CC___TL

After much debate and research i decided to order the 07 type-s exhaust. I shopped around as much as possible and found it for the lowest price at Delray Acura, located in Florida. I placed my order on Feb. 9 and anxiously wait. I paid $605 for both pieces, which is about $200 less the buying directly from your local dealership. Shipping was a low price of $36.

On February 19, i received an email from Delray saying this...

"SHIPPING FOR THE MUFFLERS WILL 125.00 THIS IS BECAUSE OF ITS SIZE DO YOU STILL WANT THE PARTS?????"

Aside from being completely uninformative and 10 days after my order date. This email looks like an Ad. for Crazy Eddie's. I had already expect to be installing my new exhaust at this point. i wrote back with questions regarding shipping method and estimated date of arrival. For three more emails i did not receive the information i request. the only thing i was told is that $125 will buy me a common carrier.

Finally after asking three times, i was told the parts will ship out on the 23rd of February and they will take 5 days. On the 23rd, i checked my shipping status through their website and saw my item was not yet shipped. on the 26th. i checked again, it was still not shipped. I called and talked to someone who told me the the parts will be shipped out that afternoon, and guaranteed they will arrive by the end of the week(03/02/07).

He also mentioned they only received the parts from Connecticut that day. I was astounded to hear this. I live in NY, apparently the parts were shipped from Connecticut to Florida, just to be shipped back north to New York. I asked him if i was paying $125 to ship these parts all up and down the east coast before it even reaches me. He told me thats just how they do it.

Today is Friday March 2, and i called Delray to find out where my parts are. The link to track my parts on Delray's website either does not work or does not recognize the tracking number i've been given. When i called i talked to the same person who told me the items have definitely been shipped and are now out of their hands. He did give me a new tracking number for a shipping company called AAA Cooper.

I called Cooper with my new number, and they told me my parts have been given to another shipping company called New England Freight. I called them and they said my parts should be here by Monday or Tuesday.

This is completely unacceptable business practice. Im shocked and ashamed to have been apart of it.

I guess sometimes its easier to spend an extra $200 from the dealership.

csmeance

honestly, this just seems that delray just got and gavre stuff to 3rd parties that used 4th parties to ship it to you. I would be pissed if I were you as well, I got pissed when my rims arrived when I was not home and was left on the street just for someone to jack.

JPA3

I am a buyer by profession and this happens more and more. It is quite tiring.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Wait till you get your parts....in my experience with cross docking and subbing out shipping like some shippers do....it is always the empty chair defense...its somebody elses fault...the other guy. Inspect the hell out of the system and parts when they get there. Being passed around like that from truck line to truck line can cause great problems sometimes. I mean...unwrap and unbox everything upon delivery before signing...if its damaged...refuse it and charge back your credit card if they dont immediately refund your cash. Unless their main warehouse drop ships (and I doubt they do - to get the costs they need they prob need to order it in with a mimimum prepaid freight shipment to their dealer. My guess is...they had it dropshipped from the warehouse and had to pay an extra 25% or something like that - therefore they called it freight.

CC___TL

thats actually great advice for me, at this point i'm so anxious to get these parts on i probably would have torn them out of the box and had them only car before i realize there's air leaking out of one of the pipes.

anyway thanks.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

You're learning the hard way... If it has to be "freighted" you're best off buying local and let the local dealer assume the shipping risk. Sometimes the "cheapest price" isn't always the "best deal".

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Laxplaya11385

that is pretty horrible. however, i hate to say that unless you plan on getting a bumper w/ bigger openings, you won't be able to fit the Type S tips under the 2004-2006 bumpers. I measured, and the opening on the 2004-2006 is smaller than the Type S bumper.

CC___TL

all thats done already, new tails too. that is another saga on its own, but it's lookin tight. cant wait for the right tips!

