3 Star Auto

** *** vehicle was brought into my shop on Sept 17, to repair electrical compartments that were burned in a fire due to work done by previous shop (per ** ***) that he stated "was incorrectly done." ** *** stated that he was unable to get in contact with the individual who
performed the "faulty electrical work" that had caused the van to catch fire and that that individual was since out of businessHe brought his work van in to have all of the wiring and electrical compartments repaired
Over the course of several weeks and going back and forth on his carious options, he came to the conclusion that the most cost effective way to get his can back on the road, was to purchase another van and transfer the electrical compartments over to his current work vanMy shop was authorized to do electrical work onlyI went ahead and purchased another van for ** *** the last week of Oct/
At this point, I became short staffed and was working alone for several weeks, unable to being the electrical repairs for ** ***After several phone calls from ** *** I continued to inform him that I was unable to begin working on his van because I was short staffed and repeatedly gave him the option of taking both vans that had not yet been touched to another shop, so as not to hold him up in getting the work done** *** opted to leave the vans with me and when I am fully staffed again to let him know when the repairs would beginI could not guarantee anything as I am unable to predict if/when I will regain a full staff but was always in search of qualified staff not just for ** *** benefit, but for the benefit of my business as a whole to continue operationsBy Nov/we hired a technician who began to assess the work to be performed on both vansThis is an extreme time consuming task that cannot be rushedAfter the assessment we gave ** *** an estimate of approximately hrs (hrs each van) and he agreed to move forwardThe technician was terminated during the Thanksgiving holiday and we were back in another position of no staffThe job was a two man job and I informed ** *** of this repeatedlyI would not be able to continue the work until I had another qualified staff member to assist in which I was in but he insisted on leaving the vans with meAfter several weeks ** *** says that he too tried to find another shop to do the work but was unsuccessful so he continued to wait on me to hire another technicianIn December I began to do all that I could (on my own) to get ** *** going and at that time, ** *** told me to "take my time because since it was the holidays he didn't have the money anyway to pay the final bill"That was somewhat of a relief as I was still working alone anywayIn February 2014, ** *** mother called and spoke with my wife (office mgr) to ask how long we thought it would take to complete the workI had no definitive answer for her since I was unable to predict when I'd have another qualified technician available to help me finish the most extensive portions of the jobMy wife assured her that we were doing all that we could to get this accomplishedDuring the course of all of this even ** *** had issues getting parts for his "carpet equipment" ordered and delivered in a timely manner that too held up the process of finishing the jobThe work was completed at the end April/My wife called to let ** *** know that he was all done and ready for pick up, thinking this was the moment he had been waiting forTo her surprise ** *** did not have the money to pay his final balance and was asking for an "I owe you"He offered to get it signed and notarized and could not understand why he would not extend this courtesy as one small business owner to the nextWith an over $5k balance, this was an unreasonable request** *** called weekly, sometimes daily, as were getting close to finishing the work to check on the statusHe never mentioned at any time that when we were done that he would need an "I owe you"He never expressed any need for possible financing option through our "** ***" financing program that we offer to all of our clientsUnfortunately, ** *** did not qualify and was very upset that I would not accept his of a written/notarized "I owe you" for the remaining $5k+This is a business and I do not operate that wayWhen you authorize a job, I do what you authorize me to do and expect to be paid for such at the time of completion** *** went on for weeks giving me many reasons of why he had to spend the money that he had originally had to pay me and why he give me a portion and pay the balance due in increments of about $500/mo until the balance was paidI could not, and would not accept his offerThis is why I have a financing option in place for my clientsIt is beyond my control whether or not you qualify I did however, offer ** *** a waiver of my $50/per day storage fee as a way to help himThis is a fee that I do not waive under any circumstanceHowever, due to the time it took form beginning to end to complete the work I thought it only fair to give ** *** the time he needed to get his money together to pay the balance of his bill and not make it any worse for him since he was already experiencing financial hardship** *** was given the price of his purchased vehicle well in advance ($3k) and a rough estimate of an additional $4k-$5k for the extensive electrical work that needed to be done electrical work is based strictly on time and it is very hard to pin point exactly how much time that will actually take so a rough estimate at best is an was given early on in this process (hrs)
When ** *** came to pick up his vans (with a friend) on 7/16/he was immediately irate and began disputing what his final balance was** *** was well aware of his balance as we had conversed about it for weeks & monthsHe began to use profanities in my waiting room area and I had another client sitting there was walked out due to his loud obnoxious behaviorWhen going over the repairs before leaving ** *** began to point out things that were not working, a door handle that was missing (that had nothing to do with the repairs I was authorized to do) and just making a fuss over anything he could possibly findHe then called "911" because he wanted his money back and the release of his vansThe sheriff asked ** *** what repairs he had authorized and proceeded to tell ** *** that I was well within my rights to demand full payment before releasing his vehiclesI offered to give ** *** back his cashiers check but he would not be receiving his vansAfter back and forth with the sheriff, he paid his final balance, went over all of the electrical work again in front of the sheriffBefore he left all lights were working and he was goneI then get a phone call on 7/24/from ** *** who was at the *** dealership and again he became irate and began to go over all of these discrepancies that had everything to do with the "engine work" and not anything to do with the electrical work he had authorized me to do (other than his dome light that he claimed was not working while he was at the dealership)This is why I went over everything before he left in front of the sheriff before he left that day
This entire complaint is due to the fact that I would not release his vans on a promisary not, which is truly unfortunate
As for the ignored or voided telephone callsThat never happened at any timeAnd lastly, there was never at any time a gun discussed, shown or displayed in an way shape or formWhen I first met ** *** he saw a target display at my shop in my work areaHe asked me "do you shoot?" And I said "yes" and told him what type of fire armThis is the one and only time he and I ever discussed anything in reference to a fire arm with ** ***I would think that if it came up at any time during the time of pick up that he would have gladly informed the sheriff deputyFor me ** *** to mention that in this complaint is again, very unfortunate and there are laws against an individual trying to slander your nameThis is an extremely serious accusation that is completely untrue

