I don’t usually post reviews but I am this time as a frustrated patron of Matt’s Auto. I brought my van in for a few concerns and yes the vehicle was attended to promptly the next day with a very hefty assortment of issues that I didn’t ask them to address. It took longer than anticipated to do the work required and I needed a vehicle which they provided but in the end my issues were not fixed and I paid a large fee for minor services and the original issue was forgotten until I returned home and had to bring it back to the shop to ask for the evidence of checking the coolant reservoir as originally requested. It was marked as completed but not actually done as it was still low. When my vehicle was returned home by a technician, there was a very obvious noise that the tech somehow didn’t hear driving back. This took more time, more energy from my day to once again bring back to have fixed. I knew it was from someone putting the front end improperly as the noise was very new and very loud. I was told I would be charged a fee to diagnose the issue and when I argued that I knew it was a simple thing that I’m sure they just assembled wrong, I was again told I would be charged and ultimately I was NOT charged as they realized it was their mistake on assembly. A simple brake line flush, oil change and tire rotation took almost a week to complete with multiple trips back and forth so I wasn’t impressed. Then the worst thing imaginable happened. I was on the open road at highway speeds for the first time with my toddler and infant sons in the back and a noise from the back was worse and worse. I pulled over in St Cloud (coming back to Fargo from Minneapolis) on a weekend this winter and had to get a rental car once again and knew something was dangerously wrong. I had to get my children home, leave my vehicle and the next day discovered I nearly lost a rear tire at highway speeds from the tire rotation done at Matt’s Auto. Of course I called looking for help and the shop manager was instantly defensive like it was MY fault I didn’t come back after 50 miles per the fine print on the paperwork he gave me after that week long misadventure previously. I am the survivor of a highway rollover accident where the driver of the pickup was unsafe and I paid the price with that accident nearly taking my life and then spending months in the hospital relearning how to walk so I take this situation very seriously... more seriously than most I suppose. Matt’s Auto was more interested in defending their liabilities than actually fixing the problem and I won’t be using their services anymore. They are fast, courteous, expensive and need a good shop foreman to make sure vehicles (ESPECIALLY TIRES) are mounted and driven and tightened correctly so they don’t cause anyone harm.
Hi Michelle and thank you for taking time out of your day to write a review about your recent service with us. We wanted to take an opportunity to address your complaints with us on that service. We are very sorry to hear that you had issues during your trip home from St. Cloud. When your vehicle first came in to us in November, you specifically requested we perform a brake fluid exchange. The issue you had with the vehicle was that your brake pedal seemed to travel further than normal. We asked if you would like our technicians to perform any testing to verify that issue and you declined stating the brake fluid exchange should take care of it. When we inspected your vehicle we found the brake fluid to be in good condition and again advised we spend time looking into this issue and you once again declined. During our brake fluid exchange service, we have to open the bleeder screws in your brake calipers. You had one that was seized and would not open. This caused some delays in our service as we spent time that we did not charge you for, attempting to open the screws. Eventually we did get the seized bleeder screw open, but did cause extra time in the service. We then performed the inspection on your vehicle and sent you the results for you to view. You authorized additional services that we did not receive approval on until close to the end of the day on a Friday. We are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, making it so we could not accomplish all of those tasks until the following Monday. We are sorry this caused an inconvenience for you. On your following visit you stated there was a noise you were hearing when driving. We approach any vehicle coming back to us after we serviced it assuming we had a new problem. We pride our shop in having the best technicians in the FM area, but understand they are human and may make mistakes. We had found a backing plate on your brake system to be the cause of your noise and it had bent when putting a wheel back on the vehicle. This was a mistake we caused and we apologize for that. That is why we did not charge you. Our staff never asks for the money up front when a vehicle comes back, we only ask that you assume there will be a charge in the event there is something we didn’t cause. We also provided you a vehicle to use for free during this time as it was inconvenient for you. You reached out to us in February informing us that you drove your vehicle to St. Cloud and had an issue over the weekend. You brought that vehicle to another shop where they informed you your noise was because of a bad wheel bearing but in addition to that, you had two wheel studs that were broken. Anytime we remove the wheels from a vehicle and reinstall them, we hand torque everything to the manufacturers specifications. Because wheel hubs in this area do not always seat properly, we advised you to return in 50 miles for us to perform a free safety retorque. You did not return for this retorque as a precaution. This is why when you asked us to take care of your vehicle in St. Cloud we would not assume responsibility for the repair. Our General Manager, however, did offer to pay for the wheel stud replacement cost to go towards your repair in St. Cloud. We cannot predict a future issue with your vehicle, in this case a wheel bearing making noise, and it was not loose, and did try to assist you in the replacement of the wheel studs, even though you didn’t come back after three months for the retorque. You declined our assistance. If you would like to discuss this further, you can call or email us at any time, we would be happy to talk with you more regarding this.
- Matt's Automotive Service Center -South Fargo