Ted Wiens Tire And Auto Center Ted Wiens lied about multiple parts being broken, then didn't even fix them! Took advantage of an out-of-towner! Las Vegas Nevada

On the evening of 6/29 my car would not start after trying to jump start it. I took my car into Ted Wiens Auto Center (Fort Apache Rd. & Flamingo Rd.) on 6/30. They called the next day on 7/1 to tell me that they would have to do a diagnostic for $90 to assess the problem. After they did the diagnostic, they said it was a bad crank sensor and that they would have to replace that plus the water pump and timing belt because they are in the way of the crank sensor to quote the manager Steve. I asked if they needed to be replaced to get the car to start, he said no because the water pump was not broken but he did say the belt had dry cracks on it. I authorized the crank sensor and the belt to be replaced, but not the water pump.

This was at 9 am and he told me the car would be done that day. I heard nothing from Steve after that, so my boyfriend went up to the shop unannounced to see what was going on and said they did not touch the car the whole day. He also spoke to a witness who said he did not see them work on the car at all either. When I got there shortly before close, Anthony, the mechanic, was just then hooking up the diagnostic computer to the car. Steve changed his story was now saying that it was a fuel pump that was the issue. I asked him wasn't that what the $90 diagnostic was for to detect the issue, he didn't have an explanation for me, just that they now needed to replace the fuel pump. I authorized that as well.

I came to pick up the car on 7/2 and the general manager, Roger Corbeille handed me the bill and it was $1132.88. I asked why I was being charged for the previous things, such as the crank sensor and timing belt, when they misdiagnosed the problem and it was actually a fuel pump. He immediately got defensive with me. I asked for the old timing belt back and when I saw it, it looked fine, no dry cracks at all. I believe they replaced it anyway to charge me over $300 in labor. I asked him to take the belt off the bill since they had lied to me and he did, but only after some resistance. I also questioned him about the crank sensor, he claims it was broken but refused to show me the old one. He also refused to give me my keys until I signed the credit card slip, despite the fact that I still had questions about the charges. I signed it because I had to get home to California, as I had already missed 3 days of work and my boyfriend had been fired from his job because they had not worked on the car at all on 7/1.

I made it home fine, but on 7/3 when I tried to start the car, it would not start. I called Roger to let him know it was still not fixed and to ask for a refund, he accused me of lying about it not starting, told me he was done with me, and hung up. I called the corporate manager, Carlos Rodreiguez and he told me he would refund my money and to call him after the car was done being repaired at VW. I had my car towed to my trusted VW dealership here, and my mechanic Norman told me that I needed a new fuel pump! I explained my situation to him and he told me that my fuel pump was never replaced at Ted Wiens, he said he believes it was my old fuel pump and they just cleaned it out (a common scam at auto repair places). He also said the connector housing was cracked. I was charged $585 for a repair that was supposed to have been done at Ted Wiens.

I called Carlos again on 7/6 to update him on the status of the car, but this time he was very rude and told me he would not refund my money. I asked him why and he said he would refund only the price of the fuel pump if I sent it back to him. He claimed to have had my old fuel pump with him, but that is impossible seeing as how I have it. Seeing as how I had already been lied to by their company, I told him I was not comfortable with that and I needed it for evidence (should I have to take them to court). At this point, I don't even know if the crank sensor was even broken at all since they would not show it to me, lied about the timing belt, and the fuel pump. I feel they took advantage of me because I was from out of town and they knew that I could not easily come right back to Las Vegas. I myself have been in the customer service industry for over 10 years and I find this absolutely unacceptable and hope that no one else becomes victimized by them.

Sadie
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.