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Revdex.com spoke with the consumer regarding the business response and the consumer stated that he is not satisfied with the response. He paid the company $2,800 for the work to start in the beginning of October and they did not start until the Thanksgiving holiday. They had his truck for 10 months and he paid $8,500 for the repairs and the truck is still not running. He was told by the company that it was a 2 man job and they were short staffed, when he went to the ** dealership, they told him it was not a 2 man job.
Regards,
[redacted]

Worst auto shop to go to. I highly don't recommend going here even if your car is broke down and it's right next door.

Review: 3 Star Auto failed to repair my vehicle correctly, kept my vehicle for to long (10 months), and overcharged for services. Owners [redacted] and [redacted] have made things difficult in dealing with them. [redacted] accepted the task of trying to find another vehicle like mine and taking the wiring from that vehicle and putting it in to mine to repair wiring that had caught on fire. It took him a few weeks to find the vehicle and get it back to his shop. At this point he had already taken the wiring out of my vehicle and after several months and many phone calls, in January he asks me to take both vehicles to another shop that he did not have the time to do the repairs. At this point he had already cost me thousands of dollars of lost business and I had no income to afford to move both vehicles to another shop nor would another shop touch it after he had started the work. At this point, I had no choice but to wait for him to repair my vehicle. Whenever I would call about the progress I would be told "oh it will be ready next week" and then I would call the following week only for them to ignore my calls. If I called from different numbers they would answer. When my vehicle was returned I took it to another licensed mechanic to document the issues... the dome light does not work, a/c compressor does not work, handle was broke on sliding door, radiator was bone dry (sat outside while 3 Star Auto had it) radiator had layers of gunk in it, solution line in the truck was destroyed (carpet cleaning truck), turn signals were not working, hazards did not work. I was charged $8,054.46 which I had to pay to even get my truck back and try to start working again. I was told in the beginning that it would be $3,000 to $4,000, if I had known it would be over $8,000 I could have gone and bought another truck.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of my money and for 3 Star Auto to pay for my vehicle be repaired correctly by another shop. I do not feel comfortable with 3 Star Auto doing the repair because the owners [redacted] and [redacted] have made it difficult dealing with them by not returning calls, I had [redacted] get in my face because he was upset about me wanting to inspect my truck when I went to pick it up, and he has also showed that he carries a gun with him.

Business

Response:

[redacted] vehicle was brought into my shop on Sept 17, 2013 to repair electrical compartments that were burned in a fire due to work done by previous shop (per [redacted]) that he stated "was incorrectly done." [redacted] stated that he was unable to get in contact with the individual who performed the "faulty electrical work" that had caused the van to catch fire and that that individual was since out of business. He brought his work van in to have all of the wiring and electrical compartments repaired.

Over the course of several weeks and going back and forth on his carious options, he came to the conclusion that the most cost effective way to get his can back on the road, was to purchase another van and transfer the electrical compartments over to his current work van. My shop was authorized to do electrical work only. I went ahead and purchased another van for [redacted] the last week of Oct/2013.

