It started out as a balmy 90 degree summer day! A few weeks prior my air conditioning went bad in my car, but I had told myself I didnt need it and just wanted to get thru the summer! Well this day was just torture! I couldnt take it anymore, and asked my husband for the credit card and high tailed it to Sears Auto! (A place I've often trusted for service!)
When I got there the young man at the counter had explained he could not fix my air conditioning because my car was too old. (1993 Ford Taurus) He explained I needed to have it "retrofited" and his shop couldnt do that. He recommended a place down the road, SuperLube! He said the owner is very well educated, with his degrees on the wall, and it was a great place to go! So I got in my car and headed down the road!
When I got there, much to my surprise, they were running a $50 a/c recharge sale!!! I was very excited, and told him its what I wanted! They took my car back, and I patiently waited. The man came back up to the front and said that my car was never "retrofitted" (that word again!) and because he had to do an extra step, it would cost me $150 more! I was very upset that the price jumped so high! But they had already had my car in the back taken apart, there wasnt much more I could do. And it was SOOOOOOOOOO hot outside! So I agreed to the transaction. A couple hours later he came up and said, "Your car is done!" I happily got in my car, nice and COLD, and headed for home.
Not even 5 miles down the road the car started to smell. I had thought it was just the smell of the new coolent, so I just ignored it and enjoyed the cold blowing air. Maybe another mile or so down the road, it started not feeling so cool!!! By the time I got home (I live maybe 20 mins away) the a/c was blowing warm!!! It no longer worked!!! The second I got home, I called SuperLube and asked what could be the problem. He explained there might have been a hole or something in the line and the coolent drained out, to come in tomarrow morning. Which I did.:)
Well the next morning I noticed my car was running funny. Just a little more rough than normal. Again, being a woman and not knowing everything about cars, I just figured it was my imagination! I headed off to SuperLube to get my A/C fixed... AGAIN!
Once I got there, and they inspected my car and told me... GET THIS!!! They told me that my ENGINE was failing!!! They said that the REASON my A/C didnt work, was because my engine was not powerful enough to blow the a/c! He went on a big thing about my oil light and oil pressure. It was like he was talking chinese! The guy told me, and I quote..."You'll be lucky ma'am if this car lasts you another 2 months! Its only a matter of time till the engine blows!" Considering I just got this car, maybe 4 or so months prior, this was really upsetting to me!!! I had asked at that point for a refund, and they refused saying it was not their fault that my car could not handle the recharge. That they did everything they were suppost to do. Stupidly, I excepted that and left.
I left the shop and headed straight to my "normal" mechanics house! This person has been working on my car (s) for YEARS, and has done work in the family for longer than I have been alive! So I trusted him and everything about him! If he did a/c recharge, I would have gone to him in the first place, but he doesnt. For the sake of story, we'll call him Steve! Anyhoo, I explained to Steve what happened, and he was instantly red hot with anger! He said the guy was a liar, and just stole my money! Steve looked over my car top to bottom. Said there is not a darn thing wrong with it! He said my car ran better than his car, and considering he's the mechanic, that was a compliment!
At this point I was too upset to fight anymore. I told myself I'd call SuperLube on Monday. Well on Sunday I had gone to my grandparents house for a family dinner. As I was getting ready to leave, my car started to smoke and smell like rubber was burning! Then it let out this god awful squealing noise! Like nothing I have ever heard before!!! My grandpa tinkered with the car a little and got the squealing to stop, and I went home. Called Steve when I got home. Steve told me it sounded like it was my air compresser! He then explained to me that when you retrofit a car, you have to vacume out all the old coolent. If any of the old and new mix together, it can fry the air compresser!!! He told me that he'd put money on the table thats exactly what the guy at SuperLube did! That he didnt get all the old coolent out. He was probally in a rush, and cut corners.
Well, Monday morning I went to SuperLube armed with this knowledge and spoke to the manager. The manager LAUGHED at me!!! He said that he's been doing this for 30 years, has the best equipment on the market, and has NEVER made a mistake! And how DARE I accuse him of making a mistake and breaking a car! He then pointed to all his shiney degrees and diplomas on the wall! He yelled at me so badly, he made me CRY!!! Now, Im not some wimpy woman. I may not know alot about cars, but Im not one of those women who cry for breaking a nail! I can hold my own in an argument! But he made me cry!!! I probally could have had him charged with abuse it was so bad!!! I then walked outside to leave, and my car would not start!!! It just squealed and smoked and smelled like burned rubber!!! The guy then walked outside and stood next to my car and said, "I'll fix that for you right now for $500 cash!" WHAT!!!??? That freaking CREEP had the nerve to say that to me!!! $500!!! What nerve of that man!
Finally after praying hard to have God get me out of there, my car started and ran just enough to get home. It never started again!!! The next time I tried to start my car (few days later) the belt broke!
Eventually I saved up the money (And steve didnt charge me $500!!! It cost me about $60 in parts and that was it! Steve even helped me pay for the parts!!! Said it was my "birthday present"! Why cant more guys be like that?!) and Steve came out and replaced my air compresser, which WAS the problem! He was 100% right! My car has been running PERFECTLY for 3 years now!!! Remember how the manager told me my engine was failing and I wouldnt be driving more than 2 months. Yeah, there is NOTHING wrong with my Engine!!!
As I sit here today typing this complaint, my car runs like a finely oiled machine! No a/c! But it runs!!! Fortunetly we havent had any summers like that again and Ive been able to survive. Unfortunately Im out all this money, money I dont have! And with the intrest on that credit card, It probally cost us $300 for me to never get the air conditioning fixed anyways!!! And mr SuperLube is sitting back in his kushy chair, with his fancy degrees hanging up over his head! Laughing at how he skrewed me! Skrewed me out of $200, and months of use of my car till I was able to get it fixed. He stole from me and my family!!! And apparently the way he thinks, because he has a diploma on the wall, he has that RIGHT!!!
I hope this story helps someone in the future! It is 100% true, and nothing has been fudged!!! This happened a few years ago, so I have no personal gain by posting this. I probally should have sued him, but I didnt even have the money for small claims court after he took the few dollars I did have! He got away with this! Please dont let him scam you!!!
God Bless!
0 comments