ifirahse

iTrader: (6)

I’m posting my story on Azine before I contact Acura Corporate to see what kind of advice, if any, you guys can give me regarding the terrible experience I had with South Bay Acura this past Memorial Day weekend.

I took my car in on Friday for some light warranty work (rear deck and driver door rattles, as well as squeaking Brembos). As I had requested when setting up the appointment, a loaner was set aside for me (08 MDX). While filling out the paperwork for the loaner, I had asked the service advisor whether it would be OK with them if I take the loaner to Palm Springs (about 125 miles away) over the weekend, and he said that it would be perfectly fine.

About 30 minutes after I drove off the lot, I received a call from the dealer telling me to drive back immediately. Apparently, even though this was the second time I had gotten a loaner from them on my own, they realized that I was under 25, making it against their policy to give me a loaner. They had the audacity to tell me to come back and pick up my car less than an hour after I had dropped it off. I was already 30 minutes away on my way to Palm Springs with four other people in the car, so I really did not have a choice other than to keep on going.

At that point, I called my mom, who called them to see whether she could fax some documentation since she’s over 25. The service manager refused to even try and work with us and told us that if the loaner was not returned by 6 pm the same day, they would “report the car as stolen”.
I freaked out, but figured they were just trying to get the car back. After all, I had a signed contract stating that the loaner was legally in my possession, the 25 age limit was just the policy of the dealer. I pretty much told them that I was already 100 miles away and that they’d need to wait until Tuesday morning to get the car back (they were closed Sat,Sun, and Mon), which was what was agreed as the time that my car would be ready.

Fast forward to this afternoon and about 15 calls from them over the weekend. I returned the loaner, but here’s the best part: the service manager REFUSED to even work on my car the entire weekend since I didn’t return the loaner when they told me to come back on Friday and pretty much told me to never visit that dealer again. Is that even legal? I thought that no dealer could deny warranty work on an in-warranty vehicle.
I’m going to give Acura corporate a call tomorrow telling them the story, and maybe even a lawyer if I find out they did something against the law. I just want to hear what you guys have to say as well.

Cliffs:
-Dealer gave me a loaner but realized after I drove off the lot that I was under 25.
-I kept the loaner for the weekend as I was authorized to do.
-Dealer refused to do warranty repairs on my car because I kept the loaner.

chairguru22

1) Let corporate know about this horrible customer service experience. Demand a satisfactory solution at ANOTHER dealer.
2) Tell South Bay to F' off and that you will never do business with them again, AND you notified your friends and those on AZ as well to never visit them again either.

AnthraciteAspec

iTrader: (6)

lol damn Elliot you got some bad luck with dealerships

piggydog

lol at them reporting it stolen, you signed for it, they acknowledged it, they gave you the keys.

STEVEN05

Which one is it?
Is it the one in steven creek?

j9sstar

Loaner has nothing to do with your warranty work. They broke their own rules by failing to confirm your age before authorizing the loaner -- that's their issue. I'd take my biz somewhere else. Good luck with corporate.

Trew

iTrader: (1)

Someone at that Dealership should lose their job over this.

golfjwr

deff keep us posted, that is seriously screwed up for them to call you back and demand the car that THEY signed off on to be brought back. As another poster said that is thier problem and it should be handled internally within the dealership. I can't wait to hear what Acura Corp. has to say about this one.

Bender

Im not surprised. Not one bit.

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Well I mean, you are under 25..

Still could have resolved the issue better though

Distorted Reality

Couldn't of said it any better. Inconvienence yes, but what did you expect.

myron

iTrader: (4)

since they were assholes, you should have taken that car of some sweet jumps. How the hell didn't they notice that you were under 25 when they were looking at your documentation? Is that not their fault

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Personally, I demand to see everything in writing. If they had you sign a piece of paper agreeing that you could have a loaner for the specified period of time, then they don't have a leg to stand on.

Denying warranty work because of thier inaptitude in following their own rules is not your problem. Proper customer service would dictate that they let you keep the vehicle until the agreed time of return and to fix your car in the meantime.

