I live around 90 miles from this auto repair shop. I was referred to them. I spoke with Gary Chaplin regarding a 90K mile service on my Lexus. The main parts in this service are the water pump, timing belt, and seals, etc. If needed.
Gary Chapin quoted me a decent price. Since the price was alright, I asked for my thermostat, spark plugs, air filter, PCV valve, drive belt, and coolant to be replaced also.
Prior to hiring Gary Chapin's Auto Clinic for this job, I asked Gary were all of these parts going to be Lexus parts. He ensured me that they were. So I took off work the entire day to take my car to his shop to get these repairs.
After getting my car back and paying the bill, I asked him if I needed to contact Lexus if any of the Lexus dealer parts failed. He said no, let him know if something goes wrong in a suspicious way. It bothered me when he responded the way he did. I knew that Lexus dealer parts has a 1 year/12K mile warranty on them. So I looked under the hood. The first thing I saw was a drive belt that was not a dealer part. Then, the coolant level was low also. I went and told Gary about the problems. One of his mechanics filled up the coolant fluid to the mark. The coolant was not Lexus/Toyota coolant either. It was Prestone Dex-Cool. Also, the engine compartment was left dirty and spoiled coolant all around the engine.
Gary told me that the water pump and the drive belt were the only two Lexus dealer parts he used. I reminded him again that he was suppose to use all Lexus parts. His response was that the water pump and the timing belt were the main two parts to get from the dealer and the other parts are replaceable parts.
Gary failed to let me know that he was not going to use all Lexus parts as he agreed. He replaced the majority of my Lexus parts with aftermarket parts without informing me of his intent.
I would have never knew that he ripped me off until I saw the aftermarket drive belt and the low coolant level. I left frustrated, but called back to his shop and told him that I wanted the old parts to ensure that he changed them. I knew that the parts were still there because they had just completed the entire job 30 minutes prior to me requesting them.
I am supposed to get the old parts soon. If all of the parts were changed out, it still does not help the fact that I feel unsafe driving my vehicle. This unsafe feeling does not necessarily come from the aftermarket parts that were used, but is based on the way he handled the entire situation. I can only pray that all of the parts were replaced and properly installed.
The parts he installed were not the parts we had agreed on.
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