Exerpt from my 1/1/2016 Yelp review of Galpin
Galpin Premier Collection - 37 Photos - Car Dealers - North Hills - North Hills, CA - Reviews - Yelp
75 days ago the Galpin Premier damaged my car, charged my credit card, then never bothered to finish reassembly it. Wow, at least buy me drink before getting rough and dirty! And to complete the euphemism: why not return my letters or calls? Finally, thank you for the classic butt-dial to tease me with a potential 2nd date, then hanging up!
Note: this is an honest review. It has been 80 days since I dropped the car off at Galpin Premier.
Early on, I moved up the chain and complained to their Service Manager, Vic Martirosyan. This exchange left me feeling gross. I feel he smoothly insinuated that I am a liar. Then he gave me 10% off my next visit. If this was a restaurant that found a customer face-down in their toilet, why would it then give 10% off a chance to do all again? (Note this may not be rhetorical: perhaps the toilet was so amazing you had to have an encore).
I was quick to also give photographs of the damage and incomplete assembly issues in letters to the senior management (Brian Allan). For two months they ignored my emails and phone calls. No questions came.
Am I a source of their board room jokes now? Do they know that I am critically short of sleep due to the emotional pain of feeling used, ignored, and robbed? My only "out" from this experience is a refund on the labor costs (I will absorb material cost), otherwise I need to seek alternate methods for resolution.
Details:
On Oct 19th I brought my car in to Galpin Premier. I agreed to their estimate to replace a fan resistor pack. I knew it isn't a trivial task, which is why I left it to a trained and certified professional. John Alavazo was my friendly service adviser. When the work was declared done I returned to pick-up the car (Oct 24th). Here was the first red flag: I was required to pay the bill before having the car brought out. The charges matched the estimate. I paid and then was bestowed a chance to see initial reasons for the job being incomplete:
1. An A/C tubing end-cap was left resting on top of the upward facing radiator (this spare part was now trapped inside the clam). What trained and certified professional leaves parts loose inside a car?
2. The same radiator was freshly dented. This is the area where fan resistor pack had been replaced, and the same place as the above loose part. This damages a highly visible, aesthetic component to the car's design
3. (Note: issue 3 is found later below).
I wanted the issues to be fixed so I left the car at the dealership. John never called the next day, but I called him and learned the issue was resolved as follows:
* The end-cap was removed from the car without significant effort.
* The dents in the radiator were "combed-out".
I liked his attitude and genuinely hoped everything was resolved. When I returned I saw the radiator damage was unresolved. John felt the work was done but obliged when I asked to talk with the Service (Vic Martirosyan). Vic explained to me that the mechanic was too highly skilled to make such mistakes, but added he "didn't want to get into he said/she said". This shows he is not taking responsibility to resolve my issue. Vic stated, out lout, that he was powerless to resolve the issue. He offered gave me a 10% discount on a future service and had me leave because he had no further input.
When I got home I saw issue 3: the passenger-side headlight housing was not attached properly, permitting water into the HIDs and other electronics. Note that re-installing headlights is a final step to replacing this resistor pack. I described the issue to me my friendly service adviser, John, and also stated I will be contacting senior management. He did not reach out with an offer to finish the work.
I then spent 2 months constantly trying to get a response from Brian Allan and/or his assistant. I am sure they got the photos, reminder letters, and phone messages. How else could they accidentally call me, invite me in for a meeting, and then cancel when I inform them they have me confused with someone else? In the presence of these three issues (seen live or documented via photographs), I wonder how Vic can treat customers like liars.
Meanwhile I incur the expense of car storage (unfinished assembly requires the electronics to avoid the elements), and as stated above, I feel terribly used.
In conclusion, I was required to pay before seeing the damage and then the job never even completed. This does not seem legal. I am ready to have the labor component of the bill refunded, and will happily cover the material cost.
Never bring your car to Galpin, as you risk receiving it in a poor state (lower resale value) and you will have sleepless nights as you try to contact them. Perhaps they just need enough air in the tires to push it off the lot. When shopping for cars, make sure to see the service records are devoid of the cancer that is Galpin.