Bad Dealer Experience? Read This!

[TurboLexus]

Scheduled my first visit to the dealer with my '91, chose Hillside Acura in Bay Shore, NY. They told me they were booked three weeks out, so I made an appt and waited patiently. Told them what was done to the car and what I needed done and asked them if that was any problem at all. They said no prob. Dropped the car off Tues night. Come Wed mid-day I gave them a call since I hadn't heard from them yet, they said they would call me back. Never heard back so I called @ 4pm and was told they were deep into working on the car and would call me in an hour with some answers. Never heard from them, waited until 5:30 then called. They were gone, turns out all of service leaves @ 4:30.....they told me they'd call me in an hour when they knew they were leaving in half an hour. They just kept my car another night and didn't give me any info. Got a salesman to go back and check on the car...he said there was no paperwork but that it was apart waiting for parts. I asked him what parts, as I had not given authorization on anything, he said he didn't know. Come this morning they didn't call me again so I gave them a ring. Turns out they never touched it, the svc writer told me I gave them some crazy two page list of things to do to the car, which was untrue...the list was half a page long hand-written, only a few items. Asked to speak to the tech and they said he was out on a road test. Called back later and asked for the tech again, svc writer told me he spoke with the svc mgr and to just take my car back, they didn't want to work on it. I told him they can't just hang on to my car for two days and decide they don't want to work on it, they've cost me time and money (was taking cabs to work, no spare car right now), not to mention I was supposed to be taking the car out to Montauk this weekend w/ my fiancee and now could not since they didn't even bother to do a single thing, not even my NYS Inspection. The svc mgr told me 'I ain't gotta do nothin'.....the svc writer, svc mgr, and owner's son all got irrate with me and all three hung up on me, telling me I better come down and get my car NOW. Had to leave work in the middle of the day and get someone to give me a ride to the dealer. Still with me? I know it's a long story but the end is worth the read. I get to the dealer and check my car out in the lot before I go in.....they've scratched the quarter panel by the gas door, obviously leaning over to open the hatch and not watching their belt buckle or whatever. I go in, they tell me it happened before the car got there....I told him at least give me the courtesy of looking at it before you deny it! Got the svc mgr to look at it, he said he'd have it polished out right now. They pull the car in, and basically once I was in the svc dept they surrounded me. Svc mgr got in my face looking to fight me, then the owner's son came running over screaming and cursing...looking to fight me also. I also had about five techs surrounding me. I told them to do what they had to do, and to stop talking trash and swing if they wanted to, otherwise I would just leave and take it up with Acura. They said Acura can't do sh!t and continued to corner me up against my car. I won't even get into all the things they said to me...I told them I had no problem fighting both of them but that they should just hit me instead of talking trash. As I was getting in my car he pushed the door in on me. The owner's son had them pull his NSX around so he could follow me out of there and try to fight me off the premises. I couldn't believe it. He didn't get the car out in time, so when I pulled away he chased me ON FOOT...he ran after my car all the way out onto the service road for Sunrise Highway. I can only assume from his size that he was having a 'roid rage. Now, because I can't underestimate what these psychos are capable of and since they were very clear about messing with me and my car and that this wasn't over...I have to go to the 3rd precinct tonight and fill out a report since they have my address and i'm sure they'll try to come and damage my car. This is not the first bad experience i've had with a dealer (stopped buying Lexus because of the scams they pulled on us) but it definitely was the worst. So, Long Islanders...where can I take the car for service where I don't have to fight a couple guys at the same time? I'd like to hear what you guys think of this, I prayed that my first experience with the dealer would be a positive one but you can see that it was just the opposite. Between that and the previous owner absolutely screwing me over on the purchase of this car (whole 'nuther story)....this has been a nightmare, i'm half considering giving up and selling the car.

- Jon

 

[The Kid]

Im not sure where you are located but in the tri-state area, you have ASIMO MOTORSPORTS, DAVIS ACURA and I almost forget- BRIDGEWATER ACURA. Stories like that give Acura dealers a bad name. Personally, anytime I ever see a customer in service I run over to say whats up! Most of the time, my service writers say "hey, the kid up front has one of those cars too.." I always sit and BS for at least a couple minutes. Ive meet alot of NSX buddies thru this scenario and look forward to meeting many more. Say, where in NY are you? You mentioned Sunrise HWY... My NSX is undergoing a serious change there as we speak. Maybe you could post some pics of this transformation...

 

[Cairo94507]

I find that story very disturbing. If it is true, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, Acura should pull their dealership. I would definitely file a police report. I would also keep a camera handy at home in the event something happens and you become aware of it as it is happening. The one with the best documentation generally wins in these situations. Perhaps a motion sensor flood light too.

I would then send a letter to Acura Customer Relations, with a copy of the police report.

Now, on balance, I am concerned about some of the facts you outlined in your story. You have also been screwed by a Lexus dealership and the guy that sold you your car? Perhaps there is some sort of a communication break down going on here? Most people do not go from problem to problem without being somewhat at fault, knowingly or unknowingly. Now that you have cooled off, replay the incident and see if anything you did could have contributed to the entire service department turning on you and wanting to fight you.

Good luck and I would take the car to Bridgewater Acura in Bridgewater NJ and see Mike. They were great with me and can be trusted. I bought my car from them.

 

[RSO 34]

Perhaps being a lifelong New Yorker I am inherently skeptical by nature but this story just does not pass the "sniff test." I find it hard to believe that a legitimate dealer would treat anyone like this without any provocation and knowing that Acura will respond to real complaints about their dealerships. The threats, both physical and verbal, would rise to the level of being worthy of criminal prosecution if they actually occurred and for this to be true one would have to assume that the service department is run by a bunch of thugs who have no concerns about being arrested.