I would say that Acura corporate would have a field day with this.

HuKaShI

All I know is that I have been to South Bay Acura, and I can tell you their service is pretty decent. I mean they have to be, at the prices they charge! They installed my replacement tranny and it's still going strong. Sorry to hear about your incident with them. All dealers f*ck up every once in a while. But some are just plain bad. I don't think South Bay is that bad though, from my experience.

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

wow dude, that sucks. all i know is, when acura coorperate is done with south bay acura, someone will have a fml story to post on here

anarchy[sear]

iTrader: (1)

Maybe car is registered and owned by parents? I am not sure just assuming.

01tl4tl

Here is the other side: In hopes of defusing the anger over this issue and the `acura should fire someone` mentality--

Ca LAW (every state has this law) states that you must be 25 in order to rent a car- loaner cars are considered BY LAW as `rentals` the dealer is paying for.
Loaners are at the option of the dealer- they dont have to give you one
Any company can refuse to give you service if they feel you are a threat or violated their rules--guess which you are- both~

When someone looked at the paperwork and said Oh shite this guy is not 25- that means there is NO INSURANCE on the car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- not theirs, not yours!!
You are not in LEGAL possession of the car per the written signed agreement.

They called- explained, and said bring it back - they were within their rights to do so- you had their car that LEGALLY you cannot drive

BY keeping the car with your story of ~inconvenience~ 50 miles each way= 2 hours out of your day,,and their 15 repeated calls to return it- which you can bet they documented-
You are VERY lucky not to have been stopped on the freeway by CHP, taken out of the car and placed face down on the asphalt.... at gunpoint!!!

It was indeed a STOLEN car-

If you read the agreement it says 25 minimum age- by signing that you agreed you met the rules- you committed PERJURY and intent to defraud= Grand Theft Auto-FELONY

It had nothing to do with the miles you planned to drive- it was soley the LEGAL AGE minimums

Every state varies- some 21 23 25
Try being a young 18-21 newlywed couple who arrive in hawaii and find the age is 25 and the travel agent said nothing- made the car bookings etc etc

Yes it was an error on someone at the dealer to give you the car the first time, and this time they looked at the paperwork and saw a major problem after you left--their bad.

It was up to YOU to comply with the order to return immedialty- as soon as they called.
Then you tried a scam of having mom sign for it but you still drive-
again INSURANCE is required on every car in CA and the dealer would take major heat and a big $$ fine if you were stopped since their insurance is void with you driving
Any driver stopped in Ca without PROOF of insurance gets a fine- and this car had
NO insurance

Since you failed to return the car- they have every right to deny you as a customer- no shirt no shoes ~no honor~ no service

As for not working on the car- no one really works on the weekend let alone holiday weekend--maybe the oil change guy- and with you blowing them off on what was a serious matter- why should they spend a minute doing something for you?

So it ~appears to the dealer~ that you wanted a nice new loaner car for a long weekend instead of driving your own car full of people-- and you kept it!!
This is common with friday dropoff cars-

Imagine their side by thinking what you would do if you loaned your car to a buddy and 1 hour later someone says `didnt you know his license is suspended`-
You call him and say GET my car back here now!!--and they dont--
what do you think- feel and want to do? call the cops!
AND you `allowed` an `unlicensed driver` to operate your vehicle= your insurance is void
while he is driving

A tip for those under 25: is have a parent take your car in under their name and get a loaner in their name
Now you drive THEIR car while yours is in the shop and mom drives the loaner because its legal for her to

IMO the OP should go to the Service Manager and say I AM SORRY for not understanding the issue and the problems it caused
You should go somewhere else anyway for service--they will remember you as a PITA that nearly or did cost one of the girls in the office their job
Is that what you want to do in this economy is put some low paid high stress job person out of work- because YOU failed to follow the rules,, and your plans were more important than the law?

