Alfaro Motors 241st Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]
 The repairs were promised to be done 3 weeks previous to the finish date. Upon several times calling the date was always pushed back. 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

The vehicle in question was towed into our facility for repairs on 1/*/15 after a motor vehicle accident. The vehicle was extensively damaged and was not drive able. The customer's Insurance company, [redacted], came to view the vehicle for damage assessment on 1/**/15. They valued the repairs at...

$4,132.91. One of the damaged parts which required replacement, a front bracket [Part# 57707FG002] was on "back order". We received delivery of the "back ordered" bracket on 2/**/15 [invoice# [redacted]]. The vehicle's repairs were completed immediately and the customer picked up the repaired vehicle on 2/**/15.

Review: Alfaro motors was expected to perform work on my car due to it being in an accident. The total repair time took 7 weeks. I had called the company numerous times and they promised it would be done much sooner then 7 weeks. While they were working on my car I had to rent a car for the whole duration of the repair which resulted in an $1800 rental car bill. Also my car is still not 100%Desired Settlement: Reimburse me for atleast the last 3 weeks of having to rent a car. This was 3 weeks after they promised it would be ready.

Business

Response:

The vehicle in question was towed into our facility for repairs on 1/*/15 after a motor vehicle accident. The vehicle was extensively damaged and was not drive able. The customer's Insurance company, [redacted], came to view the vehicle for damage assessment on 1/**/15. They valued the repairs at $4,132.91. One of the damaged parts which required replacement, a front bracket [Part# 57707FG002] was on "back order". We received delivery of the "back ordered" bracket on 2/**/15 [invoice# [redacted]]. The vehicle's repairs were completed immediately and the customer picked up the repaired vehicle on 2/**/15.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

The repairs were promised to be done 3 weeks previous to the finish date. Upon several times calling the date was always pushed back.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: Our car was originally only supposed to be towed by the person that contacted us, who basically coerced my wife into having the car looked at by them. After making us wait almost a week, they told us they had found the problem, which was an $1100 part that only Honda could work on. We were charged $95.24 for "Diagnostic Check." Once the car arrived at Honda, we not only found out that the Diagnostic was wrong, but they had flooded our engine with a lubricant that was used to try to loosen the spark plugs, which led to an additional $700 worth of repairs. When I subsequently contacted the business and asked for a refund of their charge, I was told by [redacted], the [redacted], that I would be refunded the amount charged. I spent a couple days negotiating that with him over the phone and he agreed during our last phone conversation that he would do it by the end of the day, this was on 1/**/15. Still have seen no sign of a refund on the credit card charged.Desired Settlement: Honestly I feel that they are responsible for over $700 worth of damage to my vehicle, but would be willing to settle with a refund of the money they charged me for improperly diagnosing the problem and nearly ruining my engine.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

As far as I can tell, this place is a scam. This is how the scam seems to work.
There are at least 4 different people who I dealt with, who are all part of the scam.
You first have Larry, the fall guy. Larry is not the owner. Larry is the guy who tells people he can do x or y or z, and then doesn't follow through. When you try to talk to him again, he says that he can't do it cause the boss found out, or he isn't working that day, or makes up some other excuse. Larry was my point of contact in the garage, but many things he said were lies. He told me he could fix the car for x amount. That was a lie. He said I could settle a fee with them for $1,000. This was also a lie.
Then you've got Josie, the incompetent. Josie is similar to Larry but works in the office and doesn't make claims like he does. Instead she just claims that they are working on things and that I need to be patient (all the while charging $50 a day for garage fees). Then she will say I need x or y form and that they can't proceed without the paper. Well why wasn't I informed of that weeks ago?
Then you've got [redacted], who is the bad cop/enforcer. She talks a good game, and will chew you out and make it seem as its so obvious that they need x or y to continue and it should be obvious that anyone could have figured it out. For me, it was that they needed the police report of the accident and it was so obvious that I should have to give it to them. Never mind that Josie told me they had it numerous times. [redacted] is also the one who claimed that Larry "didn't have the authority to negotiate or make deals". Then why was he? And why wasn't he then reprimanded for making deals?
Then you've got Anthony, who is the owner. Anthony is a real piece of work and is the smooth talker. Basically Anthony is the good cop to Rose A[redacted] bad cop. Don't I want to pay my bill in full? Don't I think the garage deserves to be paid for trying to scam me? Don't I want to work with them to resolve this? No, I don't. I want to not get scammed by you guys.
Furthermore, this garage breaks the law in trying to collect their money. FYI if they have your license plates, you CAN get them back without paying ANYTHING. And if they refuse, make a formal complaint to the DMV (form VS-35). If enough people do this, the shop will lose its ability to operate legally in NYS.
I had to sit there and wait for a while until someone get it together enough to come help me at the front desk at this garage. The thing that was most appalling is that I saw a somewhat grungy looking young gentleman there arguing with one of the mechanics. The young man was an employee of the garage and was going through the same thing I was. He complained to someone that Larry had promised to pay him $10 an hour, but he was only getting $8 an hour. He wanted to know why. The answer was that well thats what they always paid people. He asked why did Larry say $10 then? The response was who knows, you'll have to ask Larry. It was the exact same set up that I dealt with when trying to deal with the garage. That I saw it happen to someone else right in front of me (to an employee no less), really drove home that this appeared to be a purposeful scam rather than some kind of accident.
If they scam you I recommend contacting NYC to try to get them off the tow rotation by making a complaint with NYC Consumer affairs, and complain to the NYS DMV who licenses them.

