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How This Millionaire Athlete Got Revenge for a Bad Car Repair Experience

Openbay Red Vintage Convertible

Almost every driver has had a bad car repair experience. Whether that’s dealing with an unscrupulous mechanic making bad recommendations, or charging too much, it’s very frustrating.

Celebs Have Car Trouble Too!

Mike Tolbert, fullback for the Carolina Panthers, recently had his own frustrating experience, according to The Charlotte Observer. He had taken his 1975 Chevy Caprice Convertible in to have an engine swap performed, and he’d provided the new engine to be installed. The shop had estimated the swap would take ten days, and cost him $2,700. In the end, the job has taken ten weeks and he still doesn’t have the car. To add insult to injury, the shop has noted that the work will cost him 30% more, with a final invoice of $3,943.93.

Revenge

In response, Tolbert took to his Instagram account to complain about his auto repair facility, calling on Charlotte-area residents to avoid the shop. He believes the shop’s owner took advantage of him because he’s a millionaire. Ouch.
When he went to settle the bill, apparently the owner refused Tolbert’s check. He said he’d only accept a cashier’s check, or cash. In response, Tolbert went to the bank and (no doubt laughing) withdrew $3,943.93 in coins to cover the cost of the repairs.

Even if Tolbert were feeling nice enough to have put the change in all quarters, that would weigh nearly 200-pounds! As you can imagine, the shop owner apparently tried to refuse the coins. So Tolbert called a police officer to make the shop accept the money. The Observer indicates that the shop had had a different version of events, which it has posted on its Facebook page, and which USA Today has outlined here.

Could it Have Been Avoided?

We aren’t taking sides, given we have no insight into the detailed exchange. But we couldn’t resist noting this: In the end, all this drama could have been avoided if — you know where we’re heading here! — Tolbert had booked his engine swap using Openbay.
Openbay has a peace-of-mind guarantee for all transactions completed on the platform. We provide conflict resolution, based on text, photo and video messages exchanged between the consumer and the service provider. So, *just in case* Mike Tolbert happens to be reading this, Mike, check us out! We’d love to connect you with the right auto-repair shop next time. But a word to the wise for next time: shops hate it when you bring your own parts.

Image credit: Greg Gjerdingen, flickr 

Need a repair? Use Openbay to make sure something like this doesn’t happen to you!


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Sep 30, 2016Openbay Staff
100 Best Car Blogs of 2016: Openbay Blog Earns a SpotMeet Oliver, Who's Used Openbay 3 Times to Book Car Repair in Atlanta
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September 30, 2016 Car Care athlete, automotive, autos, bad car repair, car repair, cars, drama, football, funny, lol, mike tolbert, millionaire, MKES, nfl, openbay, overcharge, sports, unfair, unscrupulous, upcharge
Openbay

Openbay, an award-winning online e-commerce marketplace for automotive repair and services and a provider of SaaS-based solutions for the automotive care industry, is transforming the experience for automotive repair and service for consumers and the way that automotive care businesses acquire and service customers.

Contact Openbay

Reach out to Openbay to learn more.

Address: 10 Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141

Phone: 617-398-8888

Email: [email protected]

About

Openbay, an award-winning online marketplace for automotive repair and services and a provider of SaaS-based solutions for the automotive care industry, is transforming the experience for automotive repair and service for consumers and the way that automotive care businesses acquire and service customers.

Contact Openbay

To learn more about Openbay marketplace and subscription services, contact us today.

Address: 10 Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141

Phone: 617-398-8888

Email: [email protected]

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