March 20th I was involved in an auto accident. An elderly woman rad a red light and hit my car at about 45 miles per hour in the right front wheel. The front suspension of my car took most of the damage ($12,000 worth) it went to a few different shops during the process of repair.
On july 20th I informed the manager of the body shop that was handling the job that the car was assembled, and needed an alignment, but also that the power steering was making a whining noise when not under a load (wheel at dead center with the car idling sounded like the wheel was turned to full lock with pressure whining heard in the cabin of the vehicle) He advised that most likely the repair would be covered by insurance and that I take the car to precision alignment and brake and speak with Tony on Monday.
Over the wekend of July 23rd I asked a good friend who is a mechanic to look at the car. He noted power steering fluid leaking from the rack, as well as a whining sound coming from the power steering pump even though the reservoir for power steering fluid was full. He advised that the rack be replaced as it was likely damaged during the accident where the suspension took the brunt of a 45 mph impact.
Monday July 23rd I called precision alignment and brake and spoke to tony. I Told Tony that I was referred by my body shop for an alignment, and that the power steering rack most likely needed to be replaced as the rack basically took a 50 mph impact which destroyed the components that were directly connected to it. Tony advised that I bring the car to his shop on friday the 27th of july and they would get it done.
I brought the car to precision alignment on friday the 27th of july in the morning at 9:00 A.M. And told tony that I had called earlier in the week. I handed me a sign up sheet and asked me if this car was for my body shop. I said yes, it is my car, but my body shop sent me. He asked if They needed the car back the same day.
I assumed he meant the body shop, and I said yes, I need the car back today. He then informed me that a rack would need to be ordered. He said the part would be coming from phoenix, and it was likely not going to be done in a day. I received no written estimate. I returned later that afternoon to retrieve the vehicle in order for a painter to finish some work over the weekend. I brought the car back to precision on the following monday, and was told to sign another "sign in" sheet. I filled out the sheet signed, and dated it.
I called precision around noon that day to get a progress report on the car. I was told that they received the wrong part, and were also waiting for the insurance adjuster to inspect the vehicle and approve repairs. I was put off by the fact that progress was being hindered by the adjuster and proceeded to try and get a hold of him to help straighten the situation out, as well as help me to get a rental car while the car was in the shop. After 3 calls to the adjuster and no luck getting him I called precision.
I talked to Robert and expressed my desire to get the car back on the road. I advised robert that any repairs that needed to be done to the vehicle to get it back on the road would be paid for. I expressed to Robert that I was willing to pay the bill myself for any repairs that were needed whether or not the adjuster approved them. Robert said I am on this, I will call you right back. I never received a return call.
I assumed that Precision would assess the situation with the car, and replace parts, or make repairs as necessary to return the vehicle to pre-crash condition.in assuming this I also expected that if parts needed to be replaced, and repairs were required the adjuster would not have any problem approving this.
I called precision on tuesday morning to ask about the progress on the car and was informed that precision would not take any further action on the car until the adjuster inspected it. I again tried to contact the adjuster to no avail. I called the manager of my body shop, and asked him what was going on.
He informed me that the adjuster had inspected the vehicle and accused my body shop of replacing parts that were not damaged (driver side tie rod and end) and not replacing parts that were damaged (passenger side tie rod and end) and that he suspected "something wishy washy" was going on here.
I called precision again to ask about the status of the repairs, it was close to 5:00 in the afternoon on tuesday july 31, and I talked to Tony. Tony informed me that the rack for the car needed to be ordered, and a hose was going to be replaced as it was suspected to be bad, and would have been the cheapest part. I finally got a hold of the adjuster on wednesday morning at 9:15 in the morning. The adjuster informed me that he had spoken to precision and approved the hose for replacement and they would then test drive the car and assess the condition of the steering rack. If the rack was found to be bad a replacement would then be installed, and this would be approved and paid for by the insurance company.
I then call precision at 9:20 A.M. And robert informed me that the rack had been replaced and that the car was being aligned. I called the adjuster to alert him to my suspicion of foul play on the part of precision and recieved no return call. I finally got a hold of the adjuster on wednesday afternoon and he asked me what had been done to the car. I responded that the rack had been replaced and the hose was replaced. He lamented about the quality of work of precision alignment and brake, and advised me that he trusted their judgement and would be approving this action. Soon after this I received a call from my body shop informing me that the adjuster had declined to approve the rack replacement because precision said that the rack was replaced against their advice, that they had found nothing to be wrong with the part, and that the owner of the vehicle had insisted that it be replaced.
My wife was irate to hear that this was going on and took it upon herself to try to sort it out. She called precision and talked to rick. After a long argument Rick from precision assured her that the core rack (the original from the vehicle) would be ordered back from ford and that it would be put back on the car.
