Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/22/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Charged me $630 to change my battery and ground cable. All this did was get rid of the check engine light. In less then a week my car was dying and having the same code as before I took to them. Clearly they changed the two easiest parts they could, canceled the code/check engine light, and told me it was fixed when clearly they did nothing to fix the issue. When I contacted them they told me I would have to start from scratch including paying yet again, a $170 diagnostic fee. I'm already over a paycheck in the hole and have nothing to show for it. I can't afford to keep burning money trying to get my car fixed so I can go to work. At this point I just want a little human decently and for Oakville Auto Inc to do the right thing

  Business Response

  Date: 01/27/2023

  Dear BBB,
  

  I am responding to case #******** ***** ** *** ***********
  I have carefully reviewed the situation with my Service Advisor and Senior Technician. My staff and I take customer service and any complaints about us very seriously.

  Mr. ********** brought his vehicle in and dropped it off on the morning of November 21st 2022. He stated that his vehicles Check Engine Light was on and had a P2107 Throttle Actuator code. We explained that we needed to fully test the electrical system for additional codes and concerns in all the computers. The price to perform the tests were $171.89. Mr. ********** authorized the testing amount. After testing all the computers in the vehicle, we only found the P2107 code. We researched the code and did some preliminary testing. Several of the flow charts referred back to the vehicle having clean battery grounds and a fully charged battery. We inspected the battery terminals, cables and ground connections. We did find the negative battery cable very corroded, and the battery failed all our load tests. We did continue the system testing for the computer code, and we could not verify any other problem at that time, except for the battery and extremely corroded negative cable. These items have to be in great working order for the computer system on the car to function properly.
  Our Service Advisor called Mr. ********** and advised him on our findings and preliminary testing and that we could not verify any other problems at this time. Our advisor recommends replacing the battery and extremely corroded negative battery cable. He gave our customer the price of $445.90. All estimates were sent to our customers cell phone so he could review the totals and approve them all. Our customer approved and authorized us to replace the necessary items which included retesting the system.  
  

  After replacing the cable and battery. We spent additional time retest all the circuits. We cleared all the computers of all codes. We test drove the vehicle several times throughout the day. The Check Engine light nor the code came back on. We advised our customer to drive the vehicle and if the Check Engine light came back on, to give us a call immediately. If the same code came back, there would not be any additional charges to continue testing it, we would cover it under our 24 month, 24,000 mile warranty. If the code is a different code, there would be an additional charge for testing.
  After a month of driving the vehicle. I talked to our customer and he stated that it was doing the same thing. I told him to bring it in and drop it off and I would give him a free loaner car to use while we were looking at it. There would not be any charge (covered under warranty) unless it was a different code and then there would be a charge for testing. After a couple of days, we did not see or hear from him. I called and did not get an answer, so I left a voice mail message on his cell phone and did not get any response. After the call I did receive several belligerent text messages from him through our text message system.
  As I stated, we do have a 24 month, 24,000 warranty on all our work (we are a AAA Approved Repair Center), including test and diagnosing electrical and computer problems. We do charge additional testing time IF the Check Engine light is on for a different code that we did not previously test for.
  
  I do not feel the $629.96 should be refunded to our customer. He authorized all repairs and services to his vehicle. He had the opportunity to bring his vehicle back under warranty to make sure all our previous work is correct, and he did not. Vehicles today are very technical and complex and intermittent problems are very difficult to find and repair. Our customer’s vehicle is in better condition after the repairs. If the Check engine light is on with the same code, it would be covered under our warranty. If not, there would be a charge for testing.
  If there are any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at *************
  Thank you for your time,
  ******* ******
  Owner of Oakville Automotive, Inc. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/01/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  The reason I signed off on the repairs was because I was told multiple times by them that my car was fixed. I was skeptical that a battery was causing all these problems, but against my better judgment, I signed off on the "repairs" because I was under the impression my car was indeed fixed which it wasn't. When I called they said to bring my car in but, when I asked about perhaps getting some of my money back and avoiding having to pay another $172 diagnosis fee the conversation went south, but never belligerent. At that point I didn't feel comfortable with them having my property in their possession. After taking my car to **** ******** ****, they said the cable they installed was loose giving a bad connection and a corrupted PCM. The battery wasnt the problem and the cable they changed wasn't properly installed. Basically I paid for two things I didn't need under faulty diagnostic work. 
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** **********