Sears

August 11, 2010

To Whom It May Concern:

I have an unfortunate occurrence to report to you that occurred on July 27, 2010 at your Palm Desert Auto Center (44430 Town Center Way, Palm Desert, CA 92260).

The service person informed me that I needed a new battery, after I described that my car engine would quit while driving and then would restart again, in a few minutes.

When I left, the same thing occurred, so I returned immediately and they decided I needed a new alternator.

The total cost to me is $490.76, plus an entire day of lost wages, $272.00. Copies of all documents and photos are available. (they were too large to upload).

When I drove home, the car was still idling low. I brought my Toyota Solara 2002 to my personal mechanic. He found that the PVC Hose was loosened, which really created this problem. I was misled to believe that I needed a new battery and an alternator. My mechanic also discovered that I did not need an alternator, nor were their signs that I needed a new alternator. Also, I paid for a rebuilt alternator, not a new alternator. Their alternator was spray painted, made in China, NOT a Toyota alternator, which lasts the life time of the car. In fact, all that was required was a simple fix of clamping the hose (photo available), which my mechanic performed free of charge. They also informed me that my AC compressor needed to be replaced. This is not true.

I am not sure if this situation occurred because of poorly trained mechanics or outright fraud. Either way, I was duped out of $490.76 and the loss of my day’s wages. When I found out that I was intentionally misled, I was very disappointed in Sears Corporation, as a whole. I specifically went to Sears Auto Center, because as a woman travelling alone, I thought it would be a reliable and trustworthy company.

Please refund my money immediately, or I will be compelled to report this incident to the Better Business Bureau and www.autorepair.ca.gov. There are also multiple web sights to share and warn other potential customers, as well as, family and friends.

Sincerely,

Jessica Krieger

[protected]@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 431
Placentia, CA 92871

Our 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 79, 056 miles developed an over heating problem on May 30, 2009 after driving about 95 miles fom o.c. to palm desert. My wife, daughter and grandson where in the car. AAA came out to check the car and advised us to have car pressure tested at repr shop. The closest to us was sears auto center. I have never used sears for my auto repairs but have been a loyal sears consumer for over 40 years, washers, dryers, refrigerators, tools, etc.. We thought it might be the thermostat. We took it into Sears and was told pressure check couldn't be done til sunday, so we left car overnite. Next day they called and said we had a hole in the radiator and needed new one, rough estimatewas around $500 to $600. That was hoses, thermostat, radiator and coolant. We had to wait for them to ship in the parts. They called us Sunday night and said there was a problem with the fan clutch and water pump. While the mechanic, Ismael was taking all these parts off to remove the radiator, they stripped the bolt that holds the fan clutch to the water pump and it couldn't be used again. He said they had to use an air chisel to remove a standard bolt, which had many deep holes in it. The weren't going to charge for any additional labor just parts. We had to agree as the car was apart at that time. I told the sales mgr and mechanic to make sure everything was right because my wife, daughter and 14 mo old grandson are driving back to Orange County 95 miles next day, they assured me it would be perfect. We had to wait now another day for the additional parts because of the bolt being stripped. They also charged for new serpintine belt that was only 1 yr old, water pump-$108, fan clutch-$71.41, dh ribbed belt $26.09.charged $187.50 to install radiator. We picked up the car on Monday night, got home and noticed the hood was crooked. Had to drive back for them to check it out. The bolt was put on crooked so the hood wouldn't latch straight, they fixed that and off we go again. We spend the night because too late to leave. Up early Tuesday, load the car with everything we need, including the baby and dog and get ready to leave. We noticed that the coolant light was back on. Head back up to Sears to have it check again. They put the pressure test on and the entire radiator is leaking fluid! Now they have to order another radiator. Well, long story short, come to find out, it wasn't a faulty radiator that was installed, it was never replaced! Two different guys were working on the car, one did the fan and the pump and the other assumed the radiator was done but wasn't. As one of the workers pointed out, "I guess we should have done the pressure test." If they had they would have seen that it was not done. Thank goodness we paid attention to our car as we would have blown the entire engine and would have been stuck on the freeway with the baby and dog and as the manager said, "Sears would have been buying us a new engine!" We had to spend another day in Palm Desert and miss work at our jobs. We finally were able to leave Tuesday early evening. Sears had our car from sat nite til Monday nite and then almost all day Tuesday. The total charges were $973.07. We would like to be reimbursed for parts they messed up. The water pump, fan clutch, belt which was a total of $205.50.