Milestone Automotive Group, Inc

*** ***,
I will reply to this matter once I have all the information in front of meI wanted to reply back soon as I saw this noticeI have already spoke to *** ***, explaining to him we could only recommend the service to the customers, but we can't
not force them to do the workWe clearly explained to the person who was in charge while *** *** was out of the countryHe refused the work that was recommendI will get bk and fully explain the events and conversations that took place for this Customer *** ***

From: Keith K** Date: Wed, Aug 26, at 4:PMSubject: case id ***.To: ***@myRevdex.com.orgThis reply is in response to the customer with the *** *** On December 27,, the vehicle came into the shop with transmission problem with miles She
had an extended warranty through 3rd partyThe Extended warranty cocovered majority of the repair that was needed and she paid the difference, The 2nd time she towed the vehicle in was on October 01,with miles When we went out to check the vehicle, the battery was nearly dead, had to jump start the vehicle, Had codes stored, one was *** shift malfunction and *** fuel system lean bank2, During the road test vehicle didn't have much power , slow to take off, when we load tested the battery, it failed the load testDuring the brief road test , the transmission went through all the gears and informed customer that the battery need to be replaced and re test as the pcm needs stable voltage and to chk for lack of power bank system lean code, customer did not want to hear any of it and had the vehicle towed out and towed it outAt a later time that she told us that they had replaced the fuel pump assby She accused us of doing something to the fuel pumpThe third time she brought the vehicle in was to the rockville location on October 07,stating that she experinced a revving of rpm while driving She brought the vehicle in at miles When we test drove the vehicle , it went through all the gears, when scanned, had a history code of postored Since it is a history code, we had cleared the code and road tested the vehicle, we could not duplicate her concern nor the code came back, if it is an internal transmission problem, the code would have set and we would have experienced the problem with the transmission We have test driven the car for an extended time so as to duplicate the customer's concern We have even offered the customer to go for a ride together and to see if we can duplicate the concern while she was in the vehicleShe said she has no time to come down and she had medical issue where she couldn't come We have experienced on a different *** years ago where the faulty camshaft sensor which at a certain time and under certain condtion had made the transmission go into a limp/failsafe mode triggering a transmission code, but once the engine is turned off and restarted, you only see the trans code stored The only way to see the soft code for the camshaft sensor is when it happens to go to the engine side and scan for the codes while the vehicle is running I have informed the customer that we can replace the camshaft sensors or continue to road test until we can duplicate the condition she 's experiencingShe came on October 30,to pick up the vehicle at which the mileage out was She had written that we drove her car for over miles is absolutely not true Yes we did log about miles the last time she brought it in That was done with her consent and to confirm that the code hadn't come back and also confirms that the triggering of the code is caused by external issues not related to the transmission She had complained to the corporate and I was told that she wanted to take it to another aamco centerThat was the last time I had heard from her I have repeatedly told her I would be more than happy to go for a road test with her anytime The vehicle had logged almost miles since she brought the vehicle in the first time If it was an internal issue with the transmission, she would not have driven that far since the repair Thank you for your time If you have any questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact me

