Complaint Review: The Palm Beach Garage

 I called to get an estimate on repairing a defective 2003 Z4 convertible top.  The Owner Scott said to bring the vehicle in for analysis and there was a $100 charge for this.  I brought it in and explained the top  motor appeared to have a leak and I was selling the vehicle,which was already in the Auto Trader,so I did not want to spend a lot of money.  He told me he would check it out and call me back,but it probably was the motor and rockers that were bad. I asked for the "worse case scenario' and he said $1500. I told him I did not want to spend that much ($1000 was the max) and he said ok-"Lets hope it is not that serious"

A few days later he called and  said "It's what he thought, I had to replace the hydraulics and the rockers and put an adapter in." So I asked with the adapter would the total be more than the $1500?  He replied "it was going to cost $@*(%" I said to him I did not want to pay over $1000 so forget it and I'll give him the $100 and pick the car up. He told me "It's going to cost you $1000 to pick the car up due to incurred labor , already ,or I can pay the $2895 to fix it"  I told him that he was informed of my maximum and I was never told it would cost that much money and he told me $1500 worst case scenario.  He said there was some confusion and he meant to say $1500 for parts, only.  I told him that if he told me $1500 for parts I would of course ask for an estimate on labor, and if he said anything much more I would say "NO WAY"

I had no choice, because I needed to get my car back, because now we are getting over a week and people were calling about the car for sale.  There was no way I was going to give this con artist $1000 just to give an estimate-when he never had permission to go that far. It took another week to fix the top due to the mechanics  illness ,bad weather, etc.  When I drove there to get the car, they would not take a credit car and demanded cash.  I left and they later called back and said they would take my credit card.  He would not face me and sent his manager to see me.  He ( the mgr)  was actually nice and explained how these autos are difficult to work on their tops and take extensive labor to reach the hydrolics on the tops, that is why it was "so much".  I told him had he been the one I first saw when bringing the car in that none of this "miscomminication" nonsense would have occured and I would have just taken my car home and offered it 'AS IS"

They also damaged the vehicle seats ,rims and keyless enrty key