Complaint Review: Car-X Auto Repair Service

Car-X Auto Service Center at 3460 S. Kingshighway in St. Louis has the most untrustworthy mechanics you will ever find. If you take your car to them to get fixed, expect to be overcharged for their services and for them to get you to think other things are wrong with your vehicle.

In July 2005, I started taking my car, a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier purchased from Enterprise Car Sales (another company I will write a report on) in April 2004, to Car-X for services such as A/C work, which my regular vehicle maintenance station, Plaza Tire Service in Crestwood, MO, does not perform. When buying the car from Enterprise, I also got the extended service plan through them, which was well worth it for me as the cost of all my repairs to this car exceeded the cost of the plan. In August 2005, Car-X had to replace the A/C compressor, which with all parts and labor, came to over $800, and all I paid was my $100 deductible.

Now, December 2005 rolls around, and it is time for my car's 60,000 mile maintenance check, which Plaza Tire performed. All was well and good except for a noise they heard coming from the A/C motor. I took the car back to Car-X on January 12, 2006, since the A/C would be covered under their 12 month/12,000 mile parts warranty. However, this Car-X location got a new manager, Brian Ketourakis, since I last brought my car there. Is turnover that bad in the auto service industry?

Brian believed there was nothing wrong with the A/C compressor, but rather the tensioner, which he would charge me $124.99 plus tax to replace. I took the car to 3 different places, including Plaza Tire, and all 3 sources said it was the compressor since the tension never changed; only when the A/C was on would you see the problem. Car-X installed a faulty compressor on which a bearing was loose, and the only way to fix it would be to replace the compressor. Enterprise's extended warranty company said they would not cover it if I took the car someplace else since the repairs are still under Car-X's 1-year parts warranty.

So, Car-X tried to cheat me from the start. They knew they were installing a faulty compressor that I would have problems with again come summer 2006, and they would just keep giving me trouble until their warranty expired, when which Enterprise may or may not pay for the repairs regardless of how many times the part fails.

Brian's supervisor, Jim, the St. Louis area supervisor for Car-X, believed the solution would be to take out the compressor and put another belt on the car to determine if the problem was indeed the tensioner. This is where I know they are trying to screw me because when they realize it is the A/C compressor and not the tensioner, they will tear something apart and give me a whole new set of problems. I have decided to no longer put my trust in Car-X or my '02 Cavalier, so I am now the proud owner of a GM Certified used 2005 Malibu as of January 27, 2006. My local Chevy dealership is far more trustworthy than Car-X ever will be.

So, my advice to you is, "Rattle, rattle, thunder, clatter, boom, boom, boom, that's what happens from the Car-X man!" They will try to get money out of you for repairs your car does not need and cause even greater headaches for you in the future.

Bob
St. Louis, Missouri
U.S.A.