I brought my car into Russell Auto the week of Thanksgiving to have a problem with my shift differential addressed. 7 hours later and $108.00 shorter, I was led to believe that they had found and addressed the problem.
This was a good thing (or so I thought) as the cost was the deciding factor as to whether I paid the car off or traded it in. Thinking that it was fixed and at a fair price, I paid the car off.
Less than 24 hours later, the shift differential problem presented itself again. I called Russell Auto and explained that the problem was not fixed and was told that I had to wait until the following week to have them look at it again as it was the holiday week. Not ideal, but thought, better to bring it back to them than to be charged twice.
I brought the car back the following Monday and was informed later that day that the problem was caused by something else and that the work done the previous week was not needed.
I was then informed as to what the problem actually was and was told that they had to order the part and needed to keep my car overnight. I asked whether I would be compensated for the work I had already paid for and was told I would be.
The following day, I called to check on the status of my car and was told that Acura had delivered the part to Memphis, Tennessee and it would be an additional day to receive the part and fix my car.
As I started to feel like I was getting the runaround, I thought to myself "what's one more day".
The following day, I received a call from Russell Auto where I was presented with more bad news. According to the mechanic I spoke to, not only did Acura deliver the part to the wrong state, they also delivered the wrong part altogether and I would have to wait one more day for the correct part to arrive.
Needless to say, I was a bit peeved at this point, but, kept my cool as i was supposed to be compensated for the work done previously.
The following day, I had to call to get a status update from Russell Auto. I was told it would be a few more hours, but, the correct part had arrived.
A couple hours later, my car was finally ready to be picked up. When presented with the bill, the mechanic was delighted to inform me that he was able to reimburse me for $40 of the $108 I had spent on the work that my car had not needed previously. So now I have paid for work I did not need (at a discounted rate), paid off a car I would have traded in otherwise and dealt with a bill three times the cost of the original while waiting nearly two weeks for what is finally a working shift differential.
I am guessing that this is not their normal business practice as they came highly recommended, but, I will never bring my car to them again and would not recommend Russell Auto to anyone.
This was the worst interaction I have ever had with a mechanic and their was no accountability with any of the runaround I received. The blame was placed entirely on the Acura dealer and little was done to alleviate the inconvenience. read more
