What Do I Do Now (Car Purchase, Bad Service, Bad Bad Bad)

[terpkristin]

Some of y'all may know or may remember from other threads that I recently purchased a Mazda 3 GT Hatchback. You may also remember that I had some...issues...with picking it up. Well, things have gone from bad to worse with the dealership where I bought it and now I'm wondering what my next step should be. A (hopefully short--OK it turned out kind of long, sorry) synopsis/timeline.

March 10th: purchased car through United Buying Service at Ourisman Mazda in Laurel, MD. Traded in my old car, including giving them keys and registration. Was given what my car was worth less what I still owed on the car. At first everything was going well, but in the end, I was there for over 5 hours (insane to me considering it was a no-haggle price). Finance woman was particularly stupid and actually didn't give me a rate I qualified for until I specifically asked (firsts offered me whatever she could get from various banks, then I asked if there were any special deals, she said she thought there was one or two, went out, asked, came back and said I could do 3.9% for 4 years, when I asked if there was any other, went out and asked again and told me there was 1.8% for 3 years...when I asked her if I qualified for them she said oh yes, definitely, but had I not asked, I'd have gotten a much worse rate from a bank). Agreed to come to pick up car on 19th as they didn't have it in stock and I wouldn't have time until then. Note this dealership is [b]50 miles one-way from my apartment.

March 19th: Go in to pick up car and am informed that it was never delivered. Apparently it was moved from one dealership in northern VA to another and that it might not be available anymore as there was an interested party in northern VA. This is after I've already put money down on said car in the form of my trade-in and have signed all legal documents saying I cannot back out of the deal. Find out that car is still available about an hour later, say I will come in to pick it up on 21st but I need to check my schedule and will call back if I need to come in on 20th. Call back a few hours later to say that it MUST be the 20th but no one answers my calls so I leave messages--these messages are neither acknowledged nor responded to.
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March 20th: Call dealership to ensure they got my messages (what messages?) and inform them I need to pick up the car. They inform me that because this was sooner than they expected they will not be able to install something I had paid to have them install, but that I can call and schedule service in their service dept and have the work done free. As compensation for having to drive 100 miles out of my way round-trip, they will give me free tank of gas and carwash when I come in for that. Hand over title to my old car.
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March 22nd: Realize that I was never given the registration for the new car so call and ask that it be sent to me. Am informed that they will put it in the mail immediately. Also call and schedule service for the 31st.
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March 30th: Finally receive my registration. It was post-marked the 28th.
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March 31st: Drop off my car in the morning (~7 a.m.). Am informed that they have no record of me wanting to come in and I'm not on the schedule, so they will see what they can do. I call at around 2 p.m. to see what the status is on my car and they (perhaps inadvertently) hang up on me and don't bother to call back. At ~2:30 I call them back saying I was disconnected, find out my car is ready to be picked up. Go to pick up my car around ~6:30 p.m. First thing I notice, it's not been washed nor has the gas tank been filled. Then I try the accessory thingie they needed to install/fix. It doesn't work. Since the service dept is closed, I go into main dealership and ask if anybody can help me, if there's anybody around who can look at my car. Am informed there is not. I ask for the manager of the dealership's business card. Somebody goes away to "find one." About 2 minutes later (this isn't a large dealership) I'm still waiting for it, so I ask for it again. Am asked what my concern is that I want it. I tell them something to the effect of "I have been screwed over by this dealership now 3 times and I'm fucking sick and tired of their horrible service and getting fucked over." Am told that "if [I] say that fucking word one more fucking time they'll fucking call the fucking cops to remove me." I am [b]SHOCKED by this response and ensure to watch my tongue and again ask for the business card of the manager, and then I will be on my way. The person I was dealing with refuses to give it to me, and asks me to "fucking leave or they will call the cops because I'm creating a disturbance." (Still have no idea what I was doing to be a disturbance, I kept my voice down and nobody even noticed I was there in terms of other people in the dealership...if I'd wanted to be a disturbance I'd have said REALLY LOUDLY that the dealership was incompetent bordering on negligent and I'd strongly recommend anybody considering buying a car from them to go to a different dealership.) I ask one more time for the manager's business card and the punk who's threatening me says he can give me his own business card and after all, he's more important because "his name is on the side of the building." I take it so I have his name and title (and assume he's probably the son of the owner who is such a screw-up can't hold down a real job without getting a hand-me-down from daddy) and I leave. I mean, if he was going to use profanity and threaten me, WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT HIS BUSINESS CARD INSTEAD OF THE CARD OF THE MANAGER? But I obviously wasn't getting that so I left, quite hot (might have stayed and let him call the cops if it wasn't PG county, but PG county......)
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April 2nd: Write letters to United Buying Service, Mazda North American Operations Customer Service, and Mazda USA detailing my experience and dissatisfaction (and in the case of the buying service recommending they drop the dealership). Also file a complaint with the BBB. Also take my car to a different dealership to have the part fixed. It's warranty work so I'm not going to pay anything, but they decide it has a bad ground so order a new part and I have to bring it back in once the part arrives.
[br]
April 6th: Get a bill for my old car, asking for my next car payment. When I call the credit company they have no record that I've sold the car and that it should be paid off. I state (on the record) that because I was given the value of the car less what I owed, I was not going to make any more payments on the car, and also stated my concern that if the idiot dealership didn't pay it off in time, I would get a bad mark on my credit report (and my mom, who was co-titled on the old car, would as well). Am asked to call back next week to see if the payment status has changed. Also bring my car back to the new dealership, find out from the new dealership that the accessory wasn't necessarily bad, it looks like the head unit is bad so now they're overnighting that to the dealership and HOPEFULLY I'll have my new car back tomorrow afternoon.
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I almost wish I'd waited in sending my angry letters, this car payment BS is just fuel for the fire. Is there anything else I should do in terms of complaints? And looking ahead, if the idiot dealership doesn't pay it off, what's my next step in that arena?
Thanks,
/tk