If so- maybe the cops should have pulled you out at gunpoint- read the agreement together and you be taken away in the back of the cop car- the loaner car impounded and your 4 friends standing on the road in Palm Springs looking for a ride home
Thats what the dealer had the right to do

I worked in the car industry many decades and speak from a view as an acura service dept customer- and what happens at my Ca dealer, and as a former service manager,tech, and office everything person

Take a chill pill and make nice- It really was YOU who made the situation worse

01tl4tl

the dealer did not deny you warranty work- it just denied you as a customer with valid reason

If they were closed all weekend how can you complain that they didnt work on it all weekend?

Call a lawyer and ask them if you are lucky not to be someones beeeotch in the PS lockup right now

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

do you really have to be 25? fresno acura has been giving me cars since i turned 21. never had a problem getting a loaner with them or through enterprise when acura is out of cars.

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

well said 01tl4tl

WRXtranceformed

That situation sucks for both parties. On one hand, yeah they treated you like a criminal after you made the mistake. What they SHOULD have done is called you and explained exactly why it was that you needed to be 25. Like 04tl4tl said, if the car was no longer covered under their insurance then that's a pretty legitimate reason why they would want it back. If I was the service manager I would have come right out and told you that. Although, to be fair... a lot of insurance companies will cover you under your personal policy while driving in someone else's car if they gave you consent. If I were you though, I would have just driven back the half an hour and grabbed my car for the weekend. There's no need to make a big scene about it.

anarchy[sear]

iTrader: (1)

I think most places now it is that you have to be 25 years old to rent any vehicle or be given loaner.

Nice 01tl4tl, I am guessing you have some experience in this area.

I think both parties should sit down and discuss it unless OP you really don't care and you can find another dealership.

myron

iTrader: (4)

yea but I would assume that they would check his drivers license or something. I mean, even if it is under his parents name, his parents are not there so they just gave the car to someone they don't know cuz he is not his parents. It was a mistake on their part and now they are being assholes.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

Damn that sux! Sounds like the service manager is a real di** too

CarrieLynn

iTrader: (2)

wow, that is a crazy story, sounds like something that would happen to me!

I do have to say though for having enough balls to keep driving and not bring the MDX back! FK THEM! That guy sounded like a real dick! It was their mistake for NOT noticing you were under 25 before they let you leave with the car.
IMO the correct thing for the service manager to do would have been just to very politely explain the situation to you when you returned the loaner so you would be aware of the dealerships policy, that was previously overlooked by the service writer. Then it would have become the managers responsibility to take up what happened with the person who made the mistake of not checking your age BEFORE you left with the car.
This was their mistake, they should not have made it your problem.
Then they had the audacity to NOT work on your car and let it sit there? They just did that because you didn't bring their car back. Sounds like the manager may be a little immature as well as ignorant. I'd stay away from that place in the future if I were you.

RogueTL

\if you can find a legal quote where it says that *legal* age for renting a car,
in the sate of CAlifornia, is 25 years of age or older ... please provide that reference. On the other hand I suggest you google the issue and see Car Rental and Insurance Company Policies.

While I do not condone signing documents without reading them, under any circumstances, you are "reaching" here by stating that OP committed perjury. Was he aware of Dealer's Insurance contract ?

I would start with that question.

shooter

My guess is that OP was referring to South Bay Acura of Torrance, CA ... not Stevens Creek Acura in the south bay area here in SC/SJ ...

J-STEELE

All I have to say is that they tried calling you back and you didn't come back with the car. You should of thought about that first. What about if something happened to you while you had that car, like got into an accident? You said you had four other people in the car also, BUT I feel you bro that's a tough one cuz you were pretty far already. You said about 100 miles already? Dayam that's about 1 1/2 hours away or more, but they were trying to call you back to let you know that something wasn't right. IMO I would say just go to another dealer and move on.

I think you have to be 25 or older to rent a vehicle. I THINK... Not too sure, but that does sound right. Sorry you had to go through all this B.S. tho'. Good luck with whatever you are going to do.

