This is going to be pretty in depth, but I'd stay clear and will be telling all my friends and associates to do the same. CLASSIC BAIT & SWITCH
So I called Tommy Mathewes Auto Repair on Thursday 12/29 at 10:21AM and spoke to Marcy. I asked her if she could quote me the repair cost(s) for a high pressure fuel pump, water pump, and also thermostat for a 2011 BMW 335i. She advised me she would call me back with a quote. Surprisingly I received a prompt callback around 1:47 PM from Mr. Mathewes.. He advised me it would be around $1300 for the repair(s) then began asking me a couple of questions regarding why I believed I needed the said parts. I advised him Taylor BMW has advised me about a year ago my fuel pump was on it's way out, and i know for a fact I need a fuel pump, and the water pump & thermostat is needed because my car overheated and went into limp mode and would take forever to get to normal operating temps beforehand. I then asked him if he could give me a breakdown for each part (because i was shopping around of course). He advised me he couldn't because he lumped them all together. I said that's cool considering I'm positive I need the fuel pump and I should do the water pump with the thermostat anyway. He asked if I could the car off so he could order the parts and get the car back to me by Friday 12/30. He advised me he would call me if anything changed. At this point I was excited only one day of down time with no vehicle, sounds great! I promptly drop off the car. I then get a call from Randy @ 1:49PM 12/30, he tells me that he wouldn't be able to receive the parts until 1/3 and asks me if Tommy went over the pricing (quote) with me. I told him he did, and he quoted me around $1300 for everything. So at this point I'm honestly not surprised, didn't think they could fix everything within a day, and I'm pretty understanding.. I understand they're not getting any parts because of New Years day.
So January 3rd rolls by, no word from the shop. So I'm thinking nothing has changed, and just continue to wait. January 4th comes around and he calls @ 8:31am and let's me know they're working on the car and will let me know if anything changes, he later lets me know I need a battery and that would be an additional $380 over the initial $1300 quote. January 5th comes and Randy calls @ 10:26AM letting me know my vehicle was ready for pickup.
I go to pickup my vehicle, and while he is printing everything for the invoice I notices he isn't mentioning anything regarding the High Pressure Fuel Pump being changed. So I specifically ask him the $1680 ($380 for the battery) is including everything being changed right? (fuel pump, water pump, thermostat, battery) He says after some diagnostics the fuel pump wasn't needed. I said ok, then why am I still paying $1300 for the installation of just the water pump and thermostat? He attempts to tell me that Tommy advised him that the quote was just for the water pump and thermostat, and when he followed up with me on 12/30 the amount he quoted me was also just $1300 for the water pump and thermostat. At this point I'm livid, I tell him at no point in time during the conversation with me and him (Randy) did he specifically state the $1300 was for just the water pump and thermostat. During our conversation he asked me if Tommy went over the quote with me.. I told him yes $1300 for everything installed, and that was the end of our conversation.
So I repeatedly ask what is he going to do to rectify the situation. He tells me there is nothing he can do, other than me paying an additional $700-900 for them to install the fuel pump. I tell him that's unacceptable. He has one of two choices, he can either A. Install all my original parts B. He can install the fuel pump since that is what I was originally quoted. He continued to refuse to install the parts so I advised him I would dispute the charge w/ my credit card provider. He then stated he would call the cops if I left with my vehicle without paying. I advised him I'm more than willing to go ahead and call Columbia County for him, as the job I paid for wasn't completed and he is refusing to complete the transaction we discussed. I tell him it would make no sense for me to pay them $750/ea to install just the thermostat and fuel pump when I was quoted $480 OTW at Bavarian autoworks for the Thermostat alone. He attempts to tell me if I was quoted that it was a mistake. I then place the phone on speaker and called Bavarian autoworks and the gentleman on the phone confirms they can install the thermostat for $480 out the door (not to mention I heard they offer a military discount!), but would need the car to quote me a price on the fuel pump. You can continue reading the detailed review on their facebook page.. https://www.facebook.com/tommymathewesautorepair/ read more