[jackyl]

Mazda uses planetfeedback.com quite extensively. Check it out.

[DaddyTorgo]

*cough*

do you have any lawyer friends? or law-student friends?

[JediKooter]

I guess the first question to ask is, what do you want to accomplish? Lawyers usually do the 30 minute free consultations. I've seen people have good results with planet feedback as well.

My concern would be your credit and the old car not being paid for properly by the dealership.

[terpkristin]

I guess the first question to ask is, what do you want to accomplish? Lawyers usually do the 30 minute free consultations. I've seen people have good results with planet feedback as well.

My concern would be your credit and the old car not being paid for properly by the dealership.

At this point, I have no desire to deal any further with Ourisman. They are a horrible dealership even by my already low standards of dealerships and have an unsatisfactory rating by the BBB. There is nothing they could offer me except cash that I would want (free service from the dealership? Um, no), and even cash is silly. The car drives great. Just not everything I paid for works.

My primary "desire" is to ensure that a) others know about this mess and that b) my mom's and my credit ratings stay in tact. I suppose I may be jumping the gun on this, maybe they will get their butts in gear, but given what I've seen, I have no reason to believe it. And if they don't pay on time, it's a lot harder to fix a credit rating than it is to pay on time. Just because it's a charge that shouldn't be real doesn't mean it'll get cleared up in a snap, and that may impact other things for me and my mom.

/tk

[wade moore]

This isn't helpful - but man this story really reminds me why I'm glad I moved away from the entire DC Metro Area.

Anyway...

http://www.ourismanmazda.com/ lists "Chris Smith" as the GM of that dealership. First thing I would do is call the dealership and demand to speak to him. If they say he's busy, say you'll hold. When you get him on the phone I would say that you expect him to personally resolve the payment issues and share your other experience with him.

Anything less than him taking personal ownership and guaranteeing that it will be resolved by X Date (with the weekend, Idano.. COB Monday?) is unnacceptable.

If he gives you trouble, I'd look for someone higher up in the Ourisman group. I didn't find anything on their website quickly, but there are ways to find them relatively easily if need be.

[terpkristin]

Dola,
Should I do it against "Mazda" at PF or "Ourisman Mazda"? They do not have a file for Ourisman but I could easily type that info in...

/tk

[wade moore]

At this point, I have no desire to deal any further with Ourisman. They are a horrible dealership even by my already low standards of dealerships and have an unsatisfactory rating by the BBB. There is nothing they could offer me except cash that I would want (free service from the dealership? Um, no), and even cash is silly. The car drives great. Just not everything I paid for works.

