Carolina Auto

Beware! - this seems like a shady business.

I was involved in an accident in Mauldin just before Chrsitmas not 2 miles from the business location. Mauldin police called for a tow truck and these guys show up. I rode back with the driver to the garage/lot and was told I couldn't do anything until the owner was in the next morning. My options were to get my salvaged car off his lot or be charged $25/day (probably not unreasonable) or give him the car title and he would scrap it. I found a nationwide company online that would tow the car and give me a couple hundred dollars for it. When the owner found out that I was not going to deal with him the tow fee was SURPRISE $230 when the Shell station close by charges $65 for tows in Mauldin - luckily my insurance paid this, but I don't understand why anyone would do business with these guys let alone Mauldin police.

Do not bring your car here. Where should I start? First of all the lady who works the phones and desks knows nothing about cars and also does not know how to communicate and keep people properly informed of what's going on with their car. They told me that my pcu was not operating properly and my cam sensor was not receiving voltage. They said that they used voltage from somehere else and attached it to the sensor. I was told this might or might not work. So I get my car back and the next day I noticed the problem persisted. On top of that as I'm driving down the road that same day smoke comes pouring from my hood and I pull over and open my hood. There was antifreeze all over my engine and battery. The hose that runs from the antifreeze tank to the radiator is disconnected from the radiator and my radiator cap is loose. My car continued to overheat after I tried putting more antifreeze in the radiator so I called them. I asked the lady if she thinks they might have done something to cause this and she tells me that the pcu has nothing to do with the cooling system in the engine. I later found this to to false and also that you should not try to "rig" voltage to your ecm. they tried to get me to tow my car back there and let them look at it which they tell me I may or may not have to pay for. At this point I'm skeptical as you can imagine. So I call her to say that a reputable mechanic told me they you should not rig voltage from outside sources when dealing with the pcu. She tells me what makes you think he knows what he's talking about and we dont? I said well for one you told me that the pcu doesn't have anything to do with the cooling system in my car.(2000 Ford Mustang). I told her I wanted a partiAL refund and that I wasn't taking my car back up thereally because they messed my car up worse and don't seem to know what they're doing. She tells me not to call there again. Later that night around 8 30 the owner call me trying to refute his credibility and says he hears I'm accusing them of dishonesty. I tried to explain the situation about the overheating and he keeps telling me that they are not the cause. He was very condescending and kept trying to talk over me to the point I had to raise my voice and tell him to let me finish. He just kept saying a bunch of irrelevant stuff. At one point he tells me I'm probably one of those democratic republicans. At that point I told him I don't know what that is nor do I give a f*** about politics and what does this have to do with my car? He became quiet for a few seconds so I asked him again. He continues with his irrelevant ramblings telling me how much money he has and how good he eats. Then tells me he hasn't had a complaint in three years yet he has 3 terrible reviews on here from last year. Finally I told him good luck with your business cause it's going nowhere but downhill with what you people are doing and hung up.

Before Kevin left....many years of good service. After he left it's been downhill. Quotes don't get done. Lady up front doesn't know anything about cars. Return phone calls come two days later. Miscommunication Straw that brok camels back was ....yes he had to replace bearings....then he said have replace other side. Original noise in axle still there...take it two other places and ...you need to replace entire axle...which includes both bearings. Why was I not informed of that in the first place. He said you had to do bearings first to know. That's not the case. He also cussed at my son. Instead of working it out he said he has thirty years experience and he is always right. ....so he lost 6 of my cars and he said he has 500 other clients....I sure hope he keeps them cause I'm not coming back there

Ever since Keven left (the guy before their new secretary) we've have nothing but complaints. Always days before I can even get an answer to what's wrong with my vehicle. We have had lots of minors issues that I have just put in the past but the one I had the other week sent me over the top. I had a noise coming from the back of my car, I asked them to fix it and they said it would cost close to $500. I

I recommended this business for years and was very pleased; however, the gentlemen who used to interact with the customers are gone and things are very different.



I had my truck towed in with an issue that prevented it from starting. I gave them some relevant history which included that the spark plugs had been replaced just a couple of months ago and asked them to call for authorization before they performed any work above the $100 diagnostic fee they asked for. They said the work would take a day. Fast forward 4 days and the truck isn't complete and I've spent the last four days calling twice a day for an update being told "we don't know what the problem is but we'll tell you when we do."



Finally, an hour before they closed on Friday I decided to drive up and figure out what's going on. I walked in the door and told them who I was. The first words out of the owner's mouth were "Your #$*$# phone don't work!" I was informed that they had the truck ready and I could take it. I asked what work was performed and was told the spark plugs were replaced among a few other minor things (inspected air cleaner, cleaned egr). Apparently they had spent all four days driving and "testing the truck" while telling me on the phone that they didn't have anything to report.



The rudest phrasing I've ever heard from a business ensued ("I didn't need your authorization because I knew what in the #$##&#* you were going to say!") and I was told to leave their business and I couldn't have my truck. Eventually I left with the truck but the majority of the money I had to pay was for the one bit of work I'd told them was already done.



These people are scammers. STAY AWAY!



Oh and my phone that "don't work"? The owner had typed the number into his cell phone incorrectly and had been getting the "invalid number" message for four days and didn't figure it out. The correct contact number was in their computer and printed on my invoice.

Moved to Mauldin SC from NY in '01asked around and was looking heartily for a caring auto repair shop that doesn't rake the customer over the coals and gets the job done correctly the first time...well I found it! Give Kevin a call, he'll do you right!