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:05/17/2024

  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.

  I recently sought an estimate for auto repairs from another shop before visiting Aplus Auto. At Aplus, I provided them with the estimate I received elsewhere and was assured they could perform all the necessary work at a lower cost. However, upon receiving my car back after the supposed completion of the work, I discovered that two items promised in the estimate were not addressed. Despite multiple rescheduled appointments, the missing work remained incomplete. Feeling increasingly concerned, I placed a hold on my check until the work was finalized. When I returned for the final rescheduled appointment, I was informed that not only would I need to pay an additional fee for the promised work, but also a fee for the stop payment on my check. This was not the agreement I entered into. Now, Aplus Auto is withholding my vehicle until I pay for the promised work, the stop payment fee, and in cash. My expectation was simply to receive the services promised at the agreed-upon rate.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/17/2024

  Ms .J****** asked for an estimate to repair her steering gear and tie rod ends She showed us the steering gear part number on her phone. We looked it up and said we could do it. She also asked about an axle replacement. We then gave her cost on these items. She called back days later to schedule the repairs. Upon completion she was given a copy of the invoice with all the repairs we spoke about. She used a check for payment and drove away. She then called back hours later to aske why we didn't do her oil change. I explained I did not know she wanted that done and she could bring it back to have it done. She agreed to do this and made an appointment for it. Days later before coming to the oil change appointment she asked why we didn't replace her brakes. I ,again explained I did not know she wanted them done. All of the items she requested to be replaced, she verbally said to me. The only item I saw in writing was the steering gear. At this point I told her I would look at her brakes but if they needed replaced there would be a charge. The original estimate that she got in writing did not have brakes or an oil change on it. She was never charged for these items but was now expecting them to be done at no charge. She then said she was just going to take her car. I informed her that the check she wrote was charged back and until the original bill for the services already completed was paid, along with the charge back fee, that we would not release the car. She was only billed and charged for the original estimate. This estimate was identical to the invoice she received at completion and paid for by check. She did not mention any concerns at that time. Our demand that she pay for services she agreed to and the charge back fee on her check is completely reasonable. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/25/2024

  I'm reaching out to express my disappointment with the recent service experience at Aplus Auto Shop. Having been a long-standing customer, my interactions have primarily been with Tony, whom we trusted implicitly. However, upon Tony's retirement, our recent dealings with Jamie have left much to be desired.
  During my visit to Aplus, I presented an estimate from another auto shop and sought to explore competitive pricing. Jamie assured me of matching or even beating the price, demonstrating willingness to accommodate my needs. As we discussed the vehicle issues, I provided details from the estimate stored on my phone. Jamie requested to view it personally to ensure thorough understanding, which I obliged.
  After reviewing the estimate, Jamie quoted a price of $3200, slightly lower than the initial estimate, which I accepted. However, upon inspecting the completed paperwork after picking up the vehicle, I noticed that the brakes, a crucial aspect included in the original estimate, were not addressed. Additionally, the oil change, though verbally agreed upon, was overlooked, evident from the illuminated oil light upon receipt of the vehicle.
  I promptly contacted Jamie to rectify the situation, expecting accountability and a commitment to honor our verbal agreement. However, I was met with a lack of acknowledgment and accountability. Jamie initially agreed to rectify the oversight but later reneged, demanding additional payment for services previously agreed upon.
  This experience has shattered the trust I once had in Aplus Auto Shop. While I understand the importance of obtaining written agreements, I had placed faith in the verbal assurances provided. Moving forward, I've learned the importance of thorough documentation and clear communication.
  I urge Aplus Auto Shop to reassess their commitment to customer satisfaction and transparency. As a loyal customer, I had hoped for a more amicable resolution to this issue. Regrettably, my trust has been compromised, and I'll be exploring alternative service providers for future automotive needs.

