Wednesday, July 31, 2013

WHY CAN'T CAR REPAIR PLACES TELL YOU THE TRUTH ?

I drive a 202 Jeep Cherokee and recently had to take it in to get a Virginia state inspection.   I knew I was going to have to get the brakes fixed, but I didn't bargain on having to get $2,500 of work done, including replacing a rear axle (which I'm still a little fuzzy on with respect to why I needed this done - I was told it was a common defect on older Jeeps ...).

So in the interests of discretion, I'm going to keep the service provider private.  I will say that I've been going there since I've owned the car and I've been happy with them up till this point.

And here's where it goes wrong.   I took the car in on a Thursday and was told it would be ready that day.   When they discovered they needed to fix the axle I was told the vehicle would be ready Friday.   When they had to find a replacement axle I was told it would be ready Saturday.   Waited all day Saturday and finally called them after they had officially closed for the day only to be told that it would be Tuesday before the car was ready.  Let me underscore I had to call them - they didn't bother to contact me.  I eventually got the car back Wednesday.   Thursday to Wednesday - you can do the math.

I realize this was a big job and it took time to track down the parts.  Fine.  On the other hand  be honest and give me a realistic timeframe for the repair.  I can deal with six days if you tell me upfront so that I can plan for it.   Giving me a rolling estimate and then going out of your way to ignore me simply pisses me off.

One last piece of advice - the note you sent me thanking me for allowing you to service  my car ...   don't send it next time unless it includes a rebate or a steep discount on future service.   You may have meant well, but you merely succeeded in pissing me off again. 


Yes, I'm probably taking my business to one of your competitors next time.  Do you want your card back ?

No comments:

Post a Comment