The first time I brought my car in Animas they told me that I had a power steering leak. Not having the money to fix the leak immediately I purchased the correct fluid online and topped it off before going on a short road trip. To be certain that I didn’t run out of fluid on the trip I stopped every hundred miles and checked the levels. They NEVER changed once topped off, and now one year later they are still at the SAME level! This tells me there was no leak in the first place, this may have just been an attempt to take me for $600, the cost to fix said leak. I gave Animas the benefit of the doubt after this situation because they are the only certified Land Rover mechanic in town. I came in to have my 60k checkup, their technicians no longer found a leak…so miraculously this leak had fixed itself?
This time they said I needed new brake pads on my rear brakes. I was told that I could get a ride to the airport and my car would be dropped off on when I arrived back at the airport. I was quoted $590 (including all parts, and services, and parts were to be from Land Rover directly). I called the Land Rover dealer in Santa Fe to ensure that I was not being ripped off. I quickly found out that I was paying twice as much by going with Animas(the dealer quoted $250-300), but since they were local, and I thought they were offering such an amazing service with the airport ride/car delivery, I decided to pay the extra money.
Fast forward to the day I flew in at midnight….I’m stranded at the airport with no car. My car was not delivered to the airport as promised. I had to look into options of getting home including renting a car or taking a taxi. Since they were both closed I had to have someone drive an hour to come and pick me up! When I called the next morning to see if my car had been stolen, or simply not dropped off I wasn't even given an apology. I was stuck outside of the airport for over an hour at midnight!
I was told that I now owe $781, which is well over the original estimate. This was because I had two services. We only spoke about one service, my brake pads initially. I was told that I had been informed about my breaks being “flushed.” I can confirm 100% that I was never told anything about this. They also told me that they quoted me at $781 originally. This is not accurate, and NEVER happened. The gentleman I was speaking with then said that he recorded the conversation. When I asked to hear the conversation he quickly said that he didn't actually record it, but wrote everything down including the time and date. I said fine, tell me the time and date, I have my phone records. He of course could not give me a time or date, as I suspect there wasn't really one written down...
We had a verbal contract for the quote of $590, which included a ride to the airport and my car delivered back to me. Animas did not provide the full service that was promised, and then continued to hold my car ransom, forcing me to take a taxi out to pick it up when it was initially supposed to be delivered to me.
What would have been a $250 repair in Santa Fe has now turned into over $1000 when including taxi rides.
I realized I had to pay the $781, so went to the shop where I was told I couldn't get my car because the owner wanted to speak with me first to "go over everything." I waited for almost 45 minutes, and finally had to leave. Only after threatening to call the cops did they accept my payment and let me take my car. The initial bill ended up being $720 - not sure why it changed price again, and no explanation was given. At least this time the price was going down, so I did not complain.
I will avoid this company like the plague!! They do not treat people with respect, and are not reliable with their communication, and will leave you stranded and then hold your car hostage...
