Auto-Motion Inc

I have a 2011 MINI Cooper Countryman S. Not realizing that when I got the car, that there are very few mechanics that know how to work on a MINI and when my car began to have issues, finding a mechanic was hard. I was referred by another mechanic to go to Auto-Motion. I have gone there in the past and had my car worked on and never had any issue. Went there this last time to have a variable valve timing solenoid replaced because my car was not idling correctly, and I also had an oil change. Dropped my car off and the next day it was ready. I go to pick up my car and when I first started my car, I could tell that the car was still running the same as before, if not a little worse. First initial thoughts were maybe once I start driving it will work itself out. Second thought, maybe what I paid to have fix was not the actual cause why my car was running bad and therefore did not help. Third thought maybe I should popped the hood and look under, but I gave them the better judgement because I just paid $200 to have my car fixed by professionals and as the stereotype that men love to put women in, I am a 25 year old female, that doesn’t know that much about cars, especially when it comes to the engine, so I gave them the better judgment to assume that it was fixed and drove my car off the lot. My car was drivable, however I noticed that the car was driving a little different and sporadically I would feel the slightest tug on the gas pedal, as if it were barely revving it up. Once I got off the interstate and was stopped at the light, I had my foot on the brake and when I released my foot to slowly ease up,  it revved up just the slightest and I saw the RPM dial jump up past 1 really fast and went back down. I kept watching the dashboard for a light to turn on in hopes that if something were majorly wrong, I would know to pull over and check. The light never came on, made it home, open the hood and there is a piece of the valve cover missing. I am thinking, maybe they forgot to put it back on, who knows? Called up there but they were closed, and a gentleman answered and said to call the next day, when the mechanic’s there. My mom called the next day to try to figure it out what happened and what needs to be done. Tried explaining to them what the situation was, and they asked for a picture of the engine so they could better understand what we were talking about. The guy is saying to put a piece of duct tape over the hole, drive it back up there and they will fix it. We asked about having it towed up there instead because we did not want to take the chance of causing any more mechanical problems. They guy says they do not pay for tows, (even though they were at fault) and suggested that if I have full coverage insurance, my insurance should offer roadside assistance to have it towed there. Having it towed was the least of my concerns. Once they received the picture and was able to fully understand what we were talking about, the man proceeds to tell us that that had nothing to do with what they worked on, they had no reason to mess with that part nor did they take it off, and therefore they were NOT RESPONSIBLE for the piece to be missing. He explains the reasoning behind it (might I add, the man had a reason for everything). He said they see this kind of thing happen all the time and that it eroded to the point where it fell off (referring to the plastic cover that goes over the PCV membrane on the valve cover). We tried to make our points, but nothing we said seemed to convince him otherwise, and there was no way that it could have been their fault and that it was just a coincidence that the piece fell off after being worked on. What are the odds? We were on and off the phone with them throughout the morning trying to figure out what we should do. We tried one last time to figure out what happened and see if they were able to understand that they were at fault. It resulted in me arguing with the guy, which was talking over me several times and would not let me get my point across and the moment I did, he had a counter argument for everything I mentioned. I mentioned that they could have broken the clips of the cover by leaning on the piece to get to the back of the engine and therefore causing it to fall off, the guy argued and said that they were not working on that part or near it. He said, “we were working on the back of the engine and that’s located on the top of the engine, there is no way we caused to fall off”. As you can tell in the picture provided, it clearly shows that they were working around that part but what do I know. Also proceeded to inform me, if the cover was not on there when I left, that it would be extremely noticeable, the car would not be drivable and that when it did start it would instantly die. However, I drove 32 miles home, without the cover and it never died, how odd? Then when were trying to figure what piece I needed to get, the guy said I would have to buy a whole new valve cover because it all connected to each other. That is an extra $160 at the minimal, judging from the prices on google, plus labor and he said they would help on the price. Finally, I give up on the situation and take the loss. After looking up the piece I needed for my car, I discovered that I do not need the whole valve cover but a PCV valve cover, which is only $40 at the most. After finding out this information clearly shows the guy I talked to had no idea what he was talking about. He was not the mechanic that even worked on my car, so I do not understand why he even tried to plea the case of this situation. They should have had us call back when the mechanic that worked on my car was there, instead of immediately claiming it was not their fault. I am not upset at the fact that I have to replace a part due to someone else’s negligence. It is the fact that I had to plead a case for something that was clearly the fault of whoever worked on the car. Which should have never happened. I could have gone to any mechanic and they would have taken the fault for this situation because they would have realized they were at fault. Plus, it would have been $60 loss, if that, depending how much they charge for labor, to fix the part. The whole situation was ridiculous and very unprofessional.