Hopkins Automotive

Dealing with Hopkin's Automotive is always a pleasure. We bought our Forrester from [redacted]. [redacted] has been easy to work with and gets me in quickly. They have been great about providing information and advise when needed. I have found their prices to be fair and the quality of work great. I have, and will continue, to refer Hopkin's Automotive to friends, family and co-workers.

Review: I took my car to Hopkins Automotive for a miss fire in cylinder #4 on 05/20/13. I was called on 08/22/13 to come pick my car up because they could not fix the problem. After I paid Hopkins 1630.50$ and took my car to a different shop I found out that my car is in worse shape mechanically and also has body damage that Hopkins Automotive caused. On top of that I ask for any paperwork that I signed to release my car to them to work on and they haven't given me any documentation. Hopkins Automotive also bought parts for my car and installed them without my knowledge. I was told that the work that was being done would be cheaper than what I had to pay. My car is now at a different shop that I am now having to pay for the mechanical damages that were done by Hopkins AutomotiveDesired Settlement: I want the body work and maniacal work to be done at a shop of my choice and Hopkins Automotive to cover the cost.

Business

Response:

As stated in Mr. [redacted]'s complaint, his car was first brought in on May 20, 2013 with a misfire. Upon initial diagnosis it was determined that the PCM (vehicle onboard computer) was functioning improperly; It would not communicate with our Diagnostic Analyzer indicating that it is defective. We tried a computer and that improved the performance somewhat but did not entirely fix the problem.

Upon further checking, we found that the spark plugs were incorrect for this vehicle. We installed the correct ones and the vehicle performed better on three of the four cylinders.

We then performed a compression test which indicated that the cylinder heads needed to be rebuilt. The #4 cylinder did not maintain compression when hot causing a misfire. At this point Mr. [redacted] picked up his vehicle with the recommendation that cylinder heads needed to be rebuilt.

On June 11, 2013 Mr. [redacted] returned his vehicle to us to have the cylinder heads rebuilt. He also requested that we replace a secondary air injection valve that he determined was defective. When we removed the engine to perform the cylinder head work, we observed that the Clutch Assembly was excessively worn and the Turbocharger was showing damage to the impeller fins. Mr. [redacted] visually inspected and authorized the replacement of both. At this time Mr. [redacted] had authorized repairs totaling $3557.45.

After completion of the work we performed a compression test and all cylinders were 130 to 140psi. We performed a leak down test; the results for all cylinders were within 5% which is acceptable. This indicated that cylinder head work performed corrected the compression problem; however, the engine still would not run properly. While double checking the work performed, we decided that we would again remove the cylinder heads (at no charge to Mr. [redacted]) and have them rechecked by the cylinder head shop. They checked out OK.

We reinstalled the cylinder heads without any improvement in the way the vehicle ran. We consulted with several industry experts in the Northwest and they essentially confirmed that they would have used the same diagnostic protocol and process to identify the problem. We spent at least 18 hours (at no charge to Mr. [redacted]) researching our fee based technical information sources (iATN and IDENTIFIX) and continued suggested diagnosis and repair protocol. We tried another an-board computer and reflashed it, installed new injectors and an oxygen sensor (at no charge to Mr. [redacted]) which was no help in solving the drivability problem. At this point Mr. [redacted] wanted to take his vehicle somewhere else to try and solve the problem. We agreed.

At this point, the invoice costs for all the work and material were about $4500 plus sales tax. I told Mr. [redacted] that I would only charge him work he had authorized which was $3557. He was not in agreement. I told him that I would discount the costs as a policy adjustment which would be about $2900. This represented charges for parts and component systems that were known defective and in need of replacement regardless of the drivability problem.

At this point I was contacted by [redacted], a person who identified himself as an attorney and the uncle of Mr. [redacted]. He told me that Mr. [redacted] would be willing to accept $1500 to settle this account and avoid interaction the Attorney General. I told him that would be below my direct costs and I would agree to Adjust down to my direct costs. To that end I emailed [redacted] an invoice (#[redacted]) in the amount of $2278.33 including sales tax. He contacted me back and told me that Mr. [redacted] was not in the financial position to pay any more than $1500.

He suggested that it would not be worth going the litigation route and I should consider the $1500 offer. I discussed it with my partner and we decided to relent and agree. I emailed him an invoice (#[redacted]) adjusted to his demand in the amount of $1630.50 including sales tax. See email attached.

In closing, we acted in good faith throughout the entire process with Mr. [redacted]. We provided a substantial amount of Parts and Services at reduced or no cost, all needed. Our only fault, is that despite all our resources and experience working on thousands of Subaru vehicles, we were unable to solve the problem with Mr. [redacted]'s vehicle.

Hopkins Automotive agreed with Mr. [redacted] through [redacted] that if we met their monetary demand there would be no further action. It appears as though we kept our side of the agreement; Mr. [redacted] and [redacted] did not.

I love Hopkins! I have a 2002 Subaru Outback and they are the only ones who touch or work on it. Justin is honest, up front and professional. I have always had my work done on time and in budget. He works with you and does not try to up sell anything. He lets you know what future concerns are and has never steered me wrong. I am a busy working full time mom with two busy kids and a working husband and we need both of our vehicles on the road and running without fear of them breaking down. I will continue to use Hopkins as long as we live in Spokane, WA. THey are a local business that is honest and do the right thing!!!! THANK YOU HOPKINS AND JUSTIN!

Teresa Bergan