My primary "desire" is to ensure that a) others know about this mess and that b) my mom's and my credit ratings stay in tact. I suppose I may be jumping the gun on this, maybe they will get their butts in gear, but given what I've seen, I have no reason to believe it. And if they don't pay on time, it's a lot harder to fix a credit rating than it is to pay on time. Just because it's a charge that shouldn't be real doesn't mean it'll get cleared up in a snap, and that may impact other things for me and my mom.

/tk

As much as you don't want to deal with them, dealing directly with the dealership, and doing it immediately, are the only way to resolve the payment issues. With what you have gone through, I would not assume that they'll do it on their own.

[gstelmack]

The other helpful possibility is your local TV news station's consumer affairs person. They LOVE to get involved in stories like this...

[Coder]

Not sure if Mazda have the same setup as we do at Volvo, but if so you should be getting a customer survey request in the next few days. We use a company called GFK, which sends out emails with a URL for web-based customer satisfaction form fill outs. Answer every question with a low mark and write your entire complaint-story there.

If this had been one of our dealers, he'd be getting his ass handed to him the second this reached our central CFL-department. Our dealers have bonuses based on their customer ratings and we can quickly see if they get low grades. We've pulled dealers from our network due to continous poor grades. We also give compensation in the shape of both extra accessories and in some cases even cash depending on the situation.

[adubroff]

I have a friend who's GM at a BMW dealership and for BMW they tailor the cars the dealership actually gets based on sales and customer ratings. So I think mailing Mazda directly is great. I would definitely fill out any customer satisfaction forms they send, they are almost sure to do so. I think, short of suing them, this is the best way to hurt the dealership, and given what you detailed, I would want a little pound of flesh myself.

You do, of course, need to get them to fix the whole stealing your old car (which is what they've done) piece of the equation solved as well. On that end, I'd start working my way up the chain of command there. If they give no redress, I think you might be able to do small claims court (not sure what the cut off dollars wise is) and then you wouldn't even need a lawyer.

[JediKooter]

At this point, I have no desire to deal any further with Ourisman. They are a horrible dealership even by my already low standards of dealerships and have an unsatisfactory rating by the BBB. There is nothing they could offer me except cash that I would want (free service from the dealership? Um, no), and even cash is silly. The car drives great. Just not everything I paid for works.

My primary "desire" is to ensure that a) others know about this mess and that b) my mom's and my credit ratings stay in tact. I suppose I may be jumping the gun on this, maybe they will get their butts in gear, but given what I've seen, I have no reason to believe it. And if they don't pay on time, it's a lot harder to fix a credit rating than it is to pay on time. Just because it's a charge that shouldn't be real doesn't mean it'll get cleared up in a snap, and that may impact other things for me and my mom.

/tk

I totally hear you on this. You definitely want to warn others about them and sometimes it's best to completely cut your ties with them.

There should be something in the contract which states that they have taken over responsibility for the car. At least here in California they do that, hopefully they do that there. There is zero reason for that to take more than 30 days other than complete incompetency, which they have already shown.

THE best advice that I would say, at this point in time, get everything in writing from them. If, for whatever reason, because of their actions, your credit and your moms have been negatively affected by this, you have a paper trail to back you up. If you have to speak with them on the phone, record the conversation. Depending on what state you are in, you don't always have to notify the other party that you are recording the call.

I hope this all works out and you don't have to continue with having to hassle with them. Good luck! :)


Edit To Add: Looks like in Virginia you do NOT have to let the other party know you are recording the call. However, I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. So, I'd ask a real lawyer in your area for clarification on that. Here's the law: Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-62

[14ers]

April 6th: Get a bill for my old car, asking for my next car payment. When I call the credit company they have no record that I've sold the car and that it should be paid off. I state (on the record) that because I was given the value of the car less what I owed, I was not going to make any more payments on the car, and also stated my concern that if the idiot dealership didn't pay it off in time, I would get a bad mark on my credit report (and my mom, who was co-titled on the old car, would as well). Am asked to call back next week to see if the payment status has changed.

I will ask an obvious question.

This to me indicates that your banks lien is still on the title and the car is currently titled in your name. A change of ownership usually cannot take place until all lien holders have been removed from the title.

