I’m going to spare the details, but I was just under my car trying to replace the engine mounts and I noticed (not shocked with these scumbags) that work I paid for at a service shop last week was not actually performed. The place is independently owned, but part of the Goodyear/NAPA franchises.
So, what are my options to get back at these guys? I’m going to go down there tomorrow and raise some hell, at least get my money back, but what else can I do? My other thought was to contact NAPA and Goodyear corporate to try and get some additional compensation as well as cause these dopes some hell.
Before going in, raising hell, and demanding money back, maybe the best option is to have a cordial conversation with the manager about this alleged problem. There may be a time to fly off the handle but not from the get-go.
I don’t understand what NAPA has to do with this unless that facility is a NAPA Auto Repair facility but NAPA has nothing to do with the actual repairs.
It’s also impossible to offer any advice when “spare the details” is the operative phrase.
It wasn’t major work. I paid for a tire rotation, they did not rotate the tires. I paid for an oil change and the old filter is still on there. I also paid for and electric systems check; who knows if that was done.
Oh, and I had already gone back the day of service because the tire pressure wasn’t done and the oil appeared to be overfilled (old car that’s new to me, so I wasn’t even sure if it has the proper dipstick).
Now I know why the oil level looks high. It was filled via the gun with an old full filter on.
Go back and raise hell… right in their waiting room. Make sure to make comments like “I can’t believe your customers have to check visually that the work is done before paying the bill.” At least the people in the waiting room won’t get screwed.
You could also file a formal complaint with your state attorney general’s office of consumer affairs.
That’s what I intend to do. I was already done with this place after the service. The guy lead me to believe he was going to put a new battery in without charging labor (I was chatting and told him I was on the way to pick one up after the service, he said "hey don’t worry about it, I’ll get it in for the same price). Ended up charging me $20 bucks labor. I wrote that up to my own mistake because I usually do all of my own work and am not familiar with the mechanic labor system.
Also, when I was paying my bill I watched the general manager rip off a confused guy speaking broken English by charging him $50 for an oil change just because it was a VW with a special filter. Even the tech writing up the guys order had a shocked look on his face when the manager said 50.
I would be concerned that new oil was pumped in and the old oil was not drained out. It almost sounds as though your car was never raised up on the hoist. Maybe one employee was supposed to have started the job and another finish it. The second employee thought the first employee had put the car on the rack, drained the oil, changed the filter and rotated the tires. The second employee just added the oil and possibly did the electrical check. I’m more inclined to think your problem was carelessness rather than an attempt at fraud.
I would explain the problems to the manager and give them a chance to make things right.
I observed some the work being done on the car through a window near the counter. I’m always paranoid about these things when I have service done; apparently for good reason.
I did see a drain pain under the car and the oil is visibly cleaner on the dipstick. I also saw that all the tires were taken off. Apparently he just didn’t have the energy to move them around and put them right back on from where they came. Lol, what a world.