Dealership shenanigans again..........bah

[Killer]

All they have to do is prove that the aftermarket wheels are a different weight from the stock wheels simple as that...if they vary by more than half a pound they can legally state that the added weight caused the issue...case closed.... dealerships don't stay in business by having crappy lawyers...you can rest assured if there is a way to do it their lawyers have come up with a way to stop it... Regarding going through all that effort, why wouldnt they? You're legally obligated to pay for all service provided after you approve said service. You're gambling against the dealership...if they win they get to charge you for ALL the work, if they lose you get it free. If they think the odds are in their favor they'll double up everytime.

Because alignments only cost 49 bucks. I mean DUH.(bicker)

Now on the cupping issue...what brand are your tires? Several tire companies/suppliers have been known to sit on tires for months at a time...when rubber begins to dry out it will tend to cup and wear uneven...if they are the tires that came on it, not much you can do as they'll blame your driving, so you're best bet is just to get a new set...however if you got new tires with the rims I would questions the storage and stock rotation policy of your local tire shop you got them from. As a perfect example I had a tire literally come apart on me during a race and when we tracked down the issue it turned out that the tire that came apart had been produced over 1.5yrs before I bought it(luckily it was an Eagle GSC on my vette and the mfg was more than happy to replace it being as that they have an internal policy of not letting their tires sit anywhere near that long and being sold as new)...stupid tire shop had just let it sit thinking rubber doesn't go bad. most high performance tires with come with either A. a serial number or B. a date code which you can get translated by the tire mfg simply by calling them.

Read the Magnussen Warranty Act.

 

[doogie]

I mean, you are driving a 30K car man. Just get the alignment done by a good shop and forget about it. Then write a letter to Mazda America disclosing your displeasure and cost and call it a day. For Gods sake.

 

[Killer]

I mean, you are driving a 30K car man. Just get the alignment done by a good shop and forget about it. Then write a letter to Mazda America disclosing your displeasure and cost and call it a day. For Gods sake.

Exactly.

 

[Klip]

Tires are the original Bridgestones. The service manager telling me they will not take responsibility for any damage done to the wheels if they tried to do the alignment convinced me to find an alignment shop that will take care to protect my investment in aftermarket wheels.
Autohouse Custom Shop in Nashville will get my business, the GM (chris) said they have a machine that will not damage my wheels and showed me to prove the point. He said they get this all the time because people that invest in aftermarket wheels don't want them dicked-up by some A-hole at the stealership who won't take his time to be careful.

Doogie & Killercls, I agree but it still chaps my arse that the dealership would'nt even consider my point that the wear issue after only 3500 miles was abnormal and then told me they would not take responsibility for any damage they might cause. I state again, I do NOT hit potholes or speedbumps, I did not cause this to happen. Autohouse, when the aligment was complete told me there is nothing wrong with my Motegi DP6's they were perfectly round and they were still perfectly balanced (they installed the Motegi's when I bought them)
Note: the GM of the dealership will not return repeated calls (4 times in the last week) by me to make an appointment to talk about this situation.

 

[DSMConvert]

cls I'm not sure what you're trying to say in your first response? The whole point of that paragraph was that in the end in a situation like this they will be making money on the service fees...regardless if its $50 or $150, at the end of the day its still profit to them...

Second response: I'm very familiar with that document. That warranty act will not cover tires in 99% of issues. My fiance's family owns several dealerships and I can tell you that in the 100s of complaints regarding tire wear I have only heard of 1 being legitimized..IN the end tire wear and driver care are "grey areas" and can't be proven by the vehicle owner. In a failure the dealership has to prove that a given mod caused the failure to not cover it, however in wearable items, the owner would need to prove that the wear rate was a result of defect and not driver abuse. When taken to court 99% of rulings will be in the favor of th dealership since they have research to show their point...and you...well you have your opinion... Regardless if you are right or not, it all boils down to money...They have a salaried staff of lawyers so it doesn't cost them a dime to take it to court...meanwhile it will cost you a small fortune to successfully win a case like that...and in the end its silly b/c you would be better off just getting new tires and calling it a day. Not saying its right or wrong...I'm just saying that in some instances its better to just take it as a lesson learned and move on... Dealerships don't always play fair...I'd find another dealership that atleast attempts to do right by its customers...

