Auto Repair Fraud

Ed Gaydosik's High Tech Tire & Auto FLYING CIRCUS REPAIR FRAUD

Durham, NC Auto Repair Fraud 4/7/2007

My recent experience with High Tech Tire & Auto (new address 4647 Hillsborough Rd., Durham, NC 27705) was the most outrageous example of gross incompetence and intentional fraud that I've had in 35 years of repairing cars. This was especially distressing, given that I had been a loyal customer of Ed's for 10 years and had sent him several referrals.

In May of 2006 Ed told me I had an oil leak on my '99 F-150 engine with 97,000 miles. The truck was running fine but Ed claimed that the engine "could fail tomorrow or in 2 years" & it was best to be pro-active and buy another 100,000 miles of 'insurance' while the engine was still good. He knew that I used the truck for work & camping, so he played on my fear that I could be stranded. I reluctantly agreed to a head gasket repair which cost $1,213.60.

Immediately after (on the way to our vacation) the Service Engine Light came on due to a missed vacuum connection, and a horrible new chronic burning odor appeared which became known as the "mystery smell." (Why is it that the repair is NEVER completely done but you have to ALWAYS drive back to the shop on your nickel?) In 11 months, instead of fixing the smell, Ed made jokes.

Next I had my 100,000 mile tune-up. Suddenly the engine started skipping & vibrating over 50 mph. Ed offered no-brainer explanations such as "it's just old" even though I reminded him that the engine was previously running just fine. This started a 10-month nightmare of futile visits to the shop where nothing got resolved. Ed often mocked me when I walked in the door; there was no motivation to actually fix anything. A better name would be "High Tech Day Care for Cars - You Pay Us to Watch Them." Ed supposedly guarantees the work but what good is it if they can't fix it correctly in the first place?

On 3/27 the truck lost all power but Ed had the answer: a new set of wires for $270.28. The next morning on a cold start the engine spewed a huge white cloud of smoke the size of Rhode Island and blew a hole in the new valve cover gasket. I barely got to the garage and was told not to drive it. The mechanic, Robert, drove me home and announced that the costly head repair had been TOTALLY unnecessary and that he and 2nd mechanic Tim had strongly argued with Ed against tearing open my engine!! I was floored. Robert, and several others I have since spoken with who handle Ford fleet accounts, claimed that the older engines have a chronic slow "seepage" on the right manifold which is a design flaw and does not justify a head repair. All you can do is monitor the oil level until the engine wears out. I'D BEEN HAD but decided not to say anything until my vehicle was at least operational.

The valve cover gasket was replaced (which had been improperly installed and was the source of the mystery smell) and Ed charged me another $324.74 for an air flow sensor which, he claimed, had been the REAL culprit all along. It was now supposedly fixed. On April 3rd I test drove the truck to discover that it was still skipping and vibrating! Ed now claimed -- wait for it -- that I simply needed a NEW ENGINE! So what happened to that $1213 worth of 'insurance' I bought last year with the head repair?

On April 4th I hired a local mechanic, Joe Whitt from Whitt's Auto Care in Durham, as my advocate. Joe graciously spent several free hours going over my case. Within 5 minutes of looking at the truck he had isolated the problem: 2 spark plugs with cracked insulators which had been improperly installed by High Tech during the 100,000-mile tune-up. A compression test indicated that I had 3 cylinders with bad rings, a situation that should have been disclosed by High Tech BEFORE a costly head repair was even considered. The $1213 that was wasted on this disaster could have been put toward a new engine, but I was never given that option.

On April 5th, 2007, I confronted Ed Gaydosik with a demand for a refund of: 1) Joe Whitt's bill to fix the problem, 2) the unnecessary wire set, 3) the unnecessary air flow sensor, and 4) the unnecessary head repair, TOTAL = $1,986.32. I didn't expect to get too much cooperation but slamming those cracked platinum plugs on the counter seemed to finally get jokin' Ed's attention. Ed wrote me a check for $772.72 for the first 3 items. We argued for 10 minutes over the head repair where he tried his loopy logic on me to distract from the fact that he got caught defrauding a loyal 10-year customer with a bogus repair.

I offered a compromise of $770 (labor only) but Ed refused. I felt this was more than fair, considering that this flying circus of gross incompetence and fraud has caused me several lost days of work and 11 months of inconvenience and stress. It's think it's sad that Ed has that big building full of sophisticated equipment but can't even diagnose a faulty spark plug, unless of course, it's more profitable not to. Until I receive a full reimbursement of the $1,213.60 for the unnecessary and botched head repair, I will continue to tell my story.

Submitted by Mary Kenney, Durham, NC

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