BJL913
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Westminster and Highlands Ranch, CO
I'm at a loss for words... Please bear with me as my anger is getting the best of me.
First of, here is the place, not sure if that is the correct address, but im sure it is close...
Xtreme Auto Service LLC
3060 E Bridge Street Lot 110
Brighton, CO 80601-2721
Owned by Jeffrey Jolliffe and Leisa Jolliffe.
Quick little back story. Sister has an '88 XJ 4.0/aw4. As some of you know, I moved to Indiana for a short time from Oct '10 until Feb '11. The day after I left her transmission went out. I won't get into details about the symptoms, but it was definitely shot.
Jeep has been sitting around until 5 weeks ago when my parents finally got the cash together to have a shop rebuild it. After they searched around on craigslist(mistake #1), they found an ad saying that this shop would do the transmission for 300 bucks in labor(that was of actual bench time with the tranny, not including removal/install and parts). They talk to the guy and find out that he could do the whole job with parts and all labor for right around 800 bucks including a new torque converter. They were offering to do this with a 2yr/24k mile warrenty and free towing to get the vehicle to their shop. We give them the go ahead and have them come get the jeep.
They pick up the Jeep on a Friday and tell us they should have it done on Monday late, but most likely Tuesday at the latest. Sounds reasonable to me? Wednesday rolls around and we haven't heard anything yet so we go ahead and call the shop. I know how shops can get busy and understand that sometimes things take a little longer to do than originally planned. Parts can be on backorder, staffing can get messed up, or other issues can come up. Plus they told us they were in the middle of moving shops across the street and it was slowing things down some. No problem I accept that. They tell us they are running behind on schedule and hopefully will have it done that day or early Thursday. No biggie.
Thursday rolls around and we call them again. No answer. Friday, same thing. We finally get in touch with somebody on Monday. They explain to us that they had a staffing issue and their "transmission guy" ended up going to jail and was just getting out that day. They said they would get back into it right away, and it should be done by the end of Tuesday. PLUS as a "peace offering" for the extra time this was taking, they would change the power steering pump at no charge except for the cost of new lines. Apparently they had one sitting on the shelf, and since they were moving shops they just wanted to get rid of it. Cool! Free parts! (I was planning on doing the PS pump when we got the jeep back anyways before my sis started driving it again, so this was one less thing for me to mess with).
Tuesday rolls around, and we cant get in touch with anybody to find out the status on the jeep. WTF?! Now this is getting aggravating! They answer the phone Wednesday morning and explain to us that the transmission guy is back in jail on outstanding warrants, has been terminated from the shop, and the owner of the shop was going to personally wrap up the work for us. So we tell them "fine, we just want it done and back".
That Friday rolls around and we are going through the same crap about getting in touch with them. We finally get the owner on the line toward the end of the day and he gives us another line about how the landlord at the old shop has already changed the locks and they are having trouble getting the rest of their tools over, but they have the Jeep and all the parts except the torque converter at the new shop already, and they will get another torque converter and be working over the weekend to get it done.
Monday comes around and we can't get in touch with anybody... Then Tuesday, Wednesday, and FINALLY somebody answers the phone on Thursday afternoon. He explains to us that he had the wrong PS pump, but was still going to get the right one in and do it for free, He said the jeep would be ready the next day, on Friday. Guess what happens Friday? NO ANSWER ALL DAY!!!
We get ahold of him Monday afternoon again and he says the jeep will be ready that day. When we call him that afternoon, he tells us that the lines are the wrong ones now and he has them on order with the warehouse and they will be in on Tuesday... Tuesday and Wednesday pass without us being able to get in touch AGAIN, and we were leaving some nasty messages at this point. They finally called us early yesterday morning saying they were super sorry about everything, and the Jeep is ready to be picked up.
Here's where it gets interesting...
Yesterday mom and pops take long lunches to go get the Jeep from the shop. When they get there they are looking over the invoice and this guy is charging them for the labor on the PS pump claiming he only said the parts were free. REALLY?! Then there is a line saying they replaced the starter as well and parts/labor for that. WTF? There was never a starter replacement authorized or even mentioned in the past 5 WEEKS! They showed us the old starter and that it had some chipped teeth and said they "figured we needed it replaced to get the vehicle out". Pops tells the guy since it wasnt authorized he wasn't paying for that work, but since it was installed and we obviously need a starter to get the damn thing home, they agree to just have him pay their cost on the starter and no labor. So dad got ripped for work that was never authorized, and shop owner handed in what was left of his credibility by charging the labor on the PS pump.
