Car Dealerships

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Reading about the contractor rant I have to share a really stupid story. Really STUPID.

We bought a used minivan from a dealership in December. The windshield was chipped so we had it written in the docs on a paper they would repair or replace it. It was not repairable so it had to be replaced. Well all through January I drove twice to the repair shop and the dealership refused to honor the contract. I kept calling and being passed off to another "manager" who had to research and then say they'd call me back. Basically not paying.

Finally in March I just paid to have ti replaced and figured I'd send them the bill. Again no response. I sent it and called multiple days to the GM of the dealership. No response but passing the buck. Super busy, need to research the deal. NEVERMIND I sent them a scanned copy of the note signed, the docs, etc. It was $330 to replace the windshield. I even went to the cheapest place they wanted.

They still wouldn't pay up.

Finally end of May I went to small claims and paid $30 and filed a small claims against them. I had them served and the next day the GM offered me a settlement of $275 the cost of what they pay the windshield guys to replace windows. I said no. The $275 was what I had offered the prior week in an email that they hadn't responded to or agreed to or even talked to me.

I was done. I said I want $360 the cost of the windshield and small claims. The GM said no. I said fine I'll see you in Small claims court July 20th. So the date and time is set.

I asked for my in the small claims including mileage and postage and small claims. I think all in for $500. I figure they've wasted hours of my time in emails and the phone.

I'm done. Do they always do this? I can't believe a dealership would behave like this. Nor that they would actually have the nerve to not pay something they have in writing. I mean seriously it cost more for them to take my small claims and talk to a lawyer than to have just paid up.

I know it's $360 but I'm just annoyed that it came to this. It really isn't the money. I would have taken $275 earlier if they had just settled.

[msomnipotent]

Good for you! I would do the same. I would have written a bad review on every website I could find, the BBB, the and the Attorney General office. And I would call the headquarters of whatever brand they are affiliated with and got them involved. Dealerships are on my list.

Note to self, if I ever buy a car from a dealership with a chip, scratch, dent, whatever, I will tell them to give me a call when it is fixed so I can pick it up and pay the balance.

[Smallsteps]

Is anyone else fed up with having to demand companies or their employees DO their job, Honor their contracts or simply follow thru without constant pressure ?
I have more to do then babysit every transaction I deal with to make sure the other party does there part.

[TexasHusker]

I am involved in about a half dozen different things right now that have to do with folks not doing what they are supposed to do. And I'm always the bad guy for holding their feet to the fire.

The humanists tell us that as our race becomes more educated, the better it becomes. I don't see much evidence of that.

[james.hendrickson]

Texas - great point. Human nature hasn't changed a great deal, but technology and control mechanisms have gotten a lot better. So, law enforcement has gotten more efficient, IRS collection efforts, bank oversight, etc.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Just reading what I wrote makes me still mad

[disneysteve]

Is anyone else fed up with having to demand companies or their employees DO their job, Honor their contracts or simply follow thru without constant pressure ?
I have more to do then babysit every transaction I deal with to make sure the other party does there part.

Exactly. You have to watch everything and everyone and scrutinize every bill.

My wife and I went out to dinner last night. Nothing fancy. Just a little neighborhood diner. We both ordered main courses only. No drinks. No appetizers. No desserts. Nothing extra. Very simple, or so you would think.

The bill comes and our two entrees are on there and a third charge for $4.00. As I went up to pay, I said I didn't know what the $4.00 was for. The owner, who was working the register, asked the server who took care of us. She said it was for our two drinks. That's nice, except we didn't have two drinks. We only had water.

The owner apologized and took $4.00 off the grand total. Of course, that wasn't right either because that meant we were still paying tax on the $4.00 charge, but at that point, I didn't feel like arguing over the 27 cents so I just paid the bill and we left.

It's very frustrating that nobody seems to care enough to do their job correctly, even when their job isn't particularly complicated. We ordered two things and she still couldn't get it right.

