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In February of 2007 I brought my car to Ted’s Auto Service and Body Shop (hereafter referred to as “Ted’s Auto Body”) for both mechanical and body repairs following an accident. My insurance company (Nationwide Auto Insurance) collaborated with Ted’s Auto Body and estimated that the vehicle would be in non drivable condition for 17 days including weekends. Despite this estimate, Ted’s Auto Body kept my car for more then 30 days. Less then a week later my car broke down on the side of the road, leaving me stranded. Almost an hour later Ted’s Auto Body sent out a tow truck and towed my car back to their repair shop, leaving me to find my own way home. After a day Ted’s Auto Body informed me that the transmission they had put into my vehicle was faulty and would need to be replaced again (for a full summery of all the repairs that Ted’s Auto Body claimed to have completed see the attached sheet titled “Nationwide Insurance” with notes by Rich Sacha of Automotive Excellence in the margins).
Ted’s Auto Body kept my car for an additional week to replace the faulty transmission. When I came to pick up my car, I found that the car would not start at all. Ted assured me that this was normal that I would simply need to hold the gear shifter forward (in park) when turning the key to start the car. This is not a normal problem. I brought the car back a few days later to repair this problem and my car was kept for nearly another week.
After this problem was repaired, my car continued to have acceleration problems (jerking and stalling during acceleration), shaking while stopped in drive, rattling in the front driver’s side door and creaking all over. I brought the car back to Ted’s Auto Body multiple times for these problems. Ted assured me that there was nothing wrong with my vehicle and that some problems were to be expected because my car was in an accident. The problem with that explanation is that Ted’s Auto Body was paid by both me and my insurance company to fix my car and repair it to its pre accident state. He kept my car several times for a time totaling more than two weeks, but none of these problems were ever repaired, I question if he even attempted to repair these damages while my car was there.
During this time Ted’s Auto Body replaced a hub bearing that was still covered under my warranty. I specifically asked them not to repair this hub bearing because doing so would void my warranty on that whole area of my vehicle. They did this repair without my permission, in fact, they were specifically asked not to repair it when the damage was found. This damage was not due to the accident and was to be fixed by the dealership the following week. I speculate that Ted’s Auto Body did not wish the mechanics at the dealership to look at my car because of the sub-par repair work they had done.
I was very unhappy with the service I received at Ted’s Auto Body so I brought my car to Automotive Excellence to have the mechanics there look at my car and give me their unbiased opinion on the repair work done.
I paid for Automotive Excellence to inspect the car and to provide me with an estimate on repairs, which they did (please see the attached sheet marked “Preliminary Estimate”). It should be noted that this estimate only covers the repairs that Ted’s Auto Body claimed to have done (please see the attached letter from Rick Sacha, president of Automotive Excellence for more details). This estimate does not include the still leaking transmission, the bent frame, the problems with acceleration outlined above, the rattling and the creaking (all of which are unknown in origin). It also does not cover the problems that are purely cosmetic (the hood does not completely close on one side, there are areas that were not painted properly, there are still scratches present on the body, etc.)
At this point my car was at Ted’s Auto Body or otherwise un-driveable for approximately three months. When I requested service records for my vehicle I was told they were unavailable and could not be obtained.
