers/credits I would have noticed it because, yes, I was in the waiting area for about minutes sitting right in front of that machine which is located below the sign Some time was spent waiting for MrM*** to put my car on the lift and the other time was me trying to get my father on the phone But MrM***'s time spent with me directly was only for maybe minutes (putting my car on the lift, taking off my wheel, and calling the parts store) While I was trying to get my father on the phone, he was in the garage talking to an older gentleman So I do not understand how is trying to justify his minimum $front end chefee
Regards,
*** ***

To whom it may concern;
[redacted] brought her car to my shop for alignment, I checked the vehicle carefully and found out that the (R/F) upper control arm was damaged. She asked for the total repair cost while she was talking to someone on her cell phone. In order to give her...

my estimation I called the part store for availability of the required part and cost, and gave her my estimate. I told her the total before tax. She asked for a discount and to pay it with a credit card. I agreed and included sales tax to the total amount (It was a 5.75% discount). Then she asked me to go ahead and fix it, mentioning that her father will give his credit card number by phone. I refused to do so, because I needed to have credit card present at pay time. This process took more than half an hour of my time. She left and said that she will come back with the credit card. Therefore, I charged her a minimum fee of $15.00, as it is the established fee for the time spent in the evaluation, diagnostic and the calls for availability of the necessary parts in the part stores. This fee is posted in the shop window to be seen easily by the customers, as the picture attached shows.I told her that if she decides to repair it in my shop when she comes back this amount will be credited toward the repair fee due. She should realize that alignment and repair are two different services and the $15.00 fee was for diagnostics and estimating the repair.
However, she decided to take her car elsewhere and repaired it based on my diagnostic and evaluation. Later she returned for alignment while I was away and expecting a $15.00 credit discount on alignment Service. The fixed price for alignment is $70.00 and is not applicable to repair estimation and diagnostics credit. Hopefully this explanation will clear up the misunderstanding.
Sincerely,Davood M

May 29th, 2015Dear [redacted]:
This is the requested answer to your letter dated May 13, 2015, stamped on the envelope May 21 and received later, regarding to complaint #[redacted] (copy of envelope attached).
Taking into account [redacted]' response to my previous statement, my answer is the following:
She misunderstood the total cost which was $280.00 (Part 90.00, labor 120.00 and alignment $70,00), taking more than 2 hours of labor including alignment. The $15,00 fee is applied to:
• Checking the car• Diagnosis the problem• Calling to part stores for availability and price. This searching process takes often sometime. This fee does not apply to the alignment cost, which is $70.00, This fee can be credited toward repair only as I told her, We do not provide free diagnostics. Her car was on the rack for more than 40 minutes, part of it waiting for her to finish her phone call. So, we were not able to take any other car on that rack. The sign of $15,00 fee is been there for many years. Steering connectors are located in the front end of the vehicle, not in the rear. For that reason the fee sign says “front end". We do not accept credit card number by phone. It is our policy to have the credit card present at the time of payment.
I hope this statement clarifies this issue, If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact me at phone #[redacted].
Regards,Davood M