ComplaintsforWoodie's Auto Service

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In late July 2022, I brought my vehicle in to replace front brake pads and rotors and have rear brake drums flushed. Within 3 days I heard large squeaking in the brakes, EVERY TIME I STOPPED AT LIGHT. I do a lot of driving and use my vehicle for work. Some times I drive 300 miles per day. I returned to vehicle to ******* within 1-2 weeks. They told me they visually inspected the brakes and drove the vehicle around the block and nothing was wrong. They said this took them about 15 minutes to determine. Within a few hours I had my vehicle back. Several weeks later, I brought the car into ****** Dealership and was given a video showing, Front rotors had heat spots, the senior tech attributed to aftermarket brake pads put on the car by ************************ on ******************************************************. ****** technician also showed in the video, on the front driver's side a mounting bolt was missing which connects the *** wire sensor and Brake Hose. It was also rubbing against the axle & the ball joint needed to be mounted correctly. This cost me an additional $875. The battery needed to be replaced, so that was part of the cost. On 8.23.2022 I spoke with ****, who identified himself as the manger of ******************* Service at ***********************. He admitted to using aftermarket brake pads, but claimed they have done fine for the last 10+ years ******* has used them. He claimed the pads are under warranty and he could simply "replace them". However, these are clearly defective and were the CAUSE of break issues and stopping on my vehicle. ****** took a video, which I posses showing these defects. It was told me, that a junior level mechanic should be able to spot these defects. The work was obviously very shoddy. I believe I should have the monies I paid at ***** returned to me. I also believe ******* Auto Service is using cheap parts and charging very high rates of labor to make a profit.

  Business response

  08/24/2022

  The brake pads and rotors we use meet or exceed the original equipment specifications and they are covered by a National 3 year or ****** mile warranty which is over triple the industry standard of 12 months or ****** miles. It is most likely due to the type of driving the customer does the pads were not broken in correctly which can cause hot spot and noise related problems. Under normal conditions vehicles are driven 15 to 20 miles a day and then allowed to cool off after a couple of days the pads will properly seat in.Wheel temperatures can reach over 500 degrees on extended travel times, braking should be very light under these conditions for the first 500 to 700 miles.Using medium to hard pressure braking under these types of conditions after installing new brakes can cause the problems the customer has experienced. With that being explained we have a couple options for the customer to choose from.If he has the brake pads and rotors replaced somewhere else he can bring the brake pads and rotors we installed for a full refund for the parts and labor for them or we will replace the pads and rotors for him at no charge under warranty.
  

  Customer response

  08/25/2022

   
  Complaint: 17757948
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely, 

  the work performed by the technician was sub-par. The business NEVER addressed the missing bolt holding the *** sensor and brake hose. This was causing a big problem. Nice try attempting to place the blame on me and my driving habits. Your unprofessional. I noticed after the AFTERMARKET pads were discarded, the noise went away. Im leaving the ****** review and will never use ****** again. You perform sub-par work
  
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  05/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I employed Woodie's Auto Repair (Mallard Crossing) store to replace a faulty alternator and alternator belt. The cost was in excess of $800. Woodie's had sold me their work with a "3-year-36,000 mile national warranty on all parts and labor." On May 12th, 2022, while on an out-of state trip, the alternator and alternator belt they replaced failed and had to be replaced by a garage in ************. The cost of that repair was approximately $530. While the car was being repaired, I call Woodie's to inform them I would be claiming the warranty because (as they confirmed) the failure of their work was within the prescribed warranty. They then gave me the phone number of the warranty office and asked me to call them. When I did, the representative of the warranty company told me that the specific Woodie's location where the work was performed was not covered under the warranty. I called Woodie's to inform them. They stated this was incorrect and that they would handle the issue. I received a text asking for copies of the **** for the work done to replace the work they had performed that had failed. I provided that invoice showing the repair of those parts ($530). I received a call about one week later saying "we will get you some money. Go to the Woodie's location of repair to speak to the manager." When I did, he was not familiar with the issue but promised to follow up with me after he looked into it. He called a few days ago to set up a time for me to come get the money. Today (May 29th) at 2:00 I went. The manager was not there. An employee initially told me they did not know about the issue, then stated "there was an issue with the warranty." He called the manager who came to the store. Manager told me they decided to refund $500 of the cost of the parts and labor because "it was close to what you paid the shop in ************ to repair it." I stated that he owed me a balance in excess of $300 to honor the warranty. He refused to pay more than $500.

