Tehachapi Lawn & Garden Equipment Center

Good Afternoon, My name is Rich Brown, and I am the owner of Tehachapi lawn and garden equipment center,As Mrs [redacted] stated, on or around February 25th of this year (2017) she contacted my repair facility in hopes that we could repair her scooterShe told me what the issues were and how difficult it was to find a repair facility that would take on the project, she also stated that her husband worked out of town and she didn't have a way to get the unit in question to usI stated up front that we would try and help her out by trying to repair the unit, but no promises because we had no idea the condition of the scooter to begin with, furthermore, I offered to pick her scooter up at no charge to her because I live in the same area, again because her husband wasn't able to bring it in to usI extended this courtesy as a favor to a neighbor.When I picked the scooter up it would not start by using the kick starter, like she had statedBefore we could try and repair the electrical issue that stopped the unit from starting with the electric starter we had to repair the carburetor and make sure we had a running unitWe found fuel leaks and a clogged fuel filter, at which time we cleaned the carburetor, installed new fuel lines, and filterAt this point we were able to get the unit to start by kick starting itWe now knew we had a running unit so I gave my Tech the go ahead to start trying to troubleshoot the electric start issueWe started at the battery box, where we found small volt batteries, both of which tested badIt was at this point we realized this unit was not manufactured with batteries, meaning at some point added a second battery to try and combat the electrical issuewe had no recourse but to replace the bad batteries, and after replacing them, we found a faulty started solenoid, which we replaced, and the unit would still not start by electric startAt this time, while working on the scooter my tech snagged his shirt on the fender, which was cracked prior to us even working on the unit initially We located a "new" replacement fender and I called to let Mrs [redacted] know what had happened, letting her know that I would completely cover the cost of the fender and repainting the parts that needed paintingI asked if she would like to pick the color, or if she would just like me to get as close as I could to the originalShe stated, just get as close as you can, which is what we didWhile we waited for the fender we continued to troubleshoot the electric ignition issue and found the ignition switch itself seemed to have some corrosion and possible bad connectionWe cleaned and tested the ignition switch which seemed to test out fineThe fender came in, was painted, and the scooter was re assembledWe continued to try and trouble shoot the problemAt this point we had approximately man hours of labor, my shop rate is $an hour and approximately $in parts we had installed on this bikeDuring one of our conversations I told Mrs [redacted] that we were at a total loss and could not figure out why this unit wouldn't work correctlyI stated that we would EAT the entire bill and never once asked her to pay for the repairsi felt very bad that we could not repair the unitSome time passed and Mrs [redacted] contacted us and told us that another repair shop "Big Jims" would be picking up the unit in hopes of repairing itWhen Jim Mamula came to pick up the unit with his employee Brad, the first words out of his mouth were, and I quote "oh this thing isn't a Honda, we won't work on this, we will charge her a delivery fee and drop it off back to her, but we won't work on it" I have 3+ witnesses that heard this conversationWhen we were informed that Jim would be picking up the unit we made sure that the unit would start by kick staring it, leaving it in the same condition we had picked it up in, other than it having a new fender and paintTo be honest I was relieved when I heard that "big Jims" was going to try and repair the unit as I just wanted Mrs [redacted] to get her scooter back so she could ride it with her husband as they had intendedI do not believe I should be responsible for any monetary damages, as I am already in the hole, by the tune of around $Even if we had gotten the scooter runningI had already informed my staff that we would only be charging Mrs [redacted] hours of labor and the cost of parts appx $300, because I knew how little the scooter was actually valued atRichard BrownOwner of Tehachapi Lawn and Garden

I am rejecting this response because:
Please see the attached letter.
Thank you,
[redacted]

Good Afternoon, My name is Rich Brown, and I am the owner of Tehachapi lawn and garden equipment center,As Mrs. [redacted] stated, on or around February 25th of this year (2017) she contacted my repair facility in hopes that we could repair her scooter. She told me what the issues were and how difficult...

it was to find a repair facility that would take on the project, she also stated that her husband worked out of town and she didn't have a way to get the unit in question to us. I stated up front that we would try and help her out by trying to repair the unit, but no promises because we had no idea the condition of the scooter to begin with, furthermore, I offered to pick her scooter up at no charge to her because I live in the same area, again because her husband wasn't able to bring it in to us. I extended this courtesy as a favor to a neighbor.When I picked the scooter up it would not start by using the kick starter, like she had stated. Before we could try and repair the electrical issue that stopped the unit from starting with the electric starter we had to repair the carburetor and make sure we had a running unit. We found fuel leaks and a clogged fuel filter, at which time we cleaned the carburetor, installed new fuel lines, and filter. At this point we were able to get the unit to start by kick starting it. We now knew we had a running unit so I gave my Tech the go ahead to start trying to troubleshoot the electric start issue. We started at the battery box, where we found 2 small 12 volt batteries, both of which tested bad. It was at this point we realized this unit was not manufactured with 2 batteries, meaning at some point added a second battery to try and combat the electrical issue. we had no recourse but to replace the bad batteries, and after replacing them, we found a faulty started solenoid, which we replaced, and the unit would still not start by electric start. At this time, while working on the scooter my tech snagged his shirt on the fender, which was cracked prior to us even working on the unit initially.  We located a "new" replacement fender and I called to let Mrs. [redacted] know what had happened, letting her know that I would completely cover the cost of the fender and repainting the parts that needed painting. I asked if she would like to pick the color, or if she would just like me to get as close as I could to the original. She stated, just get as close as you can, which is what we did. While we waited for the fender we continued to troubleshoot the electric ignition issue and found the ignition switch itself seemed to have some corrosion and possible bad connection. We cleaned and tested the ignition switch which seemed to test out fine. The fender came in, was painted, and the scooter was re assembled. We continued to try and trouble shoot the problem. At this point we had approximately 10 man hours of labor, my shop rate is $90.00 an hour and approximately $130 in parts we had installed on this bike. During one of our conversations I told Mrs. [redacted] that we were at a total loss and could not figure out why this unit wouldn't work correctly. I stated that we would EAT the entire bill and never once asked her to pay for the repairs. I felt very bad that we could not repair the unit. Some time passed and Mrs. [redacted] contacted us and told us that another repair shop "Big Jims" would be picking up the unit in hopes of repairing it. When Jim Mamula came to pick up the unit with his employee Brad, the first words out of his mouth were, and I quote "oh this thing isn't a Honda, we won't work on this, we will charge her a delivery fee and drop it off back to her, but we won't work on it" I have 3+ witnesses that heard this conversation. When we were informed that Jim would be picking up the unit we made sure that the unit would start by kick staring it, leaving it in the same condition we had picked it up in, other than it having a new fender and paint. To be honest I was relieved when I heard that "big Jims" was going to try and repair the unit as I just wanted Mrs. [redacted] to get her scooter back so she could ride it with her husband as they had intended. I do not believe I should be responsible for any monetary damages, as I am already in the hole, by the tune of around $1100. Even if we had gotten the scooter running. I had already informed my staff that we would only be charging Mrs. [redacted] 1.5 hours of labor and the cost of parts appx $300, because I knew how little the scooter was actually valued at. Richard BrownOwner of Tehachapi Lawn and Garden