SD
Sterling Dozier
1 day ago
Took my car here for a faulty AC system, followed the shop’s advice to get a compressor from elsewhere, had my post-job concerns dismissed 3 times, and ended up paying another shop to fix a faulty job that caused my car to breakdown over the 4th weekend. This will be a long one.
Thursday, June 12: Take my car here because my AC system stopped blowing cold air. After a few hours, they tell me that the problem is a faulty AC Compressor, and quote me ~$1,100 with $650 for the Compressor. After I say that the Compressor cost seems high, the tech says “I definitely understand, and always encourage customers to shop around.” She starts listing places that may sell the part, and I say that I’ll go to Advanced Auto for the part and return. I get the part from Advanced for $370, return to the shop, and am greeted with “Sorry, we definitely won’t be able to get to this job today.”
Friday, June 13: I return & drop my car off for the job in the morning. I never receive a call that my car is ready, and stop by around 4:30pm to find my car finished. Upon turning on my car, I immediately notice that the engine is loud while the AC is off, and gets noticeably louder when the AC is turned on. I don’t make it out of the parking lot before finding the tech and raising the issue. She suggests that the AC Compressor may be drawing more power on the engine, but the AC is working and the sound isn’t concerning. Dismissal #1
I get back in the car, make it to Mercer University Drive, then turn sound and bring the car back because it sounds very concerning to me. The manager comes out and asks what’s wrong, and repeats the same “drawing more power” explanation. “But the AC is working well, isn’t it? The sound isn’t concerning to me but it shouldn’t get worse. Drive it around for the weekend, and if it gets worse bring it back.” Dismissal #2
Monday, June 16: I bring the car back in the morning. I can’t say whether the sound got worse, but it was very loud and concerning to me while driving. The best explanation I can give is how older cars are louder & you can feel the engine vibrating as you press the gas, whereas my car was riding smooth before the job. The tech gets the same manager, I tell him it has gotten worse, and he tells new that since I got my own part the job is out of warranty. I mention that I was encouraged by their tech to shop around with no mention of warranty, and he says “I’ll have to talk to that tech because I’m not sure why you were told that and that shouldn’t be the advice that we give, but you’ll have to pay for an inspection if you want us to take a look at it. I agree to pay for the inspection, and sit there lobby.
After about ~20 minutes, the manager comes and tells me that I’m good to go. “I took a look and everything is installed correctly, and the AC is working. The only option would be for me to redo the job, but we would charge you for the labor. As I said before, the sound isn’t concerning to me. Don’t worry about the inspection cost.” Dismissal #3
At this point, I was a bit concerned that a full inspection wasn’t done given the short time and not being charged, but I’m not a car guy, the shop has 4.8 stars, and I’ve now raised the issue 3 times, so I take the manager at his word and move on.
Thursday, July 2: I’ve now moved back to Atlanta, but spend the day in Macon wrapping up don’t business before the holiday weekend. At about 5:30 PM, my car starts shaking, the check engine & check battery light come on, and the car shuts down. I pay $175 for a tow to the Grant’s Auto which is closed for the holiday weekend, & organize a ride back to ATL for the weekend.
Monday, July 6: I call Grant’s in the morning to tell them how my car broke down, and they agree to take a look. After a few hours, I get a call back that goes as follows: “Have you gotten AC work doing recently? Your drive belt is completely gone, 4 AC Compressor screws are in the engine block, & your belt tensioner has a bunch of play and is moving around.“. The same Express manager denies that it was a job issue, & my car is fine $690 later.