TL1999

man that sux.....you item better be there monday or tuesday

JPA3

dealers in S Fla all suck IMO

darksom1

Wow! Tough break! I always had a good experience with Delray Acura! In fact, all of my OEM parts came from Delray before I bought my '06. (03 TL-S & 92 Legend L)

FYI TO LOCALS:
You know what I started doing though, is having my dealer price-match Delray. They did so with no problem! I go to Rosenthal Acura in Gaithersburg, Md. All I have to do is show them the print-out of the Delray price, and they match it no problem!!! When I bought my car (06 TL), everything that I had added on: A-spec body kit, decklid spoiler, etc. was price matched from Delray! Even my extended warranty!!! They were going to charge me about a $1000 more than Delray was!! So if your parts dept will price-match, in the future try it! You can save a hell of a lot and get OEM!

CC___TL

by the way you still play ball anywhere? i played d-2 at cw post here on LI.

Elegant TYPE S

iTrader: (2)

Dam... I hope after all this you enjoy this mod even more!! Also is the exhaust note different with the TYPE S spoiler?

CC___TL

From what i hear the exhaust note is definitely different from the regular TL, i'm not sure what you mean exactly by the "type-s spoiler". I don't think anything called spoiler whether it be rear or lid, affects the exhaust.

unless there's something i don't know.

ohnoes

I'm new on this board, but I was browsing a BMW E46 vs. TL comparo earlier and lurked around. I found this thread and felt absolutely compelled to respond.

My family purchased a used 2003 Acura TL Type-S from Rosenthal Acura and had the worst experience we have ever had in buying a car--new or used--ever.

First, I think we got a little greedy because the price was so low. Not in the too-good-to-be-true territory, but close to it.

When we got to the dealership and test-drove the car, which by the way had a CPO flag flying on it, we noticed that it just felt "off" and different from my dad's previous Type-S, which was crushed by a tree only a week prior. The salesman tried to play it off like it was our imagination, but there was a material difference in the way the car felt and drove. Didn't corner nearly as well and felt very shaky on its feet.

The car, other than that, was alright, though there were some disconcerting squeaks and rattles, and a couple of the trim pieces were kind of coming apart, which was a bit discomforting for a 2003 with 38k miles.

When we got out of the car, it was then that I noticed that the wheels were the wrong wheels. They were the 16" regular TL wheels. And the tires were some POS Yokohamas. So, as one of the contingencies of the purchase, we put on the invoice "REPLACE TIRES WITH OEM TIRES." I suppose that if you were a shady dealer which conveniently wanted to take that at face value, you wouldn't replace the wheels, only the tires with just "Michelins."

And that's exactly what this shady, unethical, scumbag dealership did. They replaced the 16" TL wheels with the crappy Yokohama tires that were on there originally with another set with OEM tires from yet ANOTHER regular TL, as though that somehow satisfied the terms of our agreement. No siree, that wasn't going to fly, and we readied ourselves for war.

We came back the next day (45 miles, mind you) and I forget exactly what entailed, but I guess I forgot to check out the car to see if they had put the correct 17" rims/tires on the car. Guess we were naive and thought that their IQs were above 80 and that they weren't malevolent, manipulative, pricks and would fully comprehend the terms of our contingencies and purchase agreement.

So we did the paperwork, handed them a check for ~ $19,000, and were about to walk out, happy, with a new-to-us car, when I noticed that the wheels were still the standard 16" wheels!!!

It was then that we brought this up with the service manager, and demanded new TL-S wheels. He said that wasn't part of the agreement and this d-bag actually had the balls to say that we were lying/backpedalling/etc. We showed him what we wrote and he tried to argue his way out of it, the slick salesman that he was. He said we merely put "OEM TIRES", not OEM wheels. What a tool! OEM tires implies OEM wheels, because OEM tires = 225/50/17, not 205/60/16 or whatever the regular TL tires are. And to have a 17" tire, you have to have a 17" wheel.

