Mad Hatter Motors

The following is a response to the customers complaint The car had no mechanical or drive-ability issues that we were aware of at time of purchase We not only allow but encourage customers to take our vehicles for an inspection prior to purchase Customer owned vehicle for weeks before any issues arose We sell used vehiclesKey word is "used"Even new car owners have issues with brand new cars Timing tensioner did go bad which in turn caused a lot of noise and caused the vehicle to be inoperableThe repair facilities referenced are correctTiming tensioners do wear out over time until they reach their breaking point The customer contacted me upset that there car was in the shop and it was going to cost over $to fix as an initial estimateBMW's are not cheap cars to fixAfter making a few phone calls and pulling a few favors I was able to give her an estimate of $Again, key word is "estimate"Until your able to get into the internal workings of a vehicle it is impossible to get an exact quote I never told the customer she was "out of luck"This is a complete embellishmentThe customer had purchased a Warranty through the finance company so it would make no sense for me to say thatI tell each and every customer they are buying the car because that is the federal law I only knew of the issue stated in her complaint for about two weeks before being able to get it into my shopCustomer contacted other shops before notifying me of any problemsAnother embellishment of stating it was months I did have the car in my possession for daysAt my own expense I paid to have it towed to my shop from the shop that customer took it too and received that initial estimate of over $I also paid out of pocket for the $diagnostic the shop chargedThis cost me $out of my own account that the customer never mentionsAt that time I informed the customer that I would have to work it into my schedule because of my current work loadThat I would get it done as soon as possible As we investigated the repair we fixed several minor things that we thought that would either fail shortly or common sense things that you do when you are that deep into a project, gaskets, seals and hosesI notified customer of some small things we did free of charge but brought to her attention some other recommendations we had and what it would cost to fixCustomer got very upset Customer demanded her car backI was not able to get her window fixed or given the time to fix her radiator hoseThings do happen when working on vehiclesThe clip and O-ring that had previously was seated on the radiator hose was not working properly any more due to ageWe could not locate a new part fast enough before customer picked up carWe gave the customer a list of parts and issues that we thought that needed to be addressed before the car was drivenWe submitted the paperwork for the warranty and the customer paid the remaining $843., Customer states at beginning of letter the car was not running, at end of letter she states it is runningThe noise that the customer states that the car is still making are the parts we recommended to her that she replace and she made the choice not to do so Lastly, the customer has threatened to sue me several times before the repair and several times after the repairShe also brought her mother who also threatened meThis has had no bearing on my "decision making" to help the customer to the best of my abilityWe competed the Timing chain job and at no additional cost replaced several other gaskets and seals free of charge and stayed within the price quotedFor another $and a little patience the customers car would have been completely fixedThis is still roughly $less then any other shop quotedI did not feel comfortable and do not feel comfortable giving my customers my employees personal phone number but my employees are available any time for any civil discussion to address any problems -- Best Regards, Jamie - Owner Mad Hatter Motors SMeridian Rd Meridian, Idaho

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
The supposed repairs to our vehicle have made the vehicle worse. A rod is broken, the vacuum hose is missing, there is an oil leak and a leak from the radiator hose that was not an issue before. The water pump is leaking which was supposedly replaced during the repair. The oil pan leaks, the rear main seal is leaking. The service engine soon light has been blinking. The cover to the engine is loose, the bolts were never tightened.
He can keep saying he did me a favor, but it's quite the opposite. If someone else worked on our car, why did he have to work it into his schedule? Why won't he give the name of the mechanic that worked on our vehicle? After $4000.00 of repairs that have not worked, I think we have the right to know who worked on our vehicle. He either didn't do the work, he did it himself and did not know what he was doing, he's hiding something or sabotaged our car. 
Our car would'nt run worse after being repaired because of a hose leaking. He's a crook that doesn't own up to his mistakes. 
 
Sincerely,[redacted]

The following is a response to the customers complaint.
1. The car had no mechanical or drive-ability issues that we were aware of at time of purchase.
2. We not only allow but encourage customers to take our vehicles for an inspection prior to purchase.
3. Customer owned vehicle for 6 weeks...

before any issues arose.
4. We sell used vehicles. Key word is "used". Even new car owners have issues with brand new cars.
5. Timing tensioner did go bad which in turn caused a lot of noise and caused the vehicle to be inoperable. The repair facilities referenced are correct. Timing tensioners do wear out over time until they reach their breaking point.
6. The customer contacted me upset that there car was in the shop and it was going to cost over $6000 to fix as an initial estimate. BMW's are not cheap cars to fix. After making a few phone calls and pulling a few favors I was able to give her an estimate of $3843.68. Again, key word is "estimate". Until your able to get into the internal workings of a vehicle it is impossible to get an exact quote. 
7. I never told the customer she was "out of luck". This is a complete embellishment. The customer had purchased a Warranty through the finance company so it would make no sense for me to say that. I tell each and every customer they are buying the car As-is because that is the federal law.
8. I only knew of the issue stated in her complaint for about two weeks before being able to get it into my shop. Customer contacted other shops before notifying me of any problems. Another embellishment of stating it was 3 months.
9. I did have the car in my possession for 17 days. At my own expense I paid to have it towed to my shop from the shop that customer took it too and received that initial estimate of over $6000.00. I also paid out of pocket for the $100 diagnostic the shop charged. This cost me $200.00 out of my own account that the customer never mentions. At that time I informed the customer that I would have to work it into my schedule because of my current work load. That I would get it done as soon as possible.
10. As we investigated the repair we fixed several minor things that we thought that would either fail shortly or common sense things that you do when you are that deep into a project, gaskets, seals and hoses. I notified customer of some small things we did free of charge but brought to her attention some other recommendations we had and what it would cost to fix. Customer got very upset.
11. Customer demanded her car back. I was not able to get her window fixed or given the time to fix her radiator hose. Things do happen when working on vehicles. The clip and O-ring that had previously was seated on the radiator hose was not working properly any more due to age. We could not locate a new part fast enough before customer picked up car. We gave the customer a list of parts and issues that we thought that needed to be addressed before the car was driven. We submitted the paperwork for the warranty and the customer paid the remaining $843.,38.
12. Customer states at beginning of letter the car was not running, at end of letter she states it is running. The noise that the customer states that the car is still making are the parts we recommended to her that she replace and she made the choice not to do so.
13. Lastly, the customer has threatened to sue me several times before the repair and several times after the repair. She also brought her mother who also threatened me. This has had no bearing on my "decision making" to help the customer to the best of my ability. We competed the Timing chain job and at no additional cost replaced several other gaskets and seals free of charge and stayed within the price quoted. For another $386 and a little patience the customers car would have been completely fixed. This is still roughly $2000.00 less then any other shop quoted. I did not feel comfortable and do not feel comfortable giving my customers my employees personal phone number but my employees are available any time for any civil discussion to address any problems.
 
--
Best Regards,
Jamie - Owner
 
Mad Hatter Motors
703 S. Meridian Rd. 
Meridian, Idaho 83642