I initially deleted my negative review because the owner, Randall, personally called me,…read moreapologized, and promised to make this situation *partially right. I regret giving him the benefit of the doubt.
My active-duty Coast Guard son paid Hawk's approximately $5,300 to replace the engine in his 2019 Kia Rio with a used engine that had approximately 14,000 miles on it.
Approximately 10 DAYS after the engine replacement, while my son was traveling across the country for a Coast Guard move, the vehicle broke down again in Oklahoma.
He was stranded far from home and ultimately had to leave his vehicle behind and fly to California to report to his new duty station. In addition to the repair, he incurred airfare, checked-baggage expenses, shipping costs for his civilian belongings, Uber/transportation expenses, and the enormous inconvenience of arriving at his new duty station without his vehicle and belonging he could not fly or ship-
The Oklahoma mechanic who actually diagnosed and repaired the vehicle confirmed to me that the problem involved the engine-mounted high-pressure fuel pump. He found that the mounting bolts had snapped off. He told me they may have been overtightened or not tightened at all-The resulting repair cost my son another $1,200 (and that's with the mechanic accepting mere crumbs for labor!)
What happened next is the reason I am writing this review:
Randall called me himself. In his voicemail, he apologized for what happened, discussed the fuel-pump bolt issue, said that although the replacement engine came with the fuel pump already on it, they should have gone in and checked/tightened the bolts, and then specifically told me he was going to send us a check for half of the $1,200 repair bill.
He asked me to text him my mailing address so he could send the check. I did so on September 2.
I believed him. In fact, I was so appreciative that he appeared willing to stand behind the situation that I deleted my original negative review. I told him I appreciated him doing the right thing. I gave him the OK mechanic's phone number and the receipt for $1200 for him to verify my facts: I then waited.And waited.
I followed up. Randall acknowledged one of my follow-ups. I followed up again a week later asking when I could expect the check. My message was read and not answered.
As of September 20, 18 days after providing the mailing address he specifically requested, no promised reimbursement has arrived and I have received no explanation for why he apparently stopped communicating.
10 days after Hawk's completed a $5,300 engine replacement, the vehicle broke down again; the Oklahoma mechanic found the high-pressure fuel-pump mounting bolts snapped off; my son paid another $1,200; and Randall subsequently apologized and voluntarily promised to reimburse half of that bill.
He has not honored that promise.
I have preserved the original voicemail, its transcription, our text-message history, payment documentation, and the information from the Oklahoma mechanic.
I am now documenting this matter with the Virginia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section and the Better Business Bureau, and we are exploring the legal-assistance resources available to my son as an active-duty Coast Guard member.
This entire situation could have ended very differently. I gave Randall credit for stepping up, removed my first review, and gave him more than two weeks to do exactly what he volunteered to do. I wasn't demanding that he pay the entire $1,200. I was simply expecting him to keep the commitment HE voluntarily made.
Consumers can draw their own conclusions from these facts. I know that I would never entrust another vehicle belonging to someone I love to this business.
