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:01/09/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  A Plus has admitted to lying to me about their diagnosis, and charging more hours than it actually too to repair.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/10/2023

  BBB,

  Thanks for the opportunity to respond on this complaint. We value maintaining our A+ certification, and our long 35+ year working relationship with the BBB of *****.

  After reviewing this customer's complaint and documented diagnosis and repair agreement, we find no instance that we willingly tried to lie or manipulate the customer, or quoted the repair improperly. We did change our initial external diagnostic findings that we used to request permission to remove the transmission and inspect the internal components... the internal findings on the tear down report indicated that the transmission fluid was extremely varnished and not burnt upon closer inspection of the clutch packs and other heat generating areas. We invited the customer to come to the shop and walked him through all the findings and what repairs were needed. All this was done in person and customer was allowed to see and record pictures of the damage.

  At this point an estimate was drawn up in our repair ticket system using industry standard automotive flat-rate labor hour guides and a parts summary to build our repair estimate to provide "A+ Transmission Reconditioned Transmission Service With a Rebuilt Exchanged Torque Converter". Customer was told the amount of labor hours and cost of parts to get to the finalized price, and customer was able to negotiate extending his warranty from 12 months to 36 months for an agreed price that he then authorized online for ** to get started.

  Once the vehicle was completed 24 hours later, customer came in and was surprised that we were able to complete the job so quickly and wanted an additional discount because we completed the job sooner than expected. The store manager said that the job was agreed to and included our ability to expedite repair and get it done quickly with our senior level techs and that no additional discounts were warranted.

  Here is an explanation from a neutral 3rd party, AAA Roadside ***************** Services:

  "How Car Repair Shops Establish Rates:

  It should be noted right off the bat that a mechanic does not receive the hourly labor rate you are quoted. That rate reflects his/her pay plus a portion of the facilitys business expenses. Running an auto repair shop today is a costly undertaking. In addition to the cost of the physical facility, high-tech diagnostic tools and equipment needed to service modern vehicles can easily require a six-figure investment.
  
  Most auto repair shops quote labor charges using a flat rate manual or computer program that provides the average time it takes an experienced technician to perform a given car repair. That flat-rate time is then multiplied by the shops hourly labor rate to reach the total labor charge for the service.
  
  Some people think flat-rate pricing is a scheme to overcharge customers. Actually, it is a system that allows shops to give fair and consistent auto repair estimates while paying their technicians based on ability. For example, lets say the flat-rate time to replace a starter is two hours. The shop quotes this rate to customers and pays its technicians two times their hourly wage for doing the work. If an experienced technician completes the job in less time, he or she effectively earns a higher hourly rate. If an apprentice takes longer, he or she effectively earns less. Either way, you pay the same amount." (end AAA write up)

  We believe the quality of work and expertise were met with the repair service rendered and paid for in full by the customer. We regret that he left with a feeling that he was taken advantage of, but it is furthest from the truth. We involved him in the repair process, showed him all that we were doing, met his negotiated price point and warranty request, and documented everything in writing and got his online digital authorization for each financial commitment.

  ** the interest of good faith, and to honor our commitment to maintaining the BBB's best practices for auto repair shops, we would like to offer this customer a Free ********************** *********************** on his vehicle after ****** miles, or another vehicle of his immediate family, up to $189.00.

  Sincerely,

  *********************

  Owner

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/11/2023

  Complaint: 18708153
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  Judging from your lack of willingness to call me to hear my experience, I am unsurprised about the spin you provided in your response to my complaint. Let me provide more detail since you don't want to hear it from me. 
  
  ****** used bait and switch tactics to get my initial business. He said your rebuilds are usually "$2400 to $5000 dollars" and mine "should be on the low end of that." ***** later told me that if there were more repairs to be done my repair would be even more expensive, so it seems there is either internal disagreement about what average costs are, or ****** was not transparent in our conversations (as ***** put it, he was "trying to be 'nice' to me.").  When engaging a service such as yours I expect to be told honest estimates, not for the business "round down" so that I'm more likely to engage you. 
  
  Regarding the transmission fluid. If it was varnished, why did ***** tell me that diagnosis "burnt"  was completely wrong with an apology for the mischaracterization? It seems like you're just covering for the sake of the BBB. 
  
  Did he mention that your tech incorrectly put on the diagnosis that the L1, L2, L3 gears "would not engage." I checked this before I had the car towed into your shop - they were working. *****'s response was that "the tech just didn't check it." 
  
  When agreeing to the full repair, ***** also told me that it would be 14 hours of work at $175 an hour, but that your "system" wouldn't let him itemize. That conversation added ambiguity to the transaction.
  
  Can you see in light of the above why I would be pretty suspicious, when ***** told me that the repair did not, in fact take 14 hours?
  
  When I asked him about this and brought up my concern he stormed out because he couldn't "deal with this ****." You had other customers in the waiting room by the way. 
  
  I asked to speak with you, and he refused to call you or ******. From there, as you know, the situation devolved, and especially devolved when your store manager called me "*****" (at this point he was right, and while it's kind of funny, it's rude and your manager had already lost his top). I lost my temper too and I apologize. I also will say that I have never been treated like that (or even seen anything like that) in any place of business in my life. 
  
  The thing was I would have been happy to pay the lump sum, as I eventually did, I just wanted to talk to you or ****** to tell me there was nothing you could do on the price, but your store manager pitched a fit, judging from past reviews I'm not the only one who has this experience. That you know this behavior is possible in your shop and you refuse to call me, speaks volumes about how you do things. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/03/2023

  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 took my car into the business for a free transmission diagnostic. Upon completing the diagnostic, I was told that my transmission was bad and that it needed work. A week later, I call the shop to arrange a drop off time for my vehicle. I was then told that the business offers free towing with repairs. So, I allowed them to tow my car into their shop. Once my car arrived at the shop, the owner was supposed to call me for my warranty information. He did not. So, the very next morning, I call to check on my car. He then tells me that my transmission isn't my problem and that I could go pick up my car. When I get to the shop to pick my car up, he tells me that I owe him 99 dollars for the towing fee. This is after previously telling me that the towing service was free with my repairs. This same person had ran a diagnostics on my car the previous week. As a result of that diagnostics, and going off of what I was told, by that very same person, I 100 percent felt like I was leaving my car to be repaired. I'm not responsible for their misdiagnosis. I did not call them and cancel the work on my car. He backtracked on me and decided that the transmission did not need to be fixed after all. That should not fall on me. I was hit with a 99 dollar towing fee that I did not have to pay at the time. The merchant refused to give me my keys to my car, so I had to leave without it. I feel that once the merchant discovered his own mistake, he still wanted to find a way to charge me for something. Honest business should not work like that. He made a mistake. He offered a service. As a consumer, all I could do was take him for his words. I feel that I ended up being conned.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2023

  BBB:

   

  I am happy to report that both Owners were present today (1/3/2023) and met with ***** to address his complaint. We were able to wipe off the Tow charge and supply ***** with our full Diagnostic report including a complete explanation on what repairs outside the transmission were needed. He was happy with our resolution when he left the shop and we look forward to the opportunity to do a better job working with him in the future.

  We apologize for the misunderstanding and handling of his initial complaint.

   

  Thanks,

  *********************

  Owner