ComplaintsforOur Planet Automotive Services, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  05/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I was taken advantage of and overcharged when my vehicle had an ignition coil failure.I was charged $177 per Delphi ignition coil (part number GN10370) for a grand total of $711 for four coils when a set of four of these coils can go for between $156 to $300. Additionally, after consulting with other mechanics they said that all four of my coils likely hadn't failed because my car was still able to run. They also said that only the failed coil(s) needed to be replaced.**** never informed me of how many of my coils had failed. He only told me that the stuttering of my car was an ignition coil issue and that the ones currently in my car were cheap and should be replaced. As someone who is unfamiliar with car mechanics, Our Planet Auto took advantage of my naivety to egregiously overcharge me for parts they knew I was likely to be unfamiliar with. They also charged me an environmental charge for a fix that didn't involve fluid changes as well.I also attached my invoice as a photo to this complaint as proof of my experience. Note that in the invoice they don't document the details of the ignition coil failure diagnosis such as how many coils failed or what tests they performed. To not do so was disingenuous and shows that their intentions were to overcharge me for services they knew I was unfamiliar with.

  

  Business response

  06/06/2024

  Response to BBB complaint of ****************************************
  
  We apologize for not responding to this complaint earlier. There have been a number of family issues in the past month that we needed to manage,(including house damage from a tornado) and some things have been neglected.Generally, we respond in a timely manner, and in fact, we responded to ********************* several times regarding this complaint and the negative reviews on ****** and other platforms. We spoke with her and with her father, and both seemed to understand the process that we had gone through.
  
  When she brought in her 2010 Acura, her complaint was that it was running rough on acceleration. We performed a standard diagnosis and found faulty coils. The codes that emerged during diagnosis read P0300 which indicates multiple cylinder misfire. It was clear to us that she had already had it repaired elsewhere, using extremely cheap parts. We told her before we repaired her car that the coils were faulty and recommended that she go ahead a replace all of them if she wanted her car to perform as she expected. She agreed to have the repair and to use dealer-quality parts. We charged her a reasonable amount for the 4 coils and the labor to install them, considerably less than the dealer would have charged. Part of our charges include the considerable expertise with which we perform all diagnoses and repairs, using that knowledge to purchase dealer-quality at curated parts companies to save our customers money while still getting the quality of dealer-made repairs. All customers pay the environmental and hazmat fees because we have to pay to recycle the parts. Those charges have nothing to do with the type of repair.
  
  In conclusion, while we would like to make her happy, we really dont know what else we can do. We performed repairs that she agreed to with high quality parts and labor, the car is running as it should, and we do not, under the circumstances, think that she is entitled to compensation of any kind. One can always buy parts cheaper, but to try to recover money after she has agreed to the repair by professional automobile technicians using high quality parts is a little like asking for your money back from an upscale restaurant because you found out you could purchase that rib-eye cheaper at the Jewel.
  
  This is almost the exact conversation that we had with *********************** and her father over the phone. Their responses during the phone conversations indicated that they understood, and we thought the issue was resolved.

  Customer response

  06/06/2024

  Complaint: 21675146
  
  Firstly, I would like to address the following statement from the business:
  
  "One can always buy parts cheaper, but to try to recover money after she has agreed to the repair by professional automobile technicians using high quality parts is a little like asking for your money back from an upscale restaurant because you found out you could purchase that rib-eye cheaper at the Jewel."

  
  When ****, one of the employees, called me to authorize the repair, and said that the repair would be $1200 my first question to him was "Do you take AMEX?" I don't believe that is the attitude of someone who has an issue paying for high quality repairs. I have an issue with your business avoiding the question: how many of the "extremely cheap" parts had actually failed.

  
  If all four were "faulty" then my car would not have been able to start nor would it have been drivable to the mechanic's shop. My point is that I was charged for all four of them to be replaced when not all of them had failed. Also note that, in all of my communications with the business they were never transparent about how many of my coils actually failed even in their most recent response via the BBB.
  
  Even if the ignition coils that were originally in the car were "extremely cheap" they were nowhere near their ****** to ******* mile lifespan as they were installed last year. Additionally I also took notice of the shop's statement that the new parts they installed were "dealer-quality". I do not argue against this statement but this is rather different from what *****, the business owner, told me and my father in our phone conversations. ***** stated that they purchased the parts from the dealership directly and that if we were to order ignition coils from Acura then the coils would have the Delphi brand on them and not Denso/Acura (which are ***** Acura *** brands). I reached out to Acura directly to verify this statement and after providing my vehicle's VIN to them they said that the *** coils for my vehicle were in-house Acura *** parts and not Delphi (screenshots provided).

