Dale's A1 Transmission Dale's Transmission Long Brothers, LLC - Improper installation which resulted in failure and completely rebuilding the rear differential that Dale's had built. Mitchell South Dakota

I have agreed to a financial settlement from Dale's as compensation for my expenses in this case.

Dale's stated that the first step in their warranty process is to contact Dale's.  I did this.  As soon as I found out what the problem was I called Straightlines, the company that built the car.  Straightlines informed me that Dale's offered a warranty on their work and provided me with a contact at Dale's.  I called Dale's immediately after but was told several times that Devon wasn't available.  When I finally spoke to Devon I explained the situation to him.  Dale's is right in stating that I had already taken the car into a local shop, as I live almost 600 miles away there is no way that I could have taken the car to Dale's.  In fact, I had no idea what was wrong with the car when I took it into my local shop, only that a loud hum was coming from the back end of the car and an unrelated charging problem..

When my local shop told me what the problem was I did give them the ok to start repairing the car because I was not aware at that time that the possibility of a warranty existed and I just wanted to get the car running again.  Remember, over four years were devoted to the build of this car.  When I spoke to Devon, he agreed that the most important thing was to get the car back on the road.  Devon never said that he had to speak to the shop working on the car, only that he wanted to so he could talk to someone who was informed.  I did give him the contact information for the shop where the car was located.  

The parts in question that I sent back did indeed show the signs of improper installation.  In fact, the written description from the company that rebuilt the rear end is as follows.  "Tore down original differential and found that the pinion crush sleeve had not been collapsed.  Replaced the ring and pinion, all bearings, and the pinion seal.  Backlash set at 0.007".  Pinion preload is at 16 in/lbs.  Carrier cap bolts torqued to 60 ft/lbs, ring gear bolts torqued to 60 ft/lbs."  The report went on to state that the wear pattern of the gear teeth on the ring and pinion also showed evidence of the problem.  this is from a very reputable shop with an immaculate reputation that has been in business for over 35 years.

Dale's points out that I "decided" to get back in touch with Devon after twon months.  This is not entirely true.  After I agreed to send the parts to Devon I did indeed wait for a couple of weeks mistakenly believing that he would contact me after receiving the parts.  This contact never happened.  I began trying to call but was repeatedly told that Devon was not available.  I began to try to communicate electronically both through the Contact Us page of Dale's website and through email at the email address listed on several business web sites which is daren_dalesa1@midconetwork.com.  I received no communication back despite multiple attempts on my part to reach out.  Finally, after what very well could have been two months I was able to speak to Devon again

I am not sure where Dale's came up with the amount of $428.50, perhaps that is the total for only certain parts, but the total invoice that I have from Straightlines for the work done at Dale's is for a total of $4,172.77 and I have attached a copy of that invoice.  To compare and contrast the ownersip and reponse from the two companies involved with the repairs I had to make on my car, Dale's has decided that they will not stand behind their work at all, whereas Straightlines offered to pay for the repairs/replacement of the alternator even going so far as to put me in contact with March Performance who directed me to the company that builds the alternators for them.  Straightlines reimbursed me 100% of the costs incurred for the alternator even though they were certain that they had done nothing wrong with the installation of the alternator.  

Dale's states that they have no problem standing behind their work but clearly this is not the casee.  They list a whole host of criteria including "if it is properly diagnosed" which I would submit that a company with over 35 years of impeccable service did properly diagnose the proble, "if we are informed on what is going on" which I would submit that my inital phone conversations with Devon certainly provided that information.  "where the work is being done" which I would submit I complied with, and lastly that "Dales has to be the one who gives the ok to have work completed" which I would submit creates an undue hardship on anyone not living within the Mitchell, SD trade area.  

Dale's went on to say that I originally wanted the parts paid for.  This again is only half true as so many thins that Dale's has responded with.  I originally expected Dale's to behave as professionals and cover the cost of the repair to the rear end.  Dale's states that my warranty was three years old, however I had only gotten the car from Straightlines one week prior to having to take it in to my local shop.  I think it is quite ingenuous to refer to the rear end as being three years old and not know what what all happened in those three years when the car had only been on the road for a week and only had a couple hundred miles on it.

I have not had a conversation with Dale's regarding any reimbursement, but they will certainly find out when I file suit against them.  And it will be only for the actual costs involved.  As I originally stated, I offered to Devon that I wanted to be reasonable and work with them and in doing so suggested that Dale's cover the cost of parts when Devon asked me what I wanted.

