Red Top Service Center

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: Your argument is that I didn't continue to utilize and pay your service center.My argument is, I had no idea how many more diagnosis for services would come down the pikeThe cost at that point had already exceeding my budgetI attempted to discuss this issue by phone on several occasions and your staff stated" we have no way to contact the owner Mr K**" I continued to reach out to the owner on Monday May 11th at 9:57am, 1:23pm, 3:pm, I even left my number for him to return my call and no one calledI attempted again Tuesday May 12th at 3:55pm and the Red Top staff MrS [redacted] told me to keep calling and that MrK [redacted] has other service stations and he's in and outThe lack of communication from the owner of Red Top Service Center to reconcile this issue was not professional at allThe vehicle was towed to ***s Automotive for the third and final diagnosis and he noticed that the power steering pump pulley was not aligned correctly and he would replace the power steering pumpThe power steering pump was replaced and the vehicle has run excellent ever since***'s Service Center only needed one opportunity to diagnose and to complete the repairs in a professional manner with no drama I continue to only ask for the labor fees, I also attached the invoice for the repairs at ***'s Regards, [redacted] ***

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
In regards to the Service Center conclusion, the mechanic misdiagnosed the cause of why the belt continued to break after both of the repairsThe first repair was diagnosed and repairs were made according to the diagnosis and the first belt installed broke and I had to tow the vehicle miles from SE DC miles to *** *** Service Center tow fee $no assistance from the vendor warranty2.Second time repair was diagnosed and repairs were made according to the diagnosis and the second belt installed broke minutes after the vehicle left the Service CenterI spoke with the mechanic the following morning to report to him that the vehicle broke down and the location of the vehicle and he replied that " he was not sure why the belt keep breaking" but tow it back to the Service CenterWith the Service Center's mechanics uncertainty of the cause of the belts breaking and the continued towing, more repairs and cost, I took the vehicle to ***'s Service Center that I have experienced positive repair work for over two decades***'s technician diagnosed the issue and the vehicle was repairedMy conclusion to consider:
During the entire experience with the Service Center in Takoma Park MD, no time did the mechanic offer me any assistance with warranting his first or second misdiagnosis and / or towing assistance and after paying out over $for the first two repairs, I could not afford to continue this route to determine the correct diagnosis to repair the vehicleI kindly requested just the cost of the labor and not the parts that have been installedRegards,
*** *** ***

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I disagree with the Red Top representative, I took my *** to another mechanic and without me telling him, he tried to charge it and let me know immediately what the problem was and did the repair. The person (Sung) that was there before the present owner was more efficient that these peopleI won't be taking my car there anymore and let my friends know that Sung no longer owns the business
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
*** ***

To Whom It May Concern:We apologize to our customer for the delay -- it was an hour and fifteen minutes longer than what  was promised. However, we ask for some understanding. The delay was because the compressor was locked up due to the lack of air conditioning coolant in the air...

conditioning system. That is a condition no one is able to know prior to a diagnostic check.We dispute the customer's claim that the work was not done. We have reviewed the shop ticket, and the $120.00 that was charged was for an "A/C Diagnostic. There is no basis in the customer's statement that "he could have discovered [the compressor lock up] in 10 minutes." There is technician time, labor, and equipment used to discover mechanical failures, here two hours. We invite the customer to examine competitor webpages, which lists A/C diagnostic costs from $0.00 to $139.99, all of which are qualified with exceptions.If there was miscommunication that lead to the impression that "he got over on me, and he needs to be reported!" -- again we are sorry. We want to be clear. The $120.00 is a reasonable fair market charge for a diagnostic, which is what took place. We will not refund this claim because of an unfounded belief that it should take "10 minutes" and that this was "BS" (to use the customers language in their complaint to the Revdex.com).Regards,Forestville Red Top Service Center

