I was yelled at. Unauthorized work was performed. Price more than doubled from estimate.
My car had several lights appear on my instrument panel on July 17, 2018 and I wasn't sure if it was safe to drive, so I called Mountain View Autowerks and spoke with Dustin. We made an appointment for July 18, and he felt it would be safe to drive, so I dropped my car off the evening of the 17th as I was leaving town the next morning. Dustin thought it was going to be a pretty minor repair. I let him know I would be out of town and asked him to leave me a message on my cell phone when he found the problem. I didn't hear from him, except for an email on July 18th: "Your Service History Website From MountainView AutoWerks". I thought that might have been their way of telling me what the problem was, so I attempted to access the account, but nothing was there. I replied to that email asking what was wrong with my car. They did not respond, and they did not call. I was unhappy with the lack of communication.
My mother's car broke down as she was trying to take her husband to the Emergency Room on the 18th. She had her car towed to Dustin a short while later - I mention this because at some point she spoke with Mountain View Autowerks about her car, and asked if they had an update on my car because I told her I hadn't heard from them. They told her my repair would be a little over $400. My mother told them she thought it would be ok to go ahead and do the repair. They still should have called me for authorization, thankfully I was fine with my mother's decision.
We got a call on Friday (20th) saying both cars were ready, the cost for my repair was now $1,300! My mother was confused and upset by the new price. She explained that her husband had been transported down to a hospital in Mesa and said we would pick the cars up on Monday or Tuesday if that was ok with them. My step father very tragically passed away the next day. I flew back home immediately. I called Dustin to discuss the charges, he argued that he had permission from my mother. I asked him if he had given my mother a written quote for either car, with the new increased charges. He said she verbally approved them. She did verbally approve the lower $400 cost, not the $1,300. Again, they should have called me as I requested before going ahead with any repairs. I offered Dustin some friendly business advice - in the future, especially with someone like my 85-year-old mother, to explain what needs to be done and put it in writing for them to see and then have them authorize in writing. Dustin said that is not the law in AZ as it is in CA. I suggested that he should do it anyway, law or not.
I picked up my car on Monday (23rd). When I walked in the office, the woman behind the desk (Dustin's mother in law) was so angry with me that she began to tell me off. She then began yelling at me and refused to take my credit card to process my payment until she had her say. I had to yell back to tell her to stop. I was shaking and in shock by this attack. She wouldn't stop. I reminded her that my step father died just two days before, and I wouldn't stand there and listen to this abuse - she continued. My nerves were shot and she was causing me undue stress. I walked into the garage area and called for Dustin to get her to stop. I was crying and shaking at this point, I handed him my credit card and asked him to process the charges so I could leave. I walked out to the parking lot and waited for Dustin to come back outside. He wanted to wait on the charges and discuss it later, presumably when things calmed down. I did not agree to that, after having been treated so abusively in the office, I knew that I wanted no further dealings with them. Upon reviewing the invoice I discovered that he had performed a tune up, which I had not requested and cost over $500. Dustin finally offered to reduce the bill by $500. I still ended up paying $917.62 which is more than double the original amount.
I will say that Dustin was respectful, kind, and calm about it all, he treated us with compassion knowing that we just lost someone very dear to us. His mother in law was nothing short of cruel. I have never been treated in such a hateful and disrespectful manner by someone with whom I was doing business. I was grieving, she knew it, and her verbal attack caused me tremendous undue stress. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.
GET IT IN WRITING is the best advice I can offer to those who choose to do business with Mountain View Autowerks. read more
