Complaint Review: Westwood College

I am writing to let parents of student in high school or individuals who maybe considering a career in automotive repair that going to Westwood College will not prepare you for a career in automotive repair. It may help you if you want to become someone who takes money but never repairs the problem. If that is your career path then I highly rate Westwood College.

Here is my story:

I bought my daughter a used car to go to college and after a year the transmission began to slip. After going from numerous transmission repair shops it sounded like it would be any where from $1,200 - $2,300.00 depending on what they found. That was more then we could do but had to do something. A good friend offered to fix it but when he saw it was a front wheel drive did not feel confident about doing it. I had purchased a transmission kit and when I was returning it I ran into a man who was with Westwood college. I ask if they took in cars to work on and he said yes. After waiting about 90 days they took the car and had my daughter sign a release form. After she signed it they joked that now they could drive the car off a cliff and we could do nothing about.

At that time I tried to comfort my wife saying that it was just some guys trying to look cool in front of a 19 year old girl. How wrong I was!

We took the car in and my wife had to deliver parts and go and pickup other parts that soon ran up a parts bill of over $800. One of the parts, a new valve body was delivered by another parts company. The valve body part was one that Westwood College made a big deal about getting so we had a special order sent to them. We never heard from the college so we just had to wait and assumed all things were good. I was at that time working in Summit County Monday - Friday so I was having to be driven up on Monday morning and then picked up by my wife on Friday evening. This went on for about 45 days. We were under the impression that the car would be done in a certain amount of time. We did rent rent a car for 30 days because my job was in jeopardy without a vehicle.

We had to return the rental and we thought that our car would be done a few days after that. We get a call from Westwood saying they were going on spring break and the car was not done! We were in dire straights but could not do anything but bite the bullet.

Then the roof collapsed! We get a call saying the class was over and that the car is not drivable and we should pick it up and we had signed a document and that was it. Even though when I ask one of the instructors if they would let their daughter drive this car and he said NO! So I had a meeting with them and said the car was not shifting properly because of a bad valve body. I checked with the company that delivered the new valve body and they said they delivered it. So why didn't I get a new valve body installed? Westwood said they never got it but the owner of the company said that he would fill out the paper work that says he did deliver it. But since Westwood college made such a big deal about getting the part why didn't they call us to ask where it was?

So I battle with the Westwood Auto department and then one day they call and say the car runs good and we should come by and get it. We get it and we sign a paper that we put in that the car "Shifts Fine". It did shift fine. But we took it too a shop to have them look at it. They said the the parts were filthy and that now the seals were leaking and they did not tighten the bolts that hold the transmission in place and one bolt was missing. They told me that with the main seal leaking the amount of fluid I would have a serious issue soon. They could redo it for $500 but no guarantee that the work Westwood college did would last.

Westwood college is not responding and I have told them on the VM that I will be going to small claims court.

How does a college that is supposed to train future auto mechanics get away with this?

I just don't understand how this College can do this?

Jeff
Centennial, Colorado
U.S.A.