ComplaintsforThe Lift Garage

• Initial Complaint

  07/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In March 2024, I brought my 2014 ********** Jetta to The Lift Garage for repairs. The Lift is a nonprofit organization that claims to help low income individuals with affordable and trustworthy car repairs. The auto repairs I needed were a timing belt, water pump, and front right CV axle. When I got my car back, they gave me a report stating the brakes were in excellent condition and that all repairs were complete. 2 months later, my brake light comes on so I brought it to the ** dealership for diagnostics. They said my brake pads were dangerously low and that I had a significant oil leak on the timing belt. So The Lift was negligent and let me drive on unsafe brakes, plus they improperly installed the timing belt. The improperly installed timing belt caused further damage to my crankshaft and camshaft as well. I brought my car back to The Lift for a "recheck" and they confirmed the car was leaking on the timing belt, crankshaft and camshaft, however claimed it had absolutely nothing to do with the work they did. I brought it to a ** shop and they said it was directly related to their horrible install. I got my car fixed at the ** shop and they said not only did The Lift improperly install the belt, they did not even replace the water pump and left several bolts, including the pulley and motor mount bolts, extremely loose. Once again, they have been negligent and these infractions could have lead to serious damage or worse, physical injury/car accident. They charged me and claimed to do work that they did not do, they failed to do a proper safety inspection, and they damaged my vehicle, costing me thousands of dollars and several days without a car which lead to loss of wages. I am a single mother of two special needs children and feel they took advantage of me. Upon looking at their ****** reviews, this is not the first time they've claimed to do work and did not, and many others have had similar experiences where they receive their car back in worse condition.

  Business response

  07/23/2024

  The customer came to us in June for a recheck of the work done at our shop in March. We did determine upon recheck that the cam and crankshaft seals were leaking oil and contaminating the timing belt we had installed in March. We offered to replace the timing belt under warranty but not until the seals were repaired. Replacing cam and crank seals is not a repair job that we do at The Lift Garage. We did not replace them at the time of the timing belt job. The customer states that another shop told her that the timing belt was installed incorrectly. However, an improperly installed timing belt would cause the car to run poorly, if at all. The customer did not mention rough running of the vehicle when she brought it for a recheck. She told us of an oil leak at the timing cover, which we verified. Since we did not replace the seals it is highly unlikely that our work would have caused them to leak. With ******* miles on the car, it's possible that the seals are just worn out. Customer later contacted us to ask for a refund on the timing belt job. Out of customer service, we agreed and promptly refunded the customer ******.  On Fri July 19th in the afternoon, the customer left a voicemail asking for a full refund on her ticket.  We were short staffed on Friday afternoon and were not able to listen to voicemails until Monday morning July 22nd. So before we had a chance to respond to the customers request, the customer filed a ******************** complaint, posted multiple negative posts about us on social media and other sites. I had back to back meetings on Monday the 22nd that prevented me from reaching out so I reached out to the customer July 23 and offered, out of customer service, to refund the remaining balance on her ticket which was $166.78. I told the customer that a check would go out to her by the end of the week. I asked the customer for copies of paperwork/pics of parts from the other shop so that I can have verification and information about what the other shop has said.

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