What would you do? dealers input welcome

[Firefighter Kubota]

I agree with CBW, they don't seem to care if they lose a customer. Obviously you have spent alot of money at your dealer. One would think it is better to retain a customer than turn them away. Just curious how much the repair actually cost parts/ labor. I would pay for the parts, and send a letter back to the owner of the store explaining why you are not paying for labor. I would make sure I copy my attorney, and the BBB as well. Then speak with your dollars, take them elsewhere! It sucks to be in your situation, I've been there before! Keep us posted!

I agree with pushindirt. I find too many dealers pull this sort of crap...If thay told you work was warranty and you agreed to the work being done under the impression it was covered, They should cover all cost even when they realized the error.. If I really like the dealer I might cover parts only but They would have to be very sincere about thier error and I don't get that felling.

I trailer my Harley 60 minutes one way for service...There is a dealer 4 miles from my house...Poor customer service so I would rather drive the 60 minutes, Sure its a pain in the -ss, but the local guys, just don't care!

Good luck

 

[Yankee Clipper]

Firefighter,

My take on your situation is the salesman should have spent 10 minutes and covered the warranty coverage with you when he sold it - explained the tractor has one type of coverage and the attachments have another.

When you called to set up the appointment, the dealer should have looked up your machine and seen when the expiration of each piece was going to happen. You needed to know when the warranty would expire so if anything needed to be done before it expired, this type of misunderstanding would not take place.

In your particular case, the dealer should make good on what his man said - if he said it was all covered, it should all be covered.

 

[donn12]

I have to say I have seen some very surprising responses....I am a car dealer and if you tell someone a repair is free then it is free. Your only chance to charge for the repair is before it is performed. Period. After that it is too late and the customer should never even be exposed to the situation.

 

[bandit67]

Workin,

I wouldn't pay a penny, and here's why. You were verbally told a number of times not to worry, the repairs were under warranty. That would lead me to believe that the dealer did not have you sign your name to a repair order clearly stating what charges or items you would be responsible for paying.

Even after delivering your machine back to you, you still believed all was covered under warranty, and there was no information provided to you by the dealer to the contrary. Suddenly and surprisingly, some time later, a bill shows up in the mail, without a heads-up phone call to alert you to a possible error, etc., and that some of the work actually wasn't under warranty and needed to be paid for.

That was a screw up by the dealer, and in that situation, they need to eat it. Had the situation been different, I would agree that you offer to at least pay for parts. But to quietly spring a bill on you well after the fact constitutes dishonesty and a major mistake on the part of the dealer.

Their problem, not yours. However, by taking this stance, you will essentially be deciding not to ever do business with them again, but it seems like that would be your best option, as you now know that any future service agreement with that dealer, be it verbal or in writing, may not end up being what you were led to believe.

 

[shvl73]

I think it's odd that the dealer won't cover it. If they truly made an error, inform the customer of the error but cover the charge anyway. They are missing (already missed) an opportunity to make a positve impression and help create a loyal customer. Times are tough right now and too many companies are watching the bottom line so closely they miss the big picture.

 

[Mike Costello]

I think it's odd that the dealer won't cover it. If they truly made an error, inform the customer of the error but cover the charge anyway. They are missing (already missed) an opportunity to make a positve impression and help create a loyal customer. Times are tough right now and too many companies are watching the bottom line so closely they miss the big picture.

Exactly right. So many times the big picture is overlooked and the result is a big issue that could have been kept small. Honestly, would the disputed amount have made that big a difference to the dealer? I think not!
I've put untold hours in resolving customer disputes and one thing is for sure, an upset customer is worse than any kind of money recovered. Goodwill however is more valuable than one can imagine and will almost always return tenfold in repeat business.
I was in the automotive field for many years,sold my business and went to work for a tire company that emphasized service. I was a training store manager for the company and one of the hardest jobs I had was convincing new store managers the concept of "goodwill" really paid off in the long run. Especially today, it is more important than ever. Mike.

 

[Northland]

Workin,

I wouldn't pay a penny, and here's why. You were verbally told a number of times not to worry, the repairs were under warranty. That would lead me to believe that the dealer did not have you sign your name to a repair order clearly stating what charges or items you would be responsible for paying.

Even after delivering your machine back to you, you still believed all was covered under warranty, and there was no information provided to you by the dealer to the contrary. Suddenly and surprisingly, some time later, a bill shows up in the mail, without a heads-up phone call to alert you to a possible error, etc., and that some of the work actually wasn't under warranty and needed to be paid for.

That was a screw up by the dealer, and in that situation, they need to eat it. Had the situation been different, I would agree that you offer to at least pay for parts. But to quietly spring a bill on you well after the fact constitutes dishonesty and a major mistake on the part of the dealer.

Their problem, not yours. However, by taking this stance, you will essentially be deciding not to ever do business with them again, but it seems like that would be your best option, as you now know that any future service agreement with that dealer, be it verbal or in writing, may not end up being what you were led to believe.

I agree 100%

 

[bobzap]

I had a 3 year old Tercel that started popping out of 4th gear all the time. I took it in to the dealer as it had 56,000 (warranty expired 50,000). The service manager told me there was nothing he could do for me as it was out of warranty. I started to talk to a salesman and bought a new Tercel trading in the old one. I had ordered hubcaps they did not have in stock for the new car and when I went into the parts/service department was surprised to see my old car up on the lift. GUESS WHAT!
I then noticed the repair order on the board with MY NAME ON IT!! and WARRANTY APPROVED!!! I WILL NEVER STEP IN THAT DEALERSHIP AGAIN!!!