TransMedic of Bend Trans Medic Theft of service,failed to fix anything,took my money and would not provide parts list Bend, Oregon
Phil Hogan told me that he would rebuild my transmission for 1800.00 he gave me a bit of a deal because he put me though a nightmare on another car that he attempted to fix for, I thought I would give him a second chance because I felt sorry for him. Big mistake, to make it up to me he said, Ill take care of you on this one don't worry.
Right way he said I need to write a check for the parts today can I get 1000.00 to cover it? No problem I have a receipt for that. Then the waiting game began, I would have to call him, he would never call me, then he stopped answering so I would call from a different line and he would answer every time! Week after week I would ask him so how is it going Phil? Well Im doing my best, Im just one man so its tough. I would show up at 8am or 9am normal hours or around 2pm and he would be gone for the day! All the time. After two months I finally threatened legal action and he called me with threats of a huge bill and storage if refused to pick up the car? Oh the car was done so come and get it...We had a disagreement about the bill because he owed me 500 dollars from a tow bill caused from a previous transmission failure that he took full responsibility for but now refused and said he never pays for towing. So I said Phil you told me in front of witnesses it was your fault and you would not charge me more than 1800 to fix this car minus the 500 you owe me? Now your changing your mind? When I showed up to get the car he said if I didn't want to pay the full amount he would not give me a list of the parts, there would be no warranty and he would leave the bill marked unpaid. He felt I owed him another 300 dollars. He also didn't want me to test drive the car before I paid him. When I insisted he stood up and through the keys at me and said, make it fast! As soon as I left the parking lot the car went into limp mode and would not run. I limped it back to the shop and stormed out said, what now! I gave him the keys and started the car and revved the motor and tried to drive the car out of the parking lot as he stomped on the brakes almost hitting another guy entering the parking area. When returned he said, I don't know whats wrong I fixed it, this is a new problem?
I was in disbelief that a man could lie with no sense of right and wrong. I told him Phil we disagree, I said Im calling the Police to see what my rights are and we were going to court over this. I told him I would give him one last chance to give me money back and he laughed at me, turned and walked away yelling, go away, he then locked the door to his shop and would not come out. when the Police arrived I told them what happened and they said you can take your car, but you have a civil case, so you will need to file a suit against him to get your money back.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Sherlock
Bend,Oregon,
United States of America
Too good to be true
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, January 13, 2011
I run a business that uses Phil's business. We have associated ourselves with his TransMedic for the past year or so. A lot of what this man says is similar to our experiences except the outcomes. We have been very pleased with the work. I have knowledge of the Audi problems. I had an almost identical audi except mine was an A8 quattro. I had bought a beautiful car that immediately developed the tranny problem. I had German Transaxle here in town take a look and even with my discount it was over 4k. If you research the web these transmissions are very expensive to fix to the tune of 6-7k, more than the worth of the car depending on the year and miles, mine was a 2000 w/100k, by the looks of the picture this looks to be maybe a 1999 don't know the mileage. This car is probably 4-5k wholesale. I sold mine through the auction for 4k. Before I unloaded this car I took it to Phil and he quoted me 3k certainly a deal but not worth the cars value when added to the cost of the vehicle. We always try to fix cars we sell correctly or we don't sell them.
So, where does this leave us? Phil is a small one man shop. Definitely has a different sense of humor, but has proven to me to be honest and forthright. He does charge in advance for parts, he does this to me every time. He is not cash flow rich. He has one lift in his unit and can only work on one car at a time. If something comes up or comes in that pays his regular rates, I have been willing to wait because of the deal he works with us. I know he does this with other dealers in the area and for the most part we all seem to deal with it because the job does get done for a reasonable price.
Here's what I do know. You can't rebuild an A8 tranny for $1800 and if this guy has any savvy in his head as a supposedly curber selling so many cars illegally he should know this. On a side note, I have a bias against curbers. I pay lots of money for my bond and my license and my overhead to be undercut by curbers who mostly sell sh*t. Anyway back to the issue. If this is the car I think I saw on Phils rack months agowhen I went to have some work done at Phils, I had to go somewhere else because Phil could not work on my car. He hadan audi on the lift. I just couldn't wait so I went somewhere else. He lost my income on that deal because he was working on another vehicle. So what's it really worth when you lose some business over someone who was will to pay the same rate? One who supposedly misunderstood (maybe) what he was getting for his money. One who probably dealt with Phil on many occasions? Why would it make sense to turn one person down to finish another job where he cut therate trying to help this guy out, maybe he wasdedicated to the job at hand? Unfortunately he follows instructionsjust to get screwed and hassled in the end? I have had several cars at other mechanics shops for extended periods of time because time I have and money I don't. You don't push or look a gift horse in the mouth.
