What a terrible operation. RUN AWAY! Go ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE! ALWAYS CHECK the Better Business Bureau instead of just Yelp reviews. (There’s a REASON this business is not part of the BBB, I found out later there are more people like me this business has wronged.)
I finally save up some money to get my car professionally detailed. It’s a small white Toyota sedan, and I was really looking forward to having a beautiful interior, but being a single mom I never had time to do it on my own. I hit up yelp and go with Sunshine Mobile Car detail because it had some great reviews (looking back I think those must be personal friends). I drive my car around, and every time I drive it I roll the windows down since the air conditioning doesn’t work. It’s nice to feel the breeze.
I request a quote, I am told $175-200 for complete interior and exterior detail. This guy comes to pick up my car, and since I’m a female all alone, he starts telling me that $200 is just for interior and that I have to pay an ADDITIONAL $100-$200 for a wax! I found out later what a rip off it was and details include a wax! The paint was fine, so I told him I would only pay $200 for the entire interior. There was a big storm coming in a few days so I figured it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t get it waxed.
At 2:41pm on Valentine’s Day he picks up the car and says he’ll start detailing it today but it will be finished tomorrow, the 15th. At 4:06pm I get a text asking for my email address.
At 5:29pm on February 15th I receive a phone call from him lasting 9 minutes. At first he tells me the detail went great and he’s ready to get paid, and he will drop off the car where he picked it up, but the seats are very wet still. He said he had to use a lot of shampoo and asked if I wanted him to keep the car until the seats dry. I told him I’m happy to take it now. Then he came out with it. He said “Um, were your windows working when you gave me the car?” I told him Yes. I’ve never had a problem with that. He went on to say that when he details the interior of the car, they rolled the windows down, and then when it was time to wash the car, they normally rolls the window up, but the button to my power windows on the passenger side stopped working and they couldn’t get the window up again. I’m in shock and just let him keep speaking. He continues and said they had to wash it by taping plastic to the window. Well, that was news to me! He continued to tell me that the plastic was still covering the passenger window and he would drop off my car on the street where he picked it up. (WHAT?!?) I told him to stop, I didn’t want my car with a window rolled down and taped with plastic dropped off on a public street without any security or rain protection right before a storm!
I said let’s not panic, if he could store it overnight in a covered and secure location, maybe run a fan nearby, maybe once all the shampoo and water dries the window would work again? He agreed. He said he had a shop and would store it in their locked warehouse and would run a fan to try and dry it out overnight.
Thursday Morning 2/16/17 he texts me and asked me to call him. I was at work and asked to correspond in text. I asked him to give me an update on my car. I said that I needed to know if I have to make an appointment at a repair shop or not. Rain is coming and I have no place to store a car with a broken window.
He then sends me picture messages of what I’m supposed to believe is a piece of my car and a picture of a car mechanic’s bill with the following text message” Car detail is complete. Window is working I took it to a mechanic that does all our work and he was able to take the Window switch out to check it than he found that the switch have a lot of coffee inside so he had to clean it and put back but charge us $62.50 So total of detail and switch repair is $260.00 Thank you”
WHAT?!
Not only did I NEVER AUTHORIZE a trip to the mechanic, I was sure not going to pay for some stranger to poke around my car without my knowledge or consent! Even in the estimate and job order of HIS mechanic it states “Clean/dry switch”- showing that it was wet and needed to be dried out! Hmmm… could that maybe be from all that “extra shampoo” needed to remove the coffee someone spilled while working on my interior?
It was at this point I realized this guy was extremely unprofessional and I feared what else he would do to my car while in his possession. Huge red flags! He offered to drop it off at my work but I knew I had to start a paper trail and have witnesses. I showed up at his shop and asked for my keys. He would not give it to me until I paid the money. I told him that I wanted to be fair and I will pay for a detail, but I will NOT pay for work that was unauthorized. (I couldn’t help but notice that he had a big cup of coffee on the front counter….) Once I had the keys I tried the car window. Obviously it still didn’t work. I told him and the witness I brought. He tried the windows himself, and it didn’t work. He kept trying to blame me for it, but eventually said that he has insurance and he can submit this to his insurance company to reimburse. I just wanted my car and avoided a confrontation, so I drove it two blocks over to my mechanic for an honest and neutral second opinion on the matter. My mechanic gave me a full estimate and found that somehow a liquid substance was on the window button and the mechanism was dead. The only way to fix it is to replace the part that shorted out from liquid exposure. The part had to be special ordered from Toyota and cost over $300 and would take several days to arrive. He knew the mechanic the detailer used and said he would provide the same price as it’s just the parts and labor. I preferred my mechanic fix my car, since their mechanic I never authorized to touch my car didn’t fix the problem either.
