I brought my car to this den of thieves as the 'check engine' went on and the anti-freeze overflow was empty. The radiator, however, was full, and the car was not overheating, but I wanted to be safe than sorry. I left my car with them to check if there was a leak in the cooling system, or the thermostat was faulty, etc. Later that day, I stopped by to see if they had diagnosed the problem and I was asked to sign an agreement stating that the diagnosis would cost $99.50, but that amount would be applied to the cost of the repair. Before all was over they tried to sell me work in excess of $1,800.00!
Without my consent, they had my
engine apart, and I was told that all of the cooling system gaskets needed replacement, such as the lower intake, upper intake, and throttle body gaskets, along with new hoses and new clamps along with a coolant flush. These hoses and belts were replaced less that 3,000 miles before along with the 'flush'! They also dropped my transmission and said that I needed a new transmission filter kit, a new transmission gasket, and
transmission kit. This work was also performed less than 3,000 miles before. I always performed the scheduled maintainence of my car. My vehicle only has 51,000 miles on it, but was also told that I had a massive oil leak and that I needed an oil pan
gasket as well as a valve cover gasket.
I was also told that my rear brakes were leaking and that the rear brakes alone would cost over $300.00 to repair. I had the brakes checked, again, less than 3,000 miles before. These people had
my hostage for more than one week, and there wasn't a day that went by that they didn't call me with another mandatory repair and if did not go along with their suggested repairs, I would be in eminant danger driving my vehicle.
The shop steward, Tom Martin, became very irate with me and verbally abusive. This company promotes a 'Care One' credit card underwritten by GE Money Bank with a current APR of almost 28%, which they receive commission for, and once credit with this company is established, Complete Care Care will max out the repairs to the extent of the credit limit. When I refused to have any more 'repairs' performed by them, Tom Martin became extremely angry, saying that he will no longer 'sell' jobs, and customers like me were the reason, and he was looking for other employment. (This affects me how?)
When I said I was picking up my car, and ordered them not to do any more repairs, I was quoted a final figure including the original $99.50 diagnostic fee, which was intended to go towards any repair work. He denied telling me that, and when I pushed it to the max, he said begrudginly that he would credit this amount to my invoice, however, he would have to cover it out of his own pocket. I escaped with spending only $650.00, after this company had me sign many, many waivers, after the fact, and work orders that should have been signed before the work began.
I have since taken my car to not one but three other
mechanics showing them the invoice after I had the 'must have' issues looked at. They both debunked thier claims and let me know that I was totally overcharged for the work and that the majority of their diagnoses were unfounded. I am driving my car to this day without incident. It's been over two years now.
Other reputable people in the industry have nothing good to say about Complete Car Care. Their reputation is among the lowest of people locally in the business. When bringing a vehicle in for an obvious cooling system issue, what gave them the right to pull my rear wheels, drop my
transmission, and dissect my vehicle?
This company and their employees are so dishonest and smarmy that I cannot believe that they can still be in business. Besides Ripoff Reports, I intend to file this complaint to every comsumer protection agency, including the Better Business Bureau and all others I can find. I have documentation of every claim that is made in this report, and again, two years later, I haven't had any issues with my brakes, transmission, oil pan and leakage.
In addition, their invoice has a print out for the future needs of the vehicle: Notes: Struts Weak will Watch!!! Customer advised!!! Needs valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket work ASAP!!! Waivers had to be signed multiple times, as Complete Care Care wanted to purge themselves of the liability of my faulty brakes, and it was said that I shouldn't be able to drive a city block without an accident due to their idea of faulty brakes, which are still working perfectly to this day.