- Report: #164291
Complaint Review: Domestic Auto Experts - Katy Texas
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Domestic Auto Experts
19920 Morton Road Katy, Texas, U.S.A.
Phone:
281-4018600
Web:
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Domestic Auto Experts NOT an alternative to dealer just brakes etc. FALSE INFO ripoff Katy, Houston Texas
They overcharged me from what was quoted on the phone by $5-15 on each of several repairs. Not a big deal but keep reading.
They didn't put on a new state inspection sticker after charging me for the inspection. When I realized, 2 days later, they said they didn't do the inspection but would give me a sticker.
They said my 1 year old Escape had new composite brake rotors that could not be machined and were worn out. They "needed" to be replaced for $650 including their special coupon.
I said let me think about it and took it to the dealer. The dealer has never heard of such composite rotors, said all I needed was new pads but I would eventually need to the machine the rotors (impossible according to Domestic AE). The total including machining and tax was only $200.
DAE told me to check out this website because Just Brakes was on here. I hope I can convince some folks to avoid DAE at all costs (and there will be plenty if you go there!).
Garth
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
They didn't put on a new state inspection sticker after charging me for the inspection. When I realized, 2 days later, they said they didn't do the inspection but would give me a sticker.
They said my 1 year old Escape had new composite brake rotors that could not be machined and were worn out. They "needed" to be replaced for $650 including their special coupon.
I said let me think about it and took it to the dealer. The dealer has never heard of such composite rotors, said all I needed was new pads but I would eventually need to the machine the rotors (impossible according to Domestic AE). The total including machining and tax was only $200.
DAE told me to check out this website because Just Brakes was on here. I hope I can convince some folks to avoid DAE at all costs (and there will be plenty if you go there!).
Garth
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Garth
Houston,Texas,
U.S.A.
Original Poster Response
#2Author of original report
Wed, December 19, 2007
I made the original post regarding the Escape brake repair. Several years later (and other repairs done at the dealer), I'm convinced that DAE was a manipulative, minor repair shop. Truly, it is the epitome of the "used car repair shop". My brakes are still working fine after an additional 45000 miles (from when I brought the car in to DAE and turned down their inflated costs before going to the dealer). I can't report for others, but I've heard several similar complaints, most of which regard the fact that there are routinely twice the number of "white-shirt" office staff talking about the cause and cost of the problem than repair techs. I'm incredibly happy I've stuck with the dealer, their minimal cost (relative to DAE), and minimal follow-ups. I can only imagine that the "employee" posting on their behalf was an owner or a money-hungry "manager" on fast track.
Rather
Houston,Texas,
U.S.A.
If you suspect any kind of unfair practices please contact the DAE management.
#3UPDATE Employee
Mon, November 21, 2005
From my experience they are really good people who do their best to work with customers. I don't know enough to comment on over-quoting, but did you consider hazmat fees and such? With all the work that happens mistakes sometimes occur, I'm guessing that your car was there for more than just an inspection. If they forgot the inspection and you paid for it they would definately take care of it, with an entire inspection. What car did this inspection involve? They cannot simply give you a sticker, you must run an entire test. If this is on a 1980-1995 vehicle it has to go onto the dyno and 1996-2004 models must have their OBDII port scanned. Once again, it is not as simple as filling out a sticker and giving it away. As for the brakes, either we did not have the equipment for it and you misunderstood (doubtful), or the rotors were too close or under minimal specification to be machined. This means that it is not impossible to machine them, but the heat buildup from being under specificaiton can glaze new pads. If this infact was the problem and we did not explain it correctly then I apologize. Otherwise the dealer might of made a mistake or had a different opinion concerning the remaining thickness of the rotors. Do you know if they measured them? We strictly use figures supplied by Mitchell via Ford to determine when it is or isn't appropriate to machine rotors. I don't represent DAE here in any way other than my personal experience, they've been a pleasure to work for and I've never seen them take advantage of customers in the way you describe.
