In October 2023, I brought my 2016 Highlander in to replace a passenger door. Paid $1300.00 up…read morefront to Marathon by check, which was to include labor, replacing the door and the dent protector strip, matching the paint color on the door, adding a protective coat on the vehicle, buffing out a ding on the bumper, and touching up the paint on the bumper. I asked Keith, the Marathon employee that waited on me, to check out why the back up alarm thing wasn't working while my car was in the shop. The alarm had not gone off when I was backing up which contributed to me hitting a post and crunching the passenger door that was being replaced.
Keith later called me to state that the sensor panel that controls that alarm had burnt out and needed to be replaced. I asked if this shop could do that work, and he said yes, however, to order the part from Toyota, I needed to pay up front. This additional payment would cover the cost of the sensor panel and the labor to install it. Keith stated that after the sensor panel was installed, he would finish buffing out the bumper, touching up the paint, and putting on the protective coating. He advised that the part was on back order from Toyota, and he didn't know when it would come in. I was assured that it was safe to drive my car in the meantime. I wrote a second check to Marathon for $1432.00. I believed that this employee would order the part on behalf of Marathon, and that Marathon would have a record of this order. Isn't that how most companies work?
From this point, I continued to call either Marathon directly asking to speak with Keith, or Keith directly, at least once a month beginning in November 2023. Keith seemed to be the only one who seemed to know what was going on with my car. I was advised by Keith each time I called that the part had not yet come in, and was still on back order. The last time I called , I was told that Keith no longer worked there. I asked about the part that was on order for my Highlander, and was informed by an employee whose name I did not get that there were no records of the order, or any of the estimates or work that had been done on my car. I'm still in the process of finding the written estimates, but I do have the cancelled checks that were cashed by the business. At this point, I figured I needed to stop by the business to sort this out.
I stopped in the shop on July 22, 2024, and was greeted by an employee. I asked if the manager was in today, and he said yes. We walked into the office, and a lengthy conversation with this employee then took place. Despite repeated explanations, he did not seem to understand that I had paid for work that had not been done and for a part that had been "on order' since last October. All I wanted was the $1432.00 back, but was told it had been longer than six months for warranty on the work. I explained that the work had never been done and I'd never gotten the part. Then I got blamed for not checking in on the status earlier, and for calling Keith directly on his cell phone. I tried to explain that I called the office and Keith's cell phone. The employee expressed that I should have called Marathon directly, and because of the times that I didn't, then this somehow absolved Marathon of this matter.
This employee said they could keep the car and find out what was wrong with it, but that there may be an upcharge to do the work. I replied that they should already have the information about what was wrong with my vehicle in their records. I was told that they don't keep customer records that long (we're talking less than a year here). I found it hard to believe that the part that was on order from Toyota wasn't on record with this business somewhere.
I again asked to speak with the manager. I remembered working with him along with Keith on my initial visits, and thought he might remember me & my situation. The employee then told me that the manager wasn't in today (contradicting his earlier answer), and that he (this employee) was the best I had to deal with the situation. Our conversation came to an abrupt end when this employee turned away from me, and walked out the office closing the door behind him. I wasn't using any obscene language, and wasn't yelling, but I was persistently trying to explain what I had already paid for. I got the impression from this employee that I was to believe that because a past employee no longer worked there, I was just S.O.L. as far as getting my money back for work that was never done and a part that was never installed.
I am hoping that the owner will simply refund me the $1432.00, without having to take the matter further. I honestly believe that I am owed more than this because of all the other work that wasn't done that the former Marathon employee promised would be done, but am willing to just walk away from trying to figure that out with the owner. I'm very dissatisfied with this business & would not recommend it.
