Chestnut Street Automotive

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] I stand corrected The original job in question was, in fact, a head set including all the precision work which that entails I apologize for misspeaking That said, your account contains errors which are considerably more egregious: It is entirely untrue that I waited until “months later” to inform you of my dissatisfaction with the original head set work I expressed my concerns about the original work, both in person and on the phone, on at least FOUR occasions between December and June (On two occasions, when I wished to speak with the mechanic who had completed the work, I was unable to get past the garage manager, who refused to put me through and insisted that, “Your car is fine” and, “Just because there are lights coming on doesn’t mean there’s a problem That happens to my [redacted] all the time.”)It is true, however, that it was not until July that my frustration over the continuation of the original problem (check engine/coolant lights and leaking coolant) reached a headI finally refused to be assuaged, and insisted that you make good on the original work.At that time, on July 12, you acknowledged that the head gasket work needed to be done again You even tried to charge me for it, until I reminded you that the original work was under warranty Yes, I was upset, as it was six months after I first took my vehicle to you for repair, and it was still displaying the SAME issues for which I had sought your expertise in the first place.You absolutely did not diagnose the turbo problem until weeks AFTER re-doing the head gasket work I have your estimate, dated August If you had insisted that the turbo was failing on July 12, and that it was the root of the engine head problems, why would you have waited until weeks after the head gasket work to give me the turbo estimate?The fact is, you only diagnosed the turbo when I brought my car back to you (in August) for the THIRD time, in response to the failure of the July repairs I told you, once again, that the original problems (check engine/coolant lights and leaking coolant), which the car had been experiencing since before the original work, still were not rectified.You claim that it was the faulty turbo which likely caused the cracked head, however, I posit that it was your failure to complete the head gasket work adequately in December 2016, followed by your failure to warranty that original work, which lead to the subsequent problems.There is general agreement in the mechanical field that head set work requires extreme precision, including meticulous planing/resurfacing, testing, etc I am aware that cutting of corners--such as putting new gaskets on a less than pristine surface, failure to run the required dye tests, and/or replacement of a compromised head back on the engine--can lead to the symptoms my car continued to experience, followed by catastrophic engine damage Evidence (recurrent check engine/coolant lights, leaking coolant, and poor performance, which continued after your “repairs”) suggests that this is likely what happened.Finally, it is true that I went to you for other “automotive needs” early in this process Just like a patient prefers to have medical care coordinated by a single doctor who can oversee the interaction of all treatments, I put my trust in you to see the big picture, and coordinate my vehicle repairs You did complete work on my vehicle’s brakes and lights, and notice I am not filing a complaint about that work because you completed those repairs successfully If I had it all to do over, I would definitely select another shop for all my automotive needs A single stint with another mechanic has rectified ALL of my car’s mechanical problems, and it has spent exactly ZERO days in a repair facility since they repaired it in September, 2017.I believe that, at the very least, you owe me a refund for the head gasket work which you failed to complete successfully, and which exacerbated subsequent mechanical problems.Regards, [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. I stand corrected.  The original job in question was, in fact, a head set… including all the precision work which that entails.  I apologize for misspeaking.  That said, your account contains errors which are considerably more egregious: It is entirely untrue that I waited until “7 months later” to inform you of my dissatisfaction with the original head set work.  I expressed my concerns about the original work, both in person and on the phone, on at least FOUR occasions between December 2016 and June 2017.  (On two occasions, when I wished to speak with the mechanic who had completed the work, I was unable to get past the garage manager, who refused to put me through and insisted that, “Your car is fine” and, “Just because there are lights coming on doesn’t mean there’s a problem.  That happens to my [redacted] all the time.”)It is true, however, that it was not until July 12 that my frustration over the continuation of the original problem (check engine/coolant lights and leaking coolant) reached a head. I finally refused to be assuaged, and insisted that you make good on the original work.At that time, on July 12, you acknowledged that the head gasket work needed to be done again.  You even tried to charge me for it, until I reminded you that the original work was under warranty.  Yes, I was upset, as it was six months after I first took my vehicle to you for repair, and it was still displaying the SAME issues for which I had sought your expertise in the first place.You absolutely did not diagnose the turbo problem until 3 weeks AFTER re-doing the head gasket work.  I have your estimate, dated August 3.  If you had insisted that the turbo was failing on July 12, and that it was the root of the engine head problems, why would you have waited until 3 weeks after the head gasket work to give me the turbo estimate?The fact is, you only diagnosed the turbo when I brought my car back to you (in August) for the THIRD time, in response to the failure of the July 12 repairs.  I told you, once again, that the original problems (check engine/coolant lights and leaking coolant), which the car had been experiencing since before the original work, still were not rectified.You claim that it was the faulty turbo which likely caused the cracked head, however, I posit that it was your failure to complete the head gasket work adequately in December 2016, followed by your failure to warranty that original work, which lead to the subsequent problems.There is general agreement in the mechanical field that head set work requires extreme precision, including meticulous planing/resurfacing, testing, etc.  I am aware that cutting of corners--such as putting new gaskets on a less than pristine surface, failure to run the required dye tests, and/or replacement of a compromised head back on the engine--can lead to the symptoms my car continued to experience, followed by catastrophic engine damage.  Evidence (recurrent check engine/coolant lights, leaking coolant, and poor performance, which continued after your “repairs”) suggests that this is likely what happened.Finally, it is true that I went to you for other “automotive needs” early in this process.  Just like a patient prefers to have medical care coordinated by a single doctor who can oversee the interaction of all treatments, I put my trust in you to see the big picture, and coordinate my vehicle repairs.  You did complete work on my vehicle’s brakes and lights, and notice I am not filing a complaint about that work because you completed those repairs successfully.  If I had it all to do over, I would definitely select another shop for all my automotive needs.  A single stint with another mechanic has rectified ALL of my car’s mechanical problems, and it has spent exactly ZERO days in a repair facility since they repaired it in September, 2017.I believe that, at the very least, you owe me a refund for the head gasket work which you failed to complete successfully, and which exacerbated subsequent mechanical problems.Regards,
[redacted]