If you do not want to deal with the bank or car dealer, I would start out by first calling my Auto Insurance company to find out if you still own this car and see what they recommend. This would kind of be an end-run around both your bank and car dealership to perform a basic title search.

Q: Do you still own your old car?

[thesloppy]

I've become somewhat of a pro at complaining to large corporations, and here's my sooper-dooper, and relatively simple procedure to getting your complaint heard:

1> find the webpage detailing the executive 'leadership team' for the corporation, in this case:

http://media.ford.com/people/bios.cfm?make_id=227

2> with a little detective work, and a few google searches, you can usually figure out how the corporation organizes their email addresses...in this case, it appears that it's {first initial}{last name}@mazdausa.com ( for example [email protected] ), but you may want to do some further research, since there appears to be a bunch of different Mazda divisions.

3> Write an email detailing your experience and your complaints (you probably already have one of these that you've sent ot the BBB or whomever), and CC everybody on the leadership team.

I've had surprisingly good results using this technique, especially relative to the amount of work involved. Best of luck, sounds like a huge hassle and I hope you can get some form of satisfaction in the end.

[EagleFan]

The first thing you may want to do is add some white space in that post, wow that hurt my eyes.... :D

Sorry, in a really strange mood tonight (could be normal I guess)

[dawgfan]

All good advice so far. I would also add that if you still are not getting resolution from the original dealership with regards to the car sale and transfer of title to involve the state attorney general's office.

[EagleFan]

I would complain about the specific dealership as this might be a situation where you got a bum deal by doing business with a lousy dealership. Go to a paper that has a consumer advocate type of column, they also love to do this kind of stuff. I think you have a pretty straight forward case to complain about here.

On another note, sorry to hear that you got this kind of lousy service and I hope things get straightened out as quickly as possible. I went through that kind of thing with the first new car that I bought and know it can be a major pain in the ass.

[terpkristin]

I will ask an obvious question.

This to me indicates that your banks lien is still on the title and the car is currently titled in your name. A change of ownership usually cannot take place until all lien holders have been removed from the title.

If you do not want to deal with the bank or car dealer, I would start out by first calling my Auto Insurance company to find out if you still own this car and see what they recommend. This would kind of be an end-run around both your bank and car dealership to perform a basic title search.

Q: Do you still own your old car?

I do not know. As part of handing over everything, I handed over the title with my mom's and my signatures on it saying we were transferring it to Oursiman Mazda. I returned my plates to the Maryland MVA. I suppose there might be other steps that need to be taken to hand over the car, but they need to be done by the dealership I think. All I did when I traded in my old old car for the old car was sign the title over, hand over the title, keys, and registration, and that was that. Granted, last time there was no lien on the car.

It's not that I don't want to deal with the credit company (Mazda American Credit) it's just that as far as they can tell, I still own the car and owe the money. This is why I have to call them back next week. I do have no desire to deal with the dealership but I recognize I'll have to deal with them to ensure that they pay off the old car. I'm going to have to do that on a day when I'm having an otherwise great day because dealing with their incompetence will bring me WAY down and most likely get me angry.

Aiee.
/tk

[wade moore]

It's not that I don't want to deal with the credit company (Mazda American Credit) it's just that as far as they can tell, I still own the car and owe the money. This is why I have to call them back next week. I do have no desire to deal with the dealership but I recognize I'll have to deal with them to ensure that they pay off the old car. I'm going to have to do that on a day when I'm having an otherwise great day because dealing with their incompetence will bring me WAY down and most likely get me angry.

Aiee.
/tk

Dealing with the credit company does you no good right now. As far as they are concerned, rightfully so right now, this car is yours and you owe them payments on it. They are not responsible for what you or the dealer have/have not done.

Calling the credit company is pointless (beyond just to check to see if it has been paid off). You need to go to the dealer. And you need to not wait until you're in a good mood, because your credit rating won't care if you're in a good mood.

[Subby]

This isn't helpful - but man this story really reminds me why I'm glad I moved away from the entire DC Metro Area.
You stupid.

[wade moore]

You stupid.

Nu-uh.

[Greyroofoo]

Makes me glad I didn't buy from Mazda.