When
*** dropped her vehicle for repair, we were told that she will
be going overseas for a period of two weeks or so related to her work
and the point of contact will be her son and the only number she had
given to us was her home phone number I would like to ask her why **
*** contact information wasn't given to us for a point of contact
instead of her son nor he ever existedIf we didn't informed her son of
all the other additional repairs needed for her vehicle, why did she
told her son not to do anything and to tell *** she will be back at
the end of the week and will speak to himself The only reason she had
authorized for the radiator replacement was that while we were waiting
to hear from her that she do not want none of the additional repair
needed and she was going to take the vehicle back to her mechanic to do
the rest of the recommended repairs .Only reason that she had the
radiator done was that the trans cooler in the radiator was
contaminated and that it would ruin the newly rebuilt transmission and
to prevent the damage to the transmission I am at a loss with the
rest of her story as to how to respond, It is very difficult for me to
follow her events, where at one point *** was not there when she came
in for the recheck and all of a sudden he is next to me and agreeing
with herI had never told her that he was firedHe had taken a leave
of absence for a week to spend time with his son and to go to New
Hampshire for the passing of his grandfatherHe had decided to take an
extended leave of absenceMaybe it has to do with the stress of dealing
with customers, which I won't ponder I had never told her that I had
*** fired *** states that her son is only years old and
had no authority why he was given as a point of contact not ***
As she states she had instructed her son to tell *** She would speak
to *** directly about the repair herselfShe states that she were told
about the brakes and the radiator but not the mounts and the rear main
seal I don't understand why she didn't just have her mechanic have the
mounts replaced I wouid be more than happy to replace her mountsI
have told her for the warranty to in effect, she do not need to have it
done at our centerShe can have the necessary repairs done at any other
place I have never told her that she have to have it done only at our
center The only difference is that if she had done as we recommended
while the subframe was down would have saved a lot of money as she
have saved on the transmission and radiatorThe Transmission
replacement at an Acura Dealership would have set her back at least
*** had the transmission and radiator done for less than the
price of transmission alone
I am going to add respondence from *** himself below:
The customer was going out of the country for an extended period of
time while the transmission was to be rebuilt and we were told to
contact her son with any information during that time so that he could
in turn relay the information to her As instructed, we had tried to
contact her son number of times to inform him of the additional repair
needed for the vehicle, which includes rear main seal that was leaking,
which would have cost minimal to replace while the transmission was out,
engine and trans mounts that were worn and broken and should be
replaced to save on labor cost since it was much easier access to the
mounts while the transmission was outafter her son had gotten touch
with her, the customer was infuriated with the additional cost and
didn't want to hear anything more,possibly thinking that we were trying
to sell her something that she didn't need, she thought we were just
trying to "fatten her bill" as she stated There should have been a
much better way of communicating with the customer and if there were any
real concern regarding "our ability" her own words, then the customer
could have simply waited until she returned and come in and verify the
needed repairs or have her husband come in to inspect and verify or
could have called her mechanic to verify I believe she thought that
her mechanic could have done the rest of the repair at a cheaper price
We did everything we said we would do and more The customer is
simply trying to find a scapegoat for something that could have been
taken care of if she had made herself available and be attentive to
what we had to tell her as far as any additional repairs to the vehicle
outside the transmission Why would I only mention about her brakes as
she states when there far more things that needed critical attention
that really need to be replaced, and which it could have waited and to
be taken back to her mechanic to be fixed, but not the mounts, rear main
seal, but the radiator? The only reason she had the radiator done was
that without the radiator which was badly contaminated, the vehicle was
to be towed out and to have her mechanic replace the radiator prior to
connecting the transmission I have done far more for her than she
knows

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
What was said are absolute lies. I was not ever told nor was [redacted] nor my son ( the person on the phone) about the brackets and so was not given the chance to refuse them as stated.
We were all informed as a after thought as why would we possibly refuse a small part of the work that was essential to getting a warranty and for the safety of my car as well as already paying such a huge amount it makes no logical sense that if we were ever given the open of having this done it would have been refused.
Also the owners wife ( who wrote back) was not there for most of the conversations and has no idea of what she is saying apart from requoting her husband who is trying to backtrack. The person who gave me the quotes and with whom I dealt with [redacted] was suprisingly fired when this all happened.
So, I totally reject this response.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: There were numerous problems with my service there. In order of egregiousness: 1) I learned nothing from the nearly two hours of diagnosis fees, as they couldn't tell me WHY my transmission should be rebuilt for $2900, but it should; 2) they apparently were having serious problems with their phone system, which made it nearly impossible to reach them 3) I was not called back anywhere near the timeframe I was told I would be when I was assured a quick callback after finally getting through 4) my car was not ready to be picked up not only at the time I was told it would be, but an hour LATER, and finally 5) when I complained about all of the above and refused to pay for the oil change still in progress at pickup, I was met with lies, hostility, and I believe intent to tell me my oil was changed WITHOUT actually performing the service, as I refused to reimburse them for it when it was not done upon my arrival over 24 hours after bringing them the car in the first place.

