Top Flight Corvette Inc

Review: I had this shop replace the rear main seal on my 2002 corvette. They said that it would cost $850.00 and take 1day. They ended up doing the oil pan gaskets and the rear cover gaskets too for a totle of $1825.68.

I noticed the car vibrating on the way home . The next few days it was getting bad.

I went back on the 26 ane asked [redacted] sr. To drive it so he could feewhat I was talking about.

He got in, started the engine, rev,d it and said he didn't need to drive it , that he could feel it. He asked his son to looat the harmonic balancer, his son said that it may be the torque tube assy. and I left the car there and walked to work.

when I got back they said that it was nothing they did, that it was the torque tube and said he would fix it fr $850.00 cash. That cost me $1371.05.

Thats $3196.73 im in to this seal job but wait the 1371.05 did nothing about the problum and took it back again.

This time he tells me he thinks it the torque converter and he wants to try one he has on hand and gave me his truck to drive home. The next day I got to the shop jr. had it torn apart and was looking at the fly wheel , said they now thought that was it.

[redacted] sr. Got there , we where whatching the fly wheel turn and I noticed it looked bent and asked how that happened he did say but told his son to put that on one it ( pointing to one on the floor) and put it dack togather, I drove it home that night.

I went back one more time this time he said he put a harmonic balancer on it.

Still there was little change. When I asked what they found he told me it was in the engine and it was not their falt.

On 3-12-2014 I droped the car off at [redacted] chevrolet. I told them what I had done by the other shop,

I told them that the ther shop said that it was in the engne, said I needed it fixed but I wanted them to document what they had to do to fix it.

1. They had to replace the balancer they put on, he said it was coming apart due to vibration , thnmee belts were chattered bad, after they did that the vibration improved but was still there.

Next they took the transmisson, differancial, and the torque tube out to inspect the alignment.they found that the flex plate was indexed incorrectly. Thinking they found the problum they indexed the flex plate to the crankshaft correctly and put it togather. The next day they call and said they had to take it apart again.

The next day they called me in to look at the torque tube they worked on. The input shaft was bent and they had to replace it.

They install a used one on it,it to had a bent input shaft but it was only .010 of an in. A lot less then the other.

With that done the car is almost the way it was when idroped it off at top flight.

[redacted] charged me $2724.98- 99.50 for a return tank thats $2625.48.

When I showed [redacted] sr. What [redacted] had to do to fix it.

He gave the paper wrk back to me and told me to sue him.Desired Settlement: I think he shoud pay me the 2625.48 that I paid [redacted] Jonhson to fix what he did,. I think he should pay me the $510.07 I paid for the car I had to rent while [redacted]

Fixed my car and I think he should give me back the $1371.05 that I paid him to fix the torque tube, and I think he should have my torque tube replaced with one thats not bent.

That would put me right back where I should be.

Business

Response:

The customer brought his car in on 2/12/14 because it was leaking oil. I looked

underneath the car and could see the rear main seal area was leaking, so I gave him an

estimate of $900.00. We put his car on the rack and removed the torque tube to replace

the rear main seal and saw that the oil pan gasket and the rear cover were also leaking oil.

I called and told him about the additional 2 leaks we found and he authorized the repair

and would pick up the car later that day. We fixed 3 leaks not just 1 leak. therefore the

revised total was $1851.03, (see attached copy of signed invoice). The mileage was

140.797. We never drove the car because it was not in for a drivability problem.

Customer came back on 2/26/14 (no appt.), 2 weeks and 500 miles later and said we

caused his car to have a vibration. I told him that there was no connection with changing

gaskets and a vibration. I asked him if he wanted me to pull the torque tube to inspect the

driveshaft. He agreed and we took it apart and found 2 broken driveshaft pucks and the

pilot shaft bearing was wasted. I asked him if he wanted us to replace the broken parts

ad he said yes. Additionally, he was standing there the whole time we were doing the

inspection and repair. At no time did I say, or suggest, that this was the cause of the

vibration. After we completed the repair, it was already late in the afternoon but I wanted

to further investigate the vibration so I asked him to bring the car beck the next day since

he needed it to get home. He agreed and paid the invoice total of$1371.05, (see attached

copy of signed invoice). Approximately 5-6 days later he showed up and I told him to

take my truck because I couldn't work on his car until the next day. He came back the

next day while we were investigating the problem. I again, allowed him to watch what we

were doing. I suggested to my employee that we start the car without the torque tube in

place to check for a vibration at just the engine. When we started the engine it still bad a

vibration that he also witnessed. As the engine was running, we noticed that the ring gear

was wobbling and I replaced it with a brand new one to see if this would help the

problem, it did not. To save time we left the new flex plate assembly on the car. That

flex plate assembly cost $266.74 +tax. 1 still have his old one, as well as his other broken

parts. He was never charged for the flex plate, the labor, or anything else that day!

