Driver's Auto Repair # 104 Houston Overcharged and my car was misdiagnosed. Houston, Texas

I was having trouble with my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee windshield wipers. They were stuck set on "Mist" and I couldn't turn them off. Luckily, I had just run out of wiper fluid before I started having problems with the wipers and it wasn't misting the windshield, making it possible to still drive. (It was just very annoying to be driving with my windshield wipers going at full speed, while it wasn't raining)

So, as soon as I got paid, I brought it into Driver's Auto Repair. I had never looked up any reviews or anything, was driving by and brought it to the first place I saw. I don't have a lot of experience with auto repair.

I told them what the problem was and that I needed the windshield wipers fixed so that my windshield wiper controls actually worked and I could turn them off, as opposed to having them continuously running all the time as they happened to be. (Quite an odd problem to go wrong with a car, I know, but also one I was relieved would not be expensive to fix...Or so I thought.) By the way, they were also making a lot of noise on account of running on a dry windshield for so long. So that might be another reason I rushed to get them fix without checking out the reviews for Drivers' Auto Repair.

The guy (whose name is Bryan Walker) said that there would be a flat diagnosis fee of $50. He told me that if they were able to fix it, the $50 would be applied to the repair cost. I agreed, and they came to me with a ridiculous quote of $400 and something (I forget the exact amount because I immediately turned it down) for the "windshield wiper motor assembly" to be replaced. then, once I told them that I'd go somewhere else, they brought it down to $230. This still seemed a little steep for a windshield wiper motor, but I agreed. I didn't sign anything, so didn't think it would be a problem for me to later call and tell them that I would just be buying the part, and not their services and having my boyfriend install. This did not make them happy and he tried to tack on the diagnosis fee. I told him I wouldn't pay a diagnosis fee, just pay for the part, and he was pissed off but agreed since he had to pick between being paid for the part or being paid nothing.

Well, lo and behold, it wasn't the "windshield wiper motor assembly" that needed repair. It was actually the control stick that's in the car. nothing under the hood. It makes more sense that the motor was not broken, since it was constantly running. I felt I should have caught that, but then again I'm not a mechanic. 

My boyfriend and I brought the part back, and I asked him what his procedure is for misdiagnosis. he immediately remembered me and told us that, had we let them fix it, instead of installing it ourselves, they would have been responsible for the part, but since I refused their services, he could not do anything about it.

So I explained patiently that I wouldn't have bought a $150 part from him if it weren't for his diagnosis which turned out to be wrong. Again, he said he wasn't liable. So now I have a $150 part that I can't use, and windshield wipers that are still broken. (Since then, we've disconnected them so they aren't running all the time. however, if it rains, that leaves me unable to drive. Luckily it has only rained twice we disconnected it.)

Not only did he try repeatedly to rip me off (charging $400 to fix windshield wipers, trying to charge an extra fee for not rendering labor services, not refunding me for the part I bought on HIS false information) but he was very rude. He had a bad attitude which only made the situation more stressful. My boyfriend was there with me, and was very upset at the situation, but he did not once raise his voice or use vulgar language. we waited until we were out of the building for that. I took his information, but we couldn't find a way to contact a higher-up.

Bryan Walker is the general manager, and not wanting to taint this rip-off report with less-than-classy words, I'll just say that his business ethics are very poor.

I do plan on trying to sell the part on ebay (maybe to someone else who is being overcharged for the part, and actually needs it) so hopefully I don't end up losing too much money on it. I have, however, wasted a lot of time, and lost that much more respect for American businesses.