Wayne's Auto Repair

Additional Notes

Complaint: Our 1999 Land Rover Discovery was towed to Wayne's Auto, Friday July 20th, 2012. My husband called them to let them know that the car had stopped, after we heard a loud "clank" and would no go back into gear. We told them we suspected it was the power steering or transfer case, where you switch to 4x4. We did not hear back from them, I had to call them to find out what was going on. One person their told me it was gear box and center link with a repair cost of $2500 and another person said it was the gear box and intermediate shaft with a repair cost of $1100. When we picked up the car it was still not driving properly, and had no power steering when turning to the left. the steering wheel was mis-aligned and there was a leak of power steering fluid from the top of the gear box. the housing to the center console and steering column was not put back together properly and nearly fell off while driving. And oil was leaking from the swivel ball housing on the drivers side front wheel. There was no center link or intermediate shaft repair mentioned on our invoice. The part they said was ordered online, was actually purchased from another repair shop-not the reconditioned part we were charged for. We know this because they left the receipt for it in the car. They told us it was test drove and ran and drove smoothly. Once the car was home, I called and spoke with ***, whoe worked on the car, who assured me all repairs we completed and the care was "safe". He also stated the part was purchased on eBay, and would call me back with the eBay sellers ID. I suspected he was not being honest and arranged for another repair shop to look at the car. On the way there, all 4 wheels locked up at 55 mph, causing the car to tip on to 2 wheels. ***** at **** ****** ***** inspected the car and said the transfer case and rear differential were not inspected, and that there was a obvious CV joint problem.

Desired Settlement: We paid Wayne's Auto $435.01, and I feel that this is more than sufficient to cover their cost, since they did not fix the problem we came in with or inspect the car thoroughly enough to determine the issue. They told us the car was safe to drive and it was not. They told us a reconditioned part was purchased on ebay and strung us along waiting on shipping, and that was not true. They told us it needed an intermediate shaft or center link and those repairs were not made- and not explained.

Business Response: Our shop has provided repair services for the *******’s vehicles for 2 years. On July 20, 2012, their 1999 Land Rover was brought to our shop. Our diagnosis and investigation found a multitude of issues with the vehicle including the gear box and most pressing was the steering gear which would not hold any fluid. We quoted $2500 for a variety of repairs including gear box and the center linkage. The *******’s directed us to only fix the steering case with used parts. It was made clear that there would be no warranty with used parts. They allowed no other repairs at that time. Total cost for the services performed was $1087.51. The customer paid us $435.01 at the time of pickup of the vehicle on July 26th, 2012. They also left 3 checks of $217.51 each to be deposited around the 26th of each month starting in August. After the vehicle left our facility on 26th of July, the vehicle was never returned to us by the *******'s for a recheck of repairs. I was not aware of any issues until the check which was deposited on 8-26-12 was returned Stop Payment in early September. All subsequent checks were returned for the same reason. There was no communication from the *******s concerning any other issues with their car so we could have resolved them to their satisfaction. When we referred the checks to our Collection agency for collections,this is where they disputed the repairs were not done properly thus the Stop Payments. Here at Wayne's Auto Repair customer satisfaction is always a major concern for us. Therefore, we will accept the $435.01 payment and cancel the debt occurring from the returned checks.

Consumer Response: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID *******, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

BBB's Final Determination: Consumer accepted resolution offered by the business.