I came into your New Lenox NTB store to have my car checked. At the time, my car was pulling to the right handed side or the passenger side of the vehicle. The steering wheel was also not centered. I had to pull the steering wheel left in order for the car to go straight. I came in and I explained to Jeff (the store manager) what I was experiencing and asked if he could look into what may be happening with my car. I told him that I think that it may need a wheel alignment but I was not sure.
Also, in December of I had just gotten new tires placed onto my car and the tire people asked me to take my car to a mechanic and have the car looked at because the front end, right side of the car did not look good. Therefore, I took my car to NTB in order to have a mechanic to look at it.
Jeff (the store manager) informed me that he would do a detailed check on the car and see why it was pulling and what needed to be done. He later called me after the check up and told me that my car did in fact need a wheel alignment and that would fix the problem. He then went into sales mode and asked me which alignment/guarantee I wanted. I told him that I would go with the first one he quoted me which was the $79.99 alignment.
He then said that he would begin to work on the car. When the car was finished, he called and said that I could come and pick up my car.
When I got to the store, he told me that the right side of my car looked really bad but the problem had been fixed. That they did the best that they could with the alignment to get the car as centered as possible. I asked him if the car had needed anything else other than the wheel alignment? He said that after the full car check he saw that eventually, I would need strut repairs, cooling system service, and power system service because the manufacturers recommend have those parts serviced every so many years, but other than that, the car was in great condition. I thanked him, paid the total, received my key and went home. On my 5 minute ride home, my car felt fine.
Over the next couple of weeks, I didnt drive my car much other than to the grocery store and back about once a week which was about a 5 minute drive as well because Walmart is only about 1 mile from my home. I didnt notice any problems on these short trips. But on Saturday, March 31, I drove my car into the city of Chicago.
During this trip, my car completely broke down! The front passenger side of my car had totally collapsed and the steering wheel started to violently shake! It scared me to death!!! Luckily, this break down did not happen while moving at 80mph on the expressway because had it happened on the expressway, myself & my passengers would have all been KILLED!!!
On Sunday morning, April 1 I called the New Lenox NTB and spoke to a NTB employee. I do believe that his name was Mike. I informed Mike that I had just been into his store for a full check up and wheel alignment only a couple of weeks ago and that yesterday night my car had broken down.
Mike said that I could have the car towed back to the New Lenox shop and that they would take a look at what may have happened. When I spoke to my roadside assistance representative, she informed me of the cost to tow the car from Chicago to New Lenox IL, and the cost was too high, therefore we decided to have it towed to another auto mechanic. We also decided to tow it elsewhere because we did not have much trust in NTBs workmanship anymore being that it was just in their shop not 3 weeks ago yet here it was broken down after NTB had given it a good bill of health.
When we got to the new auto mechanic shop (Premier Express Tire & Lube Inc), the mechanics raised the car up into the air, looked underneath the car and showed us what they saw. They said that on the front passenger side of the car, the subframe was in bad condition and this is what caused the breakdown of my car. I informed Premier Express that that could not be the issue because I had just taken my car to NTB, had a wheel alignment and a car inspection. That Jeff, the store manager didnt say that anything of this nature was wrong with the car. That all I needed was a wheel alignment and that I may need a few new things in the future. The mechanic then showed me how the sub-frame of the car was rotted and hollowed out and how my car on that side had no support.
I then informed the Premier mechanics that my tire people had told me and showed me about the right handed side of my car as well and suggested that I take it to an auto mechanic because their specialty was tires. Therefore, I took the car over to NTB in New Lenox, and the NTB store manager, Jeff, gave my car a good bill of health and did a wheel alignment. Jeff said that my car was fine other than needing a wheel alignment.
Since NTB, the true mechanics and not just tire people gave my car a good bill of health and did the wheel alignment, I felt safe and secure with their work. I trusted that my car was in good shape and that nothing was wrong with the car other than it needing a wheel alignment.
I figured that if the rust underneath the car was any kind of a big deal, the true mechanics, the NTB car specialist and mechanics would inform me of what they saw and then do the work. But, again, Jeff said that my car was fine! Not knowing that he was not telling me that truth and that his lies could have KILLED me and others as well!
When I contacted NTB on the 4th of April, I explained the problem to the NTB representative, I was told to call back and speak to Jeff on Thursday because Jeff would be the one who could handle this kind of situation. On Thursday morning (April 5) at 7am, I called NTB and spoke with Jeff. I informed him of what had happened with my car.
He informed me that what had happened with my car was not the fault of NTB. I became very upset regarding his whatever attitude, and I disconnected the call. I then put on clothes and we went to the store to speak with Jeff face to face.
Once we got to the store and was face to face with Jeff, he then began to tell lie after lie regarding my car and its repair. Heres a list of lies/excuses he gave regarding the repair of my car.
Jeffs Lies
Lie 1 He nor the mechanic did not look underneath the car when doing the alignment. He just aligned the car but did not inspect the front end. Because when doing an alignment, inspection of the car is not needed.
Lie 2 He nor the mechanic inspected the front end of the car and saw that there was subframe damage, but NTB did not do the kind of work my car needed therefore he just did the alignment.
Lie 3 When he and the mechanic checked underneath the car, there was nothing wrong with the subframe of the car. The car was stable and in good condition. There was no rust or damage to the subframe. That the car had to be damaged a long, long, long time ago after I took it home from NTB.
Lie 4 I gave him and the mechanic strict instructions NOT to do a full checkup on my car. I brought the car in and said do an alignment only, nothing else!!! DO NOT CHECK MY CAR!!!
Lie 5 Aligning the wheels of the car has nothing to do with the bottom front half of the car at all. That the bottoms front half of the car didnt even have to be touched.
Lie 6 The time between when I brought the car into NTB (March 9) and when the car broke down (March 31) was too much of a time lapse in-between. That I had brought the car into NTB to be serviced a LONG, LONG, LONG time ago. Therefore, I asked Jeff: What point are you trying to make? Jeff would NOT explain. He just kept repeating that it was such a LONG, LONG, LONG time ago when NTB serviced my car. That my car had NOT been recently serviced by NTB and therefore NTB has nothing to do with my car what so ever!!!
Lie 7 I told him that my car had LOT OF ISSUES.
When I did not because my car has NEVER had LOTS OF ISSUES. Therefore, I asked him What issues did I say the car had? And, did you note/document the issues & check them? He then shut up and said: Im not going to argue with you. I then told him because you know youre lying.
On April 5th a complaint was filed with Kristil by calling the Customer Satisfaction Department at 1-877-227-5682 Reference # 4958250. I was informed that I would receive a call from the Area Director within 48 business hours. I informed Kristil that I did NOT want to have any further discussions with Jeff, the store manager because I had already had 2 conversations with him on Thursday, April 05 and nothing had be resolved. Things had only been escalated to a higher level of anger due to his lies, ignorance and whatever kind of attitude. On April 5, I also filed a complaint with the BBB. Complaint number: 94394152.
At this time, I am asking for a total of $861.70. This is very reasonable considering the fact that I could have died from his NEGLIGENCE!
This amount covers the costs of:
Axle & tires - $650.00
Rental Car - $48.07
Tow - $75.00
Alignment - $88.63
Had Jeff properly diagnosed and repaired my car in March when I brought it into the shop, I would have NEVER obtained ANY of these expenses. Since NTB are the true mechanics, I trusted their inspection and diagnosis or my car. Unfortunately, their diagnosis almost cost me my life.
I thank you in advance for taking this situation seriously and taking the appropriate steps in making sure that this matter is resolved ASAP. Jeffs negligence should not be ignored.
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