ComplaintsforKelly's Auto Repair & Service, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  4/12/2022 i took my vehicle in to have a oxygen sensor replaced. I was told they were booked but would fit me in. Upon my arrival I never received a written or verbal estimate. Florida law requires this for repairs over $100. I had already received a diagnostic from ********* which told me exactly which sensor had failed and needed replacing. I tried to give this to the owner and he didn't want it and I then told him that the bad sensor was bank1 upstream. This sensor costs around $35 and is a 20 minute job to unscrew the old and screw in the new one. I assumed since no estimate was give the cost for the part and install was under $100. After the repair was finished the owner approached me and asked if my motor was recently replaced and I told him it was. He seemed a little upset and went out to where the technician was and the next thing i know i and presented with a bill of $283 which included diagnostic and high labor charges. I believe this all happened because I had my engine replaced elsewhere. I told him that I didn't ask to have any diagnostics run and had only asked for the old sensor to be removed and a new one installed. This job is as simple as unscrewing the old like unscrewing a spark plug and screwing the new one in and plugging in the harness. I would have done this myself but I am disabled and can no longer crawl under a car. He then told me that I should appreciate that he went out of his way to fit me in when he was booked up also he had to pay thousands for his expensive diagnostic equipment. I had no idea that working me in or having work done elsewhere could have or may have also effected the charges. I am requesting any chargers over $100 which equals $183 to refund to me since over $100 requires the estimate I didn't ever receive.

  Business response

  05/19/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/05/05) */ I did tell the customer we were very busy and booked at least 1 week out. He asked that we please fit him in because he was concerned that his wife may break down on a long trip she was about to take. I said I would fit him in. When he arrived he presented me with a paper that had codes written on it from an auto parts store. That is not a diagnosis. I looked at the codes and they were oxygen sensor codes but that does not inform you which side the sensor is on, only bank 1 or bank 2. And the codes DO NOT tell you that a part is bad. A scan tool has to be used to determine functionality and which side it is on because it is different on every vehicle. When we did removed the oxygen sensor I took it to him and showed him that it had coolant deposits on it and that was likely the reason it failed. He was pleased that we had likely discovered the reason for his coolant loss issue. We noticed that the engine had been replaced and one of his complaints was that he had an unexplained loss of coolant since it was replaced. That was what he initially wanted checked that I had given him an appointment for the following week. I was in no way upset about his engine being replaced elsewhere as I have more work than I know what to do with. As for giving him an estimate - he never asked for the cost. The consumer has a responsibility also to as for the cost and not ASSUME. We were trying to do him a favor and fit him in. I also explained to him that after the part is installed we have to scan the vehicle data to make sure that the part we installed is operating properly and it runs through all of the monitors. He said I was just making excused. I told him that is our normal procedure on every repair. Yes, you can buy a Chinese sensor on ****** for $35. We use the OE sensor only in our repairs. Unfortunately I get people all the time that watch a condensed video on ******* that makes everything look easy. We price every customer's jobs the same with a industry standard labor guide. This is the only way to be fair to the consumer and the technician performing the repair. He was charged fairly according to our Mitchell labor guide. This is 2022. With labor rates approaching $150 per hour a consumer is fooling themselves if they think any repair including parts could be performed for under $100. Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2022/05/05) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I did in fact tell the owner that it was bank one sensor one and I just needed it replaced. He said I had coolant on the old sensor but the intake manifold on this 5.3 has no coolant it is air cooled so he was fishing for more work. I also see that he never comments on florida law pertaining to a written estimate on any repairs over $100 so I am going to also file a report with the state if we don't resolve it here. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2022/05/12) */ As I stated previously, knowing bank 1 sensor 1 DOES NOT tell you which side bank 1 is (LEFT OR RIGHT). We look at data to confirm the correct side. In our conversation I explained to him that the coolant deposits on the oxygen sensor likely were coming from the head gasket because there are no coolant ports at the intake manifold. He would not have known this if I had not told him. I'm not going to continue a "he said, he said" battle. I am including the text conversation we had leading up to the repair, the labor guide that shows part price and labor time for the oxygen sensor. Also, a link https://2un.me/goyq2535 to the data we recorded to confirm that the new oxygen sensor was performing properly. If necessary I can provide the entire video footage from the time they arrived until the work was completed on the vehicle and they drove away. We did our job properly and charged the customer properly. Bottom line, he told us to replace the sensor and never asked for a price. Again he "assumed" what the price would be. I also included a picture of the "Know Your Rights" that clearly states: THE LAW REQUIRES THE REPAIR SHOP TO GIVE YOU THE OPTION OF: REQUESTING A WRITTEN ESTIMATE. We did not deny him that OPTION, he simply did not exercise that option. If you check online you'll find that the average cost to replace an oxygen sensor on that vehicle is $286 - $321. He was charged $283.07 including tax. That is a fair price. Consumer Response /* (2000, 14, 2022/05/12) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) I have health problems with my heart and an not supposed to be dealing with stressful situations or I would pursue further. So I will drop the complaint for my health and not because I agree with the charges.

