Mel Clayton Ford - Paid for Questionable Repairs. Laid Blame on Power Dodge. Bad Custome Service. Phoenix Arizona

I am writing because I would like to express my overwhelming disappointment in the service I received at Mel Clayton Fords service department. I had the unfortunate experience of having someone break into my car and try to steal it while I was at work. I discovered the break-in on October 18th, 2007. At that point I decided to have my car towed into Mel Clayton for repairs.

On the 18th of October I got a call from Mr. Steve Borrego (not sure if that is how you spell his last name) asking me what my car was there for. I proceeded to tell him my situation and the reasons why the car was there. The car's rear-driver-side window was busted out and the ignition column was pretty beat up. My car wouldn't start up at the jobsite so that was the reason why it was towed in. I explained my situation with my insurance company; I have a $1000 deductible. I told him that more than likely I would be paying for most of it out of pocket. He told me he understood and that he would try to keep the costs under $1000.

In the meantime, I filed a claim with my insurance company and they sent out an appraiser. The appraiser estimated the damages at roughly $600. It was then that I knew I'd be paying for the repairs myself. Steve seemed like he really cared.

But over the next few days, my perception of him changed. I was told by Mr. Borrego that my car would be ready within a week. That week turned into a little over 2 weeks; 17 days, which is understandable. I know that in the process of repairing a vehicle there are unplanned problems that may arise.

What really contributed to my disappointment was that they only way that I found out about these delays was by calling Mel Clayton's service department myself. There were quite a few times where I called and left a message for Steve. Not once did I receive a call back. I even had to leave a message with the secretary at the front desk and ask her to hand deliver the message to Mr. Borrego. But he didn't respond to that either.

On two separate occasions I had to get on the bus and ride over there just to find out what was going on. Mr. Borrego assured me that they were trying to get things done. I was also told that they were having problems starting the vehicle. But I was told that they were working on it and it should be ready soon. I was told that he would call me when it was ready.

I finally got a call telling me that my car was ready on Monday the 5th of November. But the weird thing was that they called my parents home. At that point I had to wait until the 8th before I could pick up my vehicle. I paid $800 on the 7th and then the final $200 on the 8th.

Well, here's where the real trouble begins. I went to pick up my car on the 8th. I waited for a good 15minutes before the car was pulled around to the front for me to drive home. I was later told that the reason it took so long for them to bring around the car was because they were having trouble starting it. I then drove my car home. I got home and turned off the car. Out of curiosity I decided that I should try and start the car again. I tried and it started, but a few seconds later it turned off. It didn't sputter or anything, it just turned off; like it did when my car was originally broken into. I knew then that the car was no where near being repaired.

I then called Mel Clayton back and asked to speak to Steve. I again got his voice mail. I call back to the service desk and tell the secretary whats going on. She says that she will let Steve know. I wait for a call back. Nothing. I am finally told, after I call back, by the secretary that Steve is on the line with the guy who reprogrammed the key. I am told that the guy will come out to my house and have a look at the vehicle.

Well when that guy, Marc, gets there he starts up the car. It starts without a problem. I find this very odd. He leaves and I tell him I;m sorry. A few minutes pass and I was going to go to the store but the car won't start again. I call the key guy, Marc, back and let him know what's happening. He tells me over the phone that it's nothing that he did. He tells me that he programmed everything correctly and that I should have the car taken back to Mel Clayton.

I then call Mel Clayton but can't get a hold of Steve. So instead of leaving a message I asked my Dad to drive me over there so that I could speak to someone in charge. I got to Mel Clayton and ended up speaking to Justin. Justin told me he was the shop foreman. I told him the situation. I told him that I picked up my car that day and that it was no longer working. I told him that I had just picked it up and that it wasn't starting. I also told him that I did not think that they repaired it correctly and that someone should have a look at it.

Justin then goes out to speak with the tech that worked on the vehicle. A few minutes go by and Justin returns. He tells me that they will send the tech out in the morning (Nov. 9th) and they should be there no later than 10am. I wake up early in the morning and wait for the tech to arrive. During that time I decided to see if it would start. It did. I then decided to take if for a test run. At this time it drove down the road and back. I thought that maybe it was a small glitch. But when I parked it and turned off the engine it wouldn't start again. I couldn't drive an unreliable car around.

It's about 1130am and the tech finally arrives. I tell Burt about my morning test run. I ask him to go ahead and start it and if he could take it for a drive. But as soon as he starts it the engine dies after a few seconds. After that it wouldn't even start. So I let Burt do his work. He has a look at the vehicle and tells me that there is nothing that he can do here. So I ask him if they're going to tow it back in. He then calls Justin and asks him what he's going to do. He asks Justin if they can get me into a loaner. But we don't get any answers over the phone. Justin says that he'll call me back within a few minutes.

While Burt was waiting to speak with Justin I explain that I had no more money to cover the cost of further repairs, he tells me that they (i.e. Mel Clayton) should cover it. I wait an hour and a half and did not get a call back. I am the one who had to call and ask to speak to Justin. I ask him what they're going to do. I get a very negative response. I was told that there was nothing that they could do. I was told that everyone there at Mel Clayton did their job right and that if there needs to be anything done I still needed to cover the costs.

I do not feel that I should have had to cover towing expenses or further work up. I felt like the Mel Clayton service team should have told me that they would bring the car in and have it looked at without arguing with me. But I was also told by Justin that perhaps the problem was a longstanding problem. I told him there was no possible way.

The reason why Justin said that was because in the beginning of this year I purchased the vehicle at Power Dodge on Bell Road, at that time the car's PCM had given out. But Power Dodge covered the costs and had it replaced. Since then I had no problem with my vehicle. I thought it was really unfair and pathetic for Justin to pin the problems on Power Dodge. I explained to him that there could be no way for that to occur. I explained how I haven't had any problems prior to my vehicle being broken into. I told him that I paid $1000 for repair on my vehicle. I told him that I paid because I was told by your staff that my vehicle was ready. I told him that I did not think it fair that I should put out more money for work that I had already paid for. I feel that I paid just to be able to drive my car home and that was it.

During this whole ordeal I felt no one wanted to take responsibility for anything. I got a lot of resistance and negativity from Justin, Steve and Marc (the key guy). The only person who I felt understood my position and tried to empathize with me was Burt. He tried to advocate for me when no one else would.

In the end, after going around in a circle with Justin I told him that I was done. I told him that I would NEVER recommend Mel Clayton to anyone. I let them know how horrible the service was and that I paid for repairs on a car that was never repaired.

By the end of that conversation I was crying. I was out of $1000 and still sitting with a non-functioning car. I was relying on Mel Clayton to get my car working so that I can transport my daughter, who incidentally just got hit by a car, around to her doctor appointments. Overall, Mel Claytons team of professionals made my situation that much more stressful when it should not have been.

That same day, November 9th, I had my car towed to Power Dodge in order to have it properly repaired. I explained my situation and experience with Mel Clayton. I also told them that I wanted to know specifically what was wrong with the vehicle and whether or not Mel Clayton should/could have fixed it. It turns out the SKM module needed to be replaced because some one tampered with it. I also needed to pay for a new key because, according to the personnel at Power Dodge, the key that Mel Clayton replaced was non-functioning. It is not compatible with a Dodge vehicle. I'm not sure what was done to my vehicle at Mel Clayton but I certainly would like to know.

Chas
Phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.

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