Review: I will first provide a summary then a detailed list of events. I was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Sunday, June* 2013 I was involved in a motor vehicle accident on the Williamsburg bridge. The cops were called and the cops called a tow truck for me. The cops told me that I could trust the towing company as they were hired from the NYPD. The towing man came and the cops left. The towing man gave me a list of papers to sign and I was still in shock from the accident. I asked him about one of the papers that said authorization to dismantle and repair and he said it was just in case of a emergency. I asked him again if I sign this paper if it meant that they will repair my car and he said no they will not repair my car or touch it at all. I asked the man if he could tow my car to Queens or Long Island and he said he had to tow it to his garage. On Tuesday I get a call from [redacted] at Alfaro and he asks me if I want to do business with them by offering me a lower deductible and a cheaper rent a car fee. I told him I was not interested as I had everything set up by insurance and that insurance would take care of everything for me. He told me I would have to come in and sign papers to release my car but I told him again that insurance said I wouldn't have to go to Brooklyn again because it was far from me and that I wouldn't have to come in again. He told me somebody will contact me in 30 minutes but nobody ever did. The following day I get in touch with my insurance company and they tell me I have $700 dollars in charges that was dated from Tuesday. Even after I told them I was not interested in doing business with them they started or had already dismantled my car. Insurance told me the only two choices I had were to either pay for the labor fees they did already or to pay for the labor fees and for me to get my car towed out of their to the insurance repair shop. My insurance was not able to tow my car out of Alfaro because I signed that paper that I signed and Alfaro now had my car on lock. I had no choice but to have my car repaired there as I did not want to pay over $800 which was the amount of labor they did by the end the week. The adjuster has in his report that it would be a estimated 15 days for my car to be fixed but it took them 40 days to repair. Alfaro is a unethical business repair shop. They have only called me once and it was not even to notify me of my car status. They called me to bargain to do business with them but I told them I was not interested. Every time I called I was put on hold with the dispatcher for over 5 minutes and sometimes only for them to tell me that the person is unavailable and to call back later. If I did reach the contact person the conversation would only last a hour and I would get different answers from different people. I lost out on a massive amount of money because of them because they have held my car for a extended period of time. I am seeking compensation from them for the amount of $1,350 for the extended days that they held my car for. I have a report from the adjuster that the estimated amount of days to repair my car was 15 days so that is how I based my calculation. (54 dollars a day for the car rental and having my car for the extended 25 days). My total rent a car fee exceeds over $2,500. When I told Alfaro of my car rent a fee issues they seemed insincere and offered no solutions. Other companies would have offered a free rent a car or a discounted rental service after holding a car for a extended period of time. Below I have listed a more detailed list of events. Alfaro always has the same excuses such as the adjuster came in late but they already started working on my car even before the adjuster arrived. They say they are waiting on parts and needed to order more parts. But they should've known what parts were needed in the first week of June when they dismantled my car instead of waiting till July. They also give the same excuse saying it's a extensive job and that my car would be in showroom condition. But the fact of the matter is I lost money by not having my car and I don't need my 8 year old car to be in showroom condition. I just need a car to get me from point A and to point B and for me to travel out of state without being charged a extra fee to travel on vacation. I typed up this complaint letter during the process Alfaro had my car but did not send it in because my car was in a functional state despite some minor problems. However, after today having my car not starting in the city and being stuck in the city till 6 A.M. I am frustrated with the service they provided me. It is only less than a month that my car was out of the shop and it is not working. On Sunday, June * 2013 I was involved in a motor vehicle accident at approximately 3:05 pm on the Williamsburg bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The cops were called and arrived at the scene of the incident. I was able to drive my car off the highway, however the cops recommended that I get my car towed and the cops called in a towing company. The cops assured me that the towing person can be trusted as they are part of a list that the NYPD calls in for tows. A person from Quality Automotive Services arrives at the scene of the incident at 3:55 pm and the cops depart. The man tows my car and gives me papers to sign. I asked the man if he could tow my car to at least Queens or Long Island even if it cost more money and he said he could not. He said he had to tow my car to the lot and that I would have to pick it up tomorrow if I wanted it. He gave me papers to sign and I was still in shock from the accident. One of the papers I signed said authorize to dismantle and repair. I asked the person what this meant and told him I did not want my car to be repaired or touched by anybody. He told me that it is just in case of a emergency if they need to open my