I sent the car (2010 Corolla) in for what I thought might be a faulty serpetine belt. I drop it off and Uber in to work as they do not open till 8. I get a call at work and am then informed of the following:
The belt is bad, the alternator is bad which killed the battery. Also, we should change the oil and filter the engine air filter. Grand total $942. oof..
Now I show up at the end of my workday only to be informed that while replacing the alternator, the mechanic knocked some hose and "brittle" plastic off of the radiator which forced him to replace the whole of the radiator, which led to him having to "flush" the old radiator before installing the new one which had to be ordered. That service pushed the time the car should be ready by 3 hours. Also, if I want or can’t afford these new services, they could bring the car around without a radiator.
In addition to this, due to him being such a caring mechanic, he will forgo the labor charge ~$460 for the radiator "they broke" and only charge me ~$460 for the part? This will bring my total to a measly $1386.06.
That total included a new oil cap and new radiator cap also cause, well why tf not.
On top of all the extra charges I sat for +2hrs after work outside, cause the dogs inside would not chill tf out because they had no A/C in the building. I did like this place, but now I would not go there if they handed out free cars with every oil change. I am disgusted and heartbroken.
#neveragainPaulfromChucks

Paul B. from Chucks Auto Care responded on 05/10/2024 07:41 AM

Thanks for the review but I wish you would tell the truth in doing so. Way to be a man and hide behind a computer screen while you bad mouth me. You want to cuss me have the gonads to stand to my face and say WTF!

First, your right the A/C went out and we had not had it fixed as of yet because we are waiting on an HVAC technician. Not my fault. The dogs have been her ever since you've been a customer. If you didn't like the dog's behavior you could have asked us to put them away as other customers have done.

You approved every bit of work up to the radiator, we will get to that in a minute. It really doesn't matter what you thought the vehicle was coming in for because you are not a mechanic and could not diagnosis it or repair it so what you think was wrong doesn't really mean any thing.

Now, your concern was a battery light on and difficulty starting the car. I told you on the phone that typically it is more than a belt. You brought the vehicle to me for diagnosis and repair. We found the battery would not take a charge, the alternator had 2 out of 3 diode sets to be in failure. This was causing the battery to not be charged and this was the reason for the battery light. The battery had to be replaced due to being damaged by the failing alternator. The old battery would have damaged a new alternator. The alternator drive belt was worn and what kind of dumb mechanic would put a worn belt on a new alternator? That is when the belt fails in a few weeks and then your bitching because we just fixed the alternator and why wouldn't we fix the belt?

It has always been our practice and will continue to be for us to check the vehicle over while we are doing any service in an effort to avoid unexpected failures while you are driving and find yourself stranded on the road. Your oil fill cap was leaking oil all over the top of your engine. The engine oil was below the operating range, black and very over due per the reminder sticker. Again, maintence keeps a vehicle functional. Anyway, you approved all the recommend work up to the radiator.

Let's talk about the radiator. It is not my fault your vehicle is older and due to age the "plastic" radiator broke during the process of doing an approved repair. The hose had to be moved to access the alternator for replacement. We could not do the "approved" repair without manipualtion of the hose which caused the failure of the "already brittle" plastic component. By the way, you can't put old antifreeze in a new radiator. Only an idiot would try to save worn out coolant to put back in the system. If you new anything about automotive service and repair you would know the coolant was worn and needed to be flushed from the engine in an effort to avoid future coolant leaks or to get debris from the cooling system that can cause cloggs. Oh, your radiator cap tested bad and if you knew anything you would be aware the ability of he radiator cap to maintain the specified pressure plays a big part in keeping the vehicle from overheating.

No, I didn't call you about the radiator because you really didn't have an option. Yes, as I said that day and I will say it again your option was for us to fix the radiator or not drive your vehicle. Since the entire process was to be able to drive your car we moved forward with the "required" repair. Since you had to Uber to work that doesn't sound like you have extra cars just waiting for you to drive them which means you needed the car back. By the way, don't bitch about the time we finished the vehicle. I told you the vehicle would be ready by the end of the day. Any business that uses that as finish point, they mean the end of their day. Just because you get off work at 1500 that is not the end of the day. You called and I told you the vehicle would not be done until later in the day and you still came in early. Not my fault or issue.

Thanks for admitting I shared the cost of the "extra, unwanted but required" cooling system repair. I don't like the snide, smart ass, passive aggressive comment about because I'm such a "caring mechanic" I only charged you half the cost of the added "needed" repair. So, based on your review It is my fault you have an old car with brittle components. In the same way it isn't your fault that sometimes in repair removal/manipualtion of components that are in the way of the part being serviced. To me the most fair way to address the bad situation was for us to share the pain. We split the cost so that neither of us took advantage of the other. By your review I should have just eaten the almost one thousand additiional dollars. Show me another business that will eat a job as big as the job that was approved. Better yet show me another automotive shop that will even split the cost with you. I could have just not repaired the problem and let you figure out what to do with your car but I fixed it so that you could be inconvenienced as little as possible. I'll bet you don't work for free but that is what I did. All I asked you to do was pay for the parts I had to put on your car and you drove away with. I, also, bet that if you make a mistake or have negative outcome at work you still run to the bank on the 1st and the 15th with your full paycheck which means you don't work for free even when you screw up. Yet, you've got your panties in a bunch because I didn't throw myself on my sword and give you the job for free.

You might read this and feel I'm wrong because "the customer is always right" but sir you are wrong. Let's face facts if you knew how to repair your own vehicle you would and since you don't know how to repair your vehicle what makes you believe you have the level of knowledge required to write a review like this? You don't. You where hurt and wanted to blame anbody but accept that you actually had a part in this entire scenario. As you can see I'm not a the customer is right kind of guy. However, I am a "treat everyone the way I want to be treated" kind of guy and that is what I did with you. I provided you an accurate, high quality repair at a fair price. Umfortunately, we had a fly in the ointment and I did my best to have a fair outcome for both of us.

You want to talk about being disgusted and heartbroken and I have to agree. I'm disgusted that you couldn't be an adult and talk to me about this versus posting a nasty review. I'm heartbroken I went out of my way to turn a bad situation into the best possible outcome and it didn't matter to you. I should have made you buy full price. I would still had a bad review but not out an additional five hundred dollars by being a "caring mechanic".

Thank you for saying you will no longer darken my door, saying you will not return to my business. I'm sorry you had a negative experience because customer satisfaction is important to me but not so important that I think I should give away all my repairs. However, thank you for putting my mind at ease because I really don't need customers that actually cost me money. Just like every business with open doors, I'm here to provide a quality service at a fair price and yes to even make a profit. I know that sounds like a dity word but "all" businesses are open to make a profit.

I agree, #dontevercomebackErick