  
  Additionally I would like to address the statement made by the business on using high quality parts. When I spoke with **** to authorize the repairs the business made no mention of what parts they were going to replace my old coils with, where they were going to source them from, nor the brand. Simply put, I wasn't given options. He simply said the coils in your car are cheap and should be replaced. Would you like us to do that for you? and I said yes to that statement because his statement put me under the impression that all four of my coils had gone bad. Afterall at the time, I fully admit to being naive. I trusted that Our Planet Auto wouldnt have hid details about my diagnosis, such as how many of my coils had actually failed, and that the treatment I received from them was normal.
  
  When I submitted the BBB complaint on May 6th, 2024, I did select the partial refund option. When I last spoke with the business over the phone on May 10th, 2024, I decided that my ideal resolution would be for Our Planet Auto to be more transparent with their customers in the future. Unfortunately a ******************** complaint cannot be modified once submitted, however I still stand by a resolution that involves not a refund but transparency. I believe that such a resolution will also give the business an opportunity to defend themselves.
  
  Therefore I would like the following to occur:
  
  1) To Our Planet Auto please upload a receipt and or proof of purchase of the Delphi Ignition coils (GN10370) that you stated you purchased for $177 each from the Acura dealership.

  
  2) Directly state how many ignition coils actually failed on my vehicle. Even if they were cheap they were not all broken, and this was something that I found to be disingenuous when we communicated about the issue.

  
  3. Please provide a breakdown of the $44.95 I was charged in shop supplies. What supplies were expended during this repair that totaled to this amount?

  
  I have no doubt that the actual installation of the coils by Our Planet Auto was fine, which is also why I have no dispute with diagnostic and labor charges. After-all, I believe that people should be fairly compensated for their labor. However, I will call upon Our Parent Auto to be fully transparent about my ignition coil replacement before I consider this issue resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****************************************

  
  

  

  Business response

  06/12/2024

  This response is to each numbered point of request 
  
  
  1.  At no point of any business is it a normal response to present proof of  cost. I have a mark up matrix that keeps me in business and I dont believe that is to be made public. What I charge is what I charge. In addition to the statement, I never said that I purchased the parts from *****. What I said is that those same Delphi coils from Acura would have cost you over $225 (which is dealer list for said coils. I receive a wholesale price). Acura does not manufacture parts. They purchase them from oe suppliers and put them in an Acura box. From my 20+ years of knowledge and experience, I know where almost all parts originate from.  If you need 100% indisputable proof that we installed Delphi coils. I would be happy to remove them and show you the brand name on the coil itself(which your coils were missing any brand. Thats how I knew they were really cheap coils) 
  2.  Your under the impression that if an ignition coil fails that it no longer produces spark and will therefore cause the vehicle not to run. That is incorrect. When the insulation around a cheap coil fails, it tends to misfire under load and will continue to produce spark. That is why you had a P0300(multiple cylinder misfire) and not a specific cylinder misfire, like a P0301, P0302, P0303 or P0304. Which would indicate a specific cylinder. Yours were all bad. 
  3.  In the state of ******** it is not required that I individually charge for specific shop supplies. We have that charge to help pay for things like rags, dielectric grease, penetrating fluid, water, hand soap, etc all of which were used during the repair of your vehicle. 
  In conclusion. I really am sorry that you feel the way you do. It is never my or my teams intention to upset a customer. But we did nothing wrong. We diagnosed and repaired your vehicle in the same day (to your request). Most of our customers appreciate that level of service and we charge a premium for it. 

  Customer response

  06/13/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and do not find that this resolution is satisfactory to me because the business failed to upload proof of purchase of the delphi coils for $177 each when given the opportunity to do so. However, I am accepting the resolution as I wish to be done with this matter, and no longer communicate with the business as they have made their lack of transparency and professionalism clear in their responses.
  
  I do not find their response satisfactory, because their argument that all four of my coils were faulty never made an appearance until our communications via the BBB. When speaking with ***** and **** over the phone with my father in early May neither of them made mention of the argument that all of my coils were faulty, so I find it interesting that they bring this point up now. To add, I also distinctly recall ***** stating that they noticed that my coils were "new" but cheap which is rather different from his new argument that they were faulty. Finally, none of the codes they mentioned scanning on my vehicle were documented on my invoice under their process for diagnosing the issue for my car, nor were they brought up in our earlier communications.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****************************************

*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. ↩