Advantec Auto Repair

Review: my car was running poorly so I asked around and Advantec was suggested by a friend. I took my car there on 6-16-14 and I was told it needed new valve cover gaskets, new spark plugs (4) and new plug wires (4). I was told by [redacted], the owner of the shop, that it would cost $500. It took them about 4 hours to complete the repairs. He also told me I needed a new water pump and a new timing belt, which had both been replaced at 66K miles. He had quoted me a price for doing that work, so after I got home I researched on line how much the repairs should be. It was then I discovered that the job I had just paid $500 for should have ranged from $250-300, with an average of $290. I then looked at Yelp and was shocked to see how many people had complained about him. I called him to try to convince him to return some of the money to me, as I live on Social Sec. and don't have a lot of money. I told him how I had researched and according to Repair Pal, the job should have cost $200 less. 1st he denied that any garages in SD belonged to Repair Pal and if I could find ANY garages he would refund me the whole cost of the job. I quickly did some more checking and found 8 garages in SD that belong to RepairPal. Then I picked 5 garages at random and 4 quoted me a lower price. So I called him back with that news and he called me a liar and started being verbally abusive over the phone. He finally agreed to send me a check for $100 that day or the next. I still have not received one penny from [redacted]. I believe this was all overheard by his office worker, [redacted], as she had answered the phone and I could hear her in the background. He was profane, yelling at me, cursing at me, and called me names. I discovered that on Yelp he had called a woman who brought her grandmother's car in for service a [redacted] on line! I was not surprised when, after waiting in vain for 3 weeks for the $100, I contacted the Revdex.com and found other, similar complaints against him and his firm.Desired Settlement: He volunteered to pay me the whole $500 if I could prove to him that there were ANY garages in San Diego who used RepairPal, and I found 8 within 2 minutes of research. He then said he would refund half, $250 if ANY garages in San Diego charged less than he charged, which I found 4 garages after 5 phone calls. After calling me a liar and swearing at me, he agreed to send me a check for $100. I would like him to make good on his offer to pay me the whole $500, as that was his original statement, and would be fair reparation for the way he treated me. Perhaps he would tone down his abuse of customers if he was held to his word. One of the reasons I brought the car in was because the serpentine belt was chattering upon a cold start, which he did not fix, and for which I will have to pay someone else to fix. He did not do adequate work, he overcharged me, then he abused me when I found out about it. He should be held to his original statement of refunding me the $500. That would be just.

Business

Response:

Regarding customer, [redacted]- it is straightforward on how the estimate and paper work was

done at our auto shop. First, we have the customer sign a work order so we can look at their vehicle.

Once the vehicle has been looked at and we identify what is wrong, the next step is to give an estimate

what it will cost to fix. We use industry standard guidelines [redacted] and ALL DATA. Most automotive

shops use this guide to get the estimate time and parts cost. Customer is then called to approve of the

work that needs to be done. We did that and Ms. [redacted] approved the work as agreed upon. We

completed the repair and had her sign the final paid invoice. Everything was done according to our

written agreement. Customer left happy and without incident.

She called us the next day and accused us of overcharging her when she looked it up on some website

called Repair Pal. This website is just a guess estimate and nothing more for the consumer on what to

expect. There is a high and a low but not a definite price on what a shop labor time or region what shops

should use. The customer and I spoke about this and she claimed again other shops on this website will

charge her half the price that we did. We told her that we would see what we could do for her if she

could give us a written estimate or have the shop call us with the lower price. Customer was very rude

and irate, demanding and hanging up the phone on us and then called back later. What the customer

did not realize, we were calling around speaking to other shops on this Repair Pal website to confirm our

price vs. theirs. Repair Pal is an advertisement website for shops. Later customer called back and told us

these shops were charging 20 - 50 percent less. We confronted her that she was not telling the truth

because we talked to these shops and most charged the same or more and they use the same guidelines

and labor time as we do, she was angry that we did that and hung up again. We have all documents of

her agreement to us and if she feels she is in the right, then she can take us to court. Customer must

have done this to other shops claiming she is low income afterwards to get something for nothing. As

you can see on Ms. [redacted]'s letter to Revdex.com she wants her money back in full when we have parts and

labor on her vehicle and the vehicle is driving well. How unrealistic is this? If you need to speak with me,

please feel free to call me at 619-248-9519.

Best regards,

Owner

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Unfortunately for any customer of Advantec, the rude and lying person is [redacted], the owner. While I agree with his account of how a work order is generated in his garage, the rest of his allegations are total falsehoods. He has a remarkably bad attitude towards his customers, as can be

evidenced by reading Yelp.com comments, many of which report the exact

same behaviors I experienced. He was the one promising to give me back the whole $500 if ANY garage in San Diego used RepairPal, which is meant to be a watchdog service for customers like myself. I unfortunately didn't know of its existence until I went on line to check out the costs of the additional work he recommended I have done on my vehicle. (NO, the car was not running better after he got done with it, and I just got the work done today, but substantially cheaper than he quoted me, and I do have the invoice to prove it.) I found 8 shops in San Diego who use RepairPal pricing guidelines. When I called [redacted] back to report these shops, he then challenged me to find even one garage in San Diego who charged less for the work he had done, and said that he would refund me $250 if even one shop charged less for the work he had performed. Of those 8 I called 5, and 4 of them were substantially cheaper, using the RepairPal guidelines to charge for the work. The 4 shops ranged in price from $290-350. One was ~$20 more expensive. I called Advantec back to report my findings and he again ranted and raged at me, calling me a liar and refusing to listen to anything that I had to say. He finally offered to pay me $100 when I threatened to call the Revdex.com regarding his miserable business practices. I have yet to see even $1, proving him to be a liar 3 times over, as well as rude.

I am a low income elder, so his claim that I am lying about that is rude, mean, and a low blow. I live on Social Security Disability, and while it shouldn't need to be "proven", it most certainly can, as can I vouch for every single word I have posted on here. He was the one calling me names, yelling rudely into the phone, and hanging up on me. Then he actually was nasty enough to have one of his employees call me to berate me! I told the employee that it was inappropriate for him to be doing his boss' dirty work and I refused to discuss the issue with him.

The Revdex.com was created in response to business owners who have the same lack of character as [redacted] Dang, and it is no surprise to me whatsoever that there are other complaints against his shop here in San Diego. He needs to be held accountable for his incredibly awful business practices, and he needs to compensate me in the way he presented it to me--he said he would refund the $500 if just one garage in San Diego used RepairPal, and I was able to verify that eight times over with a couple of computer entries and a few phone calls. That is the settlement I request. A recommendation of this settlement by the Revdex.com would send him a strong message that cursing people out, calling them names online, and ripping off little old ladies is not an acceptable way of doing business.

Regards,