Ruark and Sons' Automotive, Ltd

The initial customer contact was an inquiry as to the cost of a tune up I told her and her father that if it was misfiring on a single cylinder it would most likely need an ignition coil as well as the plugs I told them I would like to diagnose it first and they agreed We brought the car in and upon seeing its very high mileage, (306,529) and overall poor condition, I started to advise her to be cautious about how much money she put into the car Unfortunately I couldn't really drive it or diagnose much else until it was firing on all cylinders.I told her I would have to start with the plugs and coil just so I could drive it, as she had voiced concerns about the way the transmission shifted She said the engine had been replaced and she wanted to fix it, so I proceeded with the repairs as estimated We found some oil in the front spark plug tubes, so I put a front valve cover gasket and coil boots on at a discount, and since I didn't need the originally estimated intake gasket, we were pretty much right on our original estimate stillAfter driving the car with all cylinders now firing, I felt what she thought was the transmission issue It turns out that both the front oxygen sensors were not working We have no idea how long it was driven with the misfire, but she said it had been "shifting funny" for monthsAt this point I estimated her the front oxygen sensors ($719.49), and told her that I did not recommend fixing that at this time They are expensive because Lexus uses wide band Air/Fuel sensors I said that if it had been driving this way for months that most likely it was back to "where it was" and recommended that she not put any more money into it than she had to, because it had so many miles I told her that even though the engine had been replaced, the car had a lot of miles on it and anything at that point can be risky, so we should "stop while we were ahead" and see how it did over the next few weeks/months That would also allow me to get feedback from her on how it felt, and if it was actually back to the way it was.She called a few days later (I'm not sure on the exact timeline as far as her call), and informed me that she had the oil light come on and heard a knock start as soon as she hit her driveway She said a few people had told her it sounded like a knock, and I told her I would like to confirm before we had that conversation She was supposed to bring it in Wednesday I believe, and called me to let me know that several more people had agreed about the sound I then told her I would send a tow truck so I could confirm I paid for a tow, had the car brought in, and on Thursday (3/16/17) I confirmed that it had indeed started knocking, it sounded like a rod bearing The oil was maybe qt low, but was clean.At this point I called her and told her that this was a very strange thing to happen, but it was in no way connected to me replacing the spark plugs I said that I understood her frustration and offered her a $credit at our shop, or a refund of all the profit from the job in full (approx$250) because I felt bad that she had not gotten very far before a serious failure.The phone call I had with her was very long and frustrating She was mad, understandably, but started accusing me of being a pushy salespersonshe said that I was insisting that she tune it up, though I felt that I was very clear about the risks of any car with that kind of mileage I was merely saying that I couldn't drive or diagnose it further until I had fixed the misfire She then started saying that there was no possible way that it just started knocking and that I had obviously missed it! At this point I asked her why her father, herself, or my technician with years experience didn't notice it before, nor did she until she got home I told her that I understand that it's frustrating to see such a coincidence, but it happens Maybe there was gas in the oil from the misfiring, maybe the cylinder had been dead so long the bearing wasn't used to a load from ignition, I have no idea.I refused to let her set the terms of my good faith refund because I feel that I did nothing wrongBy offering what I did with no questions asked, I feel I was fair Her attitude during the call got worse and worse as she realized I wasn't going to give in to her demands We were suddenly incompetent, dishonest, pushy, and so onAt the end of the call, as I gave her the exact amount I could refund ($261.38), she continued to argue with me, at which point I rescinded my good will offer At no point did I raise my voice or swear at all, I feel that I did pretty well at maintaining my professionalism

I am rejecting this response because: this man is not honest The original reason why I took the car there was because I was having engine trouble and he knew that we took the car to have him diagnose what was wrong with it not for the tuneup I drove the car exactly miles the oil light came on and it started knocking he told me the car was fine to drive and I would not hurt it I honestly do not feel the car was safe to drive I contacted him the next business day he told me by him doing the tuneup it could have made the car spin a bearing after I reminded him about that on the second phone call he flipped and continue to argue with me on the phone for no reason he was very pushy about having that tuneup done and also wanted me to have two new sensors put in the car which I decided against The engine in the car does not have that many miles it was replaced around three years ago one of the most unprofessional businesses I've ever had to deal with I believe this was pure neglect unnecessary work and laziness out of the shop