 

[doogie]

You dont get nothing done in America by bitching to someone that dosnt give a rats ass, if you feel that strongly about the situation express your dis-satisfaction to the head of the beast. This "service manager" apparently couldnt care less about your or anyone elses delema once any part of the car is not OEM. That is clearly his way according to what has been writen. You will get more milage by carefully thinking about what this is all about and then make your statement to those who can make a difference. Trust me on that one. Stop argueing with that clown and really make it worth you time and money. Mazda or any dealer network strives on customer satisfaction so make the best of this situation and learn from it. Take your Business elsewhere. We do have that luxury still..lol

 

[Klip]

Agreed

 

[psi365]

Because alignments only cost 49 bucks. I mean DUH.(bicker)


Read the Magnussen Warranty Act.

An alignment only costs as much as the tech performing it. If they have a dedicated guy doing algnments or an apprentice and how much time they pay that tech. So if they put an hourly apprentice on it and he gets $15 an hour and takes 2hrs to do it, the dealer only pays $30 for the alignment and pockets the rest. So they might be willing to gamble that there isn't anything wrong and when/if they find that out would charge the customer for it. You keep missing the fact that an alignment may not even be a covered repair regardless of aftermarket wheels or not. Just because a customer makes the complaint that the tires are wearing uneven doesn't make it an instant warranty issue. Many car manufacturers don't cover alignments at all or for a very short period of time. Again alignments in a pefect situation where the suspension never wears and the driver never hits anything should last the life of the car (that is a direct quote from a Hunter Instructor. Hunter being the leading manufacturer of alignment machines.)

Quit with the Magnussen act garbage. It isn't the all purpose I can break my car with any mod on it get out of jail free card. Ask any Wrx owner how well that works for them. Ask any modded S4 BiTurbo owner how well that works. If the manufacturer denys the claim, the dealership has no control over it. So before you start calling all dealerships stealerships think about what you are saying. If the dealership won't get Mazda to pay for the repair, they aren't going to be willing to eat the repair because you think they should. In case you don't understand, dealerships aren't charities. They are around to make money.

 

[Killer]

Brilliant! But you left out that the DEALERS are paid by Mazda for warranty repairs.

And me posting the warranty act is good sage advice. I am not some kid, I am in my forties and have had experience with this type of problems.

 

[DSMConvert]

incorrect...dealers are REIMBURSED for warranty work. AND at any point mazda can send a rep to evaluate the claimed work and deny payment to the dealership. Getting reimbursed isn't a walk in the park its a pain in the ass, and if you get caught once "walking the fence" for a customer you can count on several service audits a month....in all fairness to dealerships, sometimes it really isn't them...its the mfg that makes them look like asses.

 

[Killer]

incorrect...dealers are REIMBURSED for warranty work. AND at any point mazda can send a rep to evaluate the claimed work and deny payment to the dealership. Getting reimbursed isn't a walk in the park its a pain in the ass, and if you get caught once "walking the fence" for a customer you can count on several service audits a month....in all fairness to dealerships, sometimes it really isn't them...its the mfg that makes them look like asses.

Reimbursed...payed...whats the difference? (shrug)

Anyways..I have tried to help here but I give up. (second)

 

[DSMConvert]

CLS, I wasn't yelling at your or anything...The difference is that a reimbursement isn't automatic like a payment is...also reimbursements for dealerships often take 1-2months to come in...So in the end you are correct they get their money(assuming all goes well), its just a different path they must take to get the money.

 

[doogie]

Customer service is not what it used to be. This SM could have solved this issue on his own. Usualy it's is the way information is comunicated that makes a minor event blown into something it should'nt be. This type of situation would not take 30-45mins. max to be solved if in fact the alignment is out of spec. without any physical damage to any parts for what ever reason. There are many ways a dealer can and will offset the cost. In addition what is the cost a pissed off cusmomer verses a happy one. If there are no parts involved this should be a N/C deal. End of story. If a proper inspection and dialog with this customer had taken place we would not be reading this on going BS. This is what happpens when people are put in positions that are not trained approprietly.