March 30, 2018
To: Better Business Bureau
RE: Complaint ID # 12708905
In regards to the above mentioned complaint number, the response to this complaint is below.
During the process of working on the customer’s truck, I spoke to him numerous times on the phone, text back and forth and customer stopped in every few days to check progress.
The customer brought his truck to the shop stating that diesel was getting into the coolant and that he thought it was just the injector o-rings that needed replaced like he had done before. I tried to explain to him that this could not repair the problem that he was having. The injector o-rings separate the supply fuel, return fuel, oil and compression. The injector tube and o-rings separate the coolant. (see diagram from Detroit shop manual)There is no way that replacing these o-rings will repair the fuel in coolant problem. Only failed injector tubes or tube o-rings can cause this problem, which was the case in this matter. The tubes had holes in them and allowed fuel to be pushed into the coolant and when the truck was shut off, allowing coolant to be pushed back into the fuel system, which caused damage to the injectors when the engine sat and was started again. The customer had driven this truck from Gonzales to Cuero knowing it had this problem.
In regards to the tool mentioned by the customer, we did purchase a tool for removing the injector cups on this specific truck (which the customer was not charged for) that was to allow the injector cups to be removed without having to remove the head. However, we also found out after removing the rocker assembly that the valves were sticking up higher on #1 cylinder, meaning that the valve seats were failing and allowing the valves to go up into the head too far. I advised the customer by text that a new cylinder head was needed and would cost $2500 for that part alone. He requested an estimate to include the labor for removing and replacing the cylinder head and I advised him with labor and parts it would be approximately $4725 and that this did not include any of the other repairs or parts.
After installing the new cylinder head, we put the old injectors back in. The truck was running rough and smoking, so I determined we needed to check the injectors. I did not have a computer connector for this specific truck so I had to check injectors with a laser heat detector and found injector #1 and #6 to be bad. I advised the customer and replaced these two injectors. The truck ran better but was still running rough. In the meantime, I ordered the computer connector that would allow me to perform the computer injector cut out test. I received the connector and ran an injector cutout test which showed that injector #4 was not functioning properly. I advised the customer that the remaining injectors needed to be replaced. I ordered those injectors in order to get the truck in proper running condition since customer kept asking when truck would be completed so he could send his driver to pick up the truck. However, when he was advised that the additional injectors had been ordered, the customer stated that he did not want the new injectors. He was advised that the truck would not run properly without them. The customer text back a picture of some refurbished injectors he could get on Ebay and I told him if he wanted to get them, then we would install those instead. At this point the customer advised that he was in a bind and just wanted the truck put back together. He said he did not want the additional new injectors even though he was informed that the truck would not run properly.
Only the two injectors #1 and #6 were replaced with new ones. The customer came and paid his bill with a credit card and picked up the truck despite it running rough. The customer left with the truck even after being advised that it could do further damage with the bad injector. While the customer was still at the shop, I offered to install the injector #4 that I had at my shop for no labor cost, just the cost of the injector and he still declined. The customer had problems trying to drive the truck back to the yard he works from and we sent one of our mechanics out to get it started back up. The customer advised our mechanicat that time that he would take the truck elsewhere to have them replace the #4 injector and see if that was the problem. We had not heard back from the customer until we received the letter from BBB.
In regards to the labor hours the customer is claiming are too high for the job performed, please see copy of page from the MOTOR Truck & Van Labor Time Guide, that specifies for this truck, thatJUST forremoving and replacing the cylinder head, takes 28.8 hours in labor. We had a lot more time in this job than 36 hours we charged for as the cooling system was flushed several additional times over several hours to make sure that all of the fuel was out of the system for which we did not charge the customer. We bought a special tool as well as a computer connector, just for this truck that was not charged to the customer. We have never had a problem with this customer before as they mainly only purchased parts from us and did the repair work themselves. We are not in the business of overcharging customers and trying to add extra parts to the job. We care about our customers and our goal is to repair the customer’s vehicle to proper running condition in a timely manner. By no means would we do anything on purpose to make a customer’s vehicle not drivable or cause harm to it.
In regards to the customer requesting copies of our vendor invoices; that is not something we have ever been asked to do. The parts numbers that are on the invoice given to the customer are the part numbers provided to us by our vendor. So if a customer is looking to compare prices, they are welcome to do so. So we do not understand why the customer would want copies of our vendor invoices even if they have the prices marked out. He claims he needs them for his records. As we explained to him, if he has a problem with a part on his vehicle and it is still under warranty, we are the ones that have to contact our vendor to obtain a replacement part as it was sold directly to us.
We hope that this answers all questions that the customer had and that he can see that we did not overcharge him. The customer and his family have always been extremely polite when coming to purchase parts from us and it is unfortunate that he feels this way towards myself and my business.
*If needed, we do have copies of the text conversations between myself and the customer that we can provide.
Sincerely,
Wesley Schmidt
Race Ready Truck Service