I brought my car in on the morning of March 20 because it was having trouble switching into reverse. As I told them, a prior mechanic had already checked the fluid level (it was fine) and found no fault codes, so he recommended I bring it to a transmission specialist to diagnose the problem. I signed a form stating diagnosis could cost up to $176. I asked if my oil could also be changed, [redacted] said yes *and I saw him note this request on my paperwork*. I was told I'd get a call later in the day with an update. At 1:33, I get a call from [redacted] telling me my transmission needs to be rebuilt, it'll cost $2900, and the diagnostic fee was $176 (which is 1.75 hours' labor at $99/hour). I ask for an explanation of what is wrong with the transmission, and am told nothing I didn't already know from my regular mechanic-- and this place is supposed to specialize in transmissions. Also my mechanic told me said information in one hour's labor, not 1.75 hours. I said I'm not going to spend that kind of money on the transmission without knowing what part exactly is not working-- perhaps it's a sticking solenoid, or a cracked piston-- either of which could be repaired without entirely overhauling the transmission. But, they didn't know, and weren't going to find out-- either I give them $2900 or take the car back. I said I'd think it over and call them back in a little while. This is when the nightmare of trying to call them begins. Apparently they have two phone numbers-- I called the one listed on the internet ([redacted], which worked the day before to make the appointment to bring the car in. Let me preface the following call log with saying every call was received with an automated "Thank you for calling AAMCO..." message. So I didn't call a wrong number. I call at 2:51 and after I press a selection to speak to someone, I hear a click and the call is disconnected. At 2:52, I call back and I can hear ambient noise in the background, *then another click and I'm disconnected*. At 2:57, I call back, I can hear an [redacted] woman talking, who doesn't appear to realize I'm there, finally she hears me saying "Hello?" and says "Hello?" and I say "Is this AAMCO?" and she says "Yes", and I say I'd like to talk to someone about my car and she says someone will call me back. I said I'm having a hard time getting anyone to pick up the phone there, can I just hold for a minute? And she says no, someone will call me back, and I say "when?" and she says "within 5 minutes" and we hang up. 15 minutes later (and fine, that's not my complaint about the delay being called back), [redacted] calls me back. I tell him I'm having trouble getting anyone on the phone, and he says this is the first he's heard of anyone having trouble. I say I'm not going to have them work on the transmission, is the oil change done? He says no. I said ok, can you just take care of that and let me know when the car's ready? He says ok. I'm assuming at this point that it will be done by the end of the day, as I told them when I dropped the car off that I wanted it back the next morning. But I don't want to get there and have it not be done, so when I haven't heard back from [redacted] by 5, I get nervous as they close at 5:30. I call at 5:15, click, I call at 5:16, click, I call at 5:17 and [redacted] answers. I again complain about the difficulty I'm having getting through to them. He now says yes their [redacted] voice service is having problems, here's a direct number to call [redacted]. I said I'm calling to see if the oil change is done. He says he's in the middle of something and he'll call me back. I said "When? Aren't you closing soon?" And he said within 15 minutes. 15 minutes goes by, another 15 minutes, ANOTHER 15 minutes, and finally at 6:11, almost an hour later, I start calling again, hoping he or someone is still in the office and can tell me when I can get my car back. I call the "direct" number he gave me earlier. No answer. 6:12, no answer. 6:13, [redacted] answers. I don't complain about not getting through with the new number because I'm more annoyed I wasn't called back by close of business as I was told, and I just want to get my car at this point. I ask if the oil change is done. He says no. Seeing as they've had the car the entire day, and the only reason I can think of why they didn't do it when they "diagnosed" my transmission is they forgot (assuming they did look at the transmission), and that as places like [redacted] can change the oil in 10 minutes, I'm really not sure how in the entirety of Wednesday they were unable to get this done. They didn't express a problem with getting this done on Wednesday when I said I wanted the car back the next morning. They open at 7:30, so I ask if the oil can be changed first thing when they open so I can get the car at 8, and [redacted] says yes.

