On Thursday 22 July at approximately 8:00 AM in the morning my 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee began to get hot. I immediately pulled over and shut it off. I then contacted the Car Collision Center (hereinafter referred to as shop) (having a place of business at 7967 Twist Lane Springfield, VA 22153) and spoke with a person named Lorena. I asked her to dispatch a tow truck and have it brought into the shop which is located at 7967 Twist Lane, Springfield, VA 22153. The tow truck arrived at approximately 10:00 AM and took my Jeep. I contacted the shop to let them know my Jeep was on its way, and explained to Lorena what the problems were with my Jeep.
I did not hear from anyone at the shop during that entire day. I finally called the shop at approximately 5:30 PM to find out if they had looked at my Jeep, and was told by the office lady that they would not get to it until in the morning, and that they would call me first thing.
The next day on Friday 23 July I waited all day to hear from the shop, and they never called. I finally called the shop at around 5:00 PM and was told by the office lady that my radiator "broke" and it would be $560.61 to replace it with a new one, fill it with Antifreeze, and change my hoses. I then asked to speak with the mechanic (Jim). I did not want to put a lot of money into the Jeep as I was planning on trading it in for a new car. When I explained this to Jim he stated that he would buy my Jeep from me for $2,000.00. I told him absolutely not. He then attempted to convince me that it was not worth $1,000.00 as it sat, and that I would not get anything for it as a trade in. I asked him to get it running, and not replace the hoses if it were not necessary. He agreed, and said it would be ready by Saturday 24 July.
By late Saturday afternoon I again did not hear from the shop, so I called. I spoke with Jim who again offered to buy my vehicle for $2,000.00. I told Jim that I checked the NADA on the internet and according to that report my Jeep was worth $12,850.00. He declined to pay that much. He then stated that my car would be ready on Monday 26 July.
Again the shop neglected to call me all day on Monday. After work I contacted Jim at around 6:00 PM and told him that if my Jeep was not ready by Tuesday morning that I would send a tow truck to his shop and take it to another shop that was capable of repairing it within a timely manner. Jim said it would be ready in the morning and before hanging up again offered to buy my Jeep again. He said that he was offering me more than a dealer would in an actual trade. I told him that I would give him the opportunity to give me pricing on a new car with a reasonable trade in value for the Jeep, and I would compare his offer to that of the other dealers within the area.
On Tuesday 27 July I did not hear from the shop all day again. My son picked me up from work at approximately 6:00 PM and we went directly to the shop where we found Jim working on my Jeep. He stated that he drove my Jeep and the power steering was now "Broke" so he checked my Power Steering fluid and claimed that it was empty. I asked him where it went, and he was not sure. This is not the type of fluid that would just simply evaporate. After receiving a delivery of the Power Steering fluid from Advanced Auto parts, Jim finally completed my car. I then asked him to give me my old radiator and all of my parts back that he took out of my Jeep. At this point, I no longer trusted him. He stated that he could not return my radiator. At this time I was unaware of Automobile Repair Facilities Act 59.1-207.4 as it was not posted anywhere in the Car Collision Center's Facility. With the power Steering issue I felt as if Jim was now headed down the path of creating problems in an effort to show that my Jeep was only worth the $2,000. That he wanted to pay.
As angry as I was at this point, I just went into the office and paid the $495.61 for the new radiator. Jim came into the office and stated that I needed a new Power Steering Pump and would need to replace the tires, and went on with some other items he felt needed to be repaired. I did not listen to him. He basically implied that it was time to get rid of the Jeep, and was again attempting to get it for nothing. I left the shop.
I drove approximately half a mile down the road and realized that my Air Conditioner was now blowing hot air, and my Power Steering was now making a screaming noise, and in addition to that, my Jeep was again beginning to overheat just as it did on Thursday 22 July which is exactly why I had towed it to the Car Collision Center in the first place. I immediately called Jim and told him that I would be taking it to Sanford Jeep in Springfield as he obviously did not repair it, and I believe caused additional problems with it. I demanded my money back. He simply stated in a matter of fact manner that he would not refund my money, and that he warned me that I would have more problems to deal with, even though I had just replaced my Air Conditioner and it was working fine on Thursday, as was my Power Steering. None of which are related to a Radiator or overheating. However, the Air Conditioner would have needed to be drained and removed in order for the shop to replace the Radiator. This I later learned is the only way to get the radiator out of the Jeep.
