I just wanna share with everyone what i've been through this past year with my 05 TL.
Last year in Jan. I bought a new 05 TL with navi and a-spec kit. I have had numerous problems with the car. From the two blue LED lights going out, the kit being slighty off.
The one major problem that i have had with the car is the constant whistling noise from the front driver side hood. This past week I brought the car in for the same problem, my hands free link button lights are off, the a-spec kit has to be aligned again, and the funny part.
About a month now i've been hearing alot of rattles coming from the dash and air vents. When i brought the car in i told him that the driver side vent seems to be a lil loose. The service rep. moved it a lil and the whole damn thing fell off and was in his hand. Being amused by it i asked him if that was suppose to happen. He had this look on his face like uhhhhhh? lol

Anyways long story short this was the 8th time I have had to bring my car back to the dealership due to problems with it. The whistling noise seems to have gone away, they replaced the lights on the hands free link button, but the kit looks like its still off. I was just happy that it doesnt make that noise anymore so i just drove off and went home.

When i got home i got a phone call from someone at the dealership. He monitors the service dept, on which cars that have been coming in alot for service. He told me that this past year alone my car has came in the most for the same problems or lil problems. He said i come in every 2months and that its unacceptable for a new vehicle.

Well they have decided to bring in my car again next week to see if my car falls in the LEMON LAW affect.
I'm a young ( 28) minority (ASIAN) and from the times that I have brought in my car it just seems like i've been givin the RACE CARD with the way they have treated me.
The person that I talked to on the phone sounded like he was black and I told him about what I have felt. He told me yeah we have had complaints about that also.

I just wanted to share this with you fellow TL drivers and wanna know if anyone has had the same problem. Being if your young or a minority purchasin a mid 30'sk vehicle. It's just sad that even with all the accomplishments that I have had that I have to go through this BS.

Chris Rock said this "There is a one legged white guy in a wheel chair that wouldnt even want to change places with me and i'm rich!"
You can make all the money in the world, but you still gonna be a nigga.

Sorry for puttin the racial factor in this thread, but those of you who have experienced this know what i'm talking about.

 

ahh now I know why my TL doesnt have any problems and they treat me good at the dealership... Im white.... Gimme a Fing break.

Im so sick and Fing tired of hearing bullshit like this. If your a mid 30s white male in this country you dont stand a chance anymore.

Stop your crying and open your eyes just read this forum for crying out loud theres tons of stories just like yours, I suppose they were all minorities to?? Dumbest thing ive heard in a long time.

 

What does any of this have to do with you being asian?

 

Well, you know, racist attitudes still persist in many parts of the world, not just in the U.S. But here are a few things that need to be borne in mind:

1. There are some genuinely crappy Acura dealerships out there, and their service guys treat everybody like dirt, not just the visible minorities;

2. It's possible that the less-than-stellar service you were getting is because you've been bringing the car in so often (this is just a guess);

3. Sometimes we tend to draw conclusions about other people's rationale in treating us the way they do because of a subconscious belief that "I'm the minority, they're victimizing me". Maybe it's a defense mechanism, but it's definitely not a good defense mechanism.

What I've found is that if you don't let the fact that you belong in a visible minority deter you for standing up for your rights (especially as a consumer), the less likely it is that the person on the other side of the counter will give you crappy service. Remember, you're still the customer, whether you're from Adis Abiba or from Zimbabwee.

 

I'm not surprised by your response. If you would stop and really read what I typed down. Im not blaming cuz i'm not white my car is acting like this. I'm just going through what i've been through and in case you didnt read it. This particular dealership has had complaints about racial descrimnation. So i'm not the only one.

 

You know what would be hilarious?

It's if you've just gotten the worst customer service imaginable from whatever company you've been dealing with and when you complain to the manager, he/she tells you, "I'm sorry, we're an equal rights company, we have to treat everybody like shit. Sorry."

 

I agree with everyone. I don't think RACE is an issue here. You're just taking this too far and need some justifiable way to support your claim.

Maybe they're treating you different because they don't like how you've approached them about the problems? Maybe you're making a big deal of the "lil problems"...Like, why is the A-Spec alignment off. That's the way it is, everyone has it slightly off.

Being Asian has nothing to do with anything. Your money is just as good as anybody else's.

 

I bet every dealer has been accused of some form of discrimination, whether in sales or in service. The bottom line is that you've got a problem-riddled car and your necessary, though frequent, trips to the dealer has raised a flag with them. Did you call them about the Lemon Law or did they call you about it? From what you wrote, it sounds like they called you. If they were discriminating against you, I'd suspect they wouldn't be looking into the problems you're having. They'd just blow you off.

