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Dealer Dis-Service Horror Stories

362 messages,  Last post on Apr 27, 2013 at 9:23 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Warranties, Coupe, Convertible, Hatchback, Truck, Sedan, Wagon, SUV, Van

Messages Page 35 of 37

#332 of 362 Re: Country Lincoln Merc Dealer Body Shop Horror [oldfarmer50] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 28, 2009 (9:58 am)

Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Jan 28, 2009 5:51 am)
I'm also wondering (not an attorney) if you could take your own insurance company to Small Claims Court on a Diminution of Value claim? I know most insurance companies have written into their policies that you cannot sue them for Diminution of Value, but on the other hand you can't sign away all your legal rights either just because someone puts it into a contract.
 
I'd be livid about this and I wouldn't take it sitting down. A car screwed up like this takes a big hit in value. This is money out of your pocket. Of course I haven't seen the work, so I'm basing this upon your description.
 
your insurance company should be sticking up for you and putting the body shop's feet right to the fire.

#333 of 362 Re: Country Lincoln Merc Dealer Body Shop Horror [mth] by obyone

Feb 07, 2009 (2:41 pm)

Replying to: mth (Jan 27, 2009 8:20 pm)
Country Auto Group Body shop in Huntington Station came highly recommended and promised that the car would come back like new
 
Where did this recommendation come from?

#334 of 362 Re: Mechanics joy-riding in my Shelby? [hugho] by ponderpoint

Jun 04, 2010 (6:08 am)

Replying to: hugho (Jun 02, 2008 6:14 pm)
"The first thing I did was check the odometer-I paid particular attention to the mileage "as dropped off" because it is a high performance vehicle and didn't want anyone playing with it."
 
A co-worker of mine had the same situation, but far worse. He has the expensive hobby of exotic cars and took one down to Salt Lake City (he lives in Park City) for something more than just an oil change (He's extremely protective of the cars and does routine maintenance himself)
 
The dealership found out, unfortunately too late, that the detailers they hired were taking certain cars out for joyrides. My co-workers car was selected for "play time".
 
Play time ended with a serious collision and the dealer employee literally ran from the scene. I think it actually made the local news there - NOT good for the dealership!
 
I have found that most dealerships have lackluster performance in regards to maintenance and 100% of them continuously violate the simple oath: "First, do no harm", it's quite simply, not their car.

#335 of 362 Not a horror story by isellhondas

Jun 30, 2010 (8:53 am)

I guess I'm out of touch with things.
 
My best friend recently bought a pristine very low mileage 1998 Mercedes E 320.
 
At the time I was still in the business and when this perfect Mercedes was traded in, I called him and told him to bring his checkbook and book a flight.
 
He did this and he drove his new beauty home.
 
A couple of weeks ago, he took it to his local dealer for an oil change. The cost was 130.00 which included an "inspection" that he didn't ask for. They spotted a worn front end bushing that we must have missed that is, indeed bad and he plans to get it taken care of soon. Otherwise, they gave him his tire depth measurments and brake pad thickness etc. They didn't ask him if he wanted this "inspection" they just did it and charged him 39.00 of it.
 
So, I was in So Calif this weekend for a mini reunion with a bunch of HS friends.
 
While driving with him, a chime went off and an indicator showing a bad bulb came on. Sure enough, the RF headlight was out.
 
Next day we took it to the dealer and asked if they could do it while we waited.
 
They wanted to charge him another 39.00 for another inspection! An inspection they had done less than 1000 miles before!
 
It looks like this something automatic that they just do? Maybe Mercedes owners don't mind and expect this? I know a Honda customer would thave thrown a fit!
 
Two and a half hours later the car was done. Cost? 309.00 to replace the xenon bulb!
 
I warned him that repairs would be frequent and expensive!

#336 of 362 Re: Not a horror story [isellhondas] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jun 30, 2010 (9:04 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Jun 30, 2010 8:53 am)
Your car's care is a lot like your own health care. If you don't *take charge* of the situation, you're going to get run over by the system.

#337 of 362 Re: Not a horror story [Mr_Shiftright] by isellhondas

Jun 30, 2010 (10:49 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jun 30, 2010 9:04 am)
Exactly!
 
He brought the car in for a simple headlight replacement and the first thing the Service Advisor did was pull out a depth guage and walk around the car checking the tread depth.
 
???????

#338 of 362 I forgot to mention... by isellhondas

Jun 30, 2010 (12:32 pm)

That Mercedes Dealer charges 165.00/hr for labor!
 
I'm sure the Bay Area is even higher.

#339 of 362 Re: Not a horror story [isellhondas] by mikdowling

Jul 04, 2010 (7:50 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Jun 30, 2010 8:53 am)
I have a Mercedes C220 (1997) model. The central locking key operation didn't work so I called up the Mercedes dealership and they said they could put it on the diagnostic and see whether it was the key or actuator. This 'plug-in' test would cost £117.50 ($175).
A replacement key would cost £300 ($450)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Strueth!
I lock and unlock the car manually instead.

#340 of 362 Re: Not a horror story [mikdowling] by richardson

Jul 05, 2010 (8:30 pm)

Replying to: mikdowling (Jul 04, 2010 7:50 am)
As of this writing it only takes 25% more US currency to buy a Euro. How do you come up with 50%?

#341 of 362 (Minor) dealership horror story... Help? by kliquid

Aug 04, 2010 (3:52 pm)

I was hoping that someone might be able to help me with a minor 'dealer horror story' I'm having...
 
I'm not a big car person and I have no desire to change my own oil, so I generally bring my car in to Valvoline Instant Oil Change every 3,000 miles. This last time, before I was going to bring it into Valvoline, I got a coupon in the mail from the dealership I bought my car at (2007 Dodge Charger). I also have an extended warranty on my car from the dealership. The coupon was for an oil change, tire rotation, and 22-point vehicle inspection for $19.95. This is significantly cheaper than the $40+ that Valvoline usually charges me solely for an oil change, so I decided that I'd bring my car in and have this service done.
 
I had a bad experience with an old car of mine 'burning' oil off, so I usually check my oil about once every three times I get gas at the pump. The last time I checked my oil was about 100 miles before I brought my car into the dealership to get the oil changed.
 
While I was waiting for them to do the service, one of the mechanics came up to me and said, "When we were checking your oil, the handle of the dipstick just 'came off' and the stick is lodged in the pipe. We're probably going to have to order you a new one."
 
I told them that's OK and that I understand that stuff like that happens on occasion. I paid the $6.00 to have a new dipstick ordered (they didn't have any in stock).
 
They called me the next day and had me come back in to pick up the new dipstick and get the old one removed from the pipe. After about 30 minutes of waiting, a mechanic came up to me and said, "Sorry, we couldn't get it out. We're going to have to order a new pipe and everything." That new pipe is about $130.
 
At this point, I was pretty frustrated. Maybe the dipstick did just "come off," but it seems pretty convenient that it happened right there at the dealership and that they just chalked it up to "stuff that happens." They didn't take any bit of responsibility for this happening.
 
Instead of having them install the new pipe, I just took my car home for the day and now I'm typing this, trying to get some advice on what I should do. Obviously having a functional dipstick is an important thing, but I'm just irritated that I'm the one who has to pay for this. They also charged me $27 for "trying to get the dipstick out of the pipe" even though they were unsuccessful.
 
In the end, my $19.95 oil change has turned into a total cost of over $180.
 
Is this a common thing to have happen? Is there any suggestion that anyone has for me? Or should I just bite the bullet and pay to have them fix the problem that they very likely created?

Messages Page 35 of 37

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