I brought my Subaru Forester here for NAPA warranty work. Unfortunately, Pope's was the only nearby shop available to handle the warranty repair.
For some background, I had originally had the A/C compressor replaced about 30,000 miles earlier at Telle Tire in Kansas City, Missouri. That compressor eventually suffered a clutch failure that caused a fire in the engine compartment.
Pope's was supposed to replace that failed compressor under the NAPA warranty. When I picked up the Forester with what was supposedly a new compressor installed, I noticed that the radiator had been unbolted and was literally just sitting unsecured in the engine compartment. The vehicle then overheated on the way home.
When I brought it back, I was told there were "air bubbles in the hoses." But that raises an obvious question: Why was my radiator unbolted and left unsecured when the repair was for an A/C compressor?
That wasn't all. I also discovered that the plastic undercarriage protector had been left unbolted and was dragging on the ground. That required yet another trip back to Pope's so they could fix it.
Afterward, the Forester sat parked for several months while I waited for a replacement engine. I eventually had the replacement engine installed elsewhere. Then guess what happened?
The supposedly new A/C compressor installed by Pope's suffered a bad clutch failure and started a fire in the engine compartment -- the same basic failure that had caused the original compressor to be replaced under warranty in the first place.
Sound familiar?
Bottom line, after my experience, I simply do not trust Pope's or the quality of the work performed there. An unsecured radiator, overheating immediately after the repair, an undercarriage panel left dragging on the ground, multiple return trips, and then a supposedly new compressor suffering essentially the same catastrophic clutch failure it was supposed to replace is far too much for me to dismiss as coincidence or a simple mistake.
I ultimately had my replacement engine installed at Hicks Automotive in Sumrall and have had additional work performed there, including the A/C system. The difference has been night and day. Zach and his crew use quality parts and actually repair and replace what needs to be repaired instead of leaving me wondering whether something was rigged just well enough to make it out of the parking lot.
I completely trust Zach and his crew at Hicks Automotive in Sumrall. Based on my experience, I would not trust Pope's with my vehicle again, and I certainly would not recommend them. read more
