ComplaintsforA to Z Auto Care

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  3 Weeks AtoZ had my 2006 Ford Expedition. I spent over $2100 with A to Z. What should have been a simple rear brake job and some diagnostic tests of my engine turned into a nightmare! Brought it in on 8/21, 2024 a day early. Heard nothing on Thursday, 8/22 nor 8/23. Called a number of times & no answer, despite leaving voicemails and no call backs. I finally got ahold of Tommy on 8/24. You told me that I needed new fuel injectors and rear brakes. went ahead with that and again, called on Monday, 8/26 and 8/27 to follow up. Left voicemails-no response. On Thursday I called & Tommy told me car was ready for pickup. When I walked in the service bay, the hood was up on my expedition and the Intake Manifold was off the engine! Talked to Victor the mechanic & he told me the car would be ready on Friday. Came in on Friday, paid Tommy & went to my car.... Expedition ran horribly & there was a high pitched WHINE coming from the engine area. Talked to Victor and he told me I needed a new Intake Manifold. He also told me I didn't need fuel injectors. Went into Tommy's office & he argued with me. got in my car and left. later I get a text message saying tAtoZ would put the intake manifold on for cost, plus some pulleys. I agreed and came back in the next day. Called back and was told the car was ready. Came in to get it, still had high pitched whine and the rough idle. Went back in 3rd time & left keys with Tommy's wife, who assured me it would be done right and at no charge. 3 days later after not hearing back & leaving an email and multiple voice mails, I was told the car was ready. This was on 9/4th, 2024. Car STILL had the high pitched whine and terrible rumbling at idle. 3 weeks & OVER $2000 of repairs that made my car worse! I am filing a consumer complaint w/ the State of Ohio and the FTC. I am also pursuing legal recourse This is ridiculous. I can document all of this.

• Initial Complaint

  12/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Paid over 2600 in work to get my car back doing same thing I dropped my car for diagnostic and repair we agreed to a price he call say bigger issues so we go over new price I get car back after being stolen from his shop and it's doing the same thing I had to put almost another 1200 into it I dropped it off to be diagnosed and repaired the whole experience was bad

  Business response

  12/27/2022

  Response taken over the phone by BBB Staff

   

  The car had sat here from February 2022 until they decided to have the work done June 2022 and they did not pick up the car until September 24, 2022.  They were given a new cylinder head and gaskets with another 120 dollars worth of work which I did not did not charge them for and it is written on the invoice.  On September 24th they told me to leave the key in the car because they were running late.  They never showed up and someone took their car.  Police report was made and the person was caught on camera. I called the police weeks later as a follow up to see if they ever got the car. They never told me there was an issue with the car until this complaint.

  Business response

  01/03/2023

  To whom it may concern,

  
  We understand the customers frustration and again we apologize for the inconvenience. However, taking a look at the new invoice from the "street mechanic" we are seeing different issues and other parts changed that have nothing to do with what we did. The vehicle was here, we did what we agreed to do. When the car was done, there was no codes in the engine. Per the customer's request we left the vehicle outside with the keys in it and it was stolen. When the customer received the vehicle back, we did not get a phone call from the customer to let us know that the vehicle was recovered. We also, did not receive a phone call to state that the vehicle had problems again after being stolen. If the customer would have called us and let us know about the problems, we would have brought the car back in and double checked everything as the street mechanic the customer send the vehicle to, has done. The new invoice has Oxygen Sensors, Map Sensor, Mass Airflow Sensor, Ignition Coil Pack and Throttle body. These are all new issues and as you see on the attached invoice from the customer these items were not part of the issue when it was brought here originally. The spark plugs do fail from the factory sometimes and we could have changed them at no charge. This vehicle is 15 years old, and it was stolen; you have to expect issues and problems as they get older. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience, as we were never given the opportunity to check the vehicle after it was recovered. We have new staff that is handling the business and we do work with our customers as much as we can.

