Ok, I pissed someone off.
Granted, I think I piss a lot of people off, but this is different.
As the loyal readers have come to realize, I've had a couple problems with the Subaru I got and the Dealership I got it from. So, as any person who's been ripped off would do, I started writing reviews of this dealership at any site that would allow me to. Not nasty, but a factual account of what's happened thus far.
Well, apparently someone has been doing their Web Analytics and I got a call from the General Manager. Not my sales rep or Sales manager, or even the service manager. Big cheese for the place.
Mind you, at this point I've been trying to call my sales guy for over 2 weeks to get him the information for the tires I wanted put on my car. They agreed to do this and I just needed to tell them what tires I wanted.
I called, he answered and promptly told me he was busy with a customer, but I could email him the information. Ok, I immediately email him the info. A week passes with no followup from him. I email again again and ask for a confirmation. Nothing. Two days later the second email bounces back. Hmmm, the first one didn't- did he get that one? I tried another email from a different email account. No bounce back, but no reply either.
So I call. No answer, so I leave a message and leave my cell number. The next day I have a message on my WORK phone from him. Seems suspicious that I wasn't at work and he didn't then try my cell. I call back- and no answer again. And again I leave a message with my cell number. No answer. Ok, now I'm irritated and suspect he's screening my calls. SO I call from a different phone, and low and behold he answers... even more highly suspicious.
This time he's driving and can't write anything down.
Ok, whatever.... now he's asking for trouble.
Later, I finally get a call, but its from the General Manager, and boy is he pissed off. He's found and read my reviews. The fact that I've been in there so many times for this, in his words, "Frosts his ass". He doesn't need this kind of bad publicity in this economy.
So we talk.
He says he can't give me a refund, but he can trade me into something else. This would be an even exchange, unlike what I was told before where they could buy back my car at trade-in value. Trade-in values are designed to made a profit, and making a profit off of me in this way was just not acceptable. So, since I was planning on trading this Subaru in at another dealership after they fix it anyway, this seems like a good course of action.
We make a time to meet.
Meeting day:
I meet him in the morning on Friday and the first thing we do is get in my car. He wants to see the vibration I'm all ape-shit over. No surprise here- it doesn't shake. Well that just figures. I drive it a couple miles, then he gets in and drive it a couple miles. Maybe it needs a few miles to warm up. Either way, problem or not, I'm unhappy and he aims to correct that. Finally! Someone who gives a rats ass.
EIther way, the shake didn't happen, but what DID happen is the temp gauge needle jumped into the red zone. WTF? This is a new thing on me, however I'm not surprised.. . . .
I opened the hood once after getting home because the engine sounded odd. This is my first turbo, so it ma eb normal, but I wanted to look. Holey shit if I didn't almost burn my hand on the hood support rod. It was waayyyy hot! Again, I've never had a turbo before, it could be normal, the turbo intercooler could be blowing right on it or something. The temp gauge at that time wasn't high, so I left it.
Well, if we remember, one of the reason I was so batshit crazy about the service issues is because this car has always been serviced here and was inspected here before the sale. They don't seem to be able to tell if a trunk latch works, so why would I trust their service on the car. And this just proves it. If I wasn't already making stink here, the fix for this problem would be on MY DIME. I have a Subaru with 45,000 miles on it for 3 months and already I'm dumping money into it? What's a year down the road? (see video posted earlier today)
So that sealed the deal on me dumping this car before it's a money pit.
We get back:
He wants to keep the car for the weekend- sure, no problem. He gives the keys to the service center and says, fix it. We go into his office and asks me what I want to get into and he starts doing some searches at wholesale auctions. They give me a 2009 Impreza for a rental. He should be calling me later today with an update. This time, I believe I'll get a call.
But we shall see........ stay tuned for the conclusion.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Second Response from the BBB
So apparently, according to the Better Business Bureau its OK to lie to customers......
