Julie, Yes, we ask for feedback from everybody we can, and then it gets published to the Sure Critic website. We signed up for this service, unconditionally. By that, I mean, we have no control over what gets pulished and what doesn't. It's called "transparency". That helps other people decide whether we're upstanding, honest and reputable enough to do business with.
We understand that nobody likes getting bad news about their cars. Sometimes I wish we had a crystal ball. If we did, maybe we could've saved your car. Unfortunately, there was no way anyone could've known in October (when we repaired your transmission problem) that in late January, your water pump would leak antifreeze into the crankcase of your engine. The water pump is inside the engine and cannot be viewed without at least couple of hours of teardown time. I don't know anybody that would diagnose this condition for free, as you seemed to expect. We followed normal proceedures for the symptoms your boyfriend provided (engine oil was grayish/milky sludge) and pressure tested the cooling system while monitoring the oil level to determine if the foreign substance in the oil was in fact antifreeze. When antifreeze mixes with engine oil, it permiates babbit metal, the stuff crankshaft bearings are made of. Even if we had opted to replace the water pump and change the oil (roughly a $1000.00 job), more than likely the engine would've suffered catostrophic engine bearing failure within a short time ($4000.00 - $6000.00 job), making the cost of repairs more than the value of the car.
You go to work because you need money to live, and so does everyone here at Northside. I couldn't possibly ask them to diagnose cars all day long for no pay. I hope you can understand that they've invested literally 10's of thousands of their own hard-earner dollars in tools and equipment to make a living. How is a mechanic any different than an air-conditioning/heating repairman, doctor, dentist or even a waitress, for that matter. You won't find ANY that work for no wages, including yourself.
We hope that you come to realize that unfortinate things happen, and while blame is often cast with anger when, many times it's misdirected and hurts relationships, like the one we here at Northside would like to maintain with you and your vehicles. We harbor no ill feelings and will always be forthright and professional with you and yours.
It's my understanding that you've replaced your vehicle. To get you off on the right foot, I'd like to offer you a complete and free inspection before any warranty runs out so that you may take advantage of any free repairs your dealership might be responsible for.
Verified Customer
The last thing you fixed was my transmission and you could have said something then, but instead you gladly took my $559. A couple months later, my car is back. Now you decide to tell me it is not worth fixing, but first you decide you need to run a test to confirm that and charge me for that test without telling me, the owner, before you spend my money! $40 may only be half hour if your precious time, but I had to work 6 hours to earn that!! So next time you decide to unnecessarily spend someone else's money, you should really think about if it's worth losing their business over. Then when I say to you, what happened to free estimates? You say well my guys don't work for free and free estimate means me calling and saying my car needs this and you tell me estimate of the cost. Ok so if I knew my car would cost more to fix than what it's worth or if i knew what was wrong with it, WHY in the hell would I bring it to you or authorize a $40 test to confirm it??????
I hope that $40 was worth it because you lost my business, my boyfriend's business, and all the referrals we would have sent in the future! Between the two of us we have spent close to a couple thousand dollars there. We always told our friends about you guys and how happy we were with your service. Not to mention that my boyfriend works in a garage that is off I-75 and only does oil changes and tires. He used to send people to you all the time for problems they couldn't fix, but not anymore!! So again I say enjoy that $40!!!!!
Next time someone brings you a car be sure to give the owner a courtesy call before you spend their money!