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:07/25/2023

  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.

  On Thursday, July 20, in ****** ***** **, i was out of town with my 3 young children and my ***** enclave was overheating every mile. I contacted HH Auto Techs and they stated to bring it to the shop on our way out of town. We were told we had to pay $ 55 for a pressure test to look for leaks, I told him before we arrived there were no visible leaks but the car continued to overheat. (coolant was full) we were then told the heater hose was busted and would need to be replaced for a total of $533. After 4 hours we were sent on our way and JUST INCASE WE ENDED UP STRANDED AGAIN, the manager gave me his personal number. 6 miles down the road, the coolant was gushing out in a parking lot, and car overheated. We called the manager who stated" I hope the clamp didn't come off." The manager came to look at the car, stated" THEY SHOULD HAVE STATED THE THERMOSTAT, NOT the hose." Told us we would have to find somewhere to spend the night, they would look at the car the next day of course for a fee. We were stuck in HH island and we had to take an **** ($51) to car rental($96) to drive home to ***** **. We had to pay for tow truck to tow car home. WE called the shop for a refund and *******, the manager who stated to several witnesses they "should have replaced the thermostat instead"( even though we paid for diagnostic test that should have caught that). He was understanding of the mistake and danger. ****** The OWNER however, DID not accept any responsibility for the false diagnosis, the price gouging, the lack of repair, the help with other charges because he shabbily replaced a hose that did not need to be replaced. I was GIVEN the hose which is not even damaged! Once home, several reputable mechanics checked my car and stated the NEW hose was not even attached properly so WE WOULD NOT HAVE EVEN MADE IT HOME SAFELY AND THE ENGINE COULD HAVE EXPLODED. I am requesting refund from HILTON HEAD AUTO TECHS, payment for the ****, the rental car and tow company.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/03/2023

  To whom it may concern, Thank you for reviewing my response. Because of the response time constraint I will keep this brief, so pardon my brevity.

  The customer called and told us that her car was leaking coolant, not overheating per her complaint. this was a day or so before her arrival. If she informed us that she was experiencing a overheating condition, we would have asked her to pull her car over immediately and call a roadside service. She only informed us that her car hadn't lost any coolant when she arrived. That prompted us to pull the car in the shop to do a pressure test. We told her pressure test because a pressure test is how you detect a leak and leaks only, which she agreed. Upon inspection we find and immediately show the customer that she had a busted hose coming from the thermostat area. this hose was completely severed. The customer had a water pump replaced recently and as standard practice we usually change the thermostat as a precaution unless recently replaced. the customer while waiting continued to explain how low she was on money and that she only wanted to get home. As a solution, we only repaired the hose that was broken, with her permission. We also drove the vehicle for 10 -15 minutes and the customer cannot deny she witnessed. The vehicle never overheated on the test drive. We received her payment, gave her the keys, and her and her 1 adult, one 17 year old, and 2 cats (that we also watched after as she went and got a beverage/snack from the neighboring ****** ******). 

  The Customer was gone for more than an hour and was idling in a neighboring towns Local *********** drive thru before what assume is her thermostat failed. Her broken hose that was possibly broken during her last repair, could have led to her thermostat failure, which is in hindsight was an intermittant issue. And/or her thermostat could have been the reason her previous mechanic thought the water pump was bad. Either way we offered to fix her vehicle . My GM even left the shop and drove to her in the neighboring town to help assist the family. Even tried to pull some strings and get her a rental car. Our shop didn't even have an appointment for the young lady that day, but still took her and her extended family in. I feel we went above and beyond to help this woman, and even gave her the broken part to show her local mechanic.

  We don't advertise, we use word of mouth which is how this customer heard of u.  No one can ever levy an accusation that we willfully or accidentally took advantage of anyone. As unfortunate her event and timeliness of her vehicle failure was, I don't feel we are responsible as every vehicle owner should be prepared to take a road trip with an out of warranty vehicle. I feel we offered the hand of fellowship and a received a bite in response. However, we will not complain and continue to serve our community and thousands of visitors and families that visit our location. please reject this letter and not allow this false accusation to hinder us from serving families in need. Thank You 

  ****** ******** Hilton Head Auto Techs

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/14/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

   Complaint: ********

  I am rejecting this response because:

  I do NOT want this case closed as the information sent from the business was inaccurate. The owner replied with false information and the manager is who I talked to and dealt with. The owner called on JULY 27, 2023 and left me a threatening voicemail that has also brought concerns of the safety of myself and my children.

  The owner was *** ******* but you need ******* to respond with more accurate information. **** ****** and ***** ****** are witnessses to all  interactions that occurred  at auto shop and conversations and interactions that occurred after.

  I have 2 mechanics who looked at my car once I had my car towed back to *********** who attest to the wrong AND incomplete work done. To this day, my car is still undriveable and I am without $1500 due to this experience. Please call me for more information.

  ************

  Regards,

  ***** ****