This story begins with a 1992 Camaro and a passenger window that will not go up without some help or machine gun sounds. I asked for some recommendations from the Merchant's I used to take the car to. They referred me to the Tidewater Auto Electric on South Military Highway in Chesapeake, Virginia. I figured since I had good service from this shop that they would only refer me to a shop just as good, boy was I wrong. I took the Camaro in and had them diagnose the problem. They took the door apart and said the problem was the gear pack in the power window motor. The estimate for the repair was over $350.00. I asked the question, “Is there any chance that the window regulator is bad, because if there is I want to replace them together?” The technician said “The regulator is fine, we have done a number of these cars and it is always the gear box.” The technician proceeded to tell me that I should not waste my money on a part from a parts store since they are not built to the specs that GM required. I asked if they would replace the part if i supply it from GM or another source, they said it would be fine,but the labor rate increased. Why? That is what made me question the repair. I gladly paid my $40.00 diagnostic fee and left.

I decided to call another shop, Express Auto Electric. Over the phone I requested a quote to replace the window motor in the the door of the Camaro. He gave me an estimate and then added that the regulator is going to be a problem with a new motor. Express Auto Electric recommended replacing both pieces at the same time to save money in the long run. I asked if they would be willing to let me supply the parts. The answer was, sure no problem. So I ordered a motor from eBay and a new regulator from the Chevrolet dealer. I took the Camaro to Express Auto Electric on a Saturday and had both items replaced. The motor cost me $50.00 and the regulator was $130.00. The labor charge was $115.00.

This is where I felt Tidewater Auto Electric was trying to rip me off. The regulator's teeth were ground away and damaged. A new motor would have fixed the issue for a little while. I am glad I replaced both. I decided that I wanted my $40.00 back since Tidewater Auto Electric said the regulator was fine. I felt that they did not diagnose the issue correctly and therefore should not pay. The following Monday I drove to Tidewater Auto Electric and spoke to a person in charge and was told that they could only refund my money when the owner returned the following week. We ended up have a hurricane and the shop closed for renovations. I spoke to the owner and he would not refund the money because his systems were not operating. Well, I noticed they were working on cars and taking money. The owner wanted me to return the next week to get the money refunded. So I did and the owner proceeded to argue with me that there is no way to diagnose the issue perfectly. I agreed and told him that if the technician would have said “There could be an issue with the regulator, we will not know until we take it apart,” I would not be asking for a refund. After all of that they refunded my money and sent me on my way.

While some may see this as a good gesture, I do not. A good mechanic or technician does all they can to be correct. I believe they wanted a repair.