Complaint Review: Raboin Auto Repair - Somerset Wisconsin

I have lived nearby Somerset for over twenty years now, and I am also very familiar with Jim Raboin's automotive repair shop. I have never personally dealed with him since I do all of my own auto repair and also a bunch for friends and neighbors, etc to make a few extra bucks. Over the years I have become a pretty competent automotive technician. I have never heard a single positive thing about this place, ever. Granted that with any auto repair shop, you don't frequently hear the compliments, but you hear about almost all the criticism. I have the same thing happen to me when I had someone's car, and coincidentally something else goes wrong with it while it is in my hands. That DOES happen. From the feedback I hear, and the word that goes around town, I have no idea how this guy can possibly stay in business. Seriously. I have, however, inspected much of the work he claims to have performed on a number of cars. I cannot be too specific on these examples for fear of getting others involved when they don't want to. I've seen two cases where he claimed to have rebuilt an engine, but after looking under the hood, the engine is as greasy filthy as it was before and leaking oil. I can tell by the scratches the bolts make in engine mounts that the engine was never removed from the car. Overall craftsmanship was very sloppy also. This is a very poor way to rebuild an engine, if it was even attempted. At $2800 repair bill... more than that should have been done. The most common complaint is that of Susan's: bring the car there, it sits there, and nothing gets done on it. She is not alone. I have also seen a case where he used a customer's vehicle as his own personal one. It is very helpful for an automotive technician to do this to diagnose intermittent problems, but this particular repair scenario I am thinking about did not justify doing that.

Update to the saga of James Jim Raboin (James H. Raboin, Jr.) of Somerset Wisconsin...Jim kept my car for 6 months and didn't complete the work or respond to my pleas for 6 months. First I had to involve the MN Attorney General's office, the WISCONSIN Better Business Bureau and the Wisconsin Consumer Protection Office. The St. Croix sheriff wouldn't/couldn't get the District Attorney to press charges on the forgery of my husband's signature...I'm sure because they had a big murder case they were handling at the same time. So the sheriff visited Mr. Raboin and suggested that he get the car back to me ASAP. Suddenly Jim Raboin was calling me frequently...even though he'd ignored me for 6 months. Now he wanted to make things better...he wanted me to get my car back. But, he made me pay CASH...wouldn't accept a cashier's check or anything else. Hmm..do we think he reports that $$? Car seems to be running ok. But Jim has a history of "short fixes" just enough to get it out of his town...so we will see...Please, please, file a report with Better Business Bureau, Attorney General and Consumer Protection offices if you've had this happen. Until they see a "pile of bodies" they won't do anything with this guy. I received another email last night from a woman who was taken by Raboin for a repair that wasn't properly done...He's GOT to be stopped!!

Last week in response to my complaint to the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau, Jim Raboin stated that he hadn't immediately completed the work because we hadn't come to his business to sign the estimate until 30 days after he'd picked up the car. Then he claims my husband came and signed an estimate (required by Wisconsin law) and after that he'd had the car done within four days and that he hasn't ever heard from us again. He even sent compies of the estimate to prove his case. Imagine our surprise when we heard this as neither I nor my husband was ever asked to sign anything AND we haven't signed anything. The copy of the estimate he sent to the BBB has a signature of my husband's name in the signature box...but it is not that of my husband! He also states that he didn't bring the car on the dates that he had said he would return it, because he would have to go over the state line from Wisconsin to Minnesota (we live in the Twin Cities on the edge of Minnesota/Wisconsin border) and he'd been advised by the local sheriff that we might have reported the car stolen and he might be arrested! Baloney... My husband is now requesting that the sheriff deal with the false signature...but we are being ignored by them. Check back for more updates on the Raboin Auto Repair of Somerset Wisconsin saga!

40+ days and still no car. I called the sheriff's office this week. They tell me that they've heard my story from lots of other victims. I also found another victim who will be posting her story, too. He's had her car for 6 months AND taken another $800 cash from her! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.