jerks at the car dealership

[ugafan]

earlier this week i had to take my car into the shop because it was making a loud noise while accelerating. they said it was a problem with the exhaust and charged me $400. i take the car home. after they had "fixed" the problem, it wasn't making the noise any longer, but was riding rough. i call the dealership and tell them that the car isn't riding right, it's sputtering. they say i could bring it back in. being as i only have one car it's an inconvenience so i waited a day.

so i'm out getting dinner last night and tried to pull out of a parking space. only the car would not shift into reverse. i take it to the dealership and explain what's going on. they do some "tests" and determine that they can't find anything wrong with the car...other than it needs a "tuneup" that will cost $650. of course i'm not going for that, so they try to charge me $95 for the tests they did on it that supposedly didn't reveal any other problems.

now mind you, i still have a warranty for the power train that expires in a couple of months. transmission work should be covered. so i take the car they they "couldn't find anything wrong with" and drive off. unfortunately, i get home and the car would not shift into park. so i go back and show this guy how the car is in park and is moving. then he acts like he knows exactly what the problem is. only thing is he will have to charge to have the car looked at again. wtf?!

i ended up leaving. no way am i ever taking a car back there!

[mcgeedigital]

Lawyer up.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Lawyer up.
Yah, that will be cheaper! :laugh:

j/k

[ugafan]

Lawyer up.

i don't have any money for that, i'm broke. it just really annoys the hell out of me that they're saying they didn't find a problem when it was so blatantly obvious. i guess i'll just have to save up some money and take it to a different mechanic.

[Thomas J. O'Hara]

do you have any friends that know a mechanic?
I'm going to a friend of a friend's tomorrow for him to look at my car.

[mjjason]

Never trust a mechanic. A good mechanic is hard to find but when you do stick to that person like honey. Even when you do find one always get two different mechanics in two separate shops to look at a problem before picking one. They sometimes give different answers and some are so down right dirty that they will screw shit up so you have to repair it later. Not all mechanics are like that but I seem to have run across a hell of a lot of them in my life.

Sadly, for you, unless you have evidence that they screwed stuff up you are up a creek. You may go back and ask them for a work order of what was done and what their original findings were that way you can ask why none of these issue arose prior to their work. It looks like they did something through their "fixing" your car. At least you will have something to argue with as they should have caught the problems in the original assessment if they were there in the first place. If they weren't there then logically you can ask what caused it. If it was their "repairs" than you may have something to claim.

[JasonFox]

If it's under warranty, can't you go to another dealer?

[JConnors]

It was probably your Johnson Rod that was acting up.

[TowerFan]

My Father owned his own repair shop for 25 years and he never got rich because he was too honest. But he also had some 20+ year customers. If you find a good mechanic, stick with them.

BTW - Did you check your blinker fluid?

[Charli]

Bunch of crooks. Try being a woman who has to take her car to the garage, you think they got you, they really pull the wool over on girls.

[Terry_Lasater]

Bunch of crooks. Try being a woman who has to take her car to the garage, you think they got you, they really pull the wool over on girls.
I'd like to pull some wool... umm... nevermind. :|

uga - Try explaining in great detail (as you have here) exactly what you've been through and ask them how they can help make it right. If all you get is a hand waiting for money, go elsewhere.

[brianluce]

I never pay anyone for just "Looking" at my car. If they fix it, I pay, if they tinker, or otherwise screw around and accomplish nothing, they get nothing.

With cars, a lot of times you have to wait until the problem gets really bad before taking it to get fixed. If the problem comes and goes, chances are the car will behave itself when the mechanic looks at it. Cars have a sense of humor you see.

[MattinSTL]

I hate going to any repair shops... I absolutely hate it. Shifty bastards. My last truck was a ford f-150 and it had problems similar to what you're describing... I brought it in to get checked out while still under warranty... they had the truck for 5 days and told me nothing was wrong with it... PUNDMANN FORD in Saint Charles... so anyway... the problem only got worse as it went out of warranty and I finally ended up having to replace the entire engine! I got a Jasper engine with a long warranty... that was a nightmare... the truck never stopped squealing from some friction plate in there... basically it was a joke that never ended. All thanks to Pundmann Ford in Saint Charles... even worse was that my salesman, Rick, didn't bother to tell me that Ford had a brand new incentive plan that started the day I bought my truck... which would have let me get a higher model for the same price! (free options/upgrades)

So yeah... done with Ford... done with Pundmann... hate mechanics. Agreed.

I should say that my next truck came from a local dealer called Johnny Londoff (chevy) and the entire experience couldn't have been any better... best truck, best price, honest dealer... all good.

[blando3]

Go in and explain to them, face to face, that you're going to call the Better Business Bureau...I did this at a dealership once and they immediately backpedaled and dropped the price.

[iSTy]

"it was making a loud noise while accelerating." I usually find that if I go up a gear the noise stops ;)

seriously though, ask your friends for recommendations for a mechanic, I have two I can rely on and they were both recommended. Same goes for plumbers, electricians etc, if I'm not recommended anyone for a job, then i try and sort it myself :) if not, i go without, don't trust anyone I don't 'know' :(

[12quidkidinnit]

so i'm out getting dinner last night and tried to pull out of a parking space. only the car would not shift into reverse. i take it to the dealership and explain what's going on. they do some "tests" and determine that they can't find anything wrong with the car...other than it needs a "tuneup" that will cost $650. of course i'm not going for that, so they try to charge me $95 for the tests they did on it that supposedly didn't reveal any other problems.

.........now mind you, i still have a warranty for the power train that expires in a couple of months. transmission work should be covered

What work was done to the power train ? If it involved removing the transmission from the car, it could be that someone has either damaged, or not correctly refitted the cable between the transmission and gear shift lever in the car. Depending on the make and model, it might be adjustable. On some cars, there are brackets which can get bent or broken, which would cause problems selecting the right gear.

[matt s.]

If its a newer car still under warranty email the cars manufactuer and let them know of your problem. I did this with my Subaru when i was informed that i had a coolant leak (factory recall) and a slight oil leak on the other side (out of warranty) of the head gasket which would have cost me $600 to have fixed. Out of frustration i decided to shoot Subaru of America an email to see what they would say they ended up sending me a $600 check & eating the cost of the repair even though my car was out of the warranty by a few months.

[pixelated]

they ended up sending me a $600 check & eating the cost of the repair even though my car was out of the warranty by a few months.

Now THAT'S IMPRESSIVE ! Any chance you've still got the email you sent? Would love to read that one.


i still have a warranty for the power train

I'd be heading up the food chain quickly. What Brand??? Most have customer problem resolution centers, most brands have a few bad dealers who are very hard to get rid of but they know who they are and will often steer you to a better place. Keep us posted and good luck.