subaru4tahoe Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 need some help, this is a repost from other forum: We have a 99 outback ltd wagon, love the car. Recently had over $3k in work done, new clutch, timing belt, alt, pwr steering pump, oil leaks etc done. Found out this shop has royally messed this car up. First they screwed up drive shaft and it was making whining noise, stripped out bolt and caused gear lash. Car was running horrible also, bucking, rough idle, found out they put the old timing belt back in after telling us it was new and put it on wrong. Then we made them redo it and they left 2 bolts off the cover. After having the car back now 7 times since Sept. we had it towed yesterday because the spark plug wire popped off, we are terrified there are other bolts missing and they really did not do any of the work properly to begin with. Anyone know of a great Subaru mechanic in the San Jose CA area?? So now we have a real mess on our hands. Car is now at Subaru of Capitola, awesome btw, they have had it over a week and can't figure out what these guys did to this car. Now we have an intermittent issue where it runs great and then starts running like crap, bucking, stalling, bad idle etc. Huge leak in rear differential that they supposedly fixed, timing belt seal missing, things loose etc. We also found out the dealer would have only charged $2600.00 for everything these idiots did including the freebies they said they did as a "professional courtesy". They put a new power steering pump in because it was leaking, we don't believe for a minute anything was wrong with it to begin with, a new alternator as a courtesy, again nothing was wrong to begin with. Now the original place is telling us we never were having a timing service done and they put a new timing belt on as a "professional courtesy" because it was running rough, like we brought it to them off 1 tooth!! They even charged us an additional $130.00 to fix our wipers that were not working correctly, slamming against the windshield. Tried to tell us they needed a new $700.00 motor, and we pushed back telling them it was a linkage issue, not a motor. After getting car back and being told wipers are fixed but they did not want to get water spots on our black car, so they did not properly test them, they are right back where we started!! We are so torn right now, we are telling them to pay Subaru dealer to fix everything that needs to be done, but to also pay our towing expense, reimburse us for the difference in what the dealer would have charged, the botched wiper fix etc. We are now out approx. $3500.00, the dealer said they could have done a total overhaul on this car for that price, that would have included everything they did plus almost a completely rebuilt motor!! Any help would be greatly appreciated in how to deal with this nightmare!! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Sorry to hear about the fiasco with that other shop. The chances of you getting that shop to pay the dealer is pretty slim. However, I would definitely contact the BBB, and as a tactic you could threaten to take the shop to small claims court. If you have a friend that is a lawyer, it'd help if you sent a letter to them on the lawyer's letterhead. Also send it certified mail. It boils down to how far are you willing to take this. Unfortunately, taking it further might get your money back, but it will also likely cost you more money. So you have to ask yourself, is the money I'm going to spend trying to fight this shop worth the risk of possibly getting your original money back, or do you cut your losses and move on. Whatever you do, do not take the car back to the original shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Another sad Soob story. Hopefully you will be able to get at least some of your money back. Get detailed notes on the extra work that needed to be done. In case you go to court you will need good details on the repairs needed to fix the other shops bad work. Edited February 7, 2012 by Cougar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Small claims court will be the only way to get your money back most likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Yes, complain to the BBB as already suggested. Also write bad Yelp and Cartalk reviews. Good luck getting your money back, I hope it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Just out of curiosity: what exactly do you need help with? Maybe we are all giving opinions here without addressing whatever it is that you are looking for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru4tahoe Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) So I talked to the dealer again today, they finally figured out that it appears to be the EFI relay causing the car to run so poorly. Still a huge leak in the rear end that was supposed to have been fixed from original shop, gasket missing off timing belt still (original shop has been in the timing belt cover 3 times!), water pump seal still leaking, their original fix too. So for $3000.00 all we got was a new clutch (not sure if that was done right) they did not even resurface fly wheel, supposed to have fixed oil leaks and it looks like none were fixed even after 7 times in their shop. Original place told the dealer all they will pay for is to replace the seal in the timing belt, the rear end leak and the water pump leak. No plans to reimburse us for towing to the shop, the diagnostics from the dealer, the screwed up wiper fix they charged us for and didn't work. We still can fight the credit card bill according to our cc company. I think at this point we will let them fix a few things, get our car back which will still cost us several hundred more out of our pocket for things they should have done in the first place or they are not admitting they could have damaged our relay, even though they screwed around with adjustments at least 4 times to figure out why the car was running so crappy before they found out the timing belt was put on wrong! They messed with the wrong person..I am planning on posting a scathing, detailed review about how they treat their customers, charge hundreds more than the dealer, damage your car and rip people off!! If they don't reimburse us as least 1/2 our money back they will also get reported to the B.A.R.!! I fully intend to take it as far as needed, this car was supposed to last a few more years and they did not even recommend any of the maintenance it will need coming up in the near future, it has a 140,000 miles on it, pretty young for a 12 year old car but what makes me the most mad is that the entire car could have been overhauled for what we are currently out and all we got was a f...ing clutch!! Car ran awesome before they ever touched it!! Edited February 9, 2012 by subaru4tahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I would NOT go back to that shop. You have given then more then enough time to fix the car. Challange the charges. Let the dealership do the work (they can sometimes be cheaper). They will do it once as opposed to 20 times. Sounds like you have a good dealership. Have them document everything and ask for the old parts back. if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 If you have all documentation and receipts, and any old parts helps, you should use Small Claims Court to recover your $ from the first shop. It is a fairly easy process, and quite satisfying. I got every penny back from a shop that screwed me on my rear wheel bearings. Then I did what I should have done the first time around...I dug into this awesome website's wealth of knowledge, bought a few tools, and fixed the wheel bearing myself in the driveway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Yes don't go back, it could hurt any case you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru4tahoe Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 so the dealer advised the original shop there are still 2 seals missing off timing belt, water pump and valve cover gaskets still leaking and rear diff is still dumping oil. We also need a new EFI relay, dealer not sure why that would go bad, does anyone have information on what could cause that to go out now? We are thinking they may have damaged it or shorted it out with all the screwing around they did on this car and all the incompetent work. The wires and coils need to also be replaced and the pins are damaged, we also think it could be from their incompetence. Regardless, the original shop is only agreeing to pay $800 towards the additional $2000.00 in repairs needed. That means we are now up to over $5000 in repairs for a 12 year old Subaru. They never mentioned anything about any of the routine maintenance that could have been done along the way to prevent future repairs and according to the dealer the entire car could have been overhauled for $3500. The original shop is not communicating with us and advised the dealer they don't plan to call us. I filed a complaint with the B.A.R. today too because we found out they charged several hundred $$ more than the dealer for same repairs. Clutch alone was almost $1600 at original shop only $1200 at dealer, cam seals $600 at original shop, $230 at dealer! We gave them 7 chances to fix it!! They are screwing people and complete crooks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Does your state have an Office of Consumer Protection or some kind of Ombudsman to act on your behalf? I would think they'd like to hear about those guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldersd Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 BBB is a complete useless joke, small claims are up to 10,000 now, file small claim, get all your receipts, mechanics statements, pictures, etc, together and get ready to battle, if they truly lied as you claim, they will probably loose the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru4tahoe Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 I have reported them to the bureau of automotive repair, they are not all too happy and are trying to talk their way out of it, but still not offering to pay all the necessary repairs to make it right. They are only offering to pay exactly what they damaged for 100 pct sure. They are doing nothing to go above and beyond to make it right and they are several hundreds more than the dealer would have been. Im not letting it go, they are complete incompetant crooks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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