I went into this ""Congress Auto Service"", which I believe the name was changed from ""Congress Auto REPAIR"" due to dissatisfied customers and bad reviews. All I needed was a simple OIL CHANGE.
Now, I own a 2007 Volkswagon Jetta Turbo, and I've been the sole owner since I bought it in late 2006. When I had purchased it from the dealer, I was given an explicit ORDER NOT to use conventional engine oil, SYNTHETIC 10-w30 from preferably Castrol Syntec ONLY (because it's a Turbo engine). He dealer then proceeded to describe how ANY other form of oil in the engine would be disastrous, and described that it may cause a ""complete paradox"". Now I'm not sure what any of that meant, however, I'm a Vietnam Marine Corps Veteran, so needless-to-say, I OBEY orders!
I drove in to this place only because it didn't have a long wait. I was greeted by a man named ""Sam"" who appeared to be either Chaldean, Iraqi, Afghani, or someone from the Middle East. Now, living over 50 years in the rough streets of Detroit, I'm used to seeing these guys run garages, however I'm not one to judge. This guy Sam introduced himself as the owner, saw my Michigan license plate and said ""Oh I have family living up there in Detroit, I'll take care of ya."" I couldn't help but notice he looked at my Disabled Veteran sticker and sort of snarled afterward.
I told him the specific type of oil I use, and HAVE ONLY used since I bought the car, and it MUST be SYNTHETIC 5-w30 Castrol Syntec. He said ""ok, I don't have that blend... but I have a blend very similar to that! It's 5-w20! Very close, you won't notice."" Like I said, I'm a military veteran, and I've only put the same type of oil in my car for the entire time I've owned it, and I've had NO PROBLEMS. I'm now approaching 100,000 miles on the car, and I've done all your standard expected maintenance: Oil changes, tune-ups, flushes, tire replacement, etc. This car WAS garage-kept and still in very good condition. ""Sam"" even complimented me on it. I hesitantly agreed on putting the 5-w20 synthetic oil in the car. I mean, the guy seemed to know what he was talking about.
I saw him walk toward the back of his garage where a huge Iranian flag was hung, and also a large poster of the Iron Sheik. Next to the flag, there were 4 rows of a yellow bottle, to which I couldn't read the writing from so far back. I noticed he looked around at each bottle for about a full minute, and finally just grabbed a four or five of these yellow bottles. He said he'll take about 15 minutes and have the job done for me.
I then walked outside to use my cell, where I noticed he had signs everywhere advertising ""Pennzoil"", with the classic yellow bottle it comes with. Within less than 5 minutes, he came up to me and said that he is finished. I went up to pay what I assumed would be my usual 40-50 dollars for a standard oil and filter change, which I've been paying for years in Detroit, as well as several in Palm Beach, Florida. As he approached the other side of the counter, I asked him ""just curious, which oil did you put in there?"" He stopped dead in his tracks, and gave me the obvious deer-in-headlights look, and said ""I put the one you asked me to.""
I again stressed SYNTHETIC 5-w20 like he had stated, and he said ""of course!"" I asked him if I could see the empty bottle of oil that he put inside my car, and he said ""sure I'll be right back."" Sam came back with a yellow Pennzoil bottle that read ""conventional 5-w20"" on the outside. I said ""Sam what did I tell you?! I have placed the same oil in my engine for over 7 years now! You cannot give me CONVENTIONAL!"" He said ""don't worry my friend, it's the same thing, no problems! They're very close!"" After arguing for about 10 to 15 minutes on it, he claimed he had actually given me a ""better"" oil for Florida. I said ""Sam, I'm in Florida for less than a month, and I'm returning to Detroit!"" He again said, ""oh it's good for Detroit too!""
Knowing already I was never returning to this shop again, I was just frustrated and asked how much it was. I was absolutely HEATED to hear him say $89! I began to get loud and really aggravated at this point, so I said ""what is it with you man?! Is it because I'm a U.S. veteran?! He ensured me that he loves Americans, and it had nothing to do with that. He said that ""because you got the synthetic blend""... and then I cut him off right there. I then started to yell at him and say ""But I didn't get the synthetic blend!"" He again stated, ""well they're very close.""
I knew that this was 100% complete scam, and I had one of two options. Pay the bill and tell everyone about this place, or call the cops, make a report, and follow up with going to court and what-not. I chose to just pay the bill and leave this guy negative feedback. I left telling him how disgusted I am with the price, and the run-around that I was given. He didn't seem to care once he had the $89 given to him.
To make matters worse, three days later, my transmission went on my car. Now, I'm no mechanic, but I find it a little too coincidental that I've had absolutely NO problems with my vehicle since the day I bought it, and merely three days after a different engine oil was placed in my engine, all hell breaks loose with my car. To replace the transmission after shopping around in Palm Beach County, it cost me $2,350! When I got home to Detroit, after I had already replaced my transmission in Palm Beach, I had a few mechanics tell me it shouldn't have cost more than $1,100!
Finally, this ripoff report is directly towards ""Congress Auto Service"", as well as Palm Beach County. This is how you treat a veteran?!
