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Foreign Autohaus folsom ca Rafael owner This place is a complete scam and not a safe and reliable place to have your vehicle inspected!! Run fast before you get scammed!!! Check out this owners Yelp reviews wow!!!! Ripoff Alert!!!! Folsom ca Ca
Auto repair scams: This man Rafael has been kicked out of El Dorado hills ( Town Center) He is not to be trusted or handling business with customers. He has a serious anger issue and criminal background in other states! Be very aware of this man and his business he is running in folsom ca. My son was scammed by this man that charged him way over the price for a oil change & coolant leak.
What a joke and this place has so many terrible reasons not to do business with!! Check for yourself and see the opportunity to make your own choice in keeping your personal information and finaces in the hands of a convicted scam artis. A trustworthy auto repair shop is vital to the safety of every motorist. Your shop can keep your vehicle running smoothly, fix dangerous crash damage, save you money, and protect you and your passengers from life-threatening harm while on the road.
Rafael is the owner who fires and hire new convicted felons to do his dirty work. Most body shops are honest and professional, but some will try to defraud you and your insurance company. This man is not to be trusted and everyone knows his game in the community. Shops may offer reasonable verbal repair estimates, but present final bills that are far beyond the estimates. Or a mechanic may leave the estimated amount blank when you sign a repair authorization, then secretly fill in an inflated amount. Needless repairs.
A shop may pad bills by "repairing” mechanical problems and damage that don’t exist. True story: A motorist on vacation noticed his car was leaking oil. He stopped at a local car dealership whose mechanic said he needed a new vacuum pump for $1,820. Stunned, the driver bought a seal for just $13 from an auto-parts store. These man are not being honest at the counter when you pay your bill. Your gut feeling tells you there is something wrong and you find yourself thinking ...." wait; This cant be happining because I just got that fixed last month"! Go with your gut feelings on this transaction.
Counterfeit or used parts. Some dishonest shops install parts that are counterfeit, substandard or used, but charge you for expensive new parts. These parts can give out when you’re on the road, putting you and your family at risk. Used parts are viable for some repairs, but crooked body shops will bill you for new parts but install used ones. Yes it's a shoddy shop to bring your property to be looked at. Shoddy work or none at all.
A shop may cut corners by doing quick and shoddy work. True story: One mechanic held car parts together with nothing more than bailing wire. Sometimes the mechanic also does no work at all, but bills you and your insurer for a full repair job. You may have to return several times—wasting your valuable time and causing needless headaches. Specials and maintenance hook schemes. Dishonest repair shops advertise super-low prices on specific repairs or check-ups, then use these specials to bilk their customers. A simple oil-change-and-lube job can turn into expensive and unneeded repairs. Run fast and dont look back!! Mike T
11 Updates & Rebuttals
Kelly
Rocklen ,California,
United States
This man Rafael is a serious scam artists and asked me out and would not leave me alone! What a strange f*cker.
#12Author of original report
Mon, August 10, 2020
Never felt more weirded out than I did when I got my car towed the man asked all these questions about me to see if I was single and if I had kids as well talking about how much money he's got to later on make me uncomfortable by asking to get my phone number and asking what days I work. it's honestly upsetting that you can't even get your car towed in peace I have never had this happen with other companies so I forsure will not call in again. Malachi was the driver towed my car and honestly calling in isn't gonna give me my money back this just shows how someone can make a company look very unprofessional.
Dra
Sacramento ,United States
Sad!!! Wow!! This crooked man needs to be stopped
#12Author of original report
Tue, July 21, 2020
AVOID Took my car for a check engine light. Turned out that a piece of the Serpentine belt sheered off and cut wires to the MAP sensor. They said the belt was installed incorrectly by previous owner. Replaced the belt and repaired the wiring. I trusted their judgement. Two weeks later belt was completely gone, tensioner had been melted. Apparently the crankshaft pulley had damage and had been missed from the first repair.
This cause the belt to break and the tensioner to melt. They worked the price down a little but it still wasn't that great. They were pretty firm on the offer they gave me to fix the issue so I just paid it and got out of there. The lady who works the front desk was extremely rude on the phone when I expressed my concerns. Won't be returning. Seems like they are mainly in it for profit, not having happy customers. Just wish they could have fixed this correctly the first time. Sad!
Cynthia
EDH ,United States
Sad and very disturbing how this owner operates his business.
