Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/23/2024

  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.

  My 1999 Mercedes Benz ML320 was brought in for a motor mount repair. After the motor mounts were done there was an issue with the shift linkage. The shop notates an issue with the transmission shifting before I picked up my vehicle. Vehicle was picked up would not stay in gear. I had to hold the gear selector in drive in order for me to be able to drive the car. This was a non-issue before the car was dropped off for repair. I was sent out in a car that was unsafe for me to drive as well as unsafe for other motor pedestrians around me. Based on the diagnostic report they knew this before I picked the car up and carelessly did not say anything to me about it not being safe to drive and let me pick the car up. The vehicle has heavy vibration after the repair. I have questioned the repair of the motor mounts to the shop owner and was told they were all good. Car is now at Mercedes Benz Northeast to diagnose the heavy vibration. Mercedes shows that the engine mounts are the cause of this heavy vibration. I believe the job was done incorrectly, and time was not taken to ensure that the vehicle in question was even safe to drive. This shop warranties the work for 2 years or 24k miles. Warranty doesn't express what is covered/what is not and where the warranty work can be performed. I am asking the shop to cover the cost of work being done at the Mercedes Benz and the cost of repair to the shifter linkage being broken due to a mis repair of the motor mounts by Startech LLC. The car has been to the Startech service center 4 times, every time the car comes back it has a new issue that was not there before. Every time I take it back, they notate something that was not notated before even though they say the car has been inspected properly. I feel as if I am being taken advantage of because the owner knows that I love this car and will continue to put money into said car. I have spent a total of 3500 dollars with this repair shop and feel that not much has been rectified.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/12/2024

  Mr. ********* had not been to our shop prior. He requested replacement of the transmission and engine mounts. We did not diagnose the mounts as being failed and the customer supplied his own parts for the job (RO# ****). The customer complained of a vibration after the mounts were replaced. We were unsure if this vibration was related to the engine mounts because no diagnostic was performed (customer declined) prior to their installation. The vehicle is 25 years old with over ******* miles on it, so it was entirely possible that other factors could be responsible for a driveline vibration. The customer chose to take the vehicle to a local Mercedes-Benz dealer for inspection. We made it clear to the customer, in writing, that we would refund his money under our labor warranty if any mistakes were found to have been made. Upon inspection, the dealer stated that the engine mounts were installed incorrectly. We issued the customer a full refund for the mount installation ($976.53), provided a written apology to him, and terminated the technician that worked on Mr. *********** vehicle. The customer then filed a chargeback request through his credit card company for the shift-linkage repair ($351.07) on RO# ****. While we firmly believe that this repair would have been necessary regardless, we did not dispute the chargeback request. Mr. ********* is now requesting a refund on the Service-A (oil change service), replacement of the vehicle's transfer case, and services done to the front and rear differentials. These three services (see RO# ****) were authorized in writing by Mr. ********* and are not at all related to the engine mount error. Mr. ********* has a 24 month / 24k mile warranty on these repairs and has not made us aware of any failure or issue related to them. Mr. *********** selected Mercedes-Benz dealer has also verified that these repairs were done properly and that no additional related services are needed at this time. Mr. ********* is not entitled to a refund of the services performed on RO# ****. We have expressed this to him in writing and consider this matter closed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/14/2024