  Business response

  06/02/2022

   Occasionally electrical components fail and I do apologize that our part failed sooner than expected.However, this was covered under our warranty and we did cover the total cost of his alternator replacement. A parts and labor warranty means just that; we will cover the costs of parts and labor for the failed component that we replaced.If this failure had happened in town we would have installed a new alternator for him at no charge. We refunded the cost of the replacement he paid the shop in PA in accordance with our 3 year/ 36,000 mile ******************* even though the customer did not return the items for warranty consideration.

  Customer response

  06/02/2022

   
  Complaint: 17260361
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1) I have not been refunded a single ***** for this "warranty" claim. Woodies said they attempted to return a flat fee of $500 to my credit card, but there is no proof of any such transaction on my credit card.
  
  2) The $500 Woodie's offered me doesn't cover the full amount of the cost of replacing the faulty parts in the out of state garage. That cost was $524.98. 
  
  3) Additionally, Woodie's charged me over $800 for the alternator and alternator belt repair. The out of state garage only charged $524.98, a difference of approximately $300. If Woodie's "3-year/36,000 mile warranty on all parts and labor--nationwide" only applies to parts and labor paid to a repair service other than their own , their "warranty" is deceptive or even fraudulent.

  4) The out of state garage was also forced to replace the battery because it had been destroyed by the faulty alternator and belt installed by Woodies. That garage stated that Woodie's correctly should have replaced the battery at the same time as the alternator and alternator belt in order to prevent the failure of all three items. Woodie's failed to do so, resulting in the failure of the battery (at a cost of $300.86).

  5) The out of state garage charged Shop Supplies and Hazmat fees totaling $38.12, bringiing the total **** to $976.36
  
  6) Woodie's states they "fully covered the cost of replacement." That is untrue. To date, I have received no money from them. 
  

  7) I notified Woodies prior to the out of state repair being performed. They asked me to call their warranty number instead of handling it themselves. That department informed me that the Woodies location was not covered under warranty. At no time was I requested to return any defective parts.
  
  I am not satisfied with Woodie's efforts to resolve this issue.
  
  *************************

  Business response

  06/03/2022

  Occasionally electrical components fail and I do apologize that our part failed sooner than expected. However,this was covered under our warranty and we did cover the total cost of his alternator replacement. A parts and labor warranty means just that; we will cover the costs of parts and labor for the failed component that we replaced.If this failure had happened in town we would have installed a new alternator for him at no charge. We refunded the cost of the replacement he paid the shop in PA in accordance with our 3 year/ 36,000 mile nationwide warranty even though the customer did not return the items for warranty consideration.
  
  We refunded the customer's credit card at ****** on May 26, 2022. If he has not received the refund he should check with his credit card company, the refund cleared our bank on 5/27/22.

  Customer response

  06/03/2022

   
  Complaint: 17260361
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The $500 offered is not the full amount I paid to either Woodie's or the out of state garage.

  Secondly, Woodie's fails to explain why they are not honoring their "warranty on parts and labor" when those parts and labor exceeded $800. If it is a true warranty, the parts Woodie's sold me ( and the labor) should be fully refunded. Instead, Woodie's is choosing to pay $500 towards the amount I paid the out of state garage ( not even the full amount).

  They insist they are entitled to keep the over $300 difference between their repair and that of the out of state garage.

  They also do not address the issue explained by the out of state garage, that Woodie's failure to replace the battery at the same time caused both the alternator and battery to fail. The out of state battery replacement was an additional $300. While Woodie's didn't replace the battery, it did cause the problem -- and still they will not cover the full price of the work they did on my car!

  This is unacceptable. If this isn't resolved, I will file in small claims court for additional incurred expenses. I will also file with the ********** of ******* regarding their deceptive "warranty."

