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snidow,
I had my lawyer send a letter similar to this one after I had some trouble with them. Rick, the owner, never replied to me or my lawyer. I don't think I'll pursuit it any further. I'll simply share with everyone my plight. The more people I help by keeping them from their operations, the happier I'll be.
S & S Auto Sales Ltd.
5009 Lee Highway
Warrenton, VA 20187
540/349-2744
Rick Stanley:
As a five-time customer, spending nearly $2000 at S&S, I’d like to express my concern for your business ethics and quality of service. Although my first visits were very enjoyable, my later ones have been less favorable.
My here-to perfect 1985 900T was broken-into in March. Of course, I turned to my friends at S&S to restore it. I showed the damage to two or three employees including Ken and Rick, and made them aware that within two or three months I would be bringing it in for, according to one’s estimate, $1500 worth of restorative bodywork. In the meantime, it was imperative that I get the broken window replaced. I had the front passenger window replaced, but upon using the window, I found that the installer had failed to remove the residual pieces of broken glass. Therefore, every time I raised or lowered the window, the door made a grinding sound of broken glass on glass. This was repaired when I brought the car in for other repairs, however it is apparent that the window wasn’t tested. If it was, the grinding was ignored.
I brought in my 900 again, this time to have a few things looked at—turbo not boosting beyond base, stalling, and a hooting sound made when the turbo needle passed atmospheric pressure (the white tick mark.) The mechanics at S&S correctly diagnosed the turbo and stalling problems. However, when driving the car home, I realized the “hooting” sound had not been corrected, although Rick told me that a replaced charcoal canister fixed the problem. It hadn’t. After driving only a few miles, I brought the car back, and Rick agreed to take a ride with me. We took it out, and he agreed that the sound was still there, though he insisted that it was less noticeable. Regardless of its existence, he refused to admit that he had not solved the problem, insisting that all Saabs make that sound. Not so—my previous 1988 900T did not suffer from this. However, because of your previous superior work and strong recommendations from others in the Saab ring, I didn’t push the issue. I should have, and I regret not doing so; the hooting problem is as bad as ever.
Not long after, I noticed that my clutch was slipping. Again I turned to S&S, though this time I was concerned about how I’d be treated. My worrying was soon justified. I brought my car in on a Monday morning, and told Ken that my clutch was slipping and only after the car warmed up after about 45 minutes of driving. I didn’t know why it would be slipping since it was replaced only 10 months earlier. I left the paperwork with Ken so he could see everything that was done by the Saab dealer in PA—replaced the entire clutch assembly and installed a rebuilt master cylinder. I explicitly explained to Ken that, “I’m not saying that the clutch plates need replaced because I’m not a mechanic; I don’t know what’s wrong.”
That afternoon, I picked up my car. I was told that they did replace the 10-month-old clutch assembly and said that it was no longer slipping, however, they didn’t duplicate the conditions under which the clutch started to fail—45 minutes of driving. Rick gave me the clutch parts that were replaced. They looked brand new, or at least 10-months-old. Surely, they did not need replacing. When the mechanic saw how unworn these parts are, he should have realized that these parts were not a fault, and looked elsewhere for the cause. Regardless, after paying the $528 bill, I got to my car. Upon getting in, it was apparent to me that someone had surely taken it for a test-drive. The tan cloth seats that had been reupholstered within the past year were now gray. Angered, I asked that Ken have someone clean them. One of the car wash people feebly wiped down my driver’s seat while Ken explained that I, “…won’t find another place that will wash your car for you.” “Washing the exterior of my car does not compensate for dirtying the inside,” I explained. I drove off frustrated, disappointed, and worried that my car was not fully repaired. Again, my worrying was warranted.
When driving to work the next morning, the symptom again appeared 45 minutes into my commute—a slipping clutch. When I got to work, I called the service department. Ken asked me to bring it in whenever I could. I brought in that evening—Tuesday. Rick bled the master cylinder, which stopped the slipping for the day. I brought my 900 in again because neither bleeding the master cylinder nor replacing the clutch fixed the problem. This time Rick said they would replace the master cylinder as it was taking in air and passing it to the slave cylinder. He was so sure that would fix the slipping that said he would refund all my money if this didn’t fix it. It’s curious how sure he was that this would resolve it. In fact, he was surprised that the dealer in PA replaced the old master cylinder with a rebuilt one. Since this was a concern of his, should he not have suspected the master cylinder from the start? Still, I’m not sure that the master cylinder was at fault. It’s well known that the hydraulic return line can fail, acting as a one-way valve keeping the hydraulic fluid from draining; therefore, prohibiting the clutch to fully engage. S&S replaced this line with the along with the master cylinder. In changing two variables simultaneously, we can’t know which fixed the problem—the $145 master cylinder, or the $65 hose.
Before paying the $241 bill, I talked to Rick about this diagnosis debacle. When I asked why they didn’t suspect the rebuilt master cylinder once they found that the clutch parts were virtually new, his defense was, believe it or not, “We don’t have X-ray eyes.” I explained that I bring my car to a shop that specializes in Saabs because of their specialization. If I wanted to make mistakes, I’d do it myself. Although it won’t come to that, I surely won’t patronize S&S again.
Your mechanics and I are somewhat in the same line of work. They diagnose and fix cars, just as I diagnose and fix computers. If someone brings in a computer, and says the CD-ROM doesn’t work, I would of course consider the CD-ROM just as your mechanic considered the clutch. If we replace the CD-ROM and that doesn’t fix it, we don’t charge the customer for OUR mistake. Likewise, I cannot see paying for your initial misdiagnosis. When I posed the scenario to Rick, he gruffly wished me a good afternoon and walked away, knowing he couldn't win.
I find it appalling that your shop made no attempt to mend the situation in light of knowing that I planned on spending another $1500 to $2000 in 60 days.
Please let me know of your plans to rectify the situation,
Nathan Work
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