The next morning, I am running late, and I don't arrive at the Rockville metro until 8:40. I call the [redacted] number, and now I get a recording with [redacted]'s voice instead of the [redacted] woman, but not only is there no answer, but this recording says "Leave a message", and THEN THERE IS NO WAY TO LEAVE A MESSAGE. It just repeats itself-- no beep to indicate you can record a message now. 8:42, no answer (I'd like to add at this point that my phone log only shows one call to a number per minute-- I think I called multiple times per minute all of these times, but I can't verify that with my phone. I can verify I had no reception problems, as my phone makes a certain tone when Sprint drops a call, and I made multiple calls throughout Wednesday to other numbers from the same location, and had no problem.), 8:44, no answer, I go back to trying the other number at 8:45, no answer (I try all 3 of the menu options both days, no difference), 8:48, no answer, 8:49 no answer, 8:51 [redacted] finally answers. I tell him something is seriously wrong with their phones, both numbers, I've been calling for 10 minutes for a ride from the metro, and this is really getting ridiculous. He says [redacted] (the owner) just left the metro so it'll be 10 minutes before he can return. I said I wanted a call when he is on his way, but then I called back at 8:56 (and got through! Twice in a ROW!) and said it was too cold and I've already waited 10 minutes and I'm taking a cab there and they will deduct that from what I owe them. The cab ride was $6.50 plus a $1 tip, I provided a receipt. I walk in, [redacted] looks apologetic, he says he doesn't know what's going on with the phones, I look to my left and see MY CAR IS STILL UP ON A LIFT. It is now 9:05. I look back at [redacted] and exclaim "My car is STILL NOT READY YET??" and he says "We're just finishing up your car now, it'll be ready soon." At this point, I'm really appalled by the service over the past 24 hours, and I announce I'm not going to pay for the oil change. He says I'll have to talk that over with [redacted] when he returns. I wait, [redacted] returns, and his attitude is half of the reason I'm submitting this complaint. I try to explain why I'm not happy but I keep getting interrupted by [redacted]. I explain that I had an extremely frustrating afternoon the previous day trying to get someone there to pick up the phone, he tells me I'm calling the wrong number. I pull out my phone and read off the number. He says that's their [redacted] number, not the direct number. I'm not really interested in who provides their telecommunications service-- this is the number they have listed online for their store, it worked on Tuesday (and occasionally thereafter), it always played a recording indicating I have in fact called the Rockville AAMCO....so, it's not "the wrong number", at least not through any fault of my own, AND their direct line was no better. He says I didn't call all afternoon and I say "really? Let's take a look! And I show him my call log, which shows the MANY times I called (and again I think it's only half of them). He says they tried to call me too and I said "Did you? I don't have any missed calls on here. Let's see YOUR call log!" But he didn't offer his. I said I don't understand how the oil change could possibly take over 24 hours, and [redacted] said I didn't request it until late in the day. I said "No, I requested it when I dropped the car off, I saw you write it on my paperwork." He said "Well we were waiting until we had an answer from you about the transmission before doing it." And I said "Well no one told me the oil change may not get done by this morning depending on what time I answer them about the transmission-- no one mentioned the oil change at ALL at 1:30, I had to bring it up (in other words, remind them I'd asked for it), AND I answered them about the transmission 2.5 hours before they closed, AND I was told last night it would be ready by 8am this morning." [redacted] said he'd cover the cab fare and that was it, we argued back and forth, I tell him if I'm charged I'm going to complain to the Revdex.com, and finally [redacted] speaks up and says he did tell me the car would be ready by 8am. I thank him for admitting this to his boss, who FINALLY says he will not charge me for the oil change. He looks for my car key on the wall next to him. I can see that my car is no longer on the lift, so I'm not surprised the key isn't there-- it's probably getting parked outside. But [redacted] is surprised my key isn't there. He pokes his head into the garage to ask about my car. After hearing what I can only assume was the news that my oil change was now complete, [redacted] announces he will pay for the labor but charge me for the oil and filter. I repeat that I am not paying for this oil change. He gets very mad. I said "I thought we just settled this-- you JUST told me two minutes ago you would not charge me for the oil change. Why are you changing your mind now?" And here is the OTHER half of the reason I am submitting this complaint, in spite of him ultimately covering the oil change: he said, and these are his exact words "I thought your car was still outside." Now, what is THAT supposed to mean? I can only think of one explanation. I said, incredulously, "So, what does THAT mean-- you were going to LIE AND TELL ME THE OIL WAS CHANGED WITHOUT CHANGING IT??!?!?!?!" Of course he immediately denies this, but I ask for an alternate explanation and I don't receive one, so here I am. He follows his denial with an immediate reversal BACK to not charging me for the oil change, but for some reason he needs to be able to record the oil change onto my bill, so he says he'll adjust the time spent on diagnosing the transmission down to 1.5 hours, and with subtracting the cab fare (which he put in as 6.50 not 7.50- I don't think tipping cab drivers is optional, why should I not have tipped him? He didn't do anything wrong), my total was $177.18, was that ok? I was so tired from arguing about the oil change I said yes, even though regardless of what he put on the bill (and he did put down a 6.50 deduction for cab fare), I was still paying him just over the maximum diagnostic amount for the transmission IN ADDITION TO NOT GETTING BACK THE MONEY I GAVE THE CAB DRIVER. After I took his business card, for the purpose of writing this complaint, THEN I get an apology for all the difficulty getting ahold of them. For some reason this didn't strike me as sincere at this point. Whether or not the phone system issues are his fault (for all I know, their strategy when they are busy or don't feel like taking a call is to pick up the phone and hang it back up on whomever is calling), any good businessman knows that when a customer doesn't receive adequate service, he should immediately seek to compensate the customer for any inconvenience. Here was a litany of problems, and [redacted] only met them with defenses and denials. Even his own employee ultimately had better business sense than this. I should not have to argue for a solid 30 minutes to get the oil change at no charge after the immense hassle it was to get it done there at all. And I have VERY SERIOUS qualms about the quality of work there based not only on the uninformative diagnosis, with no offering of any alternative options under $2900, but largely due to the "I thought your car was still outside" statement.Desired Settlement: I don't think I should have paid them for more than an hour of labor after this whole debacle (which judging by my receipt would be $99). But mostly I'm writing so my complaint is recorded. I only wish I had seen their "F" rating by the Revdex.com before I brought my car there. Under no circumstances do I want a phone call from [redacted]

