ComplaintsforAntioch Automotive

• Initial Complaint

  01/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On January 13, 2024 my elderly mothers car was towed from 294, where the car alternator and battery stopped working and the car was dead, to our home in ******. The street end of our driveway is on an angle down from the road and then flattens. The tow truck driver did not drive to the flattened part of the driveway and released the car on an exaggerated angle. It was a snowy night so we did not inspect the car upon delivery. The car was not drivable and was not able to be moved. On January 17th we noticed that there were cracks in the bumper. Due to the fact that my mother is elderly, I made the call the Antioch Automotive and I spoke with ****** who told me that I would need to send pictures of the front bumper. I sent the photos of the broken bumper to ******, via text message, on Jan 17th. I had not received any response from ******. On Jan 19th I called to speak with ****** since I had not gotten a reply. She told me that I would need to talk to *** (one of the owners of the company) and she transferred me to ***. *** told me that I would have to bring the car into for him to see in person. On Jan 20th I took the car in for *** to see. *** said that he always has his drivers take pictures of cars prior to towing and he would need to talk to the driver. He sent me on my way and told me that he would get the pictures from his driver and get back in touch with me. Again, there was no response from ***. On Jan 24th I called and spoke with *** who said that the driver did not have pictures of the car prior to the tow, so I would have to come back to the shop so the driver could defend himself. I have been treated very disrespectfully by the *** at Antioch Automotive and I feel that I have been lied to in regards to them not having the photos of my moms car from prior to the towing. I have included the photos that I have taken of the front bumper from after the tow. You can clearly see that damage that was done to the vehicle. The cost of the tow was $290.20 and the estimate that I have from *************************** shop for the repair to the bumper is $1,199.61. I wish for Antioch Automotive to pay the $1,199.61 for the repair for the bumper that they cracked.

  Customer response

  01/31/2024

  I wish to add some additional information that I had unfortunately left out of my initial filing.

  On Jan 20th when, upon ***'s request, I took my mom's car to Antioch Automotive for him to take a look at, I mentioned to him

  that perhaps the damage to the bumper was caused by the tow truck chains/straps that were attached under the bumper.

  *** stated that his drivers never attach under the bumper, but rather attach from the top. However, on my home security camera footage,

  you can see that when to tow truck driver was delivering the car on my driveway, that he went to each side of the front of the car and 

  reached under the bumper to detach the chains/straps that he had used. It's seems evident that the driver did, in fact, attach under the bumper and that *** was not telling the truth to me when I was at his place of business.

  In addition, in my last conversation with *** on Jan 24th he was incredibly rude. I was trying to have a conversation with him and he said that he had no time to deal with me and hung up on me. I have never been treated so poorly by a business owner.

  During our last short conversation, he also refused to give me his full name.

  Business response

  03/06/2024

  I am writing you today in response to the complaint filed by ********************** on 1/29/2024. Although his letter to you is somewhat detailed, there are a few important facts that he left out. Yes he did talk to me on the phone and I did advise him that I would need to inspect the car. On the day he brought the car in I looked at the damage and from my observation the damage appeared to be what I would consider old damage. The way the fiberglass was stress cracked all across the bottom of the bumper and the fact that there was a large puncture on the right side indicates to me that  the bumper was driven into a hard object, possibly a snow/ice pile. While speaking to **********************, he told me that he had the car inspected by his mechanic and that it was his mechanics opinion that the damage was caused by the two tow chains used to hook up the vehicle. I then explained to ********************** that this theory would be not probable due to the fact our company uses a "V" bridle where the contact securing points attach under the front suspension just behind the wheel. The lead of the bridle then forms together and exits the bumper in the center where it attaches to the tow cable. After I informed ********************** of this he then changed his story informing me that it must have happened when the driver un-loaded the vehicle on his street where the pavement was not level. I again reiterated how the *** bridle works and questioned how the puncture damage would have occurred. Since his first theory of how the damage occurred was obviously important to him, enough to have a mechanic inspect it. I'm puzzled as to why he failed to inform you of this. I did inform ********************** that my drivers normally take photographs of the vehicle they tow, however in this case, due to the inclement weather at the time the vehicle was towed and the fact that it was on the interstate, for driver safety reasons, no photos were taken. I can tell you that this driver has been with our company for over eight years and is extremely proficient at his craft. He is further **** certified by the Sate Of ********. In my opinion I believe it is very likely that ************************** elderly mother may have struck something with the front of her car and likely caused the damage. Please feel to reach out to me if you have any further questions.

