Left a OC Autoshop with bad taste in my mouth
08-09-17, 02:04 AM
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Left a OC Autoshop with bad taste in my mouth
So after doing research on shops that the people on here recommended, I chose Best Care Auto in Garden Grove to do a lower control arm installation plus alignment. The price I quoted was pretty good, but when I got there and the amount of time it took left a bad taste in my mouth. Here's my full review from yelp:
I really thought this place was going to be my go to for car repairs or maintenance.
So I went in today for a lower control arm installation for my Lexus, upon meeting Dennis he was a really nice and sincere guy. He even offered my girlfriend and I food, while we waited. When he stepped out of the office, he would let me us know if we needed anything to call him. So overall, really nice guy,
Before, they took my car in Dennis did a check on the exterior of my car, noting damages beforehand, which is a first because I've never seen a car shop do that before. I understand why he does it, but he did not note every damage or take pictures. He just noted the significant damages. I'll explain more into later in the review. Once it was my turn to have my car worked on, one of his mechanics took my car in for a test drive. Upon him leaving the parking lot, my girlfriend and I saw that the mechanic that took my car for the test drive, saw him accelerate very hard, and keep in mind my car is lowered and there was a speed bump 2 feet away, so there's no reason why he would need to accelerate hard. So that alone bothered me, how the mechanic treated my car.
So 3-4 hours pass by, and my lower control arm installation and alignment was finished. The mechanic again, took it for another test drive, upon returning back, I heard him scrape my car and that just added salt on the wound.
After that, when I arrived home, I noticed there were fresh paint scuffs on my car, and I called Dennis right away telling him it was not there when I dropped off my car. The way he handled the situation left a bad taste in my mouth, he did not apologize right away. Regarding the scraping when I told him, he said "well your car is low" when I arrived, I was able to clear their driveway and speedbumps by driving slow over it. The only reason why the mechanic scraped my car is because he did not handle it carefully or drive carefully, he accelerated hard and drove it harder than he should have. He actually did not take responsibility for this, saying there is not much he can do and compared my car to exotic cars saying he has worked on exotic cars, so I assume he means that he worked on more expensive car than mine? But that does not change the fact, that when a customer brings in their car they expect to leave with their car in the same condition they brought it in, regardless of the car's value. He stated that my car was not in immaculate condition, otherwise he would have taken pictures. (why does my car have to be in immaculate condition for you to note down the exterior conditions? Isn't that why you do a check beforehand?) As a car enthusiast, it saddens me to see how he took care of this situation. He did not offer a immediate apology, did not offer any solution to fix this problem, instead claimed he's not responsible for it. When I asked for a partial refund for the damages, he wouldn't do it. He offered to have someone to buff out the damages, and to fix my fog lights that I came in to fix but was not able to get fixed because they did not have the fog lights in stock. He did not offer this solution until I asked him if he could do anything to fix this problem. I initially was going to accept his offer, on bringing back my car to have the scuffs buffed out, but I live so far to be driving back and forth why is why I asked for a partial refund."
Summary: Brought my car in, mechanic took my car for a test drive, saw that he did not drive it carefully, since it was lowered. Upon finishing the lower control arm installation, which took 4 hours actually, which I thought was a pretty long time. After he finished installing the LCA, he took it for a test drive and upon returning I saw him scrape my car, which would have not happened if he drove it slower, just seemed like he did not care about how he drove my car. When I got home, noticed there was paint scuffs on my rear quarter panel that was fresh, confronted Dennis, the manager there, he denied taking responsibility, did not apology initially. Said, he worked on exotic cars, basically saying he worked on car worth more of value than mine, saying my car was not immaculate condition, so he did not take pictures but said he noted there was damage on there previously. I confronted him about this, about how did the paint scuff look like, how the damage looked like but he couldn't give me specifics even though he did a body check beforehand and noted the damage prior on my vehicle, which was strange. Regarding the scraping, he said "well your car is low, it happens." I didn't scrape my car upon arriving, maybe it's because I drove it slow, like you are suppose to, something his mechanic didn't do. So I asked for a partial refund, and he said he couldn't. Instead offered to have the scuff buffed out, but I live in SGV, it's not worth my time to drive all the way to OC, to fix the damage his worker created. What bugged me the most was he did not apologize, did not take responsibility, and essentially told that my car is a piece of ****. lol
I really thought this place was going to be my go to for car repairs or maintenance.
So I went in today for a lower control arm installation for my Lexus, upon meeting Dennis he was a really nice and sincere guy. He even offered my girlfriend and I food, while we waited. When he stepped out of the office, he would let me us know if we needed anything to call him. So overall, really nice guy,
Before, they took my car in Dennis did a check on the exterior of my car, noting damages beforehand, which is a first because I've never seen a car shop do that before. I understand why he does it, but he did not note every damage or take pictures. He just noted the significant damages. I'll explain more into later in the review. Once it was my turn to have my car worked on, one of his mechanics took my car in for a test drive. Upon him leaving the parking lot, my girlfriend and I saw that the mechanic that took my car for the test drive, saw him accelerate very hard, and keep in mind my car is lowered and there was a speed bump 2 feet away, so there's no reason why he would need to accelerate hard. So that alone bothered me, how the mechanic treated my car.
