An Open Letter to Tex Earnhardt of Earnhardt Auto Centers
Dear Mr. Earnhardt,
In September of 1998 I delivered to you my vehicle, a 1997 Kia Sephia RS, to be repaired. At that time I was admittedly an inexperienced mechanic, and I did not know dishonest work from honest work.
Tonight, May 13, 2006, I found out that your technician lied on the invoice that I received on September 9, 1998. You were paid by Kia for time that was not worked, and for performing a job that you did not do. Invoice 368401 dated September 9, 1998 clearly states that your technician performed a Kia TSB, number KT2005030334, for ground connection improvement, the TSB being dated February 1998. Your technician lied when he stated that he soldered connections C252 and C257. He did not solder the ground wire at the mass airflow sensor. He did not solder the ground lug connector on the block. Infact, the only thing that I believe your technician did do was to put stabilant 22a on the mass airflow sensor. And for that, you apparently billed Kia for 1.8 hours of time.
I've known for some time that your technicians were not very experienced, since the few times I actually took my vehicle in for service there was not a single instance where at least one fastener wasn't left off, or something wasn't put back in place. And now I know that I got screwed at the hands of a dishonest technician. So, at 96,000 miles at 8 years later, I spent my evening doing what you claimed to have done back in 1998. And I have the connector blocks that were supposed to be REMOVED and soldered in my hand to prove it.
I'll never buy anything from you again. You're a crook. I'll continue to tell my friends exactly how I was treated at the hands of your dealership. While I know that you no longer deal in Kia vehicles, I will forward my concern to Kia's corporate office anyway. It is my sincere hope that they commence an action against you to recover the labor fraudulently paid to your dealership. Perhaps they'll even be so kind as to send that money to me, since ironically I am the technician who finished the job.
Chris
Gilbert, Arizona
U.S.A.