Dealer issues, somewhat non-compliant getting irritated..

Okay, I'll list the facts that I know, and everyone please leave your Serious comments....

I recently took a trip and drove a good distance (Texas City, Tx - San Diego, CA EST 3k miles round trip). When I got back home I noticed a few things happening:

1) When the engine was cold it took anywhere from 4-8 turns before the motor would start

2) There was an increasingly bad vibration intermittently while driving.

The Service Dep. suggested initially that the starting problem was due to a low battery, and said it might have been due to my speaker system (JL 10W7 and JL 500/1 Amp with a built-in sensor that cuts the amp on and off based on the radio's volume) I never had a problem with this amp in my 2002 Pontiac, so I doubted that was the issue here. After replacing the battery, I told them I would disconnect the Amp from that point forward and see if it solved the problem (which it didn't), and after I brought it back they told me that there must be carbon deposits built-up in the engine that need to be removed. Somehow I was under the impression that this "carbon removal" was covered under warranty, I don't want to say that I remember him telling me that, but I do keep good track of the things I need to pay for/will have to pay for because I do live paycheck to paycheck with this car note

So that Monday I told the Service Rep that I would need to check and see when I could get away from work to get the car looked at. He offered me the option to get a rental car. I told him I was 20, and he said let me see what I can do... Later that week (Wednesday or so) I got a call in my office from a lady at the dealer, asking me if I was still needing the rental; I told her yes and she told me they would get back with me. Friday the Service Rep called me and told me they had everything worked out and I could pick the rental up on Monday, he explained to me that the dealer wouldn't pay for the rental over the weekend because they wouldn't do the work over the weekend. So I agreed to get the rental on Monday at 7:30am.

When I got to the dealer the guy that welcomed me informed me that the gentleman that was originally helping me was out this morning due to an emergency (Definitely understandable). When he checked in the system for an appointment he didn't see anything. He also mentioned that the carbon removal would NOT be covered under the warranty (WTF?!).. So I ended up leaving the dealer once again with no work done. And most-likely will not be able to get away from work again to get the rental any time this week....

On top of the fact that I don't like driving my car the way it is, I can almost rely on the fact that if it were to brake down within this week due to the issues I have been having recently, they would tell me that due to negligence they couldn't cover it under warranty.
:thumbdown:

Any suggestions? Comments? Please restrict yourselves to serious comments and suggestions.

Thanks,

N8

Find a different dealer. You are getting...um...the run around. Do NOT have them work on it. I guarantee, based just on what you have said so far, that they will find a way to get you to pay to fix your car. They already have... Why replace the battery just because the amp is (allegedly) causing an excessive draw? The only reason for that is if the battery is defective. If that is the case, then it should be covered by the warranty (if your car is still under warranty). Illogical...

Go somewhere else.

You're definitely getting the run around, so if you can find another dealer definitely try that out. However, if you have to go back to the same dealer, be firm with them. Don't be rude or obnoxious because that ultimately won't get your car fixed, but definitely stand your ground with them. When you came in and they claimed not to have you in the system for an appointment, that should have been their problem and not yours. You should have said "I didn't come here because I enjoy seeing you, I came here because I had an appointment to drop off my car." In any case, you shouldn't need an appointment to drop off your car. I highly doubt they would have worked on it that day anyways.

Just in case, call VWoA and inform them of the situation. Their policy is to contact the dealer for every issue that's brought to their attention. It won't hurt to have them know about it.

Best of luck.

Appreciate the insight.

VWoA will be my LAST step in this process, as I don't want to seem like a disgruntled customer if the issue lies in me being ill informed. Everyone makes mistakes, I just don't want this to become an every-visit occurrence.

The appointment was not necessarily the issue; I just don't understand how they could go through so much trouble to get me (a 20 year old who normally is not allowed a rental (normally have to be 25)) a rental and not have anything documented to show that effort/work they put into the process...

I'm fairly sure that the rental age requirement doesn't apply when your car is in for service. It's not that you can't rent a car if you're under 25, you usually have to pay extra to do so. However, the dealership has to cover those costs. I've had experiences with car rentals on a couple occasions.

Both times I was 22 years old and in each situation (dealership covered rental when the car was in for warranty work and on another occasion the insurance company covered rental when i was rear ended) I was given a rental without having to pay for anything.

N8_DUB said:

Appreciate the insight.

VWoA will be my LAST step in this process, as I don't want to seem like a disgruntled customer if the issue lies in me being ill informed. Everyone makes mistakes, I just don't want this to become an every-visit occurrence.

The appointment was not necessarily the issue; I just don't understand how they could go through so much trouble to get me (a 20 year old who normally is not allowed a rental (normally have to be 25)) a rental and not have anything documented to show that effort/work they put into the process...

Click to expand...

So, is your gripe with the rental or the work they wanted to do? I can't really understand from your comments...

My problem was with the information the Dealer gave me and didn't follow up on. I was told Friday that "everything for the rental went through" I was told "We can get you in it on Monday; the dealership won't pay for you to be in the rental over the weekend since we won't be working on it over the weekend anyway" I asked him what time and he told me that Enterprise opened at 7:30. So I told him I would be there at 7:30am.

I was more worried about weather or not this has happened to someone else before; I am not out to get anyone, I'm just upset at the fact that dealerships go out of their way to sell anyone a car but they Don't back up the promises they make to already-loyal customers.

Hope you can resolve things soon. I think their "diagnosis" makes little sense. Carbon Build up in what exactly? Sounds like a better technician that is really wanting to help you needs to be on order ASAP! Do you have other dealers you can visit?

Again good luck!

ALTA_ADAM said:

Hope you can resolve things soon. I think their "diagnosis" makes little sense. Carbon Build up in what exactly? Sounds like a better technician that is really wanting to help you needs to be on order ASAP! Do you have other dealers you can visit?

Again good luck!

Click to expand...

I'm sure there are other dealers I can visit; the only issue I ran into recently when attempting to schedule something was due to some problems at work... So... I told VWoA when they called me for a survey that I felt the technician was obviously ready to leave for the day, because they really didn't fully diagnose the problem. He automatically assumed the problem was the battery and replaced it. And now that the problem still exists, and their diagnosis now is the carbon build-up, they won't cover THAT under warranty????? Just seemed a bit odd that they would take the quick way out, and cover it, but when they have to keep the car and give me a rental, they won't.

Oh, and they told me that the "cleaning" of the carbon deposits was not covered under warranty because it is considered wear and tear, I would think a battery replacement would be considered wear and tear before anything inside the engine is considered to be.....???? Hence the reason I think the service is a bit shady.