car for whatever reason. So I asked him again if they will touch my car or repair it and he said no they will not touch it or repair it. So I signed the paper. I have two witnesses who were there with me at the scene of the accident who heard and saw me ask the towing representative about the paper I signed. They both heard me say no they will not repair my car. After the towing truck left I called [redacted], my insurance company to let them know of the accident. The [redacted] agent told me that [redacted] has their own repair shops that guarantee that if anything goes wrong after the repair that [redacted] would take care of the repair for a lifetime as long as I own the car. I agreed to it and told [redacted] that I would like to have my car repaired at Cross Island Collision at [redacted], NY. I gave the [redacted] agent all of the information and asked him about if I had to come back to Brooklyn to get my car as I was from Long Island and that it was a hour drive away. The [redacted] agent told me I did not have to come back to Brooklyn and that [redacted] would take care of it. [redacted] would tow my car out of Brooklyn and bring it to Cross Island Collision. On Monday June *, 2013 I called Cross Island Collision to see if they picked up my car but they said they did not receive my car yet but they were expecting it. They also said it might take another day. On Tuesday June *, 2013 I received a call at 9:22 AM I received a call from [redacted] at Alfaro Motors. He told me that if I did business with him and got my car repaired at Alfaro that he could give me a lower deductible and give me a lower rent a car daily fee. After I thought about it for a little I told him that I rather go with [redacted] since they have will give me a lifetime guarantee of repairs if there was anything wrong from the accident. I also rented a Enterprise car on Monday June *, 2013 and did not want to go all the way to Brooklyn to pick up another car. He told me that if I wanted my car I would have to come to Brooklyn and sign it out. I told him that a [redacted] representative told me that I would not have to come back to Brooklyn again and they were going to tow it. He did not reply to my question and just simply told me somebody will call me back in 30 minutes. Nobody called me from Alfaro that day. I called [redacted] again to make sure if I had to go back to Brooklyn because of work and they said I would not have to go back to Brooklyn and that they were going to tow it. On Thursday, June *, 2013 I receive a call from [redacted] saying that they were not able to tow my car because Alfaro has already started working on my car. They dismantled my car and were charging already $750 of labor fees. It is because of the sheet I signed at the scene of the accident, the same sheet of paper that towing representative said that they would not touch my car or repair it. Alfaro at this point have done already $750 worth of labor fees. [redacted] said they would work on the case to try to get my car out of there and see if they could pay the fees. It was kind of shocking to me that they started dismantling my car even without telling me, not releasing my car, and charging $750 dollars worth of labor fees already. On Friday, June ** 2013 I meet a [redacted] representative in person. They show me a faxed copy of the sheet I signed that gave them authorization. They also show me the fax sheet that is dated 6/*/2013 that they were charging $750 dollars for the labor fees which is the same day [redacted] called me and I told him that I would not be doing business with him with he tried to make a deal with me. However, on Friday the labor fees increased to over $800. [redacted] said I had a choice to either 1. Pay the labor fees and have my car towed out to a trusted repair shop or 2. Have my car repaired there and not have to pay any labor fees and that insurance would still cover it. I did not have the money at the time to tow my car out to the garage that I wanted to and had no choice but to have my car repaired there since they already started working on it. [redacted] told Alfaro that I would be having my car repaired at their shop. Starting from June ** I have call logs on June [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted] of calls to Alfaro to see the status of my car. On Thursday June [redacted], 2013 a call was made to Alfaro and they told me they were ordering parts and to call back next week. I call on June [redacted], and they tell me they are still waiting on parts. I call back again on June [redacted], and they tell me they are still waiting on parts. On Monday June [redacted], 2013 I called Alfaro and they said they were hoping it would be done by Saturday June [redacted]. I tell them my car has been there for 22 days already and that my car rental has already exceed $1,000 in fees. They were still waiting for parts and told me to call back on Wednesday June [redacted], 2013. I call back on Wednesday and they tell me that they are still waiting on my car and it is only 50% done and that it would not be likely be done by that Saturday. I call back on Friday June [redacted], 2013 and they tell me they are still waiting on parts. They tell me that they don't have a date of when it will be done by but to give them a call next week on Thursday, July [redacted]. On Wednesday June [redacted], 2013 another call was made to Alfaro. Alfaro told me to call them back on Monday as they were still waiting on parts. I called [redacted] to update them on my situation. [redacted] said they would call and could not get in touch with them till the following Monday. [redacted] reported that they would not tell them either when the car would be ready or what parts were still missing. On Wednesday July [redacted], 2013, a call was made to Alfaro, [redacted] answers the phone and reports that pieces are still missing from the car and they are still