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I've been taking my GF shopping for a new car/small ute, and so we've been crusing the local car lots here in Northern VA. We went to a Nissan dealer and met one of theri sales agents. Guy has been there for almost 5 months (so he's new to the job..not that its an excuse). Introduces himself to me first, even though we made it clear at the outset that it was my GF buying the car. First faux pas, we can deal with that.
I know my stuff (I've spent a good deal of time on the wholesale side of the business) and decided to see what this salesman knew about the car (so the Murano is based on the Maxima platform, right? ..that sort of thing). Got most of that wrong.
Long story short, we walked out of the dealership and never looked back after my GF (who is not so knowledgable) asked what the "S" on the shifter housing meant. The guy said- "That's the turbo". This was a Nissan Murano we where in. Irregardless...Nissan doesn't make a turbo (outside of their NISMO parts line)for any of their cars! Flat out lied to her! Unbelievable.
There must be a ton of Toyota dealerships for you to pick from in the Philly area.
Tonkin Gresham Honda in Gresham OR said they only charge MSRP. We cancelled our other order, and went with them. When we went in they insited we had to pay exhorbitant prices for "options" that weren't optional. Also they tacked on $450 of unnecessary anti-theft insurance, also not "optional." Sum total the price came in at about $2000 above MSRP. We were straight out lied to. When we complained the sales manager, Dennis, got so defensive that he yelled at us. It was the most unprofessional, and dishonest behavior I'd ever experienced, even from a car dealer. He was actually yelling at us, and my fiance was nearly in tears. If you want to be lied to, and get yelled at Tonkin Gresham Honda is the place to go. If you want to buy a car AVOID TONKIN GRESHAM HONDA like the plague! They were terrible!
Guess it all depends on the individual dealer. I just bought a new Honda back in March. I was very suprised at how smoothly things went. It was by far the easiest/best purchase I have ever made. Negotiations took all of 15 minutes. In the F&I office, they handed me a menu with the extras (warranties, pain sealent, etc...) with prices, and basically told me to look it over, let them know if I had any questions. I told them I wasn't interested in anything additional, and they said ok - no pressure at all.
You mean you didn't go for the "pain sealent"? That sounds like a good option to me!
Just kidding of course.
I would rather have Jiffy Lube tell me about my burnt out lightbulb than a cop!
And, it has to be remembered that the manufactures suggest MINIMUM services. They want to keep the total Cost of Ownership numbers looking good since some people really look at this when they are deciding between cars to buy.
A lot of people, such as myself like to take better care of our cars than that.
I just know that I would rather buy a used car that has been over maintained a bit over one where a tight fisted owner stuck right to the non severe schedule.
Good point, good point, I agree. May be I'm a little prejudiced, since two out of three times I ended up going straight to NAPA, buying the bulbs only to find out that they work just fine.
A lot of people, such as myself like to take better care of our cars than that.
I'm one of those two; agree with you completely. That's why maybe I take their recommendations a different way, because I know what my car needs, know when the filter, for example, was changed and it what condition it is. But for many people such advise could be quite beneficial.
But in no way would I take short cuts on maintenance (that's why my CR-V will not see anyone but the dealer anytime soon). I'm convinced that one of the reason I have a nicely running car with over 107K and very low repair expenses is just that - good maintenance (maybe over-maintenance).
295,000 miles!
Received the almost automatic call of further trouble: leaking seals discovered during the tune-up. Seven hours of labor according to the manual. Later, two additional parts which were out of stock and to be air-freighted in. The estimated bill is now $1750.
It's now 4:00 p.m. on 6/27 and I've had the loaner for six days. Oh, it's lots of fun to drive and some people have suggested that I keep it! Which I'm sure that some salesman at the dealership is about to recommend to me (LET ME SHOW YOU HOW YOU CAN KEEP THE TL IN YOUR GARAGE!).
Now, I don't want to start on a conspiracy kick, but I've been going there for 20 years since I bought my 1986 Legend and have always had an Acura in my garage. Things do go wrong that we can't readily see, but the car was running just fine and smoothly - no smoke, no rough idle, no lack of power, etc. This may be the most expensive "free" tune-up I've ever had.
Gaskets do tend to go bad after 120,000 miles but unless you smell smoke or it's dripping in your garage, I wouldn't replace them. Just watch your oil level.
Glad you are still around!
Ah...no!
Same thing happened to me years ago. The Bucik dealer rotated my tires and didn't tighten the lug nuts on my RF wheel. I had the car on the West Seattle bridge and I know something was wrong!
I barely got off the freeway.
At first, I thought it was the road but then I knw I had a major problem.
I was able to tighten the lug nuts although the studs were pretty stripped up.
I got it back to the Buick store and the General Manager handed me the kwys to his personal demo. They replaced the studs and the wheel and delivered the car back to me.
Hey, I used to run a large shop and I can tell you, these things can happen. I'm sure the guy who did the work was in BIG trouble!
Me: "I got charged $2000 for repairs that did not fix the original problem (and that the original problem is a safety problem, which, if not fixed, could result in injury or death)"
The problem is my stick gets stuck in neutral for seconds at a time when shifting from 1st to 2nd. As noted above I got charged $2000 for all sorts of clutch and tranny work, none of which solved the original complaint.
Subaru's response:
"We are sorry to learn that your vehicle is currently in need of repair.
