Complaint Review: Bob Baker Dodge Carlsbad

I brought my car to the Bob Baker Dealership because a AAA battery tech threw away the Battery Thermal Blanket and triggered the Charging System Light. Service Rep Jason quoted me a whopping $114 for diagnostics and offered me a "loaner" vehicle for the day (a loaner vehicle I had to pay for).

 Next day, I was contacted by Jason who did not have any news about the battery at this time but did inform me that I needed to replace the Oil Pressure Sending Unit which I had repaired in the past but agreed to do repair again since it was leaking oil. Turns out they only replaced the switch and its still leaking oil. Jason also told me that a bolt was missing from the Torque Mount and made me believe that the bolt would solve engine & steering wheel vibration issue. So, I agreed to have bolt replaced. I still had no explanation as to why the Charging System Light was triggered (the whole reason why I brought my car into the dealership for inspection in the first place).

 Seven days later, Jason called to tell me my car was ready. I had to pay an outrageous price for repairs $661.11. Come to find out they overcharged me $228 in labor and $54.91 in parts to replace a cheap Thermal Blanket. They also completed unauthorized repair by replacing Upper Torque Mount when they said they were just replacing a bolt. The Torque Mount was in good condition. It was just missing one bolt. They charged me $114 in labor and $108.32 for parts totaling $222.32 for unauthorized repair. New Torque Mount may have been an aftermarket part as it caused increased engine vibration.

 I drove car off dealership grounds and parked at nearby parking lot to call General Manager Kurt Anderson because my car was in worse driving condition than when I dropped it off at the Dodge dealership. It also hesitated on acceleration and had secondary misfire issue. Also, brakes were less responsive than before. Because the vehicle was running rough immediately following repairs, Kurt asked me to return to dealership for inspection of work and offered me another vehicle rental which fortunately I did not have to pay for this time.

 Following day, the Dodge dealership Service Manager, Al Rodriguez, returned my call, and I made verbal complaint to him about the poor customer service and poor workmanship of repairs done on my vehicle at his service center. Two days later, Auto Mechanic Bob called me and told me 4 spark plugs and 4 spark plug wires needed to be replaced at additional cost. I politely informed him that I did not have any more money and asked to speak with Service Manager Al Rodriguez again. Al put me on speaker phone and argued with me in front of his staff. He would only agree to refund me the cost of the Torque Mount and put the old one back on. I argued that I wanted him to refund me 100% of the cost of the auto part and the labor fees for the unauthorized repair or I was going to file a complaint. Al got nasty with me, refused refund, and told me to sue him. He also told me to never come back to his dealership again.

I called General Manager Kurt to tell him what happened. Kurt claimed auto repairs were done correctly, but for customer satisfaction, he offered to replace 4 spark plugs and 1 spark plug wire for free, to put old Torque Mount back on, and refund me for the cost of the auto part $100 (but with no refund for the cost of labor to do unauthorized repair). I agreed to Kurts offer as this was the only way to recover my car without spending more money.

 The following day, I went to Dodge dealership to pick up my car and noticed a flat tire on the rear back side of the vehicle. Upon closer inspection, I also noticed new wear and tear on the tires. And the Torch Mount they claim to have replaced was not the original. The current Torch Mount is old, half the size of the original one, and extremely loose. And now the Lower Motor Mount has also failed rendering the car unsafe to drive. So, they basically tampered with my vehicle by replacing working parts with non-working parts for a total cost of $661.11.