Mazda Guy
04-08-2009, 04:49 PM
Please forgive the long post, but I do hope that by giving as much detail as possible it will assist in finding the correct course of action. I am very irate about this situation, and am now faced with not having a vehicle for my wife who is currently 36 weeks pregnant, and we have a 3.5 year old as well. I thought I was getting a good safe family car for our growing family, and now have serious concerns regarding the safety of this vehicle. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!!
PURCHASE:
In Nov. 2008 I purchased a car for my wife & I to use as a growing family vehicle (have one child, another on the way VERY soon). The car is a 2006 Mazda5 with ~16,500 miles at time of purchase. I requested a CarFax report during the purchase of the vehicle, and noted that it listed an accident history in April 2007. The dealership had purchased the vehicle at auction in May 2008. I inquired about the details of the accident from the salesman, and he stated that there was minor rear-end cosmetic damage when they received the vehicle and had to replace the rear bumper. He went on to say that the airbags never deployed, and that "if the airbags were deployed it would show up in the CarFax report". I crawled under the rear of the vehicle at that time & inspected the entire rear end, to include frame, bumper, suspension components and tires as best I could and all appeared fine. We traded in our old Subaru, and as we were upside down paid $2000 in cash plus the $15,000 we had in financing through our Credit Union.
INCIDENT 1
4 days after purchase we were driving to SC for family & Thanksgiving, and the vehicle died twice due to a dead battery. After having a mechanic look at it, he told me that it was not the factory battery and the battery cover was missing. I then found an auto parts store and purchased a new correctly sized battery for the vehicle. I then called the dealership & informed them about the issue and was told "enjoy your holiday & we'll take care of it when you get home". Well, when I got home I faxed a copy of the receipt to the dealership 3 times requesting reimbursement for the cost of the battery. The first 2 times I was told that it was not received, the 3rd time I asked for a return phone call from when it was received and did indeed get that phone call. I still have not received this reimbursement.
INCIDENT 2
In December immediately before Christmas I had finally received my paperwork for registration in PA. Due to the holiday, I was unable to get the vehicle to an inspection station until the beginning of January. At the Inspection station, I was failed due to bad rear tires. The inside shoulders of the tires were worn completely smooth (these tires were new when purchased - this generally occurs due to bad camber or toe alignment). I contacted the dealership regarding this issue as they guarantee that cars sold off their lot will pass inspection. When I arrived I asked that while the tires are being replaced that an alignment be performed. I waited for the car, and when it was done I again asked if an alignment had been done. I was told at that time that it was not done because "they weren't sure if the tires were bad from a previous alignment issue". I then had the vehicle reinspected, and proceeded to have another service center perform an alighment. At this center, I asked to receive both a before and after transcript of the alignments of the car, and indeed the vehicle had 4 out of 10 alignment points severely out of specification. Car now at 20,800 miles.
INCIDENT 3
On March 26th while driving in a rainstorm the power steering failed and did not come on. I was approximately 70 miles from home, and had to drive the return trip with no power steering. Thinking this would constitute a factory warrantable failure, I brought the vehicle in that Monday (March 30th) to a Mazda dealership for diagnostics and repair. A few hours later the Service Manager contacted me asking me when the vehicle had been involved in a front end collision. I replied that as far as I knew it never had, and he assured me that it had been. He said that the radiator had been replaced, and emailed me pictures of the front bumper foam which was held on by duct tape as well as the damage that had occurred to the power steering pump module. Additionally, he said that the washer fluid bottle was held in place only by zip ties, and in his opinion no reputable body shop had done the repairs. The quote for the steering pump module was $1732 + tax & labor, so I'm estimating that to come to ~$2000 in the end. Mileage ~25,000
The following is a transcript of my attempts & conversations with the selling dealership to try to give them opportunity to explain and rectify the situation:
Mar. 30th, 1pm:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager. Was told he was out for ~1hour. Asked to speak with owner of dealership, and was told he was unavailable all day.
Mar. 30th, 2:30pm:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager, told he was still unreachable.
Mar. 30th, 3:30pm:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager, was put on hold and then was put through with another sales rep. I then asked if a message could be left for Service Manager to call me back regarding the service history of the vehicle.
Mar. 30th - Apr. 1st:
No return phone call or attempts made by dealership
April 1st, 9:50am:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager, after on hold for ~1minute was told he stepped out. Sales rep that sold me the car was on the line, and asked what was wrong and I informed him "my steering pump went out on me on Thursday, so naturally I thougt it would be a factory warranty item. It was then that I learned that the vehicle had been involved in a front-end collision." Sales rep's reply was "that's news to me...let me see what I can do." He then took down my return phone information to leave with Service Manager.
April 1st, 10:45am:
Received return phone call from Service Manager, and I asked for the vehicle service history while it was in their possession. Was told that no damage was present on the vehicle at any time they possessed it or when they purchased it. I then explained how I had doubts about their honesty as I had not yet received reimbursement for the battery and had to pay for the vehicle alignment even after my request to them. He then stated that they never received the fax regarding the battery receipt and I called his bluff because of my conversation with another service technician who had received it. He then stated that an alignment had been performed on the vehicle when they performed a full safety inspection, along with oil & filter replacements, 2 tire replacements, and wiper replacement. During our conversation I explained that it was existing damage to the vehicle that was undisclosed when I purchased the car and I wanted them to fix it. He said he was going to check with the Owner and get back to me.
April 1st, 11:25pm:
Service Manager called me and asked for my fax #, saying he was sending information regarding the CarFax buyback guarantee and is looking into the battery receipt as he "believed this to be taken car of already."