[dawgfan]

I do not know. As part of handing over everything, I handed over the title with my mom's and my signatures on it saying we were transferring it to Oursiman Mazda. I returned my plates to the Maryland MVA. I suppose there might be other steps that need to be taken to hand over the car, but they need to be done by the dealership I think. All I did when I traded in my old old car for the old car was sign the title over, hand over the title, keys, and registration, and that was that. Granted, last time there was no lien on the car.
Was there not a bill of sale regarding the purchase of the Mazda that included information on the trade-in of your old car? In other words, a paper trail that proves you sold the car to them?

[terpkristin]

Was there not a bill of sale regarding the purchase of the Mazda that included information on the trade-in of your old car? In other words, a paper trail that proves you sold the car to them?

Yes there are 2 lines on the paperwork I signed for the car:
Allowance for used car trade in
Less Balance Owing To Mazda Credit (they had to fill in the Mazda Credit part)

Edit to add: Actually, what my trade-in was worth less what I owed on it still is denoted on two separate pieces of paper I signed and I have copies of.

/tk

[Coffee Warlord]

Lawyer. Find one. Hire one. Attack.

Bet you they'll be in one helluva hurry to shut you up if you start legal action against them.

[CamEdwards]

The other helpful possibility is your local TV news station's consumer affairs person. They LOVE to get involved in stories like this...

Hate to disagree, but there's a reason local consumer affairs reporters never do stories on car dealerships... they're the biggest advertisers on local tv.

Much better off going the lawyer route... sorry to hear about this stuff TK.

[RendeR]

Get a laywer and set loose the pain on that dealership. The response will amaze and delight you.

[stevew]

Gah, sounds like horrid service.

When I bought my car in November, I get a call from the bank about 2 weeks after I took posession of the car, and they told me that if they don't have verification of my employment within "a day or two" that they were going to cancel my loan and take my car. The company I work for is stupid, basically they can't verify employment at the store level, and only at the corporate one. Apparently they got sent 3 faxes from the bank and never responded to any of them. So I ended up spending that day on the phone trying to not cuss out the human resources people, and faxing shit back and forth, so I would be sure that it got to the intended people and they could finalize the loan. Not good times at all.

[terpkristin]

Thanks, everybody, for the suggestions. As I said, I'm going to see what the status of the lien payment is when I call Mazda American Credit on Wednesday then figure out where I'm to go from there...

I did get an invitation to rate my experience with Ourisman from Mazda North American Ops Customer Assistance, so I definitely took my time and filled out the online form as completely as I could. I couldn't state everything that had happened, but left numbers and email. Of course, if they read this as well as they read the form the LAST time I dealt with CA, it might all be for naught--last time was about 6 months ago when I was asking some info on my now old car and they sent me back a canned reply that didn't answer my questions at all, just was a canned response to 2 words in my message (gas mileage) that was completely irrelevant to my actual concern (their answer, not the gas mileage).

I guess we'll see...

/tk

[hoosierdude]

Any updates on this tk? :)

[FrogMan]

I heard she's developped quite a bad case of recurring headache... ;)

FM

[terpkristin]

Um, I guess there are a few little things to report.

One, I called the creditor back (Mazda Credit) and my bill had still not been paid so I called the dealership (ugh) and spoke with someone in the finance dept. She seemed remotely competent, said it hadn't been paid off because there was no record of my loan being processed/accepted (or something like that, I honestly didn't understand what the holdup was), I stated that I've already paid one payment on the new car, so...

She asked I guess the finance moron/airhead who dealt with my sale and found out things were good to go or something so said she'd send a check out. She also said she'd call me back, which she didn't, so who the heck knows. I'll call Mazda Credit next week (one week before my "next" payment is due on the old car) and see what the status is and go from there.

Two, I received receipt of confirmation from all three places I sent letters to (United Buying Service, Mazda USA, Mazda North American Operations Customer Assistance), and I submitted my "tell us how they did" thing, and have received no calls or emails or anything else. My guess is that they just don't give a rat's butt, and I guess this just means that I'll not get another Mazda. If they don't care about how their customers are treated, then they don't care enough for my business.

