Poor Customer Service, Really Expensive
Thursday, June 30, 2005
My experience with Car Tender has been very poor.
I initially took my 1974 BMW 2002 in to investigate a noise that a Chevron station said sounded like a wheel bearing. They found nothing wrong during a test drive. When the noise worsened, I took it back and was told I needed a new differential. 700 dollars and three weeks later the noise was still there. They then informed me that it was a wheel bearing issue.
There was another issue I had them fix at the same time. They did call me to authorize work over 100 dollars, as per the law, but when I paid the bill, it was nearly 150 more than they had quoted over the phone.
For the most part, it's clear that they know their stuff, with my case being an exceptionally bad scenario. I recognize that old cars need constant maintenance and that people make mistakes.
However, it is also clear that I was very low on their priority list. All in all, my car was in the shop for more than five weeks, with them promising that they would "get to it tomorrow." At no point did they set the expectation that it would be a while before they could get to my car.
To add insult to injury, when I finally picked it up, they had lost my key.
Test drive: $50
New (well, new to me) differential: $700
Fixed spark plugs/fixed leak/carburetor adjustments: $400
New wheel bearing/construction of a shim: $400
Finding a new mechanic: Priceless
Bitter? Oh no ....