| rev:text
| - A customer's worst nightmare! If they can "fix anything," then why couldn't they correctly replace the shocks and struts on my car?! Salem Boys also could not stand behind their own work in my case.
In February 2010, I took my car to Salem Boys to have the shocks and struts replaced. Here's a condensed version of my story.
Failed Attempt #1: The mechanic didn't have the shocks seated properly, so they popped in and out of place. Don't they test drive the vehicle before they let the customer drive it home?
Failed Attempt #2: There's a metallic rattling noise that can be heard from inside the car. I go back to Salem Boys again, ride with the mechanic. He thinks he's fixed it.
Failed Attempt #3: The rattle comes back and a new problem develops. I ride with a second mechanic. Thud, thump noise, and slow compression/rebound due to a defective shock. Was it incorrectly installed again? I don't know, and never find out. Salem Boys replaces the shock.
Failed Attempt #4: Excessive bouncing, feels like shocks are soft. I contact Mark Salem directly. Immediately takes defensive approach. Eventually, I have to take the car to get the work done correctly somewhere else.
Salem refers me to the manufacturer to get a partial refund. He won't acknowledge the fact that the car has been in his shop several times, and unsuccessfully repaired each time.
I had the shocks replaced by mechanics who were qualified and specialists in Japanese imports. They discover Salem Boys incorrectly installed the front struts.... The events above started from 02/16/10 until today, 07/23/10, so far.
I highly recommend that if you have a problem with Salem Boys Auto, address it immediately and make sure you have documentation of every failed attempt to fix your car, even if you're having to go back and have them fix the same recurring problem. Request a receipt if you are not given one. There's no guarantee the BBB will resolve your dispute; however, it's important to notify them, so if a pattern develops, it can be addressed, and eventually affect the rating. The Attorney General, Federal Trade Commission, local news, small claims court, and the Automotive Service Excellence staff can all be contacted for assistance if you believe you're being unfairly treated. ASE states they don't normally handle complaints, but if they get enough complaints about the same shop, they may also address the issue(s). If any shop fails to provide you with written documentation of a subsequent visit to their shop for any attempt to repair or correct a mistake they made, notify the Attorney General's Office as soon as possible.
09/12/12 edit. The truth is that there were only two offers, not four, as Salem claims in his response below. I saved his emails with those "offers." Salem did not offer a refund for the labor in either offer, even though both his mechanics failed to properly fix my car. His offer #2 was "upgraded" shocks from the same mfg, but his mechanics would still have to do the work. Given Salem's terrible track record with my car, I went with offer #1 because I knew something was still wrong, and the car needed to be fixed. Offer #1 was the shock manufacturer allowing a refund for the shocks, but not the labor. When I took my car to the Honda certified mechanics, they alerted me that the shocks Salem's shop had installed were were not properly seated, causing problems once again. Bolts were also not tightened, and a part was missing. Salem was not concerned with doing the job right or my safety, mind you, only with keeping the money for the labor even though I asked for a refund. Salem breached the contract by not performing the last installation properly, and still kept my money. I wasn't going back to any other offer. I was asking for a refund for the labor which was owed me regardless of any offer, but Salem for some reason felt he was entitled to the money for doing the job wrong. When the owner of a repair shop charges a customer for his mechanics' mistakes, how is that "putting the customer first?" How is that not stealing from the customer? Any offer made to the customer does not excuse a shop from having to do the work properly. I didn't break the contract since Salem already had my money. Salem simply would not refund the money for the labor even though he was at fault. Really?! Dragging this on for 4 months was "trying to make me happy?" My only mistake was going there in the first place. If I can save someone else the trouble of having to go through this, then that's satisfaction in spades for me.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)