Complaint Review: Dobbs Auto And Tire

I am single 48 yr old female... On August 30 2007 I put a deposit and contract on a used 99 subaru forester
the dealer had agreed to replace the rotors and pads on the car since they were close to going out of specs.. they also did other repairs prior to me picking up the car...and the parts removed from the car were kept and put in cargo area per my request. repairs included replacing the cv boots (they also replaced the drive shaft) replacing all belts and hoses, the battery, and the brake work
on August 31 2007 ....before final payments and paperwork was done i took the vehicle to a near by service station to make sure all the repairs had actually been done on the car... they were.

While driving home i noticed a mild vibration in the steering wheel , as well as a mild drifting to the right side and since i had taken out a extended warrenty that states I must do all preventive maintence asap.during the wait period of 3 months...
.. On Sept 5th (my day off work) I took the car into the brentwood dobbs center and told them of the drifting and vibration.

They did a wheel balance on the front tires and sent me on my way having paid a 30 dollar repair bill...

well the vibration was a tad better but the drifting still remained.. so i called the store and told them that it was not fixed .

they suggested i bring it back on 9-7 (day off) so they could run a evaluration on my allinement...

So once more I agreed and returned as agreed....

Once more they did a balancing act on the front tires... then took for a test drive .. when that did not prove to be means to end the vibration they then put it on the machine to check allignment
45 mintues after returning from the first test drive... the tech came to me and stated they found the problem.....
supposely the caliper was locked up /stuck and they could not evn get the alliment checked till they fixed the brake issue.... they continued to state that due to it being stuck it had burnt up my rotor from over heating.... ( a total of 175 miles had been put on the car since i left the dealers lot with brand new rotors).

I told him that i would like to see what he was speaking of since i could not understand how in that short of time so much damage could happen to the rotors...

He then asked me to wait a second and he would come back for me to show me.... well when he took me to the car.. the brake was completely off the car... he explained they had to take it off to find out what was wrong when they could not get it into the machine to run the alligment check

I then stated i did not have the funds to replace a caliper till after my next paycheck and that i would return then.. to get it all taken care of... and proceed to ask them the cost to replace the caliper.....

I was then told they could not let me drive it like that as it was too dangerous and that they would work out payment with me

then they proceeded to tell me that it would require both front brakes be totally redone as everything had to be a match set....

when i told them that was nuts since i had just had brand new rotors and pads put on it only few days before that there was no way the other side should need rotors and pads

i was at this point informed i had to do them as a set or they would not gurantee the repair....nor be responsible for any damage

I then showed them the paperwork on the rotors which were put on by the dealer .. which had a lifetime replacement gurantee by manufacter... telling them to contact the parts store and save me some money by getting them replaced....

again i was shot down saying that since the caliper had not been replaced when the rotors and pads had that the parts store would not replace them... not even sure if they called them or not... plus the tech told me if they did get parts from the place the dealer had that dobbs would not gurantee the work as they only gurantee their own parts.

Well they charged me $711.00 for the brakes with lifetime replacement warrenty and then charged me $70 for the allinment.

And on the way home i found the vibration still there and it is still pulling/drifting to the right.

This was done today and I am not sure what to do.... I am disabled and can only work part time due to health so 880 dollars is almost a full months income for me. I saved for 3 years to buy this car that was given a pre purchase inspection to ensure i knew what work needed to be done... I only purchased after making sure it was safe.. and knowing that i had warrenty that kicks in first of the year (2008)

When i asked for the parts they took off my car today at dobbs.. they claimed they threw them in a bin with all the other parts from the other cars so there was no way to pull mine out of the bunch to give me....

Can anyone tell me what to do next .. since car is not fixed and they have my money

Jessica
St Louis, Missouri
U.S.A.