Reply from Renn Haus
Guy Covington Says:

January 12th, 2012

Car repair is not an exact science. Sometimes the computer does not give our technician's the exact fix. Therefore, they have to use their best judgment. In the case of the fan our judgment was incorrect. So we refunded the customers money and went to the next step. That also did not lower the fan noise that was concerning to her. So again we only charged her the cost of the part since it was new.

When she returned for tires we recommended the OEM Michelin tires. She declined as she did not want to spend that much money. We then recommended a Tire Rack highly rated set of Continental tires which she approved. We also performed a 4 wheel alignment she approved over the phone. However, when she picked up the car she was upset at the price of the alignment and stated she did not understand that it would cost more than just the mounting and balancing.

As the owner, I discounted the alignment by 50% for customer satisfaction. After her complaint about the alignment we re-did the alignment at no cost to her. She continued to be concerned with the slight shimmy in the steering wheel so we sent the wheels and tires out to be Road Forced balanced at our cost. The tires and wheels balanced to zero so there was nothing Continental would do under warranty. She still was not satisfied.

Therefore, I realized RENN HAUS was not able to meet her exacting needs and refunded her the full price of the tires including the shipping, mounting, balancing twice and sales tax. She then went and bought the originally recommended Michelin's from another dealer whom she now has posted a negative review against his shop. We have re-sold that set of Continentals at a reduced price to another of our BMW 3 Series customers and she is very happy.

This customer was not harmed in any way by RENN HAUS other than feeling my frustration. Most shops would never have refunded any money for either of these situations. To see a real representation of RENN HAUS? work and reputation please go to Google reviews and make up your own mind. Also, her name is not Trixie. She did not have the courage and honesty to use her real name. Thank you.

Reply from Renn Haus
Guy Covington Says:

January 12th, 2012

RENN HAUS can understand Chris Tarpley's frustration due to events which occurred prior to him ever contacting RENN HAUS (RH). These particular events involved a used car lot that he paid to perform auto repair work along with towing company that damaged his front suspension.

However, RH did not install the water pump incorrectly, break the left rear tie rod, cause the suspension problem with the right rear, crack and bend the two front suspension wishbones, break the trunk switch or cause the intermittent rough running at start. These were a result of the past services Chris had other companies perform as well as normal maintenance issues.

The recurring problems he is now reporting are a function of repair jobs he did not authorize due to budgetary concerns.

Attached is the signed, paid Inspection invoice listing the problems found with his Porsche. Also attached is the approved and signed, paid for repair invoice for the repairs selected off this list. Again, the items Chris is complaining about are items he did not approve to be fully diagnosed and repaired.

THIS IS CLEARLY A CASE OF DIRECTING SOUR GRAPES AT RENN HAUS DUE TO DAMAGE CAUSED BY OTHER FACILITIES AND THE FACT THAT THIS 8 YEAR OLD CAR HAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF REPAIRS REQUIRED THAT HE CANNOT READILY AFFORD.

THE DISCONNECTING OF THE FRONT TRUNK SWITCH WAS DONE AT CHRIS'S REQUEST. He reported that the trunk switch did not work and that the jump box option did not work when he initially brought the car. In order to do the requested alignment the front trunk needed to be opened. Therefore, with Chris's approval, we pulled the emergency release out from under the right front headlight to open the trunk. Fishing out this wire required close to 30 minutes and we did not charge Chris for this additional process in an effort to help him with the expense of these repairs. Chris did not want us to diagnose and fix the trunk switch due to budgetary concerns. Later in our dealings, Chris requested RH to disconnect the front trunk switch in the hopes that it would fix a different problem. Therefore, he was fully aware that the only way to open the front trunk now was with the exposed emergency pull wire under the front headlight.

RH has two of the top auto technicians in Florida. They hold many certifications including ASE Master Technician which is the highest certification available. Steven Jones was trained in Germany and has over 30 years of experience. He is nationally regarded as one of the top German car engine and transmission rebuilders as well as a superior diagnostician. RH has the top diagnostic equipment available for Porsche diagnostics including the Porsche PST2 tester and the Durametric tester.

When Chris first came into RH one of his first statements was asking if we knew of all the great things on the internet about Guy Covington and RH and the fact that there was nothing negative?

