Penn Valley Service

Review: I paid $108 to have a mechanic diagnose a problem with my car, after two weeks and agreeing to pay for what was diagnosed my car is still broke down

My car was towed to Penn Valley Auto Service as it broke down on the highway. I signed an agreement stating that I would pay $108 to have them diagnose my car and after they would call me and let me know how much it would cost to get it running. Three days later, I received a phone call from [redacted] telling me that I would need my timing belt replaced and it would cost $879 to repair my car and that the problem was "Non-Motor Interference." On 7/26/2013, I was told that the timing belt and water pump had been replaced, but that the valves in my car were bent and it would cost about $2500 to be repaired (this goes against his original comment stating the problem was"Non-Motor Interference"), but [redacted] said he would call me back because he was going to look at the charges they were charging me for the car. Today 7/29/2013 I called to see what they had come up with and [redacted], the shop owner, said that he would be charging me $591.61 for parts and half the cost of labor. Desired Settlement: I don't feel I should have to pay for the parts and labor for a car that won't run. I agreed to pay the $879 based on the fact that I would be driving my car out of there. If I had been told after the diagnostics that my car would cost over $1000 to repair it and get it running, I would have just paid the $108 diagnostics fee and had my car towed to my house.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

Company states that the issues with this consumer's repair have been taken care of. She was given a quote based off of the vehicle requiring quite a bit of maintenance that should have been previously done and hadn't been. In the end although the company had done all the work which warranted the charges, they only charged the consumer the diagnostic fee of $109.

Review: I took my car to Penn Valley Auto Service in Penn Valley Ca. because my Check engine light was on. I asked them to check the brakes because there was grinding in the front brakes. Also my seat heater on the drivers side did not work and I asked them to check that out as well.what I I was charged for the repairs of the seat heater and for brake job in rear. They sent me on the way the seat heater was not fixed, (why wouldn't they check to see if it works.) Also the grinding noise was still there? They said that my front rotor needed to be turned. (to fix grinding) I said ok. They did not replace the brake pad that was causing the rotor to make the grooves. I took the car back because of the grinding. They told me that the front brake pad put groves back on the rotor. Now I needed a new rotor! I can't have the rotor turned again because it is to thin by law. And I still have noise in my wheels.Desired Settlement: I would really like them acknowledge that they dropped the ball and the service as well my time going back 3 times to fix the same. I have know Idea at this point if my car is safe to drive? I want my car fixed right the first time. is this standard business? What about the elderly or someone who has no idea. We are at the mercy of their work and bad advice. I'm not sure if my car is safe to drive!

Business

Response:

In January the customer came in for a "Check Engine" light, Noise when braking, Oil Change w/Inspections and the seat driver's seat heater not working. At that visit we diagnosed and repaired the fuel supply sensor that resolved the "Check Engine" light, we performed the oil change service with inspections and topped off all fluids as necessary, we determined that the front brakes only needed to have the rotors turned because the front brake pads were 8-9mm remaining ( 75-80% remaining ), we determined that the rear brakes were 3mm remaining and the rotors needed to be replaced. We turned/trued the front rotors with and "on car" lathe and performed a rear brake job with new rotors and brake pads. Test drove the vehicle for the brake and engine tasks performed to confirm repairs. We diagnosed that the driver seat heater element was not getting power/electricity as required from the driver seat heater control module ( that part had to come from Ford ). We replaced the module and the tech verified that the element was getting power as required( He may not have confirmed that the element got hot after getting power )..The customer did have to come back 10 days later for us to install a new driver seat heater element ( also a part from Ford )... At the second visit the customer made NO complaint/statement that the brakes were making any noises... Two( 2 ) months later the customer came back and made the complaint that the brakes were making noise again. Upon inspection we found that the customer's old pads had cut grooves back into the front disc brake rotors and creating the noise. The original brake job that was done somewhere else that caused the origination of the noise could not be resolved by just turning the rotors. We offered to perform a brake job and a apply a credit that was equal to what the customer paid for turning the rotors... the customer declined but we did refund that amount anyway. Our service adviser made another billing mistake to the advantage of the customer, the billing mistake and the refund would more than cover the cost of rotors.. I will state that the brakes are safe and are just making a noise... I also told the customer that the brakes are safe. I will also state that all along we were trying to be sensitive to the customer's statement that she is a single mother and has to manage her expenses... that is one reason we offered her the option of breaking the cost of repairs into three (3) equal payment over the next three months ( which she accepted. )