Congress Auto Service Reviews
I went into this ""Congress Auto Service"", which I believe the name was changed from ""Congress Auto REPAIR"" due to dissatisfied customers and bad reviews. All I needed was a simple OIL CHANGE.
Now, I own a 2007 Volkswagon Jetta Turbo, and I've been the sole owner since I bought it in late 2006. When I had purchased it from the dealer, I was given an explicit ORDER NOT to use conventional engine oil, SYNTHETIC 10-w30 from preferably Castrol Syntec ONLY (because it's a Turbo engine). He dealer then proceeded to describe how ANY other form of oil in the engine would be disastrous, and described that it may cause a ""complete paradox"". Now I'm not sure what any of that meant, however, I'm a Vietnam Marine Corps Veteran, so needless-to-say, I OBEY orders!
I drove in to this place only because it didn't have a long wait. I was greeted by a man named ""Sam"" who appeared to be either Chaldean, Iraqi, Afghani, or someone from the Middle East. Now, living over 50 years in the rough streets of Detroit, I'm used to seeing these guys run garages, however I'm not one to judge. This guy Sam introduced himself as the owner, saw my Michigan license plate and said ""Oh I have family living up there in Detroit, I'll take care of ya."" I couldn't help but notice he looked at my Disabled Veteran sticker and sort of snarled afterward.
I told him the specific type of oil I use, and HAVE ONLY used since I bought the car, and it MUST be SYNTHETIC 5-w30 Castrol Syntec. He said ""ok, I don't have that blend... but I have a blend very similar to that! It's 5-w20! Very close, you won't notice."" Like I said, I'm a military veteran, and I've only put the same type of oil in my car for the entire time I've owned it, and I've had NO PROBLEMS. I'm now approaching 100,000 miles on the car, and I've done all your standard expected maintenance: Oil changes, tune-ups, flushes, tire replacement, etc. This car WAS garage-kept and still in very good condition. ""Sam"" even complimented me on it. I hesitantly agreed on putting the 5-w20 synthetic oil in the car. I mean, the guy seemed to know what he was talking about.
I saw him walk toward the back of his garage where a huge Iranian flag was hung, and also a large poster of the Iron Sheik. Next to the flag, there were 4 rows of a yellow bottle, to which I couldn't read the writing from so far back. I noticed he looked around at each bottle for about a full minute, and finally just grabbed a four or five of these yellow bottles. He said he'll take about 15 minutes and have the job done for me.
I then walked outside to use my cell, where I noticed he had signs everywhere advertising ""Pennzoil"", with the classic yellow bottle it comes with. Within less than 5 minutes, he came up to me and said that he is finished. I went up to pay what I assumed would be my usual 40-50 dollars for a standard oil and filter change, which I've been paying for years in Detroit, as well as several in Palm Beach, Florida. As he approached the other side of the counter, I asked him ""just curious, which oil did you put in there?"" He stopped dead in his tracks, and gave me the obvious deer-in-headlights look, and said ""I put the one you asked me to.""
I again stressed SYNTHETIC 5-w20 like he had stated, and he said ""of course!"" I asked him if I could see the empty bottle of oil that he put inside my car, and he said ""sure I'll be right back."" Sam came back with a yellow Pennzoil bottle that read ""conventional 5-w20"" on the outside. I said ""Sam what did I tell you?! I have placed the same oil in my engine for over 7 years now! You cannot give me CONVENTIONAL!"" He said ""don't worry my friend, it's the same thing, no problems! They're very close!"" After arguing for about 10 to 15 minutes on it, he claimed he had actually given me a ""better"" oil for Florida. I said ""Sam, I'm in Florida for less than a month, and I'm returning to Detroit!"" He again said, ""oh it's good for Detroit too!""
Knowing already I was never returning to this shop again, I was just frustrated and asked how much it was. I was absolutely HEATED to hear him say $89! I began to get loud and really aggravated at this point, so I said ""what is it with you man?! Is it because I'm a U.S. veteran?! He ensured me that he loves Americans, and it had nothing to do with that. He said that ""because you got the synthetic blend""... and then I cut him off right there. I then started to yell at him and say ""But I didn't get the synthetic blend!"" He again stated, ""well they're very close.""
I knew that this was 100% complete scam, and I had one of two options. Pay the bill and tell everyone about this place, or call the cops, make a report, and follow up with going to court and what-not. I chose to just pay the bill and leave this guy negative feedback. I left telling him how disgusted I am with the price, and the run-around that I was given. He didn't seem to care once he had the $89 given to him.
To make matters worse, three days later, my transmission went on my car. Now, I'm no mechanic, but I find it a little too coincidental that I've had absolutely NO problems with my vehicle since the day I bought it, and merely three days after a different engine oil was placed in my engine, all hell breaks loose with my car. To replace the transmission after shopping around in Palm Beach County, it cost me $2,350! When I got home to Detroit, after I had already replaced my transmission in Palm Beach, I had a few mechanics tell me it shouldn't have cost more than $1,100!
Finally, this ripoff report is directly towards ""Congress Auto Service"", as well as Palm Beach County. This is how you treat a veteran?!