Melbourne Motorsports Reviews (%countItem)
Melbourne Motorsports Rating
Address: 9105 Ellis Road Unit A-9, Melbourne, Florida, United States, 32904-1004
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Charged more than what they told me. I have email I can send you with all the details.
Pre-WARNING!!!
It started with my car not going into gear sometimes. So I had it towed through AAA to the Mercedes dealership. They checked it out and recommended transmission valve body be replaced for $3,200.
I decided to call around to a couple of mechanics in the area. I decided to work with Paul from Melbourne Motorsports. He recommended two option's to fix my car.
1. Valve body replace at $1,800
2. Buy a used transmission at $2,800
I asked what he recommended and if it was his car what would you do, he said replace the whole transmission with a used one.
I also asked Paul how many days to complete the job and what do you need to get started. He said 5-7days to complete everything and would need $1,200 down, so I went to the bank and withdrew $1,500 cash to get the work started.
So 4 months later and he still couldn't get the used transmission to work, he had it towed to Stan over at Strictly Foreign to try to program the transmission with no luck, Stan told me he made him replace the thermostat because it might keep it from programming the transmission, so he towed it back again to his shop again. I went up the same day to see why its taking so long and he was replacing my thermostat that he had in his hand?
I was thinking.... he's just throwing parts at my car to try to fix it!?
I'm very sure the 1st month that went by he didn't know how to fix the car because he told me only 5-7 days to fix it!
He then had my car towed back to Stan shop to scan & program the tranny again with no luck?
He even ordered a new valve body from the Mercedes dealership parts department they needed my drivers license, car registration & Vin # and said it would take two weeks because its coming from Germany and needed to be programmed to the cars Vin#.
He then towed the car back to his shop and called me and said he can't program the transmission with the new valve body from Germany and was going to send it to the dealership to program it.
Remember he is a ASE certified mechanic and told me to buy a used transmission and he didn't even know that you can't program a used transmission to a Mercedes CLA250 because it will Only work with the original Vin# of the original car.
He sold me a transmission that couldn't be programmed to my car because he didn't know will not work and should have! Now its around 4 months later and I was original told 5-7days with the car now back at the Mercedes dealership to get it fixed because he didn't have the knowledge or the proper tools to fix my car.
During this time my other car was overheating and I said I'm going to need a loaner or something because this is taking way to long to fix my car and my wife and I both work and need a car to drive.
He gave me his car and worked on my other car that was overheating.
Got that car back and my wife had the DSC light pop on the next day after we got it back from him.
So I brought it back to him to check it out, he said its probably the steering sensor?
I didn't believe that so I took to one of my BMW dealer friends to check it and said the the steering is not centered anymore causing the DSC light to turn on.
So I took it to get alignment and they said the CV boot is leaking everywhere and needs to be fixed for $280, I also looked at the boot and seen the grease everywhere!
I called him and asked about the boot and he said he had to move it to get the water pump into the vehicle. Bring it back to me and I will fix it.
I had to get the vehicle realigned to fix the DSC light to straighten out the wheel he moved over to fix the problem. I had to pay
Tire Kingdom $100 to fix the alignment to fix the DSC light.
Then also during this whole time driving his car one night to pickup my daughter from church his front tire blew out on his loaner car he gave me. I called AAA to help because he didn't have lug nut wrench in his car to fix the tire, I didn't get home that night until 11:30 PM and the next day I had a 10AM appointment with a customer
Refund for the additional charges!
It has been approximately 3.5 months since this repair was completed. The customer has presented a very one-sided version of the story and I do not believe it would be fruitful for either part to get into a he said / she said argument of mud-slinging.
The customer has stated that he wants a refund due to the final invoice being higher than the original estimate. This is what I would like to address in my response.
The original estimate was to replace the customer's transmission and the price was $2870 plus tax. WE had been told by remote tech support and the owner of a local shop who also specializes in European vehicles that this was possible. The customer paid a deposit of $1500 for a used transmission and asked to keep the core. The balance was $1370 plus tax due upon completion.
After we installed the replacement used transmission the transmission was unable to be programmed to match the vehicle. The best advice from remote tech support - who tried but could not program the transmission - and another reputable shop in the local area was to replace the transmission control module. The module was unavailable except from the vendor in Germany. At the request of the customer we ordered the control module and waited approximately 3 weeks for the part to arrive from Germany.
