Complaint Review: Dressler's Electric Service

On or about April 19, 2012, I dropped my 1988 Cadillac Brougham off at Dresslers Electric Service for repair because the main issue with the vehicle was that the car would have problems stalling constantly and had never run correctly since I had a previous repair shop in Thurmont, Maryland, install and overhaul an engine from a 1987 Cadillac Brougham that along with this particular1988 Cadillac Brougham, had belonged to my father who had passed away on February 26, 2011.

I had the engine from the 1987 Cadillac Brougham (that was in very poor exterior cosmetic condition) pulled out of the vehicle and overhauled, then installed in the 1988 Cadillac Brougham, because the original engine in the 1988 Cadillac Brougham had some serious mechanical issues due to lack of maintenance by my father. When I had the auto repair facility in Maryland overhaul the 1987 Engine, I also included a New (Rebuilt) Carburetor purchased from Advance Auto Parts on 5/04/2011 that cost me $539.53 and also requested the return of the original carburetor from the 1987 engine as well, amongst other parts from the car before it was left there to be salvaged.

Upon picking up the 1988 Cadillac Brougham, the owner had told me that he wasnt technically very familiar with these carburetors and in his all honesty, he suggested that I take the vehicle to a shop more qualified in this area of expertise. The 1988 Cadillac Brougham sat unused and still unrepaired for several months until I finally had the time to deal with this situation once again and that was when I contacted Dresslers Electric Service who was recommended to me and spoke to Nate via telephone, who claimed to be very knowledgeable about these Carburetors and he suggested that I bring the vehicle to his shop because he guaranteed me that he would be able to fix the stalling problem and by my description of the problem that I had discussed with him, he said that it sounded to him that the Carburetor needs to be rebuilt properly and he knows these Carburetors extremely well and assured me that he could fix it without a doubt.

On 4/12/2012
I put $40.00 of gasoline in the vehicles gas tank, to make sure that the vehicle had enough gasoline in the tank before it was to be brought over to Dresslers Electric Service.

When I finally dropped the vehicle off at Dresslers Electric Service to be diagnosed, I had also requested that some other items that were not working correctly to also be diagnosed, but I was very specific about the fact that they were NOT to do anything else regarding any further repairs to anything on the vehicle, UNTILL the vehicle was deemed to be running 100% properly as it should, with absolutely no stalling or starting problems. The vehicle was left at Dresslers Electric Service for approximately 5 weeks until I received a telephone call from Pam, telling me that it was repaired and was now running properly.

Nate had called me a few days prior and said that he was going to drive the vehicle to and from work for a few days and claimed that he lived close by, to give it a good testing to make sure everything would be 100% correct, before I picked up the vehicle. I was charged $39.25 for Gas, while he was using my car to go back and forth to work and saving the gas he wasnt using in his own vehicle. There was also never any documentation on their invoice of how many miles were on the car when it was dropped off and when it picked up, so I have no idea where it was driven to, that  used up that much gasoline or if it was even true, but, I was charged for it regardless.

When I went to pick up the vehicle, I never even made it out of their parking lot and the car stalled. I immediately brought this to their attention and a mechanic there, took it for a test drive and told me it was fine. I then proceeded once again to leave their parking lot and once again, the vehicle stalled before I ever reached the main road. I then told them I will drive it for a few days and if there is still a problem, then I will be bringing it back. They not only took apart the new Carburetor that I purchased from Advance Auto Parts which voided the warranty on it, but they also took apart the original carburetor I had supplied that was previously removed from the engine as well and for some reason, they disassembled and pieced both Carburetors together and returned me a stripped apart mixed matched Carburetor along with a box of pieces that they should have put back together. I asked why it was not put back together and Pam told me that they dont reassemble old Carburetors once they are taken apart.

I test drove the vehicle numerous times over several days and noticed that, the choke would run on high idle for a very long time and it would still continuously stall while attempting to drive it.

On or about May 28, 2012, I brought the vehicle back to Dresslers Electric Service to have it rechecked. I noted to them several things that I initially found: The car still stalls constantly, the choke stays on too long causing it to run at high RPM for a long time, I found a disconnected vacuum hose lying down on top of the engine, the hood light was disconnected, the power steering belt was making a screeching noise and needed to be tightened, a bracket had been removed from the engine and was lying on the passenger side floor inside the car and was supposed to be installed on the intake manifold (which was installed prior to them working on the vehicle), the Level Ride System still didnt work correctly after I personally installed the 4th air compressor, I also saw smoke coming from the rear of the engine. There was mud all over the floor mat, door panel and carpeting on the drivers side of the interior. I addressed all of these issues and I was told that they would be taken care of properly.

I went to pick the vehicle back up on 6-5-2012 and once again, never even made it out of the parking lot of Dresslers Electric Service and the vehicle continuously stalled. I once again addressed this issue and was told that the vehicle may need an oxygen sensor in the future, but it checks ok at this time and was told by Pam that its an old car and I shouldnt expect everything to work 100%!

