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:16/01/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  this transaction occurred on september 22, 2022. the scope of work was to replace the valve cover gasket which was paid in full by me immediately following receipt of the invoice. on december 21, 2022 i went to a shop for a coolant flush. while the vehicle was ************ it was brought to my attention that the valve cover gasket was still leaking. i contacted orion automotive and was told to bring the car back again and was booked for a date in january 2023. in the meantime i decided it would be better to take the vehicle to the technicians that found the problem and also explained that an engine shampoo needed to be done at the same time. orion automotive apparently is not capable of performing an engine shampoo to wash away all oil from leakage. i called orion automotive to ask for my money back and the fight began. this guy started running me around for a copy of the invoice from the shop that did the work again properly and a picture of the leak. i asked the mechanic to keep the defective gasket and to take a picture for this guy which was done. i delivered the gasket and copy of invoice without pricing to him which apparently isn't not good enough. he claims there is no warranty for the part and the invoice doesn't show any pricing so this is a scam. i told him parts and warranty issues are between him and his vendor and have nothing to do with me. in terms of the invoice with pricing removed i told him the mechanics pricing that i paid over $700.00 to have the job done over again is none of his business and asked would you advertise your business to your competitors. his supplier is just going to throw a gasket into the garbage and issue credit for his cost which was likely less than $20.00. i have uploaded a copy of the invoice which totaled $471.02 including labor, the gasket itself, whatever ro fees and shop supplies are for and taxes. the labor in the amount of $403.20 was finally returned. he refuses to return the balance of my money which is $67.82.

  Business Response

  Date: 16/01/2023

  I did the valve cover gasket for **** on September 22nd. I have since seen his vehicle for an oil change and a battery replacement, at which times I told him he had other oil leaks. **** contacted me on December 22nd of 2022. He told me another shop had noticed an oil leak when doing a coolant flush. I told him to bring it in and I will have a look and if it is leaking I will replace it under warranty, no charge. I booked him for January 3rd, as I was about to close shop for holidays and that is when I opened back up. He told me my shop was to far and he didn't want to bring it back. After some back and forth with that I told him I need some clear pictures and a copy of the invoice for the refund he was asking for. I told him to book it in for diagnosis at the other shop, send me clear pictures and I would send him a refund. He only sent me one picture with no sign of oil leaking. I told him I needed more  pictures, but he had already gone ahead with the work and had it done at the other shop. I sent him a refund on the labour and taxes for that amount within an hour of him contacting me regardless of the lack of information he sent me. I wanted him to bring me the vehicle so I could verify the leak regardless of where he got the work done and I told him that. As this vehicle already had other oil leaks from different issues that had not been addressed yet. I have also never had one of these gaskets fail or come back to me. If a gasket is going to fail from improper install it will leak right away, not 3 months later. **** has continually harassed me for a full refund even though he would not give me the information I asked him for from the start. Somehow he also found the time to bring me the old gasket the very day after he had it replaced, despite telling me before that my shop was too far away for him to bring it back for warranty work. The gasket he returned to me showed no signs of damage or failure. I have since thrown it out. **** chose this path. I told him I would repair it no charge. A refund is not normal policy and I was just trying to be nice and accommodating. I now regret refunding him at all as he continues to take up my time and resources for choices he has made.

   

  Attached is my complete text conversation with ****. We had a few phone calls before this text thread started.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/01/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: this is not how my experience with this mechanic went at all. there were never any indications of other oil leaks presented to me other than the oil pan was something to keep an eye on and not an urgent matter at all. the continued faith in this mechanic in terms of an oil change and battery replacement is accurate. i must say that the battery experience was discouraging once i discovered i was quoted $255.52 for the battery and agreed to proceed with the services only to find that once the job was completed i was charged $298.00 for the battery. this was very uncomfortable as i thought i was dealing with a straight shooter. i did bring this up as well as the expensive liquid moly oil change required 6.5 litres of oil and at least 1/3 leaked into the pavement between the time it was done and the cooling system service i had done at ******* auto where it was diagnosed that valve cover gasket was still leaking. this mechanic did not even respond to either issue. in terms of dropping off the gasket for warranty purposes i was doing my best to jump through this guys hoops so i could recover the balance of my money and be done with it asap. as i explained to this mechanic i am a senior and can't afford to be jerked around any longer just please return my money. if this mechanic had been honest in the first place and advised me that the job required an engine shampoo which his operation is not equipped to provide this would not have happened. don't take consumers money if you can't meet the service requirements. it cost me over $700.00 dollars to have this service done over again including a shampoo of the engine and top up of oil. there has been no sign of any oil on the exhaust manifold or anywhere else under the hood or on the pavement since.       
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 18/01/2023

  Ok, again on this platform of your choice here is my last response:
  1. We discussed the engine shampoo before the job because you asked me about it. So I don't know why you are saying we didn't now. I told you I don't have facilities for that and it is not necessary to do the job. 

  
  2. You talk of all this leaking, so why not provide pictures of it like I asked. Without pictures and a blank invoice...like I asked before hand....what do you expect. 

  
  3. I offered to redu the job at zero cost to you. You chose to go another path and pay whatever. YOUR CHOICE!

  
  4. a valve cover gasket leak doesn't just suddenly start leaking multiple quarts of oil. The valve cover is under vacuum when the engine is running. You cannot get that kind of leak from there.

  
  5. Your car has a oil pan gasket leak, which can leak like you say. You were also concerned about a oil filter housing leak, which I cleaned the area for you so you can keep an eye on it, that can be leaking or the CCV valve has failed and the engine is consuming and or leaking it. Have your car put up in the air again and pull off the undershield and have a look for yourself, it will be covered in oil. 

  
  I am done with this on my end. If you require any further services towards this on my end I am happy to continue at my current shop rate.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 20/01/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: first of all the engine shampoo was not discussed at all. i asked the mechanic to take a picture of the problem and provide a copy of the invoice which was done. enough with the picture excuse it wouldn't matter how many pictures were taken fresh oil would not be visible anyway. the mechanic took a picture of the problem area and proceeded to repair the issue. you absolutely never offered to repair anything for free. if there is one thing i learned very quickly it was you don't do anything for free and actually increase your pricing after confirming a job as proven by the battery consumer experience i received. the oil pan gasket has nothing to do with the engine cavity and as you claimed was not critical. there was fresh oil all over the engine cavity and also dripping from underneath the engine cavity. if you profess to be a mechanic that promotes integrity then please return my money.

  battery - charged $298.00 / job accepted $255.52 a balance owing of $42.48

  valve cover gasket - $471.02 / partial refund $403.20 a balance owing of $67.82

  oil change - $***** x 6.5 litres = $75.40 / at least 2 litres lost into the environment a balance owing of 2 litres @ ***** = $23.20
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************