waiting on them. Gives a spiel about how my car will be in showroom condition and avoids questions of how long my car will take. On Friday July [redacted], 2013, another call was made to Alfaro and I tried to contact [redacted] but he was unavailable. A person by the name of [redacted] answers my phone call and reports to me that he didn't know the update of my car but tells me that he talked to the people worked on my car and he said he did not know when my car would be fixed by. He reports that no pieces came in and to call back on Monday. On Monday July [redacted], 2013, I called Alfaro and a person by the name of [redacted] picked up my phone call. She said she had my car file and said they received all the car pieces in today. She reported to me that my car would be hopefully be done by the end of the week and to bring in the check from my insurance company. He told me to call back on Wednesday. On Wednesday July [redacted], 2013, I called Alfaro this time with my father, the owner of the car. We were put on over a ten minute wait. My father was so frustrated by their lack of respect and being constantly put on hold and having to talk to different people for answers. I spoke to [redacted] were he reports that more parts came in today and that they would not know when my car would be ready. I told him that I spoke to somebody on Monday and they said all the parts came in already and that it would be ready this week. He said some inspector came in today and that he wouldn't be sure of when my car would in by. I told him that the adjuster came in the 2nd week of June and that this is July. He didn't have a answer for me and told me again that when my car is finished that it would be in showroom condition and that he would connect me to somebody else. I speak to [redacted] and she just tells me that she doesn't know when it will be done by and to call back Thursday and to make sure I have the insurance check ready. I contacted [redacted] and they told me there were no reports of another inspector coming in again to check my car. On Thursday July [redacted], 2013, I called Alfaro again and tried to reach [redacted] and [redacted]. [redacted] told me to call in again on Thursday but she did not go to work that day. I spoke to [redacted] where he told me that the car should be ready this week. He told me to call back on Friday in the afternoon to see if it would be ready to be picked up. On Friday July 12th 2013, I called Alfaro and spoke to [redacted]. He told me the car would not be ready and to call back again on Saturday to see if the car would be ready. I received my car on Saturday July [redacted], 2013. I checked out my car and it was on. When I looked inside my car I noticed that they tried to send me my car without my right side passenger window button. I told them and they were searching for my button as they were trying to give me my car back that day. They told me they would fix it and replace it for me but I would have to come back. I did not want to come back and just took the button and put it back in its place while it's still loose. The car seemed to run fine with mild noise coming from the AC even on low. Today on Thursday August [redacted], 2013 at approximately 1 A.M in the morning my car was not able to start in Manhattan on Madison Avenue. I was stuck in the city while I had to drive my friend's home. I thought it was my battery at first so I called [redacted] and paid them $50.00 to try and jumpstart my car but the guy said it was not my battery and it was something else. I called a tow truck and had my car towed from Manhattan to Long Island at 5:40 A.M and paid out of pocket for it to drop it at a shop at 7 A.M. At first I did not want to send a complaint in because I got my car back and it was in functional condition. But now after being stuck in the city and having all these car issues I realize that they kept my car for so long but did not do a good job on repairing my car. Prior to the accident I had no car issues at all. I am confused as to why to [redacted] called me to see if I wanted to do business with them and after telling [redacted] no I rather have my car be taken care of by [redacted] Alfaro still goes ahead and works on my car. I consider the date 6/*/13 the first day they started working on my car as I have a fax coversheet with that date with $750 worth of labor charges but even after a month they are still waiting on car pieces. Also whey the towing company blatantly lied to me and told me that if I signed it they still would not touch my car or repair it. Had I known this I would just had told him that I would not require his services and would find a towing company on my own. I am also upset by the fact that I was tricked into signing that authorization to repair and dismantle paper. Prior to picking up my car, I have never seen Alfaro at all. I did not even know how it looks like or know what their quality of work is. My car is a huge investment and something I put my life in when I drive. Based on Alfaro's lack of business ethics and sincerity I don't know if I can put the same trust in driving my car every day. It is similar to being tricked into buying a house when you don't know the location of the house, what the house looks like, or any history of the house. I can provide more accurate phone logs and some saved phone conversations. The three main people I've been in contact with about the status of my car were [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted].Desired Settlement: I am seeking compensation from them for the amount of $1,350 for the extended days that they held my car for. I am also seeking compensation for the troubles I had for getting my car jump started and having my car towed from the city to Long Island ($140)

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Alfaro Motors 241st Inc. regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,