Extremely disappointing experience. The customer service was poor, and the pricing was outrageous—higher than what many dealerships charge. To make matters worse, they even charged for a test drive and billed me despite no repairs or work being completed. Charging customers even when nothing is done is unacceptable and leaves the impression that the focus is on collecting fees rather than providing honest service. I will not be returning and cannot recommend this business to anyone looking for fair pricing, transparency, and professional customer service.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are genuinely sorry that your visit left you feeling disappointed, and we appreciate the opportunity to provide some additional context for anyone reading your review. Your original appointment was booked for an annual safety inspection on your Ram 2500. When you arrived, you explained that you had experienced transmission problems on the way to our shop and felt it would be better to address that concern before proceeding with the safety inspection. We agreed, and discussed starting with one hour of diagnostic time at a tax-in price of $195, which you approved. The diagnostic process included a road test with our technician to confirm the symptoms you had described, along with a scan of the vehicle's computer systems to check for relevant fault codes. The technician confirmed the symptoms and found multiple transmission-related faults that appeared potentially related to a pressure issue. When he attempted to check the transmission fluid level—the logical next step—he discovered that the dipstick and approximately half of the dipstick tube were missing. Since the transmission had recently been replaced, we paused the diagnostic process and updated you about what we had found. After you sourced a replacement dipstick and tube, our plan was to install them, verify the fluid level, and continue the diagnostic process. Unfortunately, the technician then found that installing the tube would require significant engine or transmission disassembly. Because this appeared to be a deficiency related to the previous transmission installation, we recommended having the shop that performed that repair correct the issue rather than recommending that you pay us to undertake significant disassembly to correct it. During the visit, our technician also identified several significant items that would need to be addressed for the vehicle to pass an annual safety inspection. Those findings were documented in a digital inspection report. There was an error in the phone number initially entered for the appointment, which prevented the first text message containing the report from reaching you. Once we identified that issue, the number was corrected and the report was sent. We also want to clarify the concern about being charged when no repairs were completed. The $133.16 charge was for diagnostic time that had been discussed and authorized—not for a repair that was not performed. The road test and scan were part of the diagnostic process used to investigate the transmission symptoms. Although one hour of diagnostic time, valued at $195 tax-in, had been authorized, we ultimately billed only 0.7 hours, or $133.16. We understand that receiving an unexpected diagnostic bill, learning that a recently installed transmission had an issue that prevented further testing, and discovering additional safety-related repairs can be frustrating. We also recognize that our communication did not meet your expectations, particularly with the initial issue sending the inspection report. We are sorry for that part of your experience. Our goal is to provide customers with the information they need to make informed decisions about their vehicle repairs and maintenance, including when the best advice is to have a previous repair corrected by the shop that performed it. We may not always be the lowest-priced option, but we do our best to be transparent about what we find, what is required, what has and has not been completed, and what we believe is in the customer's best interest.
- Trinity Automotive