There was a major storm that hit Santa Barbara and luckily I was able to have my window closed. After the storm, I provided Sunshine mobile detail with the estimate and invoice. They told me they wouldn’t pay it because I had to PROVE that they were the ones that caused the damage. (Funny, because he kept referring to the damage as coffee, when I didn’t even drink coffee, but they had large coffee cups at the shop.)
My estimate for the total repair and labor was now $500. He said he would offer me $20.00 “just because I like to help our costumers”. I explained that I had proof, his texts, his picture messages of unauthorized repair and bill, his verbal confirmation he broke the window, and all of his actions that would lead any normal human being to see that he made some bad choices and now is reneging on his word because the replacement part is too expensive.
Hey, mistakes and accidents happen. No one is perfect. That’s why we have things like insurance and that’s why businesses thrive or fail based on their reputation. Yes, it’s an inconvenience to have a broken window and to run around and get estimates. That’s not the problem though. The problem is the General Manager and how unprofessional he acted. Blaming everyone but himself, doing things to my car without consent, and running away from obligations is not only illegal and immoral, it’s just plain wrong.
Run away from this business unless you want your car handled improperly, god knows what they’ll do to it when you aren’t around, and they’ll absolutely blame you and try to swindle you by jacking up the price and tacking on bills you never authorized. Do yourself a favor and go to a reputable detailer and get the entire interior and exterior done CORRECTLY for $200 or less. Plus you’ll save yourself tons of money, time and hassle repairing your damaged car by just going to an honorable business in the first place.
List of immoral, illegal and unprofessional actions done by Sunshine:
- Demanded extra $100-200 for exterior wax (which is normally included in a detail)
- Told me he broke my car window over the phone (it worked when they lowered it for interior detail and then never raised it again when they tried to close my window for a wash)
- They chose to cover my car window in plastic, (which I’m fairly certain isn’t very secure or an industry standard) and continued to pour water on the car instead of alerting me to the issue
- They tried to blame me for my broken window even though it worked for them and was functioning when I gave it to them (also, it’s always functioned for the many years I’ve owned the car)
- Sunshine Mobile detail took my car to a mechanic WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT
- Sunshine Mobile detail had work done to my car WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT
- Sunshine Mobile tried to bill me for a mechanic I did not authorize
- Told me their mechanic fixed the problem in writing (This is untrue, and the car window did not work when I picked up the vehicle, and the owner even tried the window and saw it didn’t work)
- Would admit fault verbally, but refuse in writing
- Would only want to talk over the phone so there was no paper trail of his actions and choices
Sunshine Mobile Detailing & Car Wash Reviews
What a terrible operation. RUN AWAY! Go ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE! ALWAYS CHECK the Better Business Bureau instead of just Yelp reviews. (There’s a REASON this business is not part of the BBB, I found out later there are more people like me this business has wronged.)
I finally save up some money to get my car professionally detailed. It’s a small white Toyota sedan, and I was really looking forward to having a beautiful interior, but being a single mom I never had time to do it on my own. I hit up yelp and go with Sunshine Mobile Car detail because it had some great reviews (looking back I think those must be personal friends). I drive my car around, and every time I drive it I roll the windows down since the air conditioning doesn’t work. It’s nice to feel the breeze.
I request a quote, I am told $175-200 for complete interior and exterior detail. This guy comes to pick up my car, and since I’m a female all alone, he starts telling me that $200 is just for interior and that I have to pay an ADDITIONAL $100-$200 for a wax! I found out later what a rip off it was and details include a wax! The paint was fine, so I told him I would only pay $200 for the entire interior. There was a big storm coming in a few days so I figured it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t get it waxed.
At 2:41pm on Valentine’s Day he picks up the car and says he’ll start detailing it today but it will be finished tomorrow, the 15th. At 4:06pm I get a text asking for my email address.
At 5:29pm on February 15th I receive a phone call from him lasting 9 minutes. At first he tells me the detail went great and he’s ready to get paid, and he will drop off the car where he picked it up, but the seats are very wet still. He said he had to use a lot of shampoo and asked if I wanted him to keep the car until the seats dry. I told him I’m happy to take it now. Then he came out with it. He said “Um, were your windows working when you gave me the car?” I told him Yes. I’ve never had a problem with that. He went on to say that when he details the interior of the car, they rolled the windows down, and then when it was time to wash the car, they normally rolls the window up, but the button to my power windows on the passenger side stopped working and they couldn’t get the window up again. I’m in shock and just let him keep speaking. He continues and said they had to wash it by taping plastic to the window. Well, that was news to me! He continued to tell me that the plastic was still covering the passenger window and he would drop off my car on the street where he picked it up. (WHAT?!?) I told him to stop, I didn’t want my car with a window rolled down and taped with plastic dropped off on a public street without any security or rain protection right before a storm!
I said let’s not panic, if he could store it overnight in a covered and secure location, maybe run a fan nearby, maybe once all the shampoo and water dries the window would work again? He agreed. He said he had a shop and would store it in their locked warehouse and would run a fan to try and dry it out overnight.
