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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Isuzu Prices Paid and Buying Experience
271 messages, Last post on Oct 11, 2007 at 10:33 AM
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| Hmmm, well I know I can get in much quicker for Oldsmobile service at the same dealer that does Isuzu near me... | |
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Be sure to factor-in the types of maintenance required when you think you're getting a good deal. My 96 trooper had a good price, but I should have thought of the big maintenance bills (not repair bills) that arise. I have never had a repair bill for this truck. The issue is maintenance! This week, it's time for the 60k service, including the stupid timing belt. The quote is $832 at a CT Isuzu dealer for a specific list of what I want done: all belts, fuel filter, trans. and transfer case fluids, and spark plugs. The dealer included a new $175 water pump in that price, "strongly suggesting" replacing the water pump at 60K because "the new belt usually over-stresses the old pump and it's easy to replace the pump while the engine covers and belt are off." (His words, not mine.) I may skip the water pump. My next car will have an internal timing chain that should last the life of the vehicle. Detroit gave us 'repairs' more than 'maintenance' and if nothing broke, the car never went in for a "major service." People went for years without having to do much to a car. When did expensive scheduled maintenance creep into the US marketing model and when did we start accepting big maintenance bills, hoping to avoid repairs that may be needed anyway? I wonder who spends more: the person who goes by the book or the person who limits maintenance to key items and fixes what needs to be fixed. |
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I don't mind waiting a couple of weeks for an appointment and it's not that the repairs were major. They just kept the car as a "matter of policy" while awaiting a part even though they had no idea when the darn thing would arrive, yet did no other work to the car in the meantime. Here's the deal: Problems: 1- My Trooper's Power Mode light was always on. 2- The silver/gray fender flare paint was splotched or chemically damaged ("looks like Armor All stains, it'll come off easy", the detailer said the day I took possession of my car.) 3- There was a fairly deep groove in the left disc brake rotor, too deep for a 10K mile vehicle, IMHO. I made an appointment to drop the Trooper off at Carmax (Hwy 436 in Orlando, Florida) by noon 2/7/01. A gentleman named Shawn (sp) who turned out to be the Service Manager took down my info. He also gave me a loaner 1996 Nissan 200SX with 115K miles, nice of them to do that, but too bad it died 5 days later after sporadically just shutting off on its own. I drove a Saturn loaner after that without problems. They took the car to a local Isuzu Dealer and it turns out the Power Mode switch needed replacing (warranty item), the dealer I had taken it to previously gave me some sad story about pressure washing messing up the sensor, therefore not under warranty. According to Shawn, the brakes were fine and there was no maintenance needed. I wonder if their inspection included removing the pads to check for foreign matter on them as the cause for the groove. He also tells me they did rotate and balance the tires to take care of a "noise" problem (?????) and that they would also have to "figure out" what to do with the damaged paint on the flares. Here's where Carmax Service drops the ball: They sent the car to a local Isuzu dealer for the power mode switch repair AND LEFT IT THERE WHILE THE PART GOT DELIVERED without knowing when the part would arrive. How do I know that? I called the dealer last Monday and THEY did not know when the part would arrive, let alone when they would be able to install it. Carmax, though, told me the car would be ready by last Wednesday, today is Tuesday of the FOLLOWING WEEK! Shawn insisted that it was sound business practice to complete all mechanical repairs before moving to the cosmetic ones. Good strategy, I told him. But in this case - since they had no idea when the part would arrive and since there is no damage being done to the transmission - just get the car back from the dealer, paint the flares and work on the brakes, if needed. THEN send the car back to install the part when it gets in. The man did not get it. Was I asking for too much or just being common-sensical? Until last Thursday he insisted that once the switch was replaced and he got the car back from the dealer he would complete the other work. I had to raise my voice and tell him to get the car back from the dealer and take care o the other issues. Yesterday I called Shawn again (his boss was not available) and asked him when would I get my Trooper back and he said they were STILL determining what to do about the flares/paint. That was it as far as I was concerned, they basically had had the car for almost two weeks and it was obvious that no one had addressed that issue. I told him I'd be there in a couple of hours to pick up the car, ready or not. No sooner had I hung up the phone I got a call back from Shawn saying the decision had been made to paint the flares. Duh. I wonder if it was common sense kicking in or mere coincidence that I mentioned bad Edmunds.com/ITOG website reviews coming regardless of the outcome. Here you have it Shawn: you are one dense individual. They call it customer service for a reason. I can smell some flames headed this way so let me just say I'm not exempt from fault here, this is what I did wrong: 1- I assumed that a great car buying experience at Carmax (kudos to Dana) would