I purchased my Speed3 in April of this year, and since then I've had so many problems I'm getting ready to drive it through my dealer's front door. Here's a list of what's happened:
April 14th - Getting ready to drive my grandmother from Lincoln, NE down to Austin, TX to visit my parents for a week, and the CEL comes on right before I'm ready to head out. I tightened the gas cap and did the usual (hadn't heard about the CEL problem yet), and the CEL ended up turning off before i left - so I didn't think much of it. Went to open the rear driver-side door to pack the car and the trim catches on the front door and bends the edges of the front and rear door so I can't open the rear door without first opening the front door (as the edges were catching on eachother). Called the dealer and he told me to bring it in when I got back - that they'd had several reports of the trim coming loose and damaging the doors.
April 16th - Get ready to show my parents my new car in Austin, and notice the CEL is back on. Took it to the dealership down there and the replaced the CEL and flashed the computer.
April 20th - When I get back to Lincoln, NE (where i live), the engine is making a horrible rattling noise. Take it into local (non-speed) dealer here and they have to overnight a new pully tensioner. They give me my car back and say it's safe to drive for the weekend while I'm waiting for the part to get there. Take it in the following monday, and they fix the tensioner, but oddly the belt was shredded over the weekend, and they have to ORDER IN a new belt, so they have to keep my car yet another day.
April 23rd - Get my car back, and call up to the Speed dealer in Omaha who I purchased it from to schedule getting the door fixed. Drove it up and dropped it off, and got a loaner.
April 27th - I get the car back and drive it back to Lincoln - after closer inspection there are still spots on the inside of the doors that were worn down to bare metal, and the sticky tape they used to adhere the new molding is twice as thick as the original tape on the other side, so the molding is rubbing on the edge of the front door every time the rear door is opened. This time, they drive down to Lincoln (an hour drive) to get my car and drop off a loaner.
April 30th - They fix my car right this time and bring it back to me. I'm happy to have my car back.
July 6th - I notice that the edge of the bumper on the passenger side isn't flush with the body. I can't pop it back in, so I don't think much of it and just shoot an email over to the dealership I bought it from mentioning the problem "just in case".
August 3rd - Come out of my apartment and the bumper on the passenger side is no longer attached to the car. I noticed that the hole that is used to bolt it to the frame is completely worn through. I also noticed a couple of screws missing from the bottom of the bumper. I call up the dealer, replace the screws, and drive the car up on Friday, the 8th. They say they'll fix it, and I schedule the engine mount inspection and an oil change while they have it. They give me a loaner.
August 6th - The sales manager emails me and tells me that they found a "point of impact" on the bumper, and that they were going to go ahead and fix the bumper (using a washer to fasten the bumper where it has worn through) since I had had so many problems before. I didn't remember there being a point of impact when I had looked at it before, but didn't really want to get into an argument of my word against there's, so I told them as long as it was fixed (and I didn't get charged anything), I wasn't going to raise a stink. I also asked if they were absolutely sure that the point of impact was the cause of the problem rather than being a symptom (i.e., the bumper was HANGING OFF THE CAR) - they say it could be, hence they reason they'll go ahead and fix it.
August 8th - I get a call from the service department telling my car is ready. I ask if the oil change and the recall were performed on the car - and they guy doesn't know - says the salesperson I was originally talking to would know and to call back the next day to check with him (since he's off that day). Call and email twice and don't hear back from him until...
August 9th - Called and finally got ahold of the sales manager. He gets ahold of the sales person that was overseeing the whole process, who then tells me "Oh, I thought you had already picked it up". I drive up to Omaha that night, and get there and the sales guy gives me my car, and shows me a spot on the underside of the bumper that is obviously scratched up (looks like I hit a curb that was too high or something - but ONLY on the passenger-side corner, no other scratches anywhere). At this point in time I'm thinking maybe I DID do something or maybe I should've taken it in earlier when I reported the problem - so I'm ready to let it go as long as everything else is fixed.
August 13th - Today I come out and once again, the bumper is coming off! I'm getting to the point where I've had my car out of my hands for SEVERAL weeks. I relatively certain that if I get into it with the dealer, they'll just say "Looks like you hit something, it's not our problem - but we'd be happy to fix it for you - for $$$".
So my question is - what do you guys think i should do? Has anyone else had this many problems with their Speed3 or the dealer? Should I take up the corporate ladder - if so, who do I contact? There are no other Speed3 dealers anywhere near me (the next closest speed dealer is 3-4 hours away, and I'm sure they'd just JUMP at the opportunity to deal with someone else's problem). I LOVE my car, but it's seriously wearing on my nerves. I've got two kids and don't really have time to be dealing with this every other month! I know the lemon laws in Nebraska state that you have to either have the car in the shop for 30 days or 4 times for the same problem. I'm pretty close to having met the 30 day mark - but even that's arguable. Any recommendations?
