ComplaintsforStakely Automotive and Marathon

• Initial Complaint

  12/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In May of 2022 i took my vehicle to Stakely after having my vehicle serviced by another mechanic with an oil leak. i was informed by stakely that the job was botched meaning the pan hadn’t been sealed properly. i also was told i needed an oil gasket amongst other things. i authorized stakley to do the work for $978.63. several days later i noticed oil in my garage again. i phoned the shop to inform them and returned my vehicle to the shop. initially they suggested that it may just be residual but they’d take a look. when i took it back just a couple of weeks post repair they said they see no issues and that it must be old oil. although i explained it was fresh. nonetheless, i picked my car up and left. now several months later, i continue to have a leak and took my car to the dealership for device. i received a video that explained the problem that the oil pan replacement and gasket etc was leaking and not installed properly. i shared the video with Stakely who took no ownership or responsibility of the work that was not performed correctly. i was therefore faced w/another expense of over $2k and Stakely refused to share any part of the cost.

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  The issue with the Acura. I am sorry for the problem with your car but I have sold the shop to Spencer Automotive.I don't know when you brought the car back in and wasn't there to look at the issue. ***** ******* had been in charge of all services during a period of time and under his ownership for a few months before the BBB letter was submitted. 

  Customer response

  03/29/2023

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 18540164
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the original supposed fix was done under the previous name perhaps however being that it was brought back and checked almost immediately after the initial fix because i reported oil in my garage and was then told that peep has it was residual and they checked again and found nothing before i took it to Acura is unacceptable. Furthermore, the new owner should have assisted with resolving the matter when i brought proof of the concern. my family and i had been loyal customers to this point. operating a business and not honoring warranty’s because the business was “sold,” is a true disservice to customers.  The way the  matter was handled by all parties was sub par, disappointing, and wrong. ultimately costing me nearly 2k more for the same work that was supposed to be fixed months prior.
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ****************

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This complaint is regarding the *** ******* *** ************* ** ***** ********* *** *** * ******** ** ********* Website would not let me pick the other location. Not enough characters, a full summary and timeline of events will be attached in a Word document, in addition to all relevant invoices, reports, and sales receipts in PDF format.

  3/17/21 - Took my car, a 2012 Volvo S60, to Stakely Automotive to diagnose shaking in engine and get clunk noise diagnosed.
  3/17/21 - Stakely notifies me that front right strut is bad and is causing clunking sound, and that coil misfires were causing engine shaking. They also told me that the left tie rod end had a torn boot and was leaking grease. I told them to do what they had to do to fix the shaking and to replace the left tie rod end’s torn boot but told them to hold off on replacing the front right strut. The note on their invoice dated 3/17/21 states “Drove the car and it is running good”.
  3/18/21 - I picked up the car from Stakely Automotive in the morning and paid $801.43 (see attached invoice dated 3/17/21):
  $105.00 for diagnosis
  $307.08 for ignition coil x4
  $84.75 for spark plug x5
  $126.00 for 1.2 hours of labor for spark plug/ignition coil replacement
  $67.92 for 1 tie rod end (UNRELATED TO COMPLAINT)
  $42.00 for .4 hours of labor for outer tie rod replacement (UNRELATED TO COMPLAINT)
  $18.00 for a supplies fee/shop charge
  $50.68 in sales tax
  3/18/21 - After leaving work in the late afternoon, I noticed the car was once again shaking just as it was before Stakely Automotive did their work. I called Stakely Automotive and spoke with a man named ***** who advised me to have the vehicle towed back to them and they would investigate the issue. I then had the vehicle towed back to Stakely Automotive via *** that same evening.
  3/31/21 - I was informed that there are still misfires in the engine in cylinder #4. The invoice dated 3/31/21 states they swapped ignition coils and spark plugs again and it did not make a difference. They also decided to check the fuel pressure (see invoice for details and data). I was told that replacing the fuel pump would now fix the issue, and I said for them to do the repairs only if they were certain, and I was told that they were certain. I authorized the fuel pump replacement. After the fuel pump was replaced and did not fix the issue, I was then told by *****, the shop manager, that they were out of ideas, and I was advised to take the vehicle to the dealership. I asked if the car was drivable so I could at least drive myself home, and ***** said it was.
  