Dale's state that they don't think it's right to pau for something that they had no control over or any say in the matter, but I reached out on many occassions asking how they would like to proceed.  Most times I received no answer, other times I was told that there is really nothing they can do.  They continue by stating that it is har to warranty a job like this, but is it?  I think it really comes down to the business morals and operating practices.  If a reputable business provides service that later turn out to be defective that business will stand behind their product and their reputation without delay and without criteria as Straightlines did during the same visit to my local shop.  Dale's instead choose to delay, ignore, and do nothing including calling me after they received the parts that we agreed I would send to them. 

 To whom it may concern, On the case of Jamie Williams vs. Dales A1 Transmission We will start with a little history on Dales A-1 Transmission, Dales A-1 Transmission is family owned and opperated since 1982, we are affiliated with organizations called ATRA and ATSG. We take pride in taking care of all of our customers and any other shops we do buisness for. The way our warranty works is if there are any problems the first step is to contact Dales A-1 Transmission, stating what the issue is, if it is something simple we would ask you the customer to let us find you an ATRA shop within 50 miles if it is not reasonable for the customer to come back to Dales A-1 Transmission, as to where the cutomer is at the time of the problem. At this time we will then intern call and make sure that the shop has the availibility and ability to take care of our customer, and let them know what is going on and to be expected. Once the shop has had a chance to properly diagnose the problem they will call us (the technician working on the vehicle) an let us know what is going on and what they find, then at this time Dales A-1 Transmission will decide weather or not to have the unit shipped back to us and we will fix it, or we will send out parts to have that shop fix it. It has worked this way since the begining.

At the start of all this Jamie had called Dales A-1 Transmission and talked to Devon, at this time Jamies warranty was over by almost a year, Jamie stated that he had already taken the vehicle into a shop and told us that the rear end was out of the vehicle and needed to be replaced due to improper installation. Devon then asked if he could contact the shop that the vehicle was at and talk to the technician that was working on the vehicle, he did in fact give us the shop information that it was at, but when Devon called Performance Tune Auto Repair in Fort Collins Co. he was told that they had shipped it somewhere to have it rebuilt and never giving us the information of where it was. The shop then asked Devon why he was even getting involved due to the fact that Jamie had given them the ok to have it worked on. Jamie then again called and talked to Devon, Devon asked if he knew where the rear end was shipped to at this time, he did not.

At that point Devon informed Jamie that we would have to talk to the shop or tech working on the unit to find out what happened so we could take proper steps to resolve the problem, Devon then tried to contact Performance Tune Auto Repair and Jamie, Devon Finally heard back from Jamie days later, Devon then took it upon himself to reach out to Performance Tune and Auto Repair in Fort Collins where Devon was then again asked why he was involved due to the fact that Jamie was the one who ok'd to have the work done which then meant that they did not need to talk to Devon. At this time we basically didnt know how to help, the shop would not talk to Devon or tell him where the rear end was sent to. The parts that Jamie sent back were inspected and not defective or show signs of failure, When Jamie decided to get back in touch with Devon it was 2 months later, by this time the deal was all said and done with including being paid for. Finally recieving the invoice from Performance Tune and Auto Repair the only parts that were duplicated were the ring and pinnon and bearing kit, our cost to Straightlines Restoration in Tea SD, who we initaially did the work for was $428.50 for those parts. Performance Tune and Auto repair charged him $739.03.

Dales A-1 Transmission has no problem standing behind there work, sometimes even when the work is out of warranty. If it is properly diagnosed,if we are informed on what is going on, where the work is being done, and talking to the technician that is woking on the unit, and lastly Dales A-1 Transmission is the one who give's the ok to have work completed if we are going to be the one paying the bill. In conclusion Jamie Williams origanlly wanted just parts paid for, when there were no failure to the parts, and being over one year out of warranty and also never talking to the technician or the shop that was actually doing the work. Jamie is now asking for a re-embersment of over the amount that we were ever paid for . In my understanding Jamie Williams is asking to be reimberssed for work that was never done, and for more than what Dales A-1 Transmission ever recieved in payment. We at Dales A-1 Transmission are at a stand still at this time and really are not sure what he is expecting, but dont think it is right to pay for something we had no control over, or any say in the matter. We do thank you for your time and getting our side of the story.

Dales A-1 Transmission was willing to overnight parts to Performance Tune Auto Repair but not being able to talk to anyone we did not know what to do. Further indications showed that it was not the parts that failed, and with the work being done three years prior and not knowing what all happened in that three years its hard to waranty a job like this. It states on our invoice that warranty on parts and labor is two years or 24,000 miles whichever comes first. Our invoice also states that warranty work has to be performed in our shop and cannot exceed the original cost of repair. Thank you again, Dales A-1 Transmission Devon Long ~attached is a copy of our invoice (Dales A-1 Transmission for straightline auto body and also the invoice from performance tune auto repair)