On 7-5-2013 I brought one of my vehicles into Mr. Transmission in Hoover, AL to have a cracked mirror panel replaced on the drivers side mirror and also have a new instrument panel installed as the gas gauge and the speedometer gauge was dropping to 0 miles per hour every now and then while riding on the interstate. I was told that they could not replace just the mirror panel but would have to replace the entire unit. Today, November 7 2013, I finally got my car back. From July 5-September 16 I called Mr. Transmission 3x's a week according to my phone records asking for an update. Each time an older gentleman would give me the same excuse as to why it wasn't ready and that he would have someone call me back. No one would ever call back... His excuse each time was stating that "the parts company sent of the wrong God D**n part again. We have to order a new one".
On September 13th I called Mr. Transmission asking them to please just leave my car as it is and that I will come and pick it up to take somewhere else. I was told that a man named Randy would have to call me back, he never called. On September 16th I called Mr. Transmission again asking for the same thing, just let me come and pick up my car. They then told me that my car was fixed and I could come and get it. The bill was $1,378.09 when the original quoted price was "between $650-$750". I hopped into my car thankful to have it, drove next door because for some strange reason my gas tank was empty and I filled my gas tank up. My gas receipt from Sept 16th shows $79.52 that I spent to fill my tank. As my tank was filling up, I noticed that I needed to adjust the drivers side mirror so I clicked the left side button and nothing happened.
Keep in mind my mirror didn't go into the shop to have electronics fixed, it went into the shop to have a mirror panel replaced, but per Mr. Transmission, the chevy dealership does not sell mirror panels, they only sell mirror units and the entire unit would have to be replaced, a $500 part plus labor. I drove back next door, literally next door, and showed them that the mirror wasn't working now, maybe whoever put on the new mirror unit forgot to connect the wires. They said they would have to keep it overnight so I left it yet again. I call several times a week asking what the status was on my car, I could never get an answer. Randy was always supposed to call me back but never would. At this point I've paid the $1,300 and I just want my car fixed, and now something else isn't working. 2 months later after calling several times a week I get a phone call back from Randy on Tuesday November 5th.
I speak to Randy about my concerns and let him know what happened on Sept 16th regarding the mirror. Randy says to me that they never replaced the entire mirror unit, that they only replaced the mirror panel and that the electronic issues must have been there before they worked on the car. I proceeded to ask him why a piece of glass mirror would be a $500 part and he said he doesn't know why Chevrolet charges that amount for a piece of glass. I explained to him that I was told that it wasn't possible to replace the panel but that the entire unit was required and that was the problem. Back and forth talk he throws out a few cuss words and says he doesn't have to listen to my s**t and to come and get my car.
If you know me at all, you know that I'm pretty mad at this point. We exchange phone calls back and forth over the next couple of hours into the next day November 6th and Randy finally tells me that he will be ordering a new part and fixing my mirror for free. At this point I have already located the chevy dealership who ordered the parts for my car by having each dealership I called run my VIN # until I found the right dealership. The dealership stated to me that Mr Transmission ordered a mirror unit, not a mirror panel. I let Randy know that I spoke with Chevy and what they stated and that this was not additional free work he was giving to me, I had already paid for it, because his statement that he put on a mirror panel was incorrect.
He continues to argue with me stating that the mirror on my car was the original mirror and that the cluster inside was broken because he only added a panel, Chevy dealership confirms that he ordered a new mirror unit that came as an entire part with all new electronics in it, and that it must have had wiring issues, confirming that the wiring issues were not initially there. I threw my hands in the air and said ok Randy, thanks for the free labor you say you're giving me, can i please just have my car back? On Nov 6th 3:30pm I get a call from Randy stating that my car was ready to be picked up. November 7, today, we go to pick my car up. He brought 2 wrong cars to me prior to finding mine, he brought a Tahoe and then another similar. I inspect my car and the mirror works fine. However my gas is empty again.
I asked Randy why my gas tank was empty as I had filled it up on Sept 16th, also with an empty gas tank on that day. He squirms and says I don't know, no ones been driving your car. (red flag) Really? No one has been driving my car? The heat was turned all the way up and there was a mexican radio station blasting when my car was first cranked. I left my car for repairs in the middle of 100 degree weather and in September when I picked up and re dropped off my car all within a matter of 10 minutes it was still in the 70's, pretty hot. Randy stated to me that maybe the instrument panel wasn't working. I said really? The one you said that you replaced with a NEW part? I threw my hands up and decided to bite my tongue thanked him as he told Peter, good luck man you have a bad one there. I drove next door (20 feet away) and put gas in my car. $77.89.
At this point I feel like someone had been driving my car and ran the gas tank clear empty, twice. I go back into Mr Transmission and ask for a copy of the invoice and the ticket write ups. Randy proceeds to cuss at me and says "I am not giving you anything, get off of my property or I will remove you". I again asked for a copy of the invoice and a copy of the ticket write ups. He begins to yell and say more cuss words at me, then Randy said "You should have Fu**ing kept your ticket when we gave you a copy of it, you signed the ticket." I said no you didn't give me a copy, you told me to sign it showing that I picked up my car, you never gave me a copy of the ticket. I'm simply asking for a copy of the ticket, if you have a copy machine I'll be happy to make the copy no problem.
At this point I said fine. I'm calling the police. I called the police who came, while waiting on it Randy held the ticket in front of me and while it was in his hand moving said "take a picture of it with you're little phone, theres your copy". I like a dummy tried while gritting my teeth but it was blurry. The cops came. Randy gave him 2-3 stories that made no sense per the officers when they came back outside to speak with me and said I needed to pursue with a Civil Lawsuit. We chatted for a bit and one of the officers gave me a card of the auto mechanic that he takes his car to and says I hope you never come back to this place.
Tyg
Pahrump,#2General Comment
Thu, November 07, 2013
In most of the posts I review all I ever see is the consumer attempting to scam the retailer. In this instance I am HAPPy to say......YOURE RIGHT!!!! This business is indeed BAD!! In fact I would go as far as to say it is CRIMINAL. There are quite a few laws that this shop has broken. I would be reporting them for driving your vehicle without permission. Given the length of time they had it, you SHOULD be reimbursed for not only the gas they used but the insurance YOU had to pay while THEY drove it around. I would approach your states AG and then get yourself a GOOD civil lawyer. Clean this clown out. Shut him down.
A criminal investigation NEEDS to happen here. This shop is using its own customer vehicles without the customers permission. Given that your problem is mainly with the mirror and the dash, realistically they should NOT have gone through a FULL tank of gas in order to see if the fix actually fixed it. This shop has shown a great deal of negligance in the handling of your repair. Im not one of those people who believes in punative damages but in this case I feel it is not only warrented but should be mandatory.
Thank you for your post. I truly enjoyed attempting to help with info. Shops such as this DESERVE to be on RoR. You didnt sugar coat or over embellish , and you stated the part you played in the situation INCLUDING your attitude and behavour. You have shown EVERYONE who reads your report EXACTLY how to handle your business until you cant do anymore. I appreciate the honesty and integrity that you have shown with just your post alone. I truly wish more consumers would learn from your example.
You sir are a prime example of what a good person can do and get accomplished.