Diagnostic Auto and Tire Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico

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If you're looking for an auto mechanic or car repair service in Las Cruces, New Mexico, I would ask that you read what I have to say about Diagnostic Auto and Tire Service here first. I took my truck to them to fix a bad fuel pump, and because of the horrible experience I had there I will never trust my credit card to another automotive shop ever again. My name is Ed Zenisek, and if you have any questions about this page, you can feel free to email me at ed@duskrider.com. I'm a real person, and the following story and review is a real experience I had. You can visit the corresponding page at the Better Business Bureau, which I'll link to in a moment, as well as view all the documentation. I have nothing to hide. This page will likely get very long, and for that I apologize, but it's a long story. To sum it up... they charged me far more for a repair than they quoted me and when I disputed the charge, they wrote down my credit card number and charged the amount anyway without my knowledge or consent. The story is far deeper than that, but that's the basics of it.

Quick Jump To: Better Business Bureau Report
Quick Jump To: Open letter to John R. Hayes

Let me start by making sure everyone knows the business I'm talking about:

Diagnostic Auto and Tire Center
2403 S Main St, Las Cruces, NM 88005
PH:(575)523-7782   FAX:(575)523-9733
Owner: John R. Hayes
Service Manager: Jim Barr

So, what's the story? I'll start from the beginning. I own a 2001 GMC Jimmy 4WD with about 130,000 miles on it. Most of the miles are Highway, but that's not really important to this. One day it wouldn't start, so I needed to find a mechanic. Unfortunately I didn't know any in the Las Cruces area, so I was forced to choose more or less blindly. My boss said that he normally took his vehicles to Diagnostic Auto and Tire for regular service, and while he'd never taken his vehicles there for any major repair, he said he'd never had any issues. I thought this place was as good as any, so I called them up and scheduled an appointment. The next day my truck started without issue, but since I'd been having minor hiccups like this with the fuel system, I kept my appointment. Thus began the worst automotive experience I've ever had. I should mention that I'd been putting off also getting my driver's side power window motor fixed for a few months, so I figured I'd get it done in one shot.

The first appointment was on August 3rd of 2009. I took my truck in and had someone from the shop give me a ride to work. Eventually they called and notified me that repairs to the fuel pump would run me around $900. I was shocked. They told me it was so expensive because the fuel pump in my Jimmy was inside the gas tank, and they would need to remove it to replace the part. The window motor and installation would run an additional $300, and I should probably also replace my driver's side door hinges because they're causing the door to be partially ajar and creating a lot of wind noise. That was going to be about $200. I told them, "Fine. It has to be fixed, so fix it." I wasn't happy, but what was I supposed to do? I don't know anything about cars, really, and I had them do everything at once so I could just be done with it. Here's the invoice from when I went to pick it up (Click for larger version):

My first rediculously overpriced invoice from Diagnostic Auto and Tire

I didn't say anything to them about their prices at first because I was blissfully ignorant of how much they overcharged me. I'm not a mechanic, so I don't know any better. That is, until I talked to a few friends who DO... including my boss. I then did some research on my own. Take a look at the fuel pump... they charged me $654.21 without labor. Now, take a look at what it should've cost me. I'm all for mechanics making a profit, but this is ridiculous. How about that window motor for $89.99 without labor? Yeah, not so much. This, however, is only the beginning.

A day later, I found a leak. A rather large one.

Leaky radiator after repair from Diagnostic Auto and Tire
Leak after Las Cruces Mechanic fixed my Jimmy

That's not just some of my coolant. That's all of it. My radiator was bone dry. I had to take another vehicle to work that day because I couldn't drive my truck, which I'd just spent over $1400 fixing. I was understandably upset, so I called Diagnostic Auto and Tire to let them know. They told me they would go out to my house and pick the truck up to take a look at it for me, which they did. They drove it back to their shop and called me a few hours later with the following news: I would need a new radiator because the crack in the old was was irreparable. It would cost me $300 to fix. I asked them why it would cost ME that money, and the service manager told me that the radiator wasn't their fault. When I pointed out that I'd had my vehicle back for less than two days before this massive leak was discovered and that I'd never had a single problem with my cooling system prior to them getting their hands on it, I was told It's an old vehicle, these things happen. We never touched the radiator, so it couldn't have been us. I said fine... $300 is fine. Get it fixed, I need it back and just want to be DONE.

Here's a copy of the invoice that was waiting for me when I got to their shop later that day (Click for larger):

My second rediculously overpriced invoice from Diagnostic Auto and Tire

If you don't want to embiggen that image or can't read the total let me spell it out: $770.09 I was charged $470.09 more than I agreed to pay over the phone. They told me $300 on the phone, and did, supposedly, $770 worth of work to my truck. Unfortunately I didn't have $770, and it was all I could muster to scrape up the $300. Never mind the fact that they charged me $238 for labor including "See why vehicle is getting hot." The fact that radiator fluid was all over my driveway didn't give you a clue, huh? Disregard the fact that they charged me $289.99 for a new radiator, which, again was overpriced. They did a whole mess of work which not only could I not afford to pay for, but that I didn't authorize them to complete. When I brought this to their attention, they simply stated that they told me $800 on the phone. I was flabbergasted. I argued with the service manager that he did not state $800 on the phone, and he, of course, denied that he ever told me $300. Now, I understand that sometimes people forget things. I understand that sometimes you don't remember exactly what was told to you, but I know for a fact that I didn't have $800 to spend that day. I had to scrape up $300, but I knew I could do that when I talked to him on the phone. There was no way I could scrape up $800 and, had he really told me $800 on the phone, I think I would've heard that and realized I didn't have the money. I was driving another vehicle at the time since I had a car as well, and while it wouldn't have been convenient, I could've went without my truck until I could afford the repair had they told me $800 on the phone. They didn't. They told me $300.

