Honest 1 Auto Care

Our response        The car came in on Dec 8, 2015 for a noise in the rear of the vehicle. We inspected the vehicle and determined that the noise was coming from the  rear stabilizer links. The bushings in the stabilizer link were worn and loose and needed...

replacing, therefore that is where we thought the squeak was coming from.  When that didn’t fix the squeaking problem we replaced the strut mount and bushings at no additional charge for new parts and labor. Upon our test drive we did not hear any squeaking, and thought the problem was solved.  The customer called back and talked to [redacted] and said there was still a noise.  The customer then talked to me, the owner of the shop, I talked to [redacted].  [redacted] wanted a refund and I said I would consider one but he had to bring the car into the shop so I could verify the noise and make another attempt to fix the problem.  I set an appointment with him for the next day the 6th of January. He indicated he would be there.  He never showed up. When he tried to do a  Charge Back on his credit card in April that was the first time we had heard from him since that phone call in December.  That claim was denied. We feel we should not refund anything at this time for the following reasons. 1.      The parts that we did put on the car were legitimate and needed parts, whether or not they fixed the noise. They were installed correctly.  2.      To serve the customer well and to fix the noise we installed additional parts correctly at no extra to the customer.  3.      We have a 36,000 mile 36 month warranty. To cure any problems that arise from vehicles we work on.  4.      The customer never returned for us to correct the problem.  5.      Their car had been serviced here previously and had no problems at that time, so I am not sure why they didn’t “trust” us to find and correct the noise.   6.      Finally---We need to verify that there truly is still a noise. We are still waiting for [redacted] to bring in the car and show us the noise and give us a chance to repair the problem.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I will take my car to another mechanic and have them verify what was done on my car and why it is still squeaking. I asked Higher 1 to repair the squeaking noise on my vehicle and their reason for not refunding me is that they put unnecessary parts in my vehicle at "no additional charge" even though I paid them the full amount they quoted me. I didnt show up to meet with the manager because I had explained to him that his lack of professionalism "[redacted] saying I dont know what the problem is, I am not paying for anymore free st, and maybe I put bad parts in your car" made me lose trust. The only solution [redacted] offered to me after losing his temper was spraying it down with lubrication instead of repairing what I paid for. I repeatedly asked for paper work of what was done on my car and got nothing except one sheet that didnt explain anything and that said I paid $0.00 for repairs. 
Sincerely
[redacted]

In response to [redacted]: 
I am one of the owners of Honest -1 Auto Care in Gresham Oregon.  I read her complaint, and did some investigation into the issue.  There are a couple of issues here, the first “DASH LIGHTS ON?”  is a message we have automatically put on our...

paperwork in order to remind our lube tech that we need to reset the dash light.  On the working copy of the paperwork this results in his initialing the spot next to it, in order to let the manager know that the oil change icon in the dashboard was reset.    (We will probably rephrase this so as not to cause alarm or undue suspicion.)   The suspicion and hostility that Ms. [redacted] exhibits in the rest of her confrontation is difficult to explain.  The young man who conducted the oil change feels confident that he put the oil cap lid on correctly.  This does not explain why her boyfriend found the oil cap loose.  Fortunately there was no damage to her vehicle.
[redacted] has been using a Groupon style coupon to use our stores services, we sell them at the store as well, typically a person pays $60-$80 dollars for this item and it has four free oil changes on it and a number of other discounts for services on it, with the intent of helping a person maintain their car through the commonly needed service process that can be expected in most cars in a year period.  [redacted] has come into our shop either four or six times and each time has received a 21 point inspection and an update on what issues she might be facing with her vehicle.  This service is a value of $142-$200 depending upon the number of times she has been in.   She has done all of this for the value that she paid for the coupon book that she is using plus ~$11 she has paid us over that time.   That is the intent of the coupon program, to introduce new customers to us, so that we can provide them good honest service and essentially introduce them to our team, so they are comfortable when the time comes that they need to make a significant repair.
I have called and left a message with Ms. [redacted] to discuss this situation, and should she call me back I will be happy to discuss it with her in person.   She is asking for a refund and payment for future oil changes, as well as diagnostics and repairs at Toyota.   We are a Napa Car Care Center, there are many in the city that she can go to.  Warranty work is handled in a specific way which means if we worked on the part the work is warrantied.   In short, I am happy to talk with Ms. [redacted], I am happy to refund her the $11.00 we have received from her in the time we have serviced her car.   As she has continued to drive the vehicle to and from services with the cap ostensibly tightened correctly, I don’t believe she has sustained damage to be compensated for.  
 
V/R 
Keith M[redacted], Partner
503 821 9085

This customer has been coming to us for long time with a variety of cars.  He is attending college and has just received his Associates in Automotive Repair and works on his own vehicle.  Which I applaud.  He just bought the Volkswagen and did alot of repairs to it already.  He...

asked for an alignment.  No big deal.  We'd be happy to align it for him.   Once on the rack, we realized this vehicle was going to need work that we no longer perform.  I gave him a list of those items since he does alot of repairs himself.  I did tell him it was pointless to write him a quote for future work because we were not going to be working on Volkswagen anymore.  I charged him for a wheel alignment check, $34.95, because no alignment was performed due to worn parts.  If Mr. [redacted] feels Honest-1 owes him something for the check we performed and the parts we told him he would need to replace then I will be happy to do that.  I'm just disappointed that he felt he needed to go to an outside source to vent his frustration as I thought we had a good working relationship.  He is always a joy when he comes in.  Sincerely, Susan R[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: it's sly and crafty. The way you worded it to me, Susan, sounded like the decision not to work on vw's had been made prior to my arrival. I was upset I was charged when you stated you no longer work on vw's. I'm certain your rude tech simply didn't want to do the job. The only resolution I will accept is $34.95 returned to me. I will then go away and never step foot in an honest-1 again. Sincerely,[redacted]