Pearson Auto, LLC

This vehicle has never been properly maintained on a regular basis, nor had regular maintenance done on itNow it's a year old unmaintained car which has highly worn partsI have pulled past history for this vehicle and found that before the timing belt was done in November, the car had been brought in for brake problems in August of When most people hear a slight brake noise on their car, they take it to a shop for repairMost shops offer a free brake inspection, helping to ensure safe brakes out there on the roadWhen this car came in for rear brakes, it was because it was leaking brake fluid all overIt was not brought in at the first sign of a possible brake problemThe owners had driven this car for so long on bad brakes, the brake pads were completely worn and there was metal to metal contactIt ate into the caliper on the left rear brake and started leaking fluidI point this out only to indicate the lack of proper and timely maintenance which has been associated with this vehicle In the complainant's rejection response he states that the vehicle ran worse when he picked it up in November than when he brought it in, and that it still leaked oil at that timeIt is my experience and seems to be common sense that if there is a problem, it should be addressed sooner rather than laterMost people do not wait a couple months to bring back, or at least notify the shop, of what they believe to be a faulty repair, but rather, bring it back that day or the next dayHe also mentions the mechanic spent more time on cleaning parts instead of being focused on the root causeOnce a car is repaired in our shop, that car is driven and brought back into the shop and inspected again to ensure the servicing provided fixed the problemSince our tech did such a good job cleaning it, had there still been an oil leak at that time, this secondary inspection would have shown there to still be an oil leakIt did notI would also like to point out that the technician who serviced the vehicle has over thirty years experience in this fieldHe is very capable and aware of what he is doingWhen the complainant brought his car back in in January, the vehicle's oil was not merely leaking, but pouring out, so much so that we spent an hour cleaning the area just to identify the source of the oil problemOnce the area was cleaned, we could see the oil pump was at fault for all this excess oil pouring outIt was not merely a leak but a flood coming out of his oil pumpThe function of an oil pump is to circulate motor oil throughout the entire engine and, therefore, actively creates a higher movement of fluid.A motor with this many miles on it will always be suspect for future leaksWhen one part is fixed or strengthened, it is quite common for another part to weakenThis is a vicious circle with a motor with that many milesThe complainant states that nothing was done to fix the leakHad nothing truly been done in his opinion, he would have notified us of it immediately, rather than waiting two monthsHe states that nothing was done to correct our “oversight.” Again, my stand is that there was no oversightIn November, we fixed what needed to be fixed at that timeThe oil pump did not show to be a problem at that timeThe oil leak present at that time was fixedThe complainant states that he believes the amount charged in November was excessive for the work performedIn looking at the itemized bill, it clearly shows the charges for each component of serviceThere were two drive belts, a lower radiator hose, a thermostat and a heater hose for which payments were not even chargedWe did charge the complainant for a timing belt kit, valve cover gaskets, and coolant as well as the labor chargesI feel we were more than generous with our billing due to the limited life expectancy of this vehicle

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:My vehicle was taken in for oil leak repair, the leaking never stopped - the vehicle in fact ran worse than when I had initially taken it in and continues to leak oil.To my knowledge NOTHING was done to fix the leak and there was no difference from the time I took it in until now.I did not reject the proposal of further repairs, I elected to research the matter further to determine a solution - frankly I was dumbfounded that Pearsons did nothing to correct their oversight and honor their agreement to FIX the oil leak.I don't believe the oil leaks were ever fully assessed/repaired and had they spent the time to fully determine the root cause it would have been obvious - but the mechanic was too focused on cleaning things and not determining the root cause.When I pay for a service I expect it to meet minimal requirements and other than cosmetic work and changing the timing belt nothing was done to fix the actual leak.I believe 830.67 was an excessive amount for what was done and had hoped Pearsons would realize that and at least offer to do the right thing - but I don't believe they are being truthful and honoring the agreement to repair my vehicle. Sincerely, [redacted]

The complainant came in to Pearson Auto for some work on their 1991 Subaru Legacy on Nov 14, 2017. Upon diagnosis, it was determined that there were oil leaks, coolant leaks, the timing belt was old and worn, and the water pump was leaking coolant. The heavy oil leak was due to worn valve cover...

