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:09/22/2024

  Type:Product 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 brought my car in for a rattling noise that was coming from the underside of my car’s engine bay, they told me it was the spark plugs and quoted me at $292.12. They didn’t call back for over a week, so I reached out to them about the hold up and they say that once they put everything back together it was smoking and they smelled coolant, and that they’d need to do further testing. Another 4 days passes and they diagnosed early head gasket failure, estimated a $2k fix and said they didn’t have the equipment to repair that, but that I’d be able to drive it for a little while until it fails. The receptionist suggested that I scam the next owner by driving it till I see white smoke coming out of the exhaust, then when I decide to get rid of it, I should let it idle/ drive it around till the smoke clears up and THEN take it to sell/trade it in so the people I do business with don’t see that it has a huge problem. They told me they’d “fixed the misfiring” (that wasn’t there before) while driving, but that I they couldn’t fix the misfires in idle. They weren’t kidding. It rumbled like an earthquake machine after the second start-up and it drove like garbage for about a week and a half, then out of nowhere it stopped turning over when I tried to start the car. There were no issues with smoke, smell, the motor or the starter before I took it into this shop, just a rattling (that they didn’t fix) that I had assumed was going to be a loose/broken bolt or something, but now I can’t even start the car!! I called to complain and the receptionist told me “The owner is out on a test drive, I’ll have him call you as soon as he gets back” and they NEVER returned my call. I’m a broke college student and the money that I spent so that I could drive and continue to work and support myself went straight down the drain, and I’m totally screwed. I have witnesses that will attest to the fact that the only problem with the car prior to this business operating on it, was a rattle.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/30/2024

  ID:
  ********
  
  Mr.
  ****** ****** brought in his vehicle and asked us to diagnose “a
  noise in any gear between 2000-3000 rpm.” Nothing was said about a
  noise in the engine bay. When dropping the vehicle off, ****** did
  add a complaint that the check engine light was flashing and asked
  that this be diagnosed as well. We test drove the vehicle to find
  that the noise was due to two bad rear tires, worn rear shock
  absorbers, loose front stabilizer links, and bad front struts; he was
  also informed that after these repairs the vehicle would then need an
  alignment. The customer verbally declined these repairs.
  
  In
  regards to the CEL (check engine light) flashing, we scanned the
  engine control module for codes and data, and found the cylinders #2,
  #3 & #4 were misfiring. Due to the condition of the spark plugs,
  we recommended replacing them first and then reassessing the problem.
  The customer verbally agreed to replacing the spark plugs. After
  replacing the spark plugs, the misfires when accelerating were no
  longer present, however it still misfired slightly at idle. Unknown
  to us, the worn spark plugs were not able to burn the coolant that
  was leaking into the cylinders therefore the engine was not smoking.
  Once the spark plugs were replaced, the engine smoked badly on cold
  start-up. After further diagnosis, we found the engine to be in
  early stages of cylinder head gasket failure. The cylinder head
  gasket would need to be replaced to eliminate the rest of the
  misfires. However, we told the customer that he would have to take
  this repair elsewhere due to our lack of the necessary tools and low
  staffing. We did provide the customer with a guesstimate that we
  thought the repair would cost around $2,000.
  
  The
  receptionist told the customer that due to the condition of the
  vehicle and the cost of the needed repairs, he may want to consider
  trading it in. We typically do not advise customers to perform
  repairs that we feel may exceed the value of the vehicle. Although
  the head gasket repair would not exceed the value of this vehicle,
  the totality of the needed repairs may. We DID NOT advise Mr. ****** to “scam” anyone. Obviously, it is the customer's discretion
  whether to inform the dealership of the problems that they are aware
  of, this is not an issue that we would address.
  
  
  The
  day that Mr. ****** called and left the message, the owner of the
  business did return the call at approximately 6:30 pm the same day
  and left a message asking Mr. ****** to call back at his earliest
  convenience. The returned call and message were completed in the
  presence of another customer, who does remember hearing the call /
  message, should verification be needed.
  
  Mr.
  ****** was not charged any additional labor charges beyond his
  original estimate for the diagnosis and spark plug replacement. The
  additional labor time required to diagnose the head gasket was
  provided at no cost to him. Mr. ****** was treated more than fairly
  and I stand behind the charges for services provided.
  
