Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2024

  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.

  He worked on my car in February said everything was fine then my motor went in August he towed the car in September wouldnt work on it until I paid him half of the money so I was able to pay in October he didnt start working on it until November I got the car back November 7th and now on November 8th it will not go over 15 its making a loud noise the dash board will not work and hes refusing to look at it he said it wasnt his mess up

  Business Response

  Date: 12/02/2024

  This is Sabo's Automotive, writing in response to a letter we received about a complaint from a
  customer of ours, ****** ******. The ******************** claim number is ********. We'd like to dispute the claim
  that was filed against us, and provide an explanation of the events that occurred.

  Her vehicle, a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, was towed in to our property mid September, 2024. It was
  looked at immediately, and upon diagnostics, was found to need a new engine. The repairs were
  estimated to be $1956.76. She was contacted on 9/24/24 and informed of our findings, to which she
  told us she would have to call us back, after she decided if she wanted to proceed with the repairs.
  After receiving no response from her, we contacted her on 10/14/24 to inquire about our previous
  discussion, and ask if she had made a decision. She was also informed that because her vehicle had
  been sitting on our property for several weeks, if no decision was made to either repair the vehicle or
  remove it from our property, she would have to pay storage fees effective immediately. She was
  informed that the storage fees would not begin if either payment or removal of the vehicle occurred
  before 10/18/24. She responded that she would not be able to afford the repair costs, unless we would
  be willing to take payments. She then agreed to make a down payment on the estimated repair costs,
  and she provided us a payment of $1,000.00 on 10/16/24. It's worth noting that the cost of the engine
  itself was $1,125.00, which our business paid for.

  At this point, our garage had multiple vehicles that had already been scheduled and were waiting in line
  for repairs. The customer stopped into our garage on 11/01/24 to ask about the progress of her vehicle.
  She was informed that the work would be started as soon as we possibly could, and her vehicle was
  coming up likely that week or the following one. She then stated that she currently had no other vehicle
  to drive, and asked if we would be able to get to her vehicle any sooner. We started the repairs shortly
  after in an effort to get her vehicle back to as quickly as possible.

  The customer was contacted on 11/07/24, and told the repairs were done and her vehicle was ready to
  be picked up. Her current bill due was $1,025.94, which included her previous balance of $956.76, and
  an additional $69.18 to cover engine oil, an oil filter and antifreeze which were needed after the engine
  was replaced. She was also told a second payment of some sort was required, to which she replied that
  she would be able to bring a payment the following day (11/08/24), but wanted to pick it up that day if
  possible to get to work. We sympathized with her situation, and told her she could pick the vehicle up
  that day as long as she could bring a payment 11/08/24. The vehicle left our garage 11/07/24.
  We received a phone call stating the dash wasn't working properly, and the vehicle was having issues
  while running. We told the customer the battery was likely the issue, and we recommended she
  purchase a new one to resolve the issues. The customer called again on 11/08/24 and said the vehicle
  was taken to Auto Zone to have the battery tested, and the test found the battery was okay. We informed
  the customer that Auto Zone and places similar don't properly test batteries or their components, and
  we did not have time that day to look at the issue ourselves. The customer was also informed that if
  their vehicle needed a battery or anything else, they would be responsible for the repair costs
  considering the current issues were not related to the repair work that was already performed.
  The customer called again on 11/11/24 and stated she still needed the vehicle to be looked at, as it was
  still having issues with the dashboard. We had her come into our garage that morning, and upon
  inspection of the vehicle, the issue was found to be the negative battery cable. We searched for a
  replacement part for the customer, but the part has been discontinued, and we were unable to locate one
  for her after exhausting all of the options available to us. We fixed the cable to the best of our abilities
  to make a temporary solution for the customer. We also informed her at that time that she could try to 
  locate a used cable on **** or similar to replace it for a more permanent solution. The issue with this
  battery cable was in fact not related to any of the work that we previously performed on her vehicle.
  However, we did not charge the customer for any of our services that day, in an effort to help out their
  situation.

  We have not heard from the customer since they were in our garage on the morning of 11/11/24 for the
  battery cable issue. We have yet to receive any further payments for her remaining balance of
  $1,025.94. We have tried to contact the customer, and have gotten no response.

  Our garage has not only made the necessary repairs to ****** ******** 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, but we
  have tried to go above and beyond for her at every opportunity possible. It is very disheartening to find
  that she has not made any payments towards her remaining balance, especially considering the fact that
  we agreed to allow her to make payments in good faith. It was even more surprising to find that she
  filed a complaint against our business with the Better Business Bureau on 11/08/24 to try and dispute
  the $1,000.00 down payment she made with us.

  We'd like to resolve this complaint and keep our business in good standing with the BBB.