Bert's Garage, Inc.

Very similar to the complaint left against this business, I'm leaving a review as there was ultimately no financial transaction with this company. My truck broke down (blown head gasket) while traveling north on I77. Because of the Google reviews I had the tow truck driver take the truck there. Since it was a big repair, I found another way home (250 miles away) and left him the truck. He quoted about 7-8 hours labor plus parts. Sounded fair.

But... After 3 weeks of me calling on a regular basis he finally said he would start on the truck the following Monday. That Friday morning (end of week 4) I called for an update and was told he would let me know something by the end of the day (ummm... what have you been doing all week?). When he called me back he said, "There's water in the oil. You have to replace your engine. He happened to know where there was a used engine that he would sell me for $1200 (plus lots more labor hours to replace the whole engine). What he didn't know was that I normally do all my own mechanic work and left it there for convenience. I contacted 4 acquaintances (3 of whom are professional mechanics) who all laughed out loud when I told them the story and his diagnosis.

After a $450 shipping cost to bring the truck back I lift the hood and I can tell from the dirt on the engine that nothing under the hood was touched. He drained the oil, found water and without checking anything else tried to tell me I needed a whole new engine. Head gaskets blow all the time. when they blow, water and oil channels are no longer separated. Of course water will be in the oil. 4 weeks wasted on him putting me off and ultimately trying to cheat me, the truck is back home and I'll do the work myself.

If you're repair is major or if you don't know about cars, use caution. In my case, he appeared to be a thief and a liar and tried to take advantage of me but fortunately I had the automotive knowledge to not be taken in.

Review: In June of this year my wife, 3 year old daughter and myself went on a vacation to see my parents in virginia. Our car broke down and we called AAA. They sent us a tow truck from Bert's garage. My dad had to drive from Annandale Viriginia to Hillsville Va to pick us up and it was very late in the morning before we arrived to their house. The garage told us they were going to have to order the parts but that the car would be ready by the following Sat. This would have been great because we both had to return to South Carolina on Monday for work. We made calls through out the week to see how the progress was going. They assured us it would be ready. We rented a car in Annandale Va to drive to Hillsville Va to pick up our car only to be told they had not even started our repairs!!!!!!! Here we are in a place with no car and no way to stay in a hotel because they said the car would cost over $2000.00 to fix. My dad called a friend that lives in Mount Airy NC and he came to pick us up and allowed us to stay at his house. My wife and I lost a whole week of work and the stress and inconvience was unbelievable!!!!!! We finally get our car back only to have it still over heating. Just yesterday the car once again stopped running and had to be towed. This garage told us we were getting a new engine. The only thing they did was to give us a different moter not a new one. This business should be taken off the AAA list to call to help their customers. In fact it should be made to close their doors. They knew we were from out of town with a baby and I am disabled and they took advantage of us. How many other people have they taken advantage of? There is no way we will ever be able to get any money back and we could have lost our jobs because of the delays caused by the garage. Not to mention the time spent putting people out.

Business

Response:

This letter is regarding a complaint that you received from a one [redacted] of [redacted], South Carolina. I have reviewdthe complaint And I am in return sending you a copy of the invoice that the customer has Regarding the work done on his vehicle on 6-21-13.It clearly shows that they paid, on that same date, $900.00, which Was the cost of the used engine that they were told theywere receiving and They agreed and paid for it the day the car was brought in so we could get The engine and repair their vehicle. As you can see on the invoice, there were Several parts needed to fix their vehicle properly, and besides the engine, it Had blown head gaskets as well. Vehicle was fixed and they were advised of The used engine.The mechanic said they knew there were getting a used engine because They couldn't afford a new one. It is our policy that wenever do just what we Want, it is at the discretion of the customer as to if they want to fix their vehicle After we have looked at it, and also if they want new or used parts. We have never had any other complaints. We get a lot of travelers who break down on The interstate and this was a misfortune for them. We provided the service that They asked for and depending on where the engine had to come from it could of Taken a couple days to get.We always try to accommodate the out of town customers for that plain fact they are away from home. We would like to knowwhy they are waiting til now, four months later, to inform of a problem. Apparently the car has been fine til now. We are sorry for any inconvenience but we did what were were Suppose to do for the customer. Respectfully, Owner

Business

Response:

Business's response stands.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer 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.im just not happy cause me and my wife had to miss those days from work and could have lost are jobs due to this matter and it just didnt seem to matter to them.

Very similar to the complaint left against this business, I'm leaving a review as there was ultimately no financial transaction with this company. My truck broke down (blown head gasket) while traveling north on I77. Because of the Google reviews I had the tow truck driver take the truck there. Since it was a big repair, I found another way home (250 miles away) and left him the truck. He quoted about 7-8 hours labor plus parts. Sounded fair.

But... After 3 weeks of me calling on a regular basis he finally said he would start on the truck the following Monday. That Friday morning (end of week 4) I called for an update and was told he would let me know something by the end of the day (ummm... what have you been doing all week?). When he called me back he said, "There's water in the oil. You have to replace your engine. He happened to know where there was a used engine that he would sell me for $1200 (plus lots more labor hours to replace the whole engine). What he didn't know was that I normally do all my own mechanic work and left it there for convenience. I contacted 4 acquaintances (3 of whom are professional mechanics) who all laughed out loud when I told them the story and his diagnosis.

After a $450 shipping cost to bring the truck back I lift the hood and I can tell from the dirt on the engine that nothing under the hood was touched. He drained the oil, found water and without checking anything else tried to tell me I needed a whole new engine. Head gaskets blow all the time. when they blow, water and oil channels are no longer separated. Of course water will be in the oil. 4 weeks wasted on him putting me off and ultimately trying to cheat me, the truck is back home and I'll do the work myself.

If you're repair is major or if you don't know about cars, use caution. In my case, he appeared to be a thief and a liar and tried to take advantage of me but fortunately I had the automotive knowledge to not be taken in.