Thursday Morning 2/16/17 he texts me and asked me to call him. I was at work and asked to correspond in text. I asked him to give me an update on my car. I said that I needed to know if I have to make an appointment at a repair shop or not. Rain is coming and I have no place to store a car with a broken window.
He then sends me picture messages of what I’m supposed to believe is a piece of my car and a picture of a car mechanic’s bill with the following text message” Car detail is complete. Window is working I took it to a mechanic that does all our work and he was able to take the Window switch out to check it than he found that the switch have a lot of coffee inside so he had to clean it and put back but charge us $62.50 So total of detail and switch repair is $260.00 Thank you”
WHAT?!
Not only did I NEVER AUTHORIZE a trip to the mechanic, I was sure not going to pay for some stranger to poke around my car without my knowledge or consent! Even in the estimate and job order of HIS mechanic it states “Clean/dry switch”- showing that it was wet and needed to be dried out! Hmmm… could that maybe be from all that “extra shampoo” needed to remove the coffee someone spilled while working on my interior?
It was at this point I realized this guy was extremely unprofessional and I feared what else he would do to my car while in his possession. Huge red flags! He offered to drop it off at my work but I knew I had to start a paper trail and have witnesses. I showed up at his shop and asked for my keys. He would not give it to me until I paid the money. I told him that I wanted to be fair and I will pay for a detail, but I will NOT pay for work that was unauthorized. (I couldn’t help but notice that he had a big cup of coffee on the front counter….) Once I had the keys I tried the car window. Obviously it still didn’t work. I told him and the witness I brought. He tried the windows himself, and it didn’t work. He kept trying to blame me for it, but eventually said that he has insurance and he can submit this to his insurance company to reimburse. I just wanted my car and avoided a confrontation, so I drove it two blocks over to my mechanic for an honest and neutral second opinion on the matter. My mechanic gave me a full estimate and found that somehow a liquid substance was on the window button and the mechanism was dead. The only way to fix it is to replace the part that shorted out from liquid exposure. The part had to be special ordered from Toyota and cost over $300 and would take several days to arrive. He knew the mechanic the detailer used and said he would provide the same price as it’s just the parts and labor. I preferred my mechanic fix my car, since their mechanic I never authorized to touch my car didn’t fix the problem either.
There was a major storm that hit Santa Barbara and luckily I was able to have my window closed. After the storm, I provided Sunshine mobile detail with the estimate and invoice. They told me they wouldn’t pay it because I had to PROVE that they were the ones that caused the damage. (Funny, because he kept referring to the damage as coffee, when I didn’t even drink coffee, but they had large coffee cups at the shop.)
My estimate for the total repair and labor was now $500. He said he would offer me $20.00 “just because I like to help our costumers”. I explained that I had proof, his texts, his picture messages of unauthorized repair and bill, his verbal confirmation he broke the window, and all of his actions that would lead any normal human being to see that he made some bad choices and now is reneging on his word because the replacement part is too expensive.
Hey, mistakes and accidents happen. No one is perfect. That’s why we have things like insurance and that’s why businesses thrive or fail based on their reputation. Yes, it’s an inconvenience to have a broken window and to run around and get estimates. That’s not the problem though. The problem is the General Manager and how unprofessional he acted. Blaming everyone but himself, doing things to my car without consent, and running away from obligations is not only illegal and immoral, it’s just plain wrong.
Run away from this business unless you want your car handled improperly, god knows what they’ll do to it when you aren’t around, and they’ll absolutely blame you and try to swindle you by jacking up the price and tacking on bills you never authorized. Do yourself a favor and go to a reputable detailer and get the entire interior and exterior done CORRECTLY for $200 or less. Plus you’ll save yourself tons of money, time and hassle repairing your damaged car by just going to an honorable business in the first place.
List of immoral, illegal and unprofessional actions done by Sunshine:
- Demanded extra $100-200 for exterior wax (which is normally included in a detail)
- Told me he broke my car window over the phone (it worked when they lowered it for interior detail and then never raised it again when they tried to close my window for a wash)
- They chose to cover my car window in plastic, (which I’m fairly certain isn’t very secure or an industry standard) and continued to pour water on the car instead of alerting me to the issue
- They tried to blame me for my broken window even though it worked for them and was functioning when I gave it to them (also, it’s always functioned for the many years I’ve owned the car)
- Sunshine Mobile detail took my car to a mechanic WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT
- Sunshine Mobile detail had work done to my car WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT
- Sunshine Mobile tried to bill me for a mechanic I did not authorize
- Told me their mechanic fixed the problem in writing (This is untrue, and the car window did not work when I picked up the vehicle, and the owner even tried the window and saw it didn’t work)
- Would admit fault verbally, but refuse in writing
- Would only want to talk over the phone so there was no paper trail of his actions and choices