Independent Auto Repair

this is the very best auto repair shop in chico. This is a very honest and trustworthy establishment. I trust Mike and his wife for all my family's car repair. I have brought Mike problem cars and he has always came through for me and mine I wouldn't buy a used car until Mike has a look at it . I can not stress how important it is to have a reliable mechanic that is so honest, dependable, and trustworthy. Five stars for honesty, integrity, knowledge and service!

I had a very similar experience with the gentleman who filed a complaint with Revdex.com in 2013. I too, paid this business $8000+ to have a new engine put into my vehicle but he left me hanging with lame excuses, delays, and poor communication for 6 months. Unacceptable. My credit card company found this guy potentially fraudulent and reversed the charges but he pressured me to settle for a contract later - to stop the chargeback and allow him to refund me after he sold the parts and engine. Two years later, no money. Just excuses. So I called the Bureau of Automotive Repairs and their investigator caught him in a lie. He had sold my engine to another party but never forwarded me my money. I filed a case against him in Small Claims Court and the judge ordered him to refund me fully and return my vehicle. Now he is telling me that he no longer has my vehicle and he does not have any money to refund me. He has no intention to follow through with the court judgment and continues to give selfish excuses. He's telling me to simply give up because he has no money. Unbelievable. The gentleman who filed claim against him in 2013 has not seen his money too. This business is a scam. Do your research before you do business with him.

Review: Mr [redacted] was paid $7382 as of June 2012 for a rebuilt subaru engine that has not delivered. Am unable to get him to return calls/emails for refund.

Contacted [redacted] Feb. 2012 regarding a thesamba.com ad he posted for a rebuilt 2.5l subaru engine. I agreed to the price of $7382 and [redacted]'s stated 3 month completion/delivery assurance. I started mailing checks until $7382 was paid in full in June 2012. I emailed every time a check was sent to insure he had recieved it and received return emails stating the checks were indeed recieved. All checks were cashed. [redacted] emailed that the engine was complete 4/15/2012 with the exception of wiring and requested a delivery address which I supplied. I then emailed status requests and made several calls without reaching him or receiving a return call. On Sept 8, 2012 I reached him by phone to find that the wiring had not been completed and the order was not ready to ship. This was not acceptable me since he stated 4/15/2012 that wiring was the only thing remaining to complete before shipping the engine. I requested a refund and he refused to honor my request and complained that he had charged too low of a price for my engine so I directed him to place the engine for sale on thesamba.com to sell it for a better price than $7382 and keep the difference but send me $7,382. He agreed to this but never posted the engine for sale. On 10/9/2012 [redacted] emails that he has not finished the engine. No mention of a refund in the message. Ho offered to send a portion of the order but I refused and again requested a refund but was refused. 11/27/2012 [redacted] emails and apologizes for the lateness. Trying to be understanding I relinquish the refund request and agree to allow him to complete the engine. I give him a couple of months to complete the wiring and email update requests on 2/12/13,2/20/13,2/28/13,3/6/13,4/5/13,4/15/13. On 4/25/13 I sent an email stating his non-responsiveness was beyond unacceptable and requested $7,382 be refunded and stated I would file a Revdex.com complaint if I had not gotten a reply by 4/29/13. I copied thesamba.com website owner, Everett Barnes on the 4/25/13 message to Mr [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] responded on 4/29/2013 and sent me a screen shot of his junk mail and blamed his non-responsiveness on email overload and working many late hours due to his business demands yet my engine package was not ready to ship. He requested I call him as opposed to using email. I tried to be understanding and again allowed him to continue the project. Again, giving Mr. [redacted] plenty of time to catch up and complete my order I waited until 7/10/2013 to call and request an update. No one answered either of his numbers and calls with voice mails were left 7/12/13, 7/17/13, 7/18/13, 7/22/13 and 7/24/13. No calls were returned. On 7/27/13 I sent Mr. [redacted] an email detailing the calls and dates with no answer or return call and informed him the project is now a failure and requested $7,382 be refunded. On 7/30/13 and 8/1/13 I called both of his numbers [redacted] and XXX-XXX-XXXX and left a voice mail stating the same message. No calls or emails have been returned. I called a business in the 3199 Plummers Drive complex today and found that Independent Auto has not been at this address for approximately 6 months. I appreciate your assistance in this matter and apologize for not informing your Revdex.com chapter sooner. Desired Settlement: I respectfully request the original purchase price of $7,382 that was paid in full as of June 2012 be refunded in full via cashiers check or paypal.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Business Response

I just became aware of this complaint. Not only does the complaint have my personal cell phone in it xxx xxx [redacted], it has several severe inaccuracies. I am in business and have been continuously for years. The customer asked the BAR to come out 6-8 weeks ago and they did and they met me here at the shop, which was open. Also, there is no mention of me offering to have some of the parts supplied by someone else who is faster and this being denied by the customer. Nor did he mention me calling him to update him and the only response I got was "i didnt buy excuses" and wouldnt listen to anything I had to say about the valid delay. Either way, I need my personal cell phone number removed from the complaint and I would like to respond to the complaint more officially.

Consumer Response

I do need to retract the statement regarding the business not being in operation.

Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

My position and refund request remain intact and are not changing due to his lack of reasonable timeliness in communication, lack of compliance with agreed upon actions, and the fact that no kit has shipped or delivered.

Business Response

Ok. Thank you for making it easier to do what you asked me to do and being more concerned with accuracy..

I am a little behind with the holiday and other peoples problems that I shouldnt be allowing to be mine. This upcoming weekend I will post the ad.

Again, please remember that long time ago I offered to send the kit with wiring done by someone else at my expense. In that same phone call I told you I was unable to quickly finish it and was occupied with serious personal matters. Those personal matters still persist. You refused and didnt want to listen to anything I had to say.

This is unfairly missing from every account you make and forces me to waste time recounting it to everyone. I have no time to waste.

You would have had the kit a year ago if you didnt talk to me so rudely and hadn't opted against wiring made by equally, if not better, people. It is entirely my fault for you having to make that decision and I fully apologize. But, I offered everything I could to get you going, Please stop treating me like a criminal.

Thanks,