Fred's Auto & Body Repair

Review: First off let me say I have been going to [redacted]s Auto Repair on and off for the last 6 years for vehicle repairs and he has always been good to me. Up til this recent repair. I had my car towed on Thursday June 19th 2014 to [redacted]s my fiance asked them to look at it and give us a repair estimate. I called [redacted] later that day and spoke to [redacted] one of his mechanics. [redacted] had told me that it was a intake gasket leak and water pump quoted me $525.00 to repair, I asked him if he had listened to the engine and told him there was a loud clunck when the car had died. And if he had thought there would be any other findings once he took the intake gasket apart. He asked me to call him back and he told me that I was better off replacing the engine and that [redacted]s had an engine there. I asked how much it would cost for the repairs I was quoted $1,250.00. I was told I would need at least half down payment put on the repairs so I arranged to go in on Monday June 23rd and drop the deposit off I paid $1,000.00 on the repairs. [redacted] verbally told me that he should be able to have the car done and I could pick it up Wednesday June 25th in the evening. I called on Wednesday June 25th and was told [redacted] was sick on June 25th so it would be Thursday or Friday call back Thursday June 26th. So I called back Thursday and was told the engine was in the car all they had to do was button it up this was around 1130 am was told to call back around 6pm so I did and was told they were still buttoning it up call back again in an hour this went on from 6pm til 11pm I was told they would stay there til the car was done that night at 11pm I was told they had the car running all they had to do was put a thermostat in it Friday morning and finish buttoning it up call back about noon on Friday June 27th and they would tell me what time I could come pick up my car. Called on June 27th and the receptionist said [redacted] was at lunch call back in an hour I called back in an hour and a half and he wasn't back from lunch I asked if anyone could tell me what was going on with my car and the receptionist stated the motor was bad [redacted] was "pissed" so he went home for lunch. By now I was more than furious as I had already spent $353.00 on a rental vehicle for the week to get my fiance to and from work. I called [redacted] the owner and started crying I told him I had trusted him I was out of money and it would start cutting into his money if I had to pay for another week of a rental vehicle, unless he had a vehicle he could loan me. [redacted] told me to call him Friday June 28th I called and he said he was working on a vehicle for me call back at 6 pm (i'm beginning to think this is their standard answer for anyone that calls)and again call back in an hour and another hour and another hour finally I get a call they are on the way with the loaner car. I go outside to meet the people dropping the loaner car off and I said the car is leaking antifreeze all over the place they began to spazz out saying " [redacted] get [redacted] on the phone" The guy opened the hood of this 1984 Cadillac said the belt at the bottom of the water pump snapped, they would leave the car over night and come back and pick it up in the morning. I told them dont bother that was the straw that broke the cammels back, I was going to rent another vehicle I cant rely on the vehicle they were going to let us use to make it a few miles let alone almost 100 miles a day for work. When [redacted] came to pick up the Cadillac my fiance met him outside and told him we were just going to rent a vehicle because we cant rely on this vehicle to get us anywhere. Meanwhile I called my fiance as I was at work and talked with [redacted] and asked for my money back that I put down on the car and just give me my car back. [redacted] told me if he did that he would have to charge me for the labor that they had already done on my car. "WHAT LABOR they put in a BAD ENGINE so the car was worse than when I took it in as I was told the BAD engine sounded worse than the engine that I had in the car. So it was either take a loss and only get about $500.00 back cause they had to charge me labor or let them get me a motor and finish the repair.[redacted] said he would go half on the cost of the rental. He had a motor for my car and it was good. I called on Monday June 30th and was told we located you a motor and had to get it. Call back on Wednesday so I called back on Wednesday July 2nd and was told they were out removing the motor from the car now, call back Wednesday evening was told the motor was in the car call on Thursday July 3 they said the motor was in and it was running and sounded really good, call back I called back a total of 12 times that they had asked of me by 830 the mechanics told me all they needed to do was change the oil and I could start heading down and wait for them to finish the oil. Get there by 845pm and was told there was a leak in the intake gasket they had to replace it I left their shop at 1034 pm I asked about the noise it was making with the motor speeding up and slowing down they told me the motor was good I asked about mileage on the motor where they got it from and an invoice about the motor and repairs I was told they dont have a receipt and the junk yard only gives them a 30 day Warranty. I got a receipt that I paid the last amount due which was $144 as [redacted] paid $176.00 towards a $353.00 rental as he agreed. None the less I left with questions unanswered and 10 days of repair time for them to replace my engine. So total cost was $1320.00 for the motor and labor, and $675.00 for vehicle rental. As the car was pulled out they were locking up the gate question was asked about the check engine light and questions asked about change oil light on the dash of the car and was told to bring it back Saturday July 5th and they would look it over just to be sure everything is ok. At this point I am afraid to even take my car there ... As I got in the passenger side of my car on July 4th in the morning there was a huge crunch noise I looked and there was my front quarter panel at the bottom of it pushed in and damaged. This was not like this when I left it at [redacted]s. I called [redacted]s personal cell phone and left him a message I want to take this to a different mechanic and if it is found there are issues I want his shop billed.Desired Settlement: I want to be reimbursed for the 353.00 for the extra days we had the rental not just half, I want to have my car repaired if need be by a different shop and have it billed to [redacted]s, and if there is need for another rental car [redacted]s be responsible for the cost of that rental. If there was a charge for mental stress and anguish Id seek that as well. I will be contacting a lawyer to discuss if I have a claim against [redacted]s Auto Repair. To have the stress and financial issues make you emotionally sick it is unfair... As a customer of theirs for 6 years I will NEVER take my vehicle back there.