I told him something else is causing the vibration and I believe it could be the harmonic

balancer. I asked him if he could leave the car and use my truck again but he said he had

things to do and would come back in a few days. He came back on March 10 and left the

car for the day. We went over the entire drive train and noticed the harmonic balancer

was worn. When he came back I suggested we change the harmonic balancer and belts.

He said " I can't afford to spend any more money and will have to do it later". He took the

car and left on good terms. Again. I did not charge him for anything that day!

About a week or so later he came to the shop and told me I ruined his car and owe him

$2, 700.00, and showed me a repair order from the dealer. I looked at it and told him there

was no repair performed or duplicated from what we had done.

In regards to the flex plate. an LS type engine is internally balanced and the flex plate can

go on in any direction and not cause a problem. We build high performance engines and

the flex plate can be installed on the crank wherever it fits. High performance flex plates

have only 6 holes for the bolts and a factory one has an extra hole for a crank pin that is

normally not installed on the crank.

His complaint also states he noticed the vibration "on the way home" and"the next few

days it was getting bad". He should have come right back or the next day when it was

"getting bad", or at the very least. called us to advise us of the problem (anyone would).

Why didn't he, because he had the vibration prior to coming to our shop. See following:

Finally, on his last (March 10) visit, the customer told us he bad his car at a transmission

shop prior to bringing it to us but most importantly, he said it bad a vibration before he

came to us but it "wasn't as bad as it is now." I told him I wish he would have told us

that before. The vibration may have become more pronounced after we fixed the

driveshaft pucks and bearing. We did nothing to cause the vibration. and he is now trying

to hold us responsible. We are not. I do not have a copy of the dealer's repair order and

some parts of the customer's complaint were unclear, but without hesitation, we

absolutely did not do anything unnecessary, frivolous, or without his approval, to his car,

nor did we bend his torque tube. He was a new customer and we wanted him as a repeat

customer. We strive for customer satisfaction, our #1 priority! It's unfortunate he spent

so much money at the dealer; I do feel bad for him. I could have replaced his harmonic

balancer for about $700.00 which was what I was going to do when he returned. I do

wish Mr. [redacted] would have come back so I could have saved him a lot of money, but I

do not owe him any money. We were completely fair and honest in all our dealing with

him.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

There was nothing wrong with my car when I took it to them but an oil leak.

Everything that [redacted] did to fix the car was done wrong

By top flight corvette

I took the car back to them, they could not or would not find th he problem and left me no choise but to take it to [redacted].

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern:

Without reiteration all the facts of my initial response which addresses

customer's complaint and inaccuracies (ex. we never replaced harmonic, etc), I

will specifically address each remark of his last reply.

1. There WERE some things wrong with his car other than the '"oil leak". The leaks

(plural) included the rear main seal, oil pan gasket, and the rear cover gasket.

Additionally upon investigation we discovered the driveshaft pucks and pilot shaft

bearings were wasted. We later found the harmonic balancer and belts worn.

Also, as admitted by him on his March 10 visit at our shop, the car bad a vibration

(although "not as bad").

2. NOTHING that [redacted] (dealer) "did to fix the car was done wronq" by

us. We fixed 3 oil leaks, pucks and bearings, none of which were fixed or repaired

by dealer.

3. We did fix his car, what he initially came in for, and we did attempt to find the

source of the vibration. However on his last visit when I suggested we change the

harmonic balancer and belts, he said he couldn't afford to spend any more money

and would come back and do it later. He did have a choice, to come back and let

us finish the job.

Let me summarize with a few observations. He really should have contacted us after he

1st left our shop, he waited weeks and drove the car 500+ miles, and he only works a few

blocks from our shop, very suspected to me. He mentioned a bent torque tube, if it was

bent, it was only noticed the 2nd time they took it apart, also suspect. The dealer had his

car 5 days and took the car apart twice because they couldn't pin point the vibration. The

customer states in his complaint "the car is almost the way it was when I dropped it off at

top flight", meaning after 5 days and $3000.00+ later, it still has a vibration.

I was very clear and detailed in my last letter and stand behind all I said. Mr. [redacted] got

everything he paid for at our shop, new parts and beyond good service( worked on his car

without appts., did not charge him for 2 days, let him use our truck, let him watch us as

we worked and explained our findings), he even got a brand new flex plate assembly he

never paid for! I only wish the outcome would have been different because our goal is

100% complete customer satisfaction.