In some instances, BBB receives a company's explanation with documentation supporting its position, rather than an offer of a specific adjustment. If the response addresses the disputed issues, BBB forwards the company's response to the customer for an opportunity to accept or rebut the company's position. At that time, if the customer does not provide additional information with documentation supporting his/her position and is unable to refute the company's evidence, then BBB is obliged to consider the matter resolved. Likewise, if a company makes an effort to resolve a dispute satisfactorily and its customer remains dissatisfied despite the company's efforts to satisfy the customer, then we are also obliged to consider the matter resolved.
After thoroughly reading all correspondence regarding your complaint against the above named company, BBB has determined that the company addressed your dispute. At this time, we are closing your complaint accordingly.
........ thats the whole email. Notice they didn't give any information for providing additional information for a dispute. No email address, no phone number.
In some instances, BBB receives a company's explanation with documentation supporting its position, rather than an offer of a specific adjustment. If the response addresses the disputed issues, BBB forwards the company's response to the customer for an opportunity to accept or rebut the company's position. At that time, if the customer does not provide additional information with documentation supporting his/her position and is unable to refute the company's evidence, then BBB is obliged to consider the matter resolved. Likewise, if a company makes an effort to resolve a dispute satisfactorily and its customer remains dissatisfied despite the company's efforts to satisfy the customer, then we are also obliged to consider the matter resolved.
After thoroughly reading all correspondence regarding your complaint against the above named company, BBB has determined that the company addressed your dispute. At this time, we are closing your complaint accordingly.
........ thats the whole email. Notice they didn't give any information for providing additional information for a dispute. No email address, no phone number.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Response from the BBB
I appreciate and apologize for the issues Mr. Hartley has endured. As he stated in his complaint, we have performed under the limits of the state mandated used car warranty, and while our original diagnosis may have been wrong, we did replace the rotors and are willing to replace the tires. If Mr. Hartley had brought the rear hatch to our attention, I'm sure we could have solved that as well.
We have been selling and servicing Subaru's in greater Hartford for over 20 years. We have a good product and a good dealership. We don't receive too many complaints and are in good standing with all consumer agencies. While we are human and make mistakes, we will always work towards solving any complaint and/or work towards making our customers happy.
I would be more then happy to trade Mr. Hartley out of the car; unfortunately, we can't just take the car back and provide him with a refund because he has no confidence in the vehicle.
We have been selling and servicing Subaru's in greater Hartford for over 20 years. We have a good product and a good dealership. We don't receive too many complaints and are in good standing with all consumer agencies. While we are human and make mistakes, we will always work towards solving any complaint and/or work towards making our customers happy.
I would be more then happy to trade Mr. Hartley out of the car; unfortunately, we can't just take the car back and provide him with a refund because he has no confidence in the vehicle.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
My response TO the BBB
Suburban Subaru's 30 year history in business does not have any bearing on this case or my issues. Also “under the limits of the state mandated used car warranty” simply means they are doing what they must under law. The law states what you MUST do, not what you CAN do. The law doesn’t say you can’t give a refund, it only says you don’t have to. So it really depends on how much they value the satisfaction and piece-of-mind their customers have. In light of the repeated problems with this vehicle, Suburban Subaru should value their customer's satisfaction enough to go beyond bare legal minimums and take care of the problems in a satisfactory manner.
While I do appreciate that diagnosis of problems such as vibrations in the vehicle can be tricky and require several attempts to remedy, this is not really the issue. The problem here is that each time I was given the car back, it was reported to me as being fixed. It was not said at any time that it was NOT fixed and needed more work except for the third visit where they machined the rotors so thin that they needed to be replaced. They were either warped or defective (their 106 point mechanical and safety inspection didn’t catch the warped rotors). I am currently waiting for a response form them regarding the replacement of the tires. I find it curious that they are willing to replace all four tires on my word alone and no additional inspection by them. Surely if they realized the tires needed replacing after their own inspections they would have done it, right? This makes me suspicious that they knew the tires needed replacing all along but were trying to get away without doing it.
Also, since this info was from an inspection of the tires without replacing them yet, there is no guarantee that this vibration will be gone after the tires are replaced. The defect in the tires could be a result of some other problem with the vehicle rather than the sole cause of the vibration.