  4/1/21 - I picked up the car from Stakely Automotive that morning, and paid $1,120.39 (see attached invoice dated 3/31/21):
  $538.05 for fuel pump assembly
  $493.50 for 4.7 hours of labor for fuel pump and strainer replacement
  $18.00 for a supplies fee/shop charge
  $70.84 in sales tax
  When I picked up the vehicle the morning of 4/1/21, I noticed there was now physical damage to the interior, driver’s side door panel. It was cracked and a large section had completely broken off. I told the manager, *****, about this and pointed it out to him. He shrugged his shoulders and said these things happen with older cars (the car in question is a 2012 Volvo S60). This damage was absolutely not present when I had the vehicle dropped off at Stakely Automotive. At this point I had to leave since I had to drive to work and was in danger of being late.
  I did not make it a quarter of a mile away from Stakely Automotive before the car began shaking worse than before. I had to immediately pull over and get yet another tow via *** despite David at Stakely telling me the car was safe to drive. This time I had the car towed to ***** ***** ******* ** *** ** ******** *** ********* ** ****** ****** ***** *********
  4/5/21-***** **** from Byers Volvo contacts me and informs me that the engine shaking (or rough idling) is attributable to misfires in cylinders #3 & #5 (see attached invoice from Byers Volvo dated 4/5/21). Additionally, one of the ignition coils that Stakely Automotive had installed was the incorrect part, and the spark plugs that had been installed by Stakely were aftermarket and were not installed correctly. Byers Volvo replaced coil #1 and all five of the spark plugs, and at this point the vehicle was running normally.
  I was also advised by Byers Volvo at this point that the current fuel pump readings were within specifications, but that the data supplied by Stakely Automotive in the invoice dated 3/31/21 indicated that the old fuel pump was also within specifications, and never needed replacing at all. This is indicated on page seven of the Byers Volvo invoice dated 4/5/21.
  
  4/7/21: I picked up my car from Byers Volvo located at *** ** ******** *** ********* ** ***** and paid them $1339.69:
  $235.98 for labor for ignition coil and spark plug replacement by tech **** ** *******
  $97.28 for ignition coil x1
  $102.92 for spark plug kit
  $492.90 for labor for installation of timing belt kit (UNRELATED TO COMPLAINT)
  $273.61 for timing belt kit (UNRELATED TO COMPLAINT)
  $7.00 for SEMS screw (UNRELATED TO COMPLAINT)
  $5.00 for waste removal fee (UNRELATED TO COMPLAINT)
  $6.88 for replacement of left side brake light (UNRELATED TO COMPLAINT)
  $25.00 for shop supplies
  $93.12 for sales tax
  
  Therefore, I paid Stakely Automotive:
  $105 to diagnose the issue, which they failed to do.
  $307.08 for ignition coils that were defective.
  $84.75 for five spark plugs that were aftermarket and not installed correctly.
  $126 for 1.2 hours of labor.
  6.75% for sales tax.
  I am requesting a refund of $622.83 plus $42.04 in sales tax (6.75%) for a total of $664.87 out of the $801.43 spent on 3/18/21.
  On 4/1/21, I paid Stakely Automotive:
  $538.05 for a new fuel pump assembly.
  $493.50 for the 4.7 hours it took to replace the fuel pump
  $18.00 for a supplies fee/shop charge.
  $70.84 for sales tax.
  According to Stakely’s own data, the fuel pump replacement job was wholly unnecessary since it did not fix the issue, and the old part fell within specifications anyway. This was later confirmed by the licensed Volvo mechanic. Therefore, I am requesting a refund of the entirety of the transaction done on 3/31/21 in the amount of $1120.39.
                  Due to the damage done to the vehicle while in Stakely’s possession, and the extra charges incurred via taking the vehicle to another mechanic (Byers Volvo) due to their incompetence and negligence, I also believe that the relevant parts of my transaction with Byers Volvo should also be covered, in the amount of $436.18 plus 6.75% sales tax in the amount of $29.44, totaling $465.62.
  All told, I am requesting a refund from Stakely Automotive in the amount of $2,250.88 due to their negligence, incompetence, and dishonesty.
  In addition to this timeline summary, I will also be attaching all relevant invoices from Stakely Automotive and Byers Volvo, as well as scans of all sales receipts.
  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information.