The wear of any component is subject to many factors beyond the control of Subaru of America, Inc. Consequently, its longevity is upredictable. The Subaru Basic Warranty is designed to protect the consumer from any defects in material or workmanship for a period of 3 years, or 36,000 miles, whiehcever comes first. As you know, however, this warranty has expired.
We acknowledge an expense lies ahead of you, but we are unable to extend the warranty coverage beyond those set parameters."
Reducto Ad Absurdum conclusion: If you take your old Subaru in for service, they can charge you whatever they like and not fix the original problem, and you have no recourse.
Feedback appreciated
And, in this case, is giving it a bad name.
Dealership service departments need to be held accountable for that sort of thing.
Note that depending on what state you're in, you *do* have recourse. In CA, you can contact the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repairs), and get them investigated. I'm sure other states have something similar. Check them out as well.
What service did they actually do?
this did not solve the problem. now they say its worn synchros and/or an entirely new transmission.
this morning i did what i should have done before complaining to corporate: i complained to the general manager of the dealership. i skipped this step initially because first they told me $2000 for the additional repairs, then the service manager told me he'd make me a special deal: free labor (since they'd had the thing open once before) and cost on parts. Next quote however somehow jumped to $3000 and I pretty much went through the roof.
corporate of course doesn't care if I charge them with consumer fraud or go to the better business bureau, but the manager of the dealership would be more directly affected by such actions. i'm supposed to hear back this week. i'll keep you posted if you'd like
Shifting with a bad clutch is real hard on the transmission synchros, and with that mileage they probably weren't that good anyway.
What was that link??? My techs need some help jacking up the repair costs.
Sincerely,
Mark P.
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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On Monday, I again tried to contact the sales rep and was put to voice mail, leaving a request for the VIN number of the promised vehicle. The salesman returned my call and stated that he was sorry for not contacting me sooner. Ok,,no problem but "I need the VIN off the expected vehicle if we are to close this deal tomorrow". I was told that he was not able to find the vehicle I asked (and put the deposit on)for, but would I be interested in something different. After repeatedly stating I was looking for that particular car set up as agreed upon, I was transferred to a Sales Manager who also proceeded to try and convince me to take something else.
I stated that I'd prefer we called off the search as it was more than apparent that the vehicle I asked for and was promised was not on the lot and would not be delivered the following day, Tuesday the 27th of June 2006. After receiving a number of additional calls and voice messages from reps at this dealership, I did in fact try to contact one of the sales managers to reinforce my desire to call things off and wait for the new year models to arrive.
After this time I never heard from any of them again and have been waiting for almost eight weeks for the return of my deposit. I finally contacted COUNTY LINE NISSAN about a week ago and was told I needed to come to the dealership prior to 7:00pm on Thursday, this being the 17th of August 2006, so my "card could be re swiped" and my accounted credited for the $500. I did and upon arrival, I was told by a sales manager that my deposit could not be refunded at that time as there was no one available to conduct the transaction. He asked that I call him "later tomorrow morning", that being Friday the 18th. I have since not been able to contact this person and have been sent to voice mail at least three times since. I was also told by what I guess is the receptionist, that one of my messages would be delivered to him.
I have just now tried to make contact with this sales manager once again and was again put to voice mail. Today is the 24th of August. I would like to know if anybody else has had such a time retrieving a deposit back from a dealer and what if anything they ended up having to do to get it back. I'm not seeing a whole lot of alternatives here except to keep calling them but so far this has not even produced a call back,,,any suggestions?
Steve F
Your CC company has way deeper pockets than yours.
You may also want to contact your local police department, and if there is a state agency that regulates auto dealers, call them as well.
Does your local newspaper have some kind of "Action Line"? Give them a call. It's entirely possible this has happened to other people, even if you're the first to complain about it.
You have oodles of options, and all of them start with talking to someone who's not just part of the dealership, that the dealership can't afford to ignore.
to be mediocre at best. Do the Japanese car makers (Honda & Toyota) demand higher standards for their dealerships and service departments? I would strongly consider going over to either Toyota or Honda if I could find more courteous
and efficient dealers and service departments. In particular are there members here who actually shifted from Lincoln and or Cadillac due to poor service departments? If you made the switch have you found the Japanese to do a better job at the dealer and service department level? I like my American cars very much but am getting fed up with the rudness and ineficiency of the American builders service departments and delaerships.
I think it's more the quality of the individual business than the nationality of the manufacturer.
So the following day, I was scheduled to pick up my car in the afternoon. At noon-ish, the service technician called to say that the camber screws also need replacing. Should camber screws ever be replaced?? I expressed my conern in having to replace all these parts so soon and he kinda quickly told me that all these wear items were worn out in a short amount of time due to the way I was driving... I'm still not sure whether I buy it, but in the end, the damage was a whopping $2,000. :surprise:
Anyone share a similar bad experience? Can I get these services done outside of a MB dealer?
Thanx very much for the suggestions,,,I'm hitting up the CC company as of today,,,your info hits it right on the money. I've been so stuck trying to do things the right way that I've lost sight of the fact that these guys may have put it to, or will put it to somebody else. Be interesting to know. I had a bad feeling about these guys walking through the door, so what's to lose.
Thanx again,,,hopefully I'll have a success story to relate one of these days.
ST