**Note that you won't find this review on the company's website because the owner, Jaime Dovale,…read moreremoves all negative reviews ... which, in addition to being deliberately deceptive and dishonest, obviously defeats the purpose of reviews.**
Certified. Automotive. Disaster. Without question, this was the worst experience I've ever had as a consumer of any product or service (I'm 58) ... nothing else even comes close. This saga spanned over 2 1/2 years ... it wasn't an isolated incident, and certainly not an outlier. I made the terrible mistake of trusting Jaime Dovale to do a full body-off overhaul of my 2006 Jeep Wrangler, and I couldn't have made a worse choice. Dovale said he was capable of doing the job and estimated that it would take 4-5 weeks. The scope of the project modestly increased as we proceeded, but I ultimately didn't get my Jeep back for 6 months (25 weeks to be exact) ... and only then after frequent visits to check on the status and many requests for completion. When I finally picked up my Jeep, Dovale's endless drivel and empty promises collided with reality ... and reality has prevailed from that day on. I received an absolute mess with which I've been dealing ever since ... a vehicle so riddled with problems that I had to take it back to Certified Automotive Disasters 15 times in the next 13 months ... appalling by any standard. Just think about how insane that is ... 15 times, AFTER he did a full overhaul (ultimately, 17 times in 25 months). And I also had to schedule 3 appointments with a local Jeep dealer and 1 appointment with an auto glass shop to fix problems that Dovale was unwilling to acknowledge, incapable of fixing, or both ... for a grand total of 21 returns in 26 months to fix virtually everything he and his hack techs touched ... and problems remain to this day. Dovale ruined a vehicle that I bought new and had always meticulously maintained ... I now have problems that didn't previously exist (most infuriatingly, water leaks thanks to Dovale's hack body work ... which means my interior gets soaked every time it rains), and he doesn't have the ability or integrity to fix them.
NAPA has a limited two-year warranty on its parts and labor, but it turned out that much of the hack work that Dovale did on my Jeep wasn't covered. Yet Dovale falsely claimed, repeatedly, that ALL of his work was covered by a two-year warranty ... a complete lie. He finally admitted (via text) that, actually, he has no written warranty ... which means no warranty exists ... by far, Dovale is the most dishonest businessperson I've ever encountered. I complained to NAPA about a rear main seal leak that Dovale failed to fix twice, and that he then denied was even leaking ... after the local Jeep dealer confirmed that it was the seal, NAPA paid for me to have it repaired at that dealer ... I have the reimbursement check to prove it. Whoever heard of an auto repair shop that is so incompetent that they pay to have the work done at a dealer? I certainly hadn't ... until Certified Automotive Disasters.
There isn't enough space in this review to explain all of his careless, sloppy, incompetent mistakes, including many that put my safety at risk ... far worse than a bad DIY job. I've had exponentially more problems since Dovale 'fixed' my Jeep than I did in the previous 15 years combined ... body work, clutch, 4WD, wheel balancing, steering/suspension, exhaust/tailpipe, check engine light, alternator, rear main seal, door seals, header seal, windshield, rear wiper, tailgate hinges/alignment, headlight alignment, turn signals, damage to interior, and the list goes on. And on top of the mind-boggling list of problems/mistakes/errors, the stress, inconvenience, and disruption to my life that he caused is incalculable ... constant and nonstop. I wouldn't trust Dovale to properly inflate a tire ... but if you don't value your vehicle, your money, or your time, then Certified Automotive Disasters is the place for you.
