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Tracey's Automotive

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Tracey's Automotive Reviews (1)

[redacted] dropped his Volvo off in the morning on Thursday, Oct 26th.  When he made the appointment he had told me that another shop looked at his vehicle and told him the left front caliper was leaking so he purchased a left front caliper and a set of front brake pads. Normally we do not install...

customer supplied parts, but due to Volvo parts taking longer to get, I told him we could use his parts but could not offer any warranty on them since we did not purchase them. He said he wasn't sure what else was needed.  I told him at that time that Volvo parts are more difficult to look up and usually take a few days to get in, especially in this case because his vehicle is a 1990.  He said he understood that and he was not in a hurry and this was a second vehicle for him.We brought the vehicle in late in the day Thursday, removed the front wheels to inspect the brakes to see what needed to be replaced.  We confirmed that the left front caliper was leaking. We also found both brake hoses on the left front were badly cracked and should be replaced.  There are 2 steel brake lines that go to the caliper and 2 steel lines that go to each brake hose.  The lines are rusted and we suspected there would be an issue trying to remove them due to the rust and most likely would break. He wanted the brake pads replaced on both sides in the front and we suggested to also replace the right front caliper, hoses and lines along with both front brake rotors.  Brakes are a safety item on a vehicle and all of the brake parts work together.  In our opinion, a complete front brake job was the fix.  I called [redacted] on Friday, Oct 27th, and left him a message with most of this information and asked him to call back.  I did not hear back from him so we put the front wheels back on the vehicle and parked it in our parking lot.  I did not start looking for the parts because for one, I didn't know if he was going to do the job and secondly I thought he may tell me he's going to get his own parts.I did not hear back from him until Wednesday, Nov 1st, when he stopped in at the shop in the afternoon.  I gave him the information and told him what we recommended for the front brakes.  He was combative and said he didn't want to "throw parts at it that it didn't need."  Then he told me that the other shop that looked at it didn't say it needed the items we recommended. I asked him why he didn't have it done at that shop. He said it was because it was an hour away.  I thought it was odd that the other shop had it in, looked at it and told him what it needed but [redacted] didn't have the work done.  I suspected that he didn't like what they told him either - just like here. Then he asked for a price for what we were suggesting.  I told him that I already started to look for the front brake hoses, but the information wasn't showing 2 hoses for each side so I was going to have to dig deeper and I didn't want to spend time doing that unless he was serious about replacing the parts.  I told him that it was very busy at the shop and I would need about 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to locate these parts and I thought I could have that done by the end of that day (Wednesday) or by Thursday. Then we would know a price and how far away the parts were.  We pulled the vehicle back into the shop Wednesday evening to inspect again to verify the parts because the Volvo site with the parts diagram was not showing the same brake system as this vehicle had. This is not uncommon for Volvo's and that's what makes finding the parts a bit more challenging.  We also inspected to see if there would be a possibility of only replacing the parts [redacted] brought in and confirmed that a complete front brake job was the fix to ensure safety and proper braking.There was a message on the machine from [redacted] late Thursday morning inquiring on his vehicle.  I called him back and we had a conversation about the front brake repairs.  He once again was combative and questioning our determination that the vehicle needed a complete front brake job.  I told him that we have worked on vehicles long enough to know that when working on brakes, especially a 27 year old vehicle, things don't come apart and rust becomes a factor and we will not, for a lack of a better word, do a half-assed job - especially in dealing with a safety item such as brakes.  He still argued so at that point I told him that I thought he should pick up the vehicle and take it to another repair shop.  He started yelling at that point so I hung the phone up.  About 5 minutes later, he came into the shop and barged into the office, where I was finishing up with another customer who was picking up their vehicle, and rudely interrupted and yelled "give me my key."  I told him that I was finishing with this customer and he could wait outside the door and I would be with him in a few minutes.  He then yelled "thanks for wasting my time."  Once the customer I was helping left, I told [redacted] that I would get the key for his vehicle.  His Volvo was parked in our fenced parking lot and there was another vehicle parked in front of it. [redacted], the owner of this business, was working on a vehicle but said he would move the vehicle that was in front of the Volvo so [redacted] could get out.  [redacted] went out to move the vehicle and I came back into the office and told [redacted] that he was moving it out and it would be just a minute.  At that point he blew up again and yelled "I don't want it moved out, I just want my key." Then he left the shop slamming the door.  He got into his vehicle and I thought he drove away.  Then I looked out in the shop parking lot and saw [redacted] handing [redacted] the key.  [redacted] gave him the key and [redacted] started walking out of the parking lot toward his other vehicle that he drove here.  