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Review 3/10/2010
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I have two complaints about Culver Automotive:
1) I was promised a ten month warranty and did not receive it.
2) Culver Automotive's site, http://www.culverautom..., stated prior to March 5, 2010 that the business is "AAA approved". It is not "AAA approved" per the American Automobile Association's web site and employees I spoke with at the shop. For this reason, I imagine one could make a false advertising claim against the company. "AAA approved" implies the shop meets certain "high standards" and "guaranteed repairs" per the American Automobile Association's web site.
For the details for my experience, please read on...
On February 20th, 2010 I brought a Toyota Corolla into Culver Automotive for service. After the mechanic (I believe his name was Alex) diagnosed the car, several services were recommended. Approved work included front brake/rotor replacement, cleaning and adjustment of rear brakes, battery replacement, fuel injection service, and a few other small items. I asked for a discount, as I was having more than one service performed. Spiro, the man who handled my service at the desk, agreed to a 10% discount on parts.
I asked Spiro about a warranty for the services I chose to have done. Spiro was not able to answer my warranty question. He left the desk to inquire about a warranty. He stated, "We will warranty the work for 10 months, it just changed." I accepted the ten month warranty and asked for it in writing. Spiro stated he would give me the warranty in writing.
After work was completed, I collected the car and my receipt. Spiro stated an oil change and tire rotation was done at 'no charge'. These services are not documented on my receipt, but there is a new oil change reminder sticker on the windshield. No written warranty was included.
I pulled over and called Spiro five minutes after leaving Culver Automotive. Spiro apologized for not including a written warranty. Since I had already left the shop, I asked Spiro to mail the warranty to my address on the receipt. Spiro agreed to mail the receipt to my home address.
As of March 6th, 2010, I have received no warranty.
On the website, http://www.culverautom..., it stated the shop is "AAA approved", when I read it on 2/19, 2/20, 3/2/, and 3/4. I wrote the owner, Dimitry Kamar, questioning him about this statement on the website on 3/2. I received no reply. I re-sent the mail on 3/4 and labeled it "Second attempt to contact..." On 3/5 the website was not loading properly. I could hear audio advertising their services, but no understandable text could be read. Here is an excerpt from the site, as it reads today, 3/6:
"Warning: include(/qpsmenu.html) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in C:\inetpub\vhosts\http://culverautomotiv...\httpdocs\index.php on line 79"
I called Culver Automotive on March 6th, 2010. Spiro was not working. I spoke to Dimitry Kamar, company president. Dimitry denied receiving my emails and suggested they may have been delivered directly to his spam folder. He stated he does not read his spam mail and empties the folder daily.
I offered to re-send the emails and re-call Dimitry in 15 minutes. He agreed. I called Dimirty back. He stated Culver Automotive will warranty the work done for 6 months or 6,000 miles. He stated that he spoke to Spiro between our two phone calls. Dimitry stated that Spiro denied agreeing to give me a ten month warranty. I asked Dimitry how his customers know about their 6 month/6,000 mile warranty policy. He stated, "It is just known."
I asked Dimitry if he was aware that his web site is not working properly. Dimitry stated that he had asked for work to be done on the site. He stated, "It is down all the time, we update it frequently".
I find it suspicious that the site is not properly the day after I sent my second email, making an inquiry about the "AAA approved" statement. Dimitry stated that their shop has a "AAA rating" from the BBB.
Upon checking the Better Business Bureau's website, the shop does have an A+ rating. I believe "AAA approved" means something entirely different and is a well known term in the auto industry. AAA approval implies certain things as outlined on the American Automobile Association's web site.
I told Dimitry that I suspect dishonesty from Culver Automotive. Dimitry stated, with a raised voice, "What are you finding dishonest, John?!. I stated I would be ending the call and I thanked Dimitry for his time.
These are the facts surrounding my experience with Culver Automotive. The Corolla has been running fine and I have no reason to think the repairs have not been done well. You may want to consider my experience when choosing a place to have your car serviced.
I consider a customer review on http://Yelp.com to be important and I try to be fair. If anyone understands "AAA approved" to mean something different, let me know. The promise of a ten month warranty has proved to be false.
The above text was written on 3/6/10. Update: culverautomotive.com still states that the shop is "AAA approved" and it is not!
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