I was referred to CJ's by a friend who said they had a really good experience here. I took in my car to have it inspected, and the report came back with a few problems with the suspension and thermostat, as well as some recommendations regarding timing belts, brake pads, and the battery. The gentleman also stated that an alignment would be needed after working on the two suspension issues. I took these all into consideration, and, as I had a warrantee on many of the parts/labor at other institutions, I instructed the gentleman to replace ONLY the front ball joint and nothing else. I would do the battery and rear shocks myself, and I would take the vehicle to another institution, where I had free brakes and alignment for life for this particular vehicle.
We were speaking over the phone, and the gentleman (Curtis, I believe) informed me that, after replacing the front ball joint, an alignment would be needed. I told him expressly that I did NOT want an alignment done, as I had a free one somewhere else. He began arguing with me saying that it needed to be done, and I told him AGAIN, I did NOT want him to do the alignment. I said the words, "Please DO NOT do the alignment. ONLY replace the ball joint." He confirmed and said "Alright, then." He sounded hesitant, and I get it - there needs to be an alignment done after working on the suspension.
My wife picked up the car, and lo and behold, they did the alignment anyway, and charged me $70.00 for it! She brought up the issue with another gentleman there (it wasn't Curtis that worked with her) and said, "Hey, so it says you did an alignment here, but we asked you specifically not to do so. The guy replied, "Well, we did." And that was it!
So, when I got off work, I decided to stop by with the paper detailing the work that was done on the car, and asked to talk to Curtis, since he was the one I spoke to personally, and I knew he'd be able to help sort out this misunderstanding. I showed him the paper stating that an alignment was done and recalled with him the conversation we had where I asked them specifically not to do so. I requested that I be refunded the $70.00. Curtis immediately became defensive and told me that I had never said that I didn't want the alignment done. I went over the conversation with him again, and repeated the fact that it would be useless to get an alignment done before finishing work on the suspension anyway, but he began to argue more and said that he did not recall, that - that "You did not say that. I do not recall that."
This is a small business in the middle of Woods Cross, UT that depends on good customer experience to stay in business. I myself came in the first place only because of a referral! You'd think that, if there was a mistake like this, you would work with a customer and find a solution that works for both of you. I didn't want anything for free, and I'm happy with the work they did on the ball joint. However, because of this experience with Curtis, I will not return to CJ's. He doesn't communicate very well with customers and likes to jerk you around. I am beyond sick of dealing with this sort of thing.
To top it off, one of the things that "failed" the safety inspection was...wait for it...the thermostat. He said that the thermostat didn't heat up, and so you couldn't defrost the windows...I don't believe that a thermostat is something to fail a car on, but what's worse, when I drove the car away, I turned on the heat and it immediately warmed up and defrosted the windows. No problems whatsoever. I have a feeling that CJ Auto likes to tack on random recommendations to boost profit on safety inspections, because the last time I brought this car in, there was a fail on the rear wheel bearing. "Squeaky bearing", the paper said. I did nothing to it, and this time around, no mention of the squeaky bearing.
Nice try, CJ's.
If you are looking for an auto repair shop that will be honest with you and treat you fairly (not to mention treat you with respect!), I suggest looking elsewhere. read more