Eventually I talked to the owner on the phone and I couldn't believe it when he told me he was standing right next to the service manager earlier that day and 'heard' him say $800 on the phone to me. I couldn't believe that the owner was sticking up for an obvious mistake made by the service manager. He said things to me like, "I have to pay my mechanics Ed," and "we only get the best parts and the best people Ed," and "If one of my mechanics had sabotaged your truck I would fire his ass on the spot, my mechanics don't do that. It's an old truck, these things happen, and I'm not going to pay for something I'm not responsible for." He also told me he made his business out of positive customer referrals and word of mouth, and he's an honest person out to make an honest living. He did all this while not moving an inch on his price or acknowledging that he might be in the wrong in any way whatsoever. He never even agreed that it was possible a mistake had been made... as far as he was concerned, his mechanics and service manager could do no wrong. When I told him I didn't have $770.09 to pay him, he asked me what I could pay. I told him $300, which is exactly what I'd agreed to. I had to pay with my credit card because I didn't have the cash (the first payment for over $1400 came out of my bank account), and I made the mistake of handing them my card so I could pay $300 and at least get my truck back. He told me they would call me the next day and try to 'work something out for the rest.' He never called, not once. I got my truck back that day for the $300 payment to them, and I expected to hear from them or receive a bill of some sort... I got neither. I've already showed you my copy of the invoice... let me show you their copy (Click for larger):

Pay attention to how Diagnostic Auto and Tire repair shop in Las Cruces wrote down my card information

Pay attention to the handwritten part where it says "M/C 5178 0572 3694 6351 5/12 521".


Do you see that? That's my Master Card number, along with my expiration date, and the CVV2 code number on the back, all written down without my knowledge or authorization. The copy that I showed you earlier is the only version of this invoice I ever saw until I complained to Capital One and THEY sent me this. Why did I complain to Capital One? Because of this (Click for larger):
Diagnostic Auto and Tire charges me without my knowledge

That's a charge to my card for the remaining $470.09, exactly one month after I paid them $300.

They never called me. They never sent me a letter. They never sent me a bill, or sent me another invoice. They never contacted me at all to, 'work something out.' They just waited a month and charged my card. They used the information they'd already covertly written down in order to phone in a card approval for the remaining $470.09, and since they had the CVV2 code number they never even needed me to be there. I only found out about the charge when I went to pay my Capital One bill that month and almost had a heart attack. Notice all the extra stuff written down for Capital One... things like "2nd Payment As Agreed," and "Due 8/20/09." Notice also that none of those things are on MY copy of the invoice. That's because I never agreed to pay anything other than the $300, and certainly not a month later. When I filed a charge back with Capital One, the merchant faxed this information to them, and they sent it to me via Snail Mail. This, of course, included all my card information on the invoice. Because of this, I was forced to cancel my card to avoid further security issues because both Diagnostic Auto and Tire Center and Capital One don't seem to value my security very much.

I've been going back and forth with Capital One for months on this issue, but they refuse to take my side and only side with the merchant simply because they have more documentation. I, unfortunately, never got any documentation other than the one invoice I posted earlier. I cannot prove that he told me $300 on the phone instead of $800, and have more or less been called a liar by the Owner and Service Manager there. They went so far as to claim I'm trying to defraud them in their response to me in my Better Business Bureau complaint.

Unfortunately, due to the newness of the complaint, it has not yet been posted. I have copied and pasted a direct word for word version of the complaint and response on the following page: BBB Complaint

In addition, you can click below and then click the button that says 'View Complaints' toward the bottom of the page to see another complaint filed against Diagnostic Auto and Tire in 2007. That complaint was not resolved either.

Check them out at the Better Business Bureau

So, in summary, John Hayes and Diagnostic Auto and Tire Center have made me a very unhappy customer. I've created this web site as a last resort in order to try and gain resolution to this issue. Mr. Hayes believes this issue has been resolved in a satisfactory fashion, but that's because Capital One has decided to give him what he believes I owe him, regardless of what I say or do. I, on the other hand, do not believe this has been resolved in a satisfactory fashion, but unfortunately I have no recourse with Mr. Hayes or Capital One at this time. I've tried everything I can to resolve this issue to the benefit of both parties, however Mr. Hayes has been unyielding in both his price and his defense of running my card. I can tell as many friends and family members about this issue as I like, but it won't change anything. If, however, I can warn my fellow New Mexicans of the business practices at Diagnostic Auto and Tire then perhaps my lost money can do some good, even if not for myself.

Undoubtedly this page isn't very good publicity for Diagnostic Auto and Tire. I've dedicated a substantial portion of the last ten years of my life to web site creation, design, and promotion, so I'm confident that this page and my story will be viewed and hopefully heeded by many in Las Cruces looking for automotive repair, towing, or other car service. Even though I feel I've been wronged by Diagnostic Auto and Tire, I'm not unreasonable. I understand what sort of impact a page like this can have on their business, and I'm not heartless. I only wish to be fair. All Mr Hayes must do in order to rectify this situation and remove this page from the internet forever is to treat me fairly. What I believe to be fair is included in my open letter to him, which you can read here:

Open letter to John R. Hayes

If you're reading this, then that means this issue remains unresolved and I have heard nothing from Mr. Hayes. Hopefully he cares more about his business than he cared about me as a customer.