So then it got ugly. We threatened to renege on the deal. This scumbag countered with saying that we had already purchased the car and that it was already finalized. He said that if we didn't want the car, he would just keep our money and keep the car in storage at a cost of $200 per day.

Then he got up from his chair and physically threatened me and my dad. My dad is 6'1", so he really wasn't going to stand for any of that bullshit. The service manager said he had 7 lawyers on retainer, etc. etc. that he wouldn't threaten to use them, all those intimidation tactics.

My dad asked to speak to the GM, and he screamed (literally, screamed, so everyone in the entire showroom heard him and looked up, visibly shaken), "I AM THE GM!!!" as the real GM was out of town or something.

He said he wouldn't be manipulated, intimidated, etc. But he was the one intimidating and manipulating. Wtf?! This guy obviously had a few screws loose...

We finally calmed this toolbox down and told him that we wanted our 17" OEM wheels and tires. He said he wouldn't do that, no way. Then it almost got ugly again, until he countered with $1,000 for the extra wheels and tires. We just laughed. He said he had already spent/lost money on the "OEM tires" that they supposedly put on the car, but that was a blatant lie. They just took it from another car on the lot.

He finally came down to the $500 mark for brand new OEM Type-S wheels and tires. We balked at that, but we realized that we had to stroke with this guy's huge ego and not let our pride get too out of hand. But we made sure to put this $500 on a credit card so we'd have some leverage later.

He didn't even give us a receipt for the work/parts. Some shady business right there.

It was pretty tense after that, but after waiting ANOTHER 2 hours, we had our car with the proper wheels and tires.

But we had my mom, coincidentally a lawyer, on the phone during parts of this whole incident, consulting with her and asking her what we should do. She called up the Montgomery County Consumer Affairs division or something, and they said they had had MANY COMPLAINTS about this dealership. We asked her if it would be legal to put a stop on the check, and she said no, not in Maryland, since we had already technically signed the contract. F**k Maryland.

So anyway, we had to give this shady little used-car-lot-like dealership our business, and we were fuming about it for weeks. For the sake of relative conciseness (even if it's not... lol), I'm leaving out many details, but there was even a lot more that happened...

Then, one day, I was casually getting into the car, when I noticed a yellow "ACCIDENT INSPECTION" sticker above the VIN number on the driver's door. A bit disconcerting, really. So this car was in an accident, too, which the dealership, of course, failed to reveal? That would explain the weird squeaks and rattles. Oh, and the climate control doesn't work right.

And then it got even better.

We gave the dealership horrible marks on the survey thing. And then we called up Acura Customer Service. After about 10 phone calls, the consensus was 1) we would not speak to a supervisor who had some authority whatsoever, and 2) they would not get involved in the situation. They basically said that it was our fault for not being specific enough in the terms of the purchase agreement, and that they didn't want to get in the middle of the conflict--that it was between dealership and customer.

We know one thing: never again will we purchase a new Acura--not unless Acura Customer Service can turn its operation around and value customers over clients (i.e. dealerships).

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I haven't had a chance to post the story (this is not even the whole thing) publicly, so I thought I would for the sake of many Acura owners here. I may even start a new thread about it.

Whatever you do, STAY AWAY from Rosenthal ANYTHING. Rosenthal Honda, etc. Their dealerships all reek of the same common attitude of arrogance and disregard for basic customer service.

leedogg

When did this happen?

ohnoes

About 8 months ago maybe? I believe it was last summer. I can get the exact date if necessary. I hope those same people are long fired...

I forget the name of the Service Manager, but again, I could get his name if need be. I wrote the above post/rant sort of impulsively, but I feel that if at least a few people read it, it will do some good.