Ms. [redacted] contacted us the 1st week of December 2016 stating that her 2001 [redacted] was losing antifreeze and that she was having to add antifreeze quite often. After assessing her vehicle, it was our opinion that Ms. [redacted]'s vehicle needed the headgaskets replaced. Ms. [redacted] approved...

our estimate for her vehicle and proceeded to schedule the repair. The work was completed on December 15th, 2016. Ms. [redacted] continued to utilize our services several times thereafter. Ms. [redacted] came by our office in July of 2017 stating that her vehicle had a Check Engine Light on & a Coolant Level light on and was concerned. We informed Ms. [redacted] that we would be happy to assess her [redacted] and do a diagnostic at no charge. On July 12, 2017 Ms. [redacted] dropped her vehicle off for the assessment of the lights. After running a diagnostic of her vehicle, we noticed that it lacked power and had excessive smoke coming from the exhaust. After running a computer diagnostic and analyzing the codes present along with the symptoms we were experiencing with her vehicle, we informed Ms. [redacted] that her turbocharger was failing and that it was quite possible that her catalytic converter was plugged. Just for information value, when a turbocharger begins to fail, it will leak oil into the exhaust system which will burn off causing smoke from the tailpipe(s). In turn, this can cause a pressure issue with the engine and if left unrepaired, can crack a cylinder head. At this point, Ms. [redacted] claimed that she didn't want to put more money into the vehicle nor did she have any to put into it and would get back to us. Approximately a week later, Ms. [redacted] again came to our office but was very upset. She stated that she felt as though the headgasket work we had performed in December of 2016 was what was causing the issues with her vehicle. We explained to her that these symptoms do not coincide with a headgasket going bad. We also informed her that re-doing the headgaskets would be in vain because there were underlying problems existing with her vehicle and that we would not be able to warranty doing the work again. We proceeded to do an estimate for replacing the turbocharger on Ms. [redacted]'s vehicle and contacted her that afternoon. We also informed her that we would not know for sure if her catalytic converter was plugged unless we removed it from the exhaust to look inside it which we would be able to do upon replacing the turbocharger. We also did a separate estimate for Ms. [redacted], upon her insistence, to redo the headgaskets. Upon calling Ms. [redacted] with the estimates, she became extremely upset and informed us that she had been told by an outside source that the cylinder head on her vehicle was no good and insisted that it was our fault. We proceeded to explain to Ms. [redacted] "again" that the underlying issue with her failing turbocharger could have cracked the cylinder head but that this was a problem that arose several months after the worked we had performed in December of 2016. She proceeded to insist that we warranty the work. To keep good standing with Ms. [redacted] as a customer, we reluctantly scheduled her in to redo the headgaskets on her vehicle at no cost but informed her that most likely, it would not last. . This is why there are 2 invoices in July of 2017, one charging for the repair and the other at no cost. She seemed happy with decision and stated that she was planning on getting rid of the vehicle soon anyhow. It is now January 2018 and we are just learning of Ms. [redacted]'s complaint. In her complaint, she is asking for compensation for work that she allegedly had done at [redacted] Full Service Auto and I have attached the invoice for those repairs. As you can plainly see, Ms. [redacted] simply had work done that we had previously told her in July 2017 would need to be done so I am unsure as to why she has filed a complaint against our company. We would have been happy to have done the work for her then and obviously offered to but she did not trust our assessment back then. She has accomplished nothing other than to substantiate what we had originally relayed to her back in July of 2017. It is unfortunate that this situation turned out the way it did but we are quite unclear as to why Ms. [redacted] feels as though she should be compensated for work that we informed her was needed. I appreciate your time in reviewing this matter.