Autologic Of Greensboro

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2016/11/30) */
Complaint filed by "[redacted]". The customer in our system is "[redacted]" & this spelling is verified by the credit card receipts & vehicle registration documents.
Mr. [redacted] had his 2007 Maserati Quattroporte towed in September...

23, 2016. We stated that our next open appointment was several days out & that it would not be looked at immediately on arrival. The car was diagnosed September 26, 2016 as damaged variators, a known internal engine problem on Maserati's from a faulty design of camshaft caps that do not allow the proper amount of oil into the variators on start up. We informed Mr. [redacted] that multiple panels had been removed before its arrival to our shop & he stated it had been at three other shops before us. The variator problem on these engines can cause internal engine damage if the car is continuously run after the variators have failed & it is unknown how long the customer drove on the failed variators or if the other shops allowed the vehicle to run at length during their diagnostic. WE INFORMED MR. [redacted] THAT WE WERE UNABLE TO LET THE CAR RUN PRIOR TO THE START OF REPAIRS TO ASSESS IF THERE WAS ANY INTERNAL ENGINE DAMAGE AND INTERNAL ENGINE DAMAGE WAS A POSSIBILITY WITH THIS TYPE OF FAILURE. The estimate for repairs was given; customer approved & gave deposit for parts over the phone. Mr. [redacted] was informed this was going to be a lengthy process between receiving the parts, sending the camshaft caps to California for modification (to prevent this problem again) and the actual repair. We are a small shop with two technicians and had other customers with appointments so we have to balance the appointments that had already been made prior to the Maserati's arrival. Autologic NEVER gave the customer a date of completion and would not under the circumstances with the multiple variables out of Autologic's control; i.e. waiting on special order parts, shipping to & from California & the machine shop schedule. The owner of Autologic completed the repair and test drove the car for approx. 100 miles. The vehicle drove smoothly and quiet aside from a noise on engine deceleration which the customer was informed of.
Mr. [redacted] was a difficult customer to work with. Initial phone calls prior to the arrival of his Maserati were vague & confusing; i.e. stating he did not wish for his workplace to know his business and would whisper on the phone making it difficult to understand him then later stating his coworker could affirm the number of times he called Autologic. He initially refused to give us all the information on the vehicle's past with the other shops it had been to in regards to this problem. The initial name he gave us was "Bernard [redacted]" and later began referring to himself as 'Harry'. We received phone calls asking for updates on the vehicle from a gentleman claiming to be Mr. [redacted], but turned out to be someone he asked to pose as him and to check on the car. We learned of this after Mr. [redacted] himself called a few moments after we spoke to the other gentleman accusing us of avoiding his phone calls. We informed Mr. [redacted] this was inappropriate and a baseless accusation since we spoke many times over phone and email. Mr. [redacted] also continued to state that Vince promised things that were NEVER promised or even discussed, i.e. Mr. [redacted] claimed that Vince stated he qualified for a discount when Kayla is responsible for ALL quotes & invoicing and would have had to authorize any discounts. Mr. [redacted] did ask Kayla about this prior to any repairs being authorized and had already been told he did not qualify for the specific discount he was demanding. Autologic quickly learned to be wary of any statements Mr. [redacted] made.
We completed the car November 4, 2016 - five weeks after arrival and Mr. [redacted] had relatives pick up the car the following week on November 9, 2016. We received email confirmation that Mr. [redacted] sent the gentlemen to pick up the car as well as a credit card authorization form to allow us to run his credit card for the final invoice amount. We also informed the gentleman that picked up the car that the car runs and idles quietly and that the noise on deceleration was present - same information as given to Mr. [redacted]. Autologic has spoken to other Maserati repair facilities and the machine shop that modified the camshaft caps prior to the customer pickup confirming the noise was common when consumers continue to drive the vehicle after the variator failure. Autologic NEVER stated it would go away, but that it was PERMANENT and was a result of the car being operated with the original variators after they had failed.
