On 1/02 I derrick Cameron took my silver 1998 Ford Expedition to Leon’s automotive at 18102 Victory Blvd, Tarzana, CA 91335 to have it checked for (brake problems, overheating and water leaks under the vehicle and the check engine light staying on). I made it very clear to the owner Leon that I would be trading the car in if the repairs to fix it were too costly.
He noted all issues that my vehicle was having. I was informed to leave the vehicle to be checked and that he/Leon would contact me once he did his testing. No more than ten minutes after leaving Leon’s Automotive I receive a call from Leon stating that my car battery was dead. At that time I was several miles away and asked Leon if he could give the car a jump and he refused. He stated and insisted that I needed a new battery. Confused because I had just driving my vehicle to his shop with no battery issues…I decided to go ahead and purchase a new battery from Pep Boys and return it to his shop where he charged me $30 dollars to connect it. When dropping off the new battery at Leon’s automotive repair…I requested back my old battery so that I could return it to Pep Boys for a refund. I became suspicious when the mechanic working on my vehicle was hesitant about giving back my old battery. I immediately returned the battery to Pep Boys on Reseda Blvd in Reseda. I had them test the battery and discovered that the battery was good.
I received a call from Leon later that afternoon (1/02) to inform me of his findings regarding my vehicle. He said that I needed a brake job on the front, complete removal and flushing of the radiator and overflow tank due to brown gook in the over flow tank and finally he tested the check engine light problem and found that the number three cylinder was not firing properly. He went on to explain that he needed to do a second test to be accurate about the check engine problem which required an additional $45.00 dollars fee. At that point I weighed my options... Repair the vehicle or trade it in. I questioned Leon that that was all that was wrong with the vehicle as far as the problems in which I brought the car in for. He assured me that once he repaired the problems in question the car would run fine. I agreed and left my vehicle at the shop to be repaired.
Several days pass before I get a call from Leon at Leon’s Automotive to that my vehicle is repaired and ready for pickup. Once at the shop Leon went over all repairs to my vehicle. He stated that he had added new spark plugs wires, spark plugs and a coil. Complete flush of radiator and overflow tank and front brake pads replaced. I paid for the service and drove my vehicle home. The very next day while driving to work the vehicle overheated and the (CHECK ENGINE) light appeared again. I immediately contacted Leon at Leon’s Automotive and informed him of the problem. He advised me to bring the car back that day and I advised him that about time I got off work his shop would be closed. I told him that I could not bring my vehicle back to his shop until the following Saturday due to working two jobs.
He/Leon agreed and asks me to keep close eye on the water / radiator level. That Saturday morning around 1130am I returned to Leon’s Automotive to have my vehicle re-checked. He then asked me to leave my vehicle and that he/Leon would give me a call once he finds the problem. Not even an hour later Leon calls and tells me that he could not work on the car because I did not have enough gas in the car to check it. A quarter of a tank full I asked him if he could add gas and add it to an invoice. He refused and stated that it was too late anyway for him to work on the car that day. He asked if I could leave the car and that it would need to be parked outside due to the many vehicles at his shop. I refused due to possible theft and offered to bring back the car at a later date. I suggested the following Saturday 1/16. Leon explained that he would not be at his shop that day and if I could bring it back on 1/23.2013. Disappointed, I agreed. I returned that day before closing to pickup my vehicle. While there I asked him/Leon why it is that after all the testing on my vehicle the problem still exists... He had no answer. Leon then had one of his mechanics write up another invoice and attempted to have me sign it but I refused. During the two week waiting period of returning my vehicle back to Leon’s Automotive, I had my vehicle checked by other automotive repair shops. RICK’S automotive (818) 734-9005 on Reseda blvd in Northridge Ca and JACK (818) 610-8183 a referred mechanic by a co-worker and BRAKE MASTERS (818) 341-1777 on Reseda blvd in Northridge CA. All of whom examined my vehicle and concluded that the problems with my car had been misdiagnosed. They all refused to work on my vehicle and suggested that I take it back to Leon’s Automotive. As proof of my actions, I have invoices/estimates from two of the three automotive repair shops Several weeks later I returned to Leon’s automotive to see if the problem could be worked out. After informing him that I had gotten other estimates/opinions regarding the problems with me vehicle, Leon refused to re-check the SUV as promised and walked away giving no reason why. At that point I informed him that I would be reporting his business to the Bureau of Automotive Repair. He stated to go ahead it want help and returned to his shop.
Since that date my ABS light has come on…2/16/3013. I took pictures with my cell phone of the light on. Also the exact braking issue I had been experiencing before and on the first day I took my vehicle to Leon’s Automotive Repair is back. Recently and one day while braking it felt like a brick was between the brake paddle and the floorboard not allowing me to stop. My vehicle continues to overheat with a water leak underneath and my check engine light remains on.
I sincerely believe that Leon’s automotive intentionally miss-diagnosis my vehicles problems and new that combined with the reported engine overheating and water leak and knew there were deeper issues with my vehicle from the beginning. I felt he knew that had he informed me that my vehicle had a cracked head gasket I wouldn’t have had any work done to my vehicle and would have traded it off like I informed him from the outset. I ask that the bureau assist me in getting a full refund from Leon’s automotive.
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