Stuttgart Autotech Inc

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:Stuttgart Autotech put me in a most uncomfortable and stressful situation.I only authorized them to do the work when the estimate was $4800-$Once they took my car apart I was forced to make a decision under stressThey were pressuring me to make a decision and I told them I wasn't sure and I could not afford $7500They bullied me into a quick decision to have them partially assemble the car back to a rolling state, so they could remove from there liftThey then told me they would no longer finish the work and I had to remove the car from their premises as soon as possible or be charged $a day storage fee.They were very rude and aggressive to me making me very uncomfortableWhen I mentioned at one point I was going to leave them a bad review they said, " oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you".I interpreted this as some sort of a threat.I had a few prospective buyers swing by to look at the car, and they scared every one away by saying the car was worth, "$500"I eventually sold it for $3000I had to pay them $just to get my car released back to me in piecesthe Trunk full of car partsCar not running.This is no way to treat a customer and they owe me $1250I will accept NOTHING less but my $back and an apology for their behavior.
Sincerely,
*** ***

We received a phone call from the complainant ([redacted]) asking if we could look at his vehicle and determine the cause of the vehicle’s problems.  I told him he could have the vehicle towed into our shop any time, however based on our current schedule it may be a few days before we were...

able to look at it.  The complainant had his vehicle towed into our shop.  The vehicle had excessive smoke from the exhaust and the check engine warning light was illuminated.  After testing and diagnostics it was determined that the turbo chargers had failed and would need replacement.  This repair requires extensive disassembly to access and replace the turbo chargers (removal of exhaust system, removal of vehicle’s subframe, remove engine mounts and suspend engine for access).  The initial estimate to replace the turbo chargers along with the related one-time use seals, gaskets and hardware was approximately $5,400.  We indicated to the complainant that the integrity of the intercooler was in question and if it could be salvaged (re-used) the estimate would be approximately $4,800.  We indicated to the complainant that this was a very invasive repair and there may be additional parts needed once disassembly was completed, but we would do our best to re-use any parts we could.  The complainant authorized the repair and we began disassembly to replace the turbo chargers and exhaust our resources to clean and re-use the intercooler.  After complete disassembly, it was found that the bank 2 catalytic converter was broken/damaged, the 4 oxygen sensors were saturated in engine oil and a couple of oil lines were in poor shape – these findings were unknown at the start of disassembly (no visual access to these components without disassembly) and could not have been anticipated.  We have performed this same repair before and have not had to replace these components.  We phoned the customer and communicated the findings after disassembly and indicated the additional cost to replace the bank 2 catalytic converter, oxygen sensors and oil lines would bring the estimate to approximately $7,500.  At this point, my technician had about 8 hours into the initial testing, diagnostics and disassembly.  The complete repair (replacement of turbo chargers and related components) is about a 16 hour repair.  We told the customer there would be no additional labor charge to replace the catalytic converter, oxygen sensors and oil lines since they needed to be removed to replace the turbo chargers.  I do understand this was not good news for the complainant, however nothing in our initial testing and diagnostics could have foreseen these issues.  The complainant asked what his options were – I told him he did have options:  1) Move forward with the complete repair for the new estimate of $7,500, 2) move forward with the original estimate ($4,800-$5,400) and do not replace the catalytic converter, oxygen sensors and oil lines, however these would need to be done at a future date and the check engine warning light may come back on, 3) reassemble the vehicle with the old parts and be charged labor only (approx.. $2,000) or 4) reassemble the vehicle to a state where it could be towed away (not complete reassembly) for $1,250.  Trying to work with the complainant as best we could at this point, I offered to install the catalytic converter at our cost (no mark-up), clean and re-use the oil lines and oxygen sensors for a grand total of $5,900 ($900 more than the original estimate that was previously authorized). This should have gotten the vehicle into a state where you could safely drive without any further issues. I also indicated that if the oxygen sensors needed to be replaced in the future we would install them at no labor charge, just parts cost which is about $850.  The complainant authorized this agreed upon repair and the catalytic converter was ordered from BMW. The complainant then phoned back a couple of days later and asked if he could have some time to think about his options, which I granted (we had not received the catalytic converter from BMW at this point, so reassembly had not started).  After about 3-4 days I phoned the complainant and asked if we could have a decision because the vehicle was stranded on one of my lifts (due to the state of disassembly) and could not be moved.  We had at this point in our possession all of the parts needed to complete the repair.  Over the next few days the complainant brought down to our shop several prospective buyers for the vehicle (he was trying to sell the vehicle in the current disassembled state to someone that may want to complete the repairs on their own).  I worked with both the complainant and prospective buyers to assist with brokering a deal for him.  None of the potential buyers were interested in purchasing the vehicle.  The complainant then authorized us to reassemble the vehicle to a state where it could be towed away for the agreed upon labor charge of $1,250.  The vehicle was then reassembled and ready to be towed away.  The complainant paid the agreed upon $1,250 for our time (disassembly & reassembly) and sold the vehicle in the current condition to a third party.Stuttgart Autotech has been in business in Lake Oswego since February 1993 and we have a loyal customer base.  We have an A+ rating from the Revdex.com and hundreds of positive reviews from our customers.  I tried to work with the complainant as best possible to resolve this issue and fix his vehicle at a fair price.Please call or email back if you have any questions.Thanks,Todd J[redacted]Owner & General ManagerStuttgart Autotech503-635-3098[redacted]stuttgartautotech.comwww.stuttgartautotech.com