Pride Auto Care

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/05/20) */ Dear Revdex.com, We are sorry this situation has come up [redacted] first came to Pride Auto Care claiming that she had an appointment that day and was told that her ball joint would be replaced by us for $Initially, we couldn't find her on the appointment book for the day or week and thought maybe it was set up through our [redacted] shop (as is the case at times)After checking with our other [redacted] location, we could find no appointment set, no phone quotes for that amount (not the price for this kind of repair) nor any knowledge of the conversationWe told [redacted] 'no worries,' that we'd make it work with the day's schedule and proceed She seemed quite distraught about her vehicle at that time and her limited budgetWe explained to her that we would be more than happy to check out her vehicle for the situation she was experiencingImmediately, she insisted that we only replace the ball joint for the price quoted, and adamantly stated she did not want us to check anything else but to just do what she said she wanted doneShe stated on several occasions she was getting rid of the vehicle in the next week or so, had absolutely no money for anything else and did not want anything else done Upon checking out the vehicle's suspension and commencing the requested ball joint work, it was obvious that there was damage (possibly from a curb shot, pothole, or accident) to the right front suspension of the vehicle and it would take more than just the ball joint to fix it optimally [redacted] was contacted and our observations explained to her in detailShe again asked us to do nothing more than what she had stated earlierAs a matter of her safety, the vehicles ability to be road worthy and, in this instance, to assist this lady with the limited money issue, we did all we could to comply and yet keep the vehicle safe to drive For that reason, the control arm and ball joint area were welded as best possible to complete the workShe was told on two occasions that the control arm and ball joint would need to be replaced in the near future, that this was a temporary safe guard for the front suspensionShe again stated repeatedly that she had no more money, was getting rid of the vehicle shortly and did not want us to do any more repairsWe accepted her at her word, and completed the transaction discounting the ticket over 30% to satisfy [redacted] , and honor the supposed quote we'd given her earlierIt was always our intent to help her the best we could given her stated budget situationAll seemed well and she thanked us profusely for helping her as we had and the discounted work to get her safely back on the road Then, several days later, she visited us and angrily stated that the vehicle was still making the noise it was brought in forWe reassured her that we did only the work she demanded we do and nothing more as requested [redacted] had at no point previously said anything about the noise she was now describingOtherwise, like with any complaint on a car, we would have looked into it for her, as is protocol, on the initial visitWe reported no noise in our diagnosis earlier and explained all this to [redacted] She said she'd be back Several more days passed and she came back to the shop, and stated this time that the vehicle was pulling right and the noise was still presentI agreed to go on a test drive with her in order to help with the situationDuring and after the test drive it was discussed that the noise being heard was possibly something in the engine area (not suspension related) - likely a maintenance issue like a worn belt pulley, alternator bearing, etc we suspectedIt was obvious that the car was poorly maintained for some time and these are occurrences for a car of this age and mileageIt was also discussed that the slight pull to the right was due to the fact that the front end alignment was set to the best possible specifications but was in need of the final work that we conveyed to her previously The last conversation we had with [redacted] in person was that afternoon and she stated that she would call us to set an appointment to diagnose the noise from the engine area furtherShe again stated she was getting rid of the car and was limited on what could be spentAnd again, she actually thanked us and said she appreciated what we had already done for her including the money that we saved her From then on is where we honestly cannot explain [redacted] ' actionsShe left us a 4-minute message on the business voice mail, in the early hours the following Saturday morning, insinuating how badly she was taken advantage of regarding her car's problem and that she could no longer trust usThis made no sense to meI called her immediately upon receiving the voice mail, got no answer and left a detailed message asking her to please call us at her earliest convenience to discuss the situation and work through the issues We received no call back except after hours when she again left a voice message on our system late in the evening now telling us that one, two and then three other mechanics had stated the vehicle was not repaired correctlyI again called her the day after the next as I was not working the day after her messageShe still did not call us again during business hours for over a week, then once again left another late night message that she was wanting her money back because now mechanics said her car was not fixed correctlyI did once again return her call during the day and advised her to please contact us during our business hours of a.mto p.mduring the week or Saturday a.mto p.m., when someone was here, for us to talk and discuss the situation The following day this complaint was filed with the Revdex.comWe have had no contact with [redacted] , since her last visit with us, after several sincere attempts to work this through with her Our company has been successful and thriving as four automotive service centers, locally owned and operated by my three brothers and IWe have served our community proudly and with