Should I leave a good or bad review?

[Katrina]

I recently had a problem with my car and took it into the dealership to get repaired before we drove a long trip for a wedding. The car had been making a noise but started fine and drove fine...the noise was immediately after starting the car or putting it into park.

We dropped it off on a Friday and on Saturday we were told it was the starter. Later that day I received a call that the car was fixed and ready to be picked up. We live an hour away but I made it there on time and my husband went home. I paid $648 (outrageous in my mind) and went out to start the car and it made the noise! I walked back into the dealership and the door slammed behind me (because that's what their door does but it was a nice effect for me) and said, "The car still makes a noise and my ride just left."

3 guys stood there with their mouths opened trying to figure out who wanted to deal with me. I was patient but they could tell I wasn't happy after paying so much money. It was closing time and so they gave me a courtesy car to drive around and told me they would call me Monday. No one called me and I had to call their to get an update and finally Tuesday someone returned my call. They said it would be over $3500 for the repair...on top of what we already paid and that would be more than the car was worth!

The next day my husband and I drove the hour there to speak with the service manager who explained that he didn't think the repair would be the flywheel gear and he thought it was just the ignition switch. So why did we pay $125 for a diagnostic fee that was incorrect? He didn't know. But he would fix this and I could drive the courtesy car in the meantime.

In the end, they did the repairs (ignition switch, another new starter and wiring) and charged us nothing more than what we initially paid them. They even finished in time for us to take the car on a long trip without problems getting there and back.

So, would you leave them a good review for them since they wanted to work with us on getting it corrected? Or a bad review since they tried to scam us at first?

 

[Deleted member 45866]

Damn, you paid quite a bit of Money just to get your Car fixed all because of a Noise it made. If I were you, I'd probably leave a 1-Star Review online and never go back there again and find somewhere else the next time. To me, paying $648 is also a bit outrageous in my mind just to get your Car, which is making a Noise, fixed.

 

[Elli]

In my opinion, it sounds like they did make an honest effort to correct their mistake. I'd guess that their original diagnostic test either didn't show the flywheel gear as the problem, or they chose to take a chance by replacing your ignition switch to save you some money. I don't think they were trying to scam you either way.

Those diagnostic tests aren't always accurate and don't show every problem. imo mechanics rely on them too heavily. For example, a few years back when my Jeep's A/C stopped working, I took it in to have it repaired. They patched the hole, their tests showed all green, so I paid and went home... only for it to stop working again later that week (in 100°F+ heat). I came back, they found another hole and patched that one, as well—for free. Again it stopped working. On this third visit, I was definitely losing my patience, so they replaced the entire line, which finally solved the issue. They ate the cost of parts and labor for that, too.

Any business that is willing to take responsibility for a mistake and (fairly) fix it deserves a good review as far as I'm concerned. They could have just as easily charged you that $3,500, or taken extra long to get your car back to you. But they didn't. I'd leave a good review.