In July of 2018, my wife and I were on our way home from Florida in our motorhome on I-77 near the North Carolina/Virginia line, when our engine blew. We were towed to Blue Ridge Truck Service in Cana, VA. It was about 5 miles away from where we broke down. I asked how much the tow was, and was told $350. I then offered to pay it in cash. I was told by the driver that we could pay it with the repair bill, as we were discussing having Blue Ridge Truck Service replace the engine. I was quoted a price by Chuck Melton, the owner of Blue Ridge. He stated that it would be between $4k and $5k to replace the engine. We were devastated, but since we owed $40,000 on the motorhome, we had no choice but to have it repaired. We agreed on the repair, and I drove home in my towed pickup, planning to make the 850 mile drive back to pick up the motorhome when it was repaired.
It took about 2 weeks for us to locate a replacement engine, and have it sent to Blue Ridge. Meanwhile, I asked Chuck to remove the contents of the refrigerator, so that the food would not spoil. In fact, I told them to keep it for themselves.
After the engine was delivered, I stayed in contact via phone, periodically checking on the progress. I found it odd that whenever I would call, whoever would answer the phone at Blue Ridge would become very nervous sounding, and tell me, โYouโre gonna have to speak to Chuck. I donโt know nothinโ about it.โ Chuck would never return calls, but I was able to sometimes reach him on his cell phone. He assured me that my motorhome was in his shop, and being worked on. At one point, he called me to tell me that they were unable to reuse my intake manifold, because they โcouldnโt get it cleaned outโ. He told me that the part would be another $1,800. I contacted Barnetteโs Engine company, and was able to get a manifold WITH shipping, for $110. This put me into a real panic. I realized that something was very wrong, for his price to be $1,800 on a $80 part. After several weeks of getting the run around, and being told by Chuck that my vehicle wouldnโt be ready because of (insert multiple reasons) 3 months had now passed, and it was October. I told him that I was coming down on the following Sunday, and I would see him on Monday. He began screaming at me, and telling me that it wasnโt ready, and would take until Tuesday. I stated that I would get a hotel and wait a day for it. I then asked what my total bill was, so that I could show up with enough to pay for the work. Chuck told me that they had โgone over the original estimateโ, and that I would owe $6,200.
That Monday, I arrived at Blue Ridge Truck Service, with a friend, at about 9:00 AM. There was one employee there, and my motorhome was nowhere to be found. I asked the employee where my motorhome was. He stated โI donโt know nothinโ. You gotta talk to Chuck.โ I then asked him how long he had worked there. He replied โI donโt know. You gotta ask Chuck.โ He then called Chuck from his cell phone, and stayed a distance away, clearly so that I could not hear the conversation.
I then called Chuck Melton, and asked where my motorhome was. He became quite angry, and told me that it was โat one of their other locationsโ, and wasnโt ready yet. I asked if I could retrieve my fishing gear from it, since it wasnโt yet ready. He began to rant about not being able to show it to me......it was too far away.....insurance wouldnโt allow anyone on the property....etc. It was obvious that he was hiding something. I donโt believe that Blue Ridge even worked on it. My guess is that he had someone else do the work.
I then told Chuck that I would be back the next day to pick up the motorhome. Chuck agreed to have it there โat lunchtimeโ.
The following day (Tuesday), I arrived at 11:00 AM. My motorhome was there. Chucks girlfriend or wife was inside, frantically scrubbing the refrigerator out (which I was charged for). Although the motorhome was still full of fruit flies and maggots in the refrigerator, and stunk horribly. I also noticed automotive grease smeared all over the carpeting and seats. It was filthy, inside and out. At this point, I simply wanted to end this nightmare, and get home. Chuck obviously knew that he was about to take advantage of me, as the building, which had only one employee the previous day, now had about 8 guys hanging around. Most likely, in case I decided to disagree with what was to come. At this point, Chuck handed me an invoice for $8992.37. I was flabbergasted! I also noticed that my towing bill, which was $350, had now jumped to $750! I asked how the bill could jump some $4,000. Chuck stated simply that โit took a lot longer than they had thoughtโ, and that replacing the oil lines and cooler was expensive. Since I was told $6,200 on the phone, I only brought a debit card with $7,000 in the account. I asked Chuck if I could pay $7,000 now, and send a check for the balance when I got home. Chuck suddenly became Joe Pesci, with a โPay me now, or Leave your motorhome hereโ attitude. I was forced to borrow an additional $2,000 from the friend who came with me. I was also charged a $219.33 Credit Card Surcharge, which is illegal in Virginia. Note, this was not a โconvenience feeโ, but labeled as Credit card service charge.
After settling up, we headed back home. About 160 miles down the road, the exhaust system blew apart. I crawled under the motorhome, and discovered that they had never even bolted the exhaust pipes to the header pipes. The exhaust hangers were the only thing holding the exhaust together. I found also that one exhaust gasket was missing, and the other was obviously old and crumbled. Odd, since I was charged for exhaust gaskets. My front passenger side wheel hub was also leaking terribly, and the front windows had been left open in the rain, as there was mold, rust and even MOSS growing in the inside window Channell! Upon further inspection, I also noticed many other bogus charges. I was charged $59.95 for a โtiming cover setโ, when mine were reused from my old engine. Another $95.99 for coolant, in a V8 engine! $90.00 for โcleaner and flushโ on a NEW engine! And the list goes on.
When I got home, I emailed Chuck about all of these issues. He literally took NO responsibility for ANY of it! Also of note, there was another motorhome on the lot, which the owners had removed their belongings from. Chuck stayed to me that they โcouldnโt afford to fix itโ. Itโs my belief that This scoundrel figures that I would walk away from my $50,000 motorhome due to the cost of the repair. He could then resell it, and make a bundle.
I would NEVER recommend using Blue Ridge Truck Service.
In addition, since I posted an honest review, including photos, on their Facebook page, they have emailed AND called me, making threats. See link to call
https://youtu.be/N12nxIxsm4w
