Desert Car Care

Almost one year ago to the day an engine customer supplied engine was installed in vehicle. As stated on customers invoice vehicle should be returned to shop on a regular basis to inspect for any and all problems. Since the initial repair the vehicle nor the customer has returned to my facility. I...

had advised the customer of the work needed on his vehicle. The reverse light switch and pigtail in question is only able to be plugged in in one direction. The switch was not plugged in with wires backwards, the switch itself has failed causing a short. I had advised the customer that the switch had failed and continued use has damaged the pigtail, not that we did something wrong, and had quoted customer $188.24 to repair switch and now burnt pigtail. Customer declined repair. After the vehicle sat in my parking lot for 2 days with no response from customer, he was advised that we are not a storage facility and he needed to pick his vehicle up. The shorted switch on customers transmission had nothing to do with engine replacement. As far as the discount on the initial repair. We installed a customer supplied part, which essential means, we were unable to make our normal margins for the repair. When the customer came to pick up the vehicle he presented a coupon from our website. I explained to him, due to the fact that he supplied his own part, I was unable apply more discount for this repair.

I have reviewed the response 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.The reverse lights worked correctly when the vehicle was brought in for service and did not when the vehicle was returned. The reverse lights were on when the vehicle was in gear and off when in reverse. This likely led to the shorted pigtail as the duty cycle for the electrical load was increased. This is something a shop should check for as it is difficult for a customer to verify during normal operation. As as for pricing and billing, this feels like a bait and switch as no limitations were expressed written or orally about the quoted price or the company's own coupon. 

Regards,[redacted]

Understanding the frustration presented, and realizing that the time frame between one series of repairs and now this event, we would like to move forward. We invite the client to reach out, so we can remedy the concern listed. Regardless of what is clearly stated,and authorized by the client, we will assist. Please reach out , so we can schedule a drop off appointment and square away.Thank you ,Desert Car Care Gilbert\ Val Vista

Review: Desert Car Care replaced an engine in my vehicle. I ordered my own new engine and had it shipped to their facility. As such, they offered no parts warranty as it was not their sourced parts. No issues there. However, they re-installed the existing reverse and neutral switch wires backwards on the transmission during the engine replacement which resulted in the reverse lights being on in gear and neutral and off in reverse. Shortly after this, the reverse lights stopped functioning altogether, likely from that electrical load being energized for longer durations than designed. I brought the vehicle back in and [redacted] informed me that the wiring harness pigtail had been shorted and that is the cause of my problem, not that the wires were installed incorrectly. He also asserted that he could not be certain what caused the short and since I didn’t bring the car back immediately, he wasn’t liable for the failure despite there obviously being a wiring issue that wasn’t present before the engine work he did.

To even further exacerbate this situation, when I declined to have him perform a repair to the wiring issue, he informed me that I needed to pick up my vehicle immediately as his shop is not “a storage facility” or he would “charge storage.” Every conversation I have had with him following the initial engine install has been severely passive aggressive and borderline abusive.

A separate issue is that when he quoted me for the initial work, he only gave me a set dollar amount which he honored. The next day I received an email from this business for a discount on any service performed. When I paid for the repair, I mentioned I had one of their coupons, but [redacted] said he cut me such a good deal that he couldn’t honor the coupon. He never once mentioned, nor had I negotiated, a deeply discounted amount, so he essentially cheated me out of a discount they offer to other customers. Having this discount was one of the reasons I selected this shop for the repair as it was the best value, but only when considering the coupon discount.Desired Settlement: I believe Desert Car Care has the obligation to return my vehicle to proper working order including failures that their original work caused. However, I am leery of having this establishment and their questionable ethics work on my vehicle any further so I would request a refund of my repair payment made to them so that I can solicit a different repair shop to complete the original work, correct all subsequent failures as a result of the work done by Desert Car Care, and conduct and evaluation of the entirety of the work that Desert Car Care has done on my vehicle to ensure no other issues persist.

Business

Response:

Almost one year ago to the day an engine customer supplied engine was installed in vehicle. As stated on customers invoice vehicle should be returned to shop on a regular basis to inspect for any and all problems. Since the initial repair the vehicle nor the customer has returned to my facility. I had advised the customer of the work needed on his vehicle. The reverse light switch and pigtail in question is only able to be plugged in in one direction. The switch was not plugged in with wires backwards, the switch itself has failed causing a short. I had advised the customer that the switch had failed and continued use has damaged the pigtail, not that we did something wrong, and had quoted customer $188.24 to repair switch and now burnt pigtail. Customer declined repair. After the vehicle sat in my parking lot for 2 days with no response from customer, he was advised that we are not a storage facility and he needed to pick his vehicle up. The shorted switch on customers transmission had nothing to do with engine replacement. As far as the discount on the initial repair. We installed a customer supplied part, which essential means, we were unable to make our normal margins for the repair. When the customer came to pick up the vehicle he presented a coupon from our website. I explained to him, due to the fact that he supplied his own part, I was unable apply more discount for this repair.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response 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.The reverse lights worked correctly when the vehicle was brought in for service and did not when the vehicle was returned. The reverse lights were on when the vehicle was in gear and off when in reverse. This likely led to the shorted pigtail as the duty cycle for the electrical load was increased. This is something a shop should check for as it is difficult for a customer to verify during normal operation. As as for pricing and billing, this feels like a bait and switch as no limitations were expressed written or orally about the quoted price or the company's own coupon.

Regards,[redacted]

Business

Response:

Understanding the frustration presented, and realizing that the time frame between one series of repairs and now this event, we would like to move forward. We invite the client to reach out, so we can remedy the concern listed. Regardless of what is clearly stated,and authorized by the client, we will assist. Please reach out , so we can schedule a drop off appointment and square away.Thank you ,Desert Car Care Gilbert\ Val Vista

I have to tell you Desert car Care Chandler is the only place I take my vehicles. I have been to many different shops and taken advantage. I have been charged for repairs that were never completed. I have paid a lot of money to have repairs done to only have to get it done again in the future, and they did not honor their work or warranty.

I have been coming to Desert Car Care for two years now and I can't be happier. They are very honest and only suggest work that should be done. They do the work right, and Honor their work. I'd rate higher but it isn't an option.

Desert Car Care inspected my vehicle and told me it would potentially overheat if I drive it home. I had just got off work and not knowing much about cars I agreed and took their rental car they offered. I pad my hard earned $852.00 cash and the next day my vehicle started leaking gas. They refuse to take a look at it and inspect the vehicle and refuse for me to bring the vehicle to the premise after taking my money. I would not recommend this place to anyone looking for a good place to fix your vehicle.