Beware this Repair Shop

Now that I've had a few days to calm down, I think it's time to write about my car repair shop drama of the past week.

Last Friday night while driving home, the Kia started to act up. At first, it would shake when I had my foot on the brake at a stop, then after a while in Friday-night-rush-hour-traffic, it began to do this shaking business in first and second gear as well, and then it started doing it even in neutral. Just before I pulled into my driveway, it backfired. Grrrrrr. Since one of the reasons for getting the Kia was to relieve my stress of always having something go wrong with the Jeep, I wasn't happy about this. When I got home, Mary and Jo tinkered around a bit and discovered that there was raw gas coming out of the tailpipe in addition to the odd shaking. We decided to call AAA first thing Saturday morning and have it towed in for repairs.

About a month earlier, we had taken the Kia for a smog check, finally finding a place that could do it the same day (we were down to the wire for the transfer of title and plate renewal) only to find that it failed the smog, so we had to take it back the following day for repairs. After several calls to them (they never did call me) the diagnosis was to replace the spark plugs and flush the hydrocarbons out of the emissions system. They said they'd call me when it was done in a couple of hours. About three and half hours later, a half hour before they closed for the day, I called them -- "Yes, it's done." Frustrated with their lack of phone calls, but happy that it was done and had passed the smog, we went and picked up the car.

Needless to say, when a problem pops up with emissions (raw gas) less than a month later, I'm taking it back to the same shop. If they screwed something up, they're fixing it! So, AAA tows the Kia into the shop for us about 9:00 am. I tell the friendly guy at the counter what's going on, ask him to attach the work order from the previous month, and ask when they'll get a chance to take a look at it. "Geez, I hope by this afternoon." At around 2:00 pm I get a phone call. They aren't going to be finished with it today, they'll need to keep it until Monday cuz they're closed on Sunday. Guess I'll drive the Jeep to work. I said, "You will lock it up overnight, right? Inside?" Oh yes, absolutely.

We made several calls to them on Monday trying to get an answer, including one call when the service manager slammed the phone down after talking to Mary. The problem is elusive, they say. Finally they decide it's the ignition coils, which they'll have to get from the dealer, and maybe the gap on the spark plugs is off. They'll pull the plugs and check the gap, for a fee of $40. Oh no, you don't! YOU put the spark plugs in a month ago, so you'll check them free of charge. The service manager wasn't aware of this. I told him the previous paperwork was attached to the current work order. Oh. The phone rings at 4:30 pm, and they just got the parts from the dealer. It'll be ready tomorrow - Tuesday. At this point you can see the steam coming out of our ears.

Tuesday afternoon, 4:30 pm -- it's ready. We walk up to the counter, and there is the oh-so-unfriendly service manager that we've been dealing with on the phone, all smiles. I tell him I want to see the parts and the diagnostic. It takes him a while to find the parts, after first bringing us ignition coils with the trade name Motorcraft (even I know that's Ford). As I take the keys and the paperwork to go to the next counter and pay, he opens the door wide for me: "It worked out pretty well," he says. "For you," is my flat response. I explained that I hadn't been satisfied with the customer service I received the previous month, that no one had returned my calls, and that I wouldn't have returned to their shop except that it appeared to be a related problem. I said that I was even more disatisfied after this experience, and that I would never be back again unless I drove around the corner and the car was still shaking, then he would see me in 5 minutes. "I'm sorry you feel that way," was his inane response. I walked over and paid for the services, then went out to the Kia. All the windows were rolled down, all the doors unlocked, and it had obviously been parked outside overnight - dew had collected and then dried all over the car.

They did manage to correct the shaking. I will never go back again, even if the problem seems to be related. The service manager was an ass, rude and condescending, and their technicians seem to work about 2 hours out of an 8 hour day. There is no excuse for a repair shop with 12-15 bays to take FOUR DAYS to find and repair a problem like that. By the way - the name of the shop? Advanced Computer Automotive