"My air conditioner wasn't working properly," car owner Dennis Knight said. "And obviously the motor was moving a little."
Knight was having trouble with his 2003 Cadillac so he brought it to Auto Repair Discounters and paid $1,040 up front. Knight says the shop called him when the vehicle was ready. But ...
"Nothing's fixed," Knight said.
According to him, the air conditioning was not working and the motor was still moving like before. So he brought the car back and a week later, got a call from the owner of the shop.
"He says, 'You go get that piece of' -- and I'm not going to say what he said -- 'I'm through with it.' And he hanged up the phone," Knight said.
So Knight brought it to an authorized Cadillac shop for a second opinion.
"And his mechanic just looked at the motor mounts and he says there's been no new motor mounts put on there. As a matter of fact, you still have broken motor mounts," Knight said.
When we reached out to Auto Repair Discounters, the manager had this to say over the phone, "The shop is now under new management. The people running the shop before did a lot of seedy (expletive). That's all. I have no more comment."
Knight tells us at this point, he's still out of his money and his car is still not repaired.
To make sure this doesn't happen to you, Monica Russo with the Houston Better Business Bureau has this advice:
"If you've got a shop, and auto shop telling you to pay up front or to pay in cash, you might want to take a step back," she said. "A reputable shop normally has you pay once the work is done, and once you had time to inspect the work."
As for Knight...
"That's all I want is my car fixed, and I'll be happy," he said.
Knight is considering legal action against the shop. One more tip from the BBB. Pay with a credit card. This way, if there's an issue, you can always dispute the charges.
Find Jeff on Facebook at ABC13JeffEhling or on Twitter at @jeffehlingabc13
