How do I go about getting something looked at under warranty? I have always driven vehicles that are well beyond the warranty terms. I have a 2010 Rx-8 as a company car now. I was given a $ amount not to exceed for the purchase and the rest was up to me. I found the Rx-8 at a Ford dealer and made a pretty good deal. It had 2000 miles on it. At 7000-8000 miles I began to notice a slight grinding shifting from 4th-6th ocassionally. It sounds to me like a synchro that sticks. I have also noticed that the shifter shakes quite a bit in neutral. I have called several deallers and I am asked where I bought it and then bring it in and leave it. I ask if there are synchro issues with them and I recieve the same bring it in response, not a yes or no answer. I am hesitant to have people that do not answer a simple question work on my machinery.
While out of town making a sales call I stopped at a Mazda dealer to have them look at it if they had time. The service dept. had closed and I talked to the owner. He claimed that the E36 M3er dancing around is normal" due to the linkage" and that if not shifted properly it will grind.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Braden
I forgot to add that I plan on buying the car in 4-5 years when it is time for another company car.
pilotbraden wrote:
I ask if there are synchro issues with them and I recieve the same bring it in response, not a yes or no answer. I am hesitant to have people that do not answer a simple question work on my machinery.
While out of town making a sales call I stopped at a Mazda dealer to have them look at it if they had time. The service dept. had closed and I talked to the owner. He claimed that the E36 M3er dancing around is normal" due to the linkage" and that if not shifted properly it will grind.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Braden
Google says there may be a sychro problem. Plenty of hits for that search topic.
results are here.
In fairness to the service department, they will never tell you "oh yeah, these go bad all the time!" Even if they see a trend, they will likely keep their yap shut unless there's a recall or at least a TSB.
pilotbraden wrote:
I am hesitant to have people that do not answer a simple question work on my machinery.
Most service writers have no idea what a synchro is, much less what it does or looks like. They are salesmen plain and simple so don't expect them to give up anything even if they happen to know the answer. Even most of the techs won't know if there is a TSB or common issue off the top of their heads. And to say "its a synchro" over the phone without looking at the car is ridiculous anyway. Drop it off and let them look at it. Be sure to verify its under warranty and there should be no charge to you BEFORE you drop it off. Then insist on driving it with the tech that will be working on it to demonstrate the problem/verify the complaint. Then leave. Don't wait and pester the tech/writer, and don't expect to be let in the shop to see what they do. Waiters get rushed through all the time. Arrange for a pick-up time and get a ride home. Call before you head back to make sure the car is ready.
Junkyard_Dog wrote:
pilotbraden wrote:
I am hesitant to have people that do not answer a simple question work on my machinery.
Most service writers have no idea what a synchro is, much less what it does or looks like. They are salesmen plain and simple so don't expect them to give up anything even if they happen to know the answer. Even most of the techs won't know if there is a TSB or common issue off the top of their heads. And to say "its a synchro" over the phone without looking at the car is ridiculous anyway. Drop it off and let them look at it. Be sure to verify its under warranty and there should be no charge to you BEFORE you drop it off. Then insist on driving it with the tech that will be working on it to demonstrate the problem/verify the complaint. Then leave. Don't wait and pester the tech/writer, and don't expect to be let in the shop to see what they do. Waiters get rushed through all the time. Arrange for a pick-up time and get a ride home. Call before you head back to make sure the car is ready.
I wish more people would do this. It would have made my job, as a service tech, about 100x LESS stressful.
Ranger50 wrote:
I wish more people would do this. It would have made my job, as a service tech, about 100x LESS stressful.
Maybe we need an article in the mag about how to handle warranty/dealer repairs for the rare occasion a reader needs it. Its amazing what some people expect and just as amazing how badly the dealership can get away with treating their customers.
Junkyard_Dog wrote:
Maybe we need an article in the mag about how to handle warranty/dealer repairs for the rare occasion a reader needs it. Its amazing what some people expect and just as amazing how badly the dealership can get away with treating their customers.
I wish I could write, I could write VOLUMES on this subject.
I know one experience at the dealership, when I had a customer literally 2' away from me in my way the whole time I worked on HIS vehicle. If he wasn't my shadow, he is was at the back door, restricted area anyways, smoking his cancer stick staring at me. All of this because he "thinks" I am going to take him for a "ride". Yeah, I have the time to F him over when I already have 7 other OPEN RO's sitting on my toolbox, I can openly "screw over".
As for dealerships treating customers badly, I will relate this experience. I took my MIL's Impala in for a MIL/CEL being on. By the time I could get it there, the light went off. So the tech looks at it and various other BS, when the service writer comes out and asks me in the waiting area, "Well, the light isn't on and the tech can't find any reason for it to be on. Do you know where and what the "Check Engine Light" is?" I resisted so hard to not throw a connecting punch to the service writer's jaw/face. I took my keys and waited for the light to come back on. It did the next day, MIL/CEL almost NEVER heal themselves. When the light did come back on, I took it back in to the other service writer and related my experience and was met with an open slackjaw expression.
Brian
You are right, "waiters" get rushed through all the time. However, there is a flip side to this.