honor for over yearsWe operate with integrity and are blessed with a wonderful, loyal customer followingWe never want a [redacted] to be unhappy with our workmanship or service and always strive to get things right as we've attempted multiple times hereAs with most conscientious service providers, when there is a situation that arises that is quite out of the ordinary or cannot be explained, we try to figure it out and work it through to an amicable solutionIn this instance, however; we have to admit there is not much we can do to explain the actions of othersOur offer stands to try and work this through with [redacted] We continue to stand by our code of ethics, our intent to work out any issue with our folks and to always operate a reputable business with integrity and honesty every day Please feel free to contact us if we can be of any further assistance in this case Thanks, [redacted] Co-owner, Manager Pride Auto Care @ Oakbrook XXX-XXX-XXXX Fax XXX-XXX-XXXX www.prideautocare.com Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/05/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) that entire statement is a lieI made an apptbut it was booked with the pride on yosemitewhen I got there and they did not have me on their books ,they called the yosemite store and found me on their books.the man at yosemite told them what he said he was going to charge me,and the bway store agreed to do it for the quote I gotwhich by the way was originally over until I mentioned sears was going to do it for 250.00,then he said he'd so it for and throw in the alignment.I absolutely was not distraught as he says, sears told me I only needed a ball joint so I told them just do thatnothing about I had money issuesI did say I was selling it soon and did not want to put a lot into it as told by other mechanicsjust get the ball joint fixedwhich they said they would do.No one called me to say there was pothole or curb damagethat is an outright lie! I said ,just do the ball joint and they said they would.they did not discount me anything to satisfy me, they price matched sears because they said they did not want to lose me as a customer.no mention EVER of control arm issueThat only came up after I took it to another shop and they told me that pride should have NEVER welded the control arm, and now it was ruinedI called after the work was done to say the car was pulling to the right, and I did not call angrily..I just stated something felt wrongthe man said come back, he rode I the car with me and said yes ,it is pulling to the rightafter I left I went to a second shop and they also said ,the control arm should not have been welded and was causing the pull to the rightI called back and at that time I was upsetdays go by before call backs from them, and this lack of call back was consistent and hence this complaintI also was quoted for an alternator at the price of I went to other shops and all bid s we're between 200.00,I asked why they were so high ,and got some ridiculous answer about warranty costs, that the other guys were using used partsNonsense..all the other shops came in around that is out right thievery.I told them on my msgs that the reason for my after hours msgs was because I can not call during worknothing was said about bring the car back and we will look at itBottom line is they messed the job up and do not want to honor poor workafter I filed this complaint out of frustration, not getting anywhere with them, a client was in and said she too had a terrible experience with this shopi am not unreasonable, or distraught , or low on funds as they repeatedly say, I too am a business ownerI honor my work and make sure my clients are 100% satisfiedThis job was done incorrectly, I could tell as soon as I drove the car away,and thats why I called right awayBut after other shops look at it, without me saying a word about the problem other then I had a ball joint replaced, and they all come back with.."the problem is your control arm,its been welded and should not have been' well thats pretty solid info for meOne man took pictures of the welded arm, he even said if need be he would come to the shop and show them the bad job and why I am having this problemI had hoped it would have been taken care of before it came to that or this Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 9, 2015/06/05) */ Dear Revdex.com & [redacted] Please know that we will send [redacted] a check for the full refund within the next weekWe are all frustrated and exhausted trying to make sense of a very tough situation in which, at least in this case, our hands are tiedWe have honestly and respectfully done all we could do given the restrictions we've been presented withWe must all move forward for the greater good of those involvedWe are sorry for [redacted] issues as they has been presented hereOn the rare occasion a complaint does arise, we always attempt to handle it to completion at the store level with the intent of keeping our customer happy and glad they continue to do business with usThis has been our mission and our [redacted] -based operational philosophy for over 25+ yearsWe are truly blessed with the best customers in the business; they are amazing, loyal and our solid foundationWe feel we have honestly tried on multiple occasions to work with [redacted] and support her need for a safe, functional car in spite of her very limited funds to do the necessary workOur efforts, sadly, have gone unacknowledged and unappreciatedWe are very sorry [redacted] feels as she doesSo we will, without malice, gladly return [redacted] money and wish her well in finding another automotive service provider to look after her and her carThank you for your time and efforts in this matter Best Regards, [redacted] , Co-owner & Manager Pride Auto Care

Please inform [redacted], as one of the business owners. I take this complaint and associated accusations very seriously. I am following up with my [redacted] shop management team as we speak and will get a full response back to the [redacted]'s ASAP. My humblest apologies to them for this...