  If
  you require any additional information please feel free to contact
  me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ** ******
  Owner
  South
  Shores Auto Service
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/28/2023

  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.

  Needed AC fixed. Shop did ink detecting flush to spot any leaks. needed new AC condenser. Charged $580 to replace. paid, drove off. AC was not working still. Called shop. Owner said bring car back. He opened hood, hit 2 boxes, asked l if AC worked, it did. Said I have bad relays, need to order, maybe a wk. He then drops hood down, hard. So hard it bounced back up. He started slamming down, repeatedly. Would not latch. He said latch is broken, but must have been before. I said no it was not. He said car is old, need to call junk yards to find replacement. Meantime he rigged it so I can drive home, but I cant open it & told me to stay off highways, not drive over 50mph. Week later relays are in,Charged for parts $64, owner comes back & says “Good news & bad news. Didn’t have correct relays, was able to make them work, however your charge is down 50% meaning you have another leak. AC may only last 2wks then you’ll need to comeback for another diagnosis. & repair..” I’m confused, already paid $580 to do just that, AC still not fixed &I have to start all over? I ask, “Why wasn’t leak found/fixed first time?” He says must be small leak, didn’t show. I suggest doesn’t sound small being down 50%. My Cadillac had small leak last yr, lasted all summer. He got mad, said, “They’re obviously not identical leaks” I wasn’t implying they were but was confused why he didn’t find this leak first time & is saying it’s small when it’s behaving like large one. He threw up hands, said he’s telling me what he found, walked out, left me with Sec. giving me bill for $64 relays. I ask What about latch? said she will notate urgency, talk to owner about leak, call me back. 5/26 - 6 days later, AC stops working. Call shop, ask about leak & latch. new Sec. says, Owner refuses to work on car bc you got an attitude with him. I said excuse me, explained situation. it seems he charged me $650 for repair he didn’t fix, was trying to charge me more still & now get away with not replacing my latch

  Business Response

  Date: 07/14/2023

  Miss ***** brought her vehicle in to have us diagnose the a/c system not working.  we checked the refrigerant charge to find the system was empty.  we put a partial charge into the system to find a golf ball sized hole in her a/c condenser.  We asked her about if the vehicle had been wrecked & she said yes they had hit a deer but her step dad fixed all the damage.  We told her, we needed to START by replacing the a/c condenser.  we quoted her a cost of replacing the condenser.  She approved the estimate & we started the repair.  in the process of the repair, we found the whole radiator support had been shoved back & was mangled.  In order to installed the new condenser, we had to straighten the radiator support & push it back forward.  In the course of her step dad's supposed repair, there were several components that were just left mangled & there were several bolts not installed due to the mangled components.  we had approximately an hour & a half of additional work, we had to do that we did not charge her for.  The a/c system worked after our repair.  when the customer came in to pick up the vehicle, we discussed with her the additional work / time that we had not charged her for.  I cannot remember if she left & came back or at what point, the a/c system quit working.  we popped the hood to re-check our repair.  At that point, I showed her the mangle components.  while trying to diagnose what was keeping the a/c from running, I tapped the two a/c relays on the firewall & the a/c kicked back on.  I told here I was not sure which relay I tapped when the compressor clutch engaged & I recommended replacing both.  I told her, I would procure the two relays & call her when they came in.  I also told her, I was not going to charge here any labor, just the cost of the two relays.  after this discussion, I shut the hood & the primary latch would not latch, it was only on the secondary latch.  These are part of the mangled components, I spoke of earlier.  I worked for almost an hour in my parking lot @ 7pm, an hour & a half after our closing time.  I told her, I would try to locate the mangled components that were causing the problem @  the local wrecking yards.  When the relays came in, we called her to bring the vehile in for me to install the relays.  She brought the vehicle & I installed them while she waited.  I don't recall how many days or weeks later she return to say the a/c was still not working intermittently.  once again, I re-checked our repair & found no problems with it.  I did find the system was low on refrigerant again so therefore, there must be another leak somewhere.  I reiterated to her that we had to start by replacing the condenser.  She informed that she paid me to fix her a/c & it not working again so I needed to find the problem & fix it for free.  She also informed me, that I damaged all the components that were keeping her hood from latching correctly, not hitting the deer.  If there is a problem with the repair, I was contracted to perform, I would take care of it.  I was not contracted repair the damage from hitting the deer nor did I cause the damage she wants me to repair for free.