Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/06/2022

  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.

  - 4/22: I took my car to a mechanic ("Shop A") for a non-starting issue. After fixing the initial issue, they told me that among other things, the right side engine mounts needed to be fixed. I completed almost all of their suggested repairs, but due to a few minor issues with shop A, I decided to get a second opinion about the engine mount.- 5/22: I brought the car to a VW-specific mechanic this time (Heckmann & Thiemann Motors, "H&T"). Although I initially forgot to mention the motor mount issue when getting the main issue fixed, shop B sent me their 54-point inspection in which they said they tested and looked at my engine mount and found that both mounts were in good health. H&T seemed to be much more familiar and experienced with this specific car, so I trusted their word.- 9/22: My car had an oil leak so I took it to a third shop ("Shop B", purely for availability reasons) to get it diagnosed. While looking for the oil leak, one of the mechanics noticed that now both engine mounts were destroyed, as well as the bracket that attaches them to the engine and the engine block itself has a crack in it. He noticed it in under a minute of looking in the engine bay for an unrelated issue, i.e. the initial broken motor mount was an obvious issue to find and the only conclusion I can draw is that H&T never visually inspected the motor mounts as they claimed. The car is now in need of an engine replacement, which will cost about $10k. I also did about $4k in maintenance to my current engine shortly after taking it to H&T which is now worthless as the engine would have been destroyed due to shop B's negligence either way.I have documentation from shop A stating that the right side engine mount was cracked, as well as documentation from H&T a month later stating that both mounts were fine. I have documentation from Shop B with an overview of the new parts damaged as of 10/22, painting a clear timeframe of the additional damage happening after taking the car to H&T.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/16/2022

  We are responding to the complaint filed by ***************** regarding his **** ********** Touareg with broken motor mount(s).

  ************ was in our shop for service on May 12th for an oil change, look at at the intake manifold and a brake inspection with ******* miles on his vehicle.  WE performed a 54 point courtesy inspection at no charge and recommended several fluid services and that the intake manifold be replaced as the secondary intake runners were frozen up. The customer declined the intake manifold repair, automatic trans. service and approved the air filter replacement, differential and transfer case oil service.  During the courtesy inspection, we tested the motor mounts by power braking the vehicle and observing fore any abnormal vibration or excessive engine movement. Neither were detected during our inspection. The customer made no mention of a motor mount concern and did not ask us to verify another shops finding/concerns/recommendations.

  Four months later, in September, we received an email form ************ informing us that he had his car diagnosed at Marque Motors (shop number 3) and it reportedly had broken motor mount(s). *********** is wanting to hold Heckmann & Thiemann Motors responsible and is demanding to have his engine and engine mounts replaced at Heckmann & Thiemann's expense.  *********** further informed us that he had his vehicle into ****'s Automotive in April, preceding our visit and they had informed ************ that he had a crack in his right front motor mount and recommended/quoted replacement at that time.  ************ declined that work from ****'s Automotive, knowing the right motor mount had issues.

  ************ could have made mention of the motor mount concern form the previous shop and had many opportunities to do so- in dropping off the vehicle, in looking over the estimate, or when he picked his vehicle up. In a phone conversation with ************, he admittedly "forgot" to mention this concern from the previous shop.  This is a major oversight, as we could and would have gone into more detail/diagnosis, regarding this matter. We told ************ when he picked up his vehicle that we recommended limited driving until the proper repairs could be done to his vehicle.

  We called the shop (Number 3) that diagnosed the motor mounts and they informed us that ************ was showing them a video of him "rallying" his Touareg off road.  Taking your vehicle off road certainly increases the risk for causing extensive damage to a vehicle.  We feel ************ has acted irresponsibly and is now trying to get a shop to pay for his negligence.

  We have been very polite to ************, but his emails are extremely demanding and threatening.  We have tried to reason with him to explain our position, but he has been unreasonable. He has asked us not to contact him unless we are sending him a check or full repairs with warranties, or threatening with future litigation.

  ************ was told he had many issues with his car by 3 ************** and he declined the proper repairs to ensure his vehicles' longevity. We feel we are not at fault for his poor decisions.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/04/2023

   
  Complaint: 18533467
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Hi, thank you for your response. You continue to mischaracterize my issue and you continue to completely avoid addressing any of the actual arguments or evidence I have provided. I will address the points made in your response below. Please note that I will be filing a lawsuit against Heckmann & Thiemann Motors on January 13th for the amount of $10,000 under ORS ****** if I do not hear back from you with an acceptance of my terms by January 12th.

