As the complaint was followed with the Better Business Bureau:
First, let me preface this complaint with a positive comment. For as long as I can remember, my family has been taking our cars to Smith Imports, and have never had a complaint or issue. That being said, today is a new day. Recently, I took my car to Smith after my a.B.S. Light came on and my speedometer, stability control, and gas gage stopped working. I explained that a friend of mine had tried to hook up speakers in the car and must have shorted something out. They took the car and said they would check it out and call me with a diagnosis.
Later that week I recieved a call from Mark Smith stating that, after checking everything out, it looked like I needed to replace the a.B.S./stability control module. He quoted me two prices: over $1000 for the new part, or they could get the same part used for significantly less ($300-400 I believe). I asked what the total cost would be including installation/labor and recieved a quote for $850. I told him I had to think it over and to wait to do anything until I called him back.
I called back the same day to authorize the $850 job, after carefully reviewing my finances to see if I could afford it. One week went by, I heard nothing. Two weeks went by, I heard nothing.
After three weeks I was finally able to reach Mark Smith and was told that they were unable to fix the vehicle. When I arrived to pickup the car, I was greeted by a $1200 bill and a car unrepaired with the same problems it had when I dropped it off three weeks before.
Smith explained they had tried several unauthorized parts (and charged me for them) that did not work. Smith explained that he believed the car would work if I took it to the dealership and for $100-200, had them re-program the used abs/stab cntrl module. I refused to pay for extra unauthorized parts that didn't work and managed to get my bill down to the $850 I initially authorized. I reluctantly paid, hoping Mark Smith was right, that they had in fact fixed the car, it just needed to be reprogrammed by the dealer. When I took the car to the dealer I was told that they had tried, but were unable to reprogram the part because it had already been programmed to a different car, rendering it useless. I was also told that Smith had installed non-BMW parts that would have to be replaced or they would void the warranty and might cause problems with the dealer's repairs. The dealership quoted me $2500 for parts and labor.
After hearing this I immediately called Mark Smith and told him what I had found out. He said he had to get back to me and naturally has not which brings me to you. I believe I am entitled to a full refund of my $850 Smith charged me to fix the car which has yet to be fixed. I see that Smith is a BBB member and am seeking your help in resolution of this matter.
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