#12Author of original report
Tue, July 21, 2020
AVOID: Took my car for a check engine light. Turned out that a piece of the Serpentine belt sheered off and cut wires to the MAP sensor. They said the belt was installed incorrectly by previous owner. Replaced the belt and repaired the wiring. I trusted their judgement. Two weeks later belt was completely gone, tensioner had been melted. Apparently the crankshaft pulley had damage and had been missed from the first repair. This cause the belt to break and the tensioner to melt.
They worked the price down a little but it still wasn't that great. They were pretty firm on the offer they gave me to fix the issue so I just paid it and got out of there. The lady who works the front desk was extremely rude on the phone when I expressed my concerns. Won't be returning. Seems like they are mainly in it for profit, not having happy customers. Just wish they could have fixed this correctly the first time. I would never wish anyone to return to this place of business because he seems to raise the prices and add issues to the car.
J.
Camron park ,California,
United States
This guy Rafael is a serious scam artist!!
#12Author of original report
Mon, July 20, 2020
Brought my car in for service this morning and witnessed an employee threaten and harass a customer with profanity as i waited. I later asked the customer what had happened that caused the argument and it was due to an overly charged and unnessecary repair due to a clutch problem. After hearing about the untruthful diagnosis and the threatening cuss words i got right back in my car and left. This man is not right and needs to be checked out because I heard he was doing insurance fraud. J.
Andrew
Sacramento ,California,
United States
Alert Alert...Scam Artist be aware Rafael will take your money.
#12Author of original report
Mon, July 20, 2020
The people buying my BMW 325 took it in for a PPI. They attempted to say that the car needed a clutch, when it had just been replaced. I stated that it had been replaced recently (within less than 30,000 miles ago) and there was no need for a clutch. The clutch was not slipping and showed no sign of issue. Immediately after telling them that, I had the OWNER of this establishment come and start threatening me saying he was going to kick my a** and drag me out of the store if I kept talking.
I kept my cool, and he kept threatening me and getting in my face. Very very unprofessional. I have been around cars for years and know my way around them quite well. My vehicle is an older car, and when it came in they saw an easy target. But after showing them they couldn't lie to me, they got angry. Everyone stay far away! The owner is a scammer, and threatens you when facts are stated. He is a very violent aggressive man.
UPDATE: after almost 2 months, the owner decided to write me today, proceeded to tell me to get a life and that I didn't know the business. He is all the about the money and not about the quality. He's in this business to make a quick buck, he is a wannabe, horrible business man, as I have seen other negative reviews. Please, anyone that is going to take your car there please re think it. Anyone that does business like this guy should be ashamed. I also heard that this man has been in jail for hurting someone in his past so be careful around him. He is like a firecracker once you see through his lies and manipulation.
L.B
El Dorado hills ,California,
United States
No integrity at all!! Feel sorry for his wife!!
#12Author of original report
Sun, July 19, 2020
L. B. DISHONEST COMPANY I took my Lexus to Foreign Autohaus to have my brakes checked. While sitting in the lobby waiting for my car I could see that they put my car lift to inspect the brakes. I watched the mechanic inspect the car by using a flashlight to look at something near each tire, then he manually spun each tire.
It took all of 10mins for him to make the assessment that my back brakes had only 2mm of wear left, my front brakes had 5mm of wear left, and that I needed new rotors both in the back and front. My first red flag was they did not pull the tires off the vehicle to inspect the brakes, and the second red flag was the large fee that they said the repairs would cost. The car is 6 years old and this is not our first time having to pay for brakes so I new the fee was inflated.
Needless to say, I took the car else where for inspection where they pulled the tires off, and showed me that the back brakes had 5-6 mm of wear left and NOT 2 as they told me, and my rotors were fine and did not need replaced. On a side note, I was uncomfortable with their assessment and wanted a second opinion and when I went to leave Foreign Autohaus without getting the repairs done, they told me I only had 200miles left of brakes and to be careful. Lastly, when I questioned why I needed new rotors, and the service managers response was, "if my mechanic said you need new rotors than there is a reason for it."
They are dishonest and use scare tactics. This owner needs to be shut down and put away! He is a serious scammer and criminal after customers hard earned money. What a loser and crooked man thinking that he can just get away with taking from others. His attitude is far off the radar with blowing up at customers and threating others after they confronted him.
