Tate Branch Carlsbad — Local services in Carlsbad

I very rarely review places/experiences but I'll tell you how mine went with Tate Branch Carlsbad...I blew the head gasket on my 2008 cummins. I called around town and they (Simon-Tate Branch) told me they could do it for $1600. Great! So I made an apt and dropped it off 10 days later. Asked how long it would take and I was told 2-3 days. Great! I called 3 days later and they said that 2-3 days was just to get it into the shop. Ok....so when will it be finished? I was told (again) 2-3 days. Whatever...not a terribly huge deal. So I called again in 3 days...and was told that it was going to cost $3800+ and that it would be another 4-5 days to get parts in...and then 2-3 more to fix it? when I asked about simon telling me it would be $1600 they said that was just for labor. Very deceiving. So I agreed to the work as it would've taken me longer to find somewhere else to take it and get it fixed. This went back and forth for the better part of 10 days calling and they're waiting on something. The day it should've been finished (the 4th date I was given) they didn't have the proper tool to pull the injectors....they never thought that was a needed item? I FINALLY get it back...I think it was about 16 days after being told it was going to take 3. I drive to work the next morning and it died. Popped the hood and there's diesel fuel everywhere. Towed it back to my house then called them & they towed it back to the shop. Got a call 3 days later saying the fuel rail was cracked and that they would cover the labor but that I needed to pay $800+ for a new fuel rail. I said that I wasn't going to pay for it because I'm not the one who cracked it. We went back and forth and they finally agreed to replace it for free. (No brainer-I never touched it and there wasn't a fuel leak when I dropped it off originally) so I got the truck back about 8 days later and all was "well" until last night driving home (less than 100 miles since new fuel rail install) and I smell diesel fuel in the cab again. Got back to the house and 10 minutes later there was a puddle of fuel under the truck. A job that should've taken less than 16 hours (head gasket+fuel rail replacement) took them more than 3 weeks and still wasn't done properly. Not to mention I have 2 bolts that were replaced with lower grade bolts (lost? broken?) They also didn't put one of the brackets back that bolts down with the exhaust manifold. Long story short: DON'T TAKE ANYTHING TO THEM FOR SERVICE. They are extremely disorganized and don't really seem to give a damn what kind of bind it puts you in. OH and I forgot to mention-when I picked up the truck the second time, the driver side tire was flat. Someone had broke the valve stem. So I had to put my spare on in their parking lot. (3$ fix at Walmart) I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy. So that was my experience...and now I need to find someone else to fix my truck now. Good luck! EDIT: Jessica in the service department is a very nice gal. I feel like she's doing the best she can with who she's got...

UPDATE: So after returning from vacation Sales Manager Don McBeth contacted me and apologized for both the problem I was having with my windshield and also for not getting back to me sooner. He said he takes customer satisfaction seriously and wanted to make it right. He asked me what expenses I incurred and promised to put a check in the mail to cover it. It was an unfortunate situation but has a happy ending. Thank you Tate Branch for living up to your high standard!

I purchased a 2017 Nissan Armada from you last month and it seemed everything went smoothly. After about 3 weeks I tried contacting my sales guy to find out when I could expect my plates. The title clerk called me and told me I would have to take the vehicle to the DMV myself to have a VIN check since the title was coming from out of state. I took time off of work and got it done and sent it to you. A little over a week later I had my plates. That was somewhat annoying but not a real big deal. My real issue is about a week after I bought the car I was taking it through the car wash and water came pouring through the front windshield. I immediately took it to a glass shop across the street and had them look at it. He said it looked like the windshield had been replaced and wasn't sealed correctly. He charged me $70 and resealed it. He told me to give it about a week before I washed it again. It was over 2 weeks later when I finally took it to be washed again. Once again water came pouring in the same spot. This time I took it to the Nissan dealer here in Roswell. They told me that it had been replaced and when doing so the strip that goes across the top was actually broken. Since it was broken not a "factory defect" the warranty will not cover it. Nissan is charged me $269 plus tax to have it repaired. In total I have paid over $350 for this windshield. I feel Tate Branch deceived me by not disclosing this problem with the windshield. I know it was washed before being put on the lot and again the day we purchased it. There is no way water did not leak through during those washes. I just wanted to share my experience. I emailed Tate Branch about it giving them a chance to try and make it right but they...

We took my car in, with the car care insurance. The insurance, car shield, is fantastic thus far, they paid for everything. Which makes me wonder what kind of scam your dealership is trying to pull. Here is the problem I have with your dealership. A dealership is supposed to have the best mechanics money can buy. This is not true at this dealership, it can't be. These people did not put all the bolts back into my car (missing the bolt to the power steering pump fluid, the coolant reservoir and 2 brackets on the actual engine is missing its bolts. None of the hoses or wires are pinned down like they were before. When I took my car in, it had a dry cough, as in, it had a dry start up. It took this shop over 2 months and $4,000+ only to get my car back with missing bolts and now I am stranded because of some kind of over heating problem that I did not have before I brought the car in NEVER, will I take my car to tate branch dealership and I will report you to the insurance company. If the dealership here in alamo finds out this is happening because of your negligence, I will sell everything I own to get al lawyer to sue you, shame on you. I will make sure car shield does not use you as reputable ASE mechanics. We have been trying to reach out ti this dealership since we got the car back over the missing bolts but no one ever calls us back, very frustrating. They don't let you talk to the technician, you know, the person that actually works on the vehicle, but can't answer your questions. What a mess! I am not satisfied, and will let everyone i know not to take their vehicles to you people. Now I have to pay put of pocket to fix a mess I believe your technician created by not doing their...