I would also request that the tires of my choosing be installed at a different service center as it is apparent to me that the techs at Suburban Subaru can not notice a vibration as they have given me my car back with a vibration in it four times.
Concerning the tailgate latch; this should have been a very simple cut and dry repair. To say that “If Mr. Hartley had brought the rear hatch to our attention, I'm sure we could have solved that as well” is unacceptable. They had two chances to fix it- both times they said it was fixed. I simply didn’t need to waste my time and miss work to have them try again. It was, however, not fixed twice, yet it was returned to me as being fixed. This should not have been a tricky or ambiguous repair- it either works or not. Each time it was said to be fixed, it obviously was not. As soon as I got home and tested it and sure enough it was the same as it was before with the exception that it had some WD40 on it but still didn’t close. How do you explain that sort of service? What they did didn’t fix it, yet it was given back to me as fixed. Straight up incompetence, laziness, or worse- fraudulent.
I am also concerned that these problems have distracted or masked other problems that may or may not be related to the initial issues. The vibration problem may eventually be fixed, but it may have been hiding an unrelated problem that will not be covered by the dealership since the vehicle is now out of the CT implied warranty. The car seems to get lower than recorded MPG- which may or may not be due to the current problem. The hood support, after driving, is almost too hot to handle- this too may also be related to the vibration, but may not be. I won’t know until the vibration is fixed. Since the vibration won’t be fixed until after the warranty period is past, I may be stuck paying for these pre-existing problems myself.
To say that I have no confidence in the car is only part of the problem. I have no confidence in the service or the dealership. Aside of the service issues, they have also managed to loose the title of my trade-in and accuse me of trying to cheat or scam them out of money.
Concerning the trade/buyback; My salesman mentioned that the only ‘refund’ type solution would be to buy back the car at the trade-in value. This solution is unethical and unacceptable. Trade-in values are based on the dealer making a profit on its resale. Making a profit on the misery of their customers is wrong. I could sell it for more than the trade-in value and still lose thousands of dollars on this transaction. I would consider a trade into another vehicle only at full suggested retail value and if the vehicle was fully inspected by another service center.
While I do appreciate that diagnosis of problems such as vibrations in the vehicle can be tricky and require several attempts to remedy, this is not really the issue. The problem here is that each time I was given the car back, it was reported to me as being fixed. It was not said at any time that it was NOT fixed and needed more work except for the third visit where they machined the rotors so thin that they needed to be replaced. They were either warped or defective (their 106 point mechanical and safety inspection didn’t catch the warped rotors). I am currently waiting for a response form them regarding the replacement of the tires. I find it curious that they are willing to replace all four tires on my word alone and no additional inspection by them. Surely if they realized the tires needed replacing after their own inspections they would have done it, right? This makes me suspicious that they knew the tires needed replacing all along but were trying to get away without doing it.
Also, since this info was from an inspection of the tires without replacing them yet, there is no guarantee that this vibration will be gone after the tires are replaced. The defect in the tires could be a result of some other problem with the vehicle rather than the sole cause of the vibration.
I would also request that the tires of my choosing be installed at a different service center as it is apparent to me that the techs at Suburban Subaru can not notice a vibration as they have given me my car back with a vibration in it four times.
Concerning the tailgate latch; this should have been a very simple cut and dry repair. To say that “If Mr. Hartley had brought the rear hatch to our attention, I'm sure we could have solved that as well” is unacceptable. They had two chances to fix it- both times they said it was fixed. I simply didn’t need to waste my time and miss work to have them try again. It was, however, not fixed twice, yet it was returned to me as being fixed. This should not have been a tricky or ambiguous repair- it either works or not. Each time it was said to be fixed, it obviously was not. As soon as I got home and tested it and sure enough it was the same as it was before with the exception that it had some WD40 on it but still didn’t close. How do you explain that sort of service? What they did didn’t fix it, yet it was given back to me as fixed. Straight up incompetence, laziness, or worse- fraudulent.
