Look out ahead!
08-22-2004, 07:42 AM
#41
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I'm not a big fan of government involvement, but smoore might have a point. It's unlikely to cause any grief for Acura if this is an isolated incident. But if turns out to be a trend, then knowing the government's watching might make Acura more likely to issue an inspection recall.
08-22-2004, 10:12 AM
#42
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This post gives me another good reason to rotate my own tires.
I have found that it is realtively easy to rotate my own tires (assuming they do not need balancing). Not only do I know they are handled properly and are torqued properly, I do several other things that are hard to do with the wheels on the car. Only takes about 1 hour - for me less than the round trip to a dealer or tire shop. I find the best way to prevent odd wear on tires and noise (especially the HPT's) is to rotate them regularly - every 3-4K miles- no more than 5K miles.
FYI, when I rotate the tires I also do the following 1) carefully clean the rims, including back sides of the rim, the lug holes, and the lugs themselves. (Put a coat of wax on the rim the first time so they are easier to clean.) 2) inspect the rim and tire for damage and wear. and 3) check the pads and rotors for wear and NOW 4) check the brake mounting, bolts and components for solid fit.
I have found that it is realtively easy to rotate my own tires (assuming they do not need balancing). Not only do I know they are handled properly and are torqued properly, I do several other things that are hard to do with the wheels on the car. Only takes about 1 hour - for me less than the round trip to a dealer or tire shop. I find the best way to prevent odd wear on tires and noise (especially the HPT's) is to rotate them regularly - every 3-4K miles- no more than 5K miles.
FYI, when I rotate the tires I also do the following 1) carefully clean the rims, including back sides of the rim, the lug holes, and the lugs themselves. (Put a coat of wax on the rim the first time so they are easier to clean.) 2) inspect the rim and tire for damage and wear. and 3) check the pads and rotors for wear and NOW 4) check the brake mounting, bolts and components for solid fit.
08-23-2004, 01:06 AM
#44
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Originally Posted by MikeyTL
No, because I didn't lease the car I test drove. After test driving one TL I asked for a TL of a different color. They got one ready and I took it home. I brought it back a week later complaining of brake noises which they insisted were normal.
Can't say much about your other issues though because no matter what TL you test-drove, it would have been the same and something you should have taken note of.
08-23-2004, 05:37 AM
#45
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Originally Posted by MikeyTL
Good suggestion about emailing Rick Case - I think I will. If you think this is out of character for that dealer read this:
1) Their paperwork says every car will be delivered with a full tank of gas - mine only had 1/4.
2) They did not remove all the plastic covering on the interior and in some places where it had been removed they damaged the stripping around the doors.
3) They sent me on my way without doing the setup or even explaining the setup of the display and keyless remote options and settings and functions. For days I thought the remote trunk release wasn't working because no one told me you have to hold it down for a few seconds before the trunk opens. I also asked why there was no beep when you lock the doors. I was told this car doesn't do that. I later found out you have to press the lock button twice. The whole delivery process was done in a rush and half assed. This was a warning of what Rick Case's service is like.
4) When I went back for a scheduled service appointment I was idling in their service area for ten minutes and no one came out to greet me, ask me what I was there for, sign me in - nothing! I had to turn my car off and go inside to hunt someone down. This has never happened to me at any other dealer my entire life, and they knew I was coming. Then I had to explain everything I was there for to the person I found even though I had told them all that on the phone when I made the appointment. They are very disorganized and inefficient there - the total opposite of their sales area. It gets worse...
5) After being there for about an hour the tech comes out and says he has been testing my A/C and can't find anything wrong with it. I said why are you testing my A/C? He said he was told there was something wrong with the temperature in my car. I had to explain all over again that it was the OUTSIDE temp display that is wrong! Then he brings out their "electrical expert", now the fourth person I had to explain this problem to, and he told me there was nothing he could do to change that, there is no way to calibrate it. Of course we all now know it can be calibrated (just not enough). 1.5 hours of my life I'll never get back.
6) I told them about the noises the brakes were making. They said it was normal - nothing they can do to change it. We already know how that turned out.
7) They had received my license plate and were supposed to install it. I saw the plate there and didn't look too closely. I should have. When I got home I noticed only two screws were used instead of four and one of the two was only screwed in half way. The plate was loose. Sloppy to say the least. When I went to the service department at the other dealer I asked them to take care of that and they found it couldn't be screwed in because it was threaded backwards! They did eventually resolve that.
I wouldn't trust Rick Case to do an oil change on my car. I called Acura customer service to report all of this and asked that I be contacted. I wanted somebody to address all of this. To date I have never heard from anyone and I don't expect to. Maybe if they are reading this....
1) Their paperwork says every car will be delivered with a full tank of gas - mine only had 1/4.
2) They did not remove all the plastic covering on the interior and in some places where it had been removed they damaged the stripping around the doors.
3) They sent me on my way without doing the setup or even explaining the setup of the display and keyless remote options and settings and functions. For days I thought the remote trunk release wasn't working because no one told me you have to hold it down for a few seconds before the trunk opens. I also asked why there was no beep when you lock the doors. I was told this car doesn't do that. I later found out you have to press the lock button twice. The whole delivery process was done in a rush and half assed. This was a warning of what Rick Case's service is like.
