JEF Auto Repair Reviews (%countItem)
JEF Auto Repair Rating
Address: 1 Central St, Georgetown, Massachusetts, United States, 01833-2033
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+1 (978) 769-3556 |
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On April 15, 2019, I dropped off my *** for service because it was making a strange noise. The vehicle was driving perfectly, but started making a sound I could not identify. I spoke with the owner, ***, asking him to check out the noise and to also change my oil. The following day, *** called to say that the car needed 2 ball joints, plus control arms, for a total of $500. Even though I found it hard to believe that the vehicle needed both ball joints replaced, I gave *** my permission to go ahead and fix them. I also paid him $98 for an oil change, including a charge of $18 for a new filter.
On April 16, 2019, I picked up my vehicle and paid him a total of $621. However, despite having both ball joints replaced, the car was still making the same noise. I returned on April 18, 2019 to discuss the noise with ***. We took it for a test drive together and ***’s conclusion was that my car “was just old” and further that I should just ignore the noise.
On Saturday, April 20, 2019, having only driven the vehicle a total of 58 miles since the service was done, my vehicle started leaking oil. Shortly after the oil began leaking, the timing chain tensioner, which needs oil to operate, ejected from the engine, causing loud noises from the engine followed by a warning light inside the vehicle that read “Stop engine! Oil pressure too low.” I immediately stopped the vehicle and turned off the engine. Since this occurred after 3 PM and the service station had already closed, I was unable to get in touch with *** until Monday morning. I was also unable to see my family on Easter because my vehicle was undriveable, and I had no way to travel to see them. I spent the holiday alone.
On Monday morning, April 20, 2019, I called the *** station first thing in the morning and spoke with *** who told me that *** was on vacation in the ***, would not be back until the following week, and that they had no way to get in touch with him while he was there. I explained that I could not work without a vehicle, and could not wait a week until he returned. I was asked to have the vehicle towed back to the mobil station so they could look at the vehicle. I was also told to rent a car and keep the invoices for when *** returned.
By Wednesday, April 22, 2019, nobody had even bothered to look at the vehicle. I walked to the *** station and was told that they did not have enough people to push the car into the bay. So, I helped the workers push the car in so we could look at it. When *** removed the shield from underneath the vehicle, we found parts from the engine inside it. The parts were 3 of the 4 pieces to the timing chain tensioner. I found the fourth piece in the road by my house. The timing chain tensioner needs oil to operate. The oil began leaking prior to the part ejecting itself from the engine. I can prove this with video from my home security cameras that shows the oil was already leaking when I backed out of my driveway, but before the tensioner came out of the engine That same day, I rented a car so I could get back to work; and because I was told I would have to wait for *** to come back from vacation before anything further could be done.
On Monday, April 29th, the day *** was scheduled to return to work, I heard nothing from the *** station. At 1:00pm, I drove by *** and saw that my vehicle was in the same spot it had been in since the previous week. I called to find out what was going on. *** proceeded to tell me that he looked over the vehicle and the oil “was full” and further that he did nothing wrong. *** also stated that I needed to have the car towed somewhere else to have it looked at, despite the fact that he had not even looked at it yet. I know this because the car had not moved from the parking spot out front, and *** would have needed to put it up on the lift to check it out. I also questioned how the oil could be full, I had pictures of it leaking all over my driveway. ***’s only response was that I had to have it towed out of there and that I should bring it to a *** dealer. He stated “if they tell me I did something wrong, then I will fix it.” When I asked for a copy of his insurance certificate, he refused to provide it.
That same day, I had the car towed again to ***, a foreign auto servicer in *** because *** could not look at it until May 15, and they charge $175 an hour, as opposed to $50 an hour at ***, who said they could look at it within a few days.
Even though *** told me that the oil was full, the mechanics at *** confirmed that there was absolutely no oil in the vehicle, stating the oil dipstick was “bone dry.” They gave me that information 90 minutes after *** told me that it was full.
As of the time of this complaint, the mechanics have not been able to locate the source of any defect or issue that would have caused a leak, nor could they locate the source of the leak. They did note that a brand new oil drain plug was in place. (I was not advised I needed a new oil drain plug, nor was I ever charged for one.) They further stated that they have never seen a timing chain tensioner eject itself from an engine. This was also confirmed by two different *** dealers. However, since the car ran out of oil, it would cause the tensioner to malfunction.
