I was referred to Avus by Joe at The M Shop in Eagle Rock, who has always treated me right. As a young woman, I rely on efficient, reasonable shops to keep my car in top shape. Unfortunately, Avus is the opposite -- they are excessive and dishonest.
The high level brake light on my Mini was having problems due to a water leak and I was told by Jonathan at Avus, after being charged for a full hour of labor, that ""your trunk's full of water and we going to need 4 more hours to tear it apart and even figure out what's wrong."" At $115/hour for labor, that's nearly $600 -- just to diagnose the problem! ""We might as well fix it while we're in there,"" adding on any charge for parts they needed.
What I should have done was remove the car right then and there, drain the water myself and air it out, unscrew and unplug the light until I could get to another mechanic. One who wouldn't try so hard to pull one over on me.
Instead, I took Jonathan's suggestion and filed a claim with my insurance company. An appraiser came to look at the vehicle and said he couldn't write it up until Avus had more information about the extent of the electrical damage. Jonathan insisted the appraiser tell me he needed at least 4 hours with it.
When I called Jonathan to check the status of the appraisal, he said the appraiser AUTHORIZED him to go ahead with the full diagnosis and repair and that it was already underway. THIS IS A LIE, IN ADDITION TO BEING ILLEGAL. Any and all work beyond the initial assessment MUST be authorized by the owner.
The owner of the appraisal company and the appraiser himself had a hard time dealing with Avus and agreed that I was being taken for a ride. To boot, it didn't look like insurance would cover the damages because it appeared it was due to normal wear-and-tear.
This all happened yesterday, and I went to Avus immediately to pick up my car. Apparently Jonathan had lied to me about the repairs being underway; the car was in the same condition as when I brought it in 6 days earlier. I paid only for the one hour of labor I had signed off on in the beginning, and gave them a piece of my mind. They did not once apologize or attempt to rectify the situation.
I discourage ANYONE -- especially women -- from taking your vehicle to this shop. They are crooks.
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