April 14th - Getting ready to drive my grandmother from Lincoln, NE down to Austin, TX to visit my parents for a week, and the CEL comes on right before I'm ready to head out. I tightened the gas cap and did the usual (hadn't heard about the CEL problem yet), and the CEL ended up turning off before i left - so I didn't think much of it. Went to open the rear driver-side door to pack the car and the trim catches on the front door and bends the edges of the front and rear door so I can't open the rear door without first opening the front door (as the edges were catching on eachother). Called the dealer and he told me to bring it in when I got back - that they'd had several reports of the trim coming loose and damaging the doors.
April 16th - Get ready to show my parents my new car in Austin, and notice the CEL is back on. Took it to the dealership down there and the replaced the CEL and flashed the computer.
April 20th - When I get back to Lincoln, NE (where i live), the engine is making a horrible rattling noise. Take it into local (non-speed) dealer here and they have to overnight a new pully tensioner. They give me my car back and say it's safe to drive for the weekend while I'm waiting for the part to get there. Take it in the following monday, and they fix the tensioner, but oddly the belt was shredded over the weekend, and they have to ORDER IN a new belt, so they have to keep my car yet another day.
April 23rd - Get my car back, and call up to the Speed dealer in Omaha who I purchased it from to schedule getting the door fixed. Drove it up and dropped it off, and got a loaner.
April 27th - I get the car back and drive it back to Lincoln - after closer inspection there are still spots on the inside of the doors that were worn down to bare metal, and the sticky tape they used to adhere the new molding is twice as thick as the original tape on the other side, so the molding is rubbing on the edge of the front door every time the rear door is opened. This time, they drive down to Lincoln (an hour drive) to get my car and drop off a loaner.
April 30th - They fix my car right this time and bring it back to me. I'm happy to have my car back.
July 6th - I notice that the edge of the bumper on the passenger side isn't flush with the body. I can't pop it back in, so I don't think much of it and just shoot an email over to the dealership I bought it from mentioning the problem "just in case".
August 3rd - Come out of my apartment and the bumper on the passenger side is no longer attached to the car. I noticed that the hole that is used to bolt it to the frame is completely worn through. I also noticed a couple of screws missing from the bottom of the bumper. I call up the dealer, replace the screws, and drive the car up on Friday, the 8th. They say they'll fix it, and I schedule the engine mount inspection and an oil change while they have it. They give me a loaner.
August 6th - The sales manager emails me and tells me that they found a "point of impact" on the bumper, and that they were going to go ahead and fix the bumper (using a washer to fasten the bumper where it has worn through) since I had had so many problems before. I didn't remember there being a point of impact when I had looked at it before, but didn't really want to get into an argument of my word against there's, so I told them as long as it was fixed (and I didn't get charged anything), I wasn't going to raise a stink. I also asked if they were absolutely sure that the point of impact was the cause of the problem rather than being a symptom (i.e., the bumper was HANGING OFF THE CAR) - they say it could be, hence they reason they'll go ahead and fix it.
August 8th - I get a call from the service department telling my car is ready. I ask if the oil change and the recall were performed on the car - and they guy doesn't know - says the salesperson I was originally talking to would know and to call back the next day to check with him (since he's off that day). Call and email twice and don't hear back from him until...
August 9th - Called and finally got ahold of the sales manager. He gets ahold of the sales person that was overseeing the whole process, who then tells me "Oh, I thought you had already picked it up". I drive up to Omaha that night, and get there and the sales guy gives me my car, and shows me a spot on the underside of the bumper that is obviously scratched up (looks like I hit a curb that was too high or something - but ONLY on the passenger-side corner, no other scratches anywhere). At this point in time I'm thinking maybe I DID do something or maybe I should've taken it in earlier when I reported the problem - so I'm ready to let it go as long as everything else is fixed.
August 13th - Today I come out and once again, the bumper is coming off! I'm getting to the point where I've had my car out of my hands for SEVERAL weeks. I relatively certain that if I get into it with the dealer, they'll just say "Looks like you hit something, it's not our problem - but we'd be happy to fix it for you - for $$$".
So my question is - what do you guys think i should do? Has anyone else had this many problems with their Speed3 or the dealer? Should I take up the corporate ladder - if so, who do I contact? There are no other Speed3 dealers anywhere near me (the next closest speed dealer is 3-4 hours away, and I'm sure they'd just JUMP at the opportunity to deal with someone else's problem). I LOVE my car, but it's seriously wearing on my nerves. I've got two kids and don't really have time to be dealing with this every other month! I know the lemon laws in Nebraska state that you have to either have the car in the shop for 30 days or 4 times for the same problem. I'm pretty close to having met the 30 day mark - but even that's arguable. Any recommendations?
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