   
  Complaint: 22463897
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am requesting all of my money back from this establishment because I do not think that any of the work was preformed properly. The technician being fired after doing this botched job tells me all that I need to know. The motor mounts had clearly failed when I brought it in, which could be seen by the engine jumping from the engine bay. I asked for a thorough inspection when I dropped the car off for the motor mounts, which was clearly not done. When I picked up the car after having said mounts done, the car would not even stay in drive. The shift linkage is directly correlated to the improperly installed motor mounts. Instead of looking at the motor mounts again, they just decided to go forward with repairing the shift linkage which was 100% in working order before the botched repair job. The motor mounts being installed incorrectly could very well lead to mis geometry in the driveline. There were no issues relating to the transfer case before this repair was done. With that being said after the Transfer case was installed, it went back in the next day due to a sizeable leak that was coming from the transfer case. Photos were sent that day as soon as I discovered the leak. No testing was done prior to installing this used part in my vehicle. The leak could very well lead to damage down the road. I do not believe that a proper inspection was ever done. I paid for an A service, who knows if it was actually done or if the oil was actually changed as there was no sticker placed in the vehicle and the service counter was not reset as well. I have caught ****** in several lies at this point, including me asking if the mounts were the problem after they were installed, only to be told that it was an old car and it was fine. There are several lies in the message that was sent from him to the BBB, such as front differential fluid being changed(that was never done or requested). Fastforward to taking the vehicle to a Mercedes dealership and them saying that the mounts were installed completely wrong. Mind you these mounts have FRONT written on them with arrows point in the direction they should be installed. This is a simple repair that I have done myself on another Mercedes ML that I owned in the past. I have owned 10+ old Mercedes and know them very well. The fact that they were installed wrong and ownership to fix the situation was not taken, even though multiple opportunities to fix said issue were given says enough about the integrity of this business. The car went to this shop 4 times and was never right upon picking it up. The only thing ****** has done throughout the entirety of this experience is defect and withhold information. I do not wish to ever step foot on this premises again and will be 100% willing to forfeit any warranties associated with these repairs. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/14/2024

  Mr. ********* is free to believe whatever he likes but he has not provided evidence to support his theory that these three services were done incorrectly. Mr. ********* asked the Mercedes dealer to inspect the differential and verify that it and the other services were done properly; the dealer said that they were done properly. Had the dealer said anything negative regarding the work done, we would have refunded the job(s) just as we did with the engine mounts. 

  We stand behind our warranty and, by my my reading of the original complaint, we have addressed every issue noted. We accepted the dealer's inspection, refunded the entire engine mount job, refunded the shift-linkage job, issued an apology to the customer, and terminated the technician who made the mistake. Mr. *********** beliefs are not evidence in this matter, yet he expects a $2,000 refund with no intention of returning any of the parts used on those jobs. That is unreasonable. 

  We have no intention of issuing a refund for the services performed under RO# **** as they are completely unrelated to the original complaint and because there is no evidence showing any problem or failure. The shop warranty stands in this case and will be honored if failure occurs within the 24 months / 24k mile timeframe. Again, we consider this matter closed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/17/2024

