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Report: #929024

Complaint Review: Rod's Auto Shop - Topeka Kansas

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  • Reported By: someguyinks — Kansas United States of America
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  • Rod's Auto Shop 700 Ne Us Highway 24 Topeka, Kansas United States of America

Rod's Auto Shop The rod shop broke my car, dishonest, lied, not professional Topeka, Kansas

*Consumer Comment: Vastly Improved

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My wife had been going there for years and recommended several people and 10s of thousands of dollars of business to Rod.  We took her car there when the A/C stopped working, thinking that they were an honest crew and wouldn't try to screw us over.  It ended up being the evaporator core, and they quoted us $700 to fix it.  We gave them the go ahead, with the understanding it would be done in 2 days.  It took them much more than that.

My mother-in-law and wife picked it up and paid for it.  When my wife got home, I go out to look at it.  First thing I notice is that there is a chunk of plastic broken off next to the gear selector.  I then look under the dash (the evaporator is behind the dash and requires pulling the dash to replace it) and notice that the panels on both sides are just dangling loose.  I gently pull on one and it just falls off, I notice that there is a wire hanging loose under it.  The clips that hold these panels are all broken, the plastic had been cracked and several clips are gone.  There is also a trim piece completely missing under the steering wheel.  It was as if instead of pulling the fasteners, they just grabbed the dash and yanked and pried until it broke apart.  AND TO TOP IT OFF, her airbag (SRS) light is on. 

So, I take it back and explain that they need to at least fix the airbag, that it was UNACCEPTABLE for them to leave something like that unplugged.  The first visit, they look at it, and tell me "That's not the airbag light, that's the SRS light"  WHAT THE f**k??? THE SRS IS THE AIRBAG!!!  He then says, "Well, I think it might have been on before",  It WASN'T.

Well, they sink a few screws to hold the loose panels in place, but do nothing to fix the airbags, or the broken and missing pieces and clips.  

For the second return visit it's just my wife.  She gives me a call after being attacked by the mechanic who did the work, so that I can talk to him.  He tells me "I guarantee you that I did not leave any wires disconnected."  That the airbag light is not their fault.  THIS JUST SENT ME OVER THE EDGE, cause I had had to reconnect one wire myself, the day she brought it back, so I know that there were wires unplugged.  He tells me that he is an "EXPERT" at doing dashes and that I need to watch myself when I question his ability.  I explain that I don't know what his training or skills are, just that I saw one example of his work, and it was TERRIBLE.  

On the third visit, this guy proceeds to tell me that he had actually not been the one to put it back together, he just took it apart and replaced the evap core.  They also don't fix the light, or the broken pieces of my dash and console.

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WARNING TO ALL CONSUMERS:  Any shop that would have one person take something apart and another put it back together (especially on something complicated such as a dash) is to be AVOIDED.  There is going to be a lot of stuff missing if a different guy gets moved to the job.  I have worked in several shops before, and they would NEVER make someone different put it it back together.
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Finally, on the fourth visit, they took it to a shop that had the right computer to read the code behind the light, and sure enough, the airbag light was on because they had left the passenger airbag unplugged.  Finally they fixed it and returned it to us, but it took way too many return trips, and we were treated horribly while trying to get it fixed.  

IN CONCLUSION:  I would NEVER recommend anyone take their car here for these reasons:
- They don't care if they break things on your car, they will just return it to you with parts hanging loose and wires disconnected.- When you bring it back, they will say anything to avoid having to fix the problem they caused, like, "I'm pretty sure that light was on when we started" (There was no way in hell it was)

- They will call you a liar, while lying to you themselves 
- They will have different people working on different stages of the work, thereby EXPONENTIALLY increasing the chances that a wire or bolt is forgotten or misplaced.
- They will INSULT your wife (Rod literally came into waiting room and asked my wife if I was her son, I mean WTF, that is just retarded, and not something you say if you're not sure)
- I really expected better after paying them $700 of my hard-earned money.  There are other shops out there, I would suggest you look for them.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 08/18/2012 07:04 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/rods-auto-shop/topeka-kansas-66608/rods-auto-shop-the-rod-shop-broke-my-car-dishonest-lied-not-professional-topeka-kansa-929024. 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 Consumer Comment

Vastly Improved

AUTHOR: Bruce - ()

POSTED: Friday, May 20, 2016

The Rod Shop has vastly improved since the new owner has replaced the old. I brought my 97 Buick in 2 weeks ago when I started it in the morning and it made a squealing noise under the hood. I'm always weary of driving my car when something may be wrong with it (once you blow a motor once, you'll never do it again). The Rod Shop is the closest mechanic to my house, so I brought it in, even though I had some poor experiences with them in the past. I just wanted them to diagnose it.

I was greeted by Alan, the new owner, and he is a great guy. I don't know if I have met a friendlier person and he made me feel like the place had completely changed. So they went ahead and diagnosed it and it turned out I needed a new serpentine belt. Based on my new impression of the place, I gave Alan and his guys a chance to fix it.

He made sure to follow up with me throughout the repair and I even got my car fixed in an hour! I thought the cost of the repair was super cheap compared to prices I found online. They did it for $55 and everywhere online estimated it should cost about $100! And my car is running perfect again!

I must say, I had issues with Rod in the past, but the new owner is a pleasent breathe of fresh air.. I feel like can trust The Rod Shop as long as Alan is around. I'll definitely be using them to take care of my car from now on.

I know another user had a poor experience with Rodney, but you must go back and give Alan and his boys a go. It really is a terrific shop that valued my business. Also the prices can't be beat.

As for everyone else, make sure to try the Rod Shop and see for yourself. As a NOTO resident I'm glad we have another unique service that makes our community great.

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