Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In January 2023 my truck was having issues. Mike of Starck's was referred to me by a friend of a friend. He contacted me boasting of his experience as a Jeep mechanic and how he worked with Jeep for 15 years before going on his own. We spoke and came up with a plan. I was having financial problems so he agreed to allow me to put $1000 down and pay the rest in four payments. He took the truck in and immediately the red flags started showing. I didn't have any money to pull my truck out of his shop as I had just given him all I had. EVERY time I got my truck back there was something else wrong. This went on from January 20, 2023 to March 15, 2023. My truck went in with one issue and ended up completely inoperable two months later. I only owed $1100 on my truck at the time and was forced into getting another car in order to get myself to both jobs and my son to school. I honestly thought he was a nice guy and had good intentions but I learned he was taking full advantage of my financial burdens. The last time he had my truck he did an OIL CHANGE. As soon as I got it back there was white smoke coming out of the back that had NEVER been there before. I texted him immediately about the smoke and his response was "hmmm I'll have to explore other options". He never told me to bring it to him, park it or to not drive it. Two days later my engine completely blew. The piston went through the block. I asked him multiple times over the 2 months "if driving my truck with all of these new issues would cause more damage" and each time he said "no". I have multiple texts and videos but I would need to send them in. There are too many to upload. I also had to get a rental for about 5 days to avoid losing my job. I would like to be reimbursed for the money I paid, the rental car costs & loss wages. I would rather try to resolve this matter through mediation, however, if unable I will proceed with my Attorney. Please let me know how to submit my documents. Thank you!

  Business response

  10/05/2023

  Below is my response to Ms. **********'s complaint against Starcks Performance and Maintenance. 

  
  

  In January, customer’s vehicle was towed to our shop and multiple codes were found in the system. Codes indicated vehicle needed a multi-air actuator and a software update (Service bulletin 18-022-19) to get it running again. The actuator was installed and the software update performed. After repairs, vehicle was driven by owner of the shop, who is also the mechanic, to confirm it was operating smoothly.

   

  During the first visit, customer had stated she was under difficult financial circumstances. The goal was to repair the most severe issues and get the customer back on the road.  All attempts were made to keep costs at a minimum. A documented agreement was made for a payment plan between the shop and the customer, Customer made a down payment and was to pay remaining balances each month. To start, customer was unable to make full payment for the initial parts order, but these were ordered and the excess monies owed paid for by the shop. After the initial repairs, the customer picked up the car and shop reminded customer at that time that there were still additional items needing repair, including safety items and preventive maintenance.

   

  In February, after some weeks had passed from the initial repair, the customer contacted the shop and stated the vehicle was running poorly again. The shop responded to the customer in absolutely the shortest amount of time possible. It was determined at this time that the multi-air actuator new part (replaced in January) had failed, so a new part was ordered and replaced, at no cost to customer. All spark plugs were replaced and a cracked water line replaced at this time, as well at no cost to the customer parts or labor, since only the work needed to get the car on the road had been performed in January. Again, financial issues were discussed with the customer and we troubleshooted and attempted to make the additional repairs with the customer finances in mind. The shop deducted monies from the customer bill in order for customer to pay for a rental car while vehicle was in the shop. All was documented in the invoice, records, and text messages between customer and shop. Customer stated she needed the car to get to work, understandably, so work had to be done between her work schedule needs. On at least two occasions, the shop drove customer to her home in order to keep the vehicle for the work to be performed.

   

  Before it was determined that the engine had failed on the vehicle, customer states she was driving the car when smoke began pouring out from engine and that she texted shop. Mechanic disputes that he told customer it was okay to continue driving the vehicle at this time but does agree that he stated he needed to determine cause of this new issue.  Vehicle was brought to the shop 2 days later and at this time it was determined that there was a hole in the side of the engine block. This indicates catastrophic failure of the engine.

   

  There was no way to predict the catastrophic failure of her engine after initial repairs were made. No work done on the vehicle during the prior visits had caused the failure of the engine. The mechanic is a certified Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram mechanic with many years of experience.  The customer mentions that an oil change was done on the vehicle during the prior visit. This was not frivolous or unnecessary. It was done to ensure that the engine had the correct oil viscosity but also to replace the after-market oil filter that had been installed on the vehicle by another shop/person in the past. The oil filter was changed to original manufacture (MOPAR) equipment, which we consider a best practice and follow on our repairs and recommendations.

   

  As with all our customers, we worked tirelessly to repair issues and maintain good communication and understanding each step. We agree that this is an unfortunate situation for the customer. Our shop volunteered to install another engine in this customer’s vehicle, to be purchased by the customer, but at no cost for performing the install. This would save the customer over $3,000 had she gone to another shop and asked for the same service. This offer was extended to the customer in a good faith effort to get her vehicle back on the road. However, in no way did this shop cause the engine to fail, or improperly diagnose or repair the vehicle prior. There has never been any intention to defraud this or any other customer in any way. We simply would not and could not work this way.

  Business response

  10/06/2023

  Starck's Performance & Maintenance stands by our original response to this complaint. We did not perform any work, including an oil change, that caused the failure of the engine. Text messages show the extent of the troubleshooting and relentless communications with customer to get the vehicle sound. We were honestly dedicated to resolving all issues and we take our reputation to heart. Invoices clearly show the deductions made to assist customer in every possible way, including wiping off all remaining payments still owed from repairs so that the customer could pay for a rental car. We reached out with a solution to replace the failed engine. This would have garnered the shop exactly $0 profit on a job that had already cost us hundreds in parts and more in labor, in order to get the customer back on the road. We are prepared to stand by our position for any further actions on this matter.

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