I am also concerned that these problems have distracted or masked other problems that may or may not be related to the initial issues. The vibration problem may eventually be fixed, but it may have been hiding an unrelated problem that will not be covered by the dealership since the vehicle is now out of the CT implied warranty. The car seems to get lower than recorded MPG- which may or may not be due to the current problem. The hood support, after driving, is almost too hot to handle- this too may also be related to the vibration, but may not be. I won’t know until the vibration is fixed. Since the vibration won’t be fixed until after the warranty period is past, I may be stuck paying for these pre-existing problems myself.
To say that I have no confidence in the car is only part of the problem. I have no confidence in the service or the dealership. Aside of the service issues, they have also managed to loose the title of my trade-in and accuse me of trying to cheat or scam them out of money.
Concerning the trade/buyback; My salesman mentioned that the only ‘refund’ type solution would be to buy back the car at the trade-in value. This solution is unethical and unacceptable. Trade-in values are based on the dealer making a profit on its resale. Making a profit on the misery of their customers is wrong. I could sell it for more than the trade-in value and still lose thousands of dollars on this transaction. I would consider a trade into another vehicle only at full suggested retail value and if the vehicle was fully inspected by another service center.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Here's Why. . . . . . .
Remember when you found out the government was giving billions of dollars of your tax money to privately owned companies because they screwed up and those that screwed up the business in the first place continued to make more money in a day than you'll ever see in your life? Now remember how that made you feel... so pissed off you could barely function but with the added bonus of having nothing you could do about it? Well, thats where I am now.. . . . . . .
I decided to go out and get a used car. I had a slush fund of cash and thought this might be a good use for it. After some deliberation, I decided on a Subaru Baja (yeah, I know, Baja ha ha ha). Its a love-hate relationship, but it was a good compromise between function and efficiency- plus its a Subaru, which are well known for being very reliable cars. So I find one to look at, and happened to be right down the street- great!
So I go take a look see. The one they had was a little high in miles for my tastes, but they were just getting a trade-in of one that looked very promising; 5-speed, turbo, very low miles. Fantastic.
So they price it- and this should have tipped me off right away - it had TWO prices on the sticker right away; the WAS price and the NOW price. As I said, it just got there- there was no WAS price. thats just a crock.
I looked it over with the sales-guy. Good condition. It had rails for a bed cover. I asked if the bed cover came with it, he said it did but they didn't keep them on because they have a tendency to 'walk away' at night. Also mention the bed extender also came with the car.
Cool.
So I took it for a ride.
Drove well, but had a very noticeable shake in the steering wheel; and other than that, seemed pretty good. Later during inspection I also found the tailgate latch also stuck in the OPEN position. No biggie, right?
Some time later when I decide to buy it.. . . . . .
However, with my used car bargaining powers, I got them down to what I wanted to pay (with trade in). Ended up being $2k lower than their NOW price and even more off of suggested retail. In the contract was noted the shake and the latch and that they would be fixed before I drove off with it.
I also mention the bed cover and bed extender. They said it didn't have a cover but they would get me a bed extender once one came in on another Baja. OK, whatever- maybe my memory wasn't so good. I still got a good deal on the car.
So with papers signed, check handed over and problems fixed (they said the tires just needed some balancing.. makes sense), I drive the 2 miles home.
No problem.
Driving to work was a good deal looonger, about 30 miles each way... where I notice the steering wheel shaking. Grrrr. they were supposed to fix that!
I checked the tailgate and sure enough it was also not fixed. Double Grrr!
So I bring it back and say hey... not fixed!
I bring it back in and before the end of the day they balanced the tires... again... and fixed the tailgate latch... again..... I am called to pick it up and it was fixed.
Drive to work again and shake... shake... shake....grrrrr.
And sure enough, the latch was still not fixed.
SO I thinks- Hey, latches are pretty easy, WTF?
I take it apart myself and find my hands stinking of WD40- so both times they were fixing this they just sprayed it with WD40 and called it a day? Thats some quality service there!
Turns out the hinge pit was rusty and no amount of lube was going to make it go easy. So I took it apart and sanded it down. Viola! Works like new.
