On Friday august 10, I went to Potomac motors to pick up my vehicle that had been there for repair. My vehicle was involved in an accident on July 7.
When I spoke with the person at the shop initially, I asked if my car was ready and fixed properly. He claimed to know nothing about the vehicle and assumed that it was ready since I was called and told to pick it up; he furthermore explained that he'd just returned from vacation that's why he didn't know about the vehicle. However, he did know that according to his paperwork that all of the brake rotors needed to be replaced as well as the brake pads. I thought that kind of add since Id never had problems with the brakes prior to the accident. Furthermore he stated that the brake pads were rubbing 'metal to metal' against the rotors, and needed to be replaced asap.
When he brought the car up to the front I could hear a metal grinding sound coming from the driver's side front tire (the tire was hit during the accident and the side where the tie rod was broken). When I asked about the noise he dismissed me and said that the brake pads needed to be replaced. I then called the insurance adjuster for Nationwide and explained the situation to him. He stated that he could not order or force Potomac Auto Body to perform any more service on the vehicle. He also stated that when the car was inspected he was told the brake pads were metal to metal against the rotors. I spoke to the manager of the shop and he proceeded to tell me the same story regarding the brakes. I told the adjuster as well as the manager that when my car left my residence on July 7, that there was no problem whatsoever with brakes (squeaking, metal to metal noise etc) and that I wanted my car returned in the same condition as when it left my residence. They both dismissed my concerns.
Finally the manager areed to take off the wheels and show me and my friend who is a mechanic, the brake pads. Upon inspection of the pads it was determined that they were not rubbing metal-to-metal as previously stated to me. The pads were worn but otherwise serviceable. When the vehicle is driven there is a noticeable audible sound of metal rubbing on metal and squeaking, but only on the tire/wheel that was damaged by the collision. The passenger front tire as well as the rear tires and brakes are fine with no noises whatsoever. This leads me to believe that the damaged sustained during the accident was not repaired properly. The mamager said that no mechanical work was done there at Potomac, as they are a body shop not a mechanical shop. Furthermore upon inspection I noted a screw impaled in the front driver's side tire which was repaired on the spot.
When I relayed this information to the insurance adjusted he asked me what I wanted nationwide insurance to do about it. I asked that the brake/wheel area be repaired properly so that it didn't make a grinding squeaking noise when driven. He laughed and said that was not going to happen, and that if I didn't sign for the vehicle and take it that I was going to be charged $40 per day storage costs, and that if it went to court that I would lose. He then hung up the phone on me. I have a witness to this conversation because the call was on speakerphone the whole time.
On August 11, the manager from Potomac called my residence and said that maybe the brakes had to be lubricated and/or adjusted properly so that the noise would go away. I took my vehicle back to Potomac Auto Body on Saturday morning. On August 12, the manager called my residence again to tell me that my car was ready and the problem was solved. The car was returned to me a second time. However, the problem persists, there is still a squeaking noise, when the car is driven and the brakes are applied. Although, not as audibly noticeable as when I picked it up on Friday. All this leads me to believe that all Potomac motors has done is tried to lubricate the part in an attempt to mask the sound less noticeable and thus giving the false impression that the vehicle has been properly repaired when indeed it hasn't. I feel that Nationwide as well as Potomac Auto Body has made a deliberate attempt to deceive me regarding the repair of my vehicle.
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