R.J.M. Inc.

Review: On 7-**-2013 I bought 4 new tires at Mavis tire and had them perform a wheel alignment, the technicians at that time reported to me that my front lower ball joints would need to be replaced at some time in the near future.

I brought my car into Advantage Automotive to have lower ball joints installed on 10-*-2013 work was complete including a full inspection of all other front end components and a wheel alignment. When I picked up the car, I ask if the installation of the ball joints went alright? The owner ([redacted]) told me they had a hard time getting the old ball joints out of the Lower Control Arms and the new ones back in. He told me he had to use a large press to do so and he made the comment “we had to press them so hard I thought we were going to crack the control arms but we got it done”. On the same visit he did a tire rotation noting the only imperfection on the tires was a bubble on the side wall of one of them.

Approximately one month later both front tires were worn on the inside. The driver side had worn down to complete baldness measuring in from the inside edge of the tire approximately 3 inches and the passenger side had worn in the same fashion measuring from the inside edge approximately 2 inches. These tires were purchased in July of 2013 from Mavis tire and were now destroyed. I called Advantage auto and spoke to [redacted] and asked “Why did this happen when you did an alignment and inspection of front end on October *, 2013?” His answer was “bring it in and let me look at it”, so I did. [redacted] called me back and said the “Upper Control Arms have to be replaced.” At this time I told [redacted] I am not looking to spend a lot of money on this car because as you can see it has over 175,000 miles and I don’t want to get into an issue where I will continue to put money in the car. [redacted] told me he is confident this will fix the problem. I needed the car back because I rely on having a car to make my living and trusting what he was saying, not ever seeing the broken parts I let him do the work which consisted of removing the old Upper Control Arms and installing new UCA’s and again performing another wheel alignment. Work was completed on 11-*-2013. When I picked the car up I immediately took the car to Dales tire and had 2 new tires installed. I purchased the tires they were installed and I picked the car up from Dales on 11-*-2013.

On January *, 2013 less than 2 months after [redacted] had worked on the car a second time, and less than 3 months after he worked on it the first time I looked at the tires because my car was sliding on wet pavement and saw that again the front tires were worn in the same wear pattern as described above. I called [redacted] again and said “I am still having the same issue so it looks like changing the Upper Control Arms in November of 2013 wasn’t the problem and probably was not necessary. I also made him aware that the tires I bought on 11-*-2013 are now destroyed making that a total of 4 since he worked on the car in October of 2013. His answer again was “bring it in and let me look at it, so I made an appointment for January *, 2014 a Saturday at 8:00 A.M. On the [redacted] I brought the car in and [redacted] put the car on the wheel alignment lift, because I wanted to see everything that was going on with my car I stood at the Wheel Alignment bay door which has see through clear glass panels from side to side and top to bottom and watched [redacted] and another mechanic attempt to perform a wheel alignment. For an hour and a half they loosened the bolts on the lower control arm bracket and used a large metal pry bar to lean heavily on both the passenger and driver side Lower Control Arms trying to get the tires to align straight. From where I was standing I could clearly see the LCD screen of the Wheel alignment machine. While the tires and steering wheel were facing straight the tires would line up and the screen read out would say they were in alignment, then they would tighten the bolts on the Lower Control Arm brackets but when they turned the steering wheel left then right the wheels would come out of alignment as I could see on the LCD screen. Repeating this process 5-6 times having the same result of not being able to hold the alignment once the steering wheel was turned, for their last attempt they lined the wheels up straight and stopped and printed me a report saying the wheels were in alignment but they didn’t turn the steering wheel this time because as the pattern described above shows the tires would have come back out of alignment. They took the car off the rack and I asked [redacted] “Why have I had to bring my car to you for 3 alignments in the last 3 months and it’s not holding and has ruined 4 new tires in 3 months?” His answer was “I don’t know, but when you buy new tires bring it back to me” I got in my car and drove of his lot, immediately I could feel the car was loose and when the smallest imperfection in the road was hit the steering wheel would sharply turn left and right and veer off the road. I could not drive the car any faster than 5 MPH, and that was not the condition it was in when I brought it into his shop just a short time earlier that morning. Feeling the car was unsafe I parked it and made arrangements to have a car for transportation to be able to go to work. Using a car jack I jacked up both passenger and driver front tires and grabbed them with both my hands and was able to move each tire an at least 1 inch in each direction with very little force. Looking at the Lower Control Arms and brackets while moving the front tires it was clear to see the arms were loose at the bushings and this was not the condition the car was in when I brought it to Advantage Auto earlier that morning. Advantage Auto was closed for the next two days and I called at 0800 A.M. on Tuesday January *, 2014 which was the next time they had business hours. I spoke to [redacted] and told him there is a major problem apparently when you were leaning on the control arms while trying to get the wheels in alignment you loosened the bushing that the lower control arms attach to the brackets and you released me this car in unsafe driving condition putting me and every other person on the road in danger, also this is the third time you released an unsafe vehicle to me in the last 3 months as the wearing of the 4 new tires shows since you worked on the car in October of 2013.” He said “let me have a tow truck bring it to my shop and I will look at it to see what is wrong.” At first I reluctantly agreed to this but after thinking about it for a short time and realizing that he had attempted 3 alignments in 3 months and by his own admission 2 days prior he did not know why the alignments weren’t holding, and on the last alignment attempt he damaged my car. I called Advantage Auto back and cancelled saying I am going to have another mechanic diagnose the issue because you told me 2 days ago you don’t know why the car won’t hold the alignment and now the car is not drivable.

