Beware of Great Lakes Auto
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2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 83
Likes: 6
From: Southern California
Beware of Great Lakes Auto
Beware of Great Lakes Auto in Michigan. Feel free to take a look at their fake ratings on Google and Yelp. Their only social presence is on Facebook it seems.
They claim they are good with BMW and MINI products. I own a 2011 Mini Cooper S. I have owned it since 2015. The car only has about 80,000 miles which is extremely low for the year. In 2023 I had the engine rebuilt and it was running strong and was very reliable. It is my secondary car so I rarely drive it except to go shopping. I have put over $4000 in the suspension alone. I had just paid off the car and was looking to keep it for a very long time. The car has a huge amount of sentimental value as my fiancé and I loved taking it out for a spin. Some of my last memories before she passed were in that car. That is why I am so angry that someone would cause even more damage to the vehicle when I went in for a simple oil change.
When I initially picked up my car 3 people raved about how fast my car was. Immediately red flags went up thinking they had went joy riding in my car. I went to check my dashcam to see what it had recorded. They had unplugged the cord that was hardwired. Over the course of 2 months in the shop there was no footage. The camera powers on and records as soon as you start the engine. It also records when there is a small impact like closing doors. This was highly suspicious because nothing was recorded.
I believe a Great Lake Repair in Pontiac, Michigan either intentionally damaged my car or did so by neglect. I went in for a small oil leak and subsequentially I had about 6 parts fail within a week of them touching my vehicle. 3 out of the 5 parts they "repaired" were replaced a few months prior (within 6 months). 90% of the parts they replaced were under warranty and had been replaced previously. They began calling my previous mechanic and basically repairing everything that was previously replaced less than a year prior. I believe they were angry at me because I called them out on parts that were quoted 4x what Autozone and other retailers would charge. They wanted to charge me over $5000 for a turbo that did not even include installation. They quoted me astronomical prices for several of the parts that were not even close to what is available at retailers. They even tried to have me replace my suspension which was 4 months old and in perfect operating condition. Shortly after I denied them to service components like the turbo and suspension they began failing out of the blue. The failures were linked to their negligence from not wiring components correctly or just leaving them unplugged so they would cause more damage and fail quicker.
Summary of problems caused by Great Lakes:
Currently, my vehicle is inoperative and requires over $8000 in repairs.
They neglected to attach a vacuum to the turbo. The vacuum line regulates the turbo. This resulted in a turbo failure and engine damage.
They improperly connected an oil sender unit that resulted in engine damage, oil starvation and broken timing chain. They also did something to the component that drastically increased the oil loss. This caused a huge puddle where it had only been a few drops prior. I believe this was one of the main factors that caused my engine to fail.
They incorrectly plugged in the water pump wires resulting in my car overheating. They did not use the correct harness in which prevented coolant from flowing. This also caused severe engine damage.
Everything they worked on caused a substantial failure to my cars engine components. When asked if they had the parts replaced 3 out of the 4 were disposed of. They only gave me 1-2 invoices for work they performed over the course of 10+ visits to repair what they had damaged.
My car was initially taken in for an oil change and diagnose a small oil leak. This turned into a huge oil leak and leaking coolant and an overheated engine. All of which became much worse and resulted in a catastrophic engine failure. At minimum I have to rebuild or replace the engine as a whole.
They claim they are good with BMW and MINI products. I own a 2011 Mini Cooper S. I have owned it since 2015. The car only has about 80,000 miles which is extremely low for the year. In 2023 I had the engine rebuilt and it was running strong and was very reliable. It is my secondary car so I rarely drive it except to go shopping. I have put over $4000 in the suspension alone. I had just paid off the car and was looking to keep it for a very long time. The car has a huge amount of sentimental value as my fiancé and I loved taking it out for a spin. Some of my last memories before she passed were in that car. That is why I am so angry that someone would cause even more damage to the vehicle when I went in for a simple oil change.
