ComplaintsforDents Unlimited of Columbia

• Initial Complaint

  10/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  9/29/22- I towed my car there bc I needed brakes and it was overheating. Paid 500 for brakes and 300 for new hoses they said were leaking radiator fluid 10/1/22 Noticed my car was still leaking 10/3/22 Car overheated again and had to get another tow truck. I was told it was a new problem although it overheated just like last time. Said it would be 200 more dollars. The owner called me back a few hrs. later and said that now my water pump was leaking and that it would cost $450 dollars to fix it but he would split the cost. I chose to take it somewhere else and left it there until I could find a place. He threatned me on the way out after offering to keep my car in their garage. I said no thank you. He then told me he hoped no one would steal parts from my car 10/5/22 I took it to another repair shop. Columbia Car Care and they said nothing was wrong with my car. Someone had placed a clamp in the wrong spot and that was what was causing the leaking. They moved the clamp to the right spot and it stopped leaking. They charged my 0 dollars as they felt uncomfortable charging me for moving a clamp. The owner said if I could find someone that thought it was different to let him know. I left a google review and he responded with lies/

  Business response

  10/07/2022

  It is unfortunate this customer chose to leave this complaint. This review stems from a coolant leak in a high-pressure system which was first diagnosed last week at the thermostat gasket (see image) and it was noted at that time there were other areas that had shown signs of leaks as verified in her review on Yelp, however after replacing the thermostat and our test drive it didn't seem to leak from those other 2 noted areas. The customer brought the vehicle back Monday indicating it was still leaking and a slight crack was discovered in the outlet housing, right where the hose connects, which was one of the noted areas last week. A high-pressure system leaks from the biggest gap first which was the thermostat we first replaced. The secondary leak that showed up after replacing the thermostat was approved by this customer and the outlet housing was replaced (see image). Once replaced the third area that began to leak was the water pump housing (see video) and at this point the customer had enough and wanted to pick up and take her vehicle elsewhere feeling as if we were dishonest or taking advantage of her.  This is an understandable reaction looking at the situation from the customer perspective and is unfortunate in the way the leaks progressed through the pressurized system as the larger leaks were fixed. Also unfortunate was the fact that she refused to discuss these problems when picking up her vehicle or look at any of the damaged parts or video of water pump leaking but preferred to believe she was being taken advantage over the facts which are clear and visible.   When we called to go over the 3rd leak found in the water pump, we offered to split the cost with the customer on the water pump. These are 3 separate parts with leaks in 3 different areas. The water pump is a $500 repair and we offered to only charge half of the cost due to the circumstance and trying to look at this situation from our customer's perspective. Another unfortunate part of this complaint is that when this customer came to pay for the outlet housing, I had both the old thermostat which clearly showed where it had been leaking from the damaged gasket and the second problem found in the housing which clearly showed it had leaked in the past for the customer to look at. The free work Christy indicated above as a lie was simply not charging for antifreeze the second time, which we did not per attached invoice, as we did replace the antifreeze when replacing the thermostat and at that time did not see active additional leaks after test drive. We felt since the secondary leak did not show to be active after the thermostat replacement that not charging her for coolant the second time was fair and helpful to the customer.  She states we lied about this, however the invoice for the second repair clearly shows no charge for coolant.  This customer refused to look at the 2 parts that we had already replaced and that both clearly showed where the leaks originated. We have a video of the pump and where the pump housing has a crack and is leaking, and coolant has been seeping for some time. This customer had no interest in looking at any of the parts we had replaced but seemed intent on feeling like she was being taken advantage of. We still have the replaced parts and are holding them should she reconsider understanding the nature of the problems with her vehicle. What is sad is I was going to offer her the option to make payments on the half of the water pump we would have charged her for had she allowed us to finish fixing the leaks but was not given the opportunity to do so on the phone or when she picked up as she had already assumed in her mind she was being lied to and taken advantage of which is not the case at all. There was no allowance for conversation regarding the problems and the solutions for her repair. This splitting of the cost would have put the company at a loss for the water pump replacement and 3rd round of coolant necessary also offered at no charge, however her indication was she had no additional funds to replace the pump, half priced or not. When she picked up she did not allow me the opportunity to present a payment option to help her out. We do not give payment terms, however in this case I was ready to help in any way I could. Now to have multiple one star reviews online and now this complaint is an unfortunate ending to an unfortunate situation. This complaint is not fair or justified and should be closed. Dents Unlimited did not cause these leaks and did everything in our power to help this customer out. This requires a conversation which was not allowed to happen. We wish nothing but the best for this customer and hope she does the right thing and remove the destructive reviews left online as well as this complaint.

  Customer response

  10/07/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  It is not the truth and I have proof. There was nothing wrong with my water pump. I had it looked at another autoshop and I would be more than glad to prove that alone was a lie.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

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