We are Bruce & Pam. \r
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On 5-11-09 we took our 12-yr old Expedition, w/174K+ miles, to Joe's as the AC was not working properly. Scott, the Mgr, told us that the Manifold Hose needed to be replaced and then our AC would work fine. We reluctantly agreed to the repair (stressing that we wanted the repair & cost to be at a minimum due to the age & miles on the vehicle), plus agreed to replace a headlamp bulb & do an LOF for a total of just under $700...a lot of money, but we had no choice as AZ summers are brutal! The AC now worked, but not as well as we expected for the investment. It got worse and worse. (Bruce is a Musician from Minnesota, not a Mechanic, and for awhile thought it was as good as could be expected in AZ!)\r
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The AC finally became useless, so Bruce took it back to Joe's on 10-15-09. Scott put it up on the rack & showed Bruce the underside & pointed out that our AC Compressor was leaking & needed replacement for another $1K. Joe, the Owner, happened to be there & confirmed what Scott said. Bruce did not agree to the repair & came home. \r
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Pam called & tried to speak w/Scott who, after playing games on the phone of ""accidentally"" hanging up...not once, but twice...placing her on hold, etc. basically said he couldn't understand why this was so hard for her to understand as they were two separate repairs...insulting to say the least, as well as unprofessional.\r
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On 10-16-09 Bruce took the vehicle to Highland Auto Repair, Inc., 60 E. Highland Street, Chandler, a repair facility that is indeed reputable, professional, ethical & quality oriented. They hooked it up to a machine (which Joe's Auto did not do) & told Bruce that the Compressor was fine & was not leaking. The Manifold Hose, however, was improperly attached by Joe's in May '09 causing the Freon to slowly leak. Highland Auto re-clamped the hose, topped off the Freon & did not charge us a dime! Bruce was there less than a half hour. \r
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Because of a bad experience before, we vowed never to take our business to Joe's Auto again. Plus, we contacted all our friends, family & neighbors that we had previously referred to Joe's, explained what had happened & rescinded our Referral. The ONLY reason Bruce went back to Joe's on 10-15-09 was because they had just repaired the AC a few months before. \r
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Last week, Pam placed 2 calls to Joe's Auto Customer Service, 602-544-3835 & left messages both times. At this writing, there has been no response.\r
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To recap our experience, Joe's improperly fixed our vehicle for nearly $700, when we took it back, they didn't put it on a machine to determine for sure what the issue was--they put it on a rack & only did a visual inspection which proved to be incorrect. This means ""they"" would have replaced a major part that was working just fine & drained our bank account of $1K unnecessarily! Bear in mind, ""they"" includes the owner, Joe himself, who supposedly has been in the business for over 30 years yet didn't have the knowledge or experience to know how to inspect a vehicle properly!!??!! And, Joe, who identifies himself as the Customer Service person, didn't have the professionalism to at least return the call of an unhappy customer!!??!! I read a couple of Reviews on Joe's Auto where those customers never got a response either. What way to run a business in this economy!!\r
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There are only two possibilities here...an intentional attempt to rip us off or plain old incompetence. Neither is acceptable. And, we are now fearful of the other repairs we had done to our vehicles, which includes brakes.\r
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Please do whatever is within your power to protect other trusting potential customers of Joe's Auto from becoming victims. It just might save a life if something more serious than an AC isn't properly repaired.\r
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I wouldn't trust any of the other Joe's Auto locations either due to the actions of the Owner.\r
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Pros: Nothing positive to write here
Cons: Too many to list here
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