ussi

iTrader: (1)

So i'm going to share my bad experienceS with south coast acura and why you should never EVER EVER go there for service or for any other reason for that matter. I had a 2nd gen TL type-S and now an 04 TL which will be my last acura.
1. So 3 months after i bought by TL, i took it in for its first oil change, and the service manager comes out 5 minutes later and tells me the had a 'mishap' with my car:


2. So after a few months a few hard launches my clutch burnes out. So i'm thinking what a piece of shit must be a defect. So i take my car in to south coast and they claim its a tranny issue that will be covered under warranty, so i'm thinking great i get a new tranny at no cost after the service manager assures me it will be covered under warranty.. After the mechanic takes apart and determine it was indeed my clutch and not transmission they stick me with a $2400 bill (1500 for tranny + 800 clutch). NOw i'm stuck disputing the charge w/ my credit card co.

3. So here is the latest. My A/C went out and I was having my side sill replaced last week so again like a freakin moran i take it to south coast acura thinking THIS time they won't fuck up. So the service guy calls me saying that since aparently the pulley on my supercharger cut one of the AC hoses it would not be covered under warranty. SO not taking any chances I call the shop that installed my supercharger and told them the situation and they say they'll gladly take care of it for me. So i call the service guy back who aparently doesn't understand english, and tell him to fix the side sill, and i'll come get the car and take it to the other shop to fix it. so no surprise when i go to pick up the car they have the AC fixed and give me a bill for $450. After arguing the point with the new service manager, telling him why i would have no motivation to pay for that when the other shop would do it for free he basically calls me a liar and sides with the service guy saying i authorized the charge..

Now i'm fucking pist. not only am i fed up with this dealership i'm fed up with acura. i called customer care and they basically said its my problem. yeah i know i'm an idiot for going back to the same dealership after having soo many problems with them in the past, but they freaking changed service advisors AND service managers!

what am i going to do now? prolly take it to small claims. am i ever going to buy an acura again? NOO, NOT EVER (even though i like mine). next time i'm going BMW or something........................................ oh yeah and if you live in SoCal don't ever, ever, EVER, EVER go to SOUTH COAST ACURA.FUCK South Coast Acura.

PPLAPW

Well thats sucks.

If I were you, I would have gone to a different Acura dealer after the first strike. Taken it back to where they have, according to you, treated you badly is no no. Unless thats the only dealership close by. Like I said I would have gone to a different one.

Hopefully you can take care of the bill they want you to pay.

Also your gonna let this stop you from buying an Acura? The service may had been bad but thats the dealers problem. Just switch dealers.....

You should try to settle this and consider servicing your TL at another dealership.....

snorman

Don't be pissed at the brand, it's this specific dealer's fault. I had a BMW 528, believe me you will be in the shop more often and they will still piss you off.

05TLTony

Regarding your second issue, they shouldn't have charged for the tranny. It is not your fault that those @ssholes took it apart when you told them it was the clutch! Most dealerships suck balls! Trust me, I've had my share of them.

PoochaKannInc

You have a right to be mad at 1 and 3, and I can agree.

I'm a little curious about what they are charging you $1,500 for? The tranny? I assume that is for the labor to change the clutch?

I doubt you got a completely new/remanufactured tranny.

stever627

i'm on ussi's side with this one...actually just bought the bmw yesterday!

see post: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140249

dan.....k

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like your getting hosed.

frank69m

Why didn't you go to Tustin Acura?

Also, for your dent, i might have missed it, but did they repair it for free and how could they have caused such a dent?

Stevie B

nothing anymore is a shock from a Auto Dealer Service Shop. I had many issues with my previous dealer and I complained, filled out surveys with negative response and the only thing they did for me was give me a new Service Advisor, nothing has changed, I have purchased over 7 cars in the past 5 years from them, I have a great experience in the Sales Department but shit for service in the Service Department. My problem is there isn't another Dearler close enough to get my warrenty work done.

boe_d

I have had a very similar experience with Santa Mon... I took it there for the engine recall - now my break light is on when I start the car for about 5 minutes. My passenger side restraint comes on at odd times (nothing and no one in the seat). There were footprints all over the dashboard, film on the inside (I'm guessing they were smoking) and wirings dangling under the glove compartment. I never take my car to dealerships for work but this was a warranty recall. OH DID I MENTION MY CAR ALARM DOESN'T WORK ANY MORE? They asked me to bring it back after I complained and said these things aren't covered under warranty. So I guess if they returned it to me with a sledge hammer halfway through the windshield, it would not be under warranty so it would be my own fault they f@#$ed up my car.

ussi

iTrader: (1)

$1500 to take apart and re-assemble the tranny.

The dent was from the mechanic who driving it into another customers MDX and was repaired free. funny thing is he was only moving it around the corner.. my thoughts... how could you go fast enough to mess it up that much in such a short distance??

Don't get me wrong its not that i don't like acura's... i had no problems at all with my 2nd Gen TypeS, but there are soo many issues i'm having with this one and it has to be from workmanship. My window still rattles, my first set of brake pads went out really quick, and a bunch of other things that has caused my car to be constantly in and out of the shop.