Three, my car still doesn't work "as advertised." They installed the new head unit and still can't get the auxiliary input jack to coexist peacefully with the Sirius. Part of this is apparently because I haven't activated the Sirius radio or something, and they need some information on the Sirius to get the accessory switch thing to work (or something....as a rocket scientist, this makes no friggin sense to me). I asked them to ensure that the aux jack worked, to hell with the Sirius for now. I'll call and get that activated and then I can bring it back and they can do whatever it is they need to do. Unfortunately, in order to activate the Sirius I need the radio code which is not in any of the information I was given with the car. There is apparently a way to get the radio code by doing something with the head unit itself, but right now, they've more or less disabled the Sirius, so if I hit the "SAT" button to switch to satellite radio, nothing happens. I guess this means I'm going to have to call the dealership again, I just haven't had the motivation to deal with it. Mayhaps this weekend I shall look at everything more closely.

My mom has pointed out to me I should get it all working properly, so that when I re-sell the car (hopefully years and years down the line), I can get the proper value. Right now I'm considering just ripping the entire head unit out and replacing it with a Pioneer or Kenwood dual head-unit and nav system. There are a variety of reasons for this, but it'd be kind of expensive, so I haven't 100% figured out what I'm going to do. Either way, I need to get a ground-loop isolator to use my Delphy XT2 XM receiver with my car and the aux jack (FM transmitters in this area SUCK) as there is significant engine whine through the speakers if I am listening to a device and have it plugged in. My iPod, I don't need it plugged in, it has enough juice 95% of the time, but the XM needs the power. I don't really like having the XM in that way, though, regardless, because there are just a ton of wires floating around which looks really really ugly.

So. That's where things stand. I am leaning more and more to just ripping out the stock head unit and stuff, but haven't fully decided to do so. On an up note, the car drives beautifully! :)

/tk

[terpkristin]

So, an update on my car for those of you who might be interested…

It's been just over a month since I took delivery of the car. You may remember that I took it back to the dealership on March 31st to have them install a switching box so I could use the aux input jack and Sirius, and that they not only didn't do it correctly, but they were excessively rude to me. Well, I took it to another dealer, closer to where I live.
<O:p
The first time, they took my head unit apart and said that it wasn't working because there was a bad ground in the switching box. They ordered a new one, so I brought my car back 3 days later and then they said it was a bad head unit. So they ordered a new head unit for me and then called me to say that they couldn't make the Sirius and the aux input jack work together unless I activated the Sirius, and since I didn't know my radio code off-hand, I asked them to make the aux jack work and I would figure out what to do about the activation.
<O:p
As it turns out, on that time, when they either took apart the console, or when they were putting it back together, they damaged the climate control console, which is right below the radio console. I didn't notice it immediately, because I have set my climate control to just keep the car at a certain temperature, and I hadn't a need to change it. This past weekend, when the weather was gorgeous, I turned off the climate control and opened the windows, which was when I noticed that the climate control console was loose and scratched up. Having found my Sirius activation code (in the glove box), I took it back to the local dealer for them to make it all work and for them to fix the climate contrl console.<O:p

This time, they said that they couldn't do it because the accessory box requires a dual-wire harness that was never installed, and since it was never installed, they'd have to charge me for it, as it wouldn't be considered "warranty work." I don't get that at all. The accessory box is a Mazda part, which I believe comes with the dual harness. If it wasn't installed with it, then that means it wasn't installed correctly, but still should get covered by warranty, as it's been only dealerships to hose it up. Why they couldn't tell me this the first time I brought it in, I don't know. They should have seen it right off the bat. They also "fixed" the climate control console but it's still not sitting right so there is still a gap that's ugly and some scratches and a small gouge.<O:p

I'm disgusted. My car is one month old. I haven't done anything to it except take it to the dealer for work that I have paid for. And not only does it still not work properly, it looks like someone tried to steal my head unit (why they'd want it is beyond me, it's a horrible design). So I'm pissed, and now believe that BOTH dealerships I've taken it to are incompetent. I will not be returning to either dealership.<O:p

To add insult to injury, I'm still having a nightmare with the payoff on my old car, which is now late. I called on the 6th to the credit company, then on the 11th, then I called the dealership on the 11th and was told it'd be sent immediately. Called the credit company on the 18th to see if it had been paid off, still no, so called the dealership back and asked what was going on. The woman I spoke to said she would find the proof that the check was cut and the UPS tracking number and would get back to me. She never did. I called her back a few times and left messages, never got called back. I called the credit company on the 19th, still no payoff, and on the 23rd, still no payoff.<O:p

