TLDR: backed into my garage door from inside, minimal damage. A1 claimed the only option was to replace the entire thing, and quoted me $8-17,000 for the job. Got a second opinion from another company, it was just a broken motor, $500 to replace. They lied to my face about the entire thing and betrayed my trust as a customer.
If I could give 0 stars, I would. I am only making this review so that others are aware. I had accidentally backed into my garage door, the damage was very minimal and just had a small, shallow dent on the bottom panel. However, the door would not open or close and my car was stuck inside, so in a panic I called A1 as they were the first listing on Google. This is long but I feel each detail is necessary to share.
I will give credit where it is due: they were able to get to my home within hours and opened my door so I could get the cars out (this alone cost me $200 which seemed steep but I was desperate). That is where the good part ends.
Within minutes of looking at my door, the technician Gilbert said it would need to be replaced. He said there were no available fitting panels for my door, so I would need a completely new garage door system. He guessed it would cost between $5-8,000. I was heartbroken but trusted his judgement. He began to go through options with me, and attempted to get me to do a credit check in case I had to finance this new door. He had suggested that I choose a 15 year financing plan at 13% interest. I told him I was not the owner of the home so I was unable to sign anything official at that time.
Gilbert got Leonard on the phone, he had asked me, "how long do you want this door to last?" I was confused by this and said "a while?". Leonard explained that if we were moving out soon, he could get me a cheaper door and we could "let the next guy deal with it". This made me pause as that seems like bad practice, but I continued to listen and chat with them both. Leonard then told me that I had 4 options and began to list them from highest price to lowest price. I kid you not, this guy quoted the first option at $17,000. I don't know why this was even suggested, a quick google search can show what an average cost range is and I had done my homework. The second and third options were somewhere between $10-12,000 if I remember correctly. The final option was $8,000, still very much out of budget and would have put me in a very difficult financial position.
Leonard then informed me of a "deal" they have with a fire department? He said that the fire department buys back unusable doors from them for training. He said this deal would take about $1,000 off the price, making it around $7,000. This confused me even further, because why would anyone buy a door that is supposedly irreparable for that much money?
I said that I would need to speak to my fiancé before agreeing to anything. Before they got off the phone with me, they asked for another signature. I stopped and asked, "wait, is this me agreeing to purchase this door?" They said yes, I said I can't again. Leonard warned me the deal might end soon and wouldn't occur again until 2029- huh?
Leonard texted me later offering me a larger discount. This also felt shady to me because if you can just give a discount at will, then that means the $7,000 price tag was just totally made up on whim. After inspecting the situation, the Sandia Garage Repair technician was able to identify the problem as a simple motor replacement. When I’d hit the door, a fail safe occurred in the motor that would stop the garage door from falling down, which makes total sense. That is why the door would not function. Sandia quoted me $500 and said the door was in great condition. He had even told us how to repair the motor ourselves if we wanted to avoid the cost of repair, wonderful service from this man and I am able to trust him.
They said there was no other way to repair the door or make it functional again. They lied to my face for a sale. This company is predatory and I would hate to see another person actually fall for this.