By now I was extremely suspicious as to why Jim was so persistent in purchasing my Jeep and continuing to state that it was not worth anything. My Jeep was towed into the Car Collision Center for getting hot while running, and nothing more. It was returned to me six days and four hundred and ninety five dollars later with the same exact issue of getting hot, and now with a non working Air Conditioner, and the Power Steering making a screaming noise (of which Jim insisted that I needed to replace).
I dropped off my Jeep that night at the Sanford Chrysler service department. I dropped my key and a note explaining to what happened in the night drop box. I received a call from Bob first thing Wednesday morning on 28 July to let me know that they would get to it as fast as they could.By noon Bob called, and said that I had no Freon in my Air Conditioner, and told me that my Power Steering Pump was fine. Bob stated that I did not need to replace the pump. He said it just had air in it; however he could not explain how the air got into my pump or how the Freon escaped my Air Conditioner. He then went on to tell me that I had a bad Radiator Cap, which could not hold the pounds of Antifreeze that was in my radiator, (of which I just paid Car Collision Center for Antifreeze as well) and that it had all leaked out AGAIN which is why my car began to overheat again. Total cost for repair was around $350.00 dollars, with the cap being around $10.00. This was the problem to begin with. A $10.00 cap.
I then called the Car Collision Center and spoke with the manager Sean. I told Sean that I expected their shop to pay the Jeep dealer for the repairs to my Jeep, and refund my money for the radiator that I odiously did not need. He refused, and offered to pick up the Jeep and repair the original problem (the cap), along with repairing the additional problems that occurred while it was at their shop. I agreed, as I did not have another $350.00 to spend and my Jeep was still not running.
The Jeep was then towed back to the Car Collision Center for repair. Now that I was aware that I only had a bad radiator cap (which costs around $10.00 to replace) I was not convinced that I needed a new radiator at all. The fact is the shop that installed a new radiator for $495.61 did not fix the problem. Being that my Jeep went into Car Collision Center with the same problem that it came out with after installing the new radiator, and then refusing to give me my old radiator, implies that I paid for something that I clearly did not need and they did not want me to uncover it.
During the course of this same day on 28 July I contacted Sean and demanded that he return my radiator when I came to pick up my car. He began yelling at me, and talking over me, claiming that he owned it, and would not return it. He said that I could take pictures of it, and that was all I would get. I wanted the radiator back as I had planned on taking it to the Jeep dealer for testing and possibly eventually turning it over for a fraud investigation. I then found out that under the Automobile Repair Facilities Act 59.1-207.4 I was entitled to receive my parts. I called Sean back and again explained to him that I wanted my radiator. He now said they no longer had it and he did not know where it went. I then prepared the attached letter, Exhibit "A".
My son picked me up from work later that day and we went directly to the Car Collision Center to get my Jeep, (as again no one called to tell me it was ready). As soon as we got there, both Jim and Sean were working on my Jeep. I told the both of them that I wanted my old parts back. Sean stated that they no longer had it and he did know where it was. They immediately began cursing and yelling at both my minor son and me. Both Jim and Sean were making threats to my son and threatening me not to repair my Jeep. This went on for awhile, and they finally completed it. I went into the front office to get my keys and again ask for my old radiator and all my parts to be returned. I was met by the entire staff and handed pictures of a radiator. The office lady (I believe her name is Rachelle) stated that she would not give me my old radiator back unless I paid her for it. I handed her my letter Exhibit "A" and again demanded my money back and my old radiator. She refused, and I finally left without my parts or a refund.
On 29 July my air conditioner is not working, my Power Steering pump is still screaming and I have a radiator that I paid $495.61 for that I did not need. Car Collision Center disposed of the evidence and refused to return my perfectly good radiator which would have been sent to the fraud department at the consumer protection agency. Car Collision Center actually violated the law by not returning my parts. Therefore, based on the above I would like this company investigated and I want a full refund.
On 01 August I now learned from the BMW Dealer in Annapolis, MD and the Jeep Dealer in Springfield that in order for anyone to get my radiator out of my Jeep would require for them to drain my Air Conditioner in order to access the radiator. Therefore the Car Collision Center drained my Freon and did not replace it correctly which is why I do not have a working air conditioner.
I now have to pay the Jeep Dealer in Springfield $300.00 to repair my air conditioner that Car Collision Center drained and did not put back to its original state.
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