Business

Response:

First of all we did cover the oil change for the customer due to the inconvenience. As far as the diagnostic fee, we thoroughly checked out the transmission and spent quite a bit more time making sure that there was nothing overlooked. The time charged is the time agreed on by the customer when she dropped off her vehicle. Tipping is a choice and is not something that can be reimbursed. And finally, we were having a lot of problems with our phone system and lost quite a bit of business due to that fact, so the communication issue was completely out of our hands. By paying the cab fare and covering the oil change as well as lowering the diagnostic fee should be more than accommodating to the customer.

Thank you for your time and I hope the issue can now be resolved

CSM - [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Review: 3/4/14 I took my car to AAMCO [redacted] as there was a issue with my transmission .

I spoke with [redacted] who told me they will assess the car and that would be $190 but if I was to have it repaired the amount would be deducted.

I was told the transmission would probably be around $3200 to change.

I was then called by [redacted] to say that the transmission had been checked and will be $3300.

I then said I had a quote from a mechanic I knew who could do it for $3200 and instead of taking my car there I would leave it with AAMCO if he could match this price for $3200 and take off the $190 for the check up. [redacted] agreed and so I told him to proceed with the repair. My husband was sitting next to me and heard the conversation.

I then went abroad for work and was called by my son who informed me that [redacted] had called him to say that not only did the transmission need changing but there was a leak in the radiator and this needs changing too.

He said this would be an additional $1000 for the radiator on top of $3600 for the transmission.

I then told my son not to do anything and tell [redacted] I will be back end of week and and will speak to him myself as :

A. We had agreed verbally on a different price and

B. I knew nothing about a radiator.

When I got back I called [redacted] and he told me that the radiator needed fixing and instead of me towing it to my mechanic, his boss ([redacted]) had said he would give me a reduction in price and have it all done there.

I reminded [redacted] of our previous discussion on matching my mechanic's quote and he apologised and said he remembered and that was fine and we agreed on a amount of $3,782.00

[redacted] did inform me that my break pads needed attention and I said I would have these done at my mechanic. I asked if the car was okay to drive to my mechanic with the brakes as they were and he said yes as long as I did not leave it for too long. My son was with me and heard the conversation.

I was told my car would be ready in a week and rented a car in the time it was being repaired which extended to a extra three days over what I was promised.

3/19/14 I picked up my car I saw [redacted] and paid and was told to come back in ten days for a re testing.

We spoke about the brakes again and nothing else.

Ten day later I set up a appointment and went into Aamco.

[redacted] was not there but his boss [redacted] was .

My car was driven and [redacted] came in telling me that if I do not replace my Engine mounds there will be premature failure of the transmission and void any warranty.

I stood with my mouth open as it was the first time I had ever heard the word mounts and asked him to repeat the wording as had not ever heard of this before.

[redacted] was clearly irritated by my questioning and told me in no uncertain terms that he personally had heard [redacted] telling me to change the mounts to which I had refused and said I would do it at another stage as I did not want to pay for it!!!!!!!!!!!

This was the first time I had heard such a thing and was taken aback trying to explain that I was not informed and so did not have it done. [redacted] disregarded anything I said and repeated he was sitting next to [redacted] who told me so and this was said in a very abrupt manner and was told in a indirect way that I was lying and thus responsible.

So, here I am $3.782.00 later without a warranty being told I refused something that is an integral part of the car and it is my liability.

