- Report: #119485
Complaint Review: Hyundai - Albuquerque New Mexico
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Hyundai
8800 Lomas NE Albuquerque, 87112 New Mexico, U.S.A.
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505-265-2277
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Hyundai Motor Corporation, Southwest Hyundai Consumer rip-off! Dishonest! Poor customer service! Unsafe vehicle! Santa Fe and Albuquerque New Mexico
Within three weeks of the purchase of my 2004 Santa Fe, I experienced life threatening mechanical problems. The car would literally shut off while I was driving it and turn itself back on in the middle of intersections and highways. At stop signs and traffic lights, the car would buck like someone had hit me from behind.
The first terrifying experience happened on a rainy day at Raven Rd. and Highway 337 in Tijeras, NM. I pulled out into the intersection and the car died right there in the middle of the highway. There was traffic coming at me from both directions and I was lucky I was not killed. I figured this was just a fluke occurrence and did not think anything of it again until the second time it happened on the same road on a rainy day, about a half a mile down from Raven Rd.
The car turned itself off, then turned itself on again and the wheel locked up, all within about ten seconds. This second experience happened around the end of April. About this same time, I received a recall notice on Hyundai Santa Fe's that they were malfunctioning on damp, rainy days. I called Southwest Hyundai and took the car into them with the recall card explaining I had the same problem as was described in the recall notice. I had also explained to them I was having problems with the car bucking at stoplights.
It felt as though someone had hit me from behind. Southwest Hyundai told me it was just a matter of reprogramming the computer in the engine and that I should have no further problems. I forgot to get a copy of the paperwork for the work done in April by Southwest Hyundai and they claim to have no record of that repair on file although I gave them the recall card.
In early June, on a sunshiny day, I was driving on Interstate 40 going east, I was in the far left lane. I had traffic on three sides of me when all of the sudden, the car turned itself off again, the wheel locked up, then the car turned itself on again. This experience took place in a matter of about ten seconds. I could have been killed. Again, I took the car back to Southwest Hyundai and told them what had happened, and that the car was still bucking at stoplights.
They told me that their district head repairman happened to be there that day and he would take care of my car. When they finished, they said it was a selenoid problem and assured me this would not happen again. They also did an oil change the same day, which I paid for with a discount coupon from Hyundai. Although I paid for the oil change, I did not realize until recently that on their paperwork, they recorded the oil change as no charge.
In early August, all of the sudden, the check engine light came on. It was a very hot day and I thought maybe I needed some coolant. I pulled into the parking lot of my husband's job and again the car shut off. It turned itself off and turned itself on again. My husband left his job and checked the car for low coolant, but this was not the case.
I returned the car again to Southwest Hyundai and told them the car was no longer bucking at stoplights, but it was still dying on me. I told them the check engine light was on and I felt this had a connection to the car dying. They kept the car for a while and worked on it. Again, when I picked up the car, they assured me it was fixed and that I would have no further problems. I told Michael Gallegos that the problem better be fixed this time because I getting very exasperated with bringing the car in as well as the experiences of the car dying in traffic and at intersections. In late August, I was backed up in traffic for about thirty minute at San Mateo and Montgomery.
There was a great deal of road construction going on at that intersection. When I pulled out into the intersection, there was traffic coming from three different directions. The car died again, the wheel locked and then the car started back up again. I returned the car to Southwest Hyundai and informed Michael Gallegos that this was the last chance they had to correct this problem.
If it was not fixed for good this time, I was bringing the car back and I wanted to trade the car in for another new 2004 Santa Fe. They kept the car for about four or five days. When I picked the car up, he assured me it was fixed and for sure, that I wouldn't have any more problems the vehicle. But, if I did, not to hesitate to call him. I said you do not understand. If I have to bring back this car again, it will be for Southwest Hyundai to trade it for another 2004 Santa Fe.
Two or three days later, I was at the intersection of Tramway and Central leaving Smith's to get on the interstate going east. This was a Friday evening. Again, the car died. I had traffic coming at me in four directions. I could have been killed once again. I had to wait until Monday to call Southwest Hyundai because it was late Friday evening. I asked to speak to Tom Hornbeck that Monday and the woman at the dealership told me Tom was on vacation for two weeks.
She asked if I wanted to speak with James who is the service department manager. I told her no and I was tired of speaking to their repair people and I was tired of bringing this car in. I briefly told her what had been happening and what I had told Michael Gallegos and that I wanted this car to be traded for another new 2004 Santa Fe. She said the only person who could make that decision was Tom Hornbeck and I had to wait until he got back from vacation.
Six days later, on September 12, 2004, my husband and I were returning from Santa Fe on North Highway 14 my husband was driving this time, when again, the car, briefly died. The car turned itself off, the wheel locked up, and then the car turned back on. My husband was very angry and determined that I would not be placed in this needless, risky, dangerous situation again.
