In June of I took my 2003 Toyota Tacoma to Hoover's Automotive to have the door lock repaired (it was stuck in locked position and I was unable to open it with a key, key fob, or manually). I was certain the problem had to do with the linkage. After they removed the interior door panel, they told me it would need a new door latch/actuator assembly before it could be repaired. When 'Paul' quoted the price for this part ($451), I said there was no way I could do it. Paul also said the work of popping off the door panel would cost me $90 in labor.
I expressed my shock at this high labor charge by saying, "Ninety bucks? That's really high!" Another customer had come into the shop at that point, and Paul said to me, "I don't need this verbal abuse, " and proceeded to refuse my credit card for the labor charge. I now know this was a tactic on his part to avoid a paper trail of our transaction.
Paul then went to the service area and had a mechanic bring out my truck. The interior panel was in the bed of the truck, and nothing had been repaired. I found out several days later that what was broken was simply a small plastic clip for a piece of linkage (remember he tried to get me to buy an entire assembly for $451). I verified online that this plastic retainer clip can be bought separately without buying the entire door latch/actuator assembly, (and it would not cost more than $4 or $5).
I also found out that Hoover's had not returned the original and still functional actuator or any of the specialty screws needed to re-mount the parts within the door frame. So they stole a part from me that they can use for another repair, and they made sure not to have a record on the books that they ever saw me or my truck. Major rip off. I will never be back, and I intend to make sure as many people as possible know the truth about this scam of a business.
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