One time I over heard a story that he almost physically had to kick a customer out of his building. What a very deceptive man with anger issues and lies!! I would never go to this place again or send anyone near this company.
Richard
Folsom ,California,
United States
Rafael is a lie and scam artist who thinks he can take from others.
#12Author of original report
Sun, July 19, 2020
Richard E. I wanting to download my review to show others how Rafael is dishonest. Somehow, my original review, below, was taken down from Yelp - the day after Rafael called to discuss. Pretty bad business practice to remove bad reviews, I am being really honest here. Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware! Never have I dealt with a business where I felt stronger about that phrase than my dealing with Foreign Autohaus.
When I first came across the newly relocated Foreign Autohaus, after they moved to the old fire house on Blue Ravine, I thought this is awesome. I have an older '09 Audi Q5 and the drive from Folsom to Niello Audi in Sacramento takes about 1-1/2 hours' round trip - so having what looked like a good service alternative in Folsom was a welcome sight. Boy was I WRONG!
Took in my '09 Audi Q5 in July for a regular scheduled maintenance where they quoted a decent price so, I figured I'll give them a try. We had been noticing a coolant "burning" smell, but no noticeable leaks so I asked them to check that out as well. The report came back that they found a problem with the thermostat housing and this came along with a serious warning that the thermostat could go out at any time, leaving the wife broken down and stranded. I authorized the repair, taking a simple scheduled maintenance to a $1400+ repair.
A week or so later I noticed that there was still a burning coolant smell when the car was pulled into our garage, but thinking it was just residual from the repaired leak, I decided to give it a bit more time. After about 2+ months, the smell was getting stronger, so back to the shop we go. This time I dropped it off with the report that I was smelling a burning coolant or maybe even oil. This is when the scare tactics really ramped up.
This time - after a bit over 2 months from when they last looked at the vehicle we were told: The timing case cover was leaking oil and needed resealing! Vacuum oil pump was leaking and needed replacement! Both valve cover gaskets were leaking and needed replacement! The air filter needed replacement! The battery tested as bad and needed replacement! The lower radiator hose had a leak and needed replacement! The thermostat housing was leaking and they needed to replace that seal! - that was until I reminded them they just did that in July, they then came back and said the residual coolant they found was left over from the repair done in July.
SCARE TATIC #1 - The vacuum pump replacement recommendation came with the warning that this could go out at any time, possibly causing serious damage to the motor!
SCARE TATIC #2 - The battery replacement recommendation came with a warning that it was set to go out at any moment leaving the car stranded!
SCARE TATIC #3 - The leaking radiator hose was so bad that it was recommended that I park the vehicle, because that hose was "spewing"! Total for all of the recommended repairs was over $3800. All the warnings were pretty ominous, and made what I thought was a 10 year old car in really decent condition, sound like it was ready to break down at a moment's notice. Last thing I need is for my Wife's car to break down while I am out of town.
After getting off of the phone with these guys and thinking about their "Scare Tactics" approach, I decided that a second opinion was definitely needed. Plus thinking about all the recommended repairs compared against knowing that this car is a 10 year old European car, this just sounded really excessive. Remember, there are no noticeable oil spots nor coolant spots on my garage floor.
I paid them their $140 for the "inspection" and picked up the car and was again told that I needed to park the car as that radiator hose is "really spewing". Back to Niello we go - their report - the lower radiator hose is leaking and needs replacement, total about $575, including a free multi-point inspection. Foreign Autohaus cost to replace the radiator hose - $581. Interesting how the dealer service department can do a multi-point inspection and find NONE of the so ominous needed repairs that Foreign Autohaus recommended. Plus now I am thinking the burnt coolant smell was due all along to a leak in the lower radiator hose, and the replaced thermostat was an un-needed repair and a complete waste of money.
I find it really hard to believe that the radiator hose suddenly sprung a leak, immediately after they replaced the thermostat, since we continued to have the smell right after I got is back from the first repair. I will recommend that anyone and everyone AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS, unless you want to get sold un-needed repairs that come with complete scare tactic recommendations that unless you do the repair your car is going to break down and leave you stranded at any moment.
Marco
Sacramento ,California,
United States
Saw these reviews and thought i add my experience.
