Danville Radiator Works

Review: On Tuesday, July 8, 2014 I noticed that my vehicle was leaking antifreeze. I then drove my vehicle to Danville Radiator Works to have the problem assessed by Mr. [redacted] because he was the one who installed the radiator on April 23, 2002. Mr. [redacted] assessed the problem and stated that the radiator was indeed leaking. Being that this radiator has a lifetime warranty, I asked him about honoring his policy. At first, he refused by saying that the radiator company was no longer in business. He then stated that he would only honor his policy if I paid someone else to remove the radiator from my car and bring it back over to him.

Later that evening, I paid Mr. [redacted] $75 to remove the radiator for me. On Wednesday, July 9, 2014 I brought Mr. [redacted] the radiator and he told me that he would fix it. Mr. [redacted] stated that he fixed and painted the radiator.

After having the radiator reinstalled by Mr. [redacted], the radiator continued to leak from the same area that Mr. [redacted] claimed to have fixed. I tried speaking with Mr. [redacted] again about the problem that I was having but he told me that he had no way of knowing if the radiator I was having an issue with is the same one that he fixed. He instructed me to pay someone to remove the radiator again and when I told him that I could not afford to continue paying and repaying for the same issue, he stated that, "That is just one of those things." Mr. [redacted] has been extremely stoic concerning this matter and because of him not honoring his policy I have been forced to spend $120 to buy a new radiator and have it installed for $75.Desired Settlement: I would like to be refunded for my two $75 mechanic visits to [redacted] as well as $120 for the new radiator that I was forced to purchase. For a total of $270.

Business

Response:

I am responding to a complaint by [redacted] submitted on 8/4/14 with ID number as stated above. This is my account of the incident to the best of my recollection:

[redacted] came to Danville Radiator Works on Tuesday, July 8, by her account, as I cannot remember the exact date. She told me her radiator was leaking antifreeze and she had purchased it from me many years ago. I asked her if she had her receipt and she stated she did. I explained to her the company that I had bought radiators from years ago, [redacted] Aftermarket, had gone out of business in the automotive market, but I would see what I could do to honor the warranty. I told her to bring me the receipt and the radiator and I felt sure we could work something out.

Ms. [redacted] continued over and over to ask me if I was going to give her a “new radiator”. She would not listen to any reasoning at all. All she wanted me to say was that I was going to give her a new radiator with no questions asked. I could not tell her that at that time. She continued to ask me “What are you going to do about it?” and I continued to respond “Bring me the receipt and the radiator and we will work something out.” I tried explaining to her that only the radiator has a lifetime warranty. The labor is only warrantied for 90 (ninety) days.I had to see the problem and determine how we could resolve this issue. Since I would have to charge her for the labor she wanted a mechanic of her choosing remove it for her.

When you only purchase a radiator from me, the radiator has a lifetime warranty. Labor is not included in that warranty and it carries a 90 (ninety) day warranty.

She states she brought me the radiator and it was repaired and painted and she returned to Mr. Flannigan to install the repaired radiator. I can honestly say I do not remember this radiator repair specifically, as opposed to any others I may have done in that time frame. But by her account of the event this is what happened so I cannot dispute it.

Ms. [redacted] then says about a month later she returned to me with a “leak in the same place.” The only thing I can do is once again have her bring me the radiator to check out. We are not doing the labor for her, so I have to check for several things when warranting a repair. Was the radiator damaged in transit? Is this a new leak? Did her mechanic accidentally damage it while installing the radiator? Has she hit something with the front of her vehicle causing the leak? Before I am able to discuss price and making financial adjustments to anyone’s “claimed damages” I have to access the situation.

In my recollection she did not want to pay someone to take the radiator back off and have me check it. Once again, I cannot offer free labor and since she was using a mechanic other than myself, I knew no other way of checking for another leak.

As for me being “stoic”, I don’t feel that is accurate. I can only give the same answer to the same question so many times . At that point I do not know what else to say to get the customer to understand my options are limited when you do have the complete job done by Danville Radiator.

I would have been glad to have fixed Ms. [redacted]’ radiator and have her satisfied with our business, but she left and did not return for me to evaluate her complaint, of another leak in her radiator.

Please feel free to contact me if there are any further questions.

Sincerely,

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.

Mr. [redacted]'s recollection of the events are simply not true. I did not repeatedly ask for a new radiator, I only asked that the one I had with the lifetime warranty be repaired or replaced if a repair was not going to fix the issue. The bottom line is that Mr. [redacted] did not and has not honored the policy for my radiator.

Regards,