Southern Boulevard Automotive Repair

On Monday May 20th we came in and found that there was a 2004 left in our parking lot over the weekend. We contacted Mr. Payne who owned the car and he stated that the ignition lock cylinder will not turn with any of the keys. We quoted Mr. Payne $466.49 "IF" we could get the tumbler to turn. We informed Mr. that the way the ignition lock cylinder is designed, to remove the lock cylinder we would need to turn the lock cylinder. When we could not manipulate the lock cylinder to turn we called Mr. Payne and informed him that since we could not do that, we would have to drill his old lock cylinder out and that we would be careful not to damage the outer housing that holds the theft sensor, which would cost a lot of money, and told him it would be at least one more hour of labor which brought the total to $564.35 and he agreed to the extra labor and Price. The technician spent several more hours on the car, more than what was billed to the customer drilling out the cylinder in order not to damage the cylinder housing. We tried our best to keep the cost as low as possible. We did inform Mr. Payne that the way the new lock cylinder came was with a different key and the only way to use the same key would be to have a locksmith code to the same key which would be an additional charge. We returned the car to Mr. Payne the very next day. When Mrs. Payne wrote the review my manager Cody called Mr. Payne, not I (John) and asked what went wrong and he stated that he understood and appreciated what we did, but that it was his wife's doing and he was alright with us and the work performed. We went out of our way to help keep the cost as low as possible and get the car back to the customer as soon as possible.

The Vehicle was Towed to the Shop for the Vehicle not starting. Upon inspection we found that the Timing Belt had failed and Damaged the Crank Sensor. We explained to the customer that this was an interference engine, which means that it is possible that he pistons have hit and damaged the valves due to the timing belt failing, but that we would not know until we get a new Timing belt installed. After the Timing Belt was installed we then found that the valve have indeed been damaged. Customer declined to do any further Repairs.

As to the accusation regarding the Radiator, which has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do the the Timing belt or its components, the technician bumped and nicked one of the fins during disassembly and there was a slight leak, so we installed a New radiator at NO CHARGE to the customer. There was absolutely no negligence on the Technicians Part or Southern Blvd Automotive Part.

Mr. had his 1997 Chevy Blazer towed into our facility and stated that the vehicle had multiple electrical problems and would not start. We found an electrical problem in the ground circuit which caused the vehicle not to start. After repairing, we test drove the vehicle. We noticed that the transmission was slipping and not shifting correctly and informed the Mr.. We stated that to determine what was wrong with transmission we would need to remove the transmission pan and inspect the solenoids. He agreed and asked us to do so. When we removed the transmission pan we found a lot of metal chunks from something internal broken and metal shavings in the pan. We informed the Mr. and told him that this indicated some type of mechanical failure internal to the transmission and it would need to be disassembled to determine the problem which would end in a complete transmission rebuild. We discussed options and told him the cheapest way would be to install a used transmission and he stated he would do that himself and asked us to tow the vehicle back to his house, which we did.

Months Later after we had towed the vehicle back to his home, he requested us to tow it back in and install a battery and determine why his fuel gauge was not reading properly. (The Vehicle is in our possession at this time while I am responding). Mr. never mentioned anything like this to us when we towed the vehicle back in. Nor do I understand exactly what he is accusing us of. So we tried contacting him twice prior to this response and left messages with no reply.

We only performed the diagnosis and repairs authorized by Mr., nothing more and nothing less.

We always sympathize with customers when they don't understand exactly what is wrong with their vehicles. We just need communication in order to resolve them.

Mr. Blazer was Towed Back to is home because he did Not want to do any repairs to the transmission that had metal pieces and shavings in the pan. As stated previously, the transmission worked But was shifting erratically and sometimes not at all. He chose for us to tow it back and not reassemble it. The Blazer was towed back to his home on 12-14-16 (Documented) and have not seen this Blazer again until Mr. had us tow it in on 2-6-17(Documented) for a battery replacement and electrical problem with the fuel level sensor. At that time he never once mentioned the transmission or anything else. We have not performed any repairs. There are currently no charges owed on the Blazer and we would gladly let Mr. have his Blazer but in the last 2 weeks we tried to call him, even talked with his mother to leave a message for him to call us, but he has refused to return our calls. In Regards to his Jeep Grand Cherokee, on 12-19-16 Mr. called and stated that it had been stolen and recovered and wanted us to look at it and see what would it take to just get it back on the road. After inspecting it we found that the steering column was damaged beyond repair. We recommended that a used column be installed which would be the cheapest fix, and that he needed a battery. But as stated to him, these were starting points because we had not started or driven the Jeep. We installed a used column with all used switches that came with the column. Mr. supplied a battery and we installed in along with the tray. He then picked up the Jeep on 2-3-17. Approximately 2 weeks later he called and spoke with our receptionist and stated that his Jeep and been stolen again for the second time. We have not performed any repairs that were not necessary and performed only the repairs and diagnosis that Mr. requested. We have not seen the Jeep since it was stolen the second time, so we are not sure what he is speaking about in regards to damage. The picture of the *** code read out is not even for a vehicle that we have ever worked for him as the VIN code does not match up, nor does any of his vehicles that we've seen have variable cam timing. So we don't know whats going on there. All repairs and Tows are documented as they were performed. And as stated before, we would gladly let Mr. have his Blazer if he would only come and get it.