Mom leaves with the jeep and returns to her office downtown and Dad goes back to his work as well... Jeep drove fine to the gas station and down I25. When she got off of the highway she noticed the steering was a little stiff but didn't think much of it, she hadn't driven it, or any jeep for that matter, in about 8 months. At the turn into her office she said she was wrestling the wheel to turn and there was absolutely no power steering assist... She gets it parked, goes into her office and calls up dad. She isn't mechanically inclined so obviously she didnt lift the hood and inspect anything, and it was raining like crazy, so it would have been difficult to detect the leak unless it was obvious anyways. Dad calls the shop and they tell him that its most likely a burst line because the steering box is probably bad and is causing an over pressure... "bring it back up here and we will do the box for ya!" uh....? really?!!? We have obviously decided these guys were never touching our cars again, and promptly declined and said we will take care of it. Dad got off work and was able to limp the jeep home where it sat overnight.
So then this morning I decide I will go out and take a look at it. I pop the hood, there is obviously a new pump and lines, but I cant see the source of the leak since everything is covered in PS fluid, plus its just me here so i cant have anybody work the wheels back/forth while i keep the pump topped off... Starter also looks new. Here's the kicker though. I look under to see the tranny, ITS NOT EVEN THE SAME UNIT!!!!! I have been under this jeep before doing work (u joints and such), and you would think I would have noticed it having a spray painted yellow transmission! And it is obvious they didnt paint it themselves based on the scratched off paint with corrosion and dirt on the exposed metal, and fading and dirtyness of the paint. None of these yellow painted bolts on the pan had any marring or marks on the paint from where a wrench was used to drop the pan, and there was the same yellow paint on the exposed portion of the pan gasket. This tells me they never even opened the damn thing up. They just swapped in a used transmission!!! I also noticed the dust cover at the front was bent to crap from somebody prying on it, and it is missing bolts. I would love to see what the "new" torque converter looks like as well...
So like I said, I'm at a loss for words, in shock, and have no idea what to do from here... I looked online and these guys have a horrible rep and are known for this kinda crap it looks like. Before you rip into me about shop choice, know that it WAS NOT ME that had any decision or say whatsoever in the matter, and I never had communication with the shop, so I dont need to hear that. What more curious of is, WTF do I do? Who do I contact? Lawyer up?(recommend anybody?) Tom Martino? We obviously dont want these jackasses touching our stuff again, but the jeep needs to be fixed properly. Any input is greatly appreciated...
Also, I may be in the market for a new PS pump and steering box if anybody has some stuff laying around for cheap...
First of, here is the place, not sure if that is the correct address, but im sure it is close...
Xtreme Auto Service LLC
3060 E Bridge Street Lot 110
Brighton, CO 80601-2721
Owned by Jeffrey Jolliffe and Leisa Jolliffe.
Quick little back story. Sister has an '88 XJ 4.0/aw4. As some of you know, I moved to Indiana for a short time from Oct '10 until Feb '11. The day after I left her transmission went out. I won't get into details about the symptoms, but it was definitely shot.
Jeep has been sitting around until 5 weeks ago when my parents finally got the cash together to have a shop rebuild it. After they searched around on craigslist(mistake #1), they found an ad saying that this shop would do the transmission for 300 bucks in labor(that was of actual bench time with the tranny, not including removal/install and parts). They talk to the guy and find out that he could do the whole job with parts and all labor for right around 800 bucks including a new torque converter. They were offering to do this with a 2yr/24k mile warrenty and free towing to get the vehicle to their shop. We give them the go ahead and have them come get the jeep.
They pick up the Jeep on a Friday and tell us they should have it done on Monday late, but most likely Tuesday at the latest. Sounds reasonable to me? Wednesday rolls around and we haven't heard anything yet so we go ahead and call the shop. I know how shops can get busy and understand that sometimes things take a little longer to do than originally planned. Parts can be on backorder, staffing can get messed up, or other issues can come up. Plus they told us they were in the middle of moving shops across the street and it was slowing things down some. No problem I accept that. They tell us they are running behind on schedule and hopefully will have it done that day or early Thursday. No biggie.
Thursday rolls around and we call them again. No answer. Friday, same thing. We finally get in touch with somebody on Monday. They explain to us that they had a staffing issue and their "transmission guy" ended up going to jail and was just getting out that day. They said they would get back into it right away, and it should be done by the end of Tuesday. PLUS as a "peace offering" for the extra time this was taking, they would change the power steering pump at no charge except for the cost of new lines. Apparently they had one sitting on the shelf, and since they were moving shops they just wanted to get rid of it. Cool! Free parts! (I was planning on doing the PS pump when we got the jeep back anyways before my sis started driving it again, so this was one less thing for me to mess with).
