ComplaintsforTotal Car Care & Towing

• Initial Complaint

  03/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My car ran just like a brand new car. Never missed never leaked and never had one check engine light come on. I Took my car to Total Tire and Automotive to have four new tires put on oil changed and filter cab filter changed the transmission filter changed and transmission serviced mind you I took the car in with no problems. This was a total of 778.00 I get in my car to leave and my car starts jerking and the VSC light comes on so I called automotive and they said oh it sounds like it's missing so I go back out there they tried to to tell me it's either the battery or the coil packs (mind you I have had no problems with this car missed before taking it here) so I demanded that I go back there my father ***** ****** as well as my Aunt ***** ******* went back there with me . maniac starts messing withy radiator hoes saying see they are old he pulls on one and it broke this was not broke prior to this so instead of them replacing what they know they broke they charged me for the radiator and a battery I didnt need this costed me 652.44 just to be able to get my car from the shop to get home so when I left there I checked my oil and it was completely dry no oil was put back in my car I had to buy oil to filled my car mind you I just paid them for a oil change. After filling my car I call contacted a macanic that I know and told him about the jerking and the VSC light so I took the car to ** ****** and had them hook it to computer I was told a misfire on cylinder 1 and 4 so I had ***** the macanic replace those because I was not going back to automotive tire ***** also informed me that those don't just go out like that they have messed my car up so now my car still will not drive right it now blows huge clouds of smoke out the tail pipe I took my car to ***** again and I was given the bad news that due to the no oil being put in my car my oil ring is busted this is detrimental to my car if this is not fixed it will blow my motor up I have 4 witnesses

  Business response

  04/07/2023

  Dear BBB,Regarding this incident Mrs ****** came in for four tires, oil change, and transmission filter replacement. After picking up the vehicle she called back stating that it was missing and a light came on. Doing tires, oil change, and transmission filter change will not cause a car to miss the way it was missing. We have our mechanic on video putting oil in her vehicle. There were more problems with the car than we or she knew. We got it in the shop when she brought it back and it needed a coil pack or a battery. We then asked her if she had, had to jump start it at all she told us yes. So the battery being 7-8 years old she obviously needed a battery. Everything under the hood was very brittle around the radiator including all of the hoses. The radiator was leaking, and when our mechanic took her out into the shop to show her and he touched the house it literally just fell apart, it was nothing we did it is just a 13 year old vehicle things like that are going to wear out just by sitting on in the weather and honestly just being old. She agreed to let us replace the battery and the radiator. She called back after leaving and said it was still missing and we then told her that it really needed the coil pack and that if she went and got the part we would put it on for her for no charge due to we knew she was upset and we wanted to try to help her as much as we could but it wasn't our fault. Nothing we did would've caused those things to happen. The older vehicle is what caused these issues. The parts on the car are 13 years old, she was very lucky to get 13 years out of the radiator and the coil pack, and oil leaks are very common on older cars. We told her we would be more than happy to take a look at it but she never has brought it back and just filed this complaint without ever trying to speak with us about it.If you have any questions please give me a call @ ************Thank you, ******* ***************Office Manager

  Customer response

  04/07/2023

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ******** and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. First off since when does any car shop record a basic oil change that don't even sound legit at all and if this is some scare tactic is not working on me we can take this to court . Second it doesn't matter how old the car is I had no previous issues when oil changes were done or oil leaks or my car check engine light on no misfires  etc. nor did I ever have issues with my battery other than the ONE time I left my lights on in my car it ran the battery dead and let the record reflect the car ran just fine after i had it jumped matter of fact this was quite some time prior to coming to your shop. The older manic  that was there who works at your shop even said Hes never heard of a battery causing a car to misfire the look on his face confirmed I was being lied to just to get me to spend more money.  He also stated he wasn't the mechanic that did the service on my car the day before, so he walked into whatever that mechanic did.  per another mechanic getting a jump one time does not cause a misfire nor does it cause the vsc light to come on nor does it cause a battery to be no good regardless of how old my car was.  as far as in my radiator the age of the car nor radiator had nothing to do with the fact that both hoses were broken. Due to your fast pace inaccurate mechanics. it was broken off at the hard plastic piece were the hoes fits on top of. It was not the hoes itself so your telling BBB another lie. That don't just snap off of decay or just fall off that takes force to get of regardless of age and AGIAN I had no issues with it prior to coming to your shop. I would notice if I was losing antifreeze, I check my fluids quite often I always have I wasn't even having to add antifreeze that often so i know there was no leak. and furthermore, there was no reason for your mechanics to be messing with my radiator hoes at all. And also, an oil leak would have left several oil spots at my home as well as were I work, I parked that car in the same spots every day and i drove the car every day. The car had oil in prior to coming there and matter of fact i asked the man at the front desk how my oil looked funny he didn't say there was no oil in nor did he say we see a leak hes words were "its not too bad" the oil leak would have been noticed then   better yet there would have been no oil to change if there was a leak that had had my oil level on 0  which was what it was on when i got my car back after the oil change . I'm no fool and i know my car had no leaks before bringing it to your shop. that's no freak accident that after I come there with a perfectly good running car for basic maintenance, I leave with a car that has no oil and will not run like it was before I came there, and incorrect tires can cause the vsc light to come on as well which is something i asked about as well. I was told the oil change cab filter and transmission serviced 4 tires balanced and put on would be a 3-to-4-hour job and you charged me for it but did all that in about 2 hours. THIS WAS A RUSHED JOB yall overlooked important steps and you have messed up my car up.  per another manic the no oil being put back in my car caused the oil ring to bust and lev had to buy another car so why would i ever bring a car back there. you charged me for a radiator that yall broke and a battery I didn't need which was over 600.00 i want my money back and 750.00 for basic Maintenace that cost me my entire car all because I came there Total Tire and Automotive yall are wrong I know your wrong my dad who came there and seen the radiator and my aunt also who was there as well knew yall were up to no good and recorded the conversation  as  well as the mechanic who found out what the problem yall caused. After mentioned the business to others I'm not the only person that has experienced this. I won't my money back your shop has cost me my vehicle.......  Regards, ******* ******

  Business response

  04/17/2023

   Attached are the photos from under the hood. The hoses, battery, and where an animal had made a nest under the hood. There is no way to determine that we did anything to your car. We have on camera our mechanic putting oil into your vehicle. The radiator hoses were very brittle. This could’ve been handled differently if you would’ve came by with your concerns, or even given us a call we would’ve tried to help you the best we could have if we would’ve known how upset you were with the situation, even thought there is no way to determine we have done anything. But since you just admitted that you have a recording of a conversation without our consent to your recording, which is illegal. You have gone online bashing our business, without coming to us after the fact of upsetting you. We will do what we have to do and you can do whatever you feel you need to do about the situation. 

  Customer response

  04/17/2023

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below First off I have not been on one social media platform and mentioned this so there is another lie your telling. Second I wasn't the one who recorded the conversation so I could care less if that is illegal but I'm glad it was done  and third of all trust and believe if I could have afforded a good lawyer y'all would have already received court papers. Y'all know what y'all did but what you didn't expect for was for it to be reported  and furthermore I will to tell people to avoid your car services at all cost because NOONE should take there car for basic service and no sooner than you leave start having immediate issues and then having to buy a whole new car .That car should have ran the same as it did when it brought it there and at the end of the day I'm glade I reported it as I should 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. ↩