At the end of June, I was having issues with my Suzuki so I brought it in. It looked and sounded as…read moreif the pulley on the power steering pump was loose and ready to fall off and my power steering fluid reservoir was vigorously bubbling. Another mechanic confirmed this for me but they couldn't get me in until August (ironic because that date has now well passed). So I pulled up, car pattering, and the mechanic looked at it immediately. I will give points where they're due, that was very appreciated. I told him what I thought was wrong with it but that he was the expert (which is why I was there). He agreed and told me to bring the car back the following Monday. The work done (the first time) was in a super reasonable time frame and I was ecstatic. I ended up "needing" a new power steering pump or at least I took him on his word that I did. Great reviews online and the guy works quick, I love that. $949.46 for the pump and fluid and labor, I was a-okay with that. He did make some side remarks about how he rarely has worked on Suzuki's which is something YOU DO NOT want to hear after a man has spent a week messing around on your car but if he fixed the problem, who cares.
... he did not fix the problem. The exact pump and pulley was still shaking, if not worse. So I called them up and took it back within 2 days. When I got there this time, the mechanic tried to tell me that this was "supposed to wobble" and "normal". Now... I'm not a mechanic myself BUT I definitely know when someone is trying to spit in my face and tell me its raining. It's my damn car that I've driven for the past 5 years and it's never done this before but sure mate, normal. So I argued with him a little because it's unsafe to drive in this condition. He told me to leave it there and he would look at it again. NOW IS WHEN THE FUN BEGINS.
We are now at June 30th 2023. I have already spend $950 and my car is nowhere near being fixed. From this point until I got my car back, there was absolutely NO communication between me and them... and not because of me. I gave them until July 10th until I made my first inquiry, I figured I'd give them some time and not pester them, they're busy. I called on July 10th for them to tell me THEY HAVEN'T EVEN LOOKED AT MY CAR. I call back on July 14th, no updates, cars still just chilling. I give them a FULL TWO WEEKS until July 28th, they still don't reach out to me. I called them three times that day and couldn't get ahold of a single person. I phoned back on August 1st (as they were closed the 29th - 31st) where I FINALLY got ahold of someone. They have my car up but didn't realize that they had to take the front end off (which also concerned me because they had already "fixed" my car prior). At this point, I'm genuinely angry and I think anyone would be too. August 2nd, they call me back saying that after looking at it, they need to replace the water pump. It's about $200 for the pump and if it fixed it... whatever. I think you can see where that is going. August 3rd, the big day is finally here! I'm told I can come pickup my car, finally. I go and pick it up on August 4th, the last interaction I've had with this nightmare of a situation.
I go in August 4th and they charge me another $904.61 for everything they've done. All of this without my consent. Kept in the dark for everything. No communication. They had the pump on there, which okay, I agreed too. But they also went ahead and replaced my antifreeze and did an AC recharge, an extra $140 I didn't say yes too. I have all of the fluids necessary and would have said no. They charged me $480 in shop labor (which was a "deal" in her words) but it was all to fix something they were supposed to fix initially anyways. She did apologize to save face saying that it was her fault and I just agreed. And I wish they had fixed anything. But here I am, August 24, my car with the same initial pulley problem and now more. My acceleration feels off, my AC (after being 'recharged') does not work, and the thing is louder than it has ever been before. I wish I never stepped foot in this establishment and I might not have recourse but you can definitely make the informed decision to support a different mechanic.
