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:12/27/2022

  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 12/19/2022 brought my 2009 dodge ram in for heating repairs for the the cold coming in, I had no heat, no engine light, no leaks, on overheating. Upon diagnostic a cost of $125.00 fee which would be added in cost or taken of the price of repairs, invoice did not reflect that fee. I was told I needed fluid, spark plugs, valve covers, water pump, after inspection I was told I needed a fan clutch is why I wasn't getting any heat, after fan clutch replaced, left & no heat, cost $843.17 brought it back, I saw old water pump, but no old clutch, after keeping it for 4 days until the 23rd they had told me I needed parts for the heat to go through the vents cost over $1200.00 because I still don't any heat.i was sure after diagnostic was done that that payment was guaranteed me heat. Now after taking truck there is a sound like a jet engine when I accelerate. Everything was operational properly until I brought it there at ***********. ****, *************** all were convincing that I would leave with heat, but was told I needed more work done to get heat after taking my money. I don't think they are honest & really don't want to do any more business with them.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2023

   ************ came in asking for a general diagnostic on his vehicle. Stating that he was having problems with his heater working properly. After the initial diagnostic, we let him know about the issues he had. The vehicle did have some major internal leaks, valve cover gasket and water pump. Aside from not having a single drop of coolant. Due to the mileage of the vehicle and the lack of maintenance it has received from the owner, it also needed a change of spark plugs and a flush on the engine system. Regarding his main concern, the car's heater, it was explained to him that the thermostat was stock open and that prevented the warm air from flowing, because of this, we had to start by replacing that part. However, he was never guaranteed that once the thermostat was replaced, the heater would function normally. 

  The first issue our company had with this customer was in approving the repairs. ************ received a link with the estimate, which reflected the services mentioned above with part and labor prices. One of the benefits of this software is that customers can approve services directly from their cell phones. ************ approved everything, but spark plugs and valve covers. Services were also approved verbally via a phone call.  A couple of hours later, the customer came back to the store and said that he had not seen the discounted diagnostic on the estimate he had received. To clear up any misunderstanding, the invoice was printed out, shown and explained in detail to him. The total of the services approved by him on both, the estimate sent via text message and the phone call was $966.41.  

  The client thought that the total of the repairs approved by him would be around $500, because at the time of approving the repairs through the link, he did not read carefully and instead of seeing the total of the approved services, he saw the total of the deferred services. The repair was already underway and there was no turning back. Bravos Auto care 2 is known for always being understanding with the customer, so we offered a discount. The total was $843.22.

   

  Once the work was completed, the entire vehicle system was rechecked to verify that the repair had been carried out effectively.  The thermostat was working as it should, the heating windows were blowing air, however, it was not hot air. On the other hand, the technician noticed that the fan could move easily, which should not happen. It should be noted that the fan was still working, but to avoid problems in the near future (car overheating) the customer was advised to replace it. Since this problem was not identified from the beginning, Bravos Auto Care decided to give the labor for free, so the customer would only have to pay for the part ($121.17). ************ approved the repair under those conditions. Regarding the heater, he was informed that we would dig deeper into the problem to find out why after changing the thermostat, it was still not working and that whatever the problem was, we would fix it for free, but in return we would need time; as we had to disassemble the dashboard (6 hours labor). Once disassembled, we found that one of the A/C box windows was broken, but windows are not sold individually, so we would need the complete assembly, which cost about $1,200.00 and unfortunately, it was back ordered without an ETA. We were able to find the part on **** (used), but it would not arrive for 4/5 days and the customer was not willing to wait. He asked that we reassemble everything, as his intention was to take it from the store and bring it back when the part was here. He was informed that if we reassembled the dashboard, when he came back to install the part, the labor would no longer be free. He said he didn't care, he just wanted his truck back. Everything was put back in place and the car was returned to its owner. 

   

  Bravos Auto Care at all times had the intention of helping the customer, however, we depend not only on the mechanics and their efficiency, but also on the availability of parts. In this case, we were eager to solve his problem, but the part was not available and his lack of patience, which is understandable to some extent, prevented us from helping him. 

   

  If you have any more questions or need anything from us, please let us know.

   

  Thank you, 

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

  General Manager 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/19/2023

  Complaint: 18635540
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************** reason being is that the parts that they replaced or put on the truck was not needed, the truck was operating properly there was no engine light notice or lit up on the dash until I purchased a clutch fan as they recommended after they opened up the valve covers the truck did not sound the same did not have the same pressure they recommended me to get a clutch fan to prevent it from overheating the next week the truck overheated and stop running and cut off I brought it to the shop nearby and they told me the Pistons one of the Pistons was not operating or function properly and now because of overheating I have to jumk the truck I brought it there with the expectation of getting a heater repair instead I got all kinds of difficulties instead of having heat. They had my truck for a week & afterwards I left with no heat but more problems. They said they would get the parts for the heater, I was not going to allow them to do any more damage that they had previously done. They offered no guarantee, no resolution, but gave me the run around as to what is needed to have heat in the truck. They said I need a water pump, afterwards they said you have heat but not 100% ,after I got in the truck it was the same air as before, so they said bring it back, I brought it back,  and  still no heat,then they said they have order parts. I was disappointed & angry because I thought they were honest & respectful to customers by not taking advantage of those who are not mechanically inclined. I had the truck diagnosed after it overheated on the highway, and it would cost more to replace the engine than the value of the truck. So now I'm left with a choice of having it towed to a junkyard for scraps, I have a report on a document stating their findings. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/03/2022

  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.

