January 2024 by Eric Hilty
Amateur shop, amateur work, waste of time, money, and un-safe work. Extremely unhappy local customer.Agreed to swap a leaking rear diff on a 2010 Rav 4.The owner pressured me to pay the full amount ($2000) up front so the parts (approximately $500) could be ordered and work could start within a few days.3 months passes before the work was 'completed'. I checked in every week, however didn't pressure to get it done, because wanted it done correctly, not fast. I was sharing a vehicle to get by.On the drive home a major rattle in the wheel occured on the drivers side, I returned immediately. They corrected the issue (loose suspension bolts).A week later the passenger side had a rattle that ended up being the lower shock mount. They quick 'fixed' that as well. The rattle immediately returned.Now almost 4 months in and I am feed up. I start my own rebuild in my driveway and find:They have permanently damaged my passenger side knuckle. Installed a helicoil incorrectly in the bolt hole they damaged the first time around. I specifically asked them to not install helicoils in my suspension when we talked about the issue the last time.They modified the shock bracket out of OEM spec to fit the messed up helicoil.They did not re-stake my passenger side axle nut.They damaged my driver side axle threads. Likely because they reused the old axle nut. The axle spindle must be replaced to re assembleWorst of all, reinstalled stripped/ stretched bolts though out.This cost me $650 in parts and 2 more months without my vehicle.I hope this saves someone else the waste of time, money, and honestly vehicle safety hazard risk.
