Rip-off or incompetence? Choose one!
On June 7th, 2016, our 2009 Lexus RX350 started experiencing an overheating problem while driving home from work. The next morning, we took the vehicle in to our local garage (A1-Autotech). We had chosen this garage just recently and had our car brought in on two occasions for minor scheduled maintenance. We chose this garage in an effort to support neighborhood businesses and because of its proximity to our residence. Two hours later, we received a phone call from the garage saying that they had determined that the water pump was gone. However, that in order to fix the issue, they would have to remove the entire engine at a cost of $2100 plus tax and that we would need to leave the vehicle with them for three days.
It did not sound right to us that the engine would need to be removed just to replace the water pump and we could not afford to have the car tied up for this length of time. After conducting some preliminary investigation online that alluded to doing this job without removing the engine, we decided to call several other garages including Master Mechanic and get a second opinion on what was involved with this job. Each garage that we spoke with told us that although the job was difficult, they could replace the water pump without having to remove the engine. They all estimated that the work would cost ~$700 plus parts.
Later that day, we picked up the vehicle and paid $150 to A1-Autotech for the work that had been done. The next day, we dropped off the vehicle to one of the Master Mechanic garages. They called within a couple of hours to tell us that in fact the water pump was gone and that they could have the job completed, as per the quote, by the end of the day. We picked up our car after work and paid $925 including parts and tax.
The next morning, June 10th, we decided to drop into the A1-Autotech garage on our way to work. The owner and mechanic appeared stunned that I drove up in the car and told them that it was already fully repaired and that it cost only a fraction (2/5) what they had quoted. I asked them to return my $150 to our credit card as this would have been an unnecessary expense had they made the proper determination of how the job should have been conducted and that in fact, it was not necessary to remove the engine. I told them I would give them until Tuesday to complete the transaction or we would be forced to take action against them.
On Tuesday, June 14th, we phoned the garage and asked if they had refunded our money. The owner of the garage said that he had not and that I should “go f**k myself”. His language and demeanour towards customers was completely inappropriate for a small business owner and provides a poor reflection for A1-Autotech.
On June 7th, 2016, our 2009 Lexus RX350 started experiencing an overheating problem while driving home from work. The next morning, we took the vehicle in to our local garage (A1-Autotech). We had chosen this garage just recently and had our car brought in on two occasions for minor scheduled maintenance. We chose this garage in an effort to support neighborhood businesses and because of its proximity to our residence. Two hours later, we received a phone call from the garage saying that they had determined that the water pump was gone. However, that in order to fix the issue, they would have to remove the entire engine at a cost of $2100 plus tax and that we would need to leave the vehicle with them for three days.
It did not sound right to us that the engine would need to be removed just to replace the water pump and we could not afford to have the car tied up for this length of time. After conducting some preliminary investigation online that alluded to doing this...