Kwik Kar

I would like to share my recent experiences for my auto repairs at Kwik Kar Lube & Tune #114 at 12380 Barker Cypress Rd at 290 in Cypress, TX . The owner is Albert Lee and his family. His current Better Business Bureau rating is currently unsatisfactory. My current BBB complaint ID# is 6952149. I have also filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney Generals Office based on the following points listed below.

http://houston.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=148&bbb=0915&firm=130030177

The Consumer Protection Act includes sections that deal with auto repairs. I have submitted my complaint to the Texas Attorney Generals office against Albert Lee and his company Kwik Kar Lube & Tune #114 based on the following points. Under this law, it is illegal to:
1) Knowingly make a false or misleading statement about the need for parts, replacement or repair service.
2) State that work has been done or parts were replaced when that is not true.
3) Represent that goods are original or new, when in fact they are second-hand or refurbished.

Here are the facts and my painful story. Please do not let this outfit scam other people.

We have been taking our Suburban to this auto repair shop since 2003 mostly for oil changes and minor repairs. On 5/15/2008 we had a loud noise in the rear of the Suburban so my wife took the car to Kwik Kar Lube & Tune and they stated that the rear end differential needed to be rebuilt - cost ~$2, 500. Kwik Kar stated that there were no other issues (including the drive shaft/automatic transmission/u-joints, etc.) We discussed the issue in detail and I gave them permission to rebuild only the rear end differential based on our discussion. On 5/16/2008 I received a call from the Kwik Kar Lube & Tune stating that they did not really check the transmission and that both the transmission AND the read end differential had to be rebuilt - cost ~$5, 200 (Kwik Kar Invoice# 1589438). I was able to negotiate down to $4, 679 however I had a suspicion that these guys were not doing the right thing. We needed the Suburban and we needed to get it fixed so I agreed to have them repair both the transmission and differential - Big Mistake.

The final straw came on 9/2/2008, my wife was taking my daughter to school and she heard a loud popping sound coming from the rear of the Suburban. My wife called me and asked me what to do and I said to call Kwik Kar Lube & Tune #114 at 12380 Barker Cypress Rd at 290 – dumb idea. Kwik Kar came out and towed the Suburban. On 9/3/2008 I received a call from the owner Albert Lee and he stated that the drive shaft assembly, pinion bearing bearing and u-joint assembly was bad and needed replacing. His initial quote was between $700 and $1, 400 (depending on what repairs I agreed to). I asked him several times if the problem had anything to do with the repairs that were completed back in May 2008 and he stated no that these were new problems and his warranty did not cover this new problem. From this point I was extremely suspicious since I just spent almost $5, 000 on a new rear end and transmission and three and a half months later the drive shaft assembly, pinion bearing and u-joint assembly was bad and needed replacing. I met Albert at his store on Friday, September 6 at about 3:15 PM. The only item that I authorized him to complete was to generate a repair quote (quote only – no work) that included what needed to be repaired along with a written sentence on the quote that said that these repairs were not a part of the warranty work that was completed in May 2008. I also requested his initials on the quote. I went back up to the store at ~6:15 PM Friday evening (about three hours later) and he showed me a repair quote for $584. He wanted me to ok the quote and for Kwik Kar I asked him to print the quote and sign the repair quote. Albert was really squirming, would not look me into my eyes and would not generate a quote. After 30 minutes of discussion he changed his story and stated that he fixed all the work including drive shaft assembly, pinion bearing, u-joint assembly and differential gasket & assembly (Kwik Kar Invoice# 1910734) and that all he wanted was a happy customer - total garbage. On 9/4/08 unfortunately we forgot to retrieve our remote garage door opener from the loaner car and we had to go back to see Albert at Kwik Kar. While my wife and I were waiting Albert stated that he had done yet another repair on our Suburban in which he replaced our parking shoes (Kwik Kar Invoice# 1910800) – again no approval or authorization from my wife or I.

I did have the Service Manager for Goodyear who is ASE Certified inspect the Suburban on Monday, September 8, 2008.

Additional points include:

- Based on the inspection of the Goodyear Services Manager who is ASE Certified he stated the following: 1) Drive shaft is not one week old – it still has body undercoating sprayed on the drive shaft (original equipment) 2) U-joints have no grease fittings – all replacement u-joints will have grease fittings unless they are from the dealership. Goodyear stated that they would never use dealer parts since the cost would be 3X’s the cost 3) Pinion bolt threads are rusty – if these were new parts then they would not be rusty 4) Rear housing is “wet” at rear but dry at the pinion nut. If these items were replaced you would see wetness at the pinion nut.

- I told Albert Lee/Kwik Kar that I did not agree or give him authorization to complete this work and that the only item that I agreed to was him generating and signing a quote – we agreed NO WORK WAS TO BE COMPLETED! Why did he do the work when I did not authorize him to do the work? Albert provided no good answer.

- I asked him to show me all the old parts that he removed from the Suburban and he stated that he had already submitted them for a credit. He did not have any of the old parts available since they have been submitted for credit (after only 3 hours). I confirmed with the Goodyear Services Manager and he stated that they do not receive any core credit for any parts that were described above and usually it is the next day at the earliest before they pick-up the old parts. At the Goodyear auto shop they pick-up his entire core parts once every week.

- On a Friday afternoon at 3:15 PM how did he order the parts/have parts delivered/installed the parts/credit the parts in three hour span? The Goodyear Service Manager stated that it would take five or six hours at a minimum to do the work described above.

- I asked Albert Lee/Kwik Kar to show me all the new parts that were replaced on the Suburban. I went down to the bay with one of his mechanics and he showed me all the parts that he said he replaced. I worked in an auto shop while I was in high school so I am not ignorant in seeing a new part vs. an old/existing part on a car. He showed me the parts and you could readily tell that the parts were not new. Based on the Goodyear Services Manager careful inspection he states that the parts that Kwik Kar stated were not recently replaced. I also have several pictures to show that the work was not completed.

My recent experiences with Albert Lee at Kwik Kar Lube & Tune # 114 12380 Barker Cypress Rd has been fraudulent and predatory practices. Albert Lee views each and every customer as one hundred(s) dollar bills and forces his customers to pay an exorbitant amount of money for unwanted or unnecessary auto repairs. This guy should be shut down as soon as possible so more people are not taken for their time and money.