Fullerton Auto Clinic

Customer *** Sibrian borught in a bmw 325i with a no start condition. The condition was diagnosed as a bad starter. We quoted replacement of the starter at $408.42. Upon removal of the intake manifold found a pcv hose damaged and intake gasket to be non reuseable. The
customer authorized the updated parts/price and requested to perform a synthetic oil change and authorized the updated pricing for this as well. Upon completion of the job the vehicle was repeatedly started and then test driven to ensure function of the repair. The customer came to pick up the vehicle and was very upset because the valve cover was still leaking oil. Bill stated that we didnt replace the valve cover gasket. Customer was upset because the invoice stated a "gasket" was replaced We explained the intake gasket was the one replaced and the valve cover gasket would continue leaking until replaced. The customer seemed to understand the difference between the gasket leaking oil and the gasket on the invoice that was not reusable after removing to access the starter We got a call from the owners father after hours the day of delivery stating the vehicle started shaking and the check engine light came on. We advised him to bring it back to check out. When he brought it back the diagnostic revealed no current fault, but had a fault for a no signal from MAF sensor stored in the history. I spoke with the tech who performed the repair and he advised that the connector for the MAF was broken. We resecured the connector with zip ties. The customer *** was called to discuss the engine light who stated he knew there was already a problem with the MAF sensor The customer picked up the vehicle and I explained everything to the father. Days later we got a letter from the Revdex.com stating the customers father wanted a refund for a starter that was replaced, a synthetic oil change with filter and pcv hose and intake gasket all of which were authorized repairs. I called the customer and explained it was the connector (again) not the harness and I would replace that for him to sustain him. He agreed and we came to the conclusion that there may have been some miscommunication. I ensured him of our honesty and we agreed to replace the connector at no charge. This Issue was resolved over the phone with the father at 7:40pm.on July 21st 2016. Today July 27th the connector arrived and I left a message for the son and father advising the part was here and to come to have it replaced

Review: I got their first thing in the morning and waited for about an hour and a half for diagnosis. This isn't really the complaint. However, during the entirety of my time there right up until I finally made them talk to me, no one would talk to me about what was going on with my car. I would think that if you are stranded at an auto mechanic, one basic service would be to at least let the customer know what is going on with the car and what needs to be done. They kept acting as if my request to know what has happening was me being an irritating or annoying twerp. They kept letting my car sit their and then tell me it had to cool down after different tests, I asked someone who is very familiar with cars and he said that the only time that happens is if they already did a repair or glued something. That made me think they were lying to me. While sitting in the front desk woman's office, a girl came in asking after something and all she would say is "I don't have time" and then ignore the girl very rudely. Even if this girl was a door to door salesman or some other annoying individual, I don't feel like you should act like that in front of a customer. Finally the woman up front, [redacted], talked about my car in front of me on the phone but not to me and then when I asked after it, she told me in a very short voice that her telling me what is going on without a price with it wouldn't do me any good. She quoted me $395 and when I said "Oh my god $400", she tersely corrected me and said, "Well, $395". If a customer is in shock over the price, tersely arguing with them over $5 isn't the way to win their trust. The service from [redacted] was awful, I felt patronized and snubbed. They later charged me for the diagnostic and tried to charge me double what the repair was actually worth.Desired Settlement: I paid 75$ for diagnostic, I later went elsewhere and 2/3 mechanics I called said there were no charges for diagnostics. They wanted to fix two parts and only one part really needed to be fixed, they wanted to charge me double that another repairmen charged me for the same repair in the end.

Business

Response:

Fullerton Automotive Clinic

lic# 830415268

Revdex.com

4747 Viewridge Avenue #200

San Diego, CA 92123-1688

Attn: [redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted];

This is in reference to 10 [redacted].

Melissa came in as a customer on 6·1 0·20 14. Her complaint was noise in the front

wheels. She said that when she was driving she heard noises. She had been in a few

days before this date, but when we went outside to check in the vehicle, we noticed a

large bubble in her front right tire and suggested that she change that first, as that might

be the noise, and was dangerous to drive in that condition. We referred her to a tire store

around the corner and she changed 2 tires. She came back a few days later and said she

still heard the noise. We checked in her vehicle and told her it was a $75.00 diagnosis

fee, but if a repair was performed, it would go towards that. We work on a first come

first serve basis and she came in around 8:30. We already had vehicles on our racks, but

since she was staying (she did not have a ride), the mechanics started working on her

vehicle for diagnosis. It did take a while to figure out her noise, and was diagnosed as

hub and bearing on her left front. During the time of diagnosis, the mechanic had to

remove tires, inspect different suspension parts, put them back on and road test. After the

road test, she was irritated that her vehicle was not put back on the rack. I thought it was

because they might be cooling something down, but found out that a tow truck was in the

way, dropping oil a car and when that was done, we put her car on the rack and continued

to work on her car. We did not stop working on her car while she was here, other than

when we were waiting for the tow truck. She mentioned several times that her work was

upset with her for taking off because of her car. She was agitated from the beginning.

She stood and stared at the mechanics and when he returned with her car, from the test

drive, she was upset that he left her car. He was speaking with the tow truck driver,

getting information on the vehicle and instructing the drive where to drop the vehicle.

While this was occurring, she went outside and watched the mechanic, with her arms

crossed, until he got the vehicle back on the rack. The mechanic came in and told us that

the hub and bearing should be replaced in the front left wheel. I was calling for prices, to

give her the information, when she asked me what was going on. I told her the diagnosis

and that I was in the process of getting her pricing. When I gave her the price, she said

she couldn't afford the repair, I told her that it would only be the diagnosis fee then. We

had worked on her vehicle for approximately 1 1h to 2 hours and our hourly rate is $75.00

per hour.

Since the time of the repair, I did contact a few local repair shops and some were a little

lower and some were a little higher. Labor alone in Mitchell is 1.9 hours along with

$52.00 press work and price for hub and bearing. We had quoted $395.00 and one shop

quoted $371.00, one quoted $405.00 plus tax and one quoted $455.00.

On 6-11-14 we contacted the customer and left her a message. We offered to refund her

money, as we wanted to make her a happy customer and she has not responded other than

this cumplaint. Since we did not hear from her, we did mail her a refund check.

We are sorry for the confusion.