Repair/Service: Strut replaced

Hourly Rate: $70

Total Cost: $200

I previously had work done by Hyattsville Auto Service in the past and they did a decent job. I brought my Honda Civic in to them in order to diagnose a rattling sound in the rear suspension. The one mechanic simpy looked under the rear wheel well and said I needed a new strut. I told them to go ahead and replace it. At first it seemed to fix the problem, but after a week the sound was sitll there and it was getting worse.
I brought my car into a Honda dealership a few weeks later for its required maintenance check and asked them to take a look at the rear passenger side suspension as it was still making a rumbling and sometimes sharp sound when I would go over bumps or holes in the road. They took a look and diagnosed the problem as the strut having been improperly installed. I told them to reinstall it correctly and it fixed the problem.
I called Hyattsville auto service asking for a reimbursement of the cost for reinstalling the strut properly. They said that I should've brought it back to them and I explained that I didn't bring the car to the Honda dealership to have the suspension fixed, but to have its required maintenace done and that once I learned that it had been installed improperly my faith in Hyattsville auto to correctly install it was diminished and that I had no guarantee that it would be installed correctly by them.
I argued for the full amount of the labor cost it took to fix the problem by the Honda dealership, but was denied, then I asked for the original amount I paid Hyattsville, which was less than the amount to fix it properly) but was denied, I than said the orignal labor to install the strut should be reimbursed because I paid for a complete job but did not get it, as the labor was faulty, that was also denied. I offered to bring in the paper work from the Honda dealership documenting that it had been installed improperly, but they didn't want to even take a look at it.
In the end I found the lack of effort to work with what I consider a resonable request, was rather frustrating and that in the end I ended up having to pay to have the work done twice. Though this may be an anomally in their work quality I will not be going back to Hyattsville auto for any car repairs in the future. The fact that this was a simple install (a strut) and that they did not install it correctly leaves me with little hope that they would be able to fix anythign more severe.

by Customer78 on June 29, 2011