Complaint Review: Ice Cold Air Discount Auto Repair - Clearwater Florida

I have a 2014 Nissan Altima that started to run a little rough so I took it to this shop to have it looked at. I got there around 1:00 in the afternoon and walked up to a mechanic who was outside and I told him what was happening with my car.

As he started to talk with me, Kyle the service manager came out and asked what was going on and then said lets go inside and create a work order. That was strange because I was just there to get some information and to perhaps set up an appointment to maybe drop it off at another day.

He asked me was there anyway that I could leave the car with them today so they can have a look at it. I said ok, so I called my wife and she came to get me. Later on around 4:00  I called them to see if they had any information on my car. They said that they did a diagnostic check on it and that it needed a ignition timing sensor.

I asked how much do I owe them and was told $275.00. This was extremely high and they said that was for labor and diagnostics. I thought that was a lot and then said I will be coming to pick up the car and will schedule to have it repaired on another day.

Kyle then said the car is not drivable because it won't stay running. Wow, it was drivable when I dropped it off. He then said let us replace the sensor and that should fix the issue. The next day I called them and was told the car now needed a new distributor, so I said ok, lets fix it as long as thats going to solve the issue.

They called me 2 days later and said the car was fixed and running great and that I could come and pick it up. My bill was a whopping $2,950.00, I was in disbelief but I paid it. I started it up and it hesitated for a bit and I drove off. I traveled about 20 miles and the same issue was still happening. I called them and they said they don't understand why thats happening.

I asked them if they could have it towed and correct the issue. Kyle right away said that I would have to pay to have it towed and aslo to fix whatever is wrong with it. I said to him are you kidding me. He then responded well we don't know why thats happening and we thouht we fixed the problem.

I was furious and called up another shop a few miles away and was told to bring it to them. They asked me where did you have the work done and when I told them Ice Cold Air Discount Auto Repair they said sorry to hear that. They said those guys are ripoffs and they do that all of the time to customers. Anyways they told me to hangout and that they will take a look at it.

After about 30 minutes they said your car is all done and running normal. I then said are you sure. The mechanic told me one of the spark plugs wires was cracked and that's what was causing the issue. He told me that he didn't do another diagnostic test because I already spent so much money on it and visually checked for issues and found the problem. I said are you kidding me. I was dumbfounded and really pissed off.

This guy put a new spark plug wire on it and fixed the issue for free. Long story short, later on that evening I went online to see reviews about Ice Cold Air Discount Auto Repair and seen hundreds of other people who got taken advantage of and ripped off by them. I only wish I would have done that first.

I called Kyle the next morning and told him about it being fixed for free and how they charged me all of that money for nothing and he said I doubt that was the issue and hung up on me. Please avoid this service shop like the plague. I also found out they are a franchise are are independently owned and operated and have other shops located throughout Pinellas and Pasco County, Florida. and are known to treat customers like this.