Melo's Auto Repair

Review: Melo's Auto repair was referred by a friend whom cars he has been fixing for years. I felt comfortable with the suggestion and quotes , because I heard so many good things about his shop. the first time I took my 2001 Malibu Chevrolet to Melo's was May 2013, and spoke with him regarding "popping sound " the car made when the wheel was turned he suggested repairs and quoted a price. So I have been taking my care to him for minor repairs that are affordable because I am a full-time so my income is limited. On 02-05-14 I took the car into the shop the muffler was very loud and it was running hot, So I told Melo " fix what needs to be done". I left the car and he always calls when he finds what needs to be fixed on the car, and give description of what needs to be repaired and the cost. My quoted price was $1371.71 taxes included and I told him to" go ahead and make the repairs " I have two children thta I take to school every morning and I am my mom's caregiver so I need my car to take her to doctors appointments and whatever other needs she requires.So I had the following repairs a new muffler, water pump, coolant tank, right front hub, thermostat sensor, front brakes, new front brake rotor, wipers, main belt, 2 1/2 gallons of coolant. After the repairs the car ran fine,until recently 04/21/2014 the vehicle began to run hot again and the sensor light was on.So I checked the coolant and noticed it was low ,I purchased Prestone Dex-cool anti-freeze the suggested brand for the make and model of the vehicle, I took my children to school which is 10 minutes away by the time I arrived home the coolant had evaporated. So I had to purchase another to pick them up, and the next day the same.On Friday 04/25/2014 I had take my children to school and it ran completely hot and began to decrease in speed so I pulled over and let the car cool off, purchased anti-freeze .I called my mechanic and he said "bring the car in"checked it and quoted another price for repairs that for additional repairs.Desired Settlement: $223.38 for, installation of water pump and labor to install belt, water pump, coolant sensor, main belt $89, coolant tank, labor to install radiator tank, thermostat $291.27total$ 603.65, I am not requesting a refund for the other repairs they were needed, but I trusted his word regarding suggested repairs, I am just asking for a refund for the vehicle running hot.Presently I am unable to drive the vehicle and have no other means of transportation.

Business

Response:

[redacted] a customer of mine, came back to Melos auto Repair shop on 4/24/14. [redacted] asked me to recheck for over heating. [redacted] said that she had to put in some collant, so I recheck the collant system, by pressure checking an found the left rear intake manifold corner gasket, was leaking collant internal and internal, then I pulled thee Dip stick out to check the engine oil and found it was milkey and was over full. call the customer up, let her that the collant was mixing with the engine oil.

I let her know how much it would cost to fix it. I also told her that the car was not safe to drive.

[redacted] decline any further work at this time, on 4/24/14.

For the refund that the customer is requesting I will have to decline.

The coollant tank had a crack at the time when pressurized, told customer I would have to install tank before I could determine if there was any other collant leaks, after replacing the tank I pressure check and found collant from the water pump weep hole. Then I got an ok from [redacted] to dot he work. We did everything according to what it needed to be done at that time. She has further problem that has to be address. If she keeps driving the car,the engine will go out, I told her this, because of the collant being mixed with the oil. When [redacted] came in on 2/5/2014 the first time, till now 4/24/14 she had put about 2,000 miles on her car.