My second visit to capital was disappointing, my car is a 2010 I bought new. I agreed to pay $155 for a diagnostic on my power steering making noise I had also agreed on a couple other repairs, however I feel after they discovered the costly issue they being professionals would advise not putting anymore money into my car, instead they went ahead and did the other repairs. I feel they were just out to make money.
I‘m sorry we let you down. The hardest car for us to effectively service is one with over 200k miles and multiple issues. At your first visit you indicated the check engine light had been on for five years, it was running poorly, and was overdue for spark plugs. We agreed replacing them was a good step but might not resolve the rough run or the check engine light. Our tech inspected the vehicle (free of charge) and found it was overdue for an oil change, the air filter was clogged, the drive belt was-oil soaked and had a hole in it, the valve cover gasket was leaking, an engine mount was torn, the power steering fluid was dirty, and the vehicle needed tires. After reviewing and prioritizing the issues with our staff, you decided to replace the valve cover gasket in addition to the plugs. A plan was made to replace the next most-urgent items (clogged air filter and drive belt) at the next visit. At that visit you asked us to also diagnose a new power steering noise. In addition to the items found at the first visit, our tech found the front rotors were heat streaked, the power steering pump was leaking, the engine oil pan was leaking, transmission fluid needed service, and the oil change recommended 3k miles prior was still needed. Our tech replaced one lightbulb but found there were more extensive issues with the rear taillights and license plate bulbs that needed diagnosis. At this point you and our service advisor decided the total necessary repairs exceed the worth of the vehicle. His recommendation was to keep driving it as long as you can and save that additional money for a new one. The drive belt and air filter we felt were necessary to keep the vehicle going for at least a while longer. You authorized this work and it is warranted for three years/36,000 miles nationwide. Again, I apologize for letting you down. We have detailed inspection reports and pictures from both visits and would be happy to answer any questions you have. When a vehicle has over 200k miles and several issues the options become complicated. We try to thoroughly inspect all the systems to help our customers decide when a vehicle should be retired or if more repairs should be done. Even if a vehicle is at the end of its life there are still things that we recommend like fluid maintenance, safety items like brakes and tires, and in this case changing the damaged belt and clogged air filter. There are a lot of factors in these decisions such as budget, replacement vehicle availability, and sentimental value of the current vehicle. I know you felt like we were trying to get you to spend more money, but the opposite is true. Our advisor suggested that you might save the money to use on another vehicle and our technician spent several hours over the two visits inspecting the vehicle’s systems at no charge to get the data we needed to make our recommendations to you. We have considered not accepting vehicles with over 200k miles for just these reasons. There are no good options… spend a lot of money on a car that is almost at the end of its life, spend a little bit of money knowing it might leave you on the side of the road, or give it up and spend exponentially more on a newer vehicle.
- Capitol Automotive