Now, in the meantime I've gotten a call from the manager saying I owe them money.
I owe them money? I had my bank write a check from my account for the amount on my invoice. I told him I'd have to check it out.
I check with my bank and yes, indeed, they had written it for the wrong amount. Great. But the Subaru place didn't catch it either and wrote PAID on my invoice.
Now, I can only go in on the weekends without leaving work early, so thought I'd bring the money in on Saturday. Well, before Saturday hit I get a voicemail saying that they want their money and that they were holding my registration. WHat? They mess this up and now they're threatening me? I call back.
I admit I'm a little cheesed at this attitude I'm getting. Now somewhere in the conversation I must have said 'Dude' (I work at ESPN where its the 3rd word out of some people's mouths) and this guy FLIPS OUT "Did you just call me DUDE?!?!?!?" and degrades from there to where he accuses me of trying to get away with not paying for the car! that pisses me off pretty good right there. Then it turns out that they lost the title for the trade in.
Yikes, this place doesn't have their stuff together!
So Saturday comes and I get the bank check, and we sign papers so they can get a copy of the title. I also make an appointment to have that shake checked out again.
And since they couldn't seem to find the shake themselves, I was going to take a ride with them.
While there, they had a bed extender for me. I went to put it in the car and, oops, no mounting brackets! I go to the parts area and order a set of mounting brackets. $50! For a couple pieces of stamped metal...just ducky.
Next appointment. .. . . . . .
We go for a ride and the tech with me can pretty much immediately see the shake in the wheel and feel it in the brakes. Why couldn't they see that before?
So This time instead of balancing the tires... again .... they decide its the brake rotors and machine them. Still shakey.... Machine again... still shakey. They have a machine that machines rotors while on the car to take into account any problems with the suspension (sound like duct tape and bubble gum to me) but that apparently made it WORSE. So, they machine it down to the minimum thickness and give up. They tell me they're ordering NEW rotors and will replace them. OK... great. Sounds like a good solution and its not just balancing the tires again. But more importantly, I'm not a hypochondriac.
OK, done and done.... drive to work.....
and yep, you guessed it.... shake shake shake. A bit different, not in the brakes, just the steering wheel, and at somewhat lower speeds. Have I mentioned Grrr?
So back I go. We take a drive together, and lo and behold, the tech feels the shake too. Hmm, odd he didn't feel it when he was supposed to have test driven it after replacing the rotors.....
So guess what they do. . . . . balance and rotate the tires.... gimme a break!
SO its done again.... its "fixed". I drive to work. And not too surprisingly.... there's still a shake in the wheel......
OY!
Isn't the definition of insanity "doing the same thing and expecting different results"?
This is definitely insane.
Before going back, I bring it to the local tire place.
After about 10 minutes with the car they came to these conclusions:
1- The tires are VERY new. Like so new they thought I just bought them.
2- The balancing weights are too large for the size tires on the car
3- The tires have an unusual amount of 'bounce' to them. (maybe this means something to tire people.
4- You could balance these tires all day and they would never be fully balanced.
If there was a time to use 'FML', it would be right here. And here's why. . . . .
-These people lost the title and didn't read the check I gave them.
-These people can't tell if a car has a shake in the steering or not (or don't actually check)
-They do the same thing 3 times to fix the same problem.
-Give me back the car 4 times as being fixed
- According to CARFAX, this car has been serviced by these people its whole life
-They supposedly do a 100+ point inspection for every used car they sell
All these being facts, what amount of trust should I have that this car isn't going to just fall apart or have some major repairs very soon? None really. Not by the example of the fine service they've provided me so far.
I've contacted them about the most recent shaking and that I took it to a 3rd party inspector. Surprisingly they're willing to take my word for the findings and replace all 4 tires. Which makes me very suspicious.
