ComplaintsforThe Car People, LLC - Nashville

• Initial Complaint

  01/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Took car shop to stop Rainwater from getting Into car an the check engine light was on they had car August 4th till January 19th I ask why it's taking so long they keep putting me off so I told them they had my car 6 months an still not ready then they say they can't fix it I had car towed ********************* an they called when car arrived they says car full of water an black mold all over inside interior one will touch it because of all the black mold. Car was clean no mold or nothing light gray inside of car now black with mold shop owner Wayne says sorry about your they should brought back inside or covered with a tarp. Now I have to junk my car 2005 *** x3.

  Business response

  03/09/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/01/28) */ When customer had vehicle towed in we informed him that it could take several weeks to diagnose his vehicle. Customer was informed that the vehicle had multiple electrical issues and that it would take time to try and find cause of failure. customer was also informed that while we would do our best to keep his vehicle inside the shop, we could not guarantee that we would be able to do so all the time. Customer was also advised that he should take vehicle to a body shop first to find cause of water leaking in vehicle before bringing it to us for the check engine light. Customer stated that the vehicle had been sitting for a few years and he wanted to see if the engine was still good before he spent any money on the body work / water leak issue. customer then had his vehicle towed to our shop for diagnostic. After multiple attempts to diagnose, repair and retest vehicle, we where unable to find or correct the cause(s) of failure. Informed customer that we where unable to properly diagnose the vehicle and recommended that he take it to a specialty shop for further diagnostic. Customer was not charged for any of the diagnostics or repairs on his vehicle. When the customer called back about the water and mold in his vehicle, we apologized and asked him to bring the vehicle back and that we would have the vehicle detailed and properly treated for the water / mold damage at no charge. Customer agreed to this and returned with the vehicle. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/02/01) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) First I ask Wayne could they put new molding around windshield an clean an replace drainage plugs he say yes then I ask if he could get check engine light off he says yes so I had car towed too the car people LLC on August 4th 2021 I checked on car a week later he say they kind of backed up so I say ok I'll check back week later he say they having problem keeping battery charged so then it turned into 7 months car was not sitting up for years I just got a new car in 2020 took bmw car to the car people in 2021 you can detail car over an over an still black mold will be in car an by the way what was the electrical issues you say car had it was running before in parked it battery just ran down just be truthful you couldn't get check engine light off but the car runs but it always did just wanted the car people to get check engine light off stop water from getting in car if you would had told me before you decided to leave car in rain I could've came an got car an taken to another shop but you kept telling me to hold on because you really want to fix car now car has mold in it I don't want too get sick from exposure to black mold because of your companys negligence. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/02/02) */ The customer complaint notes that where taken when the appointment was set up before the vehicle was brought are as follows: 1) c/s cel was on - sat for apx 2 year - bat dead - what is needed to get it running and pass marts? 2) Blow out sun roof drain and check for leaks. Sunroof drains where cleared but water was still getting into vehicle. Again recommend taking vehicle to body shop to fix water leak as we do not do those kind of repairs at this facility. When looking at the running condition of the vehicle we found the battery was bad and would not hold a charge. Replaced battery and retest. During testing we found that the battery would drain down if it sat overnight (more than 15 hour). Further testing led us to believe that one of more of the modules inside the vehicle had an internal failure and would constantly drain power from the battery. This would have to be addressed first before being able to diagnose any check engine light issues as the codes for the check engine light in the computer would self delete when the battery was drained making it impossible to get an accurate account of what system was malfunctioning making the check engine light come on. Customer did check in several times for progress reports on the vehicle. After not being able to find the cause of issues with electrical system the customer was told that we would be happy to continue looking at the vehicle at no additional diagnostic charge but that it would take an unknown amount of time to diagnose do to the nature of the failure(s) his vehicle had. Customer agreed and testing continued but we where ultimately unable to find cause of electrical issues with the vehicle or the cause of the check engine light. Customer was referred to another European vehicle specific repair facility that specialized in electrical issues. As for the cleaning an detailing of the mold in the vehicle, we have acquired the help of a company that specializes in these types of cleanings and mold removal. It was stated that this is a multi-step process and may take some time to do but that it is treatable. All of this will be done at no expense to the customer. Consumer Response /* (3000, 13, 2022/02/04) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Would have to find a medical doctor too ask questions about black mold an long term health risk with inhaling black mold spores an can't make a decision without talking to professional medical Person an as I said before if I was told to take car somewhere else why was car in your care for 7 months you could've call me an ask me to bring a tarp or to come get car but no you said let me keep trying to fix car you hate for a customer to bring car an you can't fix it so now inside of car ruined.

