Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/07/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I went to this establishment to get a diagnostic for my car, I asked one of the mechanics for the price they tell me its free. They finish the diagnostic and give me a quote. I decline their service and request for my keys. The owner of the shop then tells me that he has to charge me for the diagnostic $100. I tell him well that isnt fair because I was told there was no fee by one of your employees. It didnt matter to the shop owner cause he wouldnt release my keys, so I bargain and we agree I would pay $50 in order to get my keys. I had no choice not to mention the same employee who told me it was free is screaming at me calling me F****** broke, and calling me a f****** liar. So again I paid so the situation doesnt escalate. I leave their establishment and I go on their website and it literally says free diagnostic.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/19/2022

  The customer brought their vehicle in stating that it was not safe to drive, was falling apart, making strange noises, and the feeling was not normal. We put his vehicle on the lift to diagnose his concern. The drivers side rear tire was falling off, the lug nuts were only on finger tight and not securing the rim. We tightened the lug nuts to factory specs and continued to assess the rest of vehicle. Among other items the vehicle needed the front struts and sway bar links replaced. We provided the customer an estimate. He went back and forth with price this, price that, labor only, how much if I only did this and not that and each time the estimate was updated. Come to find out this was only so the customer could hire a mobile mechanic he found on ******** after we did the diagnosis. This has been a continued practice for this customer, bring a vehicle in, have us diagnose the failure, decline the repairs and leave. He has done this approximately 6 times already. We have been more then courteous to the customer in regards to not charging for other diagnostic work performed, as times are hard for many, but we can not and will not allow someone to take our business and time as free. Our website states free estimates not diagnostics. If the customer knew what they needed and said I would like an estimate to replace xyz, would would provide a free estimate. We typically waive most diagnostic charges with repairs. The diagnostic charge in this case would have been waived with approved repairs. The customer came in demanding his keys, expecting to just leave as he has done many times before. He became irate when he was told that he owed a check out/ diagnostic fee. he starting hollering about how the technician told him it would be waived, correct..it would be waived with repairs. No repairs were complete. The customer continued to yell that the technician was a liar, and he began using racist slander against both him and I. The customer went to his vehicle several times, coming back and forth causing a disturbance each time, making threats. I asked him to settle on his bill several times and each time he went back to the same behavior. The diagnostic fee at our business is $105. I agreed to accept $50 to accommodate the customers situation. There is a difference between free estimates and getting a diagnostic. Signs are posted in the office stating there is a $105 charge for diagnostics.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/19/2022

  This man is unbelievably dishonest. He said *** done this 6 times if that were the case then why would you take the keys from me and agree to do the diagnostic? How can you give a free estimate if you dont take a look at the car first? I was told by one of his employees that the diagnostic was free.This is the same employee he allowed to yell and use profanity all while in his presence without reprimanding him. He wanted to charge close to $1000 for a job that ended up costing $500, then refused to give me the keys unless I paid him for the diagnostic. He has no honor, he has no morals, and the way he does business is unprofessional. 
  Complaint: 18183202
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/20/2022

  Sir,
  Your derogatory words and slander are not needed, this is no way to try to resolve a dispute. This is the same way you acted at my business when using your racial comments. There was no problem with our service, our shop, our personnel on any of your other visits. There was only a problem when you were asked to pay for your vehicle diagnosis that took our time.  Again, we do not offer free diagnostics. Our website never stated that. I have sent in screen shots of our website to clarify. Our website states Free Estimates. Correct we did not charge you on previous visits for our time, but there is only so much one can continue to do for free.

