ComplaintsforSouth Shores Auto Service

• Initial Complaint

  05/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Needed AC fixed. Shop did ink detecting flush to spot any leaks. needed new AC condenser. Charged $580 to replace. paid, drove off. AC was not working still. Called shop. Owner said bring car back. He opened hood, hit 2 boxes, asked l if AC worked, it did. Said I have bad relays, need to order, maybe a wk. He then drops hood down, hard. So hard it bounced back up. He started slamming down, repeatedly. Would not latch. He said latch is broken, but must have been before. I said no it was not. He said car is old, need to call junk yards to find replacement. Meantime he rigged it so I can drive home, but I cant open it & told me to stay off highways, not drive over 50mph. Week later relays are in,Charged for parts $64, owner comes back & says “Good news & bad news. Didn’t have correct relays, was able to make them work, however your charge is down 50% meaning you have another leak. AC may only last 2wks then you’ll need to comeback for another diagnosis. & repair..” I’m confused, already paid $580 to do just that, AC still not fixed &I have to start all over? I ask, “Why wasn’t leak found/fixed first time?” He says must be small leak, didn’t show. I suggest doesn’t sound small being down 50%. My Cadillac had small leak last yr, lasted all summer. He got mad, said, “They’re obviously not identical leaks” I wasn’t implying they were but was confused why he didn’t find this leak first time & is saying it’s small when it’s behaving like large one. He threw up hands, said he’s telling me what he found, walked out, left me with Sec. giving me bill for $64 relays. I ask What about latch? said she will notate urgency, talk to owner about leak, call me back. 5/26 - 6 days later, AC stops working. Call shop, ask about leak & latch. new Sec. says, Owner refuses to work on car bc you got an attitude with him. I said excuse me, explained situation. it seems he charged me $650 for repair he didn’t fix, was trying to charge me more still & now get away with not replacing my latch

  Business response

  07/14/2023

  Miss ***** brought her vehicle in to have us diagnose the a/c system not working.  we checked the refrigerant charge to find the system was empty.  we put a partial charge into the system to find a golf ball sized hole in her a/c condenser.  We asked her about if the vehicle had been wrecked & she said yes they had hit a deer but her step dad fixed all the damage.  We told her, we needed to START by replacing the a/c condenser.  we quoted her a cost of replacing the condenser.  She approved the estimate & we started the repair.  in the process of the repair, we found the whole radiator support had been shoved back & was mangled.  In order to installed the new condenser, we had to straighten the radiator support & push it back forward.  In the course of her step dad's supposed repair, there were several components that were just left mangled & there were several bolts not installed due to the mangled components.  we had approximately an hour & a half of additional work, we had to do that we did not charge her for.  The a/c system worked after our repair.  when the customer came in to pick up the vehicle, we discussed with her the additional work / time that we had not charged her for.  I cannot remember if she left & came back or at what point, the a/c system quit working.  we popped the hood to re-check our repair.  At that point, I showed her the mangle components.  while trying to diagnose what was keeping the a/c from running, I tapped the two a/c relays on the firewall & the a/c kicked back on.  I told here I was not sure which relay I tapped when the compressor clutch engaged & I recommended replacing both.  I told her, I would procure the two relays & call her when they came in.  I also told her, I was not going to charge here any labor, just the cost of the two relays.  after this discussion, I shut the hood & the primary latch would not latch, it was only on the secondary latch.  These are part of the mangled components, I spoke of earlier.  I worked for almost an hour in my parking lot @ 7pm, an hour & a half after our closing time.  I told her, I would try to locate the mangled components that were causing the problem @  the local wrecking yards.  When the relays came in, we called her to bring the vehile in for me to install the relays.  She brought the vehicle & I installed them while she waited.  I don't recall how many days or weeks later she return to say the a/c was still not working intermittently.  once again, I re-checked our repair & found no problems with it.  I did find the system was low on refrigerant again so therefore, there must be another leak somewhere.  I reiterated to her that we had to start by replacing the condenser.  She informed that she paid me to fix her a/c & it not working again so I needed to find the problem & fix it for free.  She also informed me, that I damaged all the components that were keeping her hood from latching correctly, not hitting the deer.  If there is a problem with the repair, I was contracted to perform, I would take care of it.  I was not contracted repair the damage from hitting the deer nor did I cause the damage she wants me to repair for free. 

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