ComplaintsforDon's Bus Box

• Initial Complaint

  03/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On Jan 8, we purchased a new engine from **** and had transmission rebuilt, brakes, ball joints, and shocks replaced. Feb 1, the ** van was ready. We picked the vehicle up went to fuel it up, and in less than 10 miles, the engine back fired, and bent the pushrod. He towed the van back to his shop, about 3 blocks away by chain, and he had told me that the emergency flashers were fixed, and when I used them, it almost started an electrical fire. I had also noted that the brakes were shakey, and park brake does not hold, and accelerator sticks. On Feb 7, the bus is ready, he had told me that the headlight switch that was replaced was faulty, causing it to backfire and bend the pushrod. We pick up the vehicle, and he said they test drove it for 3 days with no problem. Brakes still shaking, throttle sticking no parking brake still. I fix the stickey throttle. The new brakes, rotors and drums were warped. 10 miles or less driven. And at this point, i notice oil leaking, and not a little bit either. As i am going up a hill to get to the fuel station to check the oil smell, the transmission is coming out of gear, and the belt was coming off of the pully. He said that they had driven it, how could they have not noticed any of these things. Upon entering the town I live in, the throttle linkage falls apart, and I have to repair it myself. He sent me to a local mechanic to get the leak and pully fixed. He fixed what he could, but still leaking oil, and brakes, and transmission not fixed. We have not even driven 250 miles. We made him aware that we would be out of country, and he would be in contact with our lawyer to handle business while we were gone, so he blocked our numbers, and would not respond to calls or texts. He would not cover the tow. We paid to tow it. He says that he fixed it, but we towed it to an independent mechanic to check out, as we do not trust ***'s work, which means can he honor the warranty to our satisfaction?

• Initial Complaint

  12/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  *I brought Transaxle to Don's Bus Box on the weekend of 06/11/2021, for a rebuild. The transaxle had a bad first gear and was making noise.* *** told me that i should not have a problem running this transaxle in the style VW Bug i have, as long as i dont abuse it and drive it hard. He told me the transaxle was warrantied to shift gears and operate as it should. *** quoted me $1,346 if i were to pay him with a credit card and $1,250 if i paid him in cash. I okayed the repair along with adding a stronger ring gear, to strengthen the transaxle.*On 06/22/2021 I installed the transaxle, which failed immediately. I took the transaxle back to them.* On 07/05/2021 *** texted me saying second gear was broken along with ANOTHER **** for repairs to fix a problem that wasn't my fault. He wanted an additional $966 to do another rebuild. I took the transaxle to another shop, which immediately found that he used poor quality USED parts. The main shaft he installed, had hairline cracks all over (hence why it failed immediately). They claimed this was a common thing to happen at Don's Bus Box. He has a very poor reputation for rebuilding transaxles and i am not the first person to be fully taken advantage by them. I am now moving states and dont have the time to take him to court. Im out almost $1,500 of my hard earned money. He is doing everything in his power to push the blame on me. He is a liar and has extremely poor business practices. I'd like something to be done, before he takes someone else's hard earned money.

  Business response

  12/13/2021

  Customer used this STOCK rebuilt transaxle designed for 60 horsepower in a long travel baja bug with a 200 horsepower turbocharged engine. Additionally he did not adjust the clutch properly when he installed the transaxle in the vehicle causing the failure.  Had the customer been truthful by telling us the actual application he was going to use the transaxle for we would have refused the business.

  Customer response

  12/15/2021

  That is a blatant lie. I told *** exactly what i had and i even showed him pictures. We had a 20 minute conversation about my options, before i okayed the work. He told me people run type 1 transaxles all the time, with no issues (granted you dont jump the car or dump the clutch). In Fact, he convinced me to buy a stronger ring gear for added durability on top of the already upgraded super diff. He'll say anything to push the blame to his customers. I have talked with a few other individuals who have had the same issue with Don's Bus Box. He did an improper job building their transaxles/motors and once they failed, he offered no solution, besides charging them for another rebuild. The fact of the matter is, he installed used parts that were already at the end of their lifespan. Once his used parts fail, he points his finger at the customer saying it was their fault. This issue needs to be resolved, before he takes advantage of someone else and tries to cover it up with his lies. There has been threads on the ** forums published about his nonsense. The transaxle was installed by a retired aircraft mechanic of 41 years. The clutch was not adjusted improperly. Per ***s verbal agreement, the transaxle was warrantied to shift gears, but as soon as it entered second gear, it broke. I have video showing the time of it breaking and it shows no fowl play on my end. I have spoken with other shops in the valley and they too where aware of ***s shabby work. This has been an ongoing issue with this shop and something needs to be done, before he takes someone else's hard earned money.    

*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. ↩