Davis Import Automotive

Vehicle was serviced 3 times and still not fixed. 3rd visit to shop resulted in work performed and charges accrued without prior notice.My wife and I contacted [redacted] of Davis Import Automotive about repairing our AC in our 2005 kia Sedona. The compressor, dryer, and expansion valve needed to be replaced and Mr. [redacted] agreed to let us purchase the parts and he would repair the vehicle. We dropped the van off July 3rd and picked it up July 8th and paid $722.65 for the parts mentioned above to be replaced as well as the freon to be vacuumed down, leak checked, and recharged. At this time he explained that the expansion valve we supplied was removed and he put the old one back on as it was causing issues with freon leaking. He returned our valve to us and it did not look as if it has been used at all. A month later we returned to the shop as the van was not cooling properly and a freon leack was suspected. Mr. [redacted] had us wait in his shop while he replaced rusted springs that could be the cause of the freon leaking out and did this at no charge to us.The van continued to cool poorly so we texted Mr. [redacted] about bringing the van in for a 3rd time. The texted conversation depicts Mr. [redacted] guessing that the expansion valve was to fault. He suggested he would not really know until we left it with him. I asked at that time if he could recommend a mechanic who specializes in AC repair work and he could not saying he was the best. We brought the van in again on August 14th and left instructions for Mr. [redacted] to contact us should any additional parts or work be needed on the van. We did not hear from him for several days so we contacted him on August 19th at which time he said the van had a new expansion valve placed that he had purchased. We asked him to keep the van an additional day to ensure it was working properly and to drive it around with the a/c on and thoroughly check the cooling system. On August 20th we contacted Mr. [redacted] to find out if he was finished with our van and to let him know we would be picking it up. He texted us to tell us it was ready and we owed $244 for 2 hours of labor to put the new valve on. Upon arrival at his shop, a verbal confrontation ensued in which Mr. [redacted] was unable to tell us if the van was indeed repaired and if the expansion valve was indeed the problem. We explained we were happy to pay for the part he bought but were not prepared to pay for any additional labor charges. He agreed to lessen his fees to $90.55 but told us he could not guarantee his work or the part he put on since we were not paying the full shop fees. We reminded him that he was asked to contact us before performing any work on the vehicle. He told us he had texted us but we did not recieve a text about the work needed. He was unable to show us his phone to verify he sent the text and stated we must not have gotten his text. We then replied he shoudl have called us to go over any work estimates and that texting was not a reliable means of communication. He then stated he was not contracted to fix our van on the fist visit but simply to replace the parts we gave him. We explained that we brought the van in 2 additional times so that the system could be fully repaired and while we did not expect him to warranty parts he did not purchase, we did expect him to warranty his work. We paid the $90.55 by check after he told us to bring cash because his credit card machine was down. When we stated we had no cash and a check was all we had, he asked how much cash we had on us. I showed him my wallet and wrote out his check telling him we weren't expecting to pay anything but the part fee of $25. He then threw the keys at us and told us to leave and not bring the van back again. Desired SettlementWe made 3 attempts to have Mr. [redacted] repair our van and just picked it up today (august 20th). I do not have confidence that it will be fixed as he could not guarantee his work and refused to detail what tests or work he performed on it. We seek an apology for his unprofessional behaviour and his lack of communication as well as a partial refund for services rendered in the amount of $400 We drove 45 minutes to his shop 3 different times as well as missing wages from leaving work on these 3 occasions (drop off and pick up of vehicle).