Mazda tried to arrest me

[geomatics_tech]

Sorry for the rant, I just thought this was funny.

I contacted Sunridge mazda to get a quote on a mid pipe install, and there quote was good so I figured why not.

Well, when i went to pick up my car the service tech said they couldnt do it, but they still wanted to charge me 45 min in labor, and I replied questioning him, "for what". He then goes on his blurb about aftermarket parts and how they dont always fit 100%..... ........blah blah blah, so I asked him why they never expressed any of these concerns before they ripped my car apart and gave me a quote for the install, to which he did not respond. The initial quote i recieved was for 45 min (complete install), and now they wanted that same amount for nothing. The problem was that the oxygen sensor was conflicting with the floor boards on the car, and would not fit. I told the tech that it couldve been re-welded to a new spot for a small charge, and the install couldve been completed. There reccomendation to me was, move the cat to where the flex pipe is and put the flex pipe where the cat is and move the oxygen sensor. (smash)

After discussing this issue for about 25min they proceeded to walk me over to the register to pay for the oil change and attemped install. I then told them again that I would not pay for the install, the service manager says are you paying or not and I said not for the install. I wrote a check and left it on the counter for the oil change, got in my car and drove away. (This was on Thursday June 9)

Today I get to my office and there is a message waiting for me on my answering machine, as the friday I was on training all day for civil 3d. It was from the service manager who says "I have contacted the police, and they will press charges and arrest you blah blah blah, if you dont pay me the difference." I immediatly called the owner of the mazda steelership and stated my case, to which he responded "this is the first Ive heard of it, let me go talk to him (service manager)". I later recieved a message from the owner, whom was very polite and helpful the entire time, saying to forget about the charge and that everything was good.

So if you think your mazda service is bad.......

Shaun

 

[memo79]

Yeah, **** all those incompetent mazda bitches, except for the guy that was nice.

 

[Lord_Zath]

damn man that's crazy.

 

[RallyeRedSi]

i miss my acura dealership

 

[Matthew]

idiots

 

[BlkZoomZoom]

He attempted to install a aftermarket part and it didn't fit. So he put the stock stuff back on. And now your mad because they wanted to charge you the labor time to do that?? The tech. should work for free because your aftermarket part didn't fit?? You should get a clue. Ignorant people like you should be taught a lesson.

 

[chuyler1]

They should have stopped the install and contacted you the second the estimate was going to change. At that point you could have discussed other options. If they had done this and you decided not to go ahead with the rest of the work they would be within their rights to charge you for the 45min labor. However, since they didn't do this, the only other option they could have done was offer to do the install again and credit you the 45min. You would have to pay any additional labor costs over the original 45min.

It's a tough one, no one wants to pay for something they didn't recieve but no business wants to take a loss for labor performed. Things like this should be spelled out in the contract you sign when you drop your car off. I'm surprised the owner overturned it and I'm sure the service manager didn't appreciate getting stepped over. However, it wasn't like you were asking them to do the impossible.

 

[mp3josh]

See the mechanics work off of their time spent on a car. They don't get paid per hour like most think. We are on a flat rate system and we get paid by the job. So that is why you should have paid. I am pretty sure that the tech tried his best to help you out.

 

[Wiggles422]

whatever happened to "the customer is always right?" he agreed to pay to get a downpipe installed... was it installed? no.

 

[mp3josh]

If you were a mechanic and this is how you earned your money you would understand. But since your not it means nothing to you.

 

[Wiggles422]

my brother is a mechanic, so i have a fairly good idea...

besides, he didnt agree to pay for an attempted install; he agreed pay to actually have it installed.

 

[Shadow102]

Being a tech myself (and in the accesories department no less) i would have:

A: test fit the part first looking to see if there was any general problems
B: Told me service writer if in fact the part did not fit even after taking it all apart at which point he would have called the customer explaining the problem which could have been fixed.
C: put everything back together and gave it back to the customer no charge if they didt/couldnt fix it there and then. I mean seriously how long does it take to put the down pipe back on the car 5-10min at the most plus you know where the customer is going to come when he gets the part fixed ot the correct part....thats right back to you

I bet not only do you find somebody else to put that pipe on for you but i doubt u ever give that dealership you business again plus you will tell everybody you know about the bad experience you had there....now for 45min worth of labor on the dealerships part was it rly worth it in the long run. Plus i bet that tech got paid for the 45 min worth of work anyway the dealership has money put away for problems like that or they make it up to the tech in the long run i have been there many times so far.

 

[bonesmp5]

to the ones that know or work as Techs

what if he never took it apart --- just looked at it and said it dont fit and tried to charged the 45 minutes ????

does something like that ever happen --- and dont flame -- I'm just putting out a question --- thats all --- (drinks)

 

[YellowMP5]

its a shame car manufacturer's are unable or rather unwilling to do anything about dealerships.

 

[jurgs01]

The mid-pipe is four bolts, two exhaust hangars, and an O2 sensor. I'm not sure why you had the dealer do it, but I am surprised he tried to charge you after not being able to install it. A mechanic should be able to see that an o2 sensor is in the wrong position before even trying to install it. Attention to detail.

 

[Shadow102]

what if he never took it apart --- just looked at it and said it dont fit and tried to charged the 45 minutes ????

does something like that ever happen --- and dont flame -- I'm just putting out a question --- thats all --- (drinks)

that a good possibility i know some techs can be shady

bottom line here is though had they kept the customer in the loop everything would have been alot better off in the long run

 

[xfaradx]

You should have just done it yourself. It's not hard. I'm going to do mine in my driveway if I can't use a lift at work.

 

[MP3Architect]

what kind of midpipe was it? was it one that a lot of us have? in that case it SHOULD have fit and the dealer was an idiot.

 

[Matthew]

i agree. ive had s*** happen on custom exhaust jobs they called me as soon as they realized the estimate changed from 100 to 118 and thats only 18 bucks diff.

 

[03.5MSP]

Speaking of Mazda dealers, I want to my service center today, and asked if they could install an autometer oil temp sensor in my MSP. And the tech working there told me no because it is aftermarket and that it would void my warranty. I looked at him, laughed and left. Sorry for the thread jack.