Hoffman Audi Of East Hartford sold me a damaged brand new vehicle ripp-off East Hartford connecticut
i recently purchased a brand new audi a4 from hoffman audi in east hartford. at the time of delivery, we noticed a dent near the sunroof. i was told by the salesman that it could be easily removed using the "paintless" removal process. needless to say, that was not the case. the body shop was unable to use this process and had to do bodywork on it.
now i have a 32k car that has bondo on it. they repainted the roof of the car and the paint spilled into the rubber gasket on both the front and rear windshields. they have since scraped off what they could but it stills looks horrible. the dealership refuses to remove the windshields and repaint the roof (due to costs).
in addition to all this, i've found another dent on the rear quarter panel of this new vehicle, which the dealer was able to remove using the "paintless" system. i've since taken my car in 2 times already.
the dealership refuses to remove/ replace the windshields and correct the problem. i've asked them to refund my money (since they won't correct the problem) but they refuse. whether i sell the car back to the dealership or get into a new vehicles, i would have to pay more money out of my pocket. this has been a horrible buying experience. i purchased a new car and it should be in new car condition.
Helen
middlebury, Connecticut
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Dave
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
I Hate To Say This --- BRING A MAN WITH YOU!
#3Consumer Comment
Tue, June 14, 2005
Sounds a tad chauvinistic, but if you were a guy, a very ANGRY guy, they would have had no choice but to relent.
Bring a very big, very ugly, and very angry man with you and DEMAND a refund, or the job done correctly. It would help if the big angry man was chewing on a baggie full of raw hamburger!
Seriously, these scumbags prey on women because they can get away with it. Another avenue of course, is Small Claims Court, find out from a body shop how much to correctly repair the damage and then sue them for that amount in Small Claims.
Michael
Barnegat,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
Talk to Audi?
#3Consumer Suggestion
Mon, June 13, 2005
Have you taken the matter to Audi yet? When you have damage on the roof of a car it's usually one of two things: 1- Hail damage. Pretty damned unlikely, but it's one of the only things which can dent the TOP of a car. Or 2- Transit damage. This is the most likely culprit here- when cars are transported from the port to the dealership, they're on the big car carriers. If you ever look at one of them, they're packed REALLY close together. The car on the bottom can be hit by the car on the top. When you hit a bump with the truck, things move around- it's possible your car was a 'bottom'. It's also possible (and even more likely) your car was on the bottom and one of the chains used to secure the car on the top fell loose and hit your car on the top.
When cars are delivered it's the responsibility of the dealer to ensure there is no damage. If they took in a car which was damaged and subsequently sold it to you, and are now unwilling to help you, it's time to get the District Area Manager for Audi involved. Tell the service dept. of your dealership you want to speak with the Audi Rep. They have the choice to help you with that or not. If they are unwilling to help you, simply take out your owners manual and look at the first or second page- one of them will list the phone number for Audi customer service. Get Audi on the phone, explain the situation and express concern you bought a car damaged in transit, and the District Area Manager will schedule an apt for you to bring your car in where he/she can get a look at it.
Hope this helps!