ComplaintsforWest County Auto Body & Repair

• Initial Complaint

  06/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After three estimates, a required $1500 deposit. They said it was thousands more than their last corrected estimate of repairs when they called to have car repaired. I want my money back unless they want to honor their contract.

  Business response

  06/28/2023

  He wanted a cash deal, no insurance, he wanted to pay out of pocket.  We did an itemized estimated on 4/14/2022.  We mailed him a copy of this.  He mailed me a deposit of $1500 check and the parts came in.  He didn't want to leave his car.  I tried to call him, he has no answering machine so I wrote him a letter.  He finally called and I told him the prices went up.  The prices for a headlight mounting bracket (right front headlight) , the headlight and front bumpers.  We don't keep the parts in our store and there is a restocking fee on all parts and no returns after 30 days and a 20% restocking fee on all parts.  I called on 4/11/2023 and I told him the prices and he was very upset and hung up on me.  We ordered it from the dealer and we don't know the prices.  He said he was going to contact his lawyer and hung up on me.  We returned the parts and got his check but the restocking fee was $1566.  We are to charge 1.5% fee if not paid.  We got served with papers from small claims court.  

  Also, I should point out on every estimate in the Auto Body Industry it specifically states that it is a Preliminary Estimate additional changes may be required. The customer comes in fills out the green sheet we have an estimator go out and estimate what he can see by eye. It's a 10–15-minute process. It's also stated on every insurance estimate .  

  
  

  ** This paper was included in the original packet I sent yesterday. I circled where it says it's a PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE **

  Customer response

  07/13/2023

  This was not an insurance estimate.  The rep said she made a mistake and made two estimates to me.  

  Business response

  07/19/2023

  It has nothing to do with insurance. We preordered the parts after he paid the deposit, but there was a price difference. We didn't know there was price difference until all the parts got here. He didn't have an answering machine so I wrote him letter to telling him to contact me because the parts were in. He contacted the business, I told him there was a part price difference and he was upset. We finally returned the parts and there is a restocking fee on all parts, which is why we ask for a deposit. The original estimate was from April 2022 and he didn't put a $1500 deposit down until 2023. We don't determine the price of the parts. We have no control over if the price goes up or down. We had to pay $66.87 out of our pocket, on top of his deposit, to return the parts. We're also out of money.

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