My nephew drove our BMW to J&R to diagnose a cylinder misfire with fuel cutoff after I already verified the coil packs were good, replaced the seals on the fuel injectors, checked for vacuum leaks with a smoke machine and verified the ECU was working properly. He asked them to not do any work without first getting his approval. They called him back after 2 days and told him they "think" the problem was with a massive vacuum leak and it would cost just under $1k to repair. He told them no and he would just pick up the car.
Upon picking up the car, he was told he would have to pay just over $300 for the work done. They said it was $80 to diagnose the problem, $15 for replacement seals on the fuel injectors and over $200 for labor. He argued he did not give them the okay to do any work and disputed the charges but to no avail.
After paying, he went to drive the car back home, however, the car would not start so they towed it back for free after some back and forth. When I returned from a trip abroad, he told me what happened. I asked him if he or the garage pressurized the fuel rail since they worked on the injectors; neither had. I jumped in the car, pressurized the fuel and it started but the engine was knocking and running much worse prior to them working on it. So I opened the hood and noticed a few things taken apart and not reconnected including a broken F-connector nipple on the air intake boot.
Bottom line, my nephew took our car and paid J&R to make it un-drivable. It was an '01 325i that I used as a beater but ran great before the cylinder misfire and was at least drive-able before J&R monkeyed around with it. Now I'm looking to junk the car... honestly, I'm just junking it.
My major issues are... 1) the car was drive-able, however, would not even start to leave their garage. 2) they replaced seals that I had just replaced 2 weeks prior (got them at Advanced) and they did it without my nephew's okay. 3) once I got the car started, it sounded much worse than before it was taken to them. And finally, 4) they broke an important piece on the car and left others disconnected as if, "oh, you're not going to have us repair it, okay, we'll just leave it as is and you put it back together."
J&R can dispute all or some of this review; they have the work-order and it was only a couple of weeks ago. Some of this is obviously subjective such as the car running better or worse prior to them working on it. It really depends on who you believe. But most aspects are indisputable such as driving the car in but towing it out, the replacement of good seals and the charges.
Look, I/we had a really bad experience with J&R but you may not. So do what you will with this review. This is an honest review if for no other reason than to prevent J&R from operating with impunity. It's likely that if this were my primary vehicle or only source of mobility, I would be more upset and writing with a lot more emotion. Ultimately, let's see what they have to say. Thank you. read more