Secondly, we should all know that in automotive world you must fix the obvious and hope it fixes the problem before you can address another problem(s). When someone quotes a price to pseudo fix the problem it is not uncommonthis uncovers another problem(s). So if indeed the tranny was patched and the guy was warned that the patch might not hold because he didn't want to spend the money to fix it properly then, he took a chance and lost.
Third, if this guy was so unhappy because of a "nightmare" previously, why would you return andfeel sorry for him. You wouldn't! It sounds as if your pocketbook does your talking.Sounds like the 'nightmare" wasresolved or he wouldn't have come back. At this time he must have known how Phil works because he has used him in the past. Believe me all the same issue existed before and still exist for those of us who are willing to wait for a deal. "Time is money" I have time, sounds like he did too, just got impatient. Phil should have told him for an additional $1200 bucks you could have had it fixed right the first time, and believe you me, $3000 is a deal to rebuild a A8 tranny (if this is what the car was). I think this guy truly was trying to get a car running as cheaply as possible. He wants to sell this car to some unsuspecting individual and the patch job was the least expensive way to do it. He was willing to pass on the problem. He gambled and lost. Deal with it.
Fourth, $500 towing, what happened to AAA? Let see $500 towing is one heck of a bill, sounds like this guy got ripped off. Where is his rip-off report on this incident? Oh, sorry you saidPhil owed you the $500 for the towing and on top of thathe was giving you a deal on fixing the next tranny? Why doesn't this ring true? If, and I do mean if, Phil was to pay someones tow bill why would he discount the tranny? Why wouldn't a business person adjust the billing to cover at least some of the towing if indeed he agreed? You don't cut on both ends. Phils not stupid.Most transmission shops will pay "local" towing if "you" agree to get the tranny fixed at their place of business. I never heard ofone to pay extraordinary prices. Maybesomeone who sells cars should have AAA or something in an insurance policy that pays towing. Believe me; I have paid my share of towing. Stop whining, its a cost of doing businessfor reputable car dealers.
Enough said I think this is a bunch of BS. He wanted a cheap job and he got a cheap job and it didn't work out for him. He rolled the dice and lost.What I'm not clear on is, did Phil get the $800 balance he was owed? Did the car originally come in with the limp mode? How does this person know it wasn't a "new" problem, is he a transmission expert? Has he taken this vehicle to another shop to verify what the problem might be and match it to the "patch" job for which he only paid $1000? Effectively he ripped off TransMedic for $800. Maybe Phil should take him to cour? How much will another transmission shop charge him to fix the problem? $3000? $4000? Maybe more. I say take the $800 you got away with and spend it to diagnose the problem with your car. Then see if you think your car is worth it. Then apologize to the one who tried to help you make profit on your car. Sounds like you were the one who made the call to patch the tranny and lost. Phil sounds like he did what you asked, win, lose or draw and should be paid for his efforts.
Remember this, "You can have it cheap, You can have it fast or you can have it done right!" Choose one.
deemommy
bend,Oregon,
United States of America
I FIXED what I was PAID TO FIX
#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Mon, January 10, 2011
When a costumer comes into our shop with a vehicle we not only want to help the costumer but want to work with them. This Costumer asked NO talked me down on my prices because these are cars HE IS CURBING/SELLING these are not his personal cars. First thing he says is HOW much cheaper can we go Phil what can we do to make the job cheaper. I did this with BOTH cars big mistake the new owner of the last Audi got ripped off was not told about things I TOLD this costumer to fix. He did not want to put the money into it. So the second AUDI he went even cheaper A AUDI transmission repair 1800.00 But now he is SAYING he was going to get a 3600.00 JOB for this PRICE no. I informed such costomer that a PATCH repair WILL NOT FIX all the problems I know that when he left it has a electricle problem I also said I would fix it BUT HE CALLED THE COPS I would have done it for free if he could have given me my 500.00 he stole. and now he wants his money for the parts and oil he paid for NO I cant pay for these items.
I do things for allot of costumers to help them out so much I dont make a profit I struggle I am not in this business making a killing. I drive old cars live in a rented house behind in my bills and then this costumer comes along saying I am ripping off costumers Please speak for yourself. I have done no one wrong. I also think this costumer should finnish paying for the repairs I have had to do on the last AUDI he sold with bad breaks, I am working on now. I believe one who can stand up and say I have been ripped off should be a pretty clean person NOT out there ripping off people himself.
While you live your lavish life we will continue to struggle andI Thank You for taking money outof my kidshouse and MOUTHS all because you did not want to listen to my husband. We will see you in court Please hope you have your dealers license. Have a Nice Day Always the Loving Wife