But honestly, I'd rather just have my money back, give them back their car and be done with it and them. The likeliness of this happening is very small. CT does not have a used car lemon law- only for new cars. I've called Subaru America to ask for help and they said aside of filing a complaint, there's not much they can do for me. I filed with the BBB, but they don't actually have any power to do anything. I called CT Dept. of Consumer protection for advice; nobody would talk to me. They said I had to have something in writing. OK- so I wrote 4 pages of details and faxed it in. I called to confirm the fax and they said they couldn't and that I'd be getting a letter in the MAIL confirming my case number. Case number? I don't even know if I want to file a case! I just wanted advise. To make it worse, someone might get back to me in 2-3WEEKS. Yikes... there's a model of efficiency and helpfulness.
So I'm between a rock and a hard place. Nobody on any side is willing to help me out or even give advise. I guess I just suck up the fact that the dealership is going to get away with this with little more than a blurb in the BBB office and a note at Subaru HQ. And maybe next year I'll get a call from the Attorney General's office about a moot point.
I decided to go out and get a used car. I had a slush fund of cash and thought this might be a good use for it. After some deliberation, I decided on a Subaru Baja (yeah, I know, Baja ha ha ha). Its a love-hate relationship, but it was a good compromise between function and efficiency- plus its a Subaru, which are well known for being very reliable cars. So I find one to look at, and happened to be right down the street- great!
So I go take a look see. The one they had was a little high in miles for my tastes, but they were just getting a trade-in of one that looked very promising; 5-speed, turbo, very low miles. Fantastic.
So they price it- and this should have tipped me off right away - it had TWO prices on the sticker right away; the WAS price and the NOW price. As I said, it just got there- there was no WAS price. thats just a crock.
I looked it over with the sales-guy. Good condition. It had rails for a bed cover. I asked if the bed cover came with it, he said it did but they didn't keep them on because they have a tendency to 'walk away' at night. Also mention the bed extender also came with the car.
Cool.
So I took it for a ride.
Drove well, but had a very noticeable shake in the steering wheel; and other than that, seemed pretty good. Later during inspection I also found the tailgate latch also stuck in the OPEN position. No biggie, right?
Some time later when I decide to buy it.. . . . . .
However, with my used car bargaining powers, I got them down to what I wanted to pay (with trade in). Ended up being $2k lower than their NOW price and even more off of suggested retail. In the contract was noted the shake and the latch and that they would be fixed before I drove off with it.
I also mention the bed cover and bed extender. They said it didn't have a cover but they would get me a bed extender once one came in on another Baja. OK, whatever- maybe my memory wasn't so good. I still got a good deal on the car.
So with papers signed, check handed over and problems fixed (they said the tires just needed some balancing.. makes sense), I drive the 2 miles home.
No problem.
Driving to work was a good deal looonger, about 30 miles each way... where I notice the steering wheel shaking. Grrrr. they were supposed to fix that!
I checked the tailgate and sure enough it was also not fixed. Double Grrr!
So I bring it back and say hey... not fixed!
I bring it back in and before the end of the day they balanced the tires... again... and fixed the tailgate latch... again..... I am called to pick it up and it was fixed.
Drive to work again and shake... shake... shake....grrrrr.
And sure enough, the latch was still not fixed.
SO I thinks- Hey, latches are pretty easy, WTF?
I take it apart myself and find my hands stinking of WD40- so both times they were fixing this they just sprayed it with WD40 and called it a day? Thats some quality service there!
Turns out the hinge pit was rusty and no amount of lube was going to make it go easy. So I took it apart and sanded it down. Viola! Works like new.
Now, in the meantime I've gotten a call from the manager saying I owe them money.
I owe them money? I had my bank write a check from my account for the amount on my invoice. I told him I'd have to check it out.
I check with my bank and yes, indeed, they had written it for the wrong amount. Great. But the Subaru place didn't catch it either and wrote PAID on my invoice.
Now, I can only go in on the weekends without leaving work early, so thought I'd bring the money in on Saturday. Well, before Saturday hit I get a voicemail saying that they want their money and that they were holding my registration. WHat? They mess this up and now they're threatening me? I call back.
