Dave's Auto Service

As I stated I originally told the consumer not to even get the car fix and gave her keys back to her and she left.  She came back and decided she wanted the brakes done.  I fixed the brakes and she still said they were not right.  I re-bleed the brakes for her and did everything that I was suppose to do.  The brakes should be fine.  I don't know what she is talking about her water filler.  I only did the brakes.

Most of this is fabricated. He's not an honest person.The Van ran the same as when I came there. No leaks except my water filler to clean windows. He took my money I have no parts that were removed from my Van. No leaks from the water pump. Heres proof I have to rent cars.

On October 18th the customer brought her vehicle in to our facility for an oil change with the vehicle mileage at 139,128. As one of our service technicians drove the vehicle onto the lift to perform the service he made note that he could hear o ticking noise coming from the engine. Upon further...

inspection of the old oil change sticker from the previous service stated the last oil service was performed at 128,282 miles on May 5th. After informing the customer it had been almost 11,000 miles since her last service she stated that she had been ill and her boyfriend had been driving the vehicle during that time and she knew that it was beyond the recommended service time.The following day the customer returned and stated that while driving the previous day she noticed a rattle from the engine. She then said that her boyfriend added one quart of oil to the engine. In front or the customer I removed the dipstick and inspected it. The dipstick showed that it was approximately one quart over full. We have performed the customers service for many years and have done oil changes on this vehicle and many like it so we know the correct amount of oil the vehicle needs. Furthermore we do not use bulk oil for our services, instead preferring to use individual quart bottles making it a safe and foolproof way to use the proper recommended amount of oil. While talking with the customer I noted a slight ticking noise and asked if that was the sound she had heard. She said that it was not and the noise had been much louder.
A couple of weeks later the customer celled and stated that once again while driving the vehicle she observed a rattle. She asked if it was possible that the oil pump was going bad. I told her that it was a possibility but I was unable to diagnose the issue over the phone. I asked her if the oil gauge showed what the oil pressure was at that time and the customer stated she did not know how to check that. During that conversation I recommended she bring the vehicle in so I could further diagnose the problem. The customer did not come In and that was the last contact we have had with her.
Unfortunately this complaint has taken us by surprise. We stand proudly behind our reputation, which has been unblemished after 32 years in the automotive service industry. We hope for a positive resolution for all parties in this complaint. Since we are now aware that the customer is unhappy we would very much like to be in contact with her, to try to resolve this amicably.
 
David L[redacted], Owner

Review: In May of this year (2014), I started to hear an occasional noise coming from my Right Front (RF)/passenger side front wheel. In addition, at low speeds I was having trouble with the power steering and the wheel was hard to turn at times. I took my car to [redacted]'s Auto Service in Monona to have my car checked for these issues and any other issues he may find with the car, as I had been a customer of his for years prior to this. [redacted] informed me of three main issues: 1) The ball joints, tie rods, and other wheel items in all four of the wheels needed various repairs. 2) The power steering was not only leaking, but broken in some other way and would have to be replaced entirely to restore power steering to normal. 3) The catalytic converter was definitely broken and would need to be replaced to function.

Given the age of my car (year 2000 Ford Focus), I did not want to put any additional money into repairs than were necessary as I intend to replace the car at some point. I decided to go ahead with any and all repairs to the wheels to make the car safe for the road, and not have the power steering or catalytic converter replaced or worked on. [redacted]'s Auto Service performed this work along with welding in a flex pipe [redacted] had told me I needed. This work was performed 6/5/2014 and the total price I paid was $1,646.02.

Within a month, the car seemed to be more sluggish than usual and accelerating wouldn't be smooth; the car would accelerate in large spurts and then slow down when even when pressing the gas pedal down smoothly. In addition, the noise from the Right Front wheel was happening again. I arranged over the phone to have my car back in to be looked at. Now living on the west side of Madison, I drove the car to the east side of Madison to [redacted]'s Auto Service, taking the beltline highway and driving at highway speeds as usual, on 8/25/2014. [redacted] had my car overnight and called me back the next day on 8/26/2014. He explained to me that the spark plugs are worn out, that all of the plug wires need to be replaced, and there is a problem with the ignition coil and gave me an estimated cost of around $550 for these repairs. Frustrated, I asked him why these issues weren't caught when I first brought the car in to be checked for all issues, as I instructed him to please do. He made a comment that was "Well, because when we do find an issue you don't want to pay to have the work done" - referring to the power steering and/or catalytic converter repairs I declined to have done. At this point I was unhappy with his poor service and decided I would find a different mechanic to examine the car. I asked [redacted] "have you performed any of the work yet?". [redacted] replied "No we haven't done any work on it yet". I replied "Okay, don't do any work on the car, I'm going to take it somewhere else" and ended the phone call.