  Regards,
  

  ****** ****

  Customer response

  01/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18615131, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

  At that time Mr Thomas had made unprofessional remarks and had lied to the police the reason why I never went back was because I kept trying to get my brother to go there because of the comments he was making I I felt very uncomfortable going there the last time when I went to take the balance because I couldn't get to my brother I technically took someone who I barely even knew just so I can have a male or someone with me I did not want to go there I feel uncomfortable that's why I kept trying to push my brother because the comments he made were not nice they were mean but my car was already there in a part so I had to go ahead and go through with trying to get it completed as far as him saying the work spark plugs I had to replace all the spark plugs I had to replace the spark plug coils all of the things that he said he did fix I did not know what was wrong with the vehicle I didn't go to him with a diagnosed I went to him to get it diagnosed he was the mechanic I thought I was doing the correct thing as an adult I got my car back basically in the same condition it was in backfiring I don't understand when you have an issue you take the vehicle to what I thought was a professional license mechanic to be diagnosed and repaired but I spent $3,000 and still got my car back running in the same condition I'm not trying to get over on anyone or anything but I feel like there should be some kind of accountability and everyone's telling me I'm stupid cuz everyone seen what I went through how do you get a car back from a mechanic after putting $3,000 in it because you took it to them because it was not working right because it was misfiring and get it back misfiring and have to put over $1,000 of work in it again in less than 2 weeks so what was the purpose of me taking it to A to z as a mechanic shop to be diagnosed and repaired just to spend $3,000 get it back and still don't have a running vehicle I would never contact Mr Thomas after the comments he made to me even the police are the ones who told me to make the bed business better business bureau contact because they even saw that nothing he said makes sense half of the times I went there he couldn't even produce a receipt I have had a handwriting receipt twice he doesn't show the breakdowns where was paid or anything I'm just not understanding how I dropped my car off at a mechanic to be diagnosed got it back and it still wasn't working after over $2,600 2 weeks later and I'm replacing all engine parts when supposedly he put 2,000 just into the engine I'm not understanding
  So
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  Ozella Green
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Entered by BBB staff LO Consumer states his car broke down, he had it towed to the shop. He was told they would look at it but every time he called he was told they had not looked at it yet. The consumer advised him it was the ignition but they purchased and installed a new starter. The car would not start and the consumer told them that the starter was not what he asked to have repaired. The shop then purchased an ignition and was supposed to have it installed on Saturday 11/26/22. The consumer did not hear back so he contacted them and they told him they were still working on it. The consumer went to the shop and they had never seen him prior so they did not know it was his car. He states when he got there they were not actually working on his car. The consumer told them he wanted to take his car somewhere else. They told him he would have to pay for the tow to the dealer and for the labor. The cost is about $1000.00 and the consumer is not willing to pay this because they didn't do anything he asked.

  Business response

  12/09/2022

  Tell us Dear ********
  
  
  The purpose of this email is regarding the complaint from ****** ******. He had his SUV towed here on 11/11/22 with no start issues and ignition issues. We diagnosed the SUV, which had a bad starter and the ignition had been tampered with channel locks. We called the customer and let him know that the starter was bad and he agreed to have us fix it. When we gave him the price of the ignition cylinder he did not have the money. He then called us back and wanted us to take the new starter out and that he would not pay for any of the work and he would come and get the car. Then he calls back again and agrees for us to go ahead and replace the ignition cylinder and agrees to a $1,000.00 total for the starter, ignition cylinder and labor. We normally do not charge this price, but because the customer didn't have the money we tried to work with him as much as we could. We had to order the ignition cylinder and had to wait for it. Once we received the part we started to work on it again. As we took everything apart, we noticed that there was more damage done to the ignition. By this point the customer was one day nice and one day difficult to deal with. More damage to the ignition, more money . We told the customer to take it to a dealer or somewhere else to have it done. He came in and did not want to pay for any of the services. He stated that he had to pay $500 in **** to go to work (His boss called here asking about the vehicle after it was towed from us). The bill then was at $300.00 since we did not install the ignition cylinder. He paid $200.00 for the starter. There is still a $100.00 balance that we did not ask the customer to pay for, and we told him that there is a 1year warranty on the starter even with a balance due. The customer then stated that we broke his ignition and broke his car. We do not agree that we owe the customer $1000.00 and the tow fee. We also work on other cars and have other customers. This is not the only car we had at the time to work on, therefore we do not have time to call the customer as many times as they would like us to call. We apologize for the customers inconvenience.  If there is anything else you need from us, please let us know. 
  
  
  Thank You,
  Tommy *******

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