SDR Transmissions, Inc.

Review: I stopped at SDR at 930 am on Thursday November 14 2013. I had a terrible noise coming from my drivers side front tire, it had started out of no where and was getting increasinly worse the farther I drove it. I did not ask them to fix my car just to simply tell me what was wrong and if it was safe to drive. They took me for a test drive and dropped me off at home. I didnt understand why they needed to keep the car but I waited at home thinking this would take 20 to 30 min. 7 hours went by and I finally recieved a phone call from [redacted] the shop owner stating I would need a new axil and it would be $350 to fix it. I told him I did not have moneyto pay to have it fixed and I would have to talk to my boyfriend. We then showed up at the shop unannounced to pick up the car. I was told then that I would have to pay $100 to get my car back. I was upset and he explained that he had tightened the weels and ran a check on my whole car and now the noise was gone. I only asked him to tell me what the noise was, and I didnt not ask him to scan my car. So I was charged $100 for a loose weel that takes 2 minute to tighten back up. I will never bring my car there again and I hope no other people have to deal woth this.Desired Settlement: I would like my $100 refunded to me and for you to have your customers aware of your charges and sign something stating they accept those chages Before keeping there car from now on. As well as an apology.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

[redacted] did come into my shop at 9:40 AM on 11/14/13. She was visibly upset about her car that had terrible shaking and noise. She said she was afraid to drive her vehicle and she had just purchased the car a month ago. She said she just left her regular mechanic and was upset because he just "got in and moved it a few feet and told me just to drive it". I was surprised by that statement knowing the other shop not to handle people in that manner. (I realize now why). Our shop does handle customers by appointment, sometimes several days out due to our busy work load. I took [redacted] in due to her situation and had my lead technician come up front to hear her complaint again and go over the $100.27 diagnostic/inspection fee, this includes, labor, shop supplies and tax. I had him go with her to make clear the symptom and give her a ride home. I had not promised her a specific time her car would get inspected. All bays were full at that time, and many others waiting. There was no mention from her about needing her car in 30 minutes. I certainly would have appreciated to know that need and would have had her make a future appointment. Our inspection procedure is performed on any car that comes in. This is to inform the customers of any wear or safety issues and if there is a service light on we will check for fault codes. We do this all for the same cost. I am confused that she is getting upset of informing her of other important needs along with addressing her complaint. She had wheels loose and needed to be removed to inspect damage of the wheel stud threads and wheel rims from being driven in this condition. We cleaned up the threads and reinstalled and torque the wheels properly. We did this again at no cost above the fee stated. The other needs especially a very bad front drive axle were also explained and we topped off the transmission due to leaks. The cost of inspection was reduced to half the cost if she wanted the needed drive axle replaced. She admits to coming in unannounced after she said she would call back with her decision. She chose not to have us fix the car and wanted to pick it up. I made up the RO and even gave her a 10% discount which came to $90.25 because she mentioned her Grand Mother earlier who is a very good long time customer. She came in without enough money even to pay even that. She paid part and had to leave and come back again with the rest. I am very confused how, knowing from the beginning what the charges were, admitting several times what they were and not even charging her the full amount, making her car at least drivable, what we did wrong. [redacted] wants more money back than she paid us, and an apology for keeping her from destroying her wheel studs and informing her of other serious needed repairs so that she can drive her and her infant son safely and save her greater cost later. I can not do that. [redacted] does not realize the time, equipment, tools and overhead that goes into running a professional quality and caring shop. I consider our care for our customers to be #1 consideration and have many satisfied customers for over 35 years. It is a shame that this has happened and I, also, will no longer take car of [redacted] in the future.

Sincerely, [redacted]

The entire staff at SDR is cooperative, friendly and helpful. I've been a customer for well over a decade and after all the good experiences I've had with this establishment, I've managed to get all of my family members to bring their vehicles for service here, as well. I've never had any trouble and they guarantee their work. The staff is very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. I highly recommend SDR for any car maintenance need.