We installed the new transmission control module and were again unable to get the programming procedure for the transmission to successfully complete. The other local shop we collaborated with also could not program the transmission successfully. At the approval of the customer we had the car towed to the local dealer for them to troubleshoot. A month later, they told us that we had to replace the hydraulic assembly in the transmission. The dealer informed us that it was impossible to reprogram a used transmission hydraulic assembly / control module to a different vehicle. We informed the customer of what the dealer said and he gave us permission to proceed with the repair. We asked for a small deposit and after we received the deposit the dealer completed the repair. It took the dealer approximately an additional 10 days to complete the repair.
The customer says he wants a refund because the final invoice was more than the original estimate. I admit that it was - but it was larger because the scope of work that the vehicle ultimately had to have done was much larger. At each step of the repair process the customer was informed of the escalation and approved the escalation at each point. We never moved forward without properly informing the customer of the process and waiting for his approval. We never acted without his approval.
We admit the repair was costly - but it was costly for both parties. We ultimately forewent our labor costs which were approximately $1300, the cost of the new transmission control module $755, all other parts and supplies, and gave the customer a vehicle to drive the entire time his car was at our shop. We ultimately only charged the customer for the used transmission, the exact cost of the sublet dealer repair, and $250 for direct costs associated with moving the vehicle around etc. The customer ultimately got his vehicle repaired at less than cost. We gave up as much as we could to try to make the best of this bad situation.
Please let us know if we can provide any further information or be of any further assistance in this matter.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
In response to what Paul wrote. I did end up paying way more then what was quoted to me but I had no choice. I needed my car back and Paul said he was gonna start charging me 25.00 a day on top of what he wanted me to pay. I was told he could do the job but obviously he couldn't and instead of stringing me along saying oh this will work over and over he should have just said..this job is too much for me to handle. As far as him finally saying he couldn't get the transmission to program and that he was gonna send it over to the dealer. I did not know that as well was gonna be on me to pay for it to be towed over there. I found that out after the fact. I would of never gone to him if he said I can't do it but he said he could. Then he made a statement that you just came to me to do the job because you wanted to save money. Well yeah.. Doesn't everyone shop around to find who can do the job for the best deal. The irony of the story is it ended costing the most in the end!! Would like a refund of $1,000 and that still thousand more than what he originally quoted me!
I believe the customer would have a valid complaint IF I had neither given any insight into the repair process to the customer nor updated him with pricing etc. If the customer showed up when the repair was finished and the overall price increased to the complete surprise of the customer, then the customer's complaint would be completely valid; however, this is not what happened. The customer was made fully aware of what his options were at each stage of the repair. The customer agreed to the pricing at each stage of the repair.
The customer states that I did not give him any other choice. His statement is patently false and I have attached documentation to refute this ridiculous claim. The customer was given the option to retrieve his vehicle and pay nothing further beyond the cost of the used transmission and a $250 fee for direct costs, or to have the dealer complete the repair. I have attached documentation to uphold this claim. At no time was the customer forced or coerced into doing anything. He was given every opportunity to decide for himself what he wanted us to do and knew upfront what the cost was going to be. He gave us permission to proceed at each step of the way and knew exactly what he was expected to pay in the end. The customer's complaint is illogical!
In the spirit of trying to reach a middle ground, I will agree to refund the customer the $250 I charged him to cover miscellaneous direct costs we incurred related to the repair. I will also refund him 7% tax on $250 to make the total refund $267.50. I already forwent asking the customer to pay my labor costs and for other parts and supplies necessary for the repair.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
You kept telling me different things you were going to try through the whole process but in the end..nothing worked. Plus you charged us towing fees for moving the car, well we shouldn't have to move the car if you're the right mechanic to fix it the first time. We didn't have a choice..the car was not moving, we needed our car & you were also telling us your going to charge us $25.00 extra for the car storage, we never even got it fixed yet? Fees are only legal after the car is fixed and ready to pickup! Believe me we were ready to pick it up after 4 months!! Would like Only $1K refund.
Top Notch! Very reasonable prices and work was completed the same day!
Thank you so much! I'm glad we were able to assist you in a satisfactory manner. We wish you all the best!