Keras Car Central

DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR TO JIM KERAS COLLISION CENTER! It was bad enough to have an accident in a Brand New Vehicle, but Jim Keras Collision Center made it even worse. Originally I planned to take my car to a friend’s body shop, but at my salesman’s recommendation I took it to Jim Keras. I went in to have an estimate, which was roughly $ 989. The responsible parties appraiser provided an estimate of over $ 2200. I received the check from the insurance company & as stated on their appraisal, I took that information to Jim Keras when dropping of my car for repair. When dropping my car off (on a Monday), I told the employee that I was having a hitch put on the car while in their shop. I asked if this could be done, so that I was not paying ADDITIONAL labor to disassemble & reassemble the bumper. The employee agreed, & said that could be done… so I expected to pay the labor for the hitch installation out of pocket. On Wed, I called to check on the status & the price had jumped from $ 989 to $ 1700. I asked why. The only reason provided was the wheel could not be repaired it had to be replaced. I reminded the SAME employee about the hitch. He had forgotten but said they would take care of it. On Friday, my salesman sent me a text to say my car was ready. I arrived to pick it up at noon. Of course, I had to wait for the ONE employee who knew about my car. He said it wasn’t ready & asked me to give him 2 hours. I was called after 2 hours & told they needed more time, but my car would be ready by closing. When I arrived to pick up my car, the charges had gone to $ 1818. I asked for an explanation. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the funds b/​c the insurance company paid me, but I wanted to know what changed. The manager could not explain it. The only difference was the wheel which was $ 150 more. I told him I felt like they took the appraiser’s quote, & raised the charges to get more money. This turned into a very heated discussion to say the least! The manager mentioned «insurance fraud» as if I was doing something wrong, b/​c he did not understand I was paying the bill. He changed his attitude once he knew the insurance company paid me directly, & asked what I would feel comfortable paying. I told him the original quote of $ 989 plus the difference to replace the wheel. That’s what was paid. Now, I should mention… their paperwork clearly shows they took the appraiser’s $ 2200 estimate & deducted the items that did not need repair to arrive at $ 1818. So their labor hours & parts cost increased for some miraculous reason!
On top of all that, the paint job was HORRIBLE!!! The lines were jagged & paint was smeared on the bumper. The bumper was not properly aligned with the body. The bumper was scraped & interior surface (inside the hatch) was scratched. PLUS, when I saw the inside… OMG!!! It looked like 2 grease monkeys had a party in my car. The car is BRAND NEW, & there was grease on the interior doors, seats, console, & back seat. Someone also spilled something in the back seat. I was angry to say the least.
Then I went to the service dept to pay for the hitch. I was told by the mgr of that dept, that when they received the car it was completely assembled. Therefore, I had a bill of over $ 600 for a hitch. The service mgr would not remove the labor cost, as originally agreed to by the body shop, but he provided a 10% discount.
MY CAR LOOKED WORSE AFTER JIM KERAS REPAIRED IT. So on the following Monday, I went back to Jim Keras to discuss the issue. The body shop mgr apologized & said it was a bad job. His recommendation was to clean up the jagged paint line by cutting it with a razor. Well as a former paint & coatings salesperson, I knew that would not work. I explained why… water can get under that paint line & eventually it will chip & could possibly peel over the entire bumper.
My next step was to meet with one of the Keras family. Mr. Keras suggested the following remedy: to take a bumper off of a brand new car from the lot & install it on my car. DO WHAT?!! I explained the painting process & how it would be a slim chance that the paint would match. Plus, was it his intention to put my bumper (with a bad paint job) on a car & sell it as «new»?!!
In the end, they agreed to pay for a new bumper & paint job at the body shop of my choice. However, they would not refund the labor on the hitch installation or detail my car. From start to finish, this was the WORST service experience I have ever had. I expected much more from a large dealership. The only person who cared was my salesman, yet they tried to fault him for helping me. Jim Keras, you should know better!