Hanser's Automotive and Wrecker

On 9/9/2016, Montana Highway Patrol officer #[redacted] requested that we pick up this truck after finding it stuck in a ditch. As the vehicle was registered in Idaho, we first sent a record request to ID to determine who the registered owner was. When the Idaho Transportation Department responded with...

this information, we were able to notify Mr. [redacted] via certified mail sent on 9/28/2016 that the truck was in our lot, advise of charges owed, and provide information on the steps necessary to either retrieve the vehicle or sell it to Hanser Salvage Co. The certified mail receipt was signed on 10/1/2016. On 10/14/2016, over a month after we picked up the vehicle, Mr. [redacted] began calling us to complain that we unlawfully retrieved his vehicle from the ditch, and that this is a free country and charging him for our service was a violation of his rights. We advised him to contact Montana Highway Patrol for more information on why they determined the vehicle should be towed. On 10/24/2016, Mr. [redacted] contacted us again to tell us that he intended to take us to court, but still made no efforts to retrieve his vehicle, even when we drastically reduced the charges in an attempt to help enable him to pick it up. On 11/3/2016, I contacted Trooper R[redacted] to confirm that the hold was released. After a vehicle has been abandoned on our property for 30+ days, provided the registered owner(s) have been properly notified via certified mail, we are legally able to dispose of any vehicle valued at $500 or less via a sheriff’s sale. At this time, a sheriff deputy comes out to assess the vehicle and signs off on it if the value is agreed upon. This truck went through a sheriff sale on 12/21/2016 (over three months after it was brought to our yard). Following the sheriff sale, the truck was sold to Hanser Salvage Co. disposed of on 1/6/2017. This incident has been handled fairly and legally from start to finish.

This vehicle, a 2002
Chevrolet K3500, was brought in for repairs on 1/12/16 by the complainant’s
husband. The diagnosis of the issue, which turned out to be caused my multiple internal
failings, was $85. The quote provided was for the replacement of a myriad of
parts, from items as large as...

multiple sensors (flow, camshaft, crankshaft, and
fuel pressure), to computer pieces, various gaskets, oil filter, pumps, and
seals. There was an obvious issue from the start with one of the fuel
injectors. Mr. [redacted] was contacted regarding this issue, and since the
injectors were about to run their mileage life, he elected to replace all eight
of them at once and not just the one. At $275 per injector, this added $2,200
to the bill. The customer was frequently contacted and updated on labor, parts,
and charge/payment information; we did not ever just freely add charges or
parts to the invoice.
The complaint, written by the
customer’s wife (who we did not speak with, as her husband was our contact and
the person who gave us the continuous go-ahead during each interaction we had
with him) was filed in conjunction with her husband picking up the truck. She
states in her complaint that we have yet to fix the problems, but the truck was
repaired, paid for, and driven away by her husband seemingly without issue. The
repairs had also already been completed at the time of the complaint, in which
she is requesting $7,000 back and to pick up the truck “as is” (“as is”, in
this instance, is completely repaired by our certified technicians), which
basically seems like she is requesting free service. This has nothing to do
with age discrimination; we have multiple technicians and repair counter staff,
most of whom have not even seen the customer, let alone had the ability to try
to guess their age, nor would this have mattered in any way in the process of
this job as parts simply have a set price, and that is what they were charged.  In an attempt to assist with payment, [redacted]
Hanser, owner of Hanser’s Automotive Co., actually dropped about $3,000 in labor
for customer satisfaction.
I have spoken with both
people involved- the husband, with whom we actually spoke during this process,
and his wife, with whom we did not. He states that he was satisfied with the
work and aware of the charges.

Review: My husband and I first brought our family vehicle into Hansers to have a repair done. At the time we weren't entirely sure what was wrong with it or else we would have done the work ourselves. We needed the professional diagnostics done on it. They told us from the start that it would not be more than $4000. It was a price that we could work with even though it was really pinching our pockets. A few weeks ago they told us that it would be another $3000. At this point it completely drained our savings accounts and checking accounts for that matter. I understand that sometimes when a vehicle needs work you find other problems with it that also need fix. However, when we talked to them today we asked if some of the "repairs" made to fix the problem were actually a problem from the beginning, they told us no. They still have yet to fix the problem with our pickup and they are wanting more money.