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I took my car to Kelly's Auto around February 9th. I made a plan with them to leave my car there for a month while I got fixed so I can make two separate payments. the day that I went to pick my car up my car was still not finished which was fine they delivered the car because the car still wasn't finished and I couldn't come get the car in their time frame after they delivered the car I drove around the block and realized that my radio had stopped working and it didn't go there like that. I called them they told me to bring it in and they would check it. the next day after driving at night and being pulled over I called them back and let them know that I had absolutely no tail lights brake lights turning lights nothing in the back my lights were gone in the back. they told me to bring the car in. my husband brought the car in they mentioned that the radio could have been popped when they changed the battery but they refused to fix the radio they put a fuse in my backlights and said they were responsible for that I know they're responsible for the radio being blown I know that they did that when the battery got changed. I believe they don't want to fix it because it's an older car and it'll cost more. they also tried to make an excuse about the seat being wet which didn't happen until that day when we were driving it way after we had found the radio wasn't working.

  Business response

  04/21/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/03/28) */ The vehicle was towed into our shop on 2/4/22 with an appointment date of 2/9/22. The vehicle sat in the customer's yard for at least 3 months with a dead battery and no fuel. On the appointment date we pushed the vehicle into the shop to inspect it and found that the brakes had been grinding until the inside pad wore so thin that it fell out and the vehicle was stopping on the caliper piston. The battery would not take a charge and tested bad. We gave the customer an estimate for brake calipers, pads and rotors and a new battery. She informed us that she did not have enough money to pay for the repair right away and asked if we could keep the car for a month until she had the money. We agreed and she later came in and made a partial payment. (We did not charge a storage fee) When she called and said she had the funds to pay the rest for the repairs we were already booked 2 weeks out. However, the next morning we brought the vehicle in first thing and completed the repairs. When she couldn't arrange a ride to pick the vehicle up my son and I drove the vehicle out to her house. A couple of days later she called us and said that her parking lights and radio were not working so we asked her to bring the car back in so that we could check for any blown fuses. When the car came back in I checked the vehicle myself. The parking light fuse and radio fuse were both blown and would blow again as soon as a new fuse was inserted indicating a dead short. I raised the vehicle on a lift and inspected the entire vehicle for any pinched wires, rodent damage or issues in the trunk where the battery is located. I found no problems. I suspected that the radio could be the problem because they could share wiring on the lighting circuit. When I removed the radio I could smell burned electrical odor from the component. I disconnected it and tried installing another fuse for the parking lights but it still blew immediately. I then spoke with the husband and explained what I had done and he asked what was wrong and what we were going to do about it. I told him I didn't know what exactly was wrong just that there was a dead short somewhere and without testing it further I couldn't tell him for sure but that it was not related to any of the work we performed. Brakes have no electrical connection and the battery has no wiring harnesses anywhere near it, only the 2 battery cables. He informed me that his wife would be calling me. She did call me and said that we broke her car because she knows these things were working before we worked on the vehicle. While I was trying to explain different things that COULD cause electrical failures like these, she hung up on me. We did not turn on the lights or the radio so I cannnot say whether they were working or not. We simply did brakes and installed a battery. The more likely scenario is that someone used jumper cables to try and start the vehicle and crossed the terminals, possibly the tow truck driver or the customer. The devices we use for starting dead vehicles are very expensive and have protective circuitry that will not allow them to be hooked up backwards so I know if that is what happened it did not happen here. We do not have jumper cables her and I have included a video from my surveillance camera that shows every time the vehicle was touched by myself or my technicians. I'm sorry that the customer is having this electrical problem but it DID NOT occur in this shop.

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