Mr. [redacted] called Autologic on November 14, 2016 at 9:50am to express displeasure at the noise and claimed his car never made the noise prior to the repairs. HE WAS REMINDED THAT HE WAS TOLD ABOUT THE NOISE AND THE CAUSE. We told him he was welcome to bring the car back if he was unhappy and even after being told that was an option, began to threaten to take us to court. We informed him there was nothing we could do without seeing the car to resolve his fears about the noise. Autologic was preparing to have vehicle transported back to our facility at our expense UNTIL Mr. [redacted] called back at 2:41pm screaming and using profanity directly intending to harass the female service manager, Kayla, refusing to allow her to speak by cutting off any dialogue from her, stating he was "tired of speaking to a dumb [redacted]". When she informed him that if he did not stop using the profane language and calm down so they could speak rationally, the conversation was over. Mr. [redacted] proceeded to scream at Kayla and call her multiple profane names; the current phone call was immediately terminated. Mr. [redacted] called back at 2:57pm and spoke to the owner, Vince, and continued to be combative and use profane language. Vince informed Mr. [redacted] that if he continued to use profane language, Vince was unwilling to continue the conversation. He informed Mr. [redacted] that we are unable to do anything until the car was diagnosed and that if Mr. [redacted] was uncomfortable bringing the car back to Greensboro, he could have it diagnosed at a shop local to him and to give that shop Autologic's information to communicate the diagnosis with us. Mr. [redacted] continued to be combative and began to threaten legal action AGAIN and threatened to initiate a Revdex.com complaint. Vince recommended that Mr. [redacted] do what he felt was right at this point since Vince could not get him to be quiet long enough to speak without raising his voice and that continued threats of legal action would end ALL communications with Autologic and would be handled by legal counsel only.
UPDATE: 11/30/2016 Autologic was contacted by [redacted] of Cary, NC and they agree with our diagnosis of the noise and told us they had no interest in working with Mr. [redacted] or his vehicle. They also informed us that the vehicle was driven into their facility meaning Mr. [redacted] obviously felt that the vehicle was safe and mechanically sound enough to operate for that extended road trip (for the 2nd time) or that he did not care if he destroyed his engine if he had some other problem related or unrelated to our repair.
In summary Mr. [redacted] had his Maserati towed to our facility in a state that the vehicle was unable to be driven or allowed to run for any length of time. Autologic communicated with Mr. [redacted] that we will repair the internal engine failure that was the variators, we would send the camshaft caps off for modification so he would not experience variator issues again and these repairs were completed successfully. We informed Mr. [redacted] that we had no knowledge of the vehicle's prior running condition, but could verify prior work had been done inside the engine. Vince, the owner of Autologic, performed the repairs and test drove the vehicle himself after completion. Mr. [redacted] stated the noise was present immediately, but did not feel enough concern to return to Autologic before returning to Virginia or to contact Autologic until a WEEK after receiving his vehicle. Mr. [redacted] has now driven his vehicle to a North Carolina Maserati Dealership and they are of the same opinion as Autologic. Autologic feels that this complaint does not have any bearing on our work, but more likely Mr. [redacted] is upset after having false hope that there would be no damage caused by his continued operation of the Maserati after the variator failure. Autologic also disputes the validity of this complaint with the incorrect spelling of his OWN last name and multiple false accusations listed especially knowing that Mr. [redacted] had others call during repairs claiming to be him. However, since Mr. [redacted] operated the vehicle with potential issues and, as far as we are aware will continue to do so, any warranty on our repairs would be void until an inspection is completed by Autologic.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2016/12/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
After reading these untruths, I contacted Autologic and received a voice mail stating they were closed Dec 2 to Dec 12. I RECEIVED THE SAME MESSAGE STATING THEY WOULD BE CLOSED OCTOBER 24 -OCTOBER 28 after Vince told me my car would be ready on October28. Never did he call to tell me otherwise! NOW, I reside in Virginia and had local north Carolina relatives check the status of my vehicle. The car was always towed to be diagnosed and never driven only to [redacted]. I have documents that state the repairs Autologic alleged were done are the same repair I am told are needed!In addition, Autologic used the wrong oil in my vehicle and I am told by the dealership that could cause engine damage. Autologic clearly stated on my invoice that the oil recommend by the manufacturer was the wrong oil. Which further let me know...they havent a clue when repairing Maserati. [redacted] refused to work on my vehicle because in was taken to a independent shop and didn't want to be responsible. I was told by Autologic my vehicle was completed on Nov 9 and was pick up on Nov 11. Furthermore, I was told it would take a week to have the parts in from California and a week to have the repairs completed.After two weeks with no status on my car I started calling and would receive voice-mail.However, when my relative called with a North Carolina number they would answer right away. After two months and 4000 dollars and my car is running the same as when it was towed to Autologic....I have every right to be upset. The customer service rep Kayla and Vince are both unprofessional...My initial phone call to the shop Vince answered the cursing and later apologized with the excuse he thought I was a telemarketer. ONE LAST THING , I DIDN'T RETURN TO AUTOLOGIC BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT OPEN ON THE WEEKENDS.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2016/12/15) */
At this time, there is nothing further that Autologic of Greensboro can do for Mr.[redacted]. The warranty for the original work completed is valid only at Autologic of Greensboro and the customer has failed/refused to return his Maserati to Autologic for verification and/or diagnosis of the stated problem.