I put my car in the shop to replace the heater core with what I thought was a reputable shop. I dropped it off last Sunday before last (10th) and they are still not done with it. They kept saying its brittle and we are going slow which was fine since it's not my daily driver. Today they call and tell me they broke the heater control valve while taking off the heater hoses and want me to pay for the new one. They quote me 460 for the part. Any suggestions on how to handle this besides telling them to go fly a kite? I am short in the tact department.

Anyone else had this done and how long did it take to complete?

 

unacceptable in my book,
but i wouldn't be too vulgar or else they might not put it back together.

even if the part was brittle i would make them pick up a portion of the cost if they are the reason it broke, because if they thought it was to weak they should have technically informed you before they kept on going.

 

Yeah shops are supposed to inform you if something like that will happen.

Delaying a simple job and then breaking something.... and now making you pay more. no way.

 

Well I went down there and talked to them. I was civil but firm in stating that I would not eat this part for a variety of reasons. They are telling me it was an old brittle part which was removed as required to change the heater core. They are not responsible and will not cover any cost other than the labor of putting a new part (which was covered in the quote I guess) back on the car. They said I could buy a new one and bring it down there or they would buy the part with their standard markup applied. So basically they won't even sell me the part for cost..

When I left they were going to talk to the owner (who wasn't in) and give me a call back this afternoon letting me know their final decision.

BTW~this place is Cambridge Auto in San Antonio, Texas and they even have a radio show on Sundays @1200 WOAI.

I work for a Company that has a floor of attorneys so maybe I have some legal ground to stand on. It seems in cases like this the shop normally wins regardless of the outcome though. I guess I can always go through the better business bureau and file a report there.

Anyone else had experiences like this with a fair outcome?

 

BBB don't jack except terminating their "good" standing

 

Well they called back and are going to fix it free of charge. Props to a good company that still does buisness the right way. I could have done without the drama but it all works in the end.

 

Wel replacing a heater core is about the most tasking thing a shop can do. We always dread doing them, as far as the heater control valve. They could'nt really tell you ahead of time, its plastic and they do snap easily after years of heat. I see why they would probably stall or take there time, it involves removing the whole dash in most cases and the plenum. We use alldata at the shop and for the sc400 heater core removal, it says step one remove engine haha!

 

I can understand that and I totally see their point of view. At the same time who is to say the mechanic wasn't frustrated from dealing with it and wasn't careful with it? I would have paid for half or something but I wasn't just going to eat the whole thing from what they told me happened. If they had told me ahead of time their was a possibility of breaking such a high dollar part.. Well that would have been different. They also could have at the very least offered the part to me with no markup on their behalf. But they are fixing it so it's all just water under the bridge. I told them when they called back that I didn't care if it was a used part as long as it worked as intended. Gazi had already said he had one for 55 shipped so that was my next option. I just hated to trailer it home. Any who, they fixed the problem and I can live with the fix.

 

On the other hand no one would ever expect a heater valve to be $450+. Some lexus prices are off the wall.... somthing that would cost alot in another car is often cheap in a lexus when visa versa for parts that should be cheap...