ComplaintsforBobby & Steve's Auto World,West Bloomington

• Initial Complaint

  05/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  4/8/23 My car would run roughly when idling slowly, like at a stop light. Thought the motor would kill while I'm driving. Because they are close to my home I decided to go to them to see what the problem was. ******************* said it was an alternator issue and said it could quit any time. Because I didn't want it to stall I said to go ahead and fix it. The invoice said they replaced it with a standard remanufactured alternator. "Retest and verify repair as required." I stopped back on May 2nd and talked to ****. He basically gave me the runaround and said he was going on vacation for two weeks tomorrow.It acts the same way and so I went to my regular mechanic who I've known for 30+ years and trust. He said "the idle speed had to be relearned" and gave me the procedure to show them. I also looked up the cost of a new alternator from several auto parts sources which were from $98-$148 and it that remanufactured should be 25-50% less! They charged me $329.99 for the remanufactured one. The rest was labor. (for 1 &1/2 hours) I don't trust them to do it and won't go back ever. If I had a scanner I could send you a copy of the invoice and of my research. Would be happy to mail you a copy. Let me know if you need it and I'll send it to you. I'd like at least half my money back. Thank you for your help.

  Business response

  05/06/2024

  We quoted the alternator repair & the work was approved & completed. On occasion, when disconnecting the power, the idle may need to be relearned & sometimes it can take several drive cycles to complete that step. The customer stated that she needed to have it done elsewhere because the car was still idling rough. She never came back to us to let us know that, she then took the car to someone else & I told her I would cover the cost for doing that if she had any & I was told she did not pay anything to do that step. As far as the cost of the alternator, we do not sell the alternator for the same prices she can buy it online or at a parts store. The estimate she was given & charged for is correct.

  Customer response

  05/06/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:

  Their message in their response is NOT correct.  They did NOT give me a quote or estimate for the repair before it was done.  Thus I had nothing to approve.  The only thing they told me was that it would take 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  I asked if the car may stop working and they said yes (scare tactic).  I should have called my trusted mechanic at that point, but made the decision to "trust" what B&S said.  What a mistake.
  

  When the car work was done, I was NOT told that "it may need to be relearned or how to do it,  " at ****** and *****'s (just given the invoice).  So I went to my trusted mechanic and told him what happened.  He gave me the printout of how to "relearn" for my particular type car to show to them.  I brought B&S the printout from my trusted mechanic about what needed to be done and showed it to them.  They did NOT tell me they would cover the cost for having that done by my mechanic.  There are several procedures that were NOT done to get the alternator to "relearn". 

  My mechanic could have done a better job for half the price.  I will mail you a copy of both the invoice for their job and the printout of the "relearn" procedures today.    

   

   

  Thank you for your help,

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

  ********************************************* So.

  Bloomington, MN 55438

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

   

   

   

  
  
  
  

  Business response

  05/06/2024

  The work that was done was absolutely approved by the customer at the same time we explained how long the work would take to complete, and yes, a bad alternator would make the vehicle undrivable, not a "scare tactic". When I was told by the customer that she had brought the vehicle to a different mechanic to have the idle re-learn finished, I then asked her if she had incurred any charges for that & I would take care of it for her, but I was told she had not been charged for that.

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