I had called precision at the same time as my wife (we were accross town from one another and did'nt know we called at the same time) and asked for rick. I was told he was gone for the day, but I would talk to tony instead. Tony assured me that the old rack would be ordered back from ford that very afternoon and would be inspected in the morning, and if the part was found to be damaged the adjuster would be informed. I was to receive a call mid morning as to the state of the old rack. I received no such call. I called precision at 2:00 on thursday afternoon and was told that they were awaiting approval on other damaged suspension components.
I asked about my core rack and the nature of the damage to it. I was told by tony that the core rack was returned to the manufacturer already by anthony in the parts dept. Of jim click ford and would be impossible to retrieve from ford. I held tony on the line and called anthony with another phone. Anthony informed me that the rack was returned to precision by the ford parts delivery driver on thursday. My wife got a hold of the parts manager at jim click ford and they returned her call confirming that the rack was located at precision alignment and brake in tucson and was delivered by a parts driver that very morning. I then called and got into a heated argument with tony accusing him of lying, and trying to cover up mistakes, using me as a scapegoat by twisting my words "fix what needs to be fixed regardless of insurance adjuster approval" and instead interpreting them as a demand that they replace the rack regardless of it's condition. He informed me that I had signed a mechanics lien in their "check in form" and that I was responsible for the entire repair bill.
I threatened to bring the police to precision and pick up my car, to which he replied "go ahead, I have three sheets of paper you signed telling us to do the work. I will just sit on this car and charge you storage fees until you understand." I stated that I signed no such lien to which he replied "it's called reading the form before you sign it, like adults do" I was enraged by this conversation and released the call. Meanwhile the ford parts manager called the house to re-confirm that the rack was indeed located at precision alignment and brake. My wife called precision and tony answered saying "I have the rack. We are going to analyze it and do whatever we have to do to make this situation right." I called ford and asked anthony when the new rack was ordered, and when it was delivered. He informed me that the rack was ordered on the 31st and delivered on wednesday the first of august.
I returned to precision alignment and brake friday morning with the adjuster. Precision had the rack on a bench, and rick stated that the rack was binding. The adjuster approved the repair, and the insurance would cover the cost. I later called the shop to see when my car would be ready. Precision stated that the cars alignment was being done and it would be ready in the afternoon around 5:30. I received a call at 5:25 from robert at precision. He stated that the car was aligned, and that a ball joint was being worked on, and not to come right away to pick it up, but he would call me back in a minute. Precision closes at 6:00 P.M. And I was not going to allow them to do any further work on the car, so I rushed over to precision to pick it up.
I asked tony to get my car, and he asked my if robert called me. I assumed he meant did robert call me in the last few minutes, and since I never received a return call from robert I said no. Tony said the ball joint needed to be replaced, but i could certainly take my car. I asked for the car. 15 minutes went by and my car still was not pulled up. My car was driven by the front of the shop, and then out of sight. I proceeded around the building to discover a mechanic working franticly beneath my car. When confronted he explained he was "just tightening up some bolts.
On the drive home my steering wheel would not center, my fuel gauge read empty (I had dropped the car off with a full tank and have a fuel receipt to prove it) and my cars check engine light was lit. Upon further inspection I found that the power steering reservoir was not closed, bushings were left laying around my engine bay, the brake line clapms were loose, and my cars computer had trouble codes relating to fuel sender voltages being too high. The car was sent to the dealership for inspection. The dealer aligned the vehicle, fixed the brake clamps, changed the fluids, and documented the state of the alignment before and after they got it as well as the state of disrepair.
Rack ordered from phoenix on the 27th, received supposedly on the 27th, found to be wrong part on Monday the 30th
I was told the rack was to be ordered on tuesday afternoon and later that afernoon i was told the hose would be installed and tested prior to a rack being ordered. Found from the dealership that the rack was actually ordered on tuesday morning, and delivered on wednesday at around 10:30 A.M.
I was told by the adjuster that he had talked to precision on the morning of tuesday the first of July and they would replace a hose and test drive the car.
I was told by robert at 9:00 am on wednesday the that the rack had been installed. (how could the rack be recieved and three hours labor done to install a rack by 9:00 on wednesday when the part was sent from ford to precision on wednesday, and received at 10:30 A.M.?)
My wife was told by rick that the old rack would be recovered and reinstalled in the car to put it back to the way it was before.
I was told by tony that he talked to anthony at jim click to get my rack core back and that my old rack was sent from jim click back to ford factory to be refurbished and was impossible to recover.
I was told by anthony at jim click that the core rack was returned to precision on thursday the 2nd of august at the request of precision alignment and brake. And that it was located at precision.
Once the cat was out of the bag about the racks true location precisions story changed, and they admitted to having the rack.
I believe my car was drained of fuel, not fixed properly, possibly damaged by precision, I was lied to, and my safety was in danger with the state of my car when precision returned it to me.
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