All i'm thinking is its too many problems to have to deal with. I like my car, I love driving it otherwise i wouldn't have spent all this $$ fixing it up. I'm just getting tired of it and i'm thinking maybe bimmers 'free maintanence' isn't such a bad thing......

lights

iTrader: (1)

never buy a car with new design in the first year. so many bugs and recalls....

ussi

iTrader: (1)

I couldn't agree more.

INSPIRE 32V

iTrader: (1)

it sounds like they really pulled your panties down and gave ya a pounding.

ussi

iTrader: (1)

blah.

ayethetiense

I've always hated south coast acura. they have the crapiest customer service ever. seems like they take advantage at every single moment. I made it a point not to purchase my vehicle from them because i ran into their service dept and they were all snotty.

Actuary

#1 and #3 I can understand and should pursue to the maximum extent.
#2 I don't know I think Supercharger put more load on the car but u should be only paying for Clutch.

aryathegreat

Thats wierd...same thing EXACT thing happened to my nissan and they covered it under insurance. im almost 100% sure they should cover it, since drivetrain is one of the longest warranties any manufactor offers no?

davenlei

My old friend has a similar story. He had a twin turbo 300z (stock twin turbo) back when they were the new thing and he bought one off the dealers lot. He drove that thing really hard and expected it to last since it was a sports car designed for spirited driving. I am sure everyone will agree twin turbos is not for getting groceries.
Well, after about a year of owning it, his car starting misfiring and acting funny. He took it to the Nissan dealer and they said, "no problem, your car is a year old and it is under factory warranty". Well he got a call about 4 days later stating they have a problem and they need him to come down to the service center.
When he got there they said his car will not be covered under warranty because they feel that his car was driven too hard and it is not Nissan's responsibility to fix damage due to his driving style.
They told him he melted a piston and both turbo's were leaking oil and it would cost over $10,000.00 to fix. He told them to stick it up their ass and called corporate. Corporate stuck behind the dealer and said they will not cover it.
Once he realized he had no recourse through the dealer, he told them to give him his car back. They said it will be $2500 to put it back together as is and give it to him or $1000 to give it back to him in pieces. After much worthless arguing, he paid the $1000 and he towed his car to a friends shop along with three boxes of bolts, parts and pieces of his engine.
He ended up shelling out about $5000 to fix his car and dumped it right away.
So don't gent bent on it being just Acura. Nissan pulls the same tricks. I am sure any car company has done the same to people in the right situation.

Georgiapeach

Sound like you got ripped off big time, I would have changed dealers after the first bad visit. Needless to say don't ever got back there again change dealers.

pimpin-tl

Well sucks for you. But I will neither back the dealer or you.

Because in this situtation:

1) You burned up the clutch. They won't cover clutch and can't tell till they remove the tranny. You have a SC and you were racing/hard launching the car on a clutch that wasn't made to do that or made for a supercharger. The Supercharger usually voids the engine warranty anyways.

2) Again AC line is your fault / the shops fault. Not the dealer. Aftermarket components again caused the failure.

So why blame the car or the dealer? It was your fault in the first place the car had these issues.

Also the guy probably never knew you had a SC under your hood when he said that. Service Reps are idiots most of the time.

MaFreCoLa

I guess that's another So. Cal dealer to add to my list.

ussi

iTrader: (1)

1) I didn't have my supercharger in when my clutch burned out so your statement doesn't apply.

2) I think you missed the point on the A/C. I acknowledged the supercharger cut the line, the POINT is they did a repair I specifically asked them not to do, so even though it wasn't under warranty, my supercharger install shop was going to fix it for free for me, thats the point.

trancemission

yeah other than them wrecking your car I find it hard to think the rest is Acura's fault.

I mean if you specifically told them not to fix the A/C then yes, thats messed up. But man I just find it so hard to believe that they would fix it intentionally. But you say the guy didnt speak good english, probably not the best arguement but I can see how that couldve got confused.

no3no4

I feel you man. Acura dealers I've come across for the most part has really bad service. Sales is okay but service is definitely bad. Thomas Acura is another So Cal dealership that fucks up your car. This is my first Acura and to say the least I would never buy another Acura again. My TL 06 has rattles and Acura Service sucks like shit. The only Acura dealer around here that I've gone to thats decent is Planet Acura in Downey. It's surprises and pisses me off how much problems there are for a damn 35K car. Its infuriating and I'm still thinking hard whether to just sell my damn TL and go buy a BMW or something.

trancemission

yeah, great arguement, cuz BMWs just never brake down at all...

it kills me when people say you expect more out of a 35K car. Ive got everything I could possibly imagine out of this car.

These are just isolated incidents. It doesnt say anything about the quality of the TL. especially this thread...

SIK TL

Sorry such bad experience. Just went to South Coast today...loaner for a 2 hour service and even got a discount on the price because i have an Injen CAI so they couldnt change the filter

ussi

iTrader: (1)

I was throwing the warning out there just cuz i've had such a bad experience with them and so other people use 'caution' so to speak. If i didn't like my TL, i wouldn't have poured all the $$$ i did into mods.. its still a great under 35K car. But as a result of these bad experiences I highly doubt i'll be purchasing another acura anytime soon... besides maybe a rear wheel car you can put a Turbo and BOV on might be a better option anyways

pimpin-tl

LOL you will have the same issues with any dealer if you mod the car.