Belden Automotive

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Disappointment after disappointment. I wouldn't use Belden's again if my car broke down right in front of their shop. Drove my Camry in to have a faulty/leaking water pump replaced and overdue timing belt changed.



Disappointment #1: They wanted to keep the car until the next day when I was promised the end of the day. I ended up getting it same day by repeatedly saying tomorrow was extremely inconvenient.



Disappointment #2: Late that evening when I picked up the car, I realized they charged me a towing fee. I called and said ~"what the heck?". They said when they did their 30-point inspection (before doing the repairs) the timing belt broke. I said ~"that's your problem, I told you the belt was very aged and needed to be changed. The car was fully drivable when I brought it in". They said, "I see both sides to the argument". In which I responded, "There's not two sides, I DROVE my car in because it needed a new timing belt and YOU choose to drive it around town BEFORE making the repair and the belt broke. That's all on you!". After 2 days, 3 or 4 phone calls, and them contacting the corporate office a couple of times, I finally got credited back. I'm completely dumbfounded that I even had to ask/beg to have it removed/credited!



Disappointment #3: The next day on my way to work, I started hearing a belt squealing. Didn't think to much the first 2 or 3 days of squealing. Thought maybe some oil was on the belt and it would work it s way out. Never happened. About 4 days later I opened the hood. Here s what I saw...



Main belt (which they had to take off and then re-install) was extremely dry rotted, frayed, and had chunks missing. Link to Pics: http://db.tt/i7D4nZyL and http://db.tt/C2w3U87C. Wow, so much for their 30-point inspection. I'm surprised my car even made it out of their shop!



Alternator tensioner assembly installed backwards causing bolts to bend/shear. Link to Pics: http://db.tt/a35ErpPK and http://db.tt/fgadVfiN. To be fair, I really can't say if this was correct when bringing it in. But like the belt, it was so obviously wrong it should have been fixed before tightening it down!



One big plus: Their work is guaranteed for a period of time, so one could bring the car back in if something like this happened. But after all that I had happened, I would never trust them to touch my car again.



UPDATE: I've changed my review from 2 stars to 5 stars following a phone call I received by Jason Belden (the GM). Mr. Belden called me a couple of days after I posted this review and expressed his deepest regret that so many things went wrong while my car was in the shop. He admitted that the tow charge should never had been put on in the first place, the belt should had been brought to my attention so I could pay for it's replacement, and that the tech simply messed up by installing the tensioner assembly backwards (or possibly just failing to notice it was backwards initially).



He offered to replace the belt they overlooked and the two bolts they damaged for free. I had already repaired/replaced the items though, so he sent me a store credit for the amount that work would normally cost. I'm still amazed at the multiple mistakes made by the guy(s) who worked on my car that day. But am reassured that the owners go to great measures to ensure that any mistakes that are made, are corrected. If one should ever have issues with one of the local shops, I'd encourage you to contact one of the Belden's. They truly go out of their way to ensure their customers are satisfied.