Allstate's has a webpage (www.allstates.com) which I encountered when I was shopping for reconditioned equipment for a tire business. On this page they offer a wide variety of the kind of machines which I could use and I phoned Mr. Metzler in early June to determine if he had the machines I was looking for and could meet my requirements.
He responded by sending me an email quoting prices for 3 fully reconditioned machines available: A Hunter K111 Computerized Alignment System, updated to the year with Spanish language software, and adapted to operate on 220 Volts power; A reconditioned 4 post vehicle lift; and a John Bean tire mounter. His prices were reasonable and he assured me that all the equipment would be provided with copies of their operation and maintenance manuals, and would be guaranteed for 90 days.
In a later conversation we also agreed on the purchase of a John Bean tire balancer which would also function on 220 volts and be supplied with the appropriate manual.
To conclude the purchase Mr. Metzler required payment of $14,250 to be deposited into his Miami Bank account and he promised that shipment would be made within 3 to 4 days after receipt of payment.
I agreed and experienced some delays in making the transfer of funds, which was concluded on about the 5th of July. I requested that he confirm receipt of funds and estimated shipping date by email.
It is important to note that until Mr. Metzler received payment he seemed most obliging and cooperative. He promised to provide almost all I requested, and answered his email promptly. After deposit was made in his bank he was difficult to reach by telephone, and never initiated any email to inform me of progress or delays although I requested this on several occasions.
I heard nothing from him until I phoned him on July 7th when he gave me a vague reply that because of the holidays there would be a slight delay. I made several other phone calls on the 11th, 17th, 24th, 25th, 26th Of July and the 1st, and 6th of August, with similar responses. Actual shipment, as I can best determine, was on or about August 12th.
Sea freight took about 3 weeks to arrive and we experienced several delays in the customs clearance and delivery of the machines from the port to our business. During this period, I emailed Mr. Metzler to make sure that installation manuals for the auto lift were included so we wouldn't lose any time when they arrived.
When the shipment finally arrived, each machine was simply wrapped in black plastic, except for the alignment system which had a wooden frame added to keep the plastic from contacting the cabinet. Due to inadequate crating one of the machines suffered minor damage for lack of protection. If this had been the only problem I would have not even reported it.
I personally supervised the unwrapping of the pieces and did not notice any evidence that would make me think that anything had been removed from inside the wrapping, however there were no manuals or boxes containing them to be found.
For custom purposes we were requied to provide a certificate that all the machines were completely manufacturered in the USA.in the shipment were 2 wheel alignment disks which were clearly marked "Made in China." Mr. Metzler had provided a signed statement to certify that all items were US made.
When we started to inspect the auto lift, we acquired a parts list for the particular modle, Challenger 24012AR, from the manufacturer and were able to identify at least 164 parts which were missing. Several others were later discovered to be defective, which would have made the lift impossible to operate, yet this equipment was, according to Mr. Metzler, tested prior to shipping. As we attempted to assemble the lift, we discovered several other missing pieces and also a hole in the hydraulic oil reservoir which would leak all the oil out in a very short time, also making it inoperable. When we had a local shop repair the hole the entire bottom was discovered to be severely rusted, but covered with new paint. (This was tested prior to shipping?)
The software for the alignment system was only in English and several elements of it, such as the printer and cabinet lighting carried lables specifying 110 Volt power requirements. The latest software version which we could identify was labled not 2007 as Mr. Metzler had promised. We attempted to run the system using a step-down transformer and were only partially successful in powering up the system, but were unable to get the software to load, which perhaps might have required a special procedure that we could not determine for lack of the manual.
The Wheel Balancing machine, emitted a loud pop and burned out something when it was plugged into the 220 volt power supply. (Was this tested on a 220 volt power supply, prior to shipping?)
Mr. Metzler was informed of the missing parts and manuals and his email reply was that these were shipped in a smaller box, and that we'd have to contact a local technician to fix the balancer. He stated that he would "help as much as he could" but when asked to specify if he would pay for the repairs or service, or if he would provide electronic versions of the missing manuals, he simply did not reply.
In summary, Robert Metzler, through Allstate's of America, failed in the following areas:
1) He promised quick shipment but didn't ship for over 1 month,
2) He promised 2007 updates and only provided up to 2000.
3) He promised Spanish software and only provided English version.
4) He promided 220 volt equipment but delivered 110 volt machines
5) He promised reconditioned equipment but delivered defective machinery.
6) He promised to ship manuals but could only claim that they were packed.
7) He promised to help resolve problems but has not offered any tangible or concrete suggestions of help of any nature.
8) He promised a 90 day warranty, but has failed to respond to any request for solution other than to tell us to find a local service technician.
If anyone were to ask me for my rating of Mr Metzler or his company, I would have to give him the lowest, most negative recommendation that is possible.
Jack
Villarrica, Chile
Chile
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