   
  Complaint: 22463897
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  A- I have directly provided evidence that said services were not done correctly. I have taken my vehicle to the dealer where they found a transmission cooler leak and that the engine mounts that were replaced by Startech were done not only incorrectly, but backward. Please feel free to reference their findings in their invoice attached. B- I never asked the Mercedes dealer to inspect my "differential". I asked the Mercedes dealership to inspect my entire car and fix the vibration issues that were not resolved by Startech. This was exactly what I asked Startech to do to my vehicle during the first service as well. As my goal with this BBB complaint is to demonstrate the problem with the work received, I think it is very important that I break down the work requested, the work "performed" and the outcome. First, I reached out to Startech initially due to vibration concerns with my vehicle. I knew that this was related to the engine mounts (qty 2) and my transmission mount (qty 1). I ordered the mounts from Mercedes and scheduled a service appointment with Startech. I asked that the transmission mount and engine mounts be replaced and my vehicle be inspected for any other repairs needed. I did not authorize any more work to be done to the vehicle other than the mounts to be replaced and the vehicle be inspected. Upon receiving my vehicle from the 1st service with Startech, I noticed the vibration had not gotten better and now my vehicle would not stay in drive. During driving, the gear shifter would fall back into the "neutral position". On the same day, I picked my vehicle up from Startech, I dropped it back off and asked that the issue of not staying in drive be examined, as well as the vibration be examined. The vehicle was examined and I was told that the shift linkage now needed to be replaced. I was told this is because the linkage has been "adapted" to conform with the engine mounts having failed. I was also told that the vibration was normal for the mileage and age of the vehicle and everything else was good to go on the vehicle other than the valve cover gaskets leaking. I paid Startech to replace the shift linkage and picked the vehicle up. I drove the vehicle for about a day and then had a grinding problem from under the vehicle. I dropped the vehicle off the same day and again, complained about the vibration and new grinding noise under the vehicle. I was then told that the transfer case had failed, thus causing the grinding. I paid Startech again and asked that the vehicle be inspected for any other issues. I also paid Startech to have the rear differential flushed, and the "A service" performed. I was again told that the vehicle was good to go and the vibration was normal for the age and mileage. I got the vehicle back and immediately noticed there was oil pooling under my vehicle. I called Startech and returned the vehicle again to have the leak addressed. I was told that it was the transfer case that they had just replaced. I also noticed one of the trim pieces in my vehicle had been damaged during the point my vehicle was in their shop. Again, I raised concerns about my vehicle vibrating.  I was told that they would fix the transfer case under warranty and they would replace my valve cover gaskets free of charge. When the vehicle was there, Startech also noticed that the transmission was leaking. They also performed a transmission service. After getting my vehicle back for the 4th time, I noticed the vibration, so I started looking into an evaporative air leak which is common for these vehicles. Part of the valve cover gasket service is replacing some of the air hose lines in the engine bay. After removing some of the hoses, I noticed that none of them had been replaced and some of them were damaged. I reached out to Startech and was told that they were unsure of what was or was not done. I looked at the invoice from that service and noticed where it stated those lines were replaced. At this point, I thought it would be best to have my vehicle inspected and serviced at a Mercedes dealership. I set an appointment for the same services I had initially requested with Startech. To have the vehicle inspected and the vibration looked into. During this time, Mercedes told me that everything looked good with my vehicle but the transmission cooler lines were not installed correctly and were leaking and my engine mounts were installed backwards. I paid the dealership to correct these issues and reached out to Startech and was told that "Unless Mercedes noted an issue with their repair, no action would be taken on their end." I was also offered to take the vehicle back to them to have the repairs done. At this point, I did not want them to work on my vehicle again. Also, during this time, I was told that Startech had spoken with Mercedes and Mercedes had found nothing wrong with my vehicle. At the same time being told by Mercedes that issues had been found and that the engine mounts I had just paid Startech to perform were found to have been installed backward. Now that I have gone over the situation, I think it is important to understand all of the work Startech had "performed" and how everything they did correlates with one another. Startech (in quotes) "replaced the engine mounts, replaced the transmission mount, replaced the valve cover gaskets, serviced the transmission, replaced the transfer case, and serviced the rear differential, replaced the transmission shift linkage, and performed an A service (oil change), and inspected my vehicle." The first of which is noted from a certified Mercedes service center to have been done backward. The transmission and engine mounts are designed to hold the engine and transmission to the body of the vehicle at a certain distance from one another. When installed incorrectly, they cause the transfer case, axles, transmission, and driveshaft to have tension placed on them that they were not designed to carry. This is directly what caused the failure in the transfer case and shift linkage. This is also what caused the vibration from the engine as the engine was not sitting correctly on the support brackets. Also, the "transmission leak" that Startech found was actually a transmission cooler line, not the transmission itself. Finally, the valve cover gasket repair was also not completed correctly as the associating hoses were not replaced as they had been noted to have been done in the initial work order from Startech. Not only would I have never taken by vehicle to Startech had I known that they could not perform a service as easy as the motor mounts, but also want to make sure it is noted that I was told that the vehicle had been test driven and had been noted as good to go from day one. I also told them that this vibration was normal given the age and mileage. I was lied to from day one. After having my vehicle fixed at Mercedes themselves, I am happy to say that the issues have been resolved. I wish Startech would conform to the information provided and make the situation right for me, the consumer, instead of continuously hiding information and lying about what was done and or said and not done or said. Please reference the attachments for more information as to our conversation and the invoices and work orders from Startech and Mercedes. Thank you! 

   

  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********