When I called on the 23rd, the guy was actually helpful and said that activity from Friday afternoon and the weekend wouldn't be fully posted until Monday night, so he offered to call me back Tuesday morning to let me know if it had cleared or not. Lo and behold, when he called on Tuesday, the day the payment was due, it was still not there. So now the payment is officially late. We have 30 days before it gets reported to the credit company (remember this will impact my great credit and my mom's great credit, as she had to co-sign the loan I got on my old car).<O:p

At this point, I'm so pissed off that I'm letting her deal with it. She is infinitely more rational and calm than I am when angry, and she has that cool "Don't mess with me" that usually gets things done, where I'm more apt to throw a fit and get nothing accomplished. And since she has a legal interest in getting this part taken care of, I feel no guilt. Her PhD in psychology will be infinitely more useful right now than my degrees. Of course, at this point, she's running into the same brick wall I did--namely that the dealership said they'd fax her the copy of the check and the UPS bill, they have done neither, and now they're not returning her calls.<O:p

On top of all of this, I got a letter back from Mazda USA basically saying that they were sorry I had gone through what I went through (this was just with the insulting jerkwad at the dealership, the rest hadn't unfolded at that point), but they really had no control or anything on what the dealers did, so it sucks to be me. I actually kind of figured that would be the response, but it really sucks.<O:p

Now I'm trying to figure out if there's any way I can return the car and get my money back. Perhaps it will be breach of contract, consumer protection, or something, and resolve what amounts to theft of my old car (well theft of a part of it anyway). I have all the paperwork and stuff, just waiting for my mom to tell me what to do. She's so much better at this than I am. I will never buy another Mazda. Ever. And considering that my family has owned 5 in the past 15 years, that's saying something.

[Greyroofoo]

makes me glad I didn't buy a Mazda

[Butter]

Any other Mazda dealers in your area that might not totally suck?

[Eaglesfan27]

makes me glad I didn't buy a Mazda


Makes it so I'll never buy a Mazda (not that I was likely to anyway.)

[RendeR]

Just fucking WOW...


You have my sympathy TK, this is so rediculously unnacceptable its pathetic.

Contact a local TV station that does comsumer protection stories, give them the entire schpiel and ask them if they've had complaints about these losers before.

If nothing else about the time a TV crew shows up asking questions about why they're stealing used cars from new customers the entire place will be calling you trying to kiss your ass and make you happy.

God forbid that Mazda corporate sees the story air =)

[Celeval]

Render+1

[Pyser]

i have a mazda and havent had much problems (knock on wood), but this would certainly give me pause.

it makes me furious just to read this.

the only solution i came up with: dress in all black, bring some bricks, and throw it through their window.

it doesnt accomplish much, but itd make me feel better

[Airhog]

TK if I was you I would take the trouble to go to the dealer, set down and refuse to leave until you get what you want...

[dawgfan]

I think it's time to investigate legal options. I'd at least contact the state Attorney General/consumer protection office to see what options are available through that route, and if there's a family attorney you trust that won't charge you an arm and a leg for a little bit of time on this matter, get them involved as well.

The dealership is dragging their feet because there's no real pressure on them.

[terpkristin]

You have got to be frigging kidding me.

An update...
The old car was finally paid off. It was late (a few days after payment was due) but not so late it'd get reported to a credit company, so my credit and my mom's should be in tact.

I had to give the "bad dealership" "one last chance" to fix everything (I don't know why), so I took it into them on 4/28/07, told them my complaints, and left it with them for a week (they gave me a lonaer). My complaints were:
1. Head unit still not working properly (Sirius radio and Aux Jack stuff)
2. Trim on the climate control console noto properly aligned (it was mucked up by the "good" dealership when they took it apart the 2nd time).
3. Rattle from headliner/sunroof/sunshade.
4. High idle.
5. Remove a sticker that was on the car that I don't know why (some other dealership I didn't get it from).

I picked it up on 5/5/07.
1. They fixed the head unit (finally). I only purchased the car on 3/10/07 and picked it up initially on 3/20/07. It'd been over a month.
2. They wouldn't fix the climate control console stuff because the other stealership did it. I have to talk to the other dealership to get that fixed (more in a sec).
3. They couldn't reproduce the rattle. When I picked it up, it seemed to be "better," only rattling when I went over a bump. Still seems OK but I guess I drive on "bumpy" roads.
4. Idle they said was normal, they say they didn't do anything, but since I've picked it up, it feels like it idles a little better.
5. They removed the sticker.