Instead of playing the race card, you should just accept the fact your car has problems and not every service department is going to bend over to take care of it. I think you're lucky they're following up, even if you are accusing them of being racist.

 

I'm beggining to realize that part about the A-Spec kit. My main complaint is the whistling noise i hear from the engine bay. Again i'm only putting in the RACIAL part with this is because I have seen them treat other customers the same. Even make remarks about a customer when they leave the room.

Once there was a hispanic lady complaining about her service and when she left the service area. The service rep. was like that why I dont date MEXICANS.

Ok again im not putting race in this as the reason why my car is constantly going back to the dealership. I'm just un-lucky that come next week I will find out if infact I did buy a LEMON.

The reason why I put the racial factor in this is from my sitting around in the lobby of the service area and analizing other customers and how promptly there being treated and the amount of attention there being brought upon.

 

So what's going to happen if it is determined that your car is a lemon?

 

this thread is absolutely rediculous. what the hell. i understand you had a problem. but, if the people you were dealing with at the dealer were all asian, would you still be starting this thread and calling it racial????? probably not. it is easy to claim that the reason you were treated badly was bc they were all black, white, whatever.... i don't think you were treated badly bc you were asian,, but probably you were acting like an asshole... i mean seriously, im white, so everytime i go to mcdonalds (which in my area is mostly majority of african american), if they forget to put a cheeseburger in my bag or give me an attitude bc i want hot fudge on the top and bottom of my sunday and i supposed to call them racist.. definetely not..... grow up, and stop acting like you are being mistreated bc of being asian... look at yourself first...

 

Got I hate people when they play the race card. What did they say or do to make you think you are being discriminated against? Did they send you to an "asian only" waiting room? Did they treat you disrespectafully? Did they ignore your problems?

Before you respond, I am asian myself.

Another thing, read this and find out what is defined as lemon.

http://www.carlemon.com/

 

Ok looks like i'm being portrayed as a ignorant person bitching and complaining about how he is being treated.

1. The 1st few times when I brought the car to the service dept. i was calm and rational about my problems.

2.When i told them about the two blue LED's that were out near the sunroof button they told me what i'm I talking about there is no blue LED light near the sunroof. When i showed them they blew me off and was like ok we will get that fixed.

3.There were other TL'rs in this forum that had the same noise that I have experienced the all of them have said that it is the heat shield to being the pulley being to tight.
When I told them about what i think it might be they didnt look into what i told them and said those internet threads mean nothing.

4.After with me being patient and calm about my problems they didnt even give me a invoice for what the car has been worked on and didnt even tell me what they did to it.
I had to ask them what they did to it.

5.Is it the title of the thread? Officially a lemon...Racial Factor
I did not mean because my car has these problems because of my race. So please get off that trip.

 

The dealership may or may not have "race" issues.

What is evident is the fact that the dealership service department sounds like every other one I have encountered. -- Incompetent and can't take constructive criticism let alone be told they don't know what they are talking about...

I'd be pulling the "my dealership sucks card" not the race card :-).


Hope you get it worked out.

PS - Always demand a work order describing both your complaint and their attempt to fix it. Don't leave until you have one. This is another trick dealerships use when you have had your car in numerous times etc. Without documentation it's much harder to prove a lemon/BBB case.

Good luck

 

Well I have to agree with the above from top to bottom. I think you are not getting a work order because Acura would be calling you each time to find out if your problem was taken care of etc and the dealership would not look so hot having you give them bad reviews. There is only so much you can convey in a post and its possible you did not like the vibes you were getting during each visit. You were getting tired of seeing them and vice versa. But one ass (who made the Mexican statement) can make the dealership look bad. Brush it off your shoulder, if you have a lemon and there are no other Acura dealerships around, head for the Lexus and the IS350. You should be treated like a celebrity for the money you dropped, from what I heard, Lexus will do that for you. Hope it works out.

 

How can anyone possibly know if your "issues", mechanically and personally, have anything to do with race? Do I think there is pandemic racism encouraged by AHM - uh, no. Wasn't Soichiro Honda Asian, for cryin out loud?

The statement that "there is racism in the World outside the USA" is so laughably obvious that it begs the question - where is there less insitutionalized racism than here? We have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which last time I checked, applied to all citizens, and in many cases, all Legal and Illegal residents. Our system, thought not perfect, has been the model for the growth of democracies worldwide. Look at the miracle of post WWII Germany, S. Korea, and others.