• Initial Complaint

  10/26/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Car repairs totaled over $3600 which was expected due to the types of repairs and labor costs. Went to pick up vehicle on 08/26/21. Person processing payment wasn't paying attention and charged my card over $8200. This transaction depleted my account and it couldn't be refunded immediately. I was told funds would be credited to account as early as the following day or "up to 30 days." For depleting account and not able to immediately correct the wrong, I was told they could knock off $100 from the bill. UNACCEPTABLE. Business should be able to immediately correct payment issues. Told the employee money needs to be deposited into account by noon, Wednesday, 10/27/21 or other corrective measures would be pursued. For depleting checking account the business should comp entire labor costs and issue a written apology for depriving me of "MY" funds.

  Business response

  12/17/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 16, 2021/12/17) */ Also no merchant that I know of can correct cc transactions the same day. There is a process to that. He received his money back in a reasonable amount of time and his vehicle was repaired correctly. Sorry for any inconvenience, we gave him a discount. I hope that he can forgive the mistake it was not intentional. Thanks ******** *****

• Initial Complaint

  10/18/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went to this business after getting my transmission rebuilt at another shop.The transmission was working perfectly fine.I was told I needed a rear main seal which the other shop did not specialize in.I paid over $3000 to get the rear main seal repaired by The Car People &began to have transmission issues immediately after.After getting the run-around they fixed the 3rd & 4th gear of my transmission & charged me $768.This still did not fix the issue which I explained to them.I took it back & after waiting 2 weeks &paying an additional $750 the problem is still there.Not to mention, they tore my steering column apart & blew my headlights all while"fixing my transmission" that had no issues before it came to The Car People.I am now being told I will have to pay more money for an issue that still hasn't been resolved. Additionally, the transmission shop says it looks like it was swapped.I feel as though I have paid more than enough money & this should be fixed with what I've already paid

  Business response

  11/10/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2021/11/02) */ On August 2 2021 Customer came to have oil leak inspected and checking on a o2 sensor code that the customer had been trying to fix himself but couldn't. Initial oil leak findings where rear main seal, oil pan gasket, and valve cover gaskets leaking, and a damaged wiring harness to the driver rear o2 sensor wiring harness. Customer had all three oil leaks and wiring harness repaired totaling $3,053.74. Customer came back on August 9 2021 stating that he was still seeing oil under the vehicle. another diagnostic was preformed at no additional charge and found the valley cover gasket under the intake manifold and the oil pressure switch had a small oil leak. Customer authorized both oil leak repairs totaling $881.96. Again, customer was not charged for a second diagnostic and was given an additional 10% discount off of the parts and labor cost for his trouble. On September 10 2021, customer came back complaining that the vehicle was not shifting correctly when using the tow/haul feature of his transmission. Diagnostic was done at no charge to the customer. Test and found that the vehicle was not shifting into 2nd or 4th gear. Further testing found that computer is commanding all necessary commands where being sent by the computer and reaching the connector at the transmission to make the transmission shift into all gears. When commanded with a scanner to shift into 2nd or 4th gear the transmission would stop pulling (free spin). Informed customer that the transmission had an internal failure and that the most likely cause was a broken in the transmission. Customer informed us that everything was new inside that transmission and that all of the old 4L60 internal transmission parts had been replaced / upgraded to the 4L80 internal transmission parts. (this is not possible to do as they are two entirely different transmissions). Customer then took the vehicle back to the transmission shop for further testing / warranty repairs. Customer came back two weeks later stating that the transmission shop told him that they had inspected inside the transmission and couldn't find anything wrong. Customer stated they also told his that since the transmission assembly had been removed from the vehicle by our shop in order to replace the engine rear main seal (this seal is located at the rear of the engine between the engine and transmission) that they would no longer warranty the transmission. Told customer that if he would like us to that we will do the internal transmission diagnostic at no charge. Customer agreed. After internal diagnostic was done, we sent pictures or the broken band to the customer. If the transmission shop had checked the inside of the transmission like they claimed to, this would have been seen. We also informed and sent pictures to the customer showing him that while looks like the transmission had been rebuilt, it still had several of the original 4L60 internal transmission parts and no 4L80 transmission parts what so ever (again, this is not possible as they are two different transmissions). The band that was broken inside the transmission was also an original 4L60 part and did not look like it had ever been replaced. Advised customer that the transmission should be rebuilt correctly to properly fix issue. Informed customer that if he wanted us to, we would put the transmission back together, again, at no charge, so that he could take it back to the transmission shop with proof and have them repair the transmission under warranty. Customer informed us that even with proof, the transmission shop did not want to warranty his repairs. Customer asked what is the least amount of repairs possible to make it where the transmission will shift into all the gears. Informed customer that if the broken band was replaced it should shift into all 4 gears. Also advised installing new clutches for the 3rd/4th as they where burning out and the plate (also original / had not been replaced) between the valve body and transmission as it also had wear (age). Told customer that we would only bill for the internal repairs and would not bill him for the actual removal or re-installation of transmission. Also informed customer that unless we did a full rebuild on the transmission that we couldn't give him any warranty of any kind on parts or labor. Customer agreed to terms and repair cost of $768.25. Test drove vehicle after repairs where completed and made sure that vehicle would shift through all gears. While vehicle was here the steering column cover was removed to inspect the shift linkage from the gear selector and the shaft cable. When the customer came to pick up the vehicle, the cover had not been re-installed all the way / correctly. Apologized to the customer and offered to fix cover but this was declined. Both low beam headlight bulbs where blown. Informed customer that we would have replaced these at no charge but he had already replaced them with LED bulbs instead. Customer returned on October 18 2021 complaining about transmission shifting hard into every gear and that the check engine light had come on with a P0894 - transmission component slipping. Told customer we would diagnose the vehicle at no charge. Informed customer that the torque converter in the transmission had an internal failure and is slipping. Advised customer again that we recommend rebuilding transmission correctly to resolve issue. Customer declined. Informed customer that we could attempt to change transmission fluid in an attempt to correct torque converter issue at no charge to customer. Customer agreed to these terms. Changed fluid and retest. vehicle shifting correctly at that time. Customer picked up the vehicle. Customer returned on October 25 2021 stating that the transmission shifting issues was gone for a few days but returned and the check engine light was back on with the same P0894 code. We rechecked vehicle again at no cost to the customer and found torque converter slip had returned and the torque converter was no longer going into lock up. Further testing found the tcc solenoid did not seem to respond when commanded by the computer or the scan tool. Advised customer that the failures would continue in a domino effect and that the only way to get his vehicle repaired would be to correctly rebuild the transmission. We offered rebuild his transmission correctly and give a 1 year unlimited mileage warranty with this repair. In addition we also offered to deduct the repair cost of $768.28 from his initial transmission repairs with us from the transmission rebuild repair cost. Customer declined repairs. When customer came to pick up vehicle we informed him that should he change his mind we would honor our price/offer for the transmission rebuild should he choose to do so and a copy of the estimate was provided to him.