  Sincerely,
  Vikki J******

  Business Response

  Date: 05/29/2024

  Ms .J****** asked for an estimate to repair her steering gear and tie rod ends She showed us the steering gear part number on her phone. We looked it up and said we could do it. She also asked about an axle replacement. We then gave her cost on these items. She called back days later to schedule the repairs. Upon completion she was given a copy of the invoice with all the repairs we spoke about. She used a check for payment and drove away. She then called back hours later to aske why we didn't do her oil change. I explained I did not know she wanted that done and she could bring it back to have it done. She agreed to do this and made an appointment for it. Days later before coming to the oil change appointment she asked why we didn't replace her brakes. I ,again explained I did not know she wanted them done. All of the items she requested to be replaced, she verbally said to me. The only item I saw in writing was the steering gear. At this point I told her I would look at her brakes but if they needed replaced there would be a charge. The original estimate that she got in writing did not have brakes or an oil change on it. She was never charged for these items but was now expecting them to be done at no charge. She then said she was just going to take her car. I informed her that the check she wrote was charged back and until the original bill for the services already completed was paid, along with the charge back fee, that we would not release the car. She was only billed and charged for the original estimate. This estimate was identical to the invoice she received at completion and paid for by check. She did not mention any concerns at that time. Our demand that she pay for services she agreed to and the charge back fee on her check is completely reasonable. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/03/2024

  I am rejecting this response

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Vikki J******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/21/2024

  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.

  Our son got into an accident back in October, 2023, and we had the Tahoe towed to their shop for them to repair the damages. They were awful to deal with. Their customer service and communication were non-existent. After 2 months, still nothing had been done. I had to call every other day to get information, even though they continually said they would call us back. When we called, they gave us the same excuses day after day. They had to replace the fuel pump at our expense, an issue created by them not working on it for those two months. When we got the vehicle back the floors and leather seats were covered with mold and mildew. They removed our aftermarket cold air intake that was not damaged and replaced it with a stock part. The floorboards were still soaking wet and there was rust over all of the metal, inside and out, from where they had left the windows down during rain. The person working the counter showed no care, offered no assistance, and kept saying I would have to call the manager on the following Monday. Less than a week after we got it back the transmission failed. We found that they had not put transmission fluid back in after draining the lines. Called the manager in hopes he would fix the problems, but they denied all responsibility on all issues. Instead, the manager threw all blame on us. I'm not sure how their employee's negligence is our fault. The manager was impossible to work with for resolution. This was the absolute worst customer service that I've ever dealt with.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2024

  Regina

  I'm sorry for the delay in my reply. This matter was just brought to my attention. My name is Jaime and I'm the GM at A + Auto Service in N. Charleston SC. The vehicle in question was indeed brought here after being in an accident. It suffered heavy front-end damage. At the outset we informed them that due to the amount of damage and the car's age the vehicle was considered a total loss. If they were to pursue fixing the vehicle it would be very costly from both a financial and long completion time standpoint. We told them finding suitable replacement parts for a 210k mile, 20 + year old car is very time-consuming and to expect several months before it could be repaired. This does not take into account diagnosing and repairing any issues found along the way. The customer, after being told all of this, decided to go forward with the work. From the outset, after being told this, they called weekly expecting the vehicle to be finished. 

  The car sat for a considerable amount of time after its initial assessment until we were able to find the necessary parts to begin repairs. During repairs we discovered the frame was also damaged and this would take more time to correct. Again, they were informed of this. 

  I'm not sure how to respond to the accusation of their fuel pump going bad from sitting a long time. There is no fault here. We did not discover this until midway through repairs. As the vehicle came in not running, nor did we attempt to start it due to the large amount of damage to the engine cooling system on arrival. Once we attempted starting is when we discovered the fuel pump being failed. Also, the vehicle did not come in with a clean interior. There was evidence of something being spilled about the interior. This is pretty common when cars are involved in accidents. This is likely the source of the mold. We did not charge for or have the interior of the car detailed.

                 The vehicle was filled with essential fluids once completion came close to happening. After the vehicle was aligned, about 5 days prior to the customer picking up the vehicle, the technician test drove the vehicle to check the alignment. He traveled about a mile in the vehicle and returned to say the transmission was not shifting properly. I called the customer to inform him and asked if he would like us to diagnose the issue. His exact words were " no, don't worry about that ". This is documented on the invoice that he signed at pick up. He then drove the vehicle out knowing it had a problem with the transmission. Approximately 2 weeks later he called back accusing us of causing damage to his transmission. I reminded him that he declined diagnostics and drove it away knowing it had an issue. He did not dispute the conversation but still expected us to take responsibility for him driving the vehicle away and probably causing more damage to it. 