Chris originally explained that his water pump had failed somewhere north of Ellenton and he had the car towed to Sarasota for the repair. His complaint was that the water pump he had repaired by the used car lot where he purchased the car was leaking right after the repair was completed. Additionally he claimed that the used car lot had broken a rear tie rod during the repair, replaced it without his approval and tried to pass off the repair as due to the boot on the tie rod being cracked. Furthermore, Chris pointed out that:

1. His car's right rear tire was worn through the tread to the core due to an issue with the right rear suspension;

2. He had a check engine light;

3. He experienced, inconsistently, other fault lights flashing;

4. His front trunk would no longer open with the switch or manual jump.

He then asked me to look at the replaced parts and give him my opinion because he planned to sue the used car dealer. I agreed to look at the parts but to only provide our findings of the current problems with his car.

Then I explained to him that RH would do a complete inspection of the issues mentioned and provide him a report of our findings for $100. Chris agreed and I personally provided him a ride to his home so that he did not have to hire a cab.

On 1-28-10, our 30 year technician completed the inspection and found that the bolts used to replace the water pump were too long and therefore did not seal the water pump properly. I reported this to Chris by phone and he approved the repair for $50.00. I reviewed our other findings with Chris and suggested that those repairs be prioritized in order of importance. Chris agreed and stated he would schedule them for later. He signed and paid for our completed services. A copy of the signed inspection and repair order is attached with our findings.

One of our findings was that when Chris had the car towed, the towing company had bent and cracked the front two control arm wishbones which caused the steering wheel to be off more than 10 degrees and the front suspension and wheel alignment to be compromised.

So RH wrote up a prioritized repair estimate that we provided to Chris and he approved the attached estimate when he brought the car back on 2-3-10 for these repairs.

As a side note, during this visit Chris told us that RH is regarded as the GO TO shop for Porsche repair in SW Florida.

The repairs were completed on 2-5-10, the alignment came within specifications and the car was driven twice by Steve Jones and checked out fine. Please see the attached alignment sheet showing the car within the factory specification.

When Chris came and paid for the approved repairs, the intermittent problem he had previously mentioned, i.e., starting and running rough, occurred as he begin to drive away. This problem had not happened at any time while in our shop. Diagnosing and fixing this problem was not part of the first prioritized and approved work.

Chris brought the car back the following day for us to look at the rough starting problem - Steve hypothesized this problem was related to the voltage regulator or alternator. Chris asked if it was possible that the trunk switch could be drawing down the battery to cause the rough start. Steve did not believe that was the problem. This is when Chris asked RH do disconnect the switch to eliminate that possibility. Steve then disconnected the switch as requested and RH did not charge for this service.

Chris then brought the car in Monday or Tuesday for us to diagnose the rough running problem. Our diagnosis confirmed that it was the alternator and I provided an estimate over the phone. Chris explained to me that he did not have the money as he is only paid once a month by the recording label with whom he contracts.

When Chris arrived to pick up the car, he seemed clearly agitated by this reality. Therefore, being compassionate to his situation, I decided not to charge him at that time for the $100 diagnosis.

After that he sent me an email blaming RENN HAUS for all his woes and threatening to sue me. I responded that he had no grounds and that he should be suing the shop that improperly installed his water pump and broke his rear tie rod and also the towing company that cracked and bent his front wishbones and suspension.

Chris then responded that he had turned this matter over to his named attorney and was suing RH. I attempted to reason with him and come to a compromise and he rebuffed my gesture. Therefore, I felt I had no other option than to stop discussions with him based on advice from my attorney.

Chris persisted to harass me via email with claims about a shop in Tampa finding all our poor work and continued threatening me. I then asked him to provide me with the paid repair orders showing the work completed by this shop in Tampa and informed him that after I received this, I would determine if there was any consideration to be made.

His reply to me was that he would "NOT DO WHAT I TOLD HIM ANYMORE and his attorney was going to get me and he would win!". Following this, I sent him one last e-mail stating that his unstable behavior was threatening to me and that I was starting to fear for myself and my family. In light of this, I informed him that that all communications with him were now terminated.

Mr. Tarpley then took this matter to the BBB and when RENN HAUS agreed to have the BBB mediate a settlement between us he refused to supply them with the claimed receipts to fix and repair our work. The same receipts RENN HAUS had requested from him numerous times. After this effort by the BBB Mr. Tarpley stopped communicating with all.

Sincerely,

Guy Covington

President

RENN HAUS LLC