Business

Response:

Business states that they attempted to work with this consumer in many ways. On the Saturday that she was supposed to bring the vehicle in, she never came in. Business has already refunded 1/2 of her rental cost, there will be no further reimbursement.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]

Regards,

Saturday July 12, 2014 I took my car to a mechanic for a second opinion as I have been getting nothing but the run around with [redacted]s. The mechanic stated there was alot wrong with the car. I called and left a voicemail for [redacted] on his cell phone and called the shop the shop had no answer.

there were stripped bolts and wrong bolts on upper plenum

along with that plenum being broke from more than likely them disk cleaning the lower intake to fix a leak. 3 cracks in it (I have photos of these cracks)

the o2 sensor bank 1 upstream does not fit properly that leads the mechanic who I took it to for a second opinion to believe that it is the wrong harness for the car or the o2 sensor was replaced.

wire harness routing was not done right, things not in proper place causing a possibility of the harness to hit hot exhaust melting and shorting it out

a/c system does not want to hold a vac and means that it will not hold a charge..

the car cooling system does not work properly due to worng harness or bad temp sensor,

the old coolant in the system does not help the system either. (it appears that the coolant in the resivor was never changed)

now lets adderess the oil light, [redacted]s stated they would need their 18 thousand dollar scanner to reset this light???? the mechanic I took it to for diagnostic testing did it with his 10 year old 3 thousand scanner did it. and the problem was that they didn't have it set so that it would reset to 100 pct.

Check engine light still on

The car is missfiring on cylanders 1, 3, 5, and 6 (this was not happening prior to them working on the car July 6th, 2014 as you can read the codes from taking it to have the codes read on July 5, 2014 didn't have this issue on their scanner. Therefore this happened during the repairs on July 6, 2014 when [redacted] from [redacted]s Auto picked up my car to work on it again.

I have used them to repair the exhaust on several of my cars. On the last one a different shop quoted me $1250 because they said my entire exhaust was shot even though the car was very quiet but I noticed a slight rattle on acceleration, that's why I took it in. Fred's said a weld had broken and my pipes were good but I would probably need a muffler sometime in the next year. I told them to just replace it. They put on a new muffler and welded the broken piece at a total cost of $150. It has been over a year since then and it is still holding up perfect. I'm so glad I stopped in by them, after I got the first estimate for $1250 I was considering junking the car.

Review: I brought my truck to get a catalyst converter ...they told me I needed they put it on and I have the same problem. ... and I brought back the next business day which was Monday and they keep telling me the same thing they will look at it and the workers are leaving coming back 2 hours later ... I found out that the worker is doing Crack behind the place of work and it's Friday and they still dating the same thing I gotta wait for them to look at it .... I sat here for 6 hours on Thursday and they still didn't look at it ..waited until 9 pm and told me to come back in the morning ..they either sit around or work 2 hours then disappeared for 2 hoursDesired Settlement: I just wanted my truck to be fix ...that would make me happy but they need to investigated and fix there issues or be shut down