So 3-4 hours pass by, and my lower control arm installation and alignment was finished. The mechanic again, took it for another test drive, upon returning back, I heard him scrape my car and that just added salt on the wound.
After that, when I arrived home, I noticed there were fresh paint scuffs on my car, and I called Dennis right away telling him it was not there when I dropped off my car. The way he handled the situation left a bad taste in my mouth, he did not apologize right away. Regarding the scraping when I told him, he said "well your car is low" when I arrived, I was able to clear their driveway and speedbumps by driving slow over it. The only reason why the mechanic scraped my car is because he did not handle it carefully or drive carefully, he accelerated hard and drove it harder than he should have. He actually did not take responsibility for this, saying there is not much he can do and compared my car to exotic cars saying he has worked on exotic cars, so I assume he means that he worked on more expensive car than mine? But that does not change the fact, that when a customer brings in their car they expect to leave with their car in the same condition they brought it in, regardless of the car's value. He stated that my car was not in immaculate condition, otherwise he would have taken pictures. (why does my car have to be in immaculate condition for you to note down the exterior conditions? Isn't that why you do a check beforehand?) As a car enthusiast, it saddens me to see how he took care of this situation. He did not offer a immediate apology, did not offer any solution to fix this problem, instead claimed he's not responsible for it. When I asked for a partial refund for the damages, he wouldn't do it. He offered to have someone to buff out the damages, and to fix my fog lights that I came in to fix but was not able to get fixed because they did not have the fog lights in stock. He did not offer this solution until I asked him if he could do anything to fix this problem. I initially was going to accept his offer, on bringing back my car to have the scuffs buffed out, but I live so far to be driving back and forth why is why I asked for a partial refund."
Summary: Brought my car in, mechanic took my car for a test drive, saw that he did not drive it carefully, since it was lowered. Upon finishing the lower control arm installation, which took 4 hours actually, which I thought was a pretty long time. After he finished installing the LCA, he took it for a test drive and upon returning I saw him scrape my car, which would have not happened if he drove it slower, just seemed like he did not care about how he drove my car. When I got home, noticed there was paint scuffs on my rear quarter panel that was fresh, confronted Dennis, the manager there, he denied taking responsibility, did not apology initially. Said, he worked on exotic cars, basically saying he worked on car worth more of value than mine, saying my car was not immaculate condition, so he did not take pictures but said he noted there was damage on there previously. I confronted him about this, about how did the paint scuff look like, how the damage looked like but he couldn't give me specifics even though he did a body check beforehand and noted the damage prior on my vehicle, which was strange. Regarding the scraping, he said "well your car is low, it happens." I didn't scrape my car upon arriving, maybe it's because I drove it slow, like you are suppose to, something his mechanic didn't do. So I asked for a partial refund, and he said he couldn't. Instead offered to have the scuff buffed out, but I live in SGV, it's not worth my time to drive all the way to OC, to fix the damage his worker created. What bugged me the most was he did not apologize, did not take responsibility, and essentially told that my car is a piece of ****. lol
08-21-17, 05:03 PM
#2
I'm sorry to hear this, which is why I am always weary of shops that are not familiar with lowered or modified cars. there is not much you can do at this point and they know that. it know it will be hard to hear but take this as a lesson learned for the future. this also serves as a warning for others to avoid said shop.
was this the front lower control arms or rear? fronts are much more difficult to replace as they are under high torque. both need to be tightened while the suspension is loaded to minimize bushing wear. it's not as easy as it may initially seem. again I empathize with you!
was this the front lower control arms or rear? fronts are much more difficult to replace as they are under high torque. both need to be tightened while the suspension is loaded to minimize bushing wear. it's not as easy as it may initially seem. again I empathize with you!
08-22-17, 04:20 AM
#3
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
I'm sorry to hear this, which is why I am always weary of shops that are not familiar with lowered or modified cars. there is not much you can do at this point and they know that. it know it will be hard to hear but take this as a lesson learned for the future. this also serves as a warning for others to avoid said shop.
was this the front lower control arms or rear? fronts are much more difficult to replace as they are under high torque. both need to be tightened while the suspension is loaded to minimize bushing wear. it's not as easy as it may initially seem. again I empathize with you!
was this the front lower control arms or rear? fronts are much more difficult to replace as they are under high torque. both need to be tightened while the suspension is loaded to minimize bushing wear. it's not as easy as it may initially seem. again I empathize with you!
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