I took my truck, a Ranger, to the Ford dealer for some routine maint. issues. I told the service writer what I wanted done and that I would pick up the truck at 5-5:30 (giving them 8+ hours to "fit it in" sometime/somewhere). I arrive at 5:30 and my truck isn't finished, no one knows were the person who worked on my truck is/went, where ever he/she is, they left the paperwork undone....perhaps even some of the work. No one seems at all interested in the fact that I am possibly stranded more than 30 minutes drive from home. Well, you get the picture. I left these folks alone to "do their thing" and my lack of micro-management bit me in the butt.
Thanks for the advice. I have not had anyone other than me or close friends work on my cars in over 20 years. When I get airplanes worked on I get all of my questions answered and I am told all of the likely problems. I guess I was expecting similar treatment.
integraguy wrote:
I left these folks alone to "do their thing" and my lack of micro-management bit me in the butt.
Did you call first to make sure everything was OK and on schedule? See my post above.
I would have called just after lunch to check progress. You have given them 4 hrs to assess and make corrections to be able to repair in the afternoon. Since it is a Ford, most of the Motorcraft parts are same day if they have to be ordered, unless it is ordered in the afternoon, then it's next morning.
BTW, this most likely wasn't the tech's absolute fault. Most of the blame you can thank for your inconvenience should be directed to your service writer/advisor. They are the whip crackers/duty or work delegators in the shop.
Brian
Junkyard_Dog wrote:
Did you call first to make sure everything was OK and on schedule? See my post above.
Why should he have to call to verify with a company who he is paying to do work that agreed to get the work done by 5:30 that their job is in fact done as promised? Shouldn't the burden be on the service provider to inform their customer that they were unable to perform as agreed?
I'm pretty sick of this attitude of service writers and techs that just because some/most of the people that they work for are D-bags that in order to get good service at $75 per hour the "good" customers need to treat them with kids gloves. I pay you for a service, I expect that service to be performed as agreed, I 100% understand that sometimes unexpected things happen and our agreement must be altered, That's OK if you communicate that to me, that's why I gave you my cell phone number. If I don't call to check, you think I'm irrational if I'm upset that it's not done, If I call to much to get updates, I'm irrational because I micro-manage. I have to call the just right amount to make your life easier, and pay you.
Ranger50 wrote:
Most of the blame you can thank for your inconvenience should be directed to your service writer/advisor.
Indeed. Just because it was there for 8 hours doesn't mean we (the techs) had it for that long. A typical scenerio is that it comes in at 10 or 11am. Sits during lunch.
Gets diagnosed by 2. Maybe. Once its diagnosed it goes back outside. We don't get paid on a car just sitting in our bay. The parts guys finish the quote by 3-if you're lucky. Then we add your estimate for labor while juggling 5 other jobs. The writer shuffles calls on your and 10 other jobs all afternoon, and doesn't SEE your ticket until you walk into the door at 5. Thats IF your problems were fairly simple and straight forward. Tricky stuff can take hours to diag. And DO NOT think that a dealer stocks most parts. If we don't sell at least 3 of a given part number per month it won't get stocked. At a high volume like Ford the number may be closer to 20. These days lean is the name of the game and in the end overnighting is cheaper than keeping a large inventory. Granted the writer SHOULD have called you if the job ran late, but a busy day and/or crappy writer will often put off that call until its too late. Follow my instructions and you'll be much better off.
nocones, you need to go stand in that service drive and get your ass chewed for a few weeks before you start spouting about kid glove attitudes. Me, I don't expect anything except mutual respect. That's getting in short supply these days. I will listen to a certain amount of bullE36 M3 (generally until the cussing starts) then we go see the service manager.
By the way, I agree 100% with this: a good service advisor will call YOU. An idiot won't.
As a long time service advisor/whip cracker/duty delegator, let me say this: there are days when EVERYTHING goes to E36 M3 and I had ZERO to do with it. I cannot count the times that I have gone back to the shop only to find that the service manager or general manager has shoved something into the shop, taking my carefully orchestrated schedule and smashing it into itty bitty pieces. Many times it's because someone has, instead of bringing their car to the service department, instead gone to the showroom and thrown a temper tantrum, rolling around on the floor and holding their breath till they turn blue because that's what all the 'always get what you want' websites and books say you should do. This is really wonderful at, say, 4PM with cars that are to be delivered between 5 and 6 PM still sitting in pieces.
I now get to start calling and kissing ass. Can I say what really happened? Hell no, I can't. If I do, the aggrieved customer will slam the phone down then immediately call the service/general manager and the poor service advisor is on the road the next day. So I have to fib (which I truly hate) and try my best to smooth over the situation. The aggrieved customer still slams the phone down then calls the SM/GM etc but at least I can still make a house payment.
Let's not even get into parts delays. The worst one I remember: a UPS driver delivering to a dealership where I worked was killed in a traffic accident about a mile or so from us. Of course this meant no delivery that day. We found out kinda lateish in the day and I started making phone calls. I figured telling the truth was best, not so: one guy just plain cussed me out. A man with a family is dead and he's pissed because he was inconvenienced. Nice guy.
Or the day the squirrel got into the main breaker board and the resulting electrocution shut the shop down for two full days. I thought my ears were going to bleed for days.
