Chariot Hi Tech Collision, Inc.

Review: I purchased a 2011 Nissan Sentra in June of 2013 and was rear-ended two days later (no-fault on my end). As I was being loaded into an ambulance, my car was directed to Chariot Collision by the attending officer. Shortly thereafter, an adjuster from Geico drafted up an estimate in which $7,224.57 in repairs would need to be made to my car. Chariot had my vehicle in their possession for about a month while they did the repairs. After picking up my car, I noticed upon bringing it to the gas station that the fuel door would not open when I pressed the button for the gas cap. I brought the car back to Chariot that following weekend, where they told me to wait inside and they would fix it. After about ten minutes, they brought me outside and told me to check the button. It worked fine, so I left. After about two trips to the gas station, the fuel door stopped opening again. Since Chariot is not close to my home and I don't have a back-up ride, I decided to live with the problem and resorted to opening the fuel door with a flat-head screwdriver.

Issue #2: Over the course of the summer and fall months, whenever it rained, my car would fish-tail like crazy. Because I had been in an accident so soon after buying the car, I wasn't sure if this was a normal feature of the car or if it was a result of the accident. I got my answer back in or around November of 2013 when I ended up getting a flat tire. I brought the car to Middle Island Tire near my home, where I was told that the wear and tear on one of the tires looked more severe than a normal flat tire (you could see the steel wiring), and that it might be an alignment issue. I needed to have both back tires replaced. She said to monitor the tires, and if the problem happened again, to bring it back and they would perform an alignment. About three weeks ago, it happened again, so I brought the car back to Middle Island Tire. They replaced both back tires - again - and tried to do the alignment. After two attempts, they could not get the rear passenger tire (where I was rear-ended) to align, so they thought I might have a bent strut. The senior mechanic who would have been able to diagnose the problem did not work on weekends, so they suggested I bring the car back during the week.

Two days later, I noticed that my front brakes were grinding, so I took the car to Smithtown General Tire, since it is close to my job. I asked Smithtown General Tire, since the car was there anyway, if they could double-check the strut, telling them that Middle Island Tire believed it to be bent. Smithtown General Tire then informed me that it wasn't the strut that was bent; that it was, in fact, the axle, and that it was bent significantly. The mechanic said that the only way the axle could have been bent this badly would be from the car being in an accident. I have not been in an accident since the one back in June, so it is believed that the axle was never properly replaced.

I called Geico to see what I should do next, and I was told that I had two options: 1) bring the car back to Chariot, since they were already paid for the work, or 2) bring it to another shop and make Chariot pay the bill. I ultimately decided to have Smithtown General Tire do the work. (For the record, Smithtown General Tire found that the problem with the fuel door was that a spring was missing. This has now been fixed.)Desired Settlement: As a result of Chariot's believed negligence, I have been subjected to incredibly unsafe driving conditions, as well as a significant amount of money spent out-of-pocket. I write to request a total refund of $1,609.81. This includes the $1,269.81 that I have paid to fix the axle, re-perform the alignment, repair the fuel door, and perform an inspection. The remaining $340 is for the two sets of back tires that I needed to have replaced, as well as for the first alignment that was done (when they thought my strut was bent).

Business

Response:

I [redacted] of Chariot Collision is responding to a complaint made to you by [redacted] on her 2011 Nissan Sentra. We did not get any notice from her about her rear axle having a problem she came back about her gas door that we fixed here when she came back and it worked when she left. This was back in May of 2013, we have not heard back from her about any other problems since then. Geico called last week about the issue and I said tell her to come in and we will take care of any issues with her car. She never came in and this week we got a letter from the Revdex.com. Now we have bin in business for 20 years with not 1 complaint to the Revdex.com. We offer a lifetime guarantee on all repairs. You do not stay in business that long with out taking care of your customers. All she had to do is come back and we would of fixed everything and also provided a rental car to her. You can get the same result by hitting a pot hole, all parts were replaced that Geico Authorized.

Thank you,

Chariot Collision Center

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:

I was specifically told by the mechanic that I brought my car to last week (Smithtown General Tire) that the axle could not be bent as badly as it was from anything other than the car being involved in an accident.

Also, I did not feel comfortable bringing my car back to Chariot for the axle, considering that I had already brought the car back for the fuel door that wasn't working after it was replaced, and that wasn't fixed properly the second time around either.

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

Sincerely,