Jac's Automotive Inc

THIS CUSTOMER BROUGHT A MERCURY MOUNTAINEER TO US FOR A TICKING SOUNDUPON DISASSEMBLING THE FRONT TIMING COVER WE FOUND A BALANCE SHAFT CHAIN GUIDE HAD BROKENTHE GUIDES ARE MADE OF PLASTIC WITH A STEEL CHAIN EXERTING A LOT OF PRESSURE ON THEM, SO IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM ON THESE ENGINESWE
REPLACED JUST THE BALANCE SHAFT CHAIN GUIDE; WITH THE OWNERS UNDERSTANDING AND PERMISSION; TO KEEP THE COST DOWN AS THE OTHER CHAINS AND GUIDES WERE NOT DAMAGEDAT THE SAME TIME WE ALSO SUGGESTED REPLACING THE ENGINE DUE TO THE POOR RELIABILITY RECORD OF THESE MOTORS, WHICH THE CUSTOMER DECLINEDUPON INVESTIGATING THE VEHICLE ONCE IT WAS TOWED BACK IN, WE FOUND A CONNECTING ROD HAD BROKE AND BLEW A HOLE IN THE SIDE OF THE ENGINE BLOCKWE THEN REMOVED THE OIL PAN, TO CHECK FOR ANY OTHER PROBLEMS OR CAUSES FOR THE CONNECTING ROD TO FAILWE FOUND NO PROBLEMS WITH THE TIMING CHAIN, OIL LEVEL, ETC WHICH IS WHAT WE HAD WORKED ONTHE CONNECTING RODS ARE INSIDE THE ENGINE, AND THE TIMING CHAINS ARE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENGINE UNDER A COVERWE NEVER TOUCHED THE CONNECTING RODSIN MY 30+ YEARS OF AUTOMOTIVE EXPERIENCE, I WOULD SAY THE REASON FOR THE CONNECTING ROD FAILURE IS DUE TO METAL FATIGUE OR OVER REVVING THE ENGINE, NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR WORKMANSHIPALL THE DIAGNOSTICS PERFORMED ON THE CAR WERE PERFORMED AT NO COST TO THE CUSTOMERIT WAS A $DIAGNOSTIC FEEIN SUMMARY WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE FAILUREPLEASE SEE ILLUSTRATION FOR WHAT WE HAVE WORKED ON, COMPARED TO WHAT HAD FAILED IN THE LATER FAILURE

Concerning this complaint, yes we did have this customer truck for weeksAt the time we were understaffed and very busyWe never gave him a time frame for when it would be completedAfter installing the transmission in to weeks, we discovered the engine had major problems and advised
against repairing, as replacing was the only viable option as the vehicle had numerous problems and very little maintenanceAll repairs were ok'd verbally over the phone with the customerThis customer was very demanding and hard to deal withHe had to option to bring the vehicle to us for warranty reasons and we do not understand why he would not return the vehicle to us, especially after we just repaired it and never informed us of any problemsA fan clutch, starter, lights and transmission cooler lines can go bad at any timethis customer was very adamant about price"Give me a bottom dollar, out the door price." and that's what we didHe did not want to hear or listen to any more needed repairs or parts that needed to be replacedWe feel we did everything possible to please this customer and that parts that were replaced after we completed our job, he was informed about or went bad laterFollowing is the total of the discount given hours---Heater Hose--$hours--Labor given off installation of engine---$hours--labor given off for installing brakes----$hours--labor given for installing oil lines---$hours--time to diagnose engine problems--$209.00$2,Retail price of engineCharged $for motorWe did a professional job with the limitations placed on us by the customer and after discounting his invoice by $We feel he was well compensated for his down time and the extra repairsHim electing to pay another shop is a coercion on his part and not our responsibility

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2015/06/01) */
Ms*** states that we did not consult her about doing repairs on her carWe specifically called her back and asked her to come into the shop so we could show her what was needed on her vehicle, why and how much it was going to costShe
had agreed to have the repairs performed because she needed transportation like everyone doesWe performed the repairs and when she was finished she informed us she did not have all the money, she asked to get the car back and like other shops we kept the car until she could have it paidJac's Automotive stored Ms***'s car for days at $a day storage fee past so many days, totaling $which we did not charge her forMs*** called on the last day and proceeded to tell us she only had so much money and asked if that was enough that to have her car back, in which we graciously allowed her to have her car, and completely dropped the $that was left on her remaining bill and waived all storage fees so she could have her vehicleJac's Automotive is sorry that Ms*** feels this way about our company, but the work that was completed was to keep her car running, and was not done without her permissionAs a company we feel we went above and beyond to help Ms*** and kept her informed of what was going on, and we do not feel that we owe Ms*** any sort of remittance

I spoke with the consumer and the issue is resolved

This customer had brought her Mitsubishi box truck in to be worked on February She had brought it in for a no startOur mechanics found that her truck needed a starter, so we looked for one and found only one starter that was to days away due to the age of the truck and the part being
discontinuedWe called her and told her what we found, what it needed, how much it was going to be with labor, and how many days out the part was going to beWe called her the first time about a week after she had brought it inThis customer told us she would get the partWe waited and after calling several times and trying to follow up her answers were between: 'I will get the part when I have the money" "I will get the part" "My son is getting the part right now for it" Not once did we get the approval to go ahead and order her part for her, or did she order the part and bring us the part her truck neededWe called at least twice a week trying to figure out what was going on with this truckCome the end of April/beginning of may we had called this customer and told her that it was in our way with customers and our selves trying to get around it, that the city was starting to get on to us about getting the truck repaired or getting it off of our lot, and that she needed to either have us fix it and get it off the lot or come back and remove itWe called several times in between that phone call and having it towed, in which the customer still could not provide the part, or came to get the truckWe gave the customer almost two weeks, and since nothing had been doneWe called city development to have the vehicle towed off of our lotWe stored this vehicle since February with no approval to do any work to it, or storage feesWe feel as if we were being used for storage, especially when I hear from another shop in the area, who I have done business with for 30+ years, that this truck sat in his lot for years with no approval/and waiting on payment for the work that was finally doneThis shop owner also informed us that it sat at another shop for approximately years with the same scenarioWe can not store vehicles for weeks, and she was asked to come get it off of our lot if she could not afford it, or did not want the work completed numerous times over months timeWe truly did not know where the truck was towed, but city development showed up with a police officer informing us they had a tow order since February 7, The policemen asked for the keys and I can not refuse the police and a tow order from the City of StCharlesWe do not owe this customer anything, as we spent time diagnosing the truck and paid our technition for his time, but we received no compensation for the tech’s time, our time on paperwork, and phone time trying to find parts with free storageThe truck was here weeks, not or We can not stay in business storing, and diagnosing vehicles for freeThis customer still owes us for the diagnostic time we spent on her truckThe truck was a hazard as numerous customers and our employees almost hit it countless timesWhen that was mentioned to this customer numerous times, her response was ‘that she had the insurance’ to which she was told that it did not matter, the truck needed to be fixed, or to be removedThe city has been chasing this truck since when the license plates expired(Police report # ***) Every time a tow sticker is put on it, she moves it to another location as I said earlierIt was brought to our shop on 2-29-and was towed away on 5-17-(weeks later)I think that we were very patient with her especially after numerous phone calls