My 2003 BMW (rebuilt) had a defective ground cable causing the starter to malfunction. The cable was frayed and the problem was intermittent. Rennen Imports, Inc. erroneously diagnosed the problem as a defective starter. The starter was replaced but the shop failed to recognize that the faulty ground was the cause of the problem and not the starter. The cost of this repair was about $800. About four month later the replacement starter stopped working and Rennen Imports, Inc. proceeded to replace the starter again under warranty, still not recognizing that the cause of the problem was the faulty ground cable. Rennen Imports, Inc. charged an additional $500 to replace a $20 ground cable after spending numerous hours trying to diagnose the problem. I complained that the charge was excessive and they should have been able to diagnose the problem in less time seeing as only a limited number of problems could cause a starter failure (improper ground being one of the possible problems). In effect, I paid about $1,300 to fix a $20 cable since we now know there was never anything wrong with the starter in the first place. For these reasons I tried to reason with them to reduce the charges but they refused and even derided my car for being rebuilt, saying they never would drive such a car. This is a very unprofessional and dishonest shop, unwilling to admit error and unwilling to deal reasonably with its customers. I suggest people to stay away from Rennen Imports, Inc. By the way, they had my car in their shop for a full week so I was inconvenienced that much time without my normal mode of transportation, but they did not seem to care.
It's not worth the trouble to pursue a settlement, and that's what they rely on. People not willing to go without their transportation for very long for a couple of hundred dollars as they could hold the vehicle hostage if you do not pay. They just will never get me back as a customer, and I hope this complaint will persuade enough potential customers not to use Rennen Imports, Inc. for their car service.