I think the poster demonstrated reverse racist comments - the CR agent...."sounded like he was black and I told him about what I have felt". Sounded black? As in Ebonics or Farakkhanesque? Who cares "what you felt" - I suggest doing more "thinking than feeling" might be in order for you - what does "given the race card" even mean? Are you suggesting that someone tampered (tampers) with your car because you are this or that? Are yu suggesting that the CR representative called you only because he had to, and when you "sounded Asian" dealt you a "race card". (sic) Are they handing out those cards, BTW, or does one buy them at 7-Eleven, right next to the phone cards?

Everyone in America came from somewhere else - yes, even the Native Americans. It is apparent from geophysical and anthropological evidence believed there were no indigenous peoples in N. America. Asians may have come across the Alaskan land bridge, and native tribes from S. America may have come North. And of course, some of us had European ancestry - mine came from Germany in 1805 - that does not make me think, believe or "feel" ethincally superior/inferior to anyone who came before, or later. Period.

Racism, cultural intolerance, etc live everywhere in this World. But I do not believe America in the 21st Century has pandemic, insitutionalized racism, in the public or private sectors. They could not survive the scruity of legal institutions, the "sight" of video cameras, but much more importantly, the essential goodness of the American people. I suggest to you that a George Wallace racist could never rise to power unless he or she did it by coup-d'etat - we would not stand for it.

Enjoy your car, don't enjoy it, lemon law it, sell it, or whatever strikes your fancy. The fact that you are free to exploit every legal and personal remedy, at any time and place, underscores the basic issue and finally, addresses your question: you are free to act because our system makes it so. Think about it.

 

anyways, drdamian and everybody else... the fact that you even brought up the scenerio of the mcdonalds with the majority of "african americans" working there shows me that at least you can recognize different races in this society. At least you're aware of the fact there are different races in this world and by the way, do you call all of your friends by the politically correct terminology or do you just say my black friends or white friends. How come you said you were "white" and not caucasian? You know where I'm going with this? Do YOU bring your black friends home and say, "Mom. This is my friend Ray. He's African American." You sound like one of them dudes that around your friends you say the N word, my N this, my N that, but let's see you get around some "African Americans" like you say, and use that word. You're like one of those people who listen to rap real loud in your car and when you stop and you notice some people watching, you turn that shit down huh? You know like that boy in the movie office space.. listen, keep your dumb ass opinions to yourself coz i see right through you flower power, tree hugging ass.. you fake buster..

i'm not trying to stand on my soap box and preach, but let's say you went to mcdonalds and eight times in a row you didn't get cheese on your burger what would you think then.. you would try to search for answers why and say why is this always happening to me. you can't tell me you wouldn't think of these certain questions.. what's wrong with me that they don't like, why can't i have cheese, is it coz i'm young, i look broke, the way i talk, are they racist, do they just hate me coz i'm a guy and not a good looking girl.. you know you'd ask those questions... or would you just say, man those "african americans" must be busy and i happen to show up everytime its busy and it's just coincidence. if you did, then you're dumber than i thought and stop reading further. I was just posting a thread to tell you how i was feeling, from a prospective of a young, asian car buyer who felt he was mistreated. Not once but in eight to nine different occassions from workers who happen to be of all races.. anyone can be racist, not just white people, i wasn't saying that, i felt i was treated wrongly, and i felt it was because of my age, sex, class and race, not just race you didn't remember that i said i was young and could afford a car that was usually brought by 30ish people. It wasnt' like the first time i went there and said damn they're racist. That sounds more like something you would think, specially since you're so keen on recognizing whats racist or not.. maybe you might want to think you are the one with the racist problem, answer this, why do you call yourself white? Is your skin really white or maybe it's just what you said coz that's what everyone does to classify things, well then isn;'t that dangerous, labeling things.. we could go back in forth like this all day but we'll get nowhere.. basically we live in a world limited by just words and that puts us constantly in a limited twirl of lies and hypocracy.

So in closing, if you like to continue living in a world where you think everyone gets along and there's no such things as hate crimes, wife beatings, and molestions. GO right ahead, but please leave me out of it, coz i choose not to walk blindly through life and let everyone just tell me how to think... you Fing SHEEP.. say bah bah for me one time... just like i said, you're probably one of those people who think "If you put your mind to it, you can be anything in life." I say this to you, be happy then coz easter is coming and santa will be right around the corner, you loser. Don't f with me, coz i ain't the one.. I was just posting a thread to point out what happened to me, Just me.So, All you Nazis of the Tree Hugger fraternity of Political Correctness.. Please calm the fuck down..


