Diamond Collision Specialist: Absolutely the worst experience ever! Co... read more Diamond Collision Specialist: Absolutely the worst experience ever! Consumers beware, and if you have a choice, RUN RUN RUN to any mechanic anywhere else! I wish I'd looked these guys up online before ever having the misfortune of my car being towed there. (Portside Towing, which hopefully will lose its AAA affiliation, is owned by Steve who owns Diamond Collision, and he directs your car there). It took days to do the estimate (when they'd promised me for the same day), his estimates are apparently always huge, he's hard to reach but seems very friendly until the moment you do not agree. His towing, which he'd told me was "completely free" to Diamond, was then added on as a $75.00 charge when I went to take my car elsewhere for a second opinion. He had done NOTHING with my car but sit on it for days and days, and when I told him I'd be taking it, the estimate charge in order to release the car was $245.00. Period. Oh, plus that towing charge, he said, claiming that it was only free if I got work done there. After telling him that AAA would probably like to know how he misinforms his potential customers, he took it back off "Oh! I just don't know what I was thinking! Of COURSE you don't pay for towing, silly me," he'd said. This man does not care about reputation, about the customer, about relationships--he cares 100% about the bottom line. I never pursue anything like this, but his whole demeanor was so bizarre and creepy that it's really stuck with me, PLUS when I took the car elsewhere they did the work for $1,300, after Diamond's estimate of $1,800. plus. Complaints from others in the past to BBB that I looked up had to be closed because Diamond Collision does not respond, they suggested I take it to Attorney General's office, and I have also opened a file with AAA for them to review, hoping to help others avoid this place. AAA seems to be well aware of other complaints about this business, which I found to be interesting. I contacted Steve and let him know tha
Brought the car in for diagnosis, they said the engine was "seized" (t... read more Brought the car in for diagnosis, they said the engine was "seized" (total BS... I later took the engine apart and while I had melted the pistons, the rotating assembly did move and the engine could still turn over). Said I needed a new engine. Told me they found one to buy, then three months later told me they hadn't actually bought it (without calling me to tell me this). Returned maybe 2 calls in all of 6 months. SO, being a Volvo fanatic, I asked a couple of friends, then brought them an engine. A month later they hadn't even started on the swap. A month after that, I went in and took my car, my engine, and a bunch of parts that I had bought back from them. These guys can't pick up the phone without being hounded, their technician told me I was wrong repeatedly, and nobody was really willing to help. Fortunately after six months they only made me pay for the diagnoses they did in the beginning. Credentials: I took the car and engine and parts home and did the swap myself in my driveway in two weekends, having never done one before on my own. Saved an estimated $1800 and didn't have to deal with them again.