June 12, 2015To Whom It May Concern:We reiterate the points in our first response, and note that the customer has neither * addressed the facts within our initial response nor indicated why the customer disagrees with our points. Rather, the customer only repeats the point that the belt broke. And, with respect to - [redacted]'s Service Center's diagnosis, they probably would not have gone to the lengths they did to determine the cause of the serpentine belt's failure had it not been for the knowledge that we had installed a new belt. They are an able repair facility. However, diagnosis is not a perfect science. As detailed in our first response, given the information we had, our diagnosis was more than a reasonable professional determination. With respect to point “3,” the mechanic would have had to observe the vehicle. Further, we have offered documentation. The customer has not proffered any form of documented proof– not even regarding the repair with [redacted]'s Service Center.The customer uses “misdiagnosis.” However, the customer fails to mention the fact, proven on the shop ticket (attached with our first response), that the vehicle had a seized a/c compressor bearing. That was an accurate diagnosis and was flawlessly installed. [redacted]'s Service Center certainly did not identify the a/c compressor as the issue, as the customer stated. Therefore, there is no reason to warranty that job. It was the customer's decision not to initially replace the serpentine belt—had it been replaced, the final diagnosis would have been made sooner, and the customer could have avoided the repetitious towing charges.Finally, as the customer states, our mechanic requested they return the vehicle. However, the customer did not bring the vehicle in but took it to [redacted]'s Service Center. Our warranty is satisfied by the mechanic re-performing their work. The customer was free to take their vehicle elsewhere in lieu of warrantying the job. Finally, we have gone to the effort of investigating and addressing all the points raised by the customer in both their first and Second response. As during the repair and evidenced by the complaints, the customer refuses to acknowledge our reasons and has not addressed our points. We give the Revdex.com express permission to publish our responses.Regards,Red Top Service Center

[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:
Your argument is that I didn't continue to utilize and pay your service center.My argument is, I had no idea how many more diagnosis for services would come down the pike. The cost at that point had already exceeding my budget.
I attempted to discuss this issue by phone on several occasions and your staff stated" we have no way to contact the owner Mr K**" I continued to reach out to the owner on Monday May 11th at 9:57am, 1:23pm, 3:33 pm, I even left my number for him to return my call and no one called. I attempted again Tuesday May 12th at 3:55pm and the Red Top staff Mr. S[redacted] told me to keep calling and that Mr. K** has other service stations and he's in and out. The lack of communication from the owner of Red Top Service Center to reconcile this issue was not professional at all.
The vehicle was towed to [redacted]s Automotive for the third and final diagnosis and he noticed that the power steering pump pulley was not aligned correctly and he would replace the power steering pump.
The power steering pump was replaced and the vehicle has run excellent ever since. [redacted]'s Service Center only needed one opportunity to diagnose and to complete the repairs in a professional manner with no drama.
 I continue to only ask for the labor fees, I also attached the invoice for the repairs at [redacted]'s
Regards,
[redacted]

June 5, 2015To Whom It May Concern:
This reply is made two week after the receipt of the May 14th because it required some time to locate the receipts regarding this matter. Attached are two shop tickets. carbon copies. The first is dated 4–29-15. Under the “DESCRIPTION OF WORK"...

section are listed “Recommending Fexes” [sic], or recommended fixes, listed were the power steering hose and transmission line because both were leaking. The customer correctly stated that the vehicle was brought in because the a/c compressor bearing had seized and it was replaced. The serpentine belt travels along the a/c compressor bearing. When the bearing seized, it no doubt put great strain on the belt. However, as indicated on the ticket, the belt was not replaced.It was a reasonable professional determination that the a/c compressor seizing was responsible for the eventual failure of the belt. There was no ground to warranty the installation of the a/c compressor because that was not the reason the belt failed.The second carbon copy ticket is dated 5-4-15. Under the “PARTS” section, the following are listed “Pilon bering [sic], tensioner bering [sic], serpentiag belt [sic].” What was replaced were the idle pulley (bearing), tensioner (bearing), and serpentine belt. The belt was replaced because it had failed. The serpentine belt works along the idle pulley and tensioner. Both the idle pulley and tensioner were making noise, and so it was strongly recommended that they too be repaired.
In conclusion, please consider the following:- The seizure of the a/c compressor would have greatly strained the serpentine belt. Any reasonable professional would have determined that the belt failure resulted from the earlier incident. Neither the customer, nor “[redacted]'s Auto Center.” determined that the a/c compressor was improperly installed, and it had indeed seized; therefore, there is no ground for warranting these parts. - Further, with respect to the serpentine belt, idle pulley, and tensioner, those parts were replaced because they should have been repaired. And, again, there was every indication the serpentine belt failed for the reasons mentioned. Neither the customer, nor “[redacted]'s Auto Center,” determined that these were improperly installed; therefore, there is no ground for warranting these parts.
However, we would like to make clear, that the proper procedure would have been to bring the vehicle back to the shop. The second time, we had installed the serpentine belt and would have most likely have warrantied that job.
It was the customers decision to take the vehicle elsewhere; if they wanted to utilize the warranty, the customer should have brought the vehicle back to the shop.
Regards,
Red Top Service Center