Complaint Review: Purrfect Auto Services - Las Vegas Nevada

Seems like the majority of reports on this company are rip=off issues such as overcharging or claiming certain work was done when it was not. This is fairly rampant in this industry and there have been plenty of TV undercover documentaries done on them.

We had an experience that kind of fixed itself and perhaps it will wake up those in management and realize that customer service is still king - even in the auto repair service field. First off, if you just want basic oil change and/or tune then they MIGHT be OK (although I would not trust them based on recent experience). But if you have ANY kind of repair work that requires diagnostic, you would be best to keep away and use the car maufacturer. Purrfect is not quite up to the task.

A couple of months ago we brought on our truck for a diagnostic because it would not start or start after much laboring. They took a look at it and said it need a bunch of stuff done on the performance side. So, believeing they were professional and competent, we said go ahead. WE ended up with a bill for approx $400 and took our vehicle back. 24 hours later it was back in their shop with EXACTLY the same symptoms as before. Again, they did more diagnostics, put in a bunch of other stuff and you guessed it, another $400 charge. However, the fun part was when we couldn't even drive it off their forecourt! How embarrassing.

They promised to look at it again but by this time we seriously doubted their ability to fix anything. In the end we took t to Fords who located the problem (contaminated gas which at the time was a common problem in the valley and they go the extra mile by doing a simple fuel sample check before they tear the engine apart). Of course that meant ANOTHER $600 in charges.

We went back to Purrfect to try and negotiate their total of approx $800 for NOT fixing our problem and putting in what turned out to be a bunch of unnecessary parts in their lame attempt to fix the problem.

Their initial reaction was that they did everything right and could not understand how Ford could fix it but they couldn't after having it in their shop twice for a total of 10 days!

We were very patient with them - even when they did not return phone calls and we began to get the distinct impression that they were trying to hide something or make us go away so we would not bother them. So, we went down to see the manager. He appeared to be overwhelmed judging by the state of his office and the constant phone calls he was receiving during the 20 mins we were there. He wrote down our name and phone number and told us he would get the regional maager to call us the following day to sort out the problem.

Needles to say, that never happened either the following day or anytime thereafter.

We are pretty resilent folk and have dealt with customer service issues with a number of companies in the past. Purrfect Auto relies on the fact that a majority of customers will merely complain and eventually get tired and then give up. They are RELYING on that happening.

We contacted our lawyer as well as sent a certified letter to the facility asking for some kind of response or rebuttal. We also put a stop on our credit card payment and explained what had happened. They continued to hold out by ignoring everyone and you simply cannot do that if you are in any kind of business! Problems will not disappear just because you ignore them!

Finally, their regional manager did write us a letter but only after getting the attorney's letter and some 6 weeks later.

They were going to offer to refund 50% of the bill - which is what we were going to ask for in the first place. However, we decided to let them stew in their own juice and turn the tables on them. We now wanted full whack for being ignored and the abyssmal customer service. Also, teh credit card company must have got pissed off also when their correspondence went unanswered. Indeed, to our surprise, they refused to pay the company and wiped the bill from our record! Normally this would take up to 90 days and might involve some kind of arbitration. What a relieve!

Moral of the story, don't give up and if they try to ignore you in the hope that a problem will merely disappear, hold out. Yes, it will take time and lots of patience but in our book fighting for our $800 was certainly worth it. In the end they ended up out of pocket because of sloppy work and service.

Hope this helps other customers in similar situations with this company.

One final thing. This is a franchise business, each independently owned with many outlets in CA, NV and AZ. Some, though not all, are members of the BBB. It may be this factor on why there is so much variation in customer reports and a lack of co-ordination or oversight at the managment level.

Fred the Mechanic

Las Vegas, Nevada
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Purrfect Auto