I took my Land Rover in to Land Rover of Richmond, to be fixed and serviced for a over heating problem. I told the service manager that two other certified mechanics looked at it and said that "they could not keep the thermostat from seizing. So Land Rover of Richmond looked at it and called me back and said it was just a bleed line to the over flow of coolant and said they replaced it and it was about $10. Then the service manager went on about other services that needed to be done, so I said "yes if it needs it lets do it." I asked about the thermostat a couple of times because that was supposed to be the problem but they said it was working properly. So I picked my Land Rover up that Friday night, bill was over $500 and they told me it was fixed. I got about 15 miles away from the dealership and same old problem was happening. I called them right away but service had just left. I checked under the hood on the Land Rover and it did not seem to be heating up, so re-started it and it went back to normal. So I drove the Land Rover home and it seemed fine. The next morning t was still driving fine but no heat. Land Rover of Richmond called me back on Monday afternoon after hearing my message on Friday and asked what was up and told them the story. The service manager told me "to keep an eye on it." Wednesday morning on the interstate with my three kids in the car. The Land Rover heated up and I had to pull over of of the interstate, which was almost 5 miles. I had it towed back to Land Rover and now they said "I drove it when it heated up and blew the head gaskets and they were probably already going bad and it would be over $3000 for this repair'. I asked if the head gaskets were bad 5 days ago when I brought it in and the service manager said"Yes". Then I asked about the thermostat again and they said "it was working properly." So they re-did the head gaskets and called and said it was ready to be picked up. When I said I was coming to pick it up, the the service manager said" wait the mechanic needs to test some thing else". Called me two days later said it was ready again and they had to replace thermostat. I said " I knew that was the real problem". Then I asked if that is why my head gaskets blew, because you guys didn't change my $12 thermostat the first time? He did not have a answer for me. So then my dad stopped by the dealership just to take a look before I picked it up, because he was in the automotive industry with over 25 years of experience in parts. He asked to look at the old head gaskets that got replaced. He then said to service manager, " these head gaskets are not blown!" Then the service manager said " my head gaskets were in great shape when I brought it in?" Then he said " Actually What Really Happened, Was The Head Gaskets Were Installed Upside Down Three Years Ago And Now They Blew." He then said "come to the shop and I will show you how they could have been up in upside down." As he showed my dad, he found that it was impossible to put the gaskets on upside down, because the hole patterns would not match up. Then he got really nervous and said " the head gasket bolts maybe were put in up side down." So my over bill for $10 bleed line and $12 thermostats, cost be about $4000.00. The dealership then said it was my fault. I talked to the General Manager and he said "he could not help he was only a numbers guy." I sent information to BBB and they talked to Land Rover and they again said nothing we can do. Then I contacted Land Rover of North America and they said that they would try to help. In the end they said that they decided not to get involved. I own my own Small Business and this is unacceptable and it is still a crime to steal a customer or any ones money for that matter. I have all documents, witnesses and phone conversations to prove my case. It's not about the money so much, but being lied to and deceived by big business over Small Business Companies doing the right things. How come Big Businesses are allowed to steal and there is nothing you really can do about it. Thanks for any help you can provide.
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