Desert Car Care Gilbert II

[redacted] has brought his 1997 Chevrolet K3500 pick up truck vin # [redacted] on several occasions for repairs. Upon every arrival Mr. [redacted] informs me([redacted], Service Manager) about all the damage the previous shop did on his truck while repairing it Mr. [redacted] always states...

that he will never take his truck back to this particular shop because of the poor workmanship they have done to his vehicle. On 12-16-2014 Mr. [redacted] had his pick up towed to my location Desert Car Care [redacted] ###-###-#### for the vehicle not starting. Mr. [redacted] informed me the vehicle did not crank over at all. [redacted] authorized one hour in labor to diagnose the no start issue. upon the beginning of the inspection my tech found the starter was faulty and internally coming apart. One gear on the starter was falling back and damaging the teeth on the flexplate that is connected to the engine, the flexplate is a large gear that bolts to the back of the engine. When the starter is engaged it has a gear that meshes with the flexplate and turns the engine over to be started. The previous shop had replaced the starter in the past and installed the incorrect starter bolts. in doing so the bolts had come loose and allowed the starter to move when it was activated, when this happened the side of the engine block cracked and enlarged the holes for the starter bolts due to the incorrect bolts and the starter corning loose. I informed Mr. [redacted] that the starter, correct starter bolts and flexplate would need to be replaced to cure the issue. Mr. [redacted] authorized the repair to be completed. My tech removed the starter and started to disassemble components, he then informed me the side of the engine block was cracked. I inspected the engine block and verified his concern, the side of the engine block where the starter attaches to was indeed cracked. I Call mr. [redacted] immediately to inform him of what we had found. I([redacted]) gave Mr. [redacted] a few options on what he could do at the time because this was a major issue. One option was to put everything back together and not perform the repairs, the second option was to replace the engine due to the cracked block. The third option was have someone weld the block in an attempt to fix it. The block is made of cast iron which is very difficult to weld even for seasoned welders. I was very clear in stating that I had someone that could weld it but could not guarentee the weld would remain a permanent fix. The side of the block is difficult to access, along With, there is not a lot of material on the block to work with for the welding repair. Mr. [redacted] instantly did not want to put it back together or replace the engine, the previous shop replaced the engine prior. Mr. [redacted] chose option three to have it repaired. I again informed Mr. [redacted] that it was not an easy repair nor could it be permanent because ofthe damage that had been done. I was very clear in stating all of this to Mr. [redacted]. At Mr. [redacted]s request we replaced the flexplate, starter, starter bolts and had the engine block welded. Once above repairs were done Mr. [redacted] authorized other repairs to be done for driveability issues. The truck was completed and Mr. [redacted] paved his invoice repair total and left with the vehicle. Within a few weeks Mr. [redacted] called to inform me the starter was making a weird noise. The truck was brought to my location again for inspection. The area that had been welded had a hair line crack. I informed Mr. [redacted] that the weld had cracked and gave him the option of replacing the engine but he declined. At his request I had his truck towed over to the welder to repair again. the welder did his best to repair it but due to the previous damage from the original shop(incorrect starter bolts) the truck has difficulty starting. The truck was at my location for a few weeks while Mr. [redacted] decided what he wanted to do with it. I offered to help him part it out or tow it back to his location. Desert Car Care performed the repairs to Mr. [redacted]s truck by his request. He was given different options on repairs and he opted for the block to get repaired and take the gamble. I was very clear with the options and forecasting what could happen. I informed Mr. [redacted] of the options he was provided initially and that we repaired his truck at his request knowing that it may not stay fixed but he was aware of what could happen. I understand Mr. [redacted]s frustration with his truck but believe he should be taking action against the previous shop that did all the damage to the engine. Desert Car Care provided options for repairs to the truck and repaired the truck at Mr. [redacted] requests. I do not believe the charges should be disputed due to the fact I listened to my customer(Mr. [redacted]), did what they requested knowing what could happen and it may not fix the issue. Mr [redacted] had his truck towed to a chevy dealer for a warranty repair on the engine block(the replacement engine was supposedly a Gm crate engine). There is no record at all that the engine was ever purchased from any gm dealer or any parts for this particular truck. If there are any questions I can be reached at ###-###-#### or at [redacted]

Review: Desert car care said they could fix my truck . They said it was a bad starter. They have currently installed 350 starter on a 454 engine verified by another shop and there receipt. They also tried to weld the block which has voided the manufactures warranty.