When I initially picked up my car 3 people raved about how fast my car was. Immediately red flags went up thinking they had went joy riding in my car. I went to check my dashcam to see what it had recorded. They had unplugged the cord that was hardwired. Over the course of 2 months in the shop there was no footage. The camera powers on and records as soon as you start the engine. It also records when there is a small impact like closing doors. This was highly suspicious because nothing was recorded.
I believe a Great Lake Repair in Pontiac, Michigan either intentionally damaged my car or did so by neglect. I went in for a small oil leak and subsequentially I had about 6 parts fail within a week of them touching my vehicle. 3 out of the 5 parts they "repaired" were replaced a few months prior (within 6 months). 90% of the parts they replaced were under warranty and had been replaced previously. They began calling my previous mechanic and basically repairing everything that was previously replaced less than a year prior. I believe they were angry at me because I called them out on parts that were quoted 4x what Autozone and other retailers would charge. They wanted to charge me over $5000 for a turbo that did not even include installation. They quoted me astronomical prices for several of the parts that were not even close to what is available at retailers. They even tried to have me replace my suspension which was 4 months old and in perfect operating condition. Shortly after I denied them to service components like the turbo and suspension they began failing out of the blue. The failures were linked to their negligence from not wiring components correctly or just leaving them unplugged so they would cause more damage and fail quicker.
Summary of problems caused by Great Lakes:
Currently, my vehicle is inoperative and requires over $8000 in repairs.
They neglected to attach a vacuum to the turbo. The vacuum line regulates the turbo. This resulted in a turbo failure and engine damage.
They improperly connected an oil sender unit that resulted in engine damage, oil starvation and broken timing chain. They also did something to the component that drastically increased the oil loss. This caused a huge puddle where it had only been a few drops prior. I believe this was one of the main factors that caused my engine to fail.
They incorrectly plugged in the water pump wires resulting in my car overheating. They did not use the correct harness in which prevented coolant from flowing. This also caused severe engine damage.
Everything they worked on caused a substantial failure to my cars engine components. When asked if they had the parts replaced 3 out of the 4 were disposed of. They only gave me 1-2 invoices for work they performed over the course of 10+ visits to repair what they had damaged.
My car was initially taken in for an oil change and diagnose a small oil leak. This turned into a huge oil leak and leaking coolant and an overheated engine. All of which became much worse and resulted in a catastrophic engine failure. At minimum I have to rebuild or replace the engine as a whole.
That really sucks! You have every right to be pi$$ed off.
What a convenient coincidence that your dash cam was inoperable while at the stealership. I'm not a lawyer, but it might be worth it to at least consult with one. I would think they are legally required to produce an invoice for all work done. Sounds like that didn't happen here. I hope you eventually get a positive outcome and can enjoy your MCS again. I can relate to the sentimental value you have for this car...
What a convenient coincidence that your dash cam was inoperable while at the stealership. I'm not a lawyer, but it might be worth it to at least consult with one. I would think they are legally required to produce an invoice for all work done. Sounds like that didn't happen here. I hope you eventually get a positive outcome and can enjoy your MCS again. I can relate to the sentimental value you have for this car...
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 132
Likes: 5
From: Canton, MI
It appears that the people who worked on your car were not familiar with MINis.
Suggest you talk to MINI specialist, Detroit Tuned and see what they can do.
Suggest you talk to MINI specialist, Detroit Tuned and see what they can do.
Thread Starter
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2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 83
Likes: 6
From: Southern California
I made a few posts on social medial, BBB and secretary of state. The owner wants to "work" with me. He says he wants to go where I am taking my vehicle and talk to the mechanics. Sounds more like trying to reduce blame ect.
From my understanding overheating would cause permenant damage, and oil starvation caused by wiring an oil sender would lead to engine failure in short order. Would that be the case?
From my understanding overheating would cause permenant damage, and oil starvation caused by wiring an oil sender would lead to engine failure in short order. Would that be the case?
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