Sears Automotive
Oct 24 '07
The Bottom Line DO NOT use sears!
My 76 year old father recently brought his 04 Dodge Caravan into Sears automotive. There was a cracking noise coming from the van's front wheels.
The Sears technician diagnosed the problem as the breaking system, the entire system apparently as the bill was over $900.00. My father paid the bill before test driving the vehicle, BIG mistake.
As soon as the breaks were applied the front end would shake violently, something the tech would have known had anyone bothered to test the vehicle before releasing it back to the customer. Needless to say, the vehicle was returned to Sears.
Later that day they claimed that BOTH front rotors, which they installed, were warped from the factory. They said that they replaced them and that the van was ready for pick up in the morning. My mother was suspicious, called me, told me the story, and had me accompany her to pick up the vehicle. I called a friend with 25 years experience in the auto parts industry about the rotors. According to him, the odds are a million to one that two defective rotors would end up on the same vehicle. But, he had no idea where Sears gets their parts from either. In all probability the front discs were installed incorrectly.
Day two:
I meet my mother at Sears, test drive the van, and find that the BACK breaks sound as if they have fallen apart inside the drums. I had the young service manager ride with me, so there was no disputing the fact that something was very wrong. Yet when I pulled back into the garage, I'm met by a hyperactive mechanic who insists that the breaks are perfect. At that point, I simply tell the service manager that the van is staying at the shop until he finds someone capable of fixing it.
Day three:
I arrive at sears with my mother, and am met by the service manager. I think his name was Eddie, and he's the ONLY honest employee that I encountered. He tells me that his boss said the car is finished, and in a lower voice he tells me that the breaks are still screwed up.
I go onto the garage to test drive the van but it would not start due to them leaving the radio on all night and running the battery down. Whatever sympathy I had for these people was now gone. Once they got the van started, I drove it around the parking lot and found that the back breaks were still incorrect. Not slightly either. When the breaks were applied a bumping sound came from both rear breaks which could be felt through the break pedal as well.
When I get back to the garage I meet Scott who, according to him, is the head of all sears automotive.I tell him the breaks are not correct and he incredulously informs me that they were fine 20 minutes ago when he test drove the vehicle. I then asked him to ride in the van again and he refused. Apparently as far as he was concerned, my elderly mother was just going to have to live with driving an unsafe vehicle.
I have never experienced such blatant irresponsibility ,and dishonesty, in over 15 years as a contractor. I began raising my voice and pointing out to Scott as simply as possible what he in fact was trying to do to my mother. Scott reacted by 'getting in my face'. literally. This kid, who looks barely old enough to shave was now threatening me, a customer, with physical violence. When I didn't react to his intimidation routine he then acted like he was going to call the police. All I could do was laugh and tell him to go ahead and call the police as nothing had happened to warrant intervention by the police. After a few more nonsensical minutes, I convinced Scott that he should do what he was paid for and fix the van.
Several hours later they actually had the breaks working properly. However, the original noise that got the van to the shop in the first place is still there! I doubt the van needed breaks in the first place as there was no sign of them wearing out.
In my opinion, sears automotive saw an easy target in my two elderly parents and ran a bill up any way they could. That's bad enough but they were more than ready to let an elderly woman drive home a mini-van with bad breaks.
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Epinions.com ID:
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