Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/06/2024

  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.

  In January 2024 I brought our ************* into ******** -**** of Myrtle Beach Automotive because the fan was blowing air but there was no heat or air-conditioning. Myrtle beach automotive charged us ******* to "Fix" the car. As part of this service, we were also asked to pay for a multi-point inspection which we did not know about until we picked up the car. WE were also sent the inspection video which shows them checking the tires and under carriage of the car, but NEVER once did they check the heat or air conditioning. It is apparent that the inspection was simply to give us a list of other items they felt needed to be fixed on the car! We got the car home, and it was NOT fixed. When we called to tell them, they said it was our fault for not communicating the problem correctly. I stated I did tell them exactly what was wrong. I specifically said the fan blows air, but we dont have heat or air conditioning. I also stated you charged us for a full car inspection as well so you should have found that the fan was working fine. It was the heat and air that was not working. They said to bring it back to be inspected. Instead of fixing their mistakes they charged me another $800 for the compressor. They said this was because they replaced the fan so I had to pay for it! I said that was completely wrong and that all you had to do the first time was turn the fan on to know that wasnt the problem. Which we know they did not do from the video inspection they sent us. They said they would not refund any money from the first $*******. And we would need to pay again. So, we paid another $800 for the car and to add insult to injury no one from management would come out to talk to us. We would like them to refund the original $*******. As this work was done without our permission, no one explained they were changing the fan because the fan was not the problem! They made the mistake, and I should not have to pay for it.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/07/2024

  The client first brought his 2011 E350 to us around 10am on the morning of 1/12/2024. He stated that his vehicles air conditioning and heat did not always work. And that the fan would not come on intermittently and then barely kicks on after driving. The client then signed the repair order confirming that this was his description of the issue with his vehicle. Of particular importance is his mention of having no output from the blower fan.
  Our technician inspected the vehicle, verified the customers concern of intermittent fan output, and proceeded to document the intermittent nature of the customers concern by stating that the blower motor was operating intermittingly at the time he was providing his estimate. He recommended replacement of the blower motor and resistor/regulator unit.
  Our technician then performed our standard complimentary video multipoint inspection. He measured the vehicles tires, gave a visual notation of the brake pad thicknesses, and reviewed the underside of the vehicle. He noted only a pair of front sway bar end links with boots that were damaged and had grease visibly leaking out. An estimate for the technicians recommendations was prepared and sent to the customer electronically.
  Shortly after 1pm, we reached out to review the video inspection and the recommended repairs. A discussion occurred for the recommendation to replace the blower motor and the price for the work. The client clearly states to approve the work regarding the blower motor replacement, acknowledges the cost of the repair and declines the replacement of the front sway bar end links. We have a recording of the phone conversation to validate his approval of the repair. The parts were in stock so the repairs were able to be completed that day. The client picked up his vehicle late that afternoon.
  We did not hear from the client again until 4/2/24. He reached out to our Service Manager and said that his vehicles HVAC system was still not operating correctly and that he felt our initial diagnosis was incorrect.He stated that the fan output was never the issue and that when first starting his vehicle the air conditioning would not blow cold air for the first ***** mins of a trip. He said this issue was constant and would occur every time he drove the vehicle. We then informed the client that this was possibly a separate issue from his concern on 1/12/24 and scheduled an appointment to inspect the air conditioning system for 4/16/24.
  The client called back on 4/9/24 our Service Director returned his call the next morning. As a gesture of good faith, we agreed to perform additional diagnosis of the vehicle at no charge. After consultation with the technician who had worked on the vehicle and a review of his notes from the initial visit. We felt that the clients vehicle was really experiencing two separate issues within the same system based on the differences in his complaint from his first visit to now, but wanted to assist in some capacity.
  The client brought his vehicle in on the afternoon of 4/16/24. Our shop ******* diagnosed the vehicle and identified the air conditioning compressor as the source of the current issue. An estimate was prepared which we reviewed. Again, as a gesture of good faith we discounted the cost of the compressor replacement significantly. The regular cost to replace the air conditioning compressor was higher than the cost to replace the blower motor and regulator units, so we subtracted the cost of the initial repair (replacing the blower motor and regulator) from the total cost of replacing the air conditioning compressor and offered to replace the air conditioning compressor for the difference between the two jobs. We explained that he would be paying no more than what replacement of the air conditioning compressor would have cost had that been identified as an issue on the first visit. He agreed to the repair and told us (again on a recorded call) that we had done a good job.
   The clients vehicle was repaired and he picked his vehicle up on 4/19/24 and it was our understanding that he was satisfied with our concessions.
  To reiterate, based on the clients initial complaint (which he signed off on the accuracy of) We believe his vehicle was experiencing an issue with both the output from the blower motor AND the efficiency of the air conditioning compressor. We attempted good faith gestures with reducing the price of the air conditioning compressor replacement in the interest of providing quality customer service and making sure the clients vehicle was repaired completely and correctly.