situation and we'll be back in touch.[redacted] [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/20) */
Dear Revdex.com,
We are sorry this situation has come up. [redacted] first came to Pride Auto Care claiming that she had an appointment that day and was told that her ball joint would be replaced by us for $235. Initially, we couldn't find her on the...

appointment book for the day or week and thought maybe it was set up through our [redacted] shop (as is the case at times). After checking with our other [redacted] location, we could find no appointment set, no phone quotes for that amount (not the normal price for this kind of repair) nor any knowledge of the conversation. We told [redacted] 'no worries,' that we'd make it work with the day's schedule and proceed.
She seemed quite distraught about her vehicle at that time and her limited budget. We explained to her that we would be more than happy to check out her vehicle for the situation she was experiencing. Immediately, she insisted that we only replace the ball joint for the price quoted, and adamantly stated she did not want us to check anything else but to just do what she said she wanted done. She stated on several occasions she was getting rid of the vehicle in the next week or so, had absolutely no money for anything else and did not want anything else done.
Upon checking out the vehicle's suspension and commencing the requested ball joint work, it was obvious that there was damage (possibly from a curb shot, pothole, or accident) to the right front suspension of the vehicle and it would take more than just the ball joint to fix it optimally. [redacted] was contacted and our observations explained to her in detail. She again asked us to do nothing more than what she had stated earlier. As a matter of her safety, the vehicles ability to be road worthy and, in this instance, to assist this lady with the limited money issue, we did all we could to comply and yet keep the vehicle safe to drive.
For that reason, the control arm and ball joint area were welded as best possible to complete the work. She was told on two occasions that the control arm and ball joint would need to be replaced in the near future, that this was a temporary safe guard for the front suspension. She again stated repeatedly that she had no more money, was getting rid of the vehicle shortly and did not want us to do any more repairs. We accepted her at her word, and completed the transaction discounting the ticket over 30% to satisfy [redacted], and honor the supposed quote we'd given her earlier. It was always our intent to help her the best we could given her stated budget situation. All seemed well and she thanked us profusely for helping her as we had and the discounted work to get her safely back on the road.
Then, several days later, she visited us and angrily stated that the vehicle was still making the noise it was brought in for. We reassured her that we did only the work she demanded we do and nothing more as requested. [redacted] had at no point previously said anything about the noise she was now describing. Otherwise, like with any complaint on a car, we would have looked into it for her, as is normal protocol, on the initial visit. We reported no noise in our diagnosis earlier and explained all this to [redacted]. She said she'd be back.
Several more days passed and she came back to the shop, and stated this time that the vehicle was pulling right and the noise was still present. I agreed to go on a test drive with her in order to help with the situation. During and after the test drive it was discussed that the noise being heard was possibly something in the engine area (not suspension related) - likely a maintenance issue like a worn belt pulley, alternator bearing, etc we suspected. It was obvious that the car was poorly maintained for some time and these are normal occurrences for a car of this age and mileage. It was also discussed that the slight pull to the right was due to the fact that the front end alignment was set to the best possible specifications but was in need of the final work that we conveyed to her previously.
The last conversation we had with [redacted] in person was that afternoon and she stated that she would call us to set an appointment to diagnose the noise from the engine area further. She again stated she was getting rid of the car and was limited on what could be spent. And again, she actually thanked us and said she appreciated what we had already done for her including the money that we saved her.
From then on is where we honestly cannot explain [redacted]' actions. She left us a 4-minute message on the business voice mail, in the early hours the following Saturday morning, insinuating how badly she was taken advantage of regarding her car's problem and that she could no longer trust us. This made no sense to me. I called her immediately upon receiving the voice mail, got no answer and left a detailed message asking her to please call us at her earliest convenience to discuss the situation and work through the issues.
We received no call back except after hours when she again left a voice message on our system late in the evening now telling us that one, two and then three other mechanics had stated the vehicle was not repaired correctly. I again called her the day after the next as I was not working the day after her message. She still did not call us again during business hours for over a week, then once again left another late night message that she was wanting her money back because now 4 mechanics said her car was not fixed correctly. I did once again return her call during the day and advised her to please contact us during our business hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the week or Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., when someone was here, for us to talk and discuss the situation.
The following day this complaint was filed with the Revdex.com. We have had no contact with [redacted], since her last visit with us, after several sincere attempts to work this through with her.