PEACE!

mmp1214

1- Ive driven a loaner rl im only 17 with my provisional, i look a little aged just short and stockie so that might be the thing and my dealers rule is no one under 21 can drive loaners its just a dealer rule not a legal issue

2- Ive had a loaner for 11 days at one point, that shouldnt be a problem

3- And no dealer can refuse warranty work unless your car is hooked up, but in any other case i dont think there is much of a choice.

chuanger

25 years of age to be able to rent a car is definitely a law in California. It may not be in other states, but it sure is in California.

nfnsquared

Wrong, wrong, wrong. There is no such law. There are several agencies that will rent to the under 25 age group in California

True

Probably not true, since there is no law that says you have to be 25 to rent. In this case, insurance issues are probably dependent on the insurance clause between the lessor and it's insurance company.

Uh, doubtful

Uh, were you using ESP to view the lease agreement? Damn, you're good!


Once again, FAIL

Again whether or not their insurance was void most likely depends on the insurance agreement between the dealer and their insurance company.

Uh, maybe true, maybe not. Driver's own insurance may have him covered. Depends on how they view what the contract said about age. If it clearly stated that lessee was entering into this contract with the acknowledgment that lessee was 25 or older, then maybe not.


Good idea!



Probably true. RTF contract!!

Skrewologist

I agree with this.

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

if its 25 in cali, how come i can get a car and im 21? ive had an rdx, a tsx for a week and a half, and many cars from enterprise when acura is unable to provide a car? does the dealer change the age rule or what?

JwongTLS

I been in ur situation before..just find someone to co-sign

Some place will give u a loaner if u are over 21

nfnsquared

Just Google "California rental car age requirements" and you find links to several agencies that will rent to the under 25 crowd. Most agencies will not rent to the under 25 crowd because of the well known fact that the under 25 age group has significantly higher accident claims. It has nothing to do with California law limiting the rental age to 25

Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

hmm... delaware allows 21 plus to rent... but still, better communication couldve probably come up with a better solution...

mdizzy

I dont have much to comment about ifirahse situation, but i would like to share that I'm under 25 and have been able to receive loaner cars from my acura dealership (Kearny Mesa Acura in San Diego, CA) even AFTER telling them that i was not 25.

As for "insurance on the car", when i sign the papers for the loaner, they always ask me for my insurance company and the policy no.

In addition, i have been able to rent cars (outside of acura) multiple times through companies like enterprise, hertz..etc They just charge more if you're under 25. You can see this fee on their website.

01tl4tl

check your states rules and laws regarding rental cars
Sure a delaer may have never looked at your license in the past- just assumed you were old enough
Many employees were not aware of this rule
Some agencies may have lower age rules, but not at the dealer
If they never noticed before its because they didnt read the drivers license you gave them.
Many places that take credit cards now require photo id to back it up,,but in the past you could take dads card and use it...similar idea, now they are looking at the details

I sat next to the avis desk or a year and learned much from them on the subject, and I asked my Ca acura dealer what the rules are for them

All others can believe what they want- I stated the truth as it exist in this case
I know what the STANDARD paperwork says.. and its pretty clear the OP and others dont

Once the dealer saw the mistake by looking at the copy of DL, a call was placed requesting immediate return-
the OP was 30 minutes after pickup and somehow managed to pack the car and 4 friends and get 50 miles away--thats impressive!!
So the dealer exercised their legal rights and the OP didnt
That car had no insurance
Yes your coverage should take care of you in their car EXCEPT you dont have LEGAL possession of the car
You think they made up the part about calling the cops??

OP- you said you really had no choice but to keep driving???
think on that for a while
30 minutes away- 50 miles away isnt much- they said bring the car back by 6pm and you said ~eff u I am keeping it for the weekend!

Good luck to all who are on the OPs side on this one...you may someday be the subject of a felony takedown stop!

01tl4tl

the dealers insurance is primary on the loaner car- yours is secondary but since every driver in Ca MUST carry at least liability- they may ask for your policy info just to see you do have insurance
People driving a car without insurance usually dont have a valid license either~

yiujai86

I don't think there can be a better solution than to have them drive your vehicle to you and have them pick up the loaner when they find you. Seems fair enough.