   

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  In response to the first Volvo complaint. The vehicle was brought in with multiple issues. The shaking from the front end was caused by a worn out tie rod end. this was noted a few times on earlier repair visits.That repair fixed that issue.
  The second complaint was from misfire faults. We did replace worn out coils and spark plugs using oem replacements. This repair was done on 3/17/21 @ 125180 miles. The vehicle was towed back in for the second time on 3/31/21 . 14 days later with 125740 miles on it.  560 miles later for a running concern.We did some diagnosis on the vehicle and found two problems. One was fuel pressure related. The specs were 55 pounds of fuel pressure but we were only getting 35-38 and was in need of a fuel pump. The customer approved the pump replacement. When removing the pump we did have to clean metal shaving from the gas tank from the pump's failed motor. After the pump was replaced we had a misfire from cylinder #4. We did try to diagnose this problem by swapping coils, spark plugs and even checking voltages to the components. all tested okay. I want to recall us telling him that he may be in need of a timing belt but it was not noted. I think he took the car because of frustration. When he claimed that Byers had misfires on cylinders 3 and 4 but they replaced ignition coil 1 to fix the problem that didn't make sense. And that they replaced all spark plugs because they weren't factory. We purchased our parts from WolrdPak which carries oem parts and have been using them for years without very many issues. The parts and our shop covers warranties for 12k miles or 1 year so if they were bad we would have replaced them at our cost.  . There weren't faults on all cylinders ,indicating that the spark plugs were wrong. I think in my opinion, and working on cars for 30 plus years, the timing belt replacement may have fixed the cylinder misfire fault on cylinder 4, that we were chasing, with the alignment of the cam to crank correlation. Also when the mechanic at Byers indicated that the pump was not a problem because they were able to check the old pump readings. They weren't able to check the old readings,  that cars pressure readings were from a new pump, not the pressures from a failed motor. That's the only thing in a gas tank that could leave metal shaving. Unless the metal shaving were added through his filler neck. 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  03/22/2023

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 15676569
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 
  It does not fix the issue and is dishonest. I took my vehicle to Stakely to have them fix an issue, rough running. They made the decision on what the issue was, they tried to fix it, failed, and then they themselves referred me to the Volvo dealership, with Stakely’s manager saying they could not fix and “didn’t know what else to do”. But if the Volvo dealership can’t be trusted (as indicated in the merchant’s most recent message) why would Stakely refer me back to them? Stakely was very unresponsive about this issue until pressed by the BBB and my bank, at which point they replied with a deranged report that included more lies and personal insults about my weight (“bulk”). 
  
  In short, I paid Stakely for a service; to fix the rough running in my 2012 Volvo S60. They could not do it, having tried and failed, either due to incompetence or negligence, but yet they still expect payment. Now they are blaming this on others, it’s somehow Volvo’s fault, and the fact remains that Stakely (now Spencer Automotive) didn’t do what they’re were paid to do. Lastly I’d like to point out that this merchant has a history of this behavior, as even a cursory google search will show several other reviews with quite similar horror stories. I have attached a few screenshots of the more relevant reviews.
  
  Regards,
  
  **** ******

*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. ↩