Superior Care Auto Center

*** *** contacted us directly with the letter that he also sent to the Revdex.comOnce we received it, we tried to get in touch with him via phone and left a voice mailWe also sent him an
e-mail, as well as mailed him a copy of what we e-mailedBelow is our original written response:
We apologize both sincerely and profuselyWe’re mortified that we have messed up so spectacularly and completely understand why your trust in us has been broken and why you would not recommend us to anyone elseWe understand why you feel compelled to contact the Revdex.com, but we don’t want to wait for them to contact us to try and rectify the situation, if possibleWe don’t want you to think that we’re trying to prevent you from doing that; we just know that the right thing to do is take responsibility for our mistakesWe pride ourselves on our reputation, and on the fact that we are good mechanics that do good work, but as you unfortunately experienced, we are not infallible
As soon as we received your letter, we called the mechanic that had worked on your car into the officeHe was very upset when he found out that not only had he made a mistake on your timing belt, but he had also not tightened your lug nuts properlyIn the 16-months that he has been working for us, he has serviced hundreds of carsIn all that time we’ve only had two complaints about his work, yours being one of themIf he was a careless mechanic that made mistakes regularly, he would not still be working here, but that is not the caseHowever, he is being put on probation for the time being, and his work will be under greater scrutiny for the foreseeable future
When *** initially road tested your car, he heard a thumping noise coming from the front, which he assumed was coming from your tiresAfter we rotated your tires for free, as per your request, *** road tested your car again and now heard the thumping noise coming from the rearHe assumed that since the tires were rotated from the front to the rear, and the thumping noise he originally heard in the front was now present in the rear, it was being caused by your 5/32” tires
An explanation is worth a hill of beans though, so here’s how we would like to atone for our errorsAs *** asked *** the other day, if you are not reimbursed by Kia, please let us know so that we can refund your original $We understand that you would want to have your car checked out by another mechanic; please forward us any bills if repairs are needed related to this incidentHowever, if you would consider returning to us so that we could check your steering wheel vibration and alignment, we would also like to replace your two rear tires, for free, to make amends

Review: We are writing to express our dissatisfaction and concern with repairs recently made on our car by Superior Care Auto Center. Specifically, the wheel lug nuts were not adequately tightened after a tire rotation and the wheels became loose while driving. We will provide details of the incident for your information, and as the basis for any future claims that may arise out of damage caused by this negligence.

On 9/*/14, we brought in our 2008 Kia Optima (VIN [redacted]) for a check engine light diagnosis and repair. (It is worth noting that the light was on due to a faulty brake light switch which was under recall from Kia Motors. Superior Care should have referred us to a Kia dealership for a free replacement, but instead proceeded with the repair at a cost of $121.76. It is uncertain whether Kia will reimburse this cost.)

On 9/**/14, we picked up the car. Your [redacted], alerted us that the tire tread in the rear was 10/32”, while the front was only 5/32”. [redacted] also said the timing belt was overdue for replacement and prepared an estimate to replace the belt, tensioners, water pump, seals, etc.

On 9/**/14, we brought the car in for the timing belt replacement. We also requested a tire rotation to address the uneven tread wear.

On 9/**/14, we picked up the car and paid $1421.56 for the work done, including the tire rotation.

On 9/**/14 the check engine light came back on, so we returned the car for assessment.

On 9/**/14 we picked up the car and [redacted] explained that the light came back on because some minor adjustments to the timing belt were needed, but it was now fixed. [redacted] also said that, during his test drive, he thought he heard a “thumping” from the rear wheel, but he assured us that the car was in good condition for a trip we were making the next day.

On 9/**/14, after getting up to highway speed, I felt a vibration in the steering wheel and road noise was louder than normal. Soon, the noise became much louder and vibration had increased to the point where it was difficult to maintain a grip on the steering wheel. We pulled off the highway and proceeded slowly along rural roads to locate a service station. There was now a loud banging coming from the underside of the car, so we pulled over, worried that driving further would be dangerous.

At the roadside, I inspected the wheels and I discovered that the lug nuts on all wheels were not fully tightened. Several lug nuts were loose enough to turn by hand. I used the wrench from the spare kit and tightened them all completely.

We tested the car at low speed and the noise was now completely gone, but some steering wheel vibration persisted and the steering was pulling to the right. We are now forced to incur the cost of having another mechanic inspect the car to see if the loose wheels caused any damage to the wheels, mounts, suspension, or other parts.

We hope that notifying you of our experience will spur you to improve your policies and procedures to avoid a similar occurrence in the future. Unfortunately, our confidence in your services has been irrevocably damaged and we will not use your shop again, nor refer others to you. We also feel it is prudent to notify the Revdex.com of this incident.Desired Settlement: I want to have a complaint on record for future claims that may arise out of damage to the wheels, mounts, suspension, or other parts caused by this negligence. I want to alert others of the unsafe practices.

.

Business

Response:

[redacted] contacted us directly with the letter that he also sent to the Revdex.com. Once we received it, we tried to get in touch with him via phone and left a voice mail. We also sent him an e-mail, as well as mailed him a copy of what we e-mailed. Below is our original written response:

We apologize both sincerely and profusely. We’re mortified that we have messed up so spectacularly and completely understand why your trust in us has been broken and why you would not recommend us to anyone else. We understand why you feel compelled to contact the Revdex.com, but we don’t want to wait for them to contact us to try and rectify the situation, if possible. We don’t want you to think that we’re trying to prevent you from doing that; we just know that the right thing to do is take responsibility for our mistakes. We pride ourselves on our reputation, and on the fact that we are good mechanics that do good work, but as you unfortunately experienced, we are not infallible.

As soon as we received your letter, we called the mechanic that had worked on your car into the office. He was very upset when he found out that not only had he made a mistake on your timing belt, but he had also not tightened your lug nuts properly. In the 16-months that he has been working for us, he has serviced hundreds of cars. In all that time we’ve only had two complaints about his work, yours being one of them. If he was a careless mechanic that made mistakes regularly, he would not still be working here, but that is not the case. However, he is being put on probation for the time being, and his work will be under greater scrutiny for the foreseeable future.

When [redacted] initially road tested your car, he heard a thumping noise coming from the front, which he assumed was coming from your tires. After we rotated your tires for free, as per your request, [redacted] road tested your car again and now heard the thumping noise coming from the rear. He assumed that since the tires were rotated from the front to the rear, and the thumping noise he originally heard in the front was now present in the rear, it was being caused by your 5/32” tires.

An explanation is worth a hill of beans though, so here’s how we would like to atone for our errors. As [redacted] asked [redacted] the other day, if you are not reimbursed by Kia, please let us know so that we can refund your original $121.76. We understand that you would want to have your car checked out by another mechanic; please forward us any bills if repairs are needed related to this incident. However, if you would consider returning to us so that we could check your steering wheel vibration and alignment, we would also like to replace your two rear tires, for free, to make amends.