[Jluke]

@disneysteve: I don’t think that $4 was a mistake. It was probably done intentionally

The bakery at the grocery store has intentionally messed up price labels.

Two examples. I got a cupcake but the price label was for a 1/4 sheet cake ($21).

I got a small cake ($7) but the price label was again for a 1/4 sheet cake.

They play dumb but they are not.

Those two incidents were 10 years apart. Imagine how many people they scam.


Dealerships: bought a CPO vehicle. Find out at first service visit that the tires are mismatched. 3 of similar low tread and one fairly brand new one. It’s a joke.

[disneysteve]

@disneysteve: I don’t think that $4 was a mistake. It was probably done intentionally

I agree. I'm sure the owner of the diner knows the right way to do it. He just didn't and I wasn't going to make a scene over 27 cents. $4 yes, but not 27 cents. I reflected it all in my tip so I left less than I would have had the whole thing not happened so in the end, I didn't actually pay any more than I would have.

[Tabs]

I gave a dealership in my area a bad review on every online site I can find, including the BBB, just for pulling the race card.

I mean, OK, maybe it was my mistake for even asking if there is a discount in the first place, but there's no reason why anyone should be pulling the race card as an excuse for justifying why discounts won't be available.

Point is, for whatever the reason, I can at least sympathize with bad dealerships.

[Keshet]

I gave a dealership in my area a bad review on every online site I can find, including the BBB, just for pulling the race card.

I mean, OK, maybe it was my mistake for even asking if there is a discount in the first place, but there's no reason why anyone should be pulling the race card as an excuse for justifying why discounts won't be available.

Point is, for whatever the reason, I can at least sympathize with bad dealerships.

Now I'm intrigued..."the race card"?...

[Thrif-t]

Just reading what I wrote makes me still mad

Ugh, I'm mad for you too! But I'm so glad you went all the way to small court with this!

Its terrible how bad workers are today in EVERY occupation! Everything is a hassle and a constant issue.

Just today my DH took our son's car back to the mechanic because he had faulty pads and rotors that they were to warranty out. Well they changed the wrong brakes! The front when it was supposed to be the back! Of course whoever was in charge wasn't there and the worker said he was just doing as he was told.

Now I don't know if he should've been able to tell or not, I know nothing about cars, but at my work people do the wrong things all the time because that is what they were told to do.

Well sometimes people tell me the wrong thing to do, but I always tactfully explain to them why it's wrong to do that way. They are out of their element in what we do, and hardly understand what they are even telling us. But others, they don't care, that's what they're told, so that's what they do. Ticks me off

[Tabs]

Now I'm intrigued..."the race card"?...

I asked if I qualified for any discounts. The manager said something along the lines of that would be unfair because look all the black people that can't afford cars, and you want a discount or something like that.

I said there was no need to pull some kind of race card when all I was doing was asking if I qualified for any discount. He absolutely wouldn't back down either.

This is the Toyota Hendricks Motors in Apex, NC.

[msomnipotent]

I asked if I qualified for any discounts. The manager said something along the lines of that would be unfair because look all the black people that can't afford cars, and you want a discount or something like that.

I said there was no need to pull some kind of race card when all I was doing was asking if I qualified for any discount. He absolutely wouldn't back down either.

This is the Toyota Hendricks Motors in Apex, NC.

That is the nuttiest reply I have ever heard from someone that depends on selling something for a living. I would have been pretty loud after that, and bought my car somewhere else.

[Tabs]

Yeah, it was weird. And no, we went back and forth several times about it. I mean I tried my best to be polite and mature about it, but it went nowhere. I even just told him straight out it was just a general business question, and if he wanted, he could just tell me no. Instead, he tried to guilt me into saying that, I am being unfair and don't want black people to get a fair deal somehow??? Maybe it sounded right in his mind. I don't know, but the way I read it was, unless you are black, you don't get a discount.

Yeah, I've never ran into that line before, and I left extremely offended. So, I wrote bad reviews everywhere I can, told everyone I knew about it, and do not plan to ever go back there again.