  I did receive a $500 return on my credit card. Not the full amount.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  06/13/2022

  As with gas prices which vary by different areas of the country, so do insurance premiums as well as other services including automobile repairs. Most services in a smaller cities are often times less than a larger city like ********** the overhead for the shop and cost of living are less. We refunded what the customer had paid the shop to replace the faulty part we had installed, we did not replace his battery at the time we serviced the vehicle the battery tested ok. Continuing driving the vehicle after the warning lights come on indicating a problem caused the battery failure. A normal battery that has tested good will survive an alternator failure unless it has been driven too long when the alternator has failed. If the customer had or does return the alleged defective alternator to us we can and would return it to the manufacturer and submit a claim to reimburse him if the part is tested and found to be faulty. As with all warranties I know of no refunds are given without the merchandise being returned; the refund we gave the customer was for customer satisfaction since the customer didn't return the merchandise.    

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Not being totally up front and misdiagnosing the problem. Before I went to Woodie's, I used the check engine scanner at Auto Advance. According the reading, there was a problem with the thermostat. On 4/13/2022, I went to Woodie's to have my car looked at. I explained to the front desk person and handed him the computer print paper, which statements there is an issue the thermostat. Woodie's wanted to charged me $119.87 to do their diagnostic. After 8 hours waiting, ****** advised me, there was nothing wrong with the thermostat or the car. Along with that, they were supposed to reseted the trouble codes. When I got into my car, the check engine was still on. Rather than go back into Woodie's, I trusted my gut feeling, and I went to another garage and shelled out $119.99, to have the car diagnosed. According to information they gave me, they determined a number of codes issues and the thermostat was one of them. After spending $496.85, the car was fix and its now running fine. I thought I could trust Woodie's with my car. It sounds like Woodie's is going down the crapper these days. I guess, they decided profits and personal greed was their number 1 priority than hiring qualified technicians and the customer's safety. I bet anything a 5 year old, everybody off the street or a person with a brain, could operate a code reader better and diagnose the problem than the technician who looked my car. As a result, they definitely lost my business. Lastly, because we're in a post pandemic and high inflation, doesn't give Woodie's the right to s**** the little people just to make a quick buck. If the Manager or Owner of Woodie's are honest people, they should do the right thing and refund me my $119.87 back. The Invoice #*****

  Business response

  05/16/2022

  Apparently there was a miscommunication between the customer and us. We are contacting the customer to get his credit card number so we can issue a refund. (We do not store credit card numbers). The customer initially stated the message center on his dash was displaying "Door Open" and the interior overhead light was illuminated. The technician determined the vehicle needed a window switch to correct the issue which the customer declined we didn't follow up on the thermostat issue. 

  Customer response

  05/19/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Customer response

  06/27/2022

   
  Complaint: 17193544
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Besides the window problem. I wasn't being totally up front and misdiagnosing of the thermostat problem. Before I went to Woodie's, I used the check engine scanner at Auto Advance. According the reading, there was a problem with the thermostat. On 4/13/2022, I went to Woodie's to have my car looked at. I explained to the front desk person and handed him the computer print paper, which statements there is an issue the thermostat. Woodie's wanted to charged me $119.87 to do their diagnostic. After 8 hours waiting, ****** advised me, there was nothing wrong with the thermostat or the car. Along with that, they were supposed to reseted the trouble codes. When I got into my car, the check engine was still on. Rather than go back into Woodie's, I trusted my gut feeling, and I went to another garage and shelled out $119.99, to have the car diagnosed. According to information they gave me, they determined a number of codes issues and the thermostat was one of them. After spending $496.85, the car was fix and its now running fine. I thought I could trust Woodie's with my car. It sounds like Woodie's is going down the crapper these days. I guess, they decided profits and personal greed was their number 1 priority than hiring qualified technicians and the customer's safety. I bet anything a 5 year old, everybody off the street or a person with a brain, could operate a code reader better and diagnose the problem than the technician who looked my car. As a result, they definitely lost my business. Lastly, because we're in a post pandemic and high inflation, doesn't give Woodie's the right to s**** the little people just to make a quick buck. If the Manager or Owner of Woodie's are honest people, they should do the right thing and refund me my $119.87 back. Lastly, in the last complaint, Woodie's claimed, they were trying to contact me about this claim or refund is a load of c*** I never received one call from them. The Invoice #*****
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business response

  06/27/2022

  Apparently there was a miscommunication between the customer and us. We are contacting the customer to get his credit card number so we can issue a refund. (We do not store credit card numbers). The customer initially stated the message center on his dash was displaying "Door Open" and the interior overhead light was illuminated. The technician determined the vehicle needed a window switch to correct the issue which the customer declined we didn't follow up on the thermostat issue. We did reach out to the customer he didn't return the phone call, we will be calling him today again. He can also call the store and speak to the manager so we can issue the refund to his credit card as we do not store credit card numbers.

