My 1990 Toyota Liteace van was leaking diesel and I took it to Madison Automotive for repair.

Van was dropped off on May 24, 2020.

I knew the repair would be expensive as it is an older vehicle and an import, but David Jayne (shop owner) agreed to do the repair and initially said it would be around $4000. I was initially shocked, but then agreed. A few days later, David called to say they had some issues finding the part and had decided to have it rebuilt locally and that it would be closer to $5000. I agreed as long as that was the MAX price and that they would also replace a tire and a tail light (I provided the tail light). I told David that I could NOT pay more than $5000 and that if it would be more than that, that I did not want to pursue repairs at this time.

Months later (on July 9, 2020), David messaged me that a sensor needed to be replaced as well. The shop located a sensor and my vehicle was finally ready for pick up on August 26, 2020.

I arrived to pick up the vehicle August 30, 2020 and was SHOCKED that the price was $6313.47. This is an amount OVER 26% of the estimate given and is a violation of Tennessee Code 66-19-104, "Duty to inform consumer of rights," which states that a Customer, "may not be charged an amount over twenty-five percent (25%) in excess of the written estimate without the consumer's consent or good faith attempt to acquire the consent."

I received NO communication that the price was increasing, even though we spoke multiple times about the progress of the repair, nor did I ever consent to performing the repairs at that price. David had multiple opportunities to communicate about a change in cost, yet chose not to.

Further, once I paid and got home, I continued to find several minor issues to the vehicle:
1. The engine bay prop hook had been broken off (this allows access to the engine).
2. There was no audio from my stereo (I spent 3 hours trying to find the problem - one of the speaker wires had been under the engine plate when it was reattached. The wire was severed and the exposed metal was causing the stereo to short.)
3. The vehicle had been driven 150+ miles during its time at the shop.
4. The license plate had been modified with electrical tape, so that a "J" was turned into a "U" and the issuing county had been covered up (this is illegal).
5. There was a dent in the rear as well as several scratches on the bumper.
6. The tail light was not working (turns out while they did install the new taillight I provided, they left the old bulb in - that bulb was broken, so I replaced it myself).
7. The spare tire mount had been bent in such a way that it will not properly hold the spare tire and will need to be replaced.
8. There seems to be an additional electrical error with the dash lights (they will only illuminate when the brakes are applied - I have not fully investigated this yet, but felt that I should mention it in light of all the other issues).

ALL of the above has been photographed and/or documented with video and a police report has been filed regarding the modification of the license plate and dents/scratches on rear of vehicle.

I highly caution anyone against using this shop, especially if it is for non-routine maintenance. I’m sure they employee several mechanics that are good at what they do, but the bottom line is I was taken advantage of, and as a consumer I unfortunately had no recourse other than to pay.

Here are some other complaints on BBB:
https://www.bbb.org/us/tn/memphis/profile/auto-repair/madison-automotive-0543-15001871/complaints