How long is too long to wait for a car repair?
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) - How long is too long to wait for a car to be repaired? One man has been waiting nearly three months to get his car back from a Little Rock transmission shop he dropped his car off at back in October.
Randall Jordan, 22, brought his 1996 Lincoln Continental to ATR Transmissions & Auto Repair on Asher Avenue on October 1, 2013. At the time, he was quoted $1,050 for a new torque converter and overhaul of his transmission. He paid $550 to ATR on the day he dropped off the car and paid the rest on October 15th.
When Jordan called to check on the car he was told the car was still being repaired on the rack, but would be ready by the end of the day or the next day. That was the same story throughout the month of October into November. That's when Jordan's aunt, Kareemah Rainey got involved.
Rainey went to ATR and was given the same story as her nephew. When they went back they were told the car was still being worked on again.
"We want the car back," said Rainey, recalling her conversation with ATR owner, Cliff Gordon. "Just put it back together enough for us to put it on a tow truck and have it taken someplace else."
Gordon told Rainey and Jordan to come back the following week to pick up the car - it would be ready to be transported. But when they went back they returned to a locked-up shop.
"So I explained to my nephew it was obvious that he was not going to give him this car back," said Rainey. "I thought maybe we needed to get someone else involved."
So Rainey sent a complaint letter to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office. The Consumer Protection Division forwarded a letter with the attached complaint to Gordon at ATR, requesting a response to the complaint within ten days. On December 11th, Rainey received a letter back from the AG's office stating they had not received a response from ATR.
ATR has had 15 complaints lodged against them with the Attorney General's office, most of which have not been responded to and all of which have been unresolved to the satisfaction of the complainants. It's the same situation with the Better Business Bureau, which ATR received an "F" rating from for not responding to 9 of 10 complaints lodged with them.
Channel 7 reached out to Cliff Gordon with ATR on Monday. Gordon said the car was old and the parts for the vehicle were hard to obtain. According to Gordon the car is still on the rack being repaired as of today. He claims he received death threats from Jordan's father, but Rainey says she has no knowledge of that happening.
Gordon said he's not keeping the car hostage, but offered no response as to why the 1996 Lincoln Continental is still in his garage.
