Near the end of May, 2016, I was preparing for a cross country road trip in my low mileage, 1978 VW Bus. Because I wanted to make certain that I would have no trouble on the road, I took the bus into CTR Automotive in Janesville, WI for a complete, “stem to stern” checkup (those are the exact words I used). They assured me that working on a classic VW was “no problem.” I outlined a couple of the problems I had been having, such as starting and battery issues. I explained exactly what I wanted done, such as checking the charging system, batteries, etc. Then I reiterated that I wanted it gone over “stem to stern.” Perhaps they don't understand plain English there. “Stem to stern” means “check the whole vehicle.” This is what they did for me: they replaced some worn rear axle parts. They checked the batteries, charging one, and replacing the other (the secondary battery). The secondary battery was hooked up to a relay switch that would keep it charged for using some of the interior electrical without draining the main battery. They replaced the muffler and tailpipe. They replaced a burned out taillight bulb. All this would have been fine, except for a couple of items. They apparently didn't think to check the charging system of the bus, which would have explained the nearly dead main battery. When they put the secondary battery in, they removed the relay, and hooked the battery up to absolutely nothing! I was assured, when I picked up the vehicle and paid the $1200 bill, that it was “good to go.” So, two days later, I headed out on my road trip. Two days and 600 miles later, I was stuck in a nice little town called Searcy, Arkansas, with a vehicle that would not charge, would not start. Since I was headed to Houston, TX, as a first major stop, I arranged to have my brother in law drive to Searcy from Houston, rent a flatbed trailer, and tow the bus to Houston, where I found a mechanic who would work on it. Two weeks and $950 dollars later, with a new alternator and voltage regulator “under the hood,” I was back on the road. But my cross country trip was no longer in the cards. My "trip of a lifetime" was over. Time, money, and frustration took that away. Listed below are the charges that I incurred because CTR did not do the kind of checkup on the bus that they should have: Searcy and Houston $55 hotel bill $72 wrecker bill (to get the bus on the flatbed trailer) $147 flatbed rental $125 gas (1020 miles/18 mpg x $2.20/gal.) $950 repair bill (voltage regulator, alternator, labor) TOTAL: $1304 If I had not had family who were willing to give me a place to stay for two weeks, this bill would have been much, much higher. CTR decided that they were at fault for pretty much the secondary battery issue, and not much else. They gave me a check for $300, since they decided that that was all the liability that they had for their negligent and substandard mechanics. The bottom line here is: Unless you need nothing more than an oil change, tuneup, or bulb fixed, CTR might not be the place you want to trust your vehicle's care.