• Initial Complaint

  05/27/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had my car towed to the car people on 4/28/2021, I asked them to run a diagnostic on my vehicle because it was giving me issues and I couldn't identify what the problem was, so they told me they found the problem and proceeded to work on my vehicle, they had my car for a week and a half, and charged me $3,160 for the repairs. I picked my car up on 5/7/21, as soon I as left the shop I got maybe a half a mile up the road, and noticed something was wrong with my steering wheel, so I immediately went back to them, and informed them of the issue, they proceeded to do some more work on my car while I waited on it, the mechanic who worked on it informed me that steering column had popped loose and that it was leaking power steering fluid, but he said he fixed the issue, and that everything was good with the car at that point, so I asked him if was positive it was all good, and he said I was good to go. So, I proceeded to go to work and my car caught on fire.

  Business response

  08/13/2021

  Consumer Response /* (3000, 9, 2021/06/14) */ They offered 2 reimburse me for the cost of labor on my car, which was $1600, but that is still not acceptable when I payed them $3100 to work on my car for labor and parts, and I'm still without a vehicle, due to the fact of mines burning up because of their negligence, so the only way I feel we can come to a resolution is if they take responsibility and reimburse me the money I paid them, and to give me the blue book value of my car, so I can buy another vehicle, because it's really becoming a burden on me just to get back and forth to work. Business Response /* (1000, 16, 2021/08/13) */ ***** is correct in us offering him his $1,600 in labor back for his vehicle. There is no clear negligence on our part. We specifically told ***** NOT to show up that his car was not done. 30 minutes later he came into the office demanding his car be completed. We finished the job requested, told him he had a power steering fluid leak, and he went on his way. We do not hold liability to the fire with the repairs we made to the vehicle, and with the lack of time given to repair the power steering fluid leak (suspected cause of fire), we are offering his money back he spent in labor with us out of good faith, and not because of liability. Consumer Response /* (3000, 23, 2021/09/28) */ Yes, they did offer me $1600 back for the labor on my car, but like I told them that's just the money back for labor, I paid them $3100 for labor and parts, and on top of that my car is totaled out, so all I asked of them is to meet me somewhere in the middle, the blue book value of my car is $2400 to $2900, that's all I asked of them, and they said they'll find me something comfortable to my vehicle, but they changed their mind after giving me the run around and offered me the $1600 in a take it or leave it type situation, so their offering me 1600 and the blue book value is between 2400 and 2900, all I'm asking is for them to meet me in the middle, and I think $2200 is reasonable for both parties, just so we can all put this behind us, I don't even know where they have car at now, because it's no longer at their shop, I just want us to agree on something, so I can move on.

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