At this point, I became short staffed and was working alone for several weeks, unable to being the electrical repairs for [redacted]. After several phone calls from [redacted] I continued to inform him that I was unable to begin working on his van because I was short staffed and repeatedly gave him the option of taking both vans that had not yet been touched to another shop, so as not to hold him up in getting the work done. [redacted] opted to leave the vans with me and when I am fully staffed again to let him know when the repairs would begin. I could not guarantee anything as I am unable to predict if/when I will regain a full staff but was always in search of qualified staff not just for [redacted] benefit, but for the benefit of my business as a whole to continue operations. By Nov/2013 we hired a technician who began to assess the work to be performed on both vans. This is an extreme time consuming task that cannot be rushed. After the assessment we gave [redacted] an estimate of approximately 50 hrs (25 hrs each van) and he agreed to move forward. The technician was terminated during the Thanksgiving holiday and we were back in another position of no staff. The job was a two man job and I informed [redacted] of this repeatedly. I would not be able to continue the work until I had another qualified staff member to assist in which I was in but he insisted on leaving the vans with me. After several weeks [redacted] says that he too tried to find another shop to do the work but was unsuccessful so he continued to wait on me to hire another technician. In December I began to do all that I could (on my own) to get [redacted] going and at that time, [redacted] told me to "take my time because since it was the holidays he didn't have the money anyway to pay the final bill". That was somewhat of a relief as I was still working alone anyway. In February 2014, [redacted] mother called and spoke with my wife (office mgr) to ask how long we thought it would take to complete the work. I had no definitive answer for her since I was unable to predict when I'd have another qualified technician available to help me finish the most extensive portions of the job. My wife assured her that we were doing all that we could to get this accomplished. During the course of all of this even [redacted] had issues getting parts for his "carpet equipment" ordered and delivered in a timely manner that too held up the process of finishing the job. The work was completed at the end April/2014. My wife called to let [redacted] know that he was all done and ready for pick up, thinking this was the moment he had been waiting for. To her surprise [redacted] did not have the money to pay his final balance and was asking for an "I owe you". He offered to get it signed and notarized and could not understand why he would not extend this courtesy as one small business owner to the next. With an over $5k balance, this was an unreasonable request. [redacted] called weekly, sometimes daily, as were getting close to finishing the work to check on the status. He never mentioned at any time that when we were done that he would need an "I owe you". He never expressed any need for possible financing option through our "[redacted]" financing program that we offer to all of our clients. Unfortunately, [redacted] did not qualify and was very upset that I would not accept his of a written/notarized "I owe you" for the remaining $5k+. This is a business and I do not operate that way. When you authorize a job, I do what you authorize me to do and expect to be paid for such at the time of completion. [redacted] went on for weeks giving me many reasons of why he had to spend the money that he had originally had to pay me and why he give me a portion and pay the balance due in increments of about $500/mo until the balance was paid. I could not, and would not accept his offer. This is why I have a financing option in place for my clients. It is beyond my control whether or not you qualify I did however, offer [redacted] a waiver of my normal $50/per day storage fee as a way to help him. This is a fee that I do not waive under any circumstance. However, due to the time it took form beginning to end to complete the work I thought it only fair to give [redacted] the time he needed to get his money together to pay the balance of his bill and not make it any worse for him since he was already experiencing financial hardship. [redacted] was given the price of his purchased vehicle well in advance ($3k) and a rough estimate of an additional $4k-$5k for the extensive electrical work that needed to be done electrical work is based strictly on time and it is very hard to pin point exactly how much time that will actually take so a rough estimate at best is an was given early on in this process (50 hrs).

When [redacted] came to pick up his vans (with a friend) on 7/16/2014 he was immediately irate and began disputing what his final balance was. [redacted] was well aware of his balance as we had conversed about it for weeks & months. He began to use profanities in my waiting room area and I had another client sitting there was walked out due to his loud obnoxious behavior. When going over the repairs before leaving [redacted] began to point out things that were not working, a door handle that was missing (that had nothing to do with the repairs I was authorized to do) and just making a fuss over anything he could possibly find. He then called "911" because he wanted his money back and the release of his vans. The sheriff asked [redacted] what repairs he had authorized and proceeded to tell [redacted] that I was well within my rights to demand full payment before releasing his vehicles. I offered to give [redacted] back his cashiers check but he would not be receiving his vans. After back and forth with the sheriff, he paid his final balance, went over all of the electrical work again in front of the sheriff. Before he left all lights were working and he was gone. I then get a phone call on 7/24/2014 from [redacted] who was at the [redacted] dealership and again he became irate and began to go over all of these discrepancies that had everything to do with the "engine work" and not anything to do with the electrical work he had authorized me to do (other than his dome light that he claimed was not working while he was at the dealership). This is why I went over everything before he left in front of the sheriff before he left that day.

This entire complaint is due to the fact that I would not release his vans on a promisary not, which is truly unfortunate.

As for the ignored or voided telephone calls. That never happened at any time. And lastly, there was never at any time a gun discussed, shown or displayed in an way shape or form. When I first met [redacted] he saw a target display at my shop in my work area. He asked me "do you shoot?" And I said "yes" and told him what type of fire arm. This is the one and only time he and I ever discussed anything in reference to a fire arm with [redacted]. I would think that if it came up at any time during the time of pick up that he would have gladly informed the sheriff deputy. For me [redacted] to mention that in this complaint is again, very unfortunate and there are laws against an individual trying to slander your name. This is an extremely serious accusation that is completely untrue.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Revdex.com spoke with the consumer regarding the business response and the consumer stated that he is not satisfied with the response. He paid the company $2,800 for the work to start in the beginning of October and they did not start until the Thanksgiving holiday. They had his truck for 10 months and he paid $8,500 for the repairs and the truck is still not running. He was told by the company that it was a 2 man job and they were short staffed, when he went to the ** dealership, they told him it was not a 2 man job.

Regards,