Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife's car died at rush hour in the middle of an intersection on 2/14/2024. She called roadside assistance and had it towed to ******'s ********** We were told they were backed up and it could take 2 to 3 weeks before they could get to it. Because they came highly recommended we agreed. It took over a month for them to get to it, at which time they told us the transfer case, part of the transmission, was Out and would have to be replaced. They quoted a cost of $1300.00. We agreed. Within 2 days we were told the work was done. We paid by check the amount of $1423.70 and drove it home. One week later it broke down again. The transfer case went out again. We were initially told the work was covered for 30 days. I called them 3/28/2024 to inform them what happened and wanted a refund unless they could fix it right. I was told if the transfer case broke again then the problem is with the transmission not the transfer case after all, and it would cost between $3,000.00-$5,000.00 which we can't afford. I asked then to refund us the$1423.70. They said they would not.

  Business response

  03/29/2024

  To who it may concern, 

  To start the work performed to this customers vehicle was the transfer case but they had two problems. When the vehicle was brought to us it would not drive. The customers transfer case was bad and now this current problem they are currently having is a separate issue. When we started the tear down process, we noticed that the output spline on the transmission that connects to the transfer case was damaged and there was a good chance that they would eventually have a problem with it but it is on the transmission, not the transfer case. There is no way to know how long it would last so we called and told the customer what we had found. We told them we could do just the transfer case or we could do both and we told them that it may last one day, or it may last a year there was just no way of knowing. They chose to go the cheaper route of just replacing the bad transfer case and not fixing the transmission as well. They do still have a 30 day warranty on the transfer case. We would be more than happy to have them bring it back and we can remove the transfer case again to inspect. But, if we do this and it is the output spline on the transmission that did go out as we expected it would eventually do then the customer would also owe however much time we have in proving that the transfer case is not the problem. 

  Best Regards,

  ********************* (Owner)

  Customer response

  04/04/2024

  The response from ********************* with regard to my complaint would lead one to believe they were clear and transparent in explaining to us the problem with our Cadillac CTS; however, they were not. In his response to our complaint, he claims to have informed us that our vehicle had two problems not just one. The two problems being the transfer case and the transmission. He initially told us the problem was either the transfer case or the transmission not both. If we knew they would both have to be replaced we would not have moved forward with the repair because we knew we couldn't afford $5,000.00-10,000.00. We were told they would have to break it down to determine what would have to be done to make it road-worthy again. we were called and informed the problem was the transfer case, not the transmission. If there was a problem with the transmission they would have known once they removed the transfer case from the transmission at which time they should have told us replacing the transfer case would not have solved the problem; however, they did not. We were told it was the transfer case. Even though we could hardly afford the $1423.70 we told them to go ahead with the repair. We were called after the work was completed, We immediately picked it up after paying the bill. We were happy to have our car back. We made it 19.4 miles before it broke down again. 

  Once again, had they told us up front, after diagnosing the problem, we needed both the transfer case and the transmission replaced we would not have moved forward. After it is all said and done, not only do we not a working car but we are out $1423.70. What we want is our money refunded back to us; however, we will settle for a reimbursement of the the cost of the transfer case of $910.00.

  Sincerely

  ***************************

  Customer response

  04/10/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. 
  
  

  The response from ********************* with regard to my complaint would lead one to believe they were clear and transparent in explaining to us the problem with our Cadillac CTS; however, they were not. In his response to our complaint, he claims to have informed us that our vehicle had two problems not just one. The two problems being the transfer case and the transmission. He initially told us the problem was either the transfer case or the transmission not both. If we knew they would both have to be replaced we would not have moved forward with the repair because we knew we couldn't afford $5,000.00-10,000.00. We were told they would have to break it down to determine what would have to be done to make it road-worthy again. we were called and informed the problem was the transfer case, not the transmission. If there was a problem with the transmission they would have known once they removed the transfer case from the transmission at which time they should have told us replacing the transfer case would not have solved the problem; however, they did not. We were told it was the transfer case. Even though we could hardly afford the $1423.70 we told them to go ahead with the repair. We were called after the work was completed, We immediately picked it up after paying the bill. We were happy to have our car back. We made it 19.4 miles before it broke down again. 

  Once again, had they told us up front, after diagnosing the problem, we needed both the transfer case and the transmission replaced we would not have moved forward. After it is all said and done, not only do we not a working car but we are out $1423.70. What we want is our money refunded back to us; however, we will settle for a reimbursement of the the cost of the transfer case of $910.00.

  
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  

  Business response

  04/25/2024

  To whom it may concern, 

  We have nothing more to add regarding this complaint. Our original response tells our side of the story and is the truth as to what has happened with this customer. We have also responded to the bad review they left about us on ****** as well. The only thing we could add is that they are also having a hard time trying to keep their story straight as in the original complaint they said that we quoted $3,000.00-$5,000.00 and now they are giving numbers of $5,000.00-$10,000.00.  Bottom line, their decision did not end up working out, as we warned was possible, and now they continue to lie about the situation in an attempt to steal back the money we charged for our services. Best wishes.

  *********************

  Owner

*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. ↩