Tuesday rolls around, and we cant get in touch with anybody to find out the status on the jeep. WTF?! Now this is getting aggravating! They answer the phone Wednesday morning and explain to us that the transmission guy is back in jail on outstanding warrants, has been terminated from the shop, and the owner of the shop was going to personally wrap up the work for us. So we tell them "fine, we just want it done and back".
That Friday rolls around and we are going through the same crap about getting in touch with them. We finally get the owner on the line toward the end of the day and he gives us another line about how the landlord at the old shop has already changed the locks and they are having trouble getting the rest of their tools over, but they have the Jeep and all the parts except the torque converter at the new shop already, and they will get another torque converter and be working over the weekend to get it done.
Monday comes around and we can't get in touch with anybody... Then Tuesday, Wednesday, and FINALLY somebody answers the phone on Thursday afternoon. He explains to us that he had the wrong PS pump, but was still going to get the right one in and do it for free, He said the jeep would be ready the next day, on Friday. Guess what happens Friday? NO ANSWER ALL DAY!!!
We get ahold of him Monday afternoon again and he says the jeep will be ready that day. When we call him that afternoon, he tells us that the lines are the wrong ones now and he has them on order with the warehouse and they will be in on Tuesday... Tuesday and Wednesday pass without us being able to get in touch AGAIN, and we were leaving some nasty messages at this point. They finally called us early yesterday morning saying they were super sorry about everything, and the Jeep is ready to be picked up.
Here's where it gets interesting...
Yesterday mom and pops take long lunches to go get the Jeep from the shop. When they get there they are looking over the invoice and this guy is charging them for the labor on the PS pump claiming he only said the parts were free. REALLY?! Then there is a line saying they replaced the starter as well and parts/labor for that. WTF? There was never a starter replacement authorized or even mentioned in the past 5 WEEKS! They showed us the old starter and that it had some chipped teeth and said they "figured we needed it replaced to get the vehicle out". Pops tells the guy since it wasnt authorized he wasn't paying for that work, but since it was installed and we obviously need a starter to get the damn thing home, they agree to just have him pay their cost on the starter and no labor. So dad got ripped for work that was never authorized, and shop owner handed in what was left of his credibility by charging the labor on the PS pump.
Mom leaves with the jeep and returns to her office downtown and Dad goes back to his work as well... Jeep drove fine to the gas station and down I25. When she got off of the highway she noticed the steering was a little stiff but didn't think much of it, she hadn't driven it, or any jeep for that matter, in about 8 months. At the turn into her office she said she was wrestling the wheel to turn and there was absolutely no power steering assist... She gets it parked, goes into her office and calls up dad. She isn't mechanically inclined so obviously she didnt lift the hood and inspect anything, and it was raining like crazy, so it would have been difficult to detect the leak unless it was obvious anyways. Dad calls the shop and they tell him that its most likely a burst line because the steering box is probably bad and is causing an over pressure... "bring it back up here and we will do the box for ya!" uh....? really?!!? We have obviously decided these guys were never touching our cars again, and promptly declined and said we will take care of it. Dad got off work and was able to limp the jeep home where it sat overnight.
So then this morning I decide I will go out and take a look at it. I pop the hood, there is obviously a new pump and lines, but I cant see the source of the leak since everything is covered in PS fluid, plus its just me here so i cant have anybody work the wheels back/forth while i keep the pump topped off... Starter also looks new. Here's the kicker though. I look under to see the tranny, ITS NOT EVEN THE SAME UNIT!!!!! I have been under this jeep before doing work (u joints and such), and you would think I would have noticed it having a spray painted yellow transmission! And it is obvious they didnt paint it themselves based on the scratched off paint with corrosion and dirt on the exposed metal, and fading and dirtyness of the paint. None of these yellow painted bolts on the pan had any marring or marks on the paint from where a wrench was used to drop the pan, and there was the same yellow paint on the exposed portion of the pan gasket. This tells me they never even opened the damn thing up. They just swapped in a used transmission!!! I also noticed the dust cover at the front was bent to crap from somebody prying on it, and it is missing bolts. I would love to see what the "new" torque converter looks like as well...
So like I said, I'm at a loss for words, in shock, and have no idea what to do from here... I looked online and these guys have a horrible rep and are known for this kinda crap it looks like. Before you rip into me about shop choice, know that it WAS NOT ME that had any decision or say whatsoever in the matter, and I never had communication with the shop, so I dont need to hear that. What more curious of is, WTF do I do? Who do I contact? Lawyer up?(recommend anybody?) Tom Martino? We obviously dont want these jackasses touching our stuff again, but the jeep needs to be fixed properly. Any input is greatly appreciated...
Also, I may be in the market for a new PS pump and steering box if anybody has some stuff laying around for cheap...
in Denver is a qualified mechanic and might be willing to help out by taking a look at the way this was done and maybe even a written statement.