Rosenthal dealers are bad news. Not only did we have a bad experience with Rosenthal Acura, but my uncle as well went to Rosenthal Honda here in Fairfax once a few years ago. He was interested in purchasing a new Accord and asked to test-drive one. Instead of complying like any good dealer should, they treated him like crap and demanded, "Well, are you going to buy one?" As though that's an acceptable way to conduct business.

darksom1

Wow! Obviously this is in stark contrast to the way I talk about Rosenthal as a good dealership. But I know it to be a fact that at every dealership there will be good days and/or people and bad days and/or people. You seem to have gotten the worst of it. You and yours. But I don't think that makes it fair to say that ALL Rosenthal employees and dealerships operate like that. There are a number of people who have had similar experiences at other dealerships, but there are probably just as many who haven't. In fact, to stay in business, you would have to figure that there must be more good experiences than bad experiences. Word of mouth is very influential when it comes to car sales. And Rosenthal promotes themselves as being the 3rd largest Acura dealer (by sales volume) on the East Coast! So no, they are not like a "used car lot". My response to your post is not to try to say that Rosenthal is good and your family was wrong. It is just offering up another point of view based on my experiences as you have offered yours based on your experience. I say that so that this doesn't turn into a me vs. you for the sake of Rosenthal's honor thread!

I don't think it's good practice to treat anybody the way you say you and your family have been treated. That was F'ed up! No doubt. But it was just 1 experience vs. countless others. Again, some good and some bad. But definitely not enough to say they are all bad. No more than my good experiences are enough to say that they are all good! Know what I mean?

Good luck in the future man! Don't get sour on Acura either. Same thing applies. Besides, they have a hell of a product coming out soon! (IMO) Stay tuned!

Note: No I don't work for Acura or Rosenthal. Just giving my two cents since my experiences, even the one that could have gone bad, were all good. So I know they aren't a shady dealership overall.

Laxplaya11385

Nah...i stopped after HS. I actually wanted to be a walk on at college my freshman year (at the time, Rutgers was ranked #7 or 8). But after looking at how HUGE the other guys were, i decided there was nooo way i'd be able to keep up in a DI level. I still throw around w/ a few friends though. Every now and then, i'll crank some shots at an empty net.

CC___TL

yeah i hear ya man... im out of school and havn;t played in about 2 years. but im tryin to get on a club team or something... i miss it. i used to play in a pretty sick tourney in jersey every year called war at the shore. i think it was in seaside, or seaview... something like that. fields were right off the beach that shit was fun.

Laxplaya11385

I definitely miss the game. It was definitely a great way to get out your frustration hahaha.

I actually had a question w/ regards to the rear bumper. (also to keep this thread from getting locked). Was it simply a buy and swap, or did you have to get it custom fit?

Tripnbeats

Delrays a crock of shit i spoke tim once when i ordered a friggin bumper from them and they gave me the same bs run around and tim said they either dont know how to send it fed or ups and wanna charge more for courier becuz of lazy people

CC___TL

well i had all my shit done at a shop... but the guy told be there were no problems, all of the mounting points and fixtures matched perfectly.

im pretty sure if it wasn't perfect i would have heard about it, and it would have cost more.

CC___TL

are there any other places to buy stock parts discounted? there are a few more things im interested in buying, but ill never buy from them again.

Tripnbeats

hondapartsunlimited.com they are a lil slow but they deliver....another thing i despise about delray is that tey send u trashed shit....the boxes or products..theres always something missing or wrong

kamakaro

I too had a bad experience with this dealer. It was all nice and dandy when i was buying the car then complete 360 after i left.

Guiltyox

Not to cause a riot, but $19,000 isn't something I would throw away on a "sign now, inspect later" type deal. The law is the law, no working around that, but buying a car isn't like buying a gaming console, television, or clothing. When I purchased my 2nd TL, my '08 6MT TL-S, I made sure it was clean from the get go, test drove it and gunned it (scared the shit out of the salesman), inspected every inch, nook and cranny, and she drove beautifully. It leaves a bit of distaste in my mouth to hear that Acura lost a potential future customer from someone's ignorance. Hope you reconsider....