We had taken our car to Jim McKnights Garage to have the air conditioning system repaired. When we took the car there we had a toggle switch bypassing the computer and going directly to the a/c lines and the compressor. This system was only a partial short-term fix so that we could have a/c. Jim McKnight had the car for almost a week before he called us on Sept. 2. He said, This is an old car and older parts are hard to find, but I did manage to find the a/c control computer, do you want me to order it? Leslie asked how much it would cost and he replied, It gonna be about ($) 500 bucks. I can order it and have it in tomorrow (the next day). I told him to go ahead because we want the a/c working like it should be. I called Jim back on Sept. 18, after more than 2 weeks, as he did not have the courtesy to call me. He said that my car had been ready since the previous week. I asked him why wasnt I informed. He just said that sometimes he just forgets to get back with his customers. Then he said, You know. You own a business and I know you forget to call your customers. I said, No sir, I always stay in contact with my customers. It was at that time I sensed something was not right. I then told him about the inconvenience he had caused me and my husband; having to get my husbands car repaired to drive it, and also having to drive our non-fuel efficient van for weeks. I asked him for a discount but he said no. The total bill was $525. A couple of days later I called back and he said hed take it down to an even $500. It was our intention to sell my car so we needed to have the air conditioner running properly with OEM parts. When we arrived at Jim McKnights garage to pick up our car, Jim was on vacation. We paid the $500 for his services. I walked outside and got into my car and started it up. My husband walked to his car and I saw in my rear view mirror that the mechanic who did the work on my car was approaching my husband at my husbands car. They talked for several minutes and then walked together to my car. I rolled down the window and the mechanic asked my husband if he wanted him to give me all the details or what. Doug, my husband said, Tell her everything. The mechanic explained that he was the one who did all the work on my car. He said he went through it with tooth and nail and simply could not find a problem with the computer. It did not register as being bad at all. He said that Jim gave him orders to just re-wire the toggle switch. 2 The mechanic told both me and my husband that the ONLY thing done to my car was that he hooked up wires to the battery and to both the high and low a/c pressure lines and the compressor. We told the mechanic we were under the impression that the computer was replaced and this resulted in the $500 bill. The mechanic then asked us who gave us that impression and we told him Jim McKnight. The mechanic said that NO he never heard anything about replacing a computer once he found out it had no errors, and was told to just fix it so that it would work. He again stated that all he did was rearrange the wiring. I asked the mechanic, So, Jim charged me for a part that was never installed? The mechanic replied, Yes. I asked, Why? He said, Jims been not right lately and he doesnt know why hes doing these things. I shook his hand and thanked him for being honest. I asked if he was afraid of being fired and he said, No, Ive been here with Jim for 27 years. We left immediately and went to our bank. The next day we took our car to a more reputable repair shop. They stated that 1. The component that McKnight said he replaced was in fact NEVER TOUCHED. It was OEM. They said that it had only been wired to work. As of Oct. 6 our bank issued us a chargeback on the debit card that was used, so we did get our money back.
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