I have not had any communication with the dealership since, and do not expect them to call me due to their history of "shadyness". Would I have a valid case to have the vehicle returned & purchase price refunded me?
PURCHASE:
In Nov. 2008 I purchased a car for my wife & I to use as a growing family vehicle (have one child, another on the way VERY soon). The car is a 2006 Mazda5 with ~16,500 miles at time of purchase. I requested a CarFax report during the purchase of the vehicle, and noted that it listed an accident history in April 2007. The dealership had purchased the vehicle at auction in May 2008. I inquired about the details of the accident from the salesman, and he stated that there was minor rear-end cosmetic damage when they received the vehicle and had to replace the rear bumper. He went on to say that the airbags never deployed, and that "if the airbags were deployed it would show up in the CarFax report". I crawled under the rear of the vehicle at that time & inspected the entire rear end, to include frame, bumper, suspension components and tires as best I could and all appeared fine. We traded in our old Subaru, and as we were upside down paid $2000 in cash plus the $15,000 we had in financing through our Credit Union.
INCIDENT 1
4 days after purchase we were driving to SC for family & Thanksgiving, and the vehicle died twice due to a dead battery. After having a mechanic look at it, he told me that it was not the factory battery and the battery cover was missing. I then found an auto parts store and purchased a new correctly sized battery for the vehicle. I then called the dealership & informed them about the issue and was told "enjoy your holiday & we'll take care of it when you get home". Well, when I got home I faxed a copy of the receipt to the dealership 3 times requesting reimbursement for the cost of the battery. The first 2 times I was told that it was not received, the 3rd time I asked for a return phone call from when it was received and did indeed get that phone call. I still have not received this reimbursement.
INCIDENT 2
In December immediately before Christmas I had finally received my paperwork for registration in PA. Due to the holiday, I was unable to get the vehicle to an inspection station until the beginning of January. At the Inspection station, I was failed due to bad rear tires. The inside shoulders of the tires were worn completely smooth (these tires were new when purchased - this generally occurs due to bad camber or toe alignment). I contacted the dealership regarding this issue as they guarantee that cars sold off their lot will pass inspection. When I arrived I asked that while the tires are being replaced that an alignment be performed. I waited for the car, and when it was done I again asked if an alignment had been done. I was told at that time that it was not done because "they weren't sure if the tires were bad from a previous alignment issue". I then had the vehicle reinspected, and proceeded to have another service center perform an alighment. At this center, I asked to receive both a before and after transcript of the alignments of the car, and indeed the vehicle had 4 out of 10 alignment points severely out of specification. Car now at 20,800 miles.
INCIDENT 3
On March 26th while driving in a rainstorm the power steering failed and did not come on. I was approximately 70 miles from home, and had to drive the return trip with no power steering. Thinking this would constitute a factory warrantable failure, I brought the vehicle in that Monday (March 30th) to a Mazda dealership for diagnostics and repair. A few hours later the Service Manager contacted me asking me when the vehicle had been involved in a front end collision. I replied that as far as I knew it never had, and he assured me that it had been. He said that the radiator had been replaced, and emailed me pictures of the front bumper foam which was held on by duct tape as well as the damage that had occurred to the power steering pump module. Additionally, he said that the washer fluid bottle was held in place only by zip ties, and in his opinion no reputable body shop had done the repairs. The quote for the steering pump module was $1732 + tax & labor, so I'm estimating that to come to ~$2000 in the end. Mileage ~25,000
The following is a transcript of my attempts & conversations with the selling dealership to try to give them opportunity to explain and rectify the situation:
Mar. 30th, 1pm:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager. Was told he was out for ~1hour. Asked to speak with owner of dealership, and was told he was unavailable all day.
Mar. 30th, 2:30pm:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager, told he was still unreachable.
Mar. 30th, 3:30pm:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager, was put on hold and then was put through with another sales rep. I then asked if a message could be left for Service Manager to call me back regarding the service history of the vehicle.
Mar. 30th - Apr. 1st:
No return phone call or attempts made by dealership
April 1st, 9:50am:
Called dealership, asked to speak with Service Manager, after on hold for ~1minute was told he stepped out. Sales rep that sold me the car was on the line, and asked what was wrong and I informed him "my steering pump went out on me on Thursday, so naturally I thougt it would be a factory warranty item. It was then that I learned that the vehicle had been involved in a front-end collision." Sales rep's reply was "that's news to me...let me see what I can do." He then took down my return phone information to leave with Service Manager.
April 1st, 10:45am:
Received return phone call from Service Manager, and I asked for the vehicle service history while it was in their possession. Was told that no damage was present on the vehicle at any time they possessed it or when they purchased it. I then explained how I had doubts about their honesty as I had not yet received reimbursement for the battery and had to pay for the vehicle alignment even after my request to them. He then stated that they never received the fax regarding the battery receipt and I called his bluff because of my conversation with another service technician who had received it. He then stated that an alignment had been performed on the vehicle when they performed a full safety inspection, along with oil & filter replacements, 2 tire replacements, and wiper replacement. During our conversation I explained that it was existing damage to the vehicle that was undisclosed when I purchased the car and I wanted them to fix it. He said he was going to check with the Owner and get back to me.
April 1st, 11:25pm:
Service Manager called me and asked for my fax #, saying he was sending information regarding the CarFax buyback guarantee and is looking into the battery receipt as he "believed this to be taken car of already."
I have not had any communication with the dealership since, and do not expect them to call me due to their history of "shadyness". Would I have a valid case to have the vehicle returned & purchase price refunded me?