A few hours after I had returned home that day, I opened the hood of the vehicle and did some personal inspections to see what could possibly be wrong from my own personal knowledge, from years of automobile repair. I found a broken electrical connector on the carburetor that I had to purchase and replace myself from NAPA Auto Parts, that I know was not broken prior to Dresslers Electric Service disconnecting it to remove the Carburetor, I found that a gasket was missing underneath the Air Cleaner Assembly that goes on top of the Carburetor, which I had to purchase from Auto Zone and install myself and I also noticed a cracked and dried out, rock hard, PCV Valve Hose that goes directly to the Carburetor, which should have been replaced, that was causing a vacuum leak, that I also had to replace myself.

I purchased an oxygen sensor from NAPA Auto Parts and called Dresslers Electric Service to tell them that I wanted it to be installed, but Pam refused to install a part that I had purchased myself and was told to either do it myself or take it elsewhere.

I then had to take the vehicle to a Ford Dealer on 6-19-2012, who services all of my other vehicles and I had them install the Bosch Oxygen Sensor that I purchased from NAPA Auto Parts. Replacing the Oxygen Sensor actually fixed the stalling problem, which made me wonder if there was really anything ever wrong with the New (Rebuilt) Carburetor to begin with? The next day, I noticed there was now a cold stating problem after the car sat over night, where I was having to pump the gas pedal 15-20 times to actually get the car to start, besides the fact that the choke was still staying on too long.

On 6-21-2012, I once again addressed Dresslers Electric Service of my complaints and told them that I will be taking the vehicle elsewhere to be diagnosed and repaired properly and I would be seeking a major refund. I was only offered a refund for the carburetor rebuild, but for none of the other following items that were found wrong, they damaged, and wasted labor hours that they charged me for. I addressed this issue to my Credit Card Dispute Department, as I was only offered by Dresslers a refund for the botched Carburetor rebuild job.

These are the other items that were supposed to be fixed correctly by Dresslers Electric Service and never were:

The car has 4 horns, 2 inside the drivers side and 2 inside the passengers side front fenders. The horns on the right side of the car didnt work. I was told that one horn was shorted out on the passengers side and I had requested to have it replaced. The horn was never replaced and it was just left unplugged, causing me to have to go to an automobile salvage yard and purchase a same type of used horn and install it myself.

The vehicle has air adjustable rear shock absorbers automatically controlled by an air compressor mounted under the hood called Level Ride System. The compressor under the hood was previously checked out and was found to be defective and was unplugged. I told Dresslers Electric  about this and also stated that there was another exact compressor in the trunk removed from the 1987 Cadillac Brougham that should be installed and then the air line system needs to be checked for leaks, and a specific air line tee needs to be purchased (I gave them a copy of a web page with the exact part number and it contained a picture as well) and installed to make the Level Ride System work properly. They took apart the original compressor which I already stated was defective, just to tell me what I already knew and charged me labor for doing this.

I asked Pam why they wasted labor time I am being charged for, by taking apart something that I already told them was defective and her answer to me was that they dont take the customers word. Then they installed the compressor I supplied that was in the trunk and told me that one did not work correctly. I then proceeded to go once again to an automobile salvage yard and purchased 3 more of these Level Ride System air compressors from other Cadillacs of the same era, I installed them myself, only to find that the Level Ride System still would not work properly. Dresslers Electric Service stated on their invoice that the system holds air if pump (meaning air compressor) is replaced, which it still didnt.

I then installed an aftermarket air compressor system I had from a previous vehicle that I had removed prior to selling it and found the same condition to be present. The rear of the vehicle would sink down once the air in the Level Ride System had leaked out. I then raised the rear of the vehicle with a floor jack, only to find out that the air line tee that I had originally told them to purchase/replace was never actually replaced, they just rigged the air lines together with a wrong coupling connector and once I replaced it myself with the proper connection tee, that ended up being the cause of the problem as the vehicle has had absolutely no issues with the rear air shock Level Ride System since. So, once again, I was charged for labor for something that was never repaired correctly.

Finally, I took the vehicle to yet another shop that has received almost 200 5 Star Reviews, in Gettysburg, PA and dropped it off on 6/25/2012. I had them document all the issues wrong with the vehicle at this time. I was called on 7/20/2012 and was told that the vehicle was ready and repaired properly. I went there on 7/23/2012 to pick up the vehicle and I was given a list on the invoice with all the things that were found wrong with the vehicle that I didnt already fix myself, besides having the Ford Dealer replace the Oxygen Sensor.

Upon their diagnosis, the Carburetor was found to be improperly rebuilt by Dresslers Electric Service and there were specific issues noted that were found wrong and the Carburetor had to be completely disassembled and repaired properly. This repair cost me an additional $475.08 to be performed. To date, since the vehicle has been back in my possession, I have experienced absolutely no problems with the starting or running of the vehicles engine, since they have performed the repairs and it is running 100% correctly now. The Credit Card Dispute was eventually reviewed then concluded and somehow Dresslers Electric Service ended up screwing me out of $728.49 for repairing absolutely nothing, that I now get stuck paying a Credit Card bill for. Talk about a RIP OFF!!!