At this point, [redacted] thought that [redacted] had paid the bill when he was in the office. [redacted] told him that he needed to move the Volvo out of the lot and [redacted] yelled that he wasn't going to move it because he can't drive 2 cars at one time and he would come back later for it. [redacted] told him that he just needed to pull it out of our parking lot and park it on the street until he could come and get it later because it was parked in front of another vehicle and since [redacted] had the key we would not be able to move it.  He yelled "I am not going to move it!"  At that point I went out into the parking lot and told him that he needed to leave our property.  He said he wasn't going to leave and I told him that if he didn't I was going to call the police.  There was something not right with this guy and at this point I was afraid of what he might do.  All of his actions were so erratic.  He then got into his other vehicle and drove away taking the Volvo key with him and leaving the Volvo parked in our lot blocking another vehicle.About an hour later, [redacted] showed up with a Wausau Police officer.  The officer said that [redacted] told him that we would not let him get his vehicle.  We told him that wasn't true, and that in fact we told him to come and pick it up but he only wanted to take the key.  We told him there was an invoice for the time we had in bringing the vehicle into the shop, lifting it on the hoist and removing the front wheels to inspect the brakes to see what repairs and parts were needed.  We actually had it on the hoist and the wheels off twice.  We told him the total of the invoice was $44.84. Then he started arguing and yelling that he wasn't going to pay the bill because we didn't do anything.  The police officer stopped him and said that was a civil matter and that isn't something the officer can help or get involved with.  The officer advised [redacted] that he had 2 choices if he felt he shouldn't have to pay a bill - either pay the bill and then file a small claims action or leave the vehicle at the shop and file small claims.  [redacted] told [redacted] at that time that if he left the Volvo here there would be storage charges.  [redacted] then started yelling that he didn't agree to an estimate fee or any storage fees.  We told him there weren't any storage fees as of that day - that would only apply if he didn't pick the Volvo up. I had another customer in the office picking up his vehicle and paying his bill while this conversation was going on with the officer.  [redacted] then yelled "fine, I'll pay the bill" and came charging in the office once again and threw his credit card on the desk.  He barged right in between me and the customer.  I once again told him that I was with a customer and that he would have to wait his turn.  I asked him to leave my office and wait outside until I was finished.  I then had to apologize to our customer for Stephen's rudeness.  A few minutes later, that customer left and [redacted] came in and paid the invoice and left with the Volvo. This was on Thursday, Nov 2nd.[redacted] started out his statement saying that we tied up his vehicle for 2 weeks. That is the first of many lies he told in this statement. He dropped it on Thurs, Oct 26th & picked it up on Thursday, Nov 2nd.  That is 1 week. The next lie is where he said he provided most of the parts approved the additional parts - if he had approved the additional parts, they would have been ordered and the job would have been done.  He did not want to replace the parts that we suggested - instead he argued and questioned our opinion of what was needed.  As far as him having MOST of the parts when he dropped the car off - he only had 1 brake caliper and a set of brake pads.  The vehicle needed another caliper, 4 brake hoses, 8 brake lines, 2 brake rotors, 2 hub seals, wheel bearing grease.  Then [redacted] stated that while he was "attempting to get his car" the owner lunged at him like he was going to punch him in the face.  When [redacted] gave him the key, he started walking to his other car and said he wasn't going to move or take the Volvo. [redacted] did not lunge at him but did tell him to get off of our property after he refused to move the Volvo out of our parking lot. He never attempted to get his vehicle. He also stated that we charged him storage.  That is not true.  We told him if he decided to file small claims and left the vehicle here during that time, that's when there would be storage fees. He said he did not agree to an inspection fee.  When he made the appointment he told me that another shop told him the left front caliper was leaking and there may be a problem with the brake hoses, so he wanted to schedule a time so we could get it in and check the front brakes to see what needed to be replaced. That is exactly what we did and [redacted] did not like or want to accept what we told him it needed and went ballistic.  He also misled the police department when he called and told them that we would not give him his car back.  The officer had to tell [redacted] several times that the bill he was complaining about is a civil matter and the police cannot be involved in that.[redacted] erratic, combative behavior is the reason I told him we would not be working on his vehicle and he should come and pick it up.  We figured he had some type of anger issues.  After all of this happened, we looked his record up on Wisconsin Circuit Court. His record confirmed our suspicions and then we understood why he acted the way he did.We have been in business for over 20 years and have never had a complaint reported to the Revdex.com or to any agency.  Our labor rate is $85 per hour.  We billed [redacted] half of an hour on the Volvo which is $42.50 and with tax $44.84. The technician had about an hour and a half in inspecting and I (as the service writer) had at least an hour into it searching for parts, so charging him half of an hour was more than acceptable and we will not be refunding him.  We can do free estimates when the customer already knows what the vehicle needs.  We charge when there is time spent inspecting or diagnosing and the amount depends on how much time it took to diagnose.Sincerely,[redacted]'s Automotive, LLC

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