The problem is not the person who is outright racist, at least you know where they stand and you can point to the enemy. Its that subtle racist like you drdamian, TL chrometide who think we should love everyone, but deep down you hate yourself and those racist feelings you have.. why don't you write about those.. coz damn, i know who i am... you, you're the problem.. you're fake..

 

I bet Acura specifically builds TL's for Asians that are less than perfect, so then the racist acura dealers can sell them to the Asians. I have always known that Acura was racist.

 

Dude...You need to chill.

Listen, as long as people continue to point out the differences in everyone, there will be racism. You yourself assumed your treatment at the dealer was affected by your race. Did it ever occur to you that some people are just assholes, regardless of race? Ponder that one for a while.

 

hurry up and fix the guys car so he can deliver my order of sweet and sour

 

Finally figured it out, huh? You must not be Asian yourself - did you know Asians have larger brains (by weight) than other races? It is true. Well, it was explained to me - I am white*, so I am disadvantaged. It is not fair - I have been dealt the Nature Card! Perhaps that explains the fact that most people cannot program their VCR's. And that TL Nav sustem - is it me, or does Nan the Nag have a slightly Asian accent? There should be an Option on the Nav Menus to "Choose your Ethnicity" - a bit of French accent here, a Russian lilt there, speed up for Hispanic, slow down for Southerners, etc. Who's with me on this?

And how about doing a count of Asians in Chevrolets? Are they smarter, or biased against Chevrolets? Whadaya think? Is it our destiny to be relegated by birth brain capacity to be red necks, customer service reps, etc?

How about a History rant? Let's see. Lincoln freed the slaves (Republican). Roosevelt incarcerated Asians and stole their property (Democrat). Sen Harry Bird was a Klansman. Ted Kennedy walks the Earth. Cheney has had 25 heart attacks, but does not have the courtesy to drop dead instantly when he shoots someone in the face?

*By the way, I resent being labeled White. I am not white. I am more tannish/pink. In the Summer I turn a nice golden brown, like a McDonald's french fry. I am not Black, though - but I am willing to learn.

Neither am I Caucasian - as I recall, the Cacausus are mountains in Eastern Europe. I was born in the USA, not a mountain in Eastern Europe. I may be Transylvanian, perhaps a Vampire.

Point is, I do not know what I am - I just Am! My hair is thinning, and my knees are bad - it just ain't right at all!

Anyone else see how stupid this thread is? The great majority of the billions of souls on this planet do not have the time or luxury of dwelling on the absurd, their transmission oil, or any of the vague trivialities of the "flawed" American Culture. They are day to day concerned with the struggle to survive, feed their children, and so on. Get Real everyone!

 

Being a black guy, I notice threads like this and also am observant of the way I'm treated when serviced. From what you've written, I don't think your being Asian had anything to do with this. Rather, the fact that to them you're a frequent visitor and disgruntled customer had everything to do with it. I've seen Caucasian people who are disgruntled customers treated in the same way. Of course, I wasn't there, so ultimately I'm only supposing something from what you wrote.

Now that you've had a chance to vent (I'd feel like it too in your situation ), it sounds like you need to visit another dealership that will treat you better, that's what I've done in the past when treated badly by a dealership.

Edit: RoadRage, your post reminds me of that first episode in Enterprise when the Andorian calls Captain Archer "pink-skin"...and continues through the remainder of the series. And, for the record, I am coffee-brown.

 

amen to this post. I quoted it again because it deserves to be read twice.

 

To summarize:

1.) Racism still exists...
2.) Assholes still exist...
3.) Some sucky dealerships (past, present and future) exist...
4.) Acura problems with fit/finish/quality exist...
I can go on...

In the end, we have to be the ones who make the choice to stop this madness.

I am black, he's asian, you are white...
SO FUCKING WHAT!!!!!!

We ALL bleed red, we are ALL DYING, and WE LOVE (or deeply like) OUR CARS!
It's a dayum shame that its 2006, and we are still stuck in !

 

You know what? I'm white and the Lucky Garden china-diner in my town has f-ed up my order the last 3 times I went there! I think it's an asian conspiracy to empty my wallet, charge me for kung pao chicken, and never deliver!!

You can extract "racism" out of almost every damn thing that happens to you in life when people from other races are involved.