I rode my bicycle to get to my car at [redacted]'s Auto Service. When I arrived, I had him give me a printout of his description of the problem. As I got into my car to leave, the car sounded noticeably worse with loud pops and noises when I tried to accelerate at all. Even pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, The car would barely go faster than 25-30 miles per hour. Before getting a mile down the road, I had to return back to [redacted]'s and confront him about why my car is so much worse than when I left him with it. He actually said that it was just a coincidence, and that it was my fault for not paying to have the work done. I asked him how it was possible that I drive the car on the highway every day for months at speeds up to 65 MPH, but after leaving the car with him for just one day, in which he says he did no work whatsoever to the car, it no longer can go past 30 MPH? He reiterated that it must just be a coincidence. I have 100% confidence that on that day, 8/26/2014, [redacted] likely sabotaged my car out of frustration that I would be taking it somewhere else for repair in an attempt to force me to pay him to do the work, or at the very least did work on my car in some way that left it worse than when I drove it to him.

Painstakingly, I decided to drive my car at 30 MPH in a slow traffic jam back to the west side and take it to McDermotts Service and Repair. I explained to them my situation, and to check carefully for any wrongdoing by [redacted]'s Auto when repairing my car. On 8/27/2014, I received my car back from McDermotts. I paid $579.82 for the repairs, which included replacement of the ignition coil, spark plugs and wires, and motor vac. I spoke with the mechanic who also informed me that the noise on my Right Front wheel was due to damage caused by improper repair done by [redacted]'s Auto. He even provided me with pictures, that I still have and can readily provide to anyone interested, that the spindle had been over tightened which caused a crack. He said it was not the type of part that simply wears out on a car, and it was without a doubt due to improper installation by [redacted]'s Auto. I contacted [redacted] about this issue, and he has outright told me that he refuses to do anything to repair it, or be responsible for the damage done to my car. [redacted] did provide me with a phone number to the warranty company he has for parts. I called them and they said they would not cover any kind of warranty on the part because it wasn't sent defective, but was due to the improper installation performed by [redacted]'s Auto.

On 9/17/2014, my wife and I had driven to Monona from the west side to pick up a few things from my mother's home. After leaving the beltline highway, and driving in residential Monona, the car started to make a very bad noise on the Right Front wheel and soon came to a stop and couldn't accelerate at all. I turned off the car, and went outside the car to see what had happened. The Right Front wheel had nearly come off of the car and was lodged against the frame of the hood. It was very dangerous, and could have caused serious bodily harm to my wife and I if this had happened just a few minutes earlier when we were on the beltline highway. I had our AAA service tow the car back to the west side to be looked at again by McDermotts. This was a longer distance tow than normal, and I had to pay an extra towing fee of $25.32.

On 9/19/2014, I received my repaired car back from McDermotts. The repairs included a replaced ball joint and steering knuckle, and I paid $603.39 for the work. McDermotts reminded me that the reason this happened was because of the original damage to the spindle caused by [redacted]'s Auto. [redacted] still refuses to take any responsibility for the damage to my car and failure to repair the original issue I brought the car in for - the Right Front wheel problem.Desired Settlement: I want to receive a check in the amount of $2,854.55 from Dave's Auto Service. This is reimbursement for their responsibility in the following items:

1) $1,646.02 paid to Dave's Auto for repairs which were performed incorrectly and did not repair the issue.

2) $579.82 paid to McDermotts for issues caused by Dave's Auto and not caught during the $1,646.02 of repairs the first time.

3) $25.32 paid for the towing fee because the car broke down due to Dave's Auto not repairing the car correctly.

4) $603.39 paid to McDermotts to repair extra damages incurred by Dave's Auto cracking the spindle.

Dave's failure to repair the original issue I brought the car in for (the Right Front wheel problem), the time missed from my jobs, pain and suffering and his refusal to cooperate, the danger my wife and I were placed in, and the permanent damage and loss of value to my car are all valid reasons why he owes me this money.