acuranewb

I previously posted about various misalignments and rattles in my new TL (link below). The dealer says that their techs can't get the trunk perfectly aligned and offered to take it to a body shop. Uh, what? This car has 160 miles on it and the word "body shop" conjures up images in my mind of bent frames. The tech and the service writer both said that the body shop has better tools and more experience. They did not go into any details about what the body shop would do that they can't and also insisted that my car had not been in an accident or dropped from a delivery truck. Considering that my car also had a misaligned rear driver side door (fixed) and a couple of rattles (not fixed), I'm starting to get suspicious. Should I be?

Oh, the interior wind noise also seems excessive and I can occassionally hear wind whistling through the front driver side door. WTF is going on with my new car?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143041

csmeance

don't worry, my 04 just went to the body shop to get a misaligned bumper and trunk fixed. The techs said that they didn't want to mess with it and leave it to the pros, so they sent it to the acura bodyshop. My car was never in an accident, but the misalignment can happen when they do detailing and they break a few clips or some other repairs. Don't worry about a bent frame. but if you are worried, take it to an independent bodyshop to check if the frame is bent. If so, you should be able to go to the dealership and get it under the lemon law.

dplaya746

If i was you i would ask the dealer to exchange it for a new car. They obviously messd you up. If i payed 33k for a car i want it to be perfect. I wonder why did you buy the car if it was like that when you test drove it ????

acuranewb

I didn't notice any of the problems until after I took delivery of the car. The rattles only happen on certain roads and at certain speeds. The misalignments don't jump out at you; they are only noticeable if you look closely (and I didn't look closely enough before buying). I think I will take the prior poster's advice and see what an independent body shop to has to say.

I've never been so disappointed in a new car. Buying and driving a brand new car is supposed to be fun and exciting, isn't it? Aaaargh!

acuranewb

Just an update. I took that POS back and got a new TL. The dealer wasn't very good at fixing the multiple issues I had. The fixes were shoddy: They replaced the deck lid, which still wasn't aligned and also had the interior lid fabric literally pulled off the metal. They attempted to fix the rattles and instead made them far worse and had wide swaths of insulation bulging out of the dash (where it meets the windshield) after they were done. At that point (the third repair attempt for my brand new car), I said just please give me a new one that doesn't have train wreck written all over it.

To the dealer's credit, the GM did not argue when I said "no more repairs, I just want a new one", and everyone there was very pleasant to me when I picked out the new car (I don't want to know what they said about me out of earshot). I took delivery of the new TL today and...so far so good.

subinf

Wow thats pretty good. I would have expected more of a fight from the dealership. Hope your new TL gives you no more problems.

clsdave

Congratulations! It didn't sound like much of a fight. They must have been embarrassed with their repairs. You'll probably have much better luck with the replacement.

TLTrance

Which dealership was this? Not putting up a fight definitely warrants a positive mention!

acuranewb

Ron Tonkin Acura in Portland, OR. They did put up a little fight in the sense that they wanted to fix it a third time and then a fourth time (after the second attempt, which came with the suggestion that I take it to a body shop, I wanted to turn in the car on the spot). I agreed to the third attempt, but not the fourth.

All in all, they were reasonable, professional, and pleasant. I just hope that the quality of repairs were an anomaly, because I'd like to give them my service business (and the business for my wife's new MDX).

subinf

They put up the fight because the OR lemon law states that the nonconformity must be repaired 4 times before the car falls under the protection of the law. In any event, its good to know a reasonable dealer is close by.

MR1

Great end to a short sad story. Hope you checked out the second one much better than the first. I wonder what the heck happened.

joe_black

Mt tl has 99 miles on it and it was bought on a Saturday and in the Shop Monday for a shake in the steering wheel and a sticking trunk.