I brought my car in to have the transmission and rear end fluid changed, clean the gears, and change the filter, That was All. I brought my Classic 1977 Pontiac Firebird that I had been restoring for several years, to CJ's Transmission of Dunnellon Florida for a simple fluid change. I talked to Bobbi at CJ's and he was very polite when I called about a special they were running on transmission servicing, I told him I wanted the fluid drained in the transmission and the rear end, the gears cleaned and to replace it with new fluid and a filter, That was IT. After having it dropped off, I had shook hands with Bobbi and asked him to call when it was done. I received a call not long after saying the car ran out of gas, so I brought 5 gallons down and started the car. Bobbi had told me I was going to need to leave a deposit before he heard it run, Then he commented on how well it ran and said don't worry about it. Then I got a call saying I needed to bring a new battery because it died during a test drive, I said "you didn't need to drive it, I told you what I wanted done", and brought a new battery down when he told me it was getting no spark. When I got there, I was told they removed the Distributor trying to see why it wasn't getting spark, Nothing Below the Cap has Anything to do with any electric contact! Mind you I had not given Any Authorization for this work to be done. I had the car running Perfect using a Dwell meter and timing light I grew up using with my Dad. My neighbors All heard how Great it ran, one that Builds cars said "that runs like a brand new car!" No shimmy idling, no smoke, just purred like a kitten. Until you stepped on the gas, it would rev from 0 to 60000 rpms with no hesitation or popping. All I needed after putting $6500+ into tires, brakes, A/C completely new front to back, shocks Etc... I have all my receipts. The mechanics at Georges Tire in Beverly hills were Amazed at how good of a condition it was in exclaiming, The Original Paint is Still on the undercarriage of the car! Bobbi told me they put the Used distributor from the back seat in it!!! I Did Not Authorize Any Other Work than what I had stated previously! They had my car for Months trying to fix what they did after putting the distributor in Wrong, and all I kept hearing was I owed them for the tow bill. I tried to be as nice as possible being More than patient with them, just wanting my car back to the point I had it when it was dropped off. The tow-truck driver, that was the same one that picked it up, said to me when we got to my house, "what happened, it ran Great when I picked it up!" The day I picked it up it was rainy, so I put the cover on and left it until I had time to regroup my thoughts. When I opened the hood, I put the charger on the battery, that hadn't been replaced with the new one, and tried to start it. My ground wire started Smoking so I stopped. I started looking into my motor and saw where the Distributor Wasn't Even Bolted Down, Spark plug wires that weren't connected, and my carburetor was locked up because the cover was put on the wrong way. Never in my Life have I dealt with such ill regard for someones personal property. I've done jewelry repair throughout my life and treated a $5 ring the same as a $50,000 dollar one out of Respect for someone else's belongings. This car was 85% restored, I have new seats and minor cosmetic trims to put back on, the transmission and rear end was the Only thing I wanted taken care of before I put it on the road. Please send me an e-mail so I may show you pictures, it's Beautiful, but now it no longer runs. They also crushed the chrome trim around the front tire, that I can also show in pictures.
Your Desired Resolution:
I was going to try to fix whatever they had done, but after Seeing the incompetence and disregard for Any professionalism towards my Classic 1977 Antique Car I feel the need to have them pay a professional mechanic to diagnose and repair whatever it was that they had done, and left undone. read more
