King William Tire, Inc.

Review: I took my [redacted] to this business on 27th of December to get a state inspection. My truck failed because the lower ball joints needed to be replaced. They told me they would look into how much it would cost them to replace them and call me back. I took my truck home and looked up the parts online to see how much it would cost me to do the repair myself. King William Tire called me back and told me that parts and labor would be $532.00 and a couple hours to do it. I took my truck back to them at approximately 10am the same day. King William Tire called me back a couple hours later and told me they needed to replace multiple parts in addition to the lower ball joints. I told them I did not want anything replaced but the ball joints and would not pay for anything extra. I did not hear anything from them for the rest of the day. I did not here anything from them on Saturday either. Monday I was told I could come and pick up the truck and that it was going to be over 1,000 dollars. I could not pick it up Monday because my wife and I had to work. Tuesday the 31st I went to pick it up. The total was 1,147.80. On my receipt it states they replaced *both lower ball joints *both front axle assemblies * replaced driver side wheel hub/bearing assemblies * replaced right front brake hose * and bled the brakes. I did not authorizes any changes other then the ball joints. Parts came to 591.00 and Labor came to 510.00. I told the associate that was helping me that when they called me I told them not to fix anything except the lower ball joints. She said that they had been authorized to do this work. She started to get irritated with me because I was not willing to pay the amount. The [redacted] was eating a bag of potato chips and did not help her in assisting me. I paid the balance in full of 1,147.80 so that I could get my truck back. They were unwilling to help me. I am a mechanic at Carter Machinery and know what they should have fixed but they took it upon themselves to fix much more and charge me for them.Desired Settlement: To be refunded and only charged for the parts I authorized them to make.

Business

Response:

The morning that [redacted] brought his [redacted] to our shop, he requested a Virginia State Safety Inspection. We did find the lower suspension ball joints were worn on both sides. The vehicle was issued a rejection sticker and the customer said he was going to do the repairs himself. We gave him an estimate of the approximately cost of the job, which he later returned and authorized the repairs. We promptly began work on the vehicle where it was noted that there was a lot of corrosion/rust on the suspension components. After multiple attempts with the required tool to remove the axle assembly from the wheel bearing/hub unit, it became apparent that extreme force was going to be needed to separate them. We then call [redacted] and advised him that the axle was seized and would most likely be rendered unusable when removed along with possible other components such as the wheel bearing/hub unit. We told him there was no way to tell exactly which parts would be damaged in the process, and gave him a worst case scenario cost of the original quote plus the extra parts and time necessary. We advised him that it was difficult to estimate the extra time that may be included but the parts could add around $500. His response was that it needed the ball joints to pass inspection and " do your best." The vehicle was unusable in its current state and coupled with his response of "do your best" we took it to mean do what necessary while keeping cost down. We continued to work on the vehicle and did get the repairs all made. The driver's side axle and wheel bearing were both rendered unusable and replaced with new parts. The lower ball joint was replaced and the repairs moved to the passenger's side. The passenger's side was also extremely seized, but the wheel bearing was able to be salvaged. The axle did have to be replaced along with the ball joint. The brake hose on the passenger's side was rusted to the point they it started leaking when the caliper was removed. This required the replacement of the brake hose and bleeding of the hydraulic system. All the repairs were now completed and the collateral parts replaced. The vehicle was then issued an approval decal and the customer was call and informed. When the customer came to pick up the vehicle he questioned why we replaced parts other than the ball joints. We again explained that the axles were seized into the hub which would not allow the steering knuckle to be removed which in turn prohibited us from performing the repair. The other parts were what was needed in order to complete the ball joint replacement. He was advised of the complications as soon as they were realized and only the absolutely necessary parts were used to return the vehicle to a safe, functioning state. [redacted] paid the bill in full then left with his vehicle. No one was rude or irrational on either side of the transaction. The man sitting and eating his lunch was a part time mechanic and not the [redacted], that is why he did not interject into the conversation.