I won’t be using Michanic services again – **********

Although their mechanic was good at his work, this company deserves a no-star rating. Making payments for motor vehicle repairs prior to commencing any work is not advisable.

My car would not start on Monday 08/07/2024. I requested the services of Michanic to run diagnostics on my vehicle. The mechanic arrived on Tuesday 09/07/2024 and diagnosed an issue with the starter. The starter required replacement.

The job card for supplying a new starter was emailed to me: New starter: R2 245.59 Labour: R 900.00 Call Out Fee: R 200.00 TOTAL: R3 345.59

As Michanic requires full payment prior to commencing any work. I made full payment on Wednesday 10/07/2024.

The mechanic arrived on Thursday 11/07/2024 with a new starter. After removing the faulty starter from my car, the mechanic realized that the new starter was not the correct size. He tested the old starter on my car battery. Although the starter gear did spin, I was informed that the starter was weak. The mechanic informed me that he will be taking my original starter as a sample to the supplier. The mechanic left my premises at around 14:00.

I received a call about 4.5 hours later, 18:25, from the mechanic indicating that he would be calling at my premises at 7.30 the following morning. I assumed he is arriving with a new starter.

The mechanic arrived on Friday 12/07/2024, only to be told that my original starter was reconditioned. The reason for reconditioning, was that a starter was over R4700.00. The reconditioned starter was fitted, and this resolved the non-start issue.

I then contacted Michanic to query a credit as a new starter was not supp****. I was flabbergasted when I was informed that the credit was only R174.93. I requested a breakdown of what was replaced on the reconditioned starter e.g. solenoid, armature etc.

Instead of providing a breakdown of what was replaced in the reconditioned starter, their Customer Success Champion emailed a new job card that reflected: Starter remove and install: R 636.00 Starter motor recondition: R1 284.66 Labour: R1 050.00 Call out fee: R 200.00 TOTAL: R3 170,66

To justify a refund of R174,93, the labour fee was increased from R900.00 to R1 050.00. In addition to this increase, a new fee of R636.00 was added for removal and fitment of the starter. Strangely, this new fee did not appear on the original job card. Removing and replacing the starter should be covered by the labour fee. Was my starter reconditioned within that short period of time, 14:00 to 18:25 hours, or was my original starter swopped for a reconditioned starter.

Response from their Customer Success Champion to my query regarding the labour fee and the removal and installation fee was:

“ We understand your concern regarding the increase in labor costs from R900.00 to R1050.00 and the additional fee for the removal and installation of the starter, which was not included in the original job card. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. As per our standard procedure, the labor cost increased because taking the starter for reconditioning requires more time than just replacing it. ”

Up until the mechanic arrived at my home with the reconditioned starter, I was not informed that my starter was going to be reconditioned and neither was I informed that this would entail an additional cost of R636.00 for removal and fitment and an increase in labour fees from R900.00 to R1050.00. However, there was no response to why I was charged R636.00 for starter remove and install which was not included in the original job card.

Had I known in advance that I will be paying R3 170.66 for a reconditioned starter, I would not have proceeded with the repairs. A blatant *******.

After my disappointing experience with Michanic, I will not be using their services again.