I provided *** with photographs of the oil that came out of my vehicle. It was extremely dirty and rusty looking. They stated that it did not look like new oil and since I had only traveled 60 miles since having the oil changed, there would be no reason it should look like that unless new oil was never added. The oil service has been consistent. The last two oil changes were September 18, 2018 by *** and January 2, 2019 by ***. *** advises that you can drive 7500 miles before having an oil change, and I was well in advance of that mileage on the day *** claims they changed the oil.
On September 18, 2018, the dealer also installed a brand new computer system and fully checked over the vehicle, including the engine. I have a report from that day that proves everything was in perfect working order, including the tensioners, and there were no issues that needed to be addressed. Since September 2018, the vehicle has only been driven approximately 6000 miles.
I do not have any proof that *** added 9 quarts of oil as they claimed they did, or even that they changed the ball joints, because they did not provide any type of receipt or invoice; and the original issue which was just a sound, was still present after I paid $621 & picked up the vehicle. *** proved that *** was lying when he said the oil was full.
I am not sure why there is a brand new drain plug in my car, but the fact is *** was in possession of the vehicle for eight days, which would have been plenty of time for them to fix any issues without my knowledge. That, along with ***’s refusal to provide his insurance certificate, and further him advising me to take the vehicle somewhere else to “prove” he did something wrong is telling.
As of May 3, 2019, I still do not have a drivable vehicle, even though it was running perfectly when I brought it to ***. In addition to the $621 I paid to ***, I am also out of pocket $715 (so far) for the rental, and $60 to *** for the diagnostic check up. *** refuses to do anything to rectify the situation.
The customer brought the range rover for ball joint and oil change, and that is exactly what we did. we have a work log with her info and hand writing on it. We did the repair, she pickup the car. came back the following day about some noise that she is hearing, took it for a ride with her, and told her its more likely her struts and they are expensive to replace., and then I showed her the control arm with ball joint that we replaced for her. Couple days later she called about oil leak from her truck, we got it towed in, we checked for leak, no leak from oil filter, cap or drain plug. leak was found from timing chain tensioner on right side of head, where we did not touch, explained to the customer but she kept saying it is our fault. she got it towed, and then we got couple calls about we put the wrong oil, or we did not put oil, or we put too much oil. We put the right filter with the right amount of oil and we replaced her ball joint/control arm, we did not touch her timing bolts or otherwise.We did give her an invoice with part # and a description of job done, but she claims that we did not, same as she claims we did not replace her ball joint, same as she claims that we did or did not put oil or put a lot more oil.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ***. Please add your rejection comments below.
The owner of ***, ***, told me to have the vehicle towed somewhere else after it sat in their lot for eight days without being looked at. The owner was on vacation in the *** for those eight days. When he returned, he told me to have it towed elsewhere, stating that if they tell him he did something wrong, then he will submit it to his insurance company. I have paperwork from the foreign auto dealer dated May 2, 2019, which states that the vehicle was worked on at *** and two days later was inoperable. They recommend a full engine replacement. I also have documentation from ***, where the vehicle has been being serviced the entire time. *** paperwork states they put 9 quarts of oil in the vehicle. However, the vehicle only takes 7.5 quarts. The assessment from both *** and *** in *** is that the overfill of oil cause the timing chain tensioner to eject from the engine due to oil pressure. The overfill caused permanent engine damage. I have all of the paperwork necessary to prove this. The vehicle was towed from *** to ***. It was then towed from *** back to my driveway where it has sat for seven weeks. Furthermore, *** performed a full vehicle inspection less than one year ago. The paperwork proves the vehicle was in perfect condition. *** is lying when he states that I returned with a different noise. I originally brought the vehicle in there because it was making a strange sound. The owner determined that it needed the ball joints. I paid $621 for the work but the noise still persisted. When I return to the following day to tell him about the noise, *** told me that it was probably the suspension. There was never any mention of struts. It’s also not his place to determine what is too expensive for me to fix and what is not. It was his job to inspect the vehicle, figure out what the noise was and then fix it. He failed to do that. There have been no additional phone calls to the business since the time I had the vehicle towed from *** to *** at the end of April. *** was the one who stated that I had a “massive oil leak”. However, the timing chain tensioner has been replaced and a full change was performed again. No oil has leaked from the vehicle since the time of the second oil change. That’s because there never was a massive oil leak to begin with. The oil came out of the area where the timing chain tensioner ejected. it ejected itself from the engine because there was too much oil put in the vehicle. ***’s own paperwork proves to be true. They have left me with a broken vehicle that they refused to repair. They also refused to provide their insurance information so that I could make a claim. An honest business person would at least allow the insurance company to be involved and make a determination. I believe that they can make a determination based on the paperwork I have.
Regards