Red flags all over the place! I hate to have to do this, so I will be as brief as possible, while protecting you, the innocent consumer, so please read on for the tale of woe that will save you from having the same experience as me....
After several jobs where I was definitely over charged for small things, I had an emergency situation where I broke a ball joint in Hana. It was a pain in the neck to get the car to the other side of the island, and I had to have a place to send it, and I decided to trust Golddrive with the job, despite the earlier red flags.
The original estimate was about $1000, which was a whole lot for me as a low income individual.
After waiting a month for parts, and not having my vehicle, which I rely on heavily, I was definitely ready to have the job done. I had hustled to raise the money, and badly needed my vehicle back.
When I went in for pickup, the bill was $1600, 60% over estimate. I didn't have the money and asked for a day to figure it out.
The owner claims he got my permission with regards to "new charges" over text, he even went so far as to claim he had video of me agreeing to new charges (what?!?!).
I called the local Maui consumer rights organization. They informed me that if a mechanic goes 10% over estimate, they have to get a new written estimate. Golddrive definitely had not done this. I asked what I could do in my situation; they said write "disputed" on the receipt, pay, and then follow up with them afterwards.
The next day, after hustling the extra money, I told the owner exactly what I told you above, and that I was ready to pay. He got so mad (that I was going to follow up with the consumer rights organization afterwards) that he asked his boys to undo all the work they had done and return the vehicle to me as I'd brought it in, with a broken ball joint, one month before! OMG!!! I'd never heard of a mechanic doing this!!!
I literally had to sit in front of the wheel of my car, on the asphalt, so that they couldn't get at it and do what he asked, quietly informing them the whole time that they did not have my permission to do anything else to my vehicle, which was my property.
Long story short, the police had to come out and talk him down, and say "he's willing to pay, and completely within his rights to follow up with the consumer rights organization". He made me go get cash, (which he'd never asked for before) which I did, and I payed him and left.
Definitely I am in the right legally and would win several different lawsuits if I wanted to go that route, 1) for the money over the original estimate and 2) for his uncivil conduct that day. It's enough of a relief to know I will save you from the same experience.
Please do not ever go to this mechanic, unless you have serious self sabotage issues, in which case he is definitely your man.
Afterward: as an aside, as I was leaving that day, I saw my coolant reservoir, which the owner had convinced me to replace with a new one several months before (total bill over $400), and had also convinced me wasn't possible to refurbish, in a pile slated to be refurbished and sold.
This man knew I was low income and took advantage of me from day one. He claimed to be a sympathetic helper and was the exact opposite. DO NOT GO TO GOLDDRIVE!!!! read more
