WDI Companies, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] states that I was told during the phone call that the control arm was bad.  I was never told that.  Never.  And I believe it goes back to his rudeness at the time-for whatever reason he was angry or whoever he was angry at-he did not tell me what he says he did.  He told me very little & he was just very, very rude.  Also they will use the 24,000 mile warranty for labor if the control arm goes but again, that does me little as once the control arm goes I will need to buy the baring & control arm as a set.  And yes I got the Moog part but that does me little too if/when I need to purchase another one-as the control arm will go first.  And last, as I stated in my previous email-the customer service from [redacted] was so bad that I would never there again.

ID# [redacted] To whom it may concern,We did service [redacted]’s 2005 Mercury Mariner  on 6/10/15. The appointment as it was scheduled and estimated was for the right front lower ball joint. The reason the ball joint needed to be replaced was because it was worn out and loose. It did...

in fact leave here after the repair with a new MOOG ball joint that is not loose or worn out and will have a reasonable life expectancy for [redacted]. We did follow through with what we said we would do, we involved [redacted] in the all the details regarding the repair discussing options over the phone. I guess it’s fair to say she misunderstood some of those details. I, without a doubt, believe that with 219,000 miles on the vehicle and [redacted]’s budget we provided the best service solution we could.Details:Before we scheduled the service with [redacted] we provided an in person estimate on 2 options for replacing the ball joint. Option 1 was pressing out the old worn ball joint and pressing in a new ball joint reusing the old control arm. Option 2 was replacing the entire control arm which would come with a new ball joint installed.  Due to the cost of the repair to replace the entire control arm she decided to have us just replace the ball joint and reuse the old control arm. That was what was scheduled and agreed upon. During the in person estimate it was quoted with a MOOG ball joint as the customer requested. We did in fact install a MOOG ball joint just as we quoted and just as the customer requested. That ball joint does come with a lifetime warranty on the part itself. How the lifetime warranty works is our part supplier will provide a new ball joint if the one installed ever wears out or fails while the original purchaser ([redacted] in this case) still owns the vehicle regardless of time or miles. We offer a 24mo/24,000 mile labor warranty which also covers parts if our supplier does not offer a longer warranty. In [redacted]’s case the ball joint is warrantied for life and is a quality part. However because this vehicle has had multiple ball joints replaced over the 219,000 miles on it, it will need a new control arm the next time the ball joint wears out. Our parts supplier will provide us with a new ball joint  if [redacted]’s ball joint ever wears out, but the control arm in the vehicle currently cannot take another ball joint replacement. It is our experience that once a ball joint is welded in to correct the slightly worn control arm it cannot be welded a second time. Since the new control arms that are available all come with new ball joints already installed we won’t have a use for the warrantied part. Please understand that [redacted] requested a MOOG ball joint because they are a quality part and they do last a long time. All of this is a moot point if that ball joint never needs to be replaced again while [redacted] owns the vehicle. The reason the ball joint had to be welded in the control arm was because the control arm was slightly worn causing the ball joint to not be held in tight enough.  In other words, the hole in the lower control arm, that the ball joint gets pressed into, was a few thousands of an inch oversized.  We discovered this issue as we were performing the last step of the service, the four wheel alignment. Following standard procedure to lift the vehicle, the ball joint slipped out of the control arm. It was at this point we stopped and called [redacted] with options moving forward since we can no longer just rely on the pressed fit to secure the ball joint in the control arm. I called [redacted] just before we closed for the day to deliver the update on her vehicle. We did go over both options which were option 1 – Replace the entire control arm with a new control arm. Option 2 – Disassemble the suspension again, fit the ball joint back into the control arm and weld it into place. I discussed both options with [redacted] and again due to the cost to replace the entire control arm she did give approval to weld the ball joint into the control arm which was only an increase of about $45 dollars to her initial estimate.  I explained to her that we have seen ball joints welded in and have welded them in as a cost effective fix in this situation. She did give approval to this option thus declining to replace the entire control arm, just as it is stated on her invoice. I thought that she had an understanding of what we were going to do and why when I hung up the phone. She called back and I explained it again to her. I thought when we ended the conversation that she had an understanding of what we were going to do, and why because she never indicated otherwise.I can empathize with [redacted] on when a scheduled repair runs into unexpected costs and delays as the day we were servicing her vehicle her salesperson left early (unexpectedly) due to a work related injury. Plus her vehicle requiring more time was unexpected and put us in tough spot for other cars that needed to get done. We do have 2 loaner cars that can sometimes ease the stress of delays but they were all out. I know it seemed like I did not take the time to look but I can see the board where the keys are kept from the desk and it only took a few seconds to realize the keys were not on the board indicating the vehicles were already in use.Response to the Desired Settlement:In regards to [redacted]’s desired settlement, she did get what she paid for. A MOOG ball joint installed in replacement of the loose and worn out one she had before the repair, because of this I am opposed to giving a refund of any amount. If the ball joint wears out while [redacted] owns the vehicle I can submit the old part as well as a description of the situation and can pursue a discount on a replacement control arm. I am confident that we would be able to receive at least a partial discount off a new control arm. If it fails within 24 months or 24,000 miles we can apply the labor warranty toward the labor to replace the control arm (minus the welding).Please let me know if this is an acceptable solution for [redacted] and I will put a note in the vehicles file stating this as a resolution and a plan moving forward.Thanks!

“He explained to me that it was only my ball joint that was bad& then he explained to me that if/when the control arm goes I will thenhave to buy the control arm & ball joint as a set-as that is the way theFord product is.  It was never stated to me that the control arm was bad.”During the oil change we found the lower ball joint wasloose and worn out internally, the control arm components such as control armbushings were in good condition. If the bushings were worn out with the looseball joint we would have certainly recommended a new control arm assembly.  At this phase though it was impossible to knowthat the new ball joint fitment into the control arm would not be tight enough.We did however give [redacted] a phone call as soon as it became apparent.“He never once told me that the control arm wasworn or not good.”  This is referring to our follow up phone call, it was stated during that phone call that the balljoint hole in the control arm was a little oversized and we had 2 options oneof which was to replace the control arm due to the fact it was worn out wherethe ball joint gets pressed into. Why would we suggest as one of our optionsthat the control arm be replaced if it was not worn? I understand that sometimes repairs don’t always go asplanned especially on older vehicles with higher mileage. I would disagree with[redacted]’s belief that we provided a disservice to her that would warrant acomplete refund. We did consult [redacted] during all aspects of her vehiclesservice from showing her the loose ball joint, to going over repair optionswith and without replacing the control arm. We always received a verbalapproval to perform the needed repairs. We talked over every option after which[redacted] gave the go ahead to proceed with the repair. Her vehicle did in factleave here after the repair with a new MOOG ball joint that is not loose orworn out and will have a reasonable life expectancy for [redacted]. My personalvehicle (which has 260,000 miles on it) had to have the ball joint welded dueto the exact same circumstances. It’s a good repair. That being said we have offeredif the ball joint wears out while [redacted] owns the vehicle we will submit the old part as well as a descriptionof the situation and we are confident that we would be able to receive at leasta partial discount off a new control arm. If it fails within 24 months or24,000 miles we can apply the labor warranty toward the labor to replace thecontrol arm. This is what we can do in an effort to resolve [redacted]’s concern.