Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2023

  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.

  Salem auto and tire on 2208 N Gettysburg Ave. I was having car issues September 6th I took my car to that man, he ran a diagnostic and told me I needed a tune up. He said it would be 150.00 plus tax. He then called and told me that I would need a new coil because cylinder 1 was misfiring. He said it would be an additional 38.00 on top of the 150 plus tax. I asked him once you fix this will it stop my engine from shaking and cutting off he responds with a yes. Now Friday the 8th I go to pick up my vehicle and he says it’s 236.00, 150 for labor, 38 for the coil and 48 for the spark plugs. I paid him but he couldn’t produce my parts that came off my car. He gave me some parts from another car. He then proceeds to say “I don’t want you to record me if you keep recording me then I will take the parts he put on back off”. We left and the engine light is right back on the engine still shakes and the car won’t go over 35mph. We took it back to him Monday the 11th and he says we don’t handle electrical issues even though this issue is what he said he was going to fix. Don’t waste your time going to Salem auto and tire they are a rip off. I’m out of 236 and a car because they won’t fix it.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/12/2023

  On September 6th a customer came in driving a Dodge Journey and asked how much for a tune-up. I said 150.00 labor plus parts. The spark plugs cost 48.00. I asked if they would like the misfire diagnosed. They declined.  After replacing the plugs and the engine still ran poorly, I found that cylinder number 1 still had a misfire. For free, I quickly proved the misfire was a  bad coil. I called the owner and they had me explaining the problem and the solution to every one in the family. They approved the extra 38.00 dollars to fix the problem. The shop made no money on the coil. The total was 264.00. The Dodge journey was fixed with no codes or misfire. We let the vehicle run for 15 minutes to make sure everything was good.. and everything was… when the car left the shop it ran fine… I called the customer and said it's fixed, and they said "ok, great thank you".  But when they came to pick the car up, one of the family members had a meltdown. She  started recording, making false accusations and  demanded the old parts. I said they're in the dumpster. They demanded I get into the dumpster and dig them out. When i went to the dumpster, they stopped me. We offered to put their old parts back into their car and give their money back. They did not want that resolution, either. Finally, an elderly person i was not introduced to paid three or four dollars shy of the bill. The next day the car came back with a different issue and they wanted it fixed. It was a different code for a sensor that has nothing to do with what we fixed, but wanted us to fix it for free because she thought it had something to do with what we fixed… they can take the car to any shop that they please to and ask them if the sensor that the car is showing has anything to do with a tune-up/ coil… any shop will tell her the same thing we did. We respectfully spoke to the whole FAMILY trying to get them to understand but they didn’t want to hear anything. I don’t like that it had to come down to this but unfortunately the FAMILY didn’t want to hear anything else we had to say because everything we said was wrong.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/13/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because I have video proof the owner or mechanic couldn’t produce our parts they claimed to have removed from the car. We brought 236.00 to the owner because he said that was the amount due over the phone. I have the recording of that phone conversation as well. He said 150.00 for tune up he also said plus tax but never specified any additional for spark plugs. He then called on September 5th at 2:30pm and said the only way to stop the engine from shaking is to fix the coil as well for an additional 38.00 on top of the 150 for the tune up. I have that conversation recorded as well. I then told him to fix it as long as it will stop the engine from shaking and get rid of the engine light. On September 6th at 3:15pm I called the mechanic because no one called to let me know my vehicle was done. When asked for the total amount he says 236.00, we asked for a break down he said 150 for labor, 48.00 for spark plugs, and 38.00 for a coil. That amount was not addressed before he started working on my car. When we went to pick up the car on the same day we requested our old parts back. On the receipt he provided us it says the customer can request old parts at any time after completion, it also says full payment is due at the time of completion. He then provided me with a coil that was never in my car, per a certified mechanic that looked at my car on September 11th. When asked for the spark plugs he said they were in the trash and we asked for him to get them which he couldn’t. I have the video of that as well, he took our 236.00 and then proceeded to try and take the keys from my husband. We refused because he already took our money at this point. We left the premises on September 6th and on September 7th the Vehicle was still having the same issue. His shop is closed Saturday and Sunday so we took the car to him on September 11th and he gave me spark plugs that, per the certified mechanic who looked at my car said those spark plugs didn’t need to be changed at all. When he ran a diagnostic he said the camshaft needed to be replaced and that was all nothing else wrong with the coil which wasn’t replaced or the spark plugs. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******