  Took the car in to check the brakes. They found several problems. Gave an estimate of $1005.78. I left the car with them for repair on Monday. Two days later they texted me that the price would be $1405.53. I approved the new charge. On Friday they called and said the car was ready. The bill was $1454.72. I paid the bill and took the car. The car still had the original problems it had when I took it in. I took it back on the next Monday. Manager told me they did not repair the brakes. Now they want to charge me an additional $600 to repair the brakes. I took it to another shop and they fixed the brakes. The charge was $622. Now the car has more problems than it did when I took it in the first time.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/02/2022

  The reason why I am emailing you is because ***************** has received your complaint letter with the assigned ID of ********, and we would like to clarify the situation.

   

   Mr. ****** came in asking for a general diagnostic on his vehicle. Stating that he was having problems with his brakes and engine. After the initial diagnostic we let him know about the issues he had.

  On the brakes we let him know that we were needed to replace his pads and rotors and that one of the wheel bearings was in bad shape and needed to be replace. On these repairs he denied them, since he stated that he had warranty on them, because another shop had recently installed them.

  On the engine repairs, we let him know what repairs were needed to start with. We never guarantee that the initial repairs were going to fix all his vehicle problems and more problems may come up during the process. He understood this and agreed with repairs and price. During this verbal agreement, we gave him a time frame of 3 days for competition.

   

  During the repair process, we found multiple internal failures that could not be seen on the initial diagnostic and extended the repair time. When we informed the customer about this, he started to be argumentative and to blame us for everything that was not functioning correctly and stated that everything was working fine before we started working on his vehicle (when the vehicle came in with multiple malfunctions). One more time we explained the process of repairs and the reasons why he needed the extra work, parts and the extension of time to finish the job. He was not happy about having to spend more money and about leaving the vehicle for a longer time at the shop. So, we as a responsible shop decided to move forward with the other repairs and not charge him for those services and lent him a vehicle for his daily commute. The total of the repair order was $2,571.30 and he only had to pay $1,405.53. He was still not conformed, after we gave him a $1,131.10 discount and a vehicle to drive.

  After repairs were finished, he came in and pay for the services, but complaint about the credit card transaction fee he was needed to pay (we have signs stating this fee) and saying he was going to deny the charge to his credit card company. He paid and left the shop yelling and being rude to our staff.

   

  The week after he picked up the car from the shop, he came back saying that his brakes were not functioning correctly. We reminded him about his initial problem with the brakes and the reason why he was getting an ABS service light and that he denied the service since he had warranty at another shop. He kept blaming us for this issue that we did not create. To avoid any conflict with him and complaints we offered him to replace the brake disks and pads for free but letting him know that he was still needed to replace the wheel hub bearing since it was badly installed and that was damaging the brakes components and we provided a quote for the bearing repair but did not approve it.

  The total of the pads and rotors repair order was $673.52.

   

  A couple of days after we replaced his brakes, he came back with the same problem. We told him that we could check the vehicle, but it was not going to be for free, since we already gave him enough discounts, and again that the issue was his bearing and that no matter how many times we replace the brakes pads and rotors the problem was going to come back. The customer declared in a very loud and aggressive way that we do not know how to do anything right, and he was going to present a complaint against this business, at that point the manager in charge told him that we were not going to service his vehicle anymore since every single time he came to the shop he was very rude to all the staff, blaming us for preexisting problems and expecting us to repair them for free. The customer left angry and threaten the manager to call the police on him. He did file a police report against him with false accusations claiming the manager threaten him (something that never happened). The police showed up at our shop and we presented proof of the false allegations and did not proceed with the report anymore.

   

  The Bravos Auto Care team did not hear anything about the customer until we received the letter from BBB. The shop contacted him immediately, letting him know that he was more than welcome to come into the shop and discuss this complaint with us an attempt to alleviate the complaint. He did, and one more time we fixed his vehicle for something not related to us and did not charge him the $112.47 that was the cost of the repair.

   

  If you have any more questions or need anything from us, please let us know.

   

  Thank you, 

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

  General Manager 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/21/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  I have ******************* on my 2009 black dodge nitro. ********* agreed to put a remanded engine into my vehicle which is at Bravos auto on *************************. ****, ****** and ***** all employees there stayed they will not put a remanded engine from CarShield and even if they did it wont work. They stated I will have to pay $2,888 for their own used engine and not the one covered by my insurance. They refused to call ********* back for the updated information to order the engine and now want to charge for a diagnostic that I never approved. They are refusing to let me move my truck to another shop to get fixed for an already approved engine.