In the documentation there is no note of me being informed about mounts being changed and refusing.

Why would I possibly spend all that money and not have everything done whilst all the part are out?

The brakes I decided to change somewhere else as this had no bearing on other jobs being done. There was at no time any mention of Mounts. There was at no time any information given to me about mounts and that I declined having this done.

The first time I heard of it was when I was told by [redacted].

I tried very politely to explain to [redacted] the chain of events and hit a brick wall.

4/9/14 I went back into the office to try and speak with [redacted] as well as [redacted] at the same time as to try and have [redacted] confirm with me that the "option" of having mounts put in was never given to me and thus never declined by me.

I was met by [redacted] who informed me that [redacted] no longer worked there and had been fired. He then went on to say [redacted] had informed my son about the mounts to which I replied that my son is 17 years old and had no authority and because of this I had instructed him to tell [redacted] I would speak to him directly about the repairs myself. When I did speak to [redacted], NOTHING was ever said about mounts.

I then tried to explain once again to [redacted] that I would NEVER have declined having mounts put in if I was given all the information especially once the car was being done , if I had been told and explained to me that it was an intergral part of the job.

Once again he said I was told and I refused the job. He asked me what I would want and I explained to him I would want the job done correctly with the mounts put in. To which he told me I can go to any Aamco and have it done not necessarily his branch !!Desired Settlement: I would like the job complete as it should have been in order to obtain a warranty and be safe to drive.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

Review: I took my SUV at 11:00 am to AAMCO in [redacted] MD as it was making a intermittent sound on the front end of the car, I was clear (and it is stated on the bill) that it was the front, probably the right passenger side or both. The sound was not replicated during the test drive with me, [redacted] called me the NEXT DAY and told me that he got the car to replicate the sound once or twice, and that he wanted to change the rotors, brake pads, tires and gave me a list over the phone with an exorbitant amount of money, I told him I did not want him to change anything of those items. He said that the sound was coming from the hub assembly, He then told me that to change the hub assembly it would cost me $609.00 dollars to which I agreed. Later that day he said the car was ready. I asked my wife to stop and get the car from them as I was still working and would not be able to get there before their closing time. She paid and picked up the car and asked for the part which was given to her. She told me that they had charged $674.00 for the repair $65.00 over the amount quoted to me. The next morning as she was driving the car to work, the car made the same sound again. So I called [redacted] and told him that the car was not fixed. He asked to have the car back to be checked again. My wife and him took the car for another test drive and the sound came back, [redacted] said that the part he had changed was in the back wheel. She told him that we had taken the car to be checked in the front not the back. He asked her to leave the car for 40 minutes while he checked it, she returned 30 minutes later and he said that the car was ready. She was very upset as he was able to check and "fix" the car in this short amount of time. He said that there was some debris in-between the rotor and caliper area that was making this sound. He had taken this piece of debris out and told her that was the reason for the sound. This meant that he never checked the front end as requested or he would have found this issue and fixed it very quickly. He made us pay for 1.8 hours of Labor (approximately $176.00) to "check" the issue and 1.8 hours of labor to fix this issue (again $176.00), he also made us spent approximately $250.00 dollars on a part that did not needed to be replaced. Where he would have checked the car as agreed he would have been able to make the sound go away with out having to change anything on it. My wife and I feel like we were robbed/stolen from as he charged almost $675.00 dollars for a "repair" that was not needed and in an area that was not discussed. And still have the issue. My wife asked him for a refund and for his part to be removed and he declined both. He was very rude to her and told her that he did not want to talk to her. I have called him a couple of times and left messages as I am told that he is out or will be back later, but no calls have been returned.

I am now considering taking this issue to court if not resolved by these means. This company needs to make this right as they are stealing from customers by making unnecessary repairs and charging for full diagnostic times when they are checking anything.Desired Settlement: A refund needs to be made back to us.

