Greeetings,
I will be providing my initial complaint report to the BBB and response from Driver's Auto Repair. The information provided by the BBB is for informational purpose only to help convince other about Driver's Auto Repair. I would recommend Auto Repair facitilies such as Louetta Automotive, The Shop and AAA approve repair shop.
Please stay away from Driver's Auto Repair at all cost and spread the word about this unethical company who has a long history here in the Houston, TX area of mistreating, scamming and ripping off customers.
Make my testimony the one which should drive the point home to your consciousness.
Due to this terrible experience, I no longer have a functional vehicle and it will require me to raise more funds to fix it.
Now, I'm looking at buying another vehicle here in the Houston, TX area and you can bet that I will be taking all the precaution and doing extensive research on the vehicles, dealships and owners.
I would recommend those who are relocating to the Houston area, please do your homework and research about Auto Repair Shop's and anything else in regards to service and products in the Houston, TX area.
Also, it should be known to all Texans and others who decide to relocate here such as myself from California.
Texas does not have any laws that regulate Auto Repair Shops.
Your legal options are to file a complaint with the local Better Business Bureau and file a legal lawsuit under the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) in small claims court for up to $10,000 for the repairs and other damages such as tow costs, storage fees, and car rental.
Suit must be brought within 2 years of violation, and you MUST send a written demand for money damages to the repair shop by certified mail at least 60 days before you file suit.
Here is the link for more information; http://texaslawhelp.org/resource/car-repair-fact-sheet?ref=q0yJy#i0ADA6703-7F44-41E5-A37F-9EDFF8EDE942
I've file my complaint to Driver's Auto Repair customer care by email at [email protected].
However, I've yet to receive any response from any at their Head Quarters regarding my complaint.
Below is my initial complaint to the Better Business Bureau, Driver's Auto Repair response and my rebuttal to Driver's Auto Repair response.
Initial Compliant to BBB
Drivers Auto Repair provided repairs to the braking system for a 1990 Acura Legend. A diagnostics was to indicated a braking system malfunction. Front brake pad and rotors were replace and brake system was flush.
Vehicle was driven the next day from Humble, TX to Conroe,TX-- Please Select -- via I45 on the return trip from Conroe,TX vehicle started to experience braking malfunction and the vehicle smooth drive became resisted and brake pedal do not engage when press or step on. This alone cause the vehicle to move very slowly.
After 5 hours of waiting for tow service, vehicle was tow to Driver's Auto Repair shop. Next morning received call from Manager the brake hoses cause major damage the braking system and all work that was previously done had to be done over again under warranty.
The original estimate cost was $1,162.71, the actual repair cost was $670.38. The cost to repair under warranty was $882.00. I refuse to pay the warranty cost due to the fact that it was the Driver's Auto Repair negligence to not inspect the brake hoses properly and replace them.
Driver's Auto Repair also neglected to do a proper test drive to ensure the braking system was multifunction and recheck the work.
Driver’s Auto Reponse to My BBB Complaint.
On May 5, 2016, Mr. Jahima H**** came in with a brake concern on his 1990 Acura Legend. The staff immediately brought the vehicle in to inspect. The technician found the front rotors and pads needed to be replaced due to wear. The customer was on a fixed budget and did the minimum that he could afford. The customer was shuttled to his house for his convenience while his vehicle gets worked on.
Being a twenty-six year old vehicle it was going to be a while to have his vehicle complete. After the vehicle was done, the technician did a comprehensive test drive to ensure that all parts were functioning properly.
The next day Mr. Jahima H**** called and stated that he was having trouble with his vehicle and didn’t know what was wrong. Mr. Derrick Johnson informed him that we can get the vehicle towed to our shop if he needed some assistance to find out what is wrong with his vehicle.
Mr. Jahima called the tow service himself and had the vehicle towed to our shop. He asked Management if we could pay upfront for the tow because he is unable to be present. Management explained to Mr. Hanif that we will put the tow bill on his invoice depending on the issues with his vehicle.
Once the vehicle was towed in the technician found the front brake hoses had collapsed and caused the calipers to seize. Management contacted Mr. Jahima Hanif about the parts that have failed. Explained on how the vehicle is twenty-six years old and sometimes other parts fail when they are worked on.
The brake hoses and calipers were working at the time of repair and test drive. The parts could not be determined that they would fail. We told Mr. Hanif we will warranty out the pads and rotors if needed since he just paid for those items.
Normally parts are not covered if they were damaged by another part but we went as far as asking the parts supplier if they could do so to help our customer.
Mr. Jahima H**** declined the repair due to price of the parts. Management told Mr. Jahima we understand and if he wanted his vehicle he just owed the shop for the tow bill of 125.00.
Mr. Jahima came later that day to pay for the tow bill and had his vehicle picked up. Drivers Auto Repair tried to help Mr. Jahima with his vehicle and did the job that he paid for. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at the information below.
Thank you
Jimmy Gonzales
Drivers Auto Repair
281-441-1265
My Response to Driver’s Auto Repair regarding my complaint
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11443987, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.
I totally reject their response to this complaint base on the sure fact that I never saw or view whether or not the front brake pads, calipers and rotors were damage to the extent of replacement.
I’ve had substantial car repairs perform for front wheel alignment on my vehicle last year with AAA repair in Phoenix, AZ and there were no reported problems with my brakes prior to visiting Driver's Auto Repair facility.
I can provide a work order proof of that if necessary. Also, they never explain the cause of the low pedal. My brakes were working fine as that time, no brake squeaking or sounds to indicated my brake pad were low as most vehicle have that mechanism in place.
Plus my initial visit to there shop really was to address my low pedal and seat beat issue to satisfy a minor safety inspection. Which only required bleeding of the brakes and brake hose inspection overall & inspect the issue with my seat belt.
So for all my troubles, I bring a working vehicle that need only minor work to resolve a Texas Vehicle Safety issue for Seat Belt & Low Pedal. Now, I have a disable vehicle with a brake malfunction that's no longer drive-able in the State of Texas.
I was offered $882.00 for warranty work on top of the $670.38 already pay out. I don't see any justice in this at all and this has cause me great personal stress, potential job loss due a lack of transportation and economic hardship.
All over their lack of negligence of the braking hoses which was the issue in the first place of a 26 year old vehicle.
I will continual to pursue the legal objective to resolve this issue and to request a full refund. I've should have know that once they ask me what kind of budget did I have for the initial $1,162.71 which I refuse to pay that they we out to take advantage of minor issue with my vehicle and to make themselves some big money.
So for the principal sake of their greed which backfire on them when they fail to properly inspect the braking hoses and failure to provide proof of the brake pads, rotars and calipers.
This complaint will stand as a testament that Driver's Auto Repair lack totally integrity and honesty to even be in the business of Auto Repair. My compliant will be just as the many other complaints against this company for their unethical reputation to serve there customers.