My husband and I are a young couple in our early 20s with a 3 month old baby. I work part time and he drives truck. We really feel that we have been taken advantage of because of our age.Desired Settlement: I would either like my $7000 dollars back along with my pickup as is, for them to pay us what we bought the pickup for which was $13000, or for them the finish the job without any further payments.

Business

Response:

This vehicle, a 2002

Chevrolet K3500, was brought in for repairs on 1/12/16 by the complainant’s

husband. The diagnosis of the issue, which turned out to be caused my multiple internal

failings, was $85. The quote provided was for the replacement of a myriad of

parts, from items as large as multiple sensors (flow, camshaft, crankshaft, and

fuel pressure), to computer pieces, various gaskets, oil filter, pumps, and

seals. There was an obvious issue from the start with one of the fuel

injectors. Mr. [redacted] was contacted regarding this issue, and since the

injectors were about to run their mileage life, he elected to replace all eight

of them at once and not just the one. At $275 per injector, this added $2,200

to the bill. The customer was frequently contacted and updated on labor, parts,

and charge/payment information; we did not ever just freely add charges or

parts to the invoice.

The complaint, written by the

customer’s wife (who we did not speak with, as her husband was our contact and

the person who gave us the continuous go-ahead during each interaction we had

with him) was filed in conjunction with her husband picking up the truck. She

states in her complaint that we have yet to fix the problems, but the truck was

repaired, paid for, and driven away by her husband seemingly without issue. The

repairs had also already been completed at the time of the complaint, in which

she is requesting $7,000 back and to pick up the truck “as is” (“as is”, in

this instance, is completely repaired by our certified technicians), which

basically seems like she is requesting free service. This has nothing to do

with age discrimination; we have multiple technicians and repair counter staff,

most of whom have not even seen the customer, let alone had the ability to try

to guess their age, nor would this have mattered in any way in the process of

this job as parts simply have a set price, and that is what they were charged. In an attempt to assist with payment, [redacted]

Hanser, owner of Hanser’s Automotive Co., actually dropped about $3,000 in labor

for customer satisfaction.

I have spoken with both

people involved- the husband, with whom we actually spoke during this process,

and his wife, with whom we did not. He states that he was satisfied with the

work and aware of the charges.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received, your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Revdex.com,

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.

At the time the complaint was filed (February 10, 2016) the issues on the pickup were absolutely NOT fixed. Hanser's still, at the time, did not know what the exact issue was. Which, honestly should have been common sense for a mechanic, who according to Hanser's has the "best mechanic in Billings" working on the truck, to know considering the main issue of the pickup was a computer problem. The computer that Hanser's uses to diagnose problems could not read what the issue was because there was a computer issue with the pickup, so the computer needed to be replaced. For $85 dollars, according to Hanser's. There were also other things replaced on the pickup that were perfectly fine but they replaced anyway and charging us for those unneeded "adjustments". Hanser's also stated that they would not be charging us for labor when in fact they did charge us $1500 in labor. All together my husband and I have spent $8000 when we only asked them to fix the initial problem, which was the computer. I understand the injectors also needed to be fixed, but we already knew that and knew that wasn't the main issue we were having.

I was involved in an accident where a motorist jumped a stop sign, broadsided me and totaled my car Friday 12/6/13. I was lucky to be unhurt, needless to say very distraught because my only vehicle was now useless and my ability to provide for myself became at risk.
Hansers was contacted within ten minutes of the accident and they arrived on scene with two tow trucks for my vehicle as well as the other parties vehicle in less than 30 minutes of being called.
They were friendly, very courteous and helpful and I could not say more positive things about this most negative of situations.
Thank you Hansers for always being there, for being so accommodating, professional and quick to go above and beyond.
I will never go anywhere else for any auto related need.
I refer everyone I know to Hansers.