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:09/24/2022

  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.

  My car was making a rattling noise when it hit 1500 rpm and the front right wheel was making noises when it hit bumps. I thought it was a problem with the transmission and wheel bearing. I brought it here and agreed to do a transmission teardown and wheel bearing replacement. They told me a few days later that it would cost a little over $7000 to “rebuild” the transmission, plus more for the wheel bearing. I said no way, I would just sell it instead. They said it would cost $1300 to put it back together so I can get it back in the same condition I brought it in, basically holding my car ransom and leaving me no option. I should have gotten it towed somewhere else. After a few days of arguing, they lowered the cost by a little over $1000. I agreed to mostly because I was sick of arguing with them. When I picked it up, it sounded worse than when I dropped it off. When I told them that, Buffo said “no it didn’t, we do QC checks”. It sounded worse, they were gas-lighting me. I took it to another mechanic to have it checked. They found that Buffo installed the transmission mount backwards and bolted it in without a rubber bushing, metal to metal, making excessive amounts of noise and shaking that it never made before Buffo worked on it. They charged me for two wheel bearing but only installed one. I would have never known unless I took it to get their work checked. When I told Buffo that, they said “yeah you would have when you bring it back in 15,000 miles”. They warrantied their work for 15,000 miles. No way I would let them work on my car again after all that. My car still makes a rattle at 15000 rpm and the front passenger wheel still thunks when it hits bumps. When I told them I was contacting BBB, they agreed to refund me for the bearing they didn't install and tried to intimidate me by saying “we will respond to anything you write”. They have accused others of libel for leaving bad reviews, I’m assuming they will do the same to me.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/04/2022

  Business relayed to BBB: We never should have took the car.  ****** engines are expensive.  We ordered 2 wheel bearings but only needed one.  We refunded $500.00 for the well bearing we did not use. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/08/2022

  They did not address any of the issues I mentioned. They did not even work on the engine, they worked on the transmission. They did refund me for the wheel bearing they said they installed but did not. That took over a month and many phone calls and I had to mention the BBB to motivate them to send the check. They told me the rebuilt the transmission. After talking to a few other mechanics, and judging by the rest of their dodgy work, I doubt this. People very rarely rebuild CVT transmissions. I suspect they just cleaned it up or put a different one in. I suspect there wasn't even anything wrong with it in the first place. If anything goes wrong with the transmission while it is under Buffo *****'s 15000 mile warranty, I am taking it to a different shop and will expect Buffo to cover the cost.