You indicate that you are going to the 3rd precinct because "they have your address and you are sure they are coming to damage your car." Quite frankly, this makes no sense. If you were chased and threated in Bay Shore why not immediately report it to the local police? Why go the NYC police who have no jurisdiction over a complaint that occurred in Suffolk County?

If all of this is true, including being scammed by Lexus dealers and being screwed by the previous owner, then I truly feel sorry for you being a perennial victim. However, I can't help but feel that there either is a lot of exaggerated embellishment to what really happened or there is another side that probably is diametrically opposed to this version.

I sincerely hope that I am mistaken.

 

[Dave Hardy]

Learn to DIY. I hate dealerships. Never had an experience like that, but I've never walked out of one without wishing they'd used vaseline.

 

[TurboLexus]

Again sorry for the length of that post, I just wanted to give all the details. For those of you who doubt it for some reason, I have no desire whatsoever to misrepresent, omit, alter, or embellish what occured, i'm calm as I type this and can tell you it's the complete story.

A couple of you have mentioned the past occurences...i'll describe them briefly:
1. Fiancee insisted that she was capable of getting a car on her own. She picked up a new '02 RX300. Shortly after I discovered the vehicle had paintwork in the rear....dealer did nothing, basically blew her off right to her face. For the record, they didn't even detail it for delivery, it was filthy, hood felt rough as well. She brought it back for detailing...they had her wait three hours and just hosed it down, gave it back to her soaking wet. She's very nice therefore ppl take advantage. This is NY after all.
2. Brought my SC300 to Lexus for plugs, they told me it needed a head gasket and furthermore was NOT covered by my warranty. Of course the HG was fine, if they actually knew anything about 2JZ engines they'd know it's pretty damn hard to pop a head gasket...I later went on to make 585rwhp with that car on a Toyota head gasket with no issues whatsoever. And yes, the car was bone stock when I brought it there for the plugs. For those of you who say DIY...I have, I used to build my motors, fabbed my own hidden nitrous setups, etc, I still do some of my own work but i'm at a point where I try to pay to have the rest done, hopefully that didn't come across wrong...as i'm not what you would call well off. This is my 32nd car and i've built most of them, I just don't have the time or energy anymore as i'm getting married soon.
3. As for that same SC300, it was first turbocharged by JBE Racing in Bay Shore. I waited five months to get into the shop, spent about fifteen grand buying the best parts....and they blew up two motors (one brand new) and handed me back a blown up car and a bill. My fault? I doubt it, should have built the car myself. It later went to Sound Performance in Chicago and was completely redone, but not before it bankrupted me. For the record the transport driver got completely and totally lost on the way back and had a meltdown when he got here...he came at me with a hammer, i'm dead serious. My buddies say i'm a magnet for psychos for some reason, i'm a nice guy but won't take sh!t from anyone, guess my old man was like that as well. That SC was a fun car though, beat a local guy's ZX9-R from 50-150 on the day of my engagement party.
4. As for the previous owner screwing me, yeah, ask John Vasos. I purchased the car from 'Irshad' the owner of Genesis Racing Development in Naperville, IL. Work that was supposed to have been done on the car was not, several things needed fixing that were undisclosed (yes the car was checked out)...believe me i'm not being dramatic, luckily John is a great guy and has helped me out in a big way. I cannot thank him enough, car is on the way to perfection. See you at NSXPO '05 man.

BRIDGEWATER...i'm in Deer Park, where's your's being worked on? I can try to take pics if i've some time.

Cairo...thx, and I will be doing all that. It wasn't the whole svc dept, just a few techs backing up their boss is all. They felt justified in keeping my car and then telling me take it back without doing any work on it, and when I told them they can't just do that they went ballistic. If you see a role i've unknowingly played here i'd like to know...yes i've been in a bunch of fights in my life, but I grew up in rough circumstances and had to establish principles for myself in order to get out of that situation and try to better myself. One of those rules is to never back down to any man, and to never fear any man that breathes the same air you do. I hope that doesn't sound over the top to you guys. By the way Jersey is pretty far from here but if that's what it takes then hey.

RSO....perennial victim, that's funny. Choose not to believe it if you want. For the record, the 3rd precinct is in Suffolk County...Bay Shore actually, same town as the dealer. I didn't go right away because I had to get back to work, just ran out to get the car, I guess i'm done justifying myself, didn't expect to get met with incredulity...whatever.

Man I don't think i've ever typed that much in one sitting.

 

[RSO 34]

RSO....perennial victim, that's funny. Choose not to believe it if you want. For the record, the 3rd precinct is in Suffolk County...Bay Shore actually, same town as the dealer. I didn't go right away because I had to get back to work, just ran out to get the car, I guess i'm done justifying myself, didn't expect to get met with incredulity...whatever.

Man I don't think i've ever typed that much in one sitting.

Being a city kid myself as soon as I read 3rd precinct I thought you meant Manhattan. I didn't realize that the Island used numbered precincts as well.

I still sense that something else went on. I can appreciate you not wanting to "take s**t" from anyone because I grew up the same way but the way you repeat that mantra gives me the impression that there was some type of aggressive posture taken by you during this encounter.

I would be interested to find out what action the local police have taken on your complaint.

 

[THonda]

sorry to hear that jon, but for a car like the NSX i just wouldn't take it anywhere near the southshore dealerships To be honest pretty much all dealerships are not what an auto fanatic would expect, we know too much and are way to picky than what they are use to.... Best to try Larry B and/or doing the work yourself. Post up this list you have and see if we can help you.

 

[nsxexotic]

And I thought my experience was bad.