I admit I'm a little cheesed at this attitude I'm getting. Now somewhere in the conversation I must have said 'Dude' (I work at ESPN where its the 3rd word out of some people's mouths) and this guy FLIPS OUT "Did you just call me DUDE?!?!?!?" and degrades from there to where he accuses me of trying to get away with not paying for the car! that pisses me off pretty good right there. Then it turns out that they lost the title for the trade in.
Yikes, this place doesn't have their stuff together!
So Saturday comes and I get the bank check, and we sign papers so they can get a copy of the title. I also make an appointment to have that shake checked out again.
And since they couldn't seem to find the shake themselves, I was going to take a ride with them.
While there, they had a bed extender for me. I went to put it in the car and, oops, no mounting brackets! I go to the parts area and order a set of mounting brackets. $50! For a couple pieces of stamped metal...just ducky.
Next appointment. .. . . . . .
We go for a ride and the tech with me can pretty much immediately see the shake in the wheel and feel it in the brakes. Why couldn't they see that before?
So This time instead of balancing the tires... again .... they decide its the brake rotors and machine them. Still shakey.... Machine again... still shakey. They have a machine that machines rotors while on the car to take into account any problems with the suspension (sound like duct tape and bubble gum to me) but that apparently made it WORSE. So, they machine it down to the minimum thickness and give up. They tell me they're ordering NEW rotors and will replace them. OK... great. Sounds like a good solution and its not just balancing the tires again. But more importantly, I'm not a hypochondriac.
OK, done and done.... drive to work.....
and yep, you guessed it.... shake shake shake. A bit different, not in the brakes, just the steering wheel, and at somewhat lower speeds. Have I mentioned Grrr?
So back I go. We take a drive together, and lo and behold, the tech feels the shake too. Hmm, odd he didn't feel it when he was supposed to have test driven it after replacing the rotors.....
So guess what they do. . . . . balance and rotate the tires.... gimme a break!
SO its done again.... its "fixed". I drive to work. And not too surprisingly.... there's still a shake in the wheel......
OY!
Isn't the definition of insanity "doing the same thing and expecting different results"?
This is definitely insane.
Before going back, I bring it to the local tire place.
After about 10 minutes with the car they came to these conclusions:
1- The tires are VERY new. Like so new they thought I just bought them.
2- The balancing weights are too large for the size tires on the car
3- The tires have an unusual amount of 'bounce' to them. (maybe this means something to tire people.
4- You could balance these tires all day and they would never be fully balanced.
If there was a time to use 'FML', it would be right here. And here's why. . . . .
-These people lost the title and didn't read the check I gave them.
-These people can't tell if a car has a shake in the steering or not (or don't actually check)
-They do the same thing 3 times to fix the same problem.
-Give me back the car 4 times as being fixed
- According to CARFAX, this car has been serviced by these people its whole life
-They supposedly do a 100+ point inspection for every used car they sell
All these being facts, what amount of trust should I have that this car isn't going to just fall apart or have some major repairs very soon? None really. Not by the example of the fine service they've provided me so far.
I've contacted them about the most recent shaking and that I took it to a 3rd party inspector. Surprisingly they're willing to take my word for the findings and replace all 4 tires. Which makes me very suspicious.
But honestly, I'd rather just have my money back, give them back their car and be done with it and them. The likeliness of this happening is very small. CT does not have a used car lemon law- only for new cars. I've called Subaru America to ask for help and they said aside of filing a complaint, there's not much they can do for me. I filed with the BBB, but they don't actually have any power to do anything. I called CT Dept. of Consumer protection for advice; nobody would talk to me. They said I had to have something in writing. OK- so I wrote 4 pages of details and faxed it in. I called to confirm the fax and they said they couldn't and that I'd be getting a letter in the MAIL confirming my case number. Case number? I don't even know if I want to file a case! I just wanted advise. To make it worse, someone might get back to me in 2-3WEEKS. Yikes... there's a model of efficiency and helpfulness.
So I'm between a rock and a hard place. Nobody on any side is willing to help me out or even give advise. I guess I just suck up the fact that the dealership is going to get away with this with little more than a blurb in the BBB office and a note at Subaru HQ. And maybe next year I'll get a call from the Attorney General's office about a moot point.
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