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:02/02/2023

  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.

  On *riday January 27th o* 2023 we dropped our car o** at the mechanic shop and asked i* they could take a look and *ind out what is going on. We never heard back until we called them on Wednesday *ebruary 1st. They then in*ormed us that they had replaced the starter, replaced the distributor cap, and replaced the temperature sensor. They never asked permission to *ix or replace anything and never gave any kind o* estimate. They now say we owe $1291.41. They are now saying they can put the old parts back on but it will cost us $500.00. They are not budging. They are claiming they did not know what to *ix until they had *ixed it. I* they had told us what needed to be *ixed and given an estimate we would have asked them not to *ix it because the vehicle is not worth putting that much money into. Please let us know what we can do.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/20/2023

  See attachment *or response. 

  Thank you, 

  Response to Complaint ID: ******** – ****** ***
  
  Our policy, which is clearly posted in our lobby, is that any vehicle that is dropped o** *or diagnosis *or poor or rough running condition, drivability concerns, or electrical concerns must be automatically authorized *or a $400 minimum charge to cover parts testing and diagnosis time.  
  The customer, Mr. *, brought in his barely running 20 yr old vehicle, which was having di**iculty cranking to start, mis*iring, stalling, and back*iring through the intake.  Mr. * approved diagnosis o* what it would take to repair said issues.  Upon starting the job, we *ound the starter to be inoperable, so we replaced the starter and charged the battery in order to continue with the diagnosis.  A*ter that, we *ound that the coolant temperature sender was broken, causing the vehicle to run rich, which caused the spark plugs to be *ouled.  We replaced the temp sender and spark plugs.  At that time, it was still back*iring and was *ound to be due to a broken distributor cap, which we replaced, and which *ixed the remainder o* the running issues.  At this point, the vehicle was running properly but the engine was le*t open to discuss with the customer what he would like to do next.  He was in*ormed that the parts that were placed were instrumental in the diagnosis and repair.  He was given the option o* keeping it all in place, and having us complete the job, giving him a running reliable vehicle; or that we could remove any or all new parts, and return his vehicle back to its original running condition.  I* we returned it to original condition, he would only have owed *or the time spent on the various diagnoses and the cost would have *allen below the $400 diagnosis authorization amount.  The customer indicated that he wanted to think about it due to the cost o* repairs.  Ultimately, he did opt to have us *inish the job and paid *or the needed repairs.  
  
  This complainant is not the person who we dealt with during the diagnosis and repair process.  The complaint states that we should have known what was wrong without doing the diagnosis procedures.  We would not have been able to properly diagnose all o* the requested issues without proceeding through various tests and removal o* bad parts.  Drivability and “runs poorly” situations are not easily *ixed with a simple parts swap like a bad battery or squeaky brakes.  The customer was given the option o* having to only pay the diagnosis, which again, would have been less than our $400 authorized diagnosis cap.  In an ideal world, we could have spoken to the customer a*ter every single part removal, though with the approval and request *or diagnosis and the number o* bad parts *ound, that would have been time consuming and tedious.  It is also not generally how we operate due to customers wanting e**icient and complete answers be*ore deciding about the extent o* repairs *or complicated issues.  We did give them an acceptable set o* options, not an ultimatum.  We also gave them time to decide, despite the vehicle taking up valuable space in our shop.  We stand by our work and our honesty; we did not do anything unnecessary or outside the scope o* what was requested.  When vehicles are older, there can be multiple problems causing various issues, and un*ortunately, we don’t have a magic wand to determine all problems without any e**ort.  
  
  We would be happy to *urther discuss and explain all o* our processes and policies with the customer, or the complainant.  We pride ourselves in providing good and honest work at *air rates.  We have innumerable happy customers, and our work generally speaks *or itsel*.
  
  Respect*ully, 
  
  *** *****
  Owner/CEO
  Advanced Auto Service