Poole Brothers Automotive

Review: I took my vehicle to Poole Brothers, LLC on a Wed in October for a water pump to be replaced and an antifreeze flush. I was quoted at that time a total of $500.00 for the work. I was called 4 days later and informed that the radiator was busted and ball joints needed to be replaced for a new total of $1500.00. I informed them to just park the car and do no further work. Upon pick up I was charged $152.00 for a antifreeze flush that was clearly stated on the price board to be only $89.95. I asked the gentleman to tell me the difference in price and never got a straight forward answer. I paid the bill in full and left. The car drove fine on the way home and after inspecting the radiator myself it was found to not have any defects at all. I replaced the water pump myself for only $45.00, which had been quoted at $500.00 by the mechanic.Desired Settlement: I feel like this business is treating patrons unfairly and dishonestly.

Business

Response:

This vehicle came to us with a heavily contaminated cooling system and poor heater performance. The coolant had a mud like appearance which would require several flushes to clean out before starting the work on replacing the water pump, which the customer was made aware of during our initial estimate. During this procedure we found the radiator was leaking and contacted the customer on the increase of the quote which was originally at 500.00 from the first appointment on October 25, 2013. The customer dropped his vehicle off on Thursday October 31, 2013 for us to complete the water pump repair and was contacted on November 1, 2013 to advise him the ball joints were bad and needed to be replaced and his new estimate would be 800.00. On Friday November 1, 2013 the technician completed the coolant system flush of 89.95, and had to spend over 3.5 hours completing the extensive system flush due to the mud like consistency of the coolant system before replacing water pump. On Monday November 4th the customer was called back to be advised of the coolant leaking from the radiator and was advised at this time that the repairs may be more than what the car is worth. The customer did ask us to determine if the repairs completed were going to be cost effective based on the value of the car. We had to complete flush procedures before giving customer any estimates on actual repairs. At this time the customer declined all repairs and told us he would pick up the vehicle. The repairs were job 2 coolant system flush for 89.95 and job 1 was for the remainder which was provided for him at a discounted rate of 60.00 an hour and only charged him for 1.0 hours instead of the 3.5 hours we had spent on the vehicle. The additional charges resulted from extensive hot water flushing, which took 25 gallons of hot water and approximately 3.5 hours to get system cleaned out properly. During the flushing process the radiator began leaking, most certainly caused by dislodging the contaminates from the cooling system. We provided an estimate for radiator replacement, the customer declined repairs, as recommended by us due to value of vehicle versus cost to repair. The vehicles cooling system was flushed and filled with fresh coolant and coolant system sealing tablets were installed to slow or stop leak from the radiator (a temporary fix) at no charge. The owner of Poole Brothers Automotive personally explained to the customer prior to dropping off vehicle for water pump replacement that his vehicle had a very dirty coolant system and what would need to happen to correct concern prior to locating other concerns with ball joints and radiator. Charges for this vehicle were deeply discounted due to the customer changing his mind about having repairs completed due to the value of the car, and was only charged for the 2 jobs we completed. I understand the customer has stated he was unsure of what he was paying for and would have been happy to explain to him when he was at our establishment if asked. The person running the front desk was filling in for our full time employee and was unsure how to handle this situation and has since been updated on coming to get one of the owners to handle any concerns brought up by customers. The customer was charged 89.95 for coolant system flush and was only charged 60.00 plus shop supplies for the 3.5 hours it took to clean out system. We hope the customer would contact us so we can explain the charges to him and address any concerns he has with us.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer 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.

I do not agree with the information provided by Poole Brothers, LLC. First of all, I could not find where any hoses had been disconnected in order to properly flush the system. I do not know how they could have flushed the system at all due to the water pump being completely inoperable (the propellers were worn completely out, which caused the pump to blow water back out the refill). I did not tell the Poole Brothers to check any type of font end problems. I do not know of the $800.00 estimate they have provided in this complaint, I was informed of a $1500.00 estimate for the work. I am also not quite sure how a stop leak tablet could have been used in the radiator when the water was being ejected through the overflow. So far we have put approximately 400 miles on the car and have not had any problems at all with the radiator. I am still requesting full refund.

Regards,

Business

Response:

11-25-2013

At this time we will not offer any

kind of refund to the customer referring to complaint ID [redacted].

There was not a request for any refund previously and after providing

this customer with a discounted labor rate and a reduction of labor

hours actually worked on the vehicle in question any future discounts

or refunds are not negotiable at this time. To address the customers

concern of not being able to verify the work we completed. Any work

done to the vehicle should look just like it did when the customer

dropped off the vehicle which is why the customer has no visible

differences related to the repairs completed. When the coolant flush

is completed the vehicle is not running so the water pump would not

be cycling and the coolant system is flushed out using a machine that

pumps the water through it. The customer was given 3 different

quotes, the first one at the original visit, the 2nd was a

phone call to the customer the Friday before the customer picked up

the car which was the original 500 dollar estimate along with the

extra 300 for the ball joints which is the total of 800.00. The final

estimate was given on the Monday before the customer picked up which

is when the radiator was found to be leaking and the extra 700.00 for

radiator replacement which is a new total estimate of 1500.00.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer 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.

I still do not agree with the response from the business. As stated in our first correspondence I would still like a refund. If this will not be agreed upon I will insure that myself and others are aware to never use this business again for any car repairs.

Regards,

I have done business with this company on a regular basis for the past three years. They are always friendly and try to fit my car into their schedule even when they are busy. Their work is done well and at a reasonable price. Automotive repair shops of this quality are very difficult to find.