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date of the service: 1/7/2022 Transaction amount: $729.92 Business commitment: Break service and Wheel alignment Invoice: ***** On the date of service I dropped the vehicle off to get break service and wheel alignment done. When I picked up the car and to drive it home, I noticed the car was still pulling to the left. Before I took it back to have them work on it again I wanted to make sure that there was a problem. So I took it on the highway and from there it was apparent that the wheel alignment was in really bad shape. It was in such a bad shape that I was afraid I would get into an accident due to the severity of their poor workmanship. Therefore I rushed back to the service shop and asked for a print out of the alignment report. They told me that they didn't have it anymore for whatever reason, and that they could not pull it out from there computer system because they don't keep such records. However and gladly enough, they re-did the alignment and sent me on my way. Before I left I asked the customer ********************** representative (*******) for the alignment report and he couldn't be anymore annoyed by my request. He was very quick to tell me that he didn't have to report and should signs of frustration. Eventually one of his associate pulled it out from under his desk and gave it to me. With the report in my hand I was finally able to leave the shop thinking that all is well. But I was wrong to make that assumption. This time the car started pulling to the other side and was shaking the car (a problem that I didn't have in the beginning.)

  Business response

  01/17/2022

  I have emailed the following to the customer in order to solve his complaint. I apologize for the situation concerning your vehicle and I would like to resolve it for you. Would it be possible for me to have your vehicle looked at, this will be done at no charge to you. This can be done at the Ballantyne location or if you would rather not go back there we have a location at **************** that can take care of it for you. There are several possible cause for the pulling and I would like to opportunity to fix the problem for you. If you would let me know which location and when it would be convenient for you to drop if off I will personally have your vehicle checked and will let you know exactly what is causing the problem. We can provide a courtesy shuttle ride back to your office or home and pick you up when we have your concerns addressed. I look forward to hearing from you.

  Customer response

  01/21/2022

   
  Complaint: 16440492
  
  Thank you very much for reaching out to me and trying to make this work. There was a survey done with a customer who dropped off her vehicle multiple times at Lexus dealership to fix an ongoing problem. When she was asked if she was satisfied with the visits, the woman answered yes. When she was further asked by pointing out the fact that she had to come in three times for the same problem they could not fix, she answered, every time she went in the experience was so pleasant that she did not consider it bothersome at all. Unfortunately this was not the case with my visit at Woodies. At this time I would feel very uncomfortable taking my car and leaving it with your company due to the fact that Im not just leaving my wheels there but rather my whole entire car.Furthermore, I felt so endangered of my safety that I got the alignment corrected at ***** Tires & Breaks. At this time it would be very gracious of you to pick up my **** at that mechanic which is $123.59 (tax not included.)I understand everything comes down to bottom line profit, so if you need to reimburse me for only the money spent at your establishment, I would fully understand. In either case I am not asking for reimbursement of the tax or time that I had to spend in order to correct time issue. I hope you understand and I kindly wait your response. Thank you.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************

  Business response

  01/24/2022

  We certainly understand the customer's feelings, I will be reaching out to his personal email to verify his address in order to mail the requested refund to him.

  Customer response

  01/24/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************

  Customer response

  02/18/2022

   
  Complaint: 16440492
  
  I am rejecting this response because:The manager understood my position and agreed to refund me the money I spent at his auto shop. However, it has been over a month and I still haven't received a refund nor have I heard from them.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************

  Business response

  02/18/2022

  We are happy to send the refund to the customer, I sent him an email to verify his address so that we could send him a check for the refund. The customer has not responded to the email so we cannot send the refund. We will send the refund as soon as we have his address he can send it to ********************************* and I will mail him the refund check.

  Customer response

  02/18/2022

   
  Complaint: 16440492
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I disagree. You may send the refund to ************************************************************************************ 28277.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************

  Business response

  02/23/2022

  Now we have the customer's correct address we will send the refund check out today 2/23/22. Thank you.

*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. ↩