The initial customer contact was an inquiry as to the cost of a tune up I told her and her father that if it was misfiring on a single cylinder it would most likely need an ignition coil as well as the plugs I told them I would like to diagnose it first and they agreed We
brought the car in and upon seeing its very high mileage, (306,529) and overall poor condition, I started to advise her to be cautious about how much money she put into the car Unfortunately I couldn't really drive it or diagnose much else until it was firing on all cylinders.I told her I would have to start with the plugs and coil just so I could drive it, as she had voiced concerns about the way the transmission shifted She said the engine had been replaced and she wanted to fix it, so I proceeded with the repairs as estimated We found some oil in the front spark plug tubes, so I put a front valve cover gasket and coil boots on at a discount, and since I didn't need the originally estimated intake gasket, we were pretty much right on our original estimate still. After driving the car with all cylinders now firing, I felt what she thought was the transmission issue It turns out that both the front oxygen sensors were not working We have no idea how long it was driven with the misfire, but she said it had been "shifting funny" for monthsAt this point I estimated her the front oxygen sensors ($719.49), and told her that I did not recommend fixing that at this time They are expensive because Lexus uses wide band Air/Fuel sensors I said that if it had been driving this way for months that most likely it was back to "where it was" and recommended that she not put any more money into it than she had to, because it had so many miles I told her that even though the engine had been replaced, the car had a lot of miles on it and anything at that point can be risky, so we should "stop while we were ahead" and see how it did over the next few weeks/months That would also allow me to get feedback from her on how it felt, and if it was actually back to the way it was.She called a few days later (I'm not sure on the exact timeline as far as her call), and informed me that she had the oil light come on and heard a knock start as soon as she hit her driveway She said a few people had told her it sounded like a knock, and I told her I would like to confirm before we had that conversation She was supposed to bring it in Wednesday I believe, and called me to let me know that several more people had agreed about the sound I then told her I would send a tow truck so I could confirm I paid for a tow, had the car brought in, and on Thursday (3/16/17) I confirmed that it had indeed started knocking, it sounded like a rod bearing The oil was maybe qt low, but was clean.At this point I called her and told her that this was a very strange thing to happen, but it was in no way connected to me replacing the spark plugs I said that I understood her frustration and offered her a $credit at our shop, or a refund of all the profit from the job in full (approx$250) because I felt bad that she had not gotten very far before a serious failure.The phone call I had with her was very long and frustrating She was mad, understandably, but started accusing me of being a pushy salespersonshe said that I was insisting that she tune it up, though I felt that I was very clear about the risks of any car with that kind of mileage I was merely saying that I couldn't drive or diagnose it further until I had fixed the misfire She then started saying that there was no possible way that it just started knocking and that I had obviously missed it! At this point I asked her why her father, herself, or my technician with years experience didn't notice it before, nor did she until she got home I told her that I understand that it's frustrating to see such a coincidence, but it happens Maybe there was gas in the oil from the misfiring, maybe the cylinder had been dead so long the bearing wasn't used to a load from ignition, I have no idea.I refused to let her set the terms of my good faith refund because I feel that I did nothing wrongBy offering what I did with no questions asked, I feel I was fair Her attitude during the call got worse and worse as she realized I wasn't going to give in to her demands We were suddenly incompetent, dishonest, pushy, and so onAt the end of the call, as I gave her the exact amount I could refund ($261.38), she continued to argue with me, at which point I rescinded my good will offer At no point did I raise my voice or swear at all, I feel that I did pretty well at maintaining my professionalism

You called wanting an estimate on a tune up because the engine was running rough Shaking, lacking power, chugging, that sort of thing I estimated a coil and spark plugs ("tune up") anticipating that to be the issue You authorized me to confirm those suspicions, which I didIt was running on out of cylinders and had both a Pand Pcode set in the computer Cylinder was missing constantly, cylinder had also set a code Pbut was more intermittent I told you that I couldn't diagnose any other issues until it was running on all cylinders, as that can throw off all sorts of other readings and sensors Also I couldn't really drive the car, so as not to do damage to the catalytic converters in the exhaust There were air/fuel sensor heater codes and a knock sensor code (see attached repair order), but those things can't be properly diagnosed when an engine is running on cylinders I advised caution due to the high mileage before we did anything, at which point you said it had had the engine replaced at some point, and wanted to proceed After the engine was running on all cylinders, I drove it and told you that it was still not running 100% due to dead oxygen sensors It was lacking a little power and shifting a bit hard, due to being in open loop operation You said that it had been that way for a while before it started the jerking/misfiring I advised against repairing those, as it would be unwise to put a lot of money into a car with such high mileage (306,529) that had been sitting for months I told you to drive it for a while and see how it did before we risked any more repairs.I did not tell you that it was safe to drive with a knock I was talking about the lack of power caused by the oxygen sensors, that was before we talked about the knock I never said that a tune up could cause a bearing to spin, creating a knock Quite the opposite I admitted no fault, and hold to that You were offered what you were because I was trying to be empathetic Letting an engine sit for months then deciding to repair it can be risky, and I feel like I was thorough and honest in explaining that throughout the whole process I also must again take issue with you claiming I pushed the oxygen sensors, I said the exact opposite I also have to address your changing complaints In your attached attorney general's letter it seems that you are now also accusing me of not even doing the spark plugs Which is it? Did I not do the work? Did I do the work and ruin your engine? Did I do work to an already ruined engine? This conversation in text reminds me a lot of our conversation on the phone, shifting blame, changing stories, accusations, etcI am truly sorry that things didn't work out for you, but I stand behind my decisions and feel that I've done my best to be fair

I am rejecting this response because: I am not looking for an apology here and I am not going to let you squirm your way out of it like you are trying to do You can keep on saying you did not try to charge me for the sensors but both of us know the truth Either way you are at fault you told me the car was safe to drive on march 10, the car was not safe I have had other mechanics inspect the car So not only am I out the $the value of my car missed several days at work and had to rent a car i'm beginning to even wonder if you had the proper equipment to work on a Lexus
Regards,
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