Man, oh man. The problems I've had with this company.
Let me preface this by saying that I am a 19 year old woman and I know basically zilch about cars except the basic maintenance and what not for my car (a 99 Volkswagen Jetta IV GLX).
A couple months ago I began to notice that my brakes were squeaking a little bit but also whenever I would brake my car would make this really scary "thunking" noise. Thinking that my brakes needed to be replaced, I scheduled an appointment with Brake Team. The manager at Brake Team called my boyfriend and I to the floor just five minutes into their pre-work inspection. I was afraid thinking that they saw a young couple and decided to take advantage of us. The manager very nicely but firmly explained that I was missing a bushing on the front end and that was the cause of the "thunking" sound. One of the technicians shook my tire to demonstrate just how dangerous and loose this was. Then the manager explained that they don't do front end work and suggested that I find someone who does and fast. Now obviously I believed that this was for real — he just lost 100 dollars by sending me away.
Enter One Stop Auto or OSA as they will later be referred to as. OSA is a full-service mechanic shop just a few minutes away from where I live. I took my car into them because my parents had gone there in the past and were pleased, I guess. What's funny is. My parent's Suburban is always in the shop, there's always something wrong with it. Go figure. Anyway. The owner's son answered my phone call and told me to bring it in so they can look at it and give me an estimate. I did and was quoted $178 and some change by the owner of the shop. He said this included parts, tax, and labor.
To make an already long story somewhat shorter, I didn't get to bring my car in for another two weeks do to unforseen circumstances beyond my control. When I called to let the owner know, his name is Dick, he was very rude and condescending towards me. I tried to explain to him that I just wasn't able to bring my car in and he snapped at me and made me feel like I was an idiot. But whatever, I got over it.
When I brought my car in on the newly scheduled date, Dick was again very rude to me as he told me that he hadn't ordered the part yet because he didn't know when I was coming in. This was a flat out lie. First of all, he was supposed to have ordered the part in two weeks ago. Secondly, when I called to cancel the first time, I let him know when I would be bringing it in.
So I left and returned a few days later. I brought it in early in the morning and was told it would only take a few hours. Since I had to get to school we just dropped it off. OSA's business hours are from 7am to 5pm. I did not get my car back until 4:45pm. Not only is this way after the time I was promised, but I feel like it was just another way for them to rack up the labor hours.
When I went into the office to pay for the work done, Dick slapped me with a new bill for roughly $300. I asked him about the original quote and he said to me (not verbatim but very, very close): "Well, I saw that another bushing looked like it was going to fall off, so we went ahead and replaced that one too." Knowing what I know now, I should have argued with him because what he did was illegal. Many, many people have let me know that a mechanic can not do and charge you for work that is not authorized. However when I looked at the work order that I had to sign, he had written "Bushings." That's plural, not singular. I'm guessing he did that to protect himself in the future..
Whatever, I paid it. I was just thankful that I had enough money in my bank account to cover this and that my car was going to be fixed. As he handed me my keys, he stared very creepily into my eyes and said, "No more thunking.." It was about this time that the owner's son came in and Dick told him to pull out the green Jetta. The owner's son asked if they needed to reattach something, but Dick cut him off and said no just bring it out. I found that to be very strange and it gave me a really bad vibe. I brushed it off though, thinking it wasn't about my car and if it was it wasn't important if Dick told him not to worry about it and walked outside to retrive my car.
My boyfriend got inside of my car and started it. Immediately tons of black smoke came out of the exhaust and ALL of the indicator lights on my car. Wow. What's going on? I started freaking out, knowing that they were taking advantage of me because I'm young and a girl, so I called my dad. My dad is a tall, very muscular Samoan guy. I thought for sure if he showed up the people at One Stop Auto would stop screwing with me. He shows up and talks to the owner's son who pulls my car back in and pops it back out a few minutes later and it's just fine. According to the owner's son, they "forgot to plug something back in." What I want to know is WHY they were messing around in my engine if they were working on my brakes and bushings?
Frustrated and sick of the whole situation, I jump into my car and leave just happy to be done with One Stop Auto. Unfortuantely. Just a few days later, the sound comes back. The thunking. Immediately, I think about One Stop Auto and try to explain to my parents what's going on and that they should go down there with me to get this fixed. My mom felt that because they were a small business they wouldn't rip people off like that. I think that it's BECAUSE they are a small business that they do. Anyway, she said it was my brakes and urged me to get them replaced.
Again, this is getting long so I'm going to make it short. I'm sorry it's taking so long but I feel this is important for consumers in Las Vegas to know.
Basically, my car was taken into Volkswagen to have the catalytic converter replaced. While it was there, they ran a diagnostic of basically my whole car. Guess what they found? My bushings were worn and torn.
Now this was only two months after my little adventure with One Stop Auto. Dick, the owner, charged me for both of those bushings to be replaced even though I authorized him for one AND he charged me for BRAND NEW BUSHINGS. How could they be worn and torn after two months? It doesn't happen.
So either Dick and One Stop Auto put already used bushings on my car and charged me for new ones OR they didn't do a damn thing at all and charged me for 10 hours of labor and parts that didn't exist.
I urge every single person in Las Vegas to stay away from this company. My nightmare isn't even over, I still have to reclaim my money or get my vehicle fixed properly. Don't start your own nightmare by going to One Stop Auto. Please. Learn from the hell I've gone through.
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