equate to an adequate Service Dept. experience. Horrid assumption in my case. 2- MOST IMPORTANTLY, I should have insisted that all cosmetic and mechanical repairs get done BEFORE I took delivery of the car. 3- I assumed that Shawn, as a Service Manger, had a clue. Managerially speaking he doesn't. He took the 'customer' out of Customer Service. I also escalated to his boss too late in the game. Update: I got a call from Carmax mid-day today announcing that my car was ready to go. I returned their loaner and picked up the Trooper. The flares look fine and the Power Mode switch works as advertised. I'll be inspecting the brakes this week-end along with installing the Rancho 9000s I ordered. Thanks to the folks at McNamara Isuzu for their help - they get my business from now on. Courtesy Isuzu in Longwood gave me the sad story about the switch sensor "probably" being damaged during an engine pressure washing thus not being covered under warranty. That's the same dealership where I had my departed Suzuki Sidekick serviced over the last 5 years. What a sham, er shame. Folks, this is mostly my fault, but to emphasize the point: whne buying a car make sure your dealer takes care of all the issues BEFORE you take delivery of your car and if not, have them put all repair orders in writing! Dang, this is a really long post. Shoot me now, please. |
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Carmax is owned by the same people who own Circuit City. As far as I'm concerned they are a "self-serve" type of place like circuit city who doesn't pay their employees well and lives off of paying em min. wage. I had a good experience at a carmax in MD trading in a car, but wouldn't trust em to a new/used car purchase. (knowing how much they gave my buddy for his car) I know they need to make that back somewhere. Glad to hear the Isuzu dealers were actually helpful. Good pointers for people in the market for a vehicle as well. -mike |
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All cars nowadays (american or not) require a higher level of preventive maintenance. My 00 Trooper has a chain so you don't have to worry about that. Also I've heard that if you look in the owner's manual, there is a description of the 60K maintenance and should be able to have a mechanic do it cheaper. Also how much is your time worth? For me to be stuck in east jabbip with a non working vehicle is not good. I rather spend $700 every 60K than be stuck somewhere from a tranny failure or timing belt failure. -mike |
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| Points well taken, Mike. On an additonal aside: Carmax did a nice job detailing the vehicle for me, but not a perfect one. I keep finding expended bullet casings in the rear crevices and under the rugs! Being originally a Texas car, I'm not surprised, but I just wonder... | |
When you find crack vials.... Then the gun casings could be representative of a gun-battle...  -mike |
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You were just being logical, practical, common-sensical. Unfortunately dealer service is not usually based on those principles. Nor does it typically contain much "customer service." My impression is that many times the dealer and its employees are encouraged/required by policy to take actions that are not in the best interest of their customers. By the way, most of the fault does not lie with you, it lies with them. Sorry to hear about your experiences. Unfortunately I think they are all too common. In my experience at mostly non-Isuzu dealers, the service manager is no more interested in solving problems and doing things right than the regular service advisors. You should have made the dealer put it in writing about the fender flares BEFORE delivery, but you chose to take someone's word for it. I would have done the same thing. It's sad to think that you have to do things like get it in writing just to make sure you don't get screwed, but it happens all the time. Your situation was a particularly good example of poor dealer treatment. I enjoyed reading your post. |
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You make some very good points. It does seem expensive to maintain a Trooper to the letter of the owners manual's recommended maintenance schedule (or even moreso, if you let the dealer do additional work that IT recommends), whether it's serviced at a dealer or an independent shop. I wonder if it's really much more expensive than similar SUVs, though. I feel that I maintain my 1998 Trooper very well, but there are things in the recommended maintenance that I don't even really consider doing. I've changed the coolant, swapped the air filter, rotated the tires 4-5 times, and changed the TOD fluid twice in 42k miles. Other than oil changes that's about it. In the future I plan to replace additional fluids (axles), possibly repack wheel bearings, etc. I feel that I've done the important stuff and am taking good care of my truck at a very reasonable cost. |
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Bluedevils - I am curious why have you replaced your TOD fluid? The maintenance schedule for my 99 does not indicate TOD fluid replacement is necessary at all. Paisan - Are you sure about your 00 having a timing chain? I guess this would surprise me on a DOHC engine...I think my 99 has a 100K timing belt change interval. Islander21 - I would wait until your second timing belt change to replace the water pump. It should last 120K. Anyway, the dealers reasoning sounds like BS to me...I'm not even sure the timing belt can "stress" the water pump, I thought the water pump was driven by the accessory belt ("fan belt"), not the timing belt. |
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