I'm adding my 2 cents worth to the complaints about World Car, in my case the one located on Fredericksburg Rd. They're all owned by the same people. I'm also printing off all the complaints on this site to add to the file I'm getting ready to send to the Attorney General's Office. I'm just waiting for the BBB to finalize my case. As far as I'm concerned this organization should be closed down—they are nothing but dishonest crooks and liars, and how they remain in business is beyond me.
On Sep 18 I took my 2001 Rodeo in because I noticed an intermittant high pitched whining noise coming from the engine. Other than that the car was running perfectly and had no warning lights on. They called me at work and said there was nothing wrong with the car and they didn't hear a whining noise but they recommended a tune up and general maintenance at a cost of $1,440. I picked the car up, paid the bill, and the next day the "Check Engine" light came on. I took the car back there three times from Sep to Nov 30, the car was coding as "Random Misfire". They couldn't diagnose the problem, so all they did was clear the code and send me on my way.
In December, the new serpentine belt they had installed (as part of the $1440 tune-up) shredded, knocked the fan off and broke it. Had it towed back to World Car and they charged me $740.00 to repair the damage. Cause? Frozen idler pulley, which was the cause of the original whining noise. They just replaced the belt and didn't check the pulleys: replacing the idler pulley would cost at most $100 at a garage, you can actually do it yourself for $10-$20 (cost of part). I only learned all this and about the "check engine light/random misfire", after the fact, on the Internet.
Went to pick the car up in January, the "check engine" light was still on so I refused to take the car until it was fixed. They called and said they found a bad coil on one of the cylinders (after 4 mos. And 3 follow up visits), replaced it, and the "check engine" light was off. Five days later the car died completely while driving down the road and wouldn't start. Had it towed to Mander Automotive in Helotes, a highly respected, well known garage, where they found a burned out engine control module (computer), ignition module, and camshaft sensor, and a butchered wiring harness-several wires were stripped and freshly soldered, one wire was cut and hanging in mid-air leading to nowhere, and there was fresh electrical tape in some areas. Cost to repair—almost $2,000. Total cost since going to World Car on Sep 18th 2009 with a minor $100 problem that wasn't diagnosed and fixed—over $4,000.
Sent a detailed but polite letter to the CEO of World Car, Art Kiolbassa, asking for at least a partial reimbursement of my expenses. I included copies of all the bills and high resolution color photos of the wiring harness. I never received a response. Filed a complaint with the BBB and all World Car responded with was lies, denials, and accusations against me and the shop that got my car running again. That's where my complaint stands right now.
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