Our company has been successful and thriving as four automotive service centers, locally owned and operated by my three brothers and I. We have served our community proudly and with honor for over 25 years. We operate with integrity and are blessed with a wonderful, loyal customer following. We never want a [redacted] to be unhappy with our workmanship or service and always strive to get things right as we've attempted multiple times here. As with most conscientious service providers, when there is a situation that arises that is quite out of the ordinary or cannot be explained, we try to figure it out and work it through to an amicable solution. In this instance, however; we have to admit there is not much we can do to explain the actions of others. Our offer stands to try and work this through with [redacted]. We continue to stand by our code of ethics, our intent to work out any issue with our folks and to always operate a reputable business with integrity and honesty every day.
Please feel free to contact us if we can be of any further assistance in this case.
Thanks, [redacted]
Co-owner, Manager
Pride Auto Care @ Oakbrook
XXX-XXX-XXXX
Fax XXX-XXX-XXXX
www.prideautocare.com
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/05/22) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
that entire statement is a lie. I made an appt. but it was booked with the pride on yosemite. when I got there and they did not have me on their books ,they called the yosemite store and found me on their books.the man at yosemite told them what he said he was going to charge me,and the bway store agreed to do it for the quote I got. which by the way was originally over 300.00 until I mentioned sears was going to do it for 250.00,then he said he'd so it for 235 and throw in the alignment.I absolutely was not distraught as he says, sears told me I only needed a ball joint so I told them just do that. nothing about I had money issues. I did say I was selling it soon and did not want to put a lot into it as told by 3 other mechanics. just get the ball joint fixed. which they said they would do.No one called me to say there was pothole or curb damage. that is an outright lie! I said ,just do the ball joint and they said they would.they did not discount me anything to satisfy me, they price matched sears because they said they did not want to lose me as a customer.no mention EVER of control arm issue. That only came up after I took it to another shop and they told me that pride should have NEVER welded the control arm, and now it was ruined. I called after the work was done to say the car was pulling to the right, and I did not call angrily..I just stated something felt wrong. the man said come back, he rode I the car with me and said yes ,it is pulling to the right. after I left I went to a second shop and they also said ,the control arm should not have been welded and was causing the pull to the right. I called back and at that time I was upset. days go by before call backs from them, and this lack of call back was consistent and hence this complaint. I also was quoted for an alternator at the price of 480.00 I went to 4 other shops and all bid s we're between 180.00 200.00,I asked why they were so high ,and got some ridiculous answer about warranty costs, that the other guys were using used parts. Nonsense..all the other shops came in around 200.00 that is out right thievery.I told them on my msgs that the reason for my after hours msgs was because I can not call during work. nothing was said about bring the car back and we will look at it. Bottom line is they messed the job up and do not want to honor poor work. after I filed this complaint out of frustration, not getting anywhere with them, a client was in and said she too had a terrible experience with this shop. I am not unreasonable, or distraught , or low on funds as they repeatedly say, I too am a business owner. I honor my work and make sure my clients are 100% satisfied. This job was done incorrectly, I could tell as soon as I drove the car away,and thats why I called right away. But after 4 other shops look at it, without me saying a word about the problem other then I had a ball joint replaced, and they all come back with.."the problem is your control arm,its been welded and should not have been' well thats pretty solid info for me. One man took pictures of the welded arm, he even said if need be he would come to the shop and show them the bad job and why I am having this problem. I had hoped it would have been taken care of before it came to that or this.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/06/05) */
Dear Revdex.com & [redacted]
Please know that we will send [redacted] a check for the full refund within the next week. We are all frustrated and exhausted trying to make sense of a very tough situation in which, at least in this case, our hands are tied. We have honestly and respectfully done all we could do given the restrictions we've been presented with. We must all move forward for the greater good of those involved. We are sorry for [redacted] issues as they has been presented here. On the rare occasion a complaint does arise, we always attempt to handle it to completion at the store level with the intent of keeping our customer happy and glad they continue to do business with us. This has been our mission and our [redacted]-based operational philosophy for over 25+ years. We are truly blessed with the best customers in the business; they are amazing, loyal and our solid foundation. We feel we have honestly tried on multiple occasions to work with [redacted] and support her need for a safe, functional car in spite of her very limited funds to do the necessary work. Our efforts, sadly, have gone unacknowledged and unappreciated. We are very sorry [redacted] feels as she does. So we will, without malice, gladly return [redacted] money and wish her well in finding another automotive service provider to look after her and her car. Thank you for your time and efforts in this matter.
Best Regards,
[redacted], Co-owner & Manager
Pride Auto Care