Honolulu, HI
I recently took my car in to replace one tire but on the advice of the sales person, Jimmy, I decided to replace all four. Later that day I received a call saying that they had trouble removing one of the bolts (my Mercedes R350 has bolts rather than nuts) and that they needed my permission to remove it completely since it might cause damage. I told him that as long as it wasn't too expensive that it was okay. He called me later to say that both the driver side tire hubs were damaged during the removal and it would cost $1,600 to repair them. What?! I went to buy one tire, (probably $125) and now they wanted me to pay for four tires plus two hubs ($2,100). What?! I went to see the manager the next day, Lilo, and I explained the situation. He said that things like that happened often so they were not responsible for the damage. He later explained that whoever put the spare on (me) was at fault. I explained to him that I had no trouble removing or replacing the tires when I switched them. He said maybe I didn't notice when I striped it. He later tried to convince me that because the car was low that it added unnecessary stress to the bolts and that could have caused the damage (but wouldn't it add equal stress to all the bolts since the tires rotate). It was obvious he was defensive and trying to find someone else to blame. Of course, I became upset and told him that blaming the customer for damage that happened when the customer wasn't there was not the best strategy. As a business owner myself I could not imagine blaming my clients for something I was responsible for. He also suggested that I intentionally brought the car to them knowing that it was damaged so I can blame them and have them pay for it. So I replied that if that was the case, why would I pay for four tires knowing that only one needed to be replaced to find the fault. And how did that explain the second tire that they stripped but had the original tire when I brought it in? Right then he agreed to pay for the front hub but not for the rear one. The conversation went unnecessarily long, at the end he offered to cover the labor if I payed for the parts. As much as I felt that it was still and unfair deal I agreed and asked him for and estimate of the parts. He quoted me under $500 (which made me wonder where the other $1,100 from the earlier quote came from). I told him I had to get the suspension fixed so I would call him when I can bring the car back in so he can order the parts. I asked the shop that fixed the suspension to give me a quote on the parts only to compare, they quoted me $440, around $50 less than what Lilo quoted me. On Friday morning I called Lilo to let him know I was bringing the car on Monday afternoon, so he can order the parts. I was renting a car so I wanted it done ASAP. Monday I called him to let him know that I was bringing the car in, he said they need to order the parts and didn't have room for my car in their lot. I reminded him that I called him on Friday so he could order them and asked him why he didn't. He said the car needed to be in the shop for them to order the parts (an obvious contradiction) and even if they could get the part today, they wouldn't be able to work on it until the end of the week. I was red hot by that point, and told him that I had a rental car that I was returning on Wednesday and need it done today or tomorrow. He said he could no do it because there were other customers in front of me. I asked if he didn't see this as a unique situation, that even though they damaged it I was still willing to pay for the parts, he said not really, so I hung up. I went back that day and asked to speak with his boss. He referred me to John, VP or operations I think, so I called John, explained the situation again (this is why I can remember all the details) and he apologized, said that they didn't have anyone to work on the car but he would pay for a rental if they couldn't do it by Wednesday. He said he would look into everything and call me back. He called me back and left a message telling that the quote Lilo gave me were for after market parts and they didn't have any, plus it would take from one week to 10 days to get them to Hawaii. He also said that if he got them from the dealer they would be "much more expensive". On another massage he said he would have Lilo call the dealer for a quote, and have him call me. Of course I called the dealer and the parts cost exactly what the shop that fixed the suspension told me (they have won my business for life). Lilo's was already asking about $50 more and they were for "after market" parts. This had me wondering why John would call me twice and leave messages without giving me a "dealer" price and why he would have Lilo (a manager I already distrusted) handle my account. It made no sense so I waited for a call hoping that either of them would leave the "dealer" price on a message so I can catch them on a lie, but neither of them called and it's been over a month. My theory behind why John would do that is that we would give himself two options where he would come out winning on both. Option one, He'll fix the car soon but would make me pay more by claiming that I was paying for the more expensive "dealer" parts. Option two, he would delay repairs until it was more convenient for them by making me wait for the cheaper "after market" parts. I might be wrong on his intentions, maybe he's just a busy guy that dropped the ball on this one customer, or maybe it's exactly as I imaged. All I know is that I'm the looser in this whole thing because they got my money for the services they provided but I'm still driving around with two damaged hubs from which they escaped liability... maybe. I will know soon after I talk with my lawyer.