gaskets. Those gaskets were replaced. The timing belt and water pump were each replaced along with radiator hoses, the thermostat and some heater hoses. The complainant was charged for each of these repairs as indicated on an itemized invoice he received. The total charge and payment received for these services was $830.67. In January 2018, the complainant brought this same vehicle in complaining about another oil leak. After thoroughly cleaning and degreasing the undercarraige and engine, we could then determine that the oil leaking was coming from a worn out oil pump. This vehicle is a 1991 Subaru with almost 300,000 miles on it. The oil pump which was causing the latter leaking had no correlation to any of the services our shop performed in November when the car was initially brought in for service. This oil pump leakage is a new problem. It had nothing to do with the original problem which was diagnosed, serviced and for which payment was made. We informed the complainant of our findings and told him the vehicle needed a new oil pump. We quoted him a price of $550 for replacing this oil pump. At that time he indicated that the vehicle wasn't worth putting any more money into. He left and did not want the servicing. We have no further contact with the complainant until hearing of this complaint with the Revdex.com. I would like to point out again that the current oil leak had NOTHING to do with our initial repairs. The oil pump was not noted to be faulty in November, nor was it part of our repair or charges. This is an older vehicle with many miles on it.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:My vehicle was taken in for oil leak repair, the leaking never stopped - the vehicle in fact ran worse than when I had initially taken it in and continues to leak oil.To my knowledge NOTHING was done to fix the leak and there was no difference from the time I took it in until now.I did not reject the proposal of further repairs, I elected to research the matter further to determine a solution - frankly I was dumbfounded that Pearsons did nothing to correct their oversight and honor their agreement to FIX the oil leak.I don't believe the oil leaks were ever fully assessed/repaired and had they spent the time to fully determine the root cause it would have been obvious - but the mechanic was too focused on cleaning things and not determining the root cause.When I pay for a service I expect it to meet minimal requirements and other than cosmetic work and changing the timing belt nothing was done to fix the actual leak.I believe 830.67 was an excessive amount for what was done and had hoped Pearsons would realize that and at least offer to do the right thing - but I don't believe they are being truthful and honoring the agreement to repair my vehicle. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

This vehicle has never been properly maintained on a regular basis, nor had regular maintenance done on it. Now it's a 27 year old unmaintained car which has highly worn parts. I have pulled past history for this vehicle and found that before the  timing belt was done in November, the car had been brought in for brake problems in August of 2017. When most people hear a slight brake noise on their car, they take it to a shop for repair. Most shops offer a free brake inspection, helping to ensure safe brakes out there on the road. When this car came in for rear brakes, it was because it was leaking brake fluid all over. It was not brought in at the first sign of a possible brake problem. The owners had driven this car for so long on bad brakes, the brake pads were completely worn and there was metal to metal contact. It ate into the caliper on the left rear brake and started leaking fluid. I point this out only to indicate the lack of proper and timely maintenance which has been associated with this vehicle.   In the complainant's rejection response he states that the vehicle ran worse when he picked it up in November than when he brought it in, and that it still leaked oil at that time. It is my experience and seems to be common sense that if there is a problem, it should be addressed sooner rather than later. Most people do not wait a couple months to bring back, or at least notify the shop, of what they believe to be a faulty repair, but rather, bring it back that day or the next day. He also mentions the mechanic spent more time on cleaning parts instead of being focused on the root cause. Once a car is repaired in our shop, that car is driven and brought back into the shop and inspected again to ensure the servicing provided fixed the problem. Since our tech did such a good job cleaning it, had there still been an oil leak at that time, this secondary inspection would have shown there to still be an oil leak. It did not. I would also like to point out that the technician who serviced the vehicle has over thirty years experience in this field. He is very capable and aware of what he is doing. When the complainant brought his car back in in January, the vehicle's oil was not merely leaking, but pouring out, so much so that we spent an hour cleaning the area just to identify the source of the oil problem. Once the area was cleaned, we could see the oil pump was at fault for all this excess oil pouring out. It was not merely a leak but a flood coming out of his oil pump. The function of an oil pump is to circulate motor oil throughout the entire engine and, therefore, actively creates a higher movement of fluid.A motor with this many miles on it will always be suspect for future leaks. When one part is fixed or strengthened, it is quite common for another part to weaken. This is a vicious circle with a motor with that many miles. The complainant states that nothing was done to fix the leak. Had nothing truly been done in his opinion, he would have notified us of it immediately, rather than waiting two months. He states that nothing was done to correct our “oversight.” Again, my stand is that there was no oversight. In November, we fixed what needed to be fixed at that time. The oil pump did not show to be a problem at that time. The oil leak present at that time was fixed. The complainant states that he believes the amount charged in November was excessive for the work performed. In looking at the itemized bill, it clearly shows the charges for each component of service. There were two drive belts, a lower radiator hose, a thermostat and a heater hose for which payments were not even charged. We did charge the complainant for a timing belt kit, valve cover gaskets, and coolant as well as the labor charges. I feel we were more than generous with our billing due to the limited life expectancy of this vehicle.