  Understanding some truths about the word,diagnostic.  
  From an auto repair technician's view, it simply means to figure out what's wrong with the vehicle, so they can give an accurate repair.
  For example, If the power window in your car does not work. The auto tech must perform testing to see if its the switch, the motor, the hardware or no power from fuse box. The checks take time to analyze, to keep the auto tech going in the right direction of isolating failure point. Power windows don't all fail the same way, just as all humans don't all fail the same way. The technician must go through tests and analyze the results before prescribing a fix for you.
  Another example, a squeak from the suspension... It may be easy enough to just push on the car, and duplicate the noise. But there is so many moving parts, like ball joints, shocks, bushings, bearings and other components. The real way to isolate the noise... Is with electronic listening equipment that is placed on each joint or point that includes moving parts.This proves out the spot of noise, with no guesswork. But does in fact take time and investment into the tooling. And needs to be charged accordingly.
  " A simple electrical problem." ********* *********** is as simple as the universe and everything in it. How simple is that? :) The simplicity comes from not understanding it.... You cannot visually see electrical flow or pressure, and you for sure cannot see digital signals on network communication lines in a modern car without a proper scan tool.  You have to measure *********** to analyze what its doing. Watching a light bulb illuminate is not seeing electron movement, youre just witnessing the product of it. The person that understands electrical theory, knows there is nothing simple about it.
  Imagine, youre watching a water wheel, like at an old mill. The water is moving it. And a certain amount of water is pushing the wheel at a particular speed. Ok, a speed sensor (like engine speed or wheel speed) is similar but on the other hand is using magnetic invisible lines in space to move it. You cannot see the invisible lines like you see the water. You can only see and measure it with tuned instruments and meters to see exactly how much or how fast the water is traveling over the water wheel. Then, the person using the instruments must also be able to analyze the results to see how it compares with desired data from engineering and design. 
  Another diagnostic dilemma... It seems from many people's view,diagnostic means the mechanic simply plugs in a computer and the magic box tells the mechanic all the car's problems in a few minutes. Prescribing a fix based only on trouble codes read from a code reader, is about 75% guesswork. The code read is only a direction to take, to the next step. There are many reasons why the process seems over simplified and should not require a cost. To start, many mechanics don't value their time during diagnostic, because they don't actually know the theory of operation of the system they are testing. So they offer this service free, or at reduced rates because they don't understand what they are testing or even have the correct tools to test with. They rely on past experiences, common failure patterns and seat of the pants guesses to guide them to an estimate of repairs (which result in those complaints of "I paid $$$ but it still does the same thing") This greatly devalues the true professional's investment into knowledge and tooling. Another reason why this service seems to have no value,is diagnostics are usually used as a loss leader. Its very bad for a shop or person to have signage up or a business model that says "free diagnostic." As it usually takes the most experienced, most knowledgeable and usually the eldest person in the shop to perform diagnostics properly, yet the shop does not charge accordingly for this highly paid professional. Well,actually, many shops don't even have this highly paid professional that we all think of. That's a story for another time...
  There seems to be no value in a diagnostic... The simple fact is. Time is money. If an auto repair technician is diagnosing and analyzing test results, it is costing someone money. Either himself, the shop,or the customer. The term, "free diagnostic" does not belong in the automotive industry, in my opinion. The veterinarian always charges for a diagnostic, even though he's just petting the dog, looking into its mouth, asking you questions and such. We expect to pay him for his analysis.The auto technician is in the same game. Maybe there is not much value if you are not witnessing the analysis. But believe me, its going on. No one just walks up to the car and waves the magic wand of repair, to make it all better.A doctor or dentist uses equipment, along with critical thinking skills to help determine causes of the complaint. The auto mechanic uses equipment, with critical thinking skills to locate the cause of the complaint also. To locate, cause and effect scenario.
  A free code pull... Is not a diagnostic by any means. Parts stores and some people, supply this service, to sell parts. They do not guarantee anything about the recommendation. Its the same as "take two aspirin and call me in the morning."
  What Is the Difference Between the Two?
  When you see free estimates, this means that the company will give you a figure based on what YOU tell them the problem is.
  A diagnostic test, on the other hand,is more thorough and is rarely, if at all, offered for free. The mechanics will instead run a series of tests using specialized equipment to pinpoint the cause of the problem before providing you with a quote that is more accurate and often final.
  Understanding the difference between the two prevents confusion and disputes when the time comes to settle the bill.