Richmond
This is from June 21, 2021. My car's alternator had died leaving me stranded, luckily just a couple minutes from this repair shop. I jumped the battery and made it to their parking lot right before the battery died again, due to the alternator not charging. The shop confirmed the alternator was bad and also that the battery was over drained and needed to be replaced as well. They replaced both the battery and alternator by noon the next day. I'm a 15 minute bike ride away, so I paid over the phone and had them lock the key in the car so I could pick it up after hours (in order to avoid bicycling in heavy traffic). I ride my bike to the shop that evening and start the car. It barely starts and the idle is very low and the car is stumbling/shaking. I turn on the AC to stress the electrical and the car dies as if it ran out of battery. This happened twice in the parking lot. I did not feel comfortable driving the car home. I had to ride my bike back home. The next morning I go to the shop to tell them the issue about how it was barely idling. The first thing they say is that it probably just needs an idle relearn. I also mention how it shut down twice on me in the parking lot. Again they repeated the idle relearn. There was no apology for the fact they said it was complete and that I came to pick it up after hours but then had to bike back home and come back the next day. Ultimate they just drove it around the block so that idle would relearn, and it did relearn the idle and all does seem to be fine. They handed me the keys and again they repeated that that's all was needed, an idle relearn. In the end, they did replace the alternator and battery and the car is fixed, but they fail to apologize for the inconvenience caused by what should be a routine part of an alternator / battery being replaced. They drove it from the shop to the parking spot, did they not notice the idle was incredibly low and the car was shaking? Is this not in their checklist of things to do after this repair? The car shut down twice in the parking lot when I came to pick it up. How can i feel safe/confident to drive it home? Mistakes can and do happen, I understand that. It's about how you handle the mistake. They ultimately made it right, but were dismissive about my concerns that maybe this remanufactured alternator might have been dead on arrival. Additionally they left the positive battery terminal cover floating in the engine bay. This shop has lost my confidence and my future business.
William, thank you for your feedback. I am very sorry and apologize that this happened. I have shared this with the team and we will try our best to make sure this does not happen in the future. Please know that we are here for all of your vehicle service and maintenance and will do our best to earn your confidence again. Sincerely, Beth and the Virginia Automotive Team
- Richmond