Business

Response:

[redacted] has brought his 1997 Chevrolet K3500 pick up truck vin # [redacted] on several occasions for repairs. Upon every arrival Mr. [redacted] informs me([redacted], Service Manager) about all the damage the previous shop did on his truck while repairing it Mr. [redacted] always states that he will never take his truck back to this particular shop because of the poor workmanship they have done to his vehicle. On 12-16-2014 Mr. [redacted] had his pick up towed to my location Desert Car Care [redacted] ###-###-#### for the vehicle not starting. Mr. [redacted] informed me the vehicle did not crank over at all. [redacted] authorized one hour in labor to diagnose the no start issue. upon the beginning of the inspection my tech found the starter was faulty and internally coming apart. One gear on the starter was falling back and damaging the teeth on the flexplate that is connected to the engine, the flexplate is a large gear that bolts to the back of the engine. When the starter is engaged it has a gear that meshes with the flexplate and turns the engine over to be started. The previous shop had replaced the starter in the past and installed the incorrect starter bolts. in doing so the bolts had come loose and allowed the starter to move when it was activated, when this happened the side of the engine block cracked and enlarged the holes for the starter bolts due to the incorrect bolts and the starter corning loose. I informed Mr. [redacted] that the starter, correct starter bolts and flexplate would need to be replaced to cure the issue. Mr. [redacted] authorized the repair to be completed. My tech removed the starter and started to disassemble components, he then informed me the side of the engine block was cracked. I inspected the engine block and verified his concern, the side of the engine block where the starter attaches to was indeed cracked. I Call mr. [redacted] immediately to inform him of what we had found. I([redacted]) gave Mr. [redacted] a few options on what he could do at the time because this was a major issue. One option was to put everything back together and not perform the repairs, the second option was to replace the engine due to the cracked block. The third option was have someone weld the block in an attempt to fix it. The block is made of cast iron which is very difficult to weld even for seasoned welders. I was very clear in stating that I had someone that could weld it but could not guarentee the weld would remain a permanent fix. The side of the block is difficult to access, along With, there is not a lot of material on the block to work with for the welding repair. Mr. [redacted] instantly did not want to put it back together or replace the engine, the previous shop replaced the engine prior. Mr. [redacted] chose option three to have it repaired. I again informed Mr. [redacted] that it was not an easy repair nor could it be permanent because ofthe damage that had been done. I was very clear in stating all of this to Mr. [redacted]. At Mr. [redacted]s request we replaced the flexplate, starter, starter bolts and had the engine block welded. Once above repairs were done Mr. [redacted] authorized other repairs to be done for driveability issues. The truck was completed and Mr. [redacted] paved his invoice repair total and left with the vehicle. Within a few weeks Mr. [redacted] called to inform me the starter was making a weird noise. The truck was brought to my location again for inspection. The area that had been welded had a hair line crack. I informed Mr. [redacted] that the weld had cracked and gave him the option of replacing the engine but he declined. At his request I had his truck towed over to the welder to repair again. the welder did his best to repair it but due to the previous damage from the original shop(incorrect starter bolts) the truck has difficulty starting. The truck was at my location for a few weeks while Mr. [redacted] decided what he wanted to do with it. I offered to help him part it out or tow it back to his location. Desert Car Care performed the repairs to Mr. [redacted]s truck by his request. He was given different options on repairs and he opted for the block to get repaired and take the gamble. I was very clear with the options and forecasting what could happen. I informed Mr. [redacted] of the options he was provided initially and that we repaired his truck at his request knowing that it may not stay fixed but he was aware of what could happen. I understand Mr. [redacted]s frustration with his truck but believe he should be taking action against the previous shop that did all the damage to the engine. Desert Car Care provided options for repairs to the truck and repaired the truck at Mr. [redacted] requests. I do not believe the charges should be disputed due to the fact I listened to my customer(Mr. [redacted]), did what they requested knowing what could happen and it may not fix the issue. Mr [redacted] had his truck towed to a chevy dealer for a warranty repair on the engine block(the replacement engine was supposedly a Gm crate engine). There is no record at all that the engine was ever purchased from any gm dealer or any parts for this particular truck. If there are any questions I can be reached at ###-###-#### or at [redacted]