I still wanted all my money back and to give the car back. After the nightmare I had with the stealership in terms of service and the way they treated me, I just am sick of it, combined with how Mazda USA apparently doesn't care, I want all my money back.

So I'm taking it to the "good" stealership tomorrow for them to look at the climate control console and hopefully replace it. I know it's a picky thing, but when it isn't seated right so pushes in and out if you push on it (like when using the controls), and it's a brand new car, it should be freaking perfect. I'm hoping a friend will go with me, a guy so that they don't treat me like a stupid little girl.

To add insult to injury, at the "bad" dealership, they didn't bother washing it and parked it under a tree. The car had tree crap all over it when I picked it up, and a small scratch (that will require touch-up paint) on the rear passenger door. I took it through the carwash tonight to clean up all the mess. Guess what happened. I GOT WET. Not a lot wet but wet. A mini-splash. So I put my hand up to the moonroof and found that the inside was damp. My sunroof WAS closed when I went through, I can only imagine what would happen in a heavy rain. So it now seems that my car leaks through the moonroof.

It amazes me that a car I've had for a month and a half has this many issues. I guess technically I've owned it for 2 months but you wouldn't know.
3/10/07: Purchased car.
3/19/07: Went to dealer to pick up car but it wasn't there.
3/20/07: Took delivery of car. Car wasn't completely done as ordered.
3/31/07: Took car to dealership for head unit work. Picked up same day, head unit not working properly.
4/3/07: Took car to Rosenthal for head unit work. Was told it needed new switching box. Picked car up same day, still not working.
4/6/07: Took car to Rosenthal for head unit work. Was told it needed new head unit. Left car for weekend, picked it up on 4/10/07. Sirius didn't work. Had loaner car.
4/23/07: Took car back to Rosenthal for head unit work. Was told they couldn't fix it because it wasn't installed properly so it wouldn't come under warranty. Picked up same day.
4/28/07: Took car back to Ourisman for the above issues. Was given loaner car. Picked it up 5/5/07. Climate control console still needs repair.
5/10/07: (tomorrow) It's going back to Rosenthal for the climate control. I will also mention the sunroof. I'm not optismistic. I REALLY WANT ALL MY MONEY BACK I'M SO FREAKING PISSED OFF. :(

/tk

[DaddyTorgo]

more saga. Holy shit TK. Holy shit...this is ridiculous

[JediKooter]

Wow! That is beyond the limits of what my patience would be. Think about talking to a lawyer yet? Another hassle, but, it may come down to it unfortunately.

I hope this all works out for you.

[st.cronin]

What are the "lemon laws" in MD? Might be worth looking into.

[Izulde]

Agreed, this is absurd.

[terpkristin]

I honestly do not know what to do.

It does not qualify as a lemon in Maryland or Virginia that I can tell, as most of those seem to have things with driveability whereas this is not.

I could go the litigious route, but I don't even know if I have a case or who to take it to.

I can't even figure out if it comes under Maryland or Virginia consumer protection, since I bought the car in Maryland but it is registered in Virginia (where I live).

All I know is that I've "owned" the car for approximately 60 days and for 24 of those 60, the car has either not been in my posession or has been in the shop (10 days at first, when I purchased it but they didn't have it--when the deal was I could come in anytime during that time to pick it up, but I opted to do it on the 19th since it's a long drive, then finally picked it up on the 20th after they mucked up, 14 days in the shop).

On top of all of this, which I forgot to mention in my disgustedness, I noticed a rattle in the engine when I started it up this morning. Noticed one when I left work this evening, too. If it's back tomorrow morning, I'll be adding that to the littany.

As if all that didn't suck enough, I'm missing time at work to muck with all of this, driving back and forth to dealerships, making calls, etc, at a time when I cannot do so. We have a big design review coming up and I have tons of stuff to do.

I'm so ready to cry. I don't know what to do and I'm so pissed off I'm probably not thinking rationally but dammit. IT SUCKS. :mad:

/tk