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Report: #783183

Complaint Review: American Brake and Muffler - Gary Indiana

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  • Reported By: Reesie — GARY Indiana United States of America
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  • American Brake and Muffler 3102 W. Ridge Rd. Gary, Indiana United States of America

American Brake and Muffler ATTENTION FRIENDS AND FRIENDS OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!! DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER GO TO AMERICAN BRAKE AND MUFFLER ON RIDGE ROAD AND CHASE ST. OR ANY OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES!! THEY HAVE CHEATED ME OUT Gary, Indiana

*UPDATE Employee: All lies!!!

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Attention friends and friends of friends and family: Do not ever go to American Brake and Muffler on Ridge Rd. and Chase St. or any of its subsidiaries!! They have cheated me out of $1100.00.  I told them not to put any used parts on my car and to give me all the old parts when they were done.  

They were suppose to rebuild my rear differential, but instead, they went to I-80 Auto Parts (the junk yard) and bought a used one and gave it to me and told me it came off my car and charged me $1100.00 for it.

 It has been confirmed through people who work at the junk yard and people who frequent the junk yard that this part came from the junk yard because they have a special way of stamping their parts so no trade-offs happen.  I called I-80 and was told that they had bought one from I-80 within the time period of them having my car.

They bought it there and sold it to me and told me this was the part off my car. The holes where the bolts go have rusty threading inside from the part being exposed to the elements. If this part had come off my car, it would not have an I-80 stamp on it because my car did not come from Indiana.

Second, the threading would not be rusty had bolts recently come been spinned out of the bolt holes, creating friction from and fresh grooves in the threading...but the threading is rusty.  Please, if you do not want to be a victim, do your research before you take your car to any shop because they own several of them with different names!!

He had already told me that they have rebuilt many rear differentials as if they rebuilt them there. Well, after they lied to me several times saying my car would be ready, I went to pick up my car. They had my car for 2 weeks and kept telling me it would be ready, when originally they told me I would get my car back the same day.  

When I went to get my car, he told me that they didn't rebuild them there, not realizing the lie he had already told me.  He laughed in my face when I told him that I knew where the part came from and how they didn't even bother to put the used part on my car.  

I had asked him that day to present the original receipt to me to prove that he bought the part where he said he bought it.  He told me they don't keep the receipts at the shop, but they keep them at his house and the owner's son's house and that he would show it to me the next day.  

I went the next day to see the receipt and to obtain a copy of it and he told me his boss wouldn't let him show me the receipt, after he had already told me and my daughter's father that he would. I'm sure it was because the only receipt he had was from I-80 junk yard.

He also said that he gave me a complete tune-up and transmission flush because he originally quoted me the $1100 for all the work mentioned in my complaint.  He also said he put solenoids on my transmission because my transmission was slipping, which I gave no permission for him to do.  

I went there to pay for it and he didn't even try to charge me for the solenoids he supposedly had put on my car.  No way a business is going to perform free work and pay for the parts.  This is what got me suspicious of them, plus the fact that every time I went to check on my car, it was never in any of the bays.

I don't think I ever needed one...they were the ones who diagnosed the problem because they wanted my money and he said he put solenoids on my transmission and I didn't give him permission to touch that and now I have to have that rebuilt. He probably went in there and did something to it on purpose cuz he thought I would let him do that too...he was actually looking for a transmission for me without asking me if I wanted him to do it!! Unbelievable!!

They thought because I am a woman they could get over on me and I wouldn't notice, but I told him that I have helped my dad work on cars for many years.  I guess they didn't believe me.  

This has taught me a very valuable lesson.  Lesson 1:  If a car repair shop tells you they can have your car ready the same day and doesn't, immediately pick your vehicle up.  Lesson 2:  Write up a contract saying you want all of your used parts (every piece) down to the used oil.  Lesson 3: If you can, go sit at the shop and wait for your vehicle.  If you have no other transportation, ask someone for a ride there, or even rent a car if you can afford it.  

Lesson 4: If you have been lied to several times, do not deal with them anymore and when you pick up your vehicle, take a mechanic who can test drive your car and inspect old parts to ensure they came off your car before you pay for services.  Lesson 5: Always pay with your debit card to ensure that if you do get ripped off, you can get your money back through your bank and avoid court costs. I'm sure there are other untold lessons learned, but I'll stop here.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/30/2011 02:38 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/american-brake-and-muffler/gary-indiana-46408/american-brake-and-muffler-attention-friends-and-friends-of-friends-and-family-do-not-783183. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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#1 UPDATE Employee

All lies!!!

AUTHOR: FordTough - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, January 23, 2013

This is all false.  We did exactly what the customer asked us to do.  This individual is trying to scam our company and get their vehicle repaired for free.  This is why we have initiated legal proceedings to rectify.  I look foward to our upcoming court proceedings and am confident that the courts will agree with our company in this matter. 

1) We did all that we were asked to do, the customer came to pick up the vehicle and demanded that we give her her old part; and we did.
2) She demanded that she is shown our receipt for the parts we installed, and yes, we do not keep them on site.  But when you buy a gallon of milk from the grocery store, do they show you where they bought the milk from? No, and that is because they are re-sellers of merchandise as are we.
3) Because the customer drove by and did not see her vehicle in a stall does not mean that we did not work on it.  Some of our stalls aren't visible from the road and we are open for 10 hours a day.  There is the remote (note sarcasm) possibility that we worked on it when she was not driving by!
4) When performing a major repair, there is always the possibility that the repair may take more than 1 day.  I can only imagine what would have happened if I was in fact done the same day; then the complaint would be " How did they do all of those repairs in 1 day?" 

This customer had the intent of defrauding our company from the get-go.  I will use all resources available to make sure that my company is compensated for our time, legal fees, and the job that we performed that we were never paid for.

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