Reviews that include

Head Gasket 24

Parts 12

Letters 10

Coolant Outlet 10

Damage 9

Recent Reviews

Salvatore C.

Lyndhurst, NJ

03/18/2023

Fraud committed / could not diagnose properly a blown head gasket.

I brought my daughters car to Amaral to have a blown head gasket replaced. They insisted that 2 small repairs be done 1st, I insisted that the repairs be done all together. They said they needed to do diagnostics 1st. I said I had done the diagnostics myself and had diagnosed a blown head gasket. I agreed to the small repairs, a thermostat, and a coolant outlet that had a hairline crack. I made it clear I wanted the replaced parts. I got a call from Manny, the service manager that the car was repaired, and the head gasket was good and did not need to be replaced. I was in Spokane Washington at the time and my daughter got the car and the next day was driving it and the engine warning light came on, I told her to go back to the shop, I told them it was probably because the head gasket was still leaking. They said the new outlet was defective, and replaced it. Again I specifically asked for that part, and was told I could not have it, I only got a lame excuse. When she got the car home, she drove it a 1/4 mile I asked her to check the coolant level, it was low, I told her not to drive it till I checked it. I got home from Spoken the next day and checked the engine ran some diagnostics on it, and again diagnosed a blown head gasket. When I checked the parts that my daughter got from the shop, the coolant outlet was missing. I called the service manager and asked why one of the parts was missing I specifically requested all parts, the answer I got was unbelievable. He said he had shown it to my daughter and felt that was satisfactory enough for me for them to throw it away. After much complaining he finally got it out of the trash (keep in mind that this part was only available after the second repair and not handed to my daughter as requested after the 1st repair) and now I wanted the coolant outlet from the second repair, and all I got was an lame excuse that I could not see it, “they needed it to get money for it from the warranty” I was not happy to put it mildly, as I wanted the replaced parts or at least the opportunity to see with my own eyes the replaced parts as proof that the work done was actually done.I looked at the coolant outlet given to me and it was obvious to me that a cheap repair of the hairline crack was attempted by melting it with a soldering iron. It’s obvious to me that this shops only intension was to make as much money as possible for as little work as possible. (seems to be a trend these days with most shops) I brought my car to this shop needing a head gasket replaced and left this shop 2 times still needing a head gasket. I ended up finally successfully repairing the head gasket myself which if this shop was honest and competent should have done. I would not use this shop for anything!!!!!! The thermostat they insisted that needed be replaced would not cause symptoms of a bad head gasket and did not have to be replaced 1st to diagnose it. The coolant outlet had a hairline crack that leaked very little and was insignificant in diagnosing the bad head gasket. It’s sad when a customer brings a vehicle to a shop for a major engine repair, and ends up having to repair it themselves. Amaral and their incompetent mechanics also caused more damage to the engine and its components by running the engine in the condition it was, with a bad head gasket.

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