#12Author of original report
Sat, July 18, 2020
Does not surprise me at all after what I had to deal with. This chump should be out of business after all his scamming and taking advantage of others. NEVER take your car here! I took my Land Rover in several months ago to fix a "check engine" issue. After performing $900.00 in unnecessary repairs (basically replacing fairly new parts that I TOLD them were new), guess what? The "check engine" light came on the next day!
Next, they told me they'd pay for a rental car while they figured out what was really wrong. Needless to say, they never did figure out that coolant was leaking into a cylinder and suggested I take it to a place in Sacramento (that did correctly diagnose the problem). I just received a letter from the car rental agency informing me that the rental car THEY SAID THEY'D PAY FOR would be charged to my credit card because Autohaus refused to pay.
I've spent months trying to get a promised refund, only to get a bunch of run around. Now, whenever I call, the owner is "conveniently" absent. I'll be going to the BBB next
P.D
Folsom ,California,
United States
YEAH this crook taken advantage of my family.
#12Author of original report
Sat, July 18, 2020
I had a very hard time with this shop. The check engine light came on my daughters car and I placed my code reader on the car and it read crank shaft timing sensor malfunction. So I called the Foreign Autohaus. I mentioned the code and the sales manager said "they don't just hang parts on cars", he would need to charge me for a diagnoses with his code reader. Should have trusted my gut and hung up the phone.
If you think making an appointment means your car will get looked at that day think again. After a day and a half, I finally got my diagnosis in the form of a text and a link which I really was thankful for because the mechanic's notes clearly stated a sensor was simply unplugged which he believed was the cause of the check engine light. However, the salesman wanted to repair every single possible fault the car could have including replacing a hose that was replaced less then a year ago.
When I told him when it was replaced he mentioned they include that hose replacement because it usually rips when they do the other work he recommended. His total up charge was to the tune of $3,000 dollars. Needless to say I politely said I would just pay for the diagnosis. I am glad that is all I paid, since the engine light is now no longer on and all the mechanic did was plug in the sensor. Thanks but no thanks. I guess Autohaus means up seller in German....Proceed with caution my fellow German car enthusiasts.
James G
Sacramento ,California,
United States
I new it was something up with this Jack!!
#12Author of original report
Sat, July 18, 2020
James G. 7/16/2020 I never thought I'd say this in my life: you're better off going to the dealership. The most manipulative, forceful, and deceptive mechanic in this area. My car had an oil leak so I brought my car in here for a quick repair. I figured I'd save some money by going to this local mechanic but boy was I wrong... although I told them I only want that one specific repair, they went on and scanned my whole vehicle and came up with around 6 different "problems" that all accumulated to around $2000 worth of repair.
I have been servicing my vehicle regularly and that price point and the problems that my car apparently have really shocked me. I seriously couldn't believe it. After going there I went to the Mercedes dealership in Sacramento to make sure there isnt actually anything wrong with my car and they said everything looks normal. THE DEALERSHIP (which is infamous for ripping you off) WAS MORE TRUSTWORTHY AND FAIR PRICED THAN THEM!!! The same repair on my oil leak cost me significantly less than what foreignautohaus charged. The worst part about all of this is that Rafael gets mad at me for having enough logic and experience to know that I'm getting ripped off.
That man has major anger issues and literally gets pissed off when you don't agree with him. I seriously don't know how this business is running. I I know my review is going to get plummeted because of disliked incoming from the staff, bots, or whatever you guys are using to hide all the negative comments, but seriously, if your business is only surviving from ripping people off and putting your French bulldog on your business pictures to attract customers, not only should you not be proud of it but ashamed of yourself.
Ashley
Folsom ca,United States
OMG!!! This man tried the same thing to me.
#12Author of original report
Sat, July 18, 2020
NEVER take your car here! I took my Land Rover in several months ago to fix a "check engine" issue. After performing $900.00 in unnecessary repairs (basically replacing fairly new parts that I TOLD them were new), guess what? The "check engine" light came on the next day! Next, they told me they'd pay for a rental car while they figured out what was really wrong. Needless to say, they never did figure out that coolant was leaking into a cylinder and suggested I take it to a place in Sacramento (that did correctly diagnose the problem).
I just received a letter from the car rental agency informing me that the rental car THEY SAID THEY'D PAY FOR would be charged to my credit card because Autohaus refused to pay. I've spent months trying to get a promised refund, only to get a bunch of run around. Now, whenever I call, the owner is "conveniently" absent.