Complaint Review: University Auto Center - Hollywood Florida

I took my car to University Auto Center for an oil change and routine maintenance. The car has been in excellent condition prior with no issues and has been kept up with routine maintenance every year. After an inspection by Mike, one of University Auto Center’s managers, he said some parts needed replacement. I followed his directions and changed some parts. After the maintenance, Mike told me that everything was satisfactory and that the car would have no issue driving another “40,000 miles”.

Four days later, my car suddenly stalled on the middle of the road and heavy smoke began appearing from under the car’s hood. The car’s engine didn’t turn over and became undrivable. Immediately, I had my car towed back to University Auto Center. After Mike inspected my car, he told me that the radiator is heavily broken because the car’s radiator fan was not functioning properly, causing the radiator to burst. I asked why this problem was not found during the maintenance four days before. He said that it was not noticed during the inspection and that it most likely broke down from bad luck. I followed his direction and replaced the radiator system. He then emphasized to me that car is good without any underlying issue.

As I was driving my car a few hours later, I noticed something was wrong: my car’s acceleration was faulty, a check engine light that would come and go, and abnormally large puffs of white smoke coming from my car’s exhaust. I then took my car to University Auto Center immediately. I explained to Mike the issues I was experiencing with details. After an inspection, Mike told me that he did not find any problems and that everything was fine. The next morning, however, I had tried to drive my car, but the engine failed to turn over. I called Triple A to request a road-side assistance technician. Once the technician arrived and inspected my vehicle’s engine, he told me that there was serious issue with the engine head gasket, and it was no longer in working condition.

My car was towed to University Auto Center again. George, another manager of the garage, checked my car and told me that the car had a blown head gasket due to the coolant going inside the engine; I needed to replace the engine. I asked him 1) why the engine problem was not noticed during the previous maintenance; 2) why this issue had happened right after the radiator replacement; 3) how did the coolant go into the engine and 4) why you still told me everything was fine just the day before after I had noticed something was wrong. He responded the issue may not have been as severe during that time and that I may just have bad luck. He said I would need to pay for both the full price of the engine along with the labor of the engine replacement along with any other supply costs that was necessary along with car storage.

I am very shocked at this poor service. I believed they were very irresponsible and negligent in the duties. Because of their series of malpractices and mistakes, my car went from having no issues to becoming a stone within a few days. First, the technicians at University Auto Center failed to give qualified maintenance and failed to install the parts correctly. Secondly, the above events led to the broken radiator as the malfunctioning fan was neglected. Thirdly, their unprofessional radiator replacement caused coolant to enter the engine. Fourthly, when I pointed out that something was wrong, they still did not find out the reason missing the last chance to save my engine. As a result, the engine totally failed. During this period, they did not show any responsibility for his unprofessional service but instead only gave excuses to escape any accountability. They not only lack professional skill but also have no responsibility for their job.