                  I understand the frustration of a large repair bill and being without your car for a long time. This is precisely why we forewarned them about all of this prior to going forward with repairs. This is the nature of repairing very old cars that have been in accidents. 

  
  

  Respectfully,

  Jaime

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/14/2023

  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.

  I ****** *****, decided to drive my vehicle to A+Auto Service located at 3824 w Montague Ave north charleston sc, to have this business do an alternator change on my vehicle, same as they had done the previous year before now. After dropping my vehicle off to A+, I received a call from a gentleman by the name of Lawrence, stating, that the technician, in an attempt to replace my alternator, had broken the belt tensioner that holds the belt in place to operate the alternator. I was then told that, this was going to cost $3000 for the business to repair, outside of the $800 they were charging me to replace the old alternator with a new one. Mind you, this same repair had been done by the company the previous year along with an oil change and the price for it was around $550, around that margin, but this year for some miraculous reason the price has been altered to $804, just for the alternator replacement minus the oil change. I am being told that my vehicle is not operational until this company can make the repair on what they have broken. I've been going thru the reviews posted on Google for this company and it seems as if $3000 is their go to number when it comes to their seemingly shady business practice. I would like for this business to repair what they have damaged and fix any overall issue that they may have created in the past or present to my vehicle, because after leaving this business the previous year, I noticed a few screws missing off of my engine block, which caused the oil to leak from my engine onto the alternator which possibly, slowly created this overall issue with my vehicle.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/15/2023

  Mr. ******s car had the alternator on his car replaced last year at his request and declined diagnostics. This is clearly stated on the document he provided from last year. He brought the car back due the alternator failing from oil leaking directly above and onto the alternator. Had he not declined diagnostics previously we could have made him aware of this. The oil leak was from a failed gasket and not any missing bolts, as we had no need to remove any bolts not related to replacing the alternator. He did not provide the document from his recent visit ( the one he is now complaining about ) which clearly states we found a failed repair ( not done at this shop ) to a pulley. The found failure would prevent completion of the alternator replacement. The proper repair for this failure is to replace the component where the failed heli coil is located. He was made aware of this. He asked what his charges were for the labor he already approved to stop where we were at and declined repairs. The heli coil that failed was not installed here and therefore no warranty is provided. He would have to take it back to the shop that installed it for any warranty on that repair.  

• 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.

  I took my card to a + auto service I told them that my alternator was bad when I took it yo auto service the battery was charged and it was running I went to pick it up they charge me $250 dollars for a diagnostic that i was told would only costs $125 then they told me it would cost me a $1000 for a alternator and I said I'll just come and pick up my car and then I came to my car they had left my key in the on position and then they turn sll my lights on to purposely kill my battery because when I took my car to auto service I had a tow truck drop it off and I
  never turn my dome lights on and they was on also and I told them I have the battery disconnected because the alternator was bad so when I asked them why did yall do two diagnostic when one test would tell everything that's wrong with my car ones you put in on the computer and they couldn't give me a answer and I was not gonna fight with them at all

  Business Response

  Date: 02/07/2023

  Dear Sir / Ma'am,
  On 1-10-23 Mr. White brought his 2005 BMW with 290077 miles on it to our shop asking us to look at it for two issues. 
  1; The car has very poor throttle response and lack of acceleration.
  2; The battery has a draw. ( meaning it goes dead after sitting )
  Each of these diagnostics he asked for carries a $125 charge that he was made aware of and approved. I even called him to explain we would have to charge for both, because they are two different issues. We first investigated the acceleration issue and after extensive time then testing could not reproduce the problem he described. We then did electrical diagnostics to his car to try to find the source of the battery draw. His battery had to be on a charger while doing this due it being dead on arrival. The technician determined the first failure we would have to repair was his faulty alternator. Upon relaying this to Mr. White he then said he didn't want two diagnostics and he decline replacing the alternator. I explained we had already done what he asked and the total is what he agreed to. He asked why we did two diagnostics and I re-explained that he asked us to look into 2 different issues and he agreed to that. So that is what we did. We cannot give refunds for services that people ask for. 
  We did not, and never, leave electronics on in cars. His battery was dead on pick up just as it was dead when the car was towed in due to the electrical draw he said the car had. Which was one of the reasons he brought it to us.
  VR
  Jaime