   

   

           Regards,

   

           ***************

            Antioch Automotive

  Customer response

  03/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21216664
  
  I am rejecting this response because: What ************ wrote is not an explanation, just verbal manipulation. I talked to two car towing specialists who saw the level between the street, where the towing car was located and my driveway. They said that the car was damaged due to large difference in levels. ************ was right when hi wrote that the bumper was damaged by hitting a hard object or something icy. The towing car should have reached the level of my driveway, but due to the prevailing conditions it did not do so, making the mistake of lowering the car at a large angle and damaging it. Blaming the weather for not taking a photo of the car before it was towed away is an unacceptable explanation and an  attempt to hide the facts. ************ said that in his opinion the damage looked old and this time he was wrong too. The front bumper was replaced with a new one at car repair shop on 09.29.2023. ( The receipt is attached)
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  04/03/2024

  In response to ************************** latest communication I have several points I would like for a mediator to investigate. First off, although it is common practice for our company drivers to take photographs when loading vehicles, there are times when this is not possible due to time of day, weather conditions and most importantly, traffic. On the day in question not only was it late in the evening and dark but this area was still recovering from a large scale snow storm making travel hazardous to begin with. I am most certain that ********************** is unaccustomed to working on the side of an interstate with vehicles passing by at high rates of speed. When conditions like these are present my drivers know time is critical and driver safety is  utmost important. The fact that ********************** accused me of lying to him about taking photographs shows me his lack of respect for what our industry does for the motoring public twenty four hours a day. My second point of contention is the fact that ************************** vehicle was loaded onto *************** forward, meaning the front of the car was loaded in a forward motion, therefore when the vehicle was unloaded at ************************** residence it was in backwards motion. If what ********************** believes is true, and that the damage occurred due to his driveway not being level, then the damage to his bumper would have been caused by the bumper being pulled in the opposite direction of the motion of the car. This would be easily indicated as the bumper fascia would be pulled away from its normal position. Looking at the photos it is clearly obvious that the damage was from the bumper in a forward motion. My final point; During my investigation of this incident, on March 13, 2024 I contacted the body shop (Collision Experts) and furnished them with the "estimate" # **** as provided by **********************. The gentleman I spoke to told me that this was in fact an estimate only and was provided on 9/29/2023 several months prior to our company towing the car. The body shop also informed me that the bumper was not replaced like ********************** claims. Since ********************** was present when the vehicle was unloaded in his driveway and since a family member of his helped push the vehicle after it was unloaded I find it difficult to believe that no one noticed any damage at that time? This leads me to believe that the damage was preexisting or not there at that time. Furthermore ********************** had a conversation with my driver during which he said he was upset about a recent car repair and that his mother was not totally with it and had just had a battery replaced in the same vehicle at a local dealership for a cost of $2000.00.  and that he had no knowledge of that repair being done.
  Since ************************** first explanation of the damage was due to the way the vehicle was attached to the tow bridle, which is what he stated originally. This was verified by his mechanic according to **********************. His second explanation was the difference in levels of pavement at his residence, again verified by two towing "specialists" according to **********************. Considering the conflicting dates surrounding his repair estimate and the date of this incident,  and the fact that the bumper was not replaced like he stated it was, leads me to believe there is some confusion on the part of **********************.  as to what really happened, when it happened, and where it happened. I do have a written statement from my driver if needed. Even though ********************** has accused me of verbal manipulation, lying to him, and treating him disrespectfully, I have only stated the facts and I believe the facts speak for themselves. 
   
  Regards, 
                 ***************
                  Antioch Automotive 

  Customer response

  04/07/2024

   
  Complaint: 21216664
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I'm tired of talking to ************, especially when he keeps using clever lies as his arguments. ************ says that he only presents facts and the facts speak for themselves. The problem is that these are his personal facts that have nothing to do with objective truth. Having insufficient knowledge, he invents a story that never happened. The bill from the car repair shop #**** of 08-30-2023 (front bumper repair) was paid by my mother and the car was repaired. ***********, as usual, conducted " his investigation" unreliably and forgot (or did not want to remember) about the second estimate which was made on 01-15-2024 at *************************** for the amount of $1,199.61, which I wrote about in my first complaint to BBB. If all of Mr. ***** previous investigations looked like mine, I only feel sorry for the people who dealt with him.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

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