  During the courtesy inspection, we tested the motor mounts by power braking the vehicle and observing fore any abnormal vibration or excessive engine movement. Neither were detected during our inspection. The customer made no mention of a motor mount concern and did not ask us to verify another shops finding/concerns/recommendations.
  This statement seems to call into question whether a motor mount was broken at the time of the 54-point inspection on May 12th. This is misleading, as whether or not a motor mount was broken at the time is not arguable; I have photo proof from early April proving that a motor mount was cracked at the time. If your test did not pick up any anomalies, then there is an issue with the accuracy of your testing methods. It is not my responsibility to tell you whats broken on my car, that is LITERALLY YOUR JOB. Had your 54-point inspection not LITERALLY TOLD ME MY MOTOR MOUNTS WERE FINE, I would have asked you to double check them. This is not a complicated issue: if there is a chance that your tests are wrong then you should not conclusively state that my motors mounts are fine. This is the sixth time I have explained this to you, and you have never directly addressed this point. It is extremely frustrating that you continue to ignore the evidence I have provided while you continue to make misleading and irrelevant arguments.

  
  ************ declined that work from ****'s Automotive, knowing the right motor mount had issues.
  I do not need a reason to seek a second opinion from a different auto shop for an issue. *************** took over a week to diagnose the *** issue that H&T took under an hour to fix, and I wanted a more specialized auto shop to confirm if my motor mount was indeed damaged. In nearly EVERY field, seeking a second opinion from a more specialized person is commonly recommended for large repairs. There is nothing wrong with seeking a second opinion. Again, I unfortunately did not receive photo proof of this broken motor mount until November 2022.

  
  "We told ************ when he picked up his vehicle that we recommended limited driving until the proper repairs could be done to his vehicle."
  This is a blatant lie.

  
  [Marque Motors] informed us that ************ was showing them a video of him "rallying" his Touareg off road. Taking your vehicle off road certainly increases the risk for causing extensive damage to a vehicle. We feel ************ has acted irresponsibly and is now trying to get a shop to pay for his negligence.

  This is an egregiously misleading statement. There is nothing irresponsible or negligent about off roading a vehicle. I received paperwork from you stating that my motor mounts were in good health. This was FACTUALLY INCORRECT AND LED TO THE DESTRUCTION OF MY ENGINE. I called Heckmann & Thiemann Motors before leaving for my trip and specifically asked whether it would be safe to take the car on a *****-mile trip, including off-roading, and was reassured by H&T that the car would be safe to take on this trip. The fact that you have the audacity to try to blame this on me after I received a factually incorrect misdiagnosis of my vehicle from you is astounding and wildly unprofessional. Additionally, this platform has a history of off-road and rally use - the Porsche Cayenne (& Transsyberia) and VW Touareg have competed in and won numerous rally and baja events and this platform continues to be popular for off-road use (see "VW Touareg 4x4" group on ******** with over ****** members). **** trying to blame your mistakes on me.

  
  We have been very polite to ************, but his emails are extremely demanding and threatening.  We have tried to reason with him to explain our position, but he has been unreasonable.
  I was polite with you time and time again as I tried to explain my situation and reach a compromise with you, as I understand that mistakes happen. Your lack of any interest whatsoever to reach a compromise, your lack of timely communication, and your continued mischaracterization of these issues after I have explained them in depth multiple times has worn out my patience. 

  
  ************ was told he had many issues with his car by 3 ************** and he declined the proper repairs to ensure his vehicles' longevity.
  Do I need to repeat for the third or fourth time that I asked Heckmann & Thiemann Motors if it would be safe to take my car on a trip before performing the rest of your recommended repairs? I guess I do. Here you go: I called Heckmann & Thiemann Motors one or two days before leaving on my ***** mile trip (which never ended up happening anyways) and specifically asked if I would be risking any damage to my vehicle by putting off the recommended repairs until I got back to Portland later that summer. I was literally reassured by H&T that the vehicle would be safe to take on the trip and that none of the issues that I had temporarily declined would be immediately harmful to my vehicle in the next ***** miles. **** trying to blame your mistakes on me. Your blatant lies will not hold up in court.

  
  I will be filing a lawsuit against Heckmann & Thiemann Motors on January 13th for the amount of $10,000 under ORS ****** if I do not hear back from you with an acceptance of my terms. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/12/2023

  Here are the inspection results from Heckmann & Thiemann Motors, incorrectly stating that the engine mount was fine.