You should try to think back and remember how many other times you felt "race" was an issue with a specific treatment you received.. Shitty service is shitty service. White mechanics have given me shitty service in the past.. Must be due to the "French Canadien" in my blood. I assumed they were simply idiots, nothing more... no conspiracy.

It's not like you walked in and they all started giggling making chinese eyes at each other and stating that "Ching Chow Hung Low" is back.. Herro? Herro? Get over yourself......

Oh, you're going to be here between 8 and 12 tomorrow to fix my Sony widescreen.. right?

 

Sounds like a bad dealership ot me.

Back to my original question, how is your race have anything to do with it?

 

Ok maybe I got a little carried away in my earlier post but im fed up with this. I have tried for 5 years to get a job in a field that is so competitive that sometimes over 1k people apply for under 10 positions, I get all the proper education (that I paid for myself) and nearly the top 25% are within single points of each other and I score absolutely perfectly (3 times) and still dont get hired.

Why you ask well I will tell you. In the great United States of America the right thing to do now is award points to the minorities for basically just showing up. 5 points to be exact So there not hiring the best there hiring the minorites who were the closest to being the best. I just dont get it, and to hear anyone play the race card boils my blood cry me a fing river. Maybe if I move to a different country I will get awarded points for just showing up. hrrm im gonna look into that.

/vent off sorry im not racist really im not I just dont understand it.

 

Well, let me just say this... i am in no way a racist... i only said i was white for a generalized statement... if you really want to get into it... I consider myself ITALIAN AMERICAN.. when i see those forms that ask for race, i circle other.. i live in inter city philadelphia... I do recognize that there are different races.... i am only making a generalized statement that out of the 3 or 4 mcdonalds that i have visited, Most of the employees are black..just a general observation, not a concrete statement for all mcdonalds.. and its not because i went through drive thru and listened to the way they talk. like you did when you generalized that the person you were talking to on the phone was black. Now im wondering, how can you be so sure the person was black???? and actually it wouldn't matter to me what race they were.. they could be fuckin aliens for all i care. I mean, if i went to a mcdonalds like you said and they didn't put cheese on it.. i wouldn't think that it was bc of my race.. thats the farthest thing from my mind... i would just think that they were complete idiots and probably not go back a second time.. like you should.. go to a different dealership to have your car fixed...

And when it comes to my friends, i don't refer to any of them by their race... what the fuck would that matter... I have dated all types of girls.. in fact 2out of the 3 last girlfriends that i had were black.. And now my current girlfriend is Vietnamese... and just because i dated black girls does not give me the right to say the N word.. its not even in my vocab. ive had all types of friends from different races.... and i feel the same about them all. ...

i must say that when i was in my teenage years and early 20's i would listen to rap really loud.. in fact i was one of those guys that would drive by your house and the pictures on your walls would be falling off from how loud it was.. i didn't turn it down for shit.... i guess it was how i came up raised as an inner city youth.. These days i still listen to rap or whatever else but at a reasonable level... i am a professional and have to maintain a professional image, especially bc i see my patients all the time.

You my friend are the racist here.... you sound like the type of guy that feels like you a minority at whatever you do... and , whenever things go bad you say that race must be an issue... "oh they couldn't fix my car for an eight time, it must be bc im asian ...." bullshit........

the only thing that you said that i would agree with "just like i said, you're probably one of those people who think "If you put your mind to it, you can be anything in life."" what exactly is that supposed to mean... i have worked very hard in life to be where i am now... I am also very successful...
bottom line, in your mind you think people cant get it right bc you are asian.. in their mind, "here comes that asshole again".... ...

You shouldn't post speculation unless you have some solid evidence to back it up... Did they say.. "OH, yes sir.. we couldn't fix your car bc our records show that you are asian.."....

 

Find a different dealership if you're not happy with them for whatever reason.

 

This is the first time I've read an Asian playing the race card...

I suspected that they were annoyed with you after some time and later on thought, "screw that Asian guy, we're gonna put him in the back of the line of everything else when he comes back."

Eventually, race probably had become an issue in the sense that, "That Asian guy is hard to deal with, so we will give him a hard time."

But the fact is, from your little vent, I FEEL that you made it that way! You made them think "Asians are hard to deal with."


I suggest you need to either change your attitude or your car. Either one will solve your problem.

 

OK, guys, this thread has run its course.... No one's talking about the lemon TL anymore.
This coffee-brown mod sez we can continue this lively Saturday evening chat on ethics in presumed differential dealership treatment in Ramblings.