****NIGHTMARE EXPERIENCE****
Summary (if you don't want to…read moreread the full story): My car came back with TWO NEW ISSUES after I spent over $3,000 with this shop, and the ORIGINAL ISSUE was never resolved. When I brought it back, they refused to fix any of it unless I paid even more money -- for problems that appeared immediately after I picked up my vehicle from them.
The Diagnostic:
I brought my car in because of a loud noise that happened at certain speeds. They said they'd need to run a full diagnostic to identify it, which seemed reasonable, so I left the car with them.
Two days later, they called with their findings: my REAR DIFFERENTIAL was bad and needed to be fully replaced. They also gave me a list of "maintenance suggestions" and separately flagged that my FLEX EXHAUST PIPE was broken and needed replacing too. The total estimate with everything included came to $3,742.68.
The Repair Decision:
I declined all of the maintenance suggestions and authorized only two repairs:
FLEX EXHAUST PIPE replacement -- $305.09
REAR DIFFERENTIAL replacement -- $2,484.38
That came out to roughly $3,000 after tax.
Picking Up the Car: New Problems, Immediately
When I arrived to pick up the car, it was parked out front. The moment I started it, there was a NEW NOISE -- loud, consistent, and awful metal on metal clicking noise for about 20 seconds. I was concerned, but told myself it might just be the new parts settling in.
Driving away, I quickly realized:
The ORIGINAL NOISE I brought the car in for was still there.
There was now an insane NEW EXHAUST SMELL inside the cabin (that now happens every time I start the car).
So: two brand-new issues, and the original problem still unresolved -- after paying over $3,000.
I gave it a few more days, hoping it would resolve on its own as the parts settled in. It didn't. The new noise, the new smell, and the original noise were all still there.
Follow-Up Visit with David:
I called the shop, and CHRIS (the owner) told me to bring the car back in for a diagnostic. When I arrived, DAVID (the senior advisor) was the one who met with me.
I explained what Chris had told me and described both the new noise and the fact that the original issue was never fixed -- despite having just spent $3,000. I showed David a video of the new startup noise and told him about the new exhaust smell. He offered a few guesses as to the cause, including that it might be related to the FLEX EXHAUST PIPE they had just replaced.
We went on a test drive together, and David immediately said, "I hear the noise" -- referring to the original noise that the $2,400+ REAR DIFFERENTIAL replacement was supposed to have fixed. He asked me to drop the car off the following Monday, since I couldn't leave it that day.
Second Drop-Off: Still No Resolution
I dropped the car off Monday. The next day, David called and told me:
They could not replicate the new startup noise.
The new smell was likely caused by an exhaust leak from the FLEX EXHAUST PIPE -- the part they had replaced.
They didn't know what was causing the original noise issue while driving, and suggested I take it to Discount Tire to have them look into something tire-related.
Despite the fact that the ~$2,400 REAR DIFFERENTIAL replacement was supposed to fix that exact issue.
At this point, I was furious. I asked David directly if they could just fix these problems, since I'd already spent over $3,000 and was left with the original issue plus two new ones that didn't exist before they touched my car. His answer: they didn't know what was causing the original noise, and diagnosing the new startup noise would take about 4 hours of paid diagnostic time -- on top of everything I'd already paid.
I told them I was picking up my car. When I did, the "new noise" David claimed he couldn't replicate was right there. I DO NOT RECOMMEND.
