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Simple Tranny Flush Turns Into $800 Scam

I bought my car used and with a few known problems at a small dealer near where I live. They needed to do the emissions testing and inspection that was included with the car and asked if I wanted to get some of the problems with the car worked out. I said that would be great if they could get it running better. I walk in to pick up the car and they handed me a $466 bill. They charged me:

TPS sensor $65.75, $20 labor
Climate control switch (hot/cold switch) $50, $30 labor
Used fuel pump $75, labor $75
Rotors $32 Pads $26, labor $50
Spay WD-40 on shifter $15

They didn't change out the TPS (which is $30 fom AZ, $50 from Ford), or the fuel pump ($15 from a junk yard) or even attempt to touch the climate control switch....exact same one was in the car, I know this because it wouldn't "click" and it kept blowing cold air until you pushed it in. I asked to see the parts and I was told by the mechanic "I just threw them away because my boss called and told me to clean up the shop. The garbage men just emptied the dumpster before you got here." I told him I wasn't born yesterday and I would talk to the owner. Needless to say I got the owner so scared I wound up paying just for the brake parts only, no labor either.

So a little aggressiveness does work some times. Looking back, I probably should have went with the local TV station with their "28 on your side" where they go to the place and fight for you. Definitely fight this 'til you get your money!
 
yeah umm my dad and i do all our own work. brakes to engine work. i dont trust dealerships or independent places. if we cant fix it after trying damn well everything we will ask people on where to go.
 
Wow...thanks all for the replies. I filed a BBB complaint and will be awaiting the results. (The long holiday weekend didn't help, either). We also have some phone numbers of local TV news investigators. Meanwhile, I drove the car all weekend and it's bangin' and clankin' all over the place worse than ever!:rolleyes: I'm wondering what the hell they messed up now.

I'm at work right now so I can't access the video somebody posted earlier, but when I get home I'd love to watch it.
 
Call the better business bureau and file a complaint. A lawyer will give useful info., but may charge a fee just to talk to. These scams occur much too often. Its sad. :cry:
 
Introducing: Sway Bar Link Kit #2!

Introducing: Sway Bar Link Kit #2!

I took the car in for a visual inspection at a garage in the area (I asked several people to refer me to a somewhat reliable place and took it there).
Guess what? The sway bar links are bad--again! And the side axle is bad and needs to be replaced. I showed the mech. the old links that All Tune & Lube replaced. He explained that either they installed them wrong/did a real bad job, or the axle was so bad that it broke one of the links. I suspect the former, as it became immediately obvious as soon as my mother drove away from that place that they botched the job or didn't do it at all.

While I was quoted a reasonable price this time around, it would've been nice not to go through this all over again if those idiots did the job right the first time...plus, they never mentioned a thing about the axle being bad. If the axle was going to break one of the links, why not replace that before the new links get ruined?:nonono:

So here we go again, spending money to fix what these guys screwed up, while my BBB complaint sits in limbo and the local news investigator's automated message informs me that cases are chosen at random because they can't get around to everyone.

It's sad...none of this would've happened with our trusted mechanic of several years, but he went out of business recently.
 
Contact your local Better Business Bureau. They will investigate into the matter, and hopefully, nothing like this will happen again. They could also force the shop to pay for the repairs needed, and even investigate into why the bill was so high.
 
If it is at all possible go through your bank/credit card and deny the charges. (on the basis that the services requested were not rendered).
 
Contact ur local ceg'r and have em check it out. many garages lie. We dont l\ie where i work but we charge a good bit. But we fix what is wrong. If u ever have a problem with a shop and know fo sure they screwed u, just dont pay. A shop once put junkyard pars on my bro's car and charged for new parts. I saw they were junkyard parts and my mom didnt pay and they dropped the issue very quick.
 
yamaha racer 686 said:
yeah umm my dad and i do all our own work. brakes to engine work. i dont trust dealerships or independent places. if we cant fix it after trying damn well everything we will ask people on where to go.
Click to expand...

Agreed!!! My younger brother, my dad, and I do all the work on our cars, the only thing we haven't been able to do personally, but by close friends for the most part, were getting the car pulled from being hit when we bought it, Some bondo and painting, and recharging the A/C....otherwise all the interior replacements, engine work, tranny work, etc, etc, has been done in house. Do it yourself if you're confident enough, saves tons of money....
 
todras said:
No way they even replaced the parts. No one can scew up end links. 2 bolts come on!
Click to expand...

That's what I'm wondering about--I have the old links in a bag with the spark plugs they claimed to've replaced--could they possibly have given me parts from another car?

Also, the place we're currently going with replaced the drive axle and a loose ball joint in addition to the sway bar links and passenger side axle...without running up the bill, either. Those morons at All Tune were asked to check things like the tie rods and all that crap and didn't say a word! But they were brazen enough to run off a laundry list of other things that were "broke", lol.:rolleyes:
 
Do you have a the $ 800.00 repair bill

Do you have a the $ 800.00 repair bill

satur9poet said:
After doing some digging around, I'm finding TONS of stories like mine from people who all took their cars to All Tune & Lube. What happened to us today just seems to be a variation of the "we'll need to fix A-Z for a million bucks or else you won't make it down the frigging block without breaking down" scam.

I'm really getting concerned that they F'ed up our car--there's several stories of parts being damaged and everything!:mad:

I'm off to go scream and curse now...
Click to expand...
Do you have a the TV investigator in your town ,sounds a bit fishy to me
or call the BBB to complain.
 
No win end game

No win end game

The TV investigater is not going to do anything unless its a high profile deal. Mechanic Rip Off is old news in most areas and not worth reporting on. The BBB has to have a certain number of complaintes with in a specified time frame or they will not do anything either, this varies from state to state. If the BBB does do anything at all, it would be to issue a warning that most shops that do bad business would just laugh at anyway. The warnings are not general public knowelege. You can request a BBB print out on a shop before going there to see if they have any warning or actions against them, but most people do not do this before they get burnt.
 
^^This is turning out to be true, MadMike. My BBB complaint was filed and that was the end of that. And the TV stations around here either pick cases at random or only focus on high-profile ones. But I found a pretty cool website: www.ripoffreport.com, where you can register to write your story of how a business ripped you off. You can warn others to stay away from a shady business AND embarrass the heck out of 'em!
 
satur9poet said:
^^This is turning out to be true, MadMike. My BBB complaint was filed and that was the end of that.
Click to expand...

From your post above it sounds like you filed your BBB complaint on or about 29 May. The company now has 30 days to respond to your complaint.
You will get a chance to respond back to them.
If you go to another shop for repairs keep all the receipts so you can use them in your response.

Good luck!
 
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