Middleton Automotive

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

Regards,

On March 15, 2014 Ms. [redacted] requested that we diagnose the causeof her check engine light being illuminated and to replace the radiator surge(aka. reserve, overflow) tank. (Refer to attached Invoice # [redacted]) It wasdetermined that there was a transmission code causing the check engine...

light toilluminate. As part of our diagnostic we recommended that the transmission oilpan be removed to inspect the bottom for debris as this is a sign of internalcomponents breaking down. In over 35 years of experience 9 times out of 10 whentransmissions get to this point they soon fail whether it takes a simplesolenoid or a filter service to buy some time. We recommended that thetransmission be replaced so that Ms. [redacted] could save money in the long run asreferring back, once a transmission has as much debris and the amount of milesthis one does noted on the invoice, they soon fail causing more crisis becausenow there is a tow fee involved plus the money they had already paid only to"bandage" the issue. As the consumer they had every right not tofollow our recommendation in which they did not and requested that we install anew filter and fluid. As far as the diagnostic, there must have been amisunderstanding which I apologize for, but the only time the diagnostic timeis waived is when the repair recommended is large enough and is approved whichin this case was not. The fluid was not even charged to her which was$42.47+tax alone. At Middleton Automotive Center we strive to always deliverthe best quality service possible. Part of delivering the best quality serviceis also choosing not to use inferior products than that of the vehiclemanufacturer because it is our obligation to assure that part not fail andleave our customer stranded. In our experience the aftermarket surge tanksspecific to GM vehicles and many others have a high failure rate. The OE partcoming from the vehicle manufacture is far better in quality than that of theinferior aftermarket alternative, but is also more in price. (Refer to attachedWatson Chevrolet pricing sheet) Knowingthis we informed Ms. [redacted] of the Original Equipment part that we would beusing and she had agreed upon the pricing when she gave the approval otherwisewe would have not performed the repair. As for the labor time to install thetank, we use labor times suggested by the vehicle manufacture which is providedby [redacted]., LLC. The actual labor time it calls for is1.2 Hours which would have been $90.00 at our $75.00/Hr rate. (Refer toattached [redacted]) Making the observation that this time was not fairwe only charged $52.50. When Ms. [redacted] picked up the vehicle she was in a backand forth conversation on the phone with her son which every time she wouldtalk to us after talking to her son she became more aggravated. There was neveran offer of a refund, but in attempt to satisfy her we offered to remove theone we had installed and install one of her preference without charging laboragain. She declined and said she would just speak with her son. I assure as long as Middleton Automotive has been servingCasa Grande and the Tri-Valley Region and remained one of the busiest shops weare not out to take advantage of our customers. It is our obligation to do ourdue diligence in recommending whatever is needed to know that our customer'svehicle is not going to leave them stranded and that they will get the most outof the life of the vehicle. In response to their request, I do not feel arefund should be rewarded because we did more than go out of our way, she wasnot overcharged and we had originally offered to replace the tank with one ofher preference at the time of receipt.

Review: Took my vehicle in due to losing the auto shift in transmission and to replace the radiator overflow bottle. They told me the diagnostic was free but ended up charging me for it. They then told me that my transmission needed replaced for over $2000 estimated repair because the oil had some shine to it. I told them to not do anything with the transmission and they put it back together and then proceeded to replace the overflow bottle which is a $35 (which includes the cap) part from any auto parts store. They charged me $100 for the bottle and $15 for the cap plus an hour of labor to installl which is one bolt. I talked to the service manager and told them that they overcharged me and he said he would make it right and agreed t refund me $175 of the repair bill. They then asked me if I was going to bring the truck back in to have the transmission replaced and I told them probably not so as a result I never saw the agreed upon refund of $175 of the overcharges on the repair bill.

I drove my vehicle to Triple A transmission in Casa Grande and all that was wrong with the transmission was a selinoid for a total repair of $150 and the transmission did not need replaced at all and is perfectly fine.Desired Settlement: Send me the $175 agreed refund of the overcharges

Business

Response:

On March 15, 2014 Ms. [redacted] requested that we diagnose the causeof her check engine light being illuminated and to replace the radiator surge(aka. reserve, overflow) tank. (Refer to attached Invoice # [redacted]) It wasdetermined that there was a transmission code causing the check engine light toilluminate. As part of our diagnostic we recommended that the transmission oilpan be removed to inspect the bottom for debris as this is a sign of internalcomponents breaking down. In over 35 years of experience 9 times out of 10 whentransmissions get to this point they soon fail whether it takes a simplesolenoid or a filter service to buy some time. We recommended that thetransmission be replaced so that Ms. [redacted] could save money in the long run asreferring back, once a transmission has as much debris and the amount of milesthis one does noted on the invoice, they soon fail causing more crisis becausenow there is a tow fee involved plus the money they had already paid only to"bandage" the issue. As the consumer they had every right not tofollow our recommendation in which they did not and requested that we install anew filter and fluid. As far as the diagnostic, there must have been amisunderstanding which I apologize for, but the only time the diagnostic timeis waived is when the repair recommended is large enough and is approved whichin this case was not. The fluid was not even charged to her which was$42.47+tax alone. At Middleton Automotive Center we strive to always deliverthe best quality service possible. Part of delivering the best quality serviceis also choosing not to use inferior products than that of the vehiclemanufacturer because it is our obligation to assure that part not fail andleave our customer stranded. In our experience the aftermarket surge tanksspecific to GM vehicles and many others have a high failure rate. The OE partcoming from the vehicle manufacture is far better in quality than that of theinferior aftermarket alternative, but is also more in price. (Refer to attachedWatson Chevrolet pricing sheet) Knowingthis we informed Ms. [redacted] of the Original Equipment part that we would beusing and she had agreed upon the pricing when she gave the approval otherwisewe would have not performed the repair. As for the labor time to install thetank, we use labor times suggested by the vehicle manufacture which is providedby [redacted]., LLC. The actual labor time it calls for is1.2 Hours which would have been $90.00 at our $75.00/Hr rate. (Refer toattached [redacted]) Making the observation that this time was not fairwe only charged $52.50. When Ms. [redacted] picked up the vehicle she was in a backand forth conversation on the phone with her son which every time she wouldtalk to us after talking to her son she became more aggravated. There was neveran offer of a refund, but in attempt to satisfy her we offered to remove theone we had installed and install one of her preference without charging laboragain. She declined and said she would just speak with her son. I assure as long as Middleton Automotive has been servingCasa Grande and the Tri-Valley Region and remained one of the busiest shops weare not out to take advantage of our customers. It is our obligation to do ourdue diligence in recommending whatever is needed to know that our customer'svehicle is not going to leave them stranded and that they will get the most outof the life of the vehicle. In response to their request, I do not feel arefund should be rewarded because we did more than go out of our way, she wasnot overcharged and we had originally offered to replace the tank with one ofher preference at the time of receipt.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

Regards,