Business

Response:

This is in response to **. [redacted]'s complaint , the customer brought the vehicle on July 8th, 2013 for noise complaint as stated in the description of the problem, I had given the ride back to the customer's house which is about 6.13 mile one way, total round trip of about 12.26 miles, during which time there was a constant roar, thumping noise coming from the rear, at which time I had brought it up to the customer's attention, he was aware of the noise, as far as the noise coming from the front, I couldn't duplicate the customer's concern and the customer also did not hear the noise from the front, upon returning to the shop,we test drove the vehicle for an extended period of time to duplicate customer's concern, we were able to experience a slight noise when we were turning either to the right or left at slow speed ,but it happened for a very short brief of time and was not constant, we had the vehicle on the lift and was checking the vehicle for noise coming from the front, we inspected the front end for any loose steering and or suspension parts, and front differential and transfer case for the possible cause of noise, the only things that we have found on the front was that the front brake pads were worn and rotors had slight grooves and lips and that the left front silencer on the outside of the pad had moved off the back of the pads and had been rubbing against the hub of the front rotor , both front tires were worn out, there was also slight bearing noise coming from the right front hub bearing, had checked for any looseness or play of the hub, there was none, the main noise was coming from the right rear hub and bearing assby. At this time, I had called the customer and informed him of our findings, I had explained to the customer of what we found and had recommended replacement of the front brake pads and and rotor replacement along with 2 front tires and right rear hub bearing assby and re test Customer did not want to do anything with the brakes and the tires, he had authorized the replacement of the right rear hub bearings only . After the right rear hub bearing assby replacement, the constant thumping and roaring noise was gone. The customer had picked up the vehicle, the following day when his wife was driving to work , had stated the sound is still there. When [redacted] brought the vehicle back , had asked that when does she hear the noise, she had stated on the highway speed driving to her work, I had asked [redacted].[redacted] to go for the test drive.we had taken the vehicle on the stop and go traffic and also on the highway to check for the noise, the only time I noticed the noise was when she was exiting the highway coming to a stop. During the stop, I had switched with [redacted] and drove back to the shop. I did not duplicate the noise. I came to conclude that the noise was present only on how she applied the brakes and under certain conditions, at this point, I suspected that the the silencer on the left outer pad which I have pointed out to the **. [redacted] prior the hub bearing replacement that he declined on the repair was the culprit. It had to meet certain condition as to the pressure on the braking that would cause to resonate. I had pointed this out to [redacted] and asked her to leave the vehicle and had removed the damaged silencer at no cost to her. He mentions that it took only 30 minutes to fix the car as he stated. He doesn't realize the amount of time involved in troubleshooting and isolating intermittent noise concerns where it's not easily duplicable, also I am sure that he has been servicing the vehicle at another repair center prior to coming to us as the record indicates that this was first time, the removal of the right rear hub bearing requires removal of the rear disc, caliper assby, bracket and other component necessary in order to remove the hub and bearing assby, also due to the age of the vehicle and exposure to climate conditions and rust, the bolts that hold the hub bearing in place were frozen, which require applying heat with torch to loosen up the bolts as not to require additional time for extraction of possible broken bolts which would have resulted in additional cost to the customer. ** and [redacted] states that they feel as if they were robbed and that I was rude to his wife, and that I never returned calls which is not true. I have returned calls , left messages, and was the result of arranging for her to bring the vehicle back to resolve customer's complaint. Secondly, he states that I had said" that there was some debris in between the rotor and caliper area that was making this sound". I have never told **. [redacted] and [redacted] of this as he stated. As indicated on above statement, I had told him of our findings as stated above, I had not taken the piece of debris as he mentioned, It was the silencer that comes with the pad which had rubbed aginst the left front rotor as I had described and explained to [redacted] and also showed her where it was touching. This was first mentioned to **. [redacted] the first time the vehicle was brought into the shop. The replacement of the right rear hub bearing assby did corrected the constant thumping and roaring noise coming from the rear. The old part was given to the customer as requested. As far as the allegation that I was being rude to **s. [redacted] was unfair. I had taken the time to address the customer's concern to my best abilities which wasn't good enough for them. Secondly, not having the opportunity to test drive the vehicle with the primary driver of the vehicle when the vehicle was brought into the shop the first time, which might have resulted in isolating the customer's concern. Thirdly, if the previous repair facility had installed o.e.m quality brake pads which would not have resulted in silencer coming off the back of the pads as they have. It is unfortunate that the findings had not been printed on to the work order as I stated, however this was clearly indicated to the customer over the phone before the replacement of the right rear hub bearing per customer request. Lastly, it is with regret that customer does not realize that importance in the value of vehicle safety or lack thereof. I believe addressing the concern of the front tires which was nearing baldness, which could cause the vehicle to hyroplane in wet road condition and failure of the right rear hub bearing which can lead to separation of the wheels or a lock up of the right rear wheel which can lead to catastophic failure.

Sincerely yours,