I called 2 different mechanics and made arrangements for my car to be brought in so they could inspect what was wrong and to give me estimates for repairs. Both mechanics reported to me that the passenger and driver sides Lower Control Arms were bent as well as the lower control arm bushings were bad on both sides, and the complete lower control arm assembly would need to be replaced on both sides. Also they both said another alignment would be needed after work was complete and I would also have to buy 2 new front tires. One estimate for repairs was for $2079.84, and the other was for $1056.61. Also I have an estimate for 2 new tires, mounting and balancing for those tires and tire waste management fee for $393.29. Both these mechanics told me they would not have attempted to replace the lower control arm ball joints on a car with such high miles because they would be afraid of damaging the Lower Control Arms. They also told me they never heard of upper control arms needing to be replaced on a Chevy trailblazer no matter how many miles it had on it. Before I had the repairs completed I also talk to a certified technician at Grand Prize Chevrolet and mentioned to him all that had happened with my car in the last 3 months, he agreed with the other mechanics that in all his years as a Certified Chevrolet mechanic he has never seen or heard of upper control arms needing to be replaced on a Trailblazer, and also if you are not very careful pressing in the lower ball joints you can bend the Lower Control Arms which will cause the car to be unable to hold an alignment.

On January **, 2014 I called Advantage Auto and asked for [redacted], I was told he was too busy to pick up the phone and the secretary asked me to explain to her what the problem is. I told her exactly what all the statements above say and asked to have [redacted] either pick up the phone or return my call, he did neither.

I have had my car repaired and paid $1056.61 for the repairs, and $393.29 for 2 new tires mounting and balancing and tire waste management fee. Because [redacted] nor anyone from Advantage Auto has responded to me I am left no choice but to file a complaint with the Revdex.com, and pursue a claim through the court system to receive money back for the work done by Advantage Auto because the problem was caused by the mechanic who replaced the lower ball joins and bent the Lower Control Arms doing this work on October *, 2013 and the evidence of this is the fact that the same issue presented itself on November *, 2013. Then in November of 2013 to cover up the mistake they made, they replaced the Upper Control Arms unnecessarily which is shown by the 3 other mechanics professional opinion, and also the fact that the same wear pattern showed up again on January *, 2014 destroying 2 more tires purchased on 11-*-2013.Desired Settlement: I am looking for the money back for the cost of the 4 tires that were destroyed plus 2 that had to be purchase after repairs were made on January **, 2014, the cost of labor charged to me to install the lower ball joints, the cost of parts and labor to install the Upper Control Arms, 1 wheel alignment done by Advantage Auto, 1 wheel alignment done when I had my car repaired by another mechanic. Finally the cost of the Lower Control Arm assemblies and labor for another mechanic to install them to have the car repaired correctly. I have all receipts to confirm statements made in this complaint.

• 2 tire purchase at Mavis 7-**-2013 279.98

• Labor to install lower ball joints 10-*-2013 342.00

• 1 wheel alignment 10-*-2013 69.95

• Parts labor and tax for 2 Upper Control arms 483.79

• 2 tires purchase at Dales tire 11-*-2013 250.00

• Lower Control Arm assemblies 700.00

• Labor to install Lower Control Arm Assemblies 274.95

• 2 new tires purchased after final repairs made 393.29

• Total 2793.96

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by R.J.M. Inc. regarding complaint ID [redacted]. Please keep complaint open.

Sincerely,