4) When I went back for a scheduled service appointment I was idling in their service area for ten minutes and no one came out to greet me, ask me what I was there for, sign me in - nothing! I had to turn my car off and go inside to hunt someone down. This has never happened to me at any other dealer my entire life, and they knew I was coming. Then I had to explain everything I was there for to the person I found even though I had told them all that on the phone when I made the appointment. They are very disorganized and inefficient there - the total opposite of their sales area. It gets worse...
5) After being there for about an hour the tech comes out and says he has been testing my A/C and can't find anything wrong with it. I said why are you testing my A/C? He said he was told there was something wrong with the temperature in my car. I had to explain all over again that it was the OUTSIDE temp display that is wrong! Then he brings out their "electrical expert", now the fourth person I had to explain this problem to, and he told me there was nothing he could do to change that, there is no way to calibrate it. Of course we all now know it can be calibrated (just not enough). 1.5 hours of my life I'll never get back.
6) I told them about the noises the brakes were making. They said it was normal - nothing they can do to change it. We already know how that turned out.
7) They had received my license plate and were supposed to install it. I saw the plate there and didn't look too closely. I should have. When I got home I noticed only two screws were used instead of four and one of the two was only screwed in half way. The plate was loose. Sloppy to say the least. When I went to the service department at the other dealer I asked them to take care of that and they found it couldn't be screwed in because it was threaded backwards! They did eventually resolve that.
I wouldn't trust Rick Case to do an oil change on my car. I called Acura customer service to report all of this and asked that I be contacted. I wanted somebody to address all of this. To date I have never heard from anyone and I don't expect to. Maybe if they are reading this....
Mikey-
Items 1-3 - should have made you walk away from the deal. If you were not happy, you should not have taken delivery on the car.
As for the hoorendous service you seem to be getting - go to another dealer. My dealer has given me very good, knowledgeable servcie for many years. It sounds like Rick case may sell lots of cars but they are just interested in volume. You have a choice - choose someone else.
08-29-2004, 09:07 PM
#46
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Originally Posted by pinito
Mikey-
Items 1-3 - should have made you walk away from the deal. If you were not happy, you should not have taken delivery on the car.
As for the hoorendous service you seem to be getting - go to another dealer. My dealer has given me very good, knowledgeable servcie for many years. It sounds like Rick case may sell lots of cars but they are just interested in volume. You have a choice - choose someone else.
Items 1-3 - should have made you walk away from the deal. If you were not happy, you should not have taken delivery on the car.
As for the hoorendous service you seem to be getting - go to another dealer. My dealer has given me very good, knowledgeable servcie for many years. It sounds like Rick case may sell lots of cars but they are just interested in volume. You have a choice - choose someone else.
08-29-2004, 09:27 PM
#47
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Update
For those of you wondering if anyone at Acura has addressed this....
I tried again to get satisfaction from Acura's customer service 800 number and I still can't believe they can even call this customer service with a straight face.
First I found out that the first time I called them (months ago) they never opened up a case number like they were supposed to and never referred this to anyone to call me back. Now I'm trying to explain the whole situation to this "customer service" rep and she never even let me finish a single sentence. She was rude, kept interrupting me, and was not the slightest bit interested in hearing about my concerns let alone resolving them. It was pretty clear that her job is to make complaints go away, to get you off the phone as quickly as possible, without Acura actually doing anything! This time I asked to speak to someone higher up and she replied "I am the manager here". I said then I want to speak to the regional rep for this area. To this she said she could forward my information to someone in California who would forward it to the regional rep who would call me within 48 hours. Guess what, 48 hours has come and gone and no one from Acura has called me. At this point I cannot be surprised by this. I also asked if there was an email address I could send my concerns to in writing. She replied "No, we cannot receive outside emails here". Any national customer service department that cannot receive emails from their clients cannot be serious about customer service!
It's official Acura drivers. There is NO Acura Customer Service beyond referring you to the nearest dealer.
I tried again to get satisfaction from Acura's customer service 800 number and I still can't believe they can even call this customer service with a straight face.
First I found out that the first time I called them (months ago) they never opened up a case number like they were supposed to and never referred this to anyone to call me back. Now I'm trying to explain the whole situation to this "customer service" rep and she never even let me finish a single sentence. She was rude, kept interrupting me, and was not the slightest bit interested in hearing about my concerns let alone resolving them. It was pretty clear that her job is to make complaints go away, to get you off the phone as quickly as possible, without Acura actually doing anything! This time I asked to speak to someone higher up and she replied "I am the manager here". I said then I want to speak to the regional rep for this area. To this she said she could forward my information to someone in California who would forward it to the regional rep who would call me within 48 hours. Guess what, 48 hours has come and gone and no one from Acura has called me. At this point I cannot be surprised by this. I also asked if there was an email address I could send my concerns to in writing. She replied "No, we cannot receive outside emails here". Any national customer service department that cannot receive emails from their clients cannot be serious about customer service!
It's official Acura drivers. There is NO Acura Customer Service beyond referring you to the nearest dealer.
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