On Monday, September 13, 2004, my husband took off work and we went to Southwest Hyundai. We waited in the parking lot about four hours for Tom Hornbeck to return from a car auction. Chris Gensinger, during that four-hour period, came out to us about four different times trying to get us to deal with him. We explained each time what we wanted which was to trade this hazardous vehicle in for a new 2004 Santa Fe, a straight trade, keeping my loan exactly the same, just trading to a safe vehicle.
We also told him the only person we wanted to speak to was Tom Hornbeck because he was the only person that could authorize this transaction. Chris knew exactly why we were there that day because he had seen me in the service department three of the four times I had been there and I had spoke to him about what had been going on with the Santa Fe. Chris asked us to return on Wednesday, September 15 at 5:30 PM to meet with Tom Hornbeck.
When my husband and I arrived at Southwest Hyundai that Wednesday September 15, 2004 at 5:30 PM, Chris Gensinger ran out to us in the parking lot. He told us Tom said for us to pick out any Santa Fe on the lot we wanted and that he would do the trade.
My husband and I looked at each other very surprised. I looked at Chris and asked him what he meant. He said, Tom said to pick out any Santa Fe you want and we'll just trade it. We test drove two Santa Fe's and did not find the color of the vehicle we wanted. Chris, Wayne, Tom Hornbeck and myself all sat down inside the dealership while Chris, instructed by Tom, filled out a trade agreement. Chris had me initial the mileage on my black Santa Fe and sign the trade agreement in front of Tom Hornbeck. Tom wanted to make sure he understood what was going on with the car and listened to Wayne explain the experience he had with the car coming back from Santa Fe the previous Sunday.
I told Tom about all of my experiences with the vehicle as well. He said he would need about fourteen days to do the transfer of paperwork. Tom had never done this type of transaction before. He said Ian, the finance manager, had a customer who had purchased a Tiburon with a defect that had never been seen before by Hyundai. He called Ian over to the table and explained to him that we had a similar problem with our Santa Fe, it had a defect that Hyundai had never seen before. Tom told him he wanted to do a transfer of paperwork on the cars wherein everything with the loan stayed the same, but that the only thing that changed was the transfer of VIN numbers on the cars and how should he go about doing this.
They talked and then it was decided that the district representative was going to be there the following week and Tom could get his assistance with the transfer of the paperwork. Tom again stated he needed fourteen days to complete the process and to please work with him and let him have the time he needed. My husband asked two to three times during the course of this discussion what problems would there be or what problems do you (Tom) foresee with this transaction? Tom said he did not foresee any problems and he just needed at least fourteen days to complete the collateral trade transaction.
We left and then I returned to inform Tom my check engine light was on again and I was very apprehensive about driving the vehicle, because of what had happened before when the light came on. He said he knew it was probably related to the problems the car had been having all along and that he would work and rush as fast as he could. During that fourteen-day period, the car died two more times on Highway 337 near Juan Tomas in the East Mountains.
When we did not hear from Southwest Hyundai after the fourteen days, my husband called to find out what was happening with the vehicle trade. Wayne was told to bring the vehicle in for what appeared to be a formality to let the district representative take a look at it. At the same time, Tom told Wayne that another one of their customers had brought in their 2004 four-wheel drive Santa Fe because it was bucking at stoplights. On September 29, 2004 my husband picked up the loaner vehicle and dropped off my black 2004 Santa Fe to Southwest Hyundai.
About two weeks later on October 8, 2004 my husband received a call from James, the service manager and was told that the district representative would be in Albuquerque on Monday, October 11, 2004. At 5:30 PM on Monday, October 11, 2004, there was a meeting between my husband, Wayne, the district representative and James, the service manager. In this meeting, my husband was informed by the district representative that he would not be authorizing a trade with the vehicles for Hyundai Motor Company.
My husband let them know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not going to put me back into that vehicle again because they had assured us and told us four other times that the car was fixed and we would not have any further problems with the car, but it continued to be a safety hazard. We could no longer take them at their word or believe anything that they said. After a brief discussion about money versus the safety of a customer and confidence in the manufacturer, the district representative decided money was more important and he still would not authorize the trade-out and that he had full confidence in the repairs of the vehicle. My husband said if they were so confident with the repairs of the vehicle, they could put another customer in it, but they were not going to put his wife back in it again. Wayne tried to get a name of someone above the district representative, but he said he was the final say.
On Tuesday, October 12, 2004, I called the consumer affairs department of Hyundai and spoke with a Joaquin at 1-800-633-5151 ext. 45426. I poured my heart out to him. I told him of all the injustices I had experienced with Southwest Hyundai from the extreme lack of customer safety concerns, to broken promises, to the deceptive trade agreements given to my husband and me by Southwest Hyundai. Joaquin asked me to give him at least two days to resolve these problems. He apologized for the treatment my husband and I had received from Southwest Hyundai. That was the morning of Tuesday, October 12, 2004.
Later that afternoon, James, the service manager of Southwest Hyundai, called and left a message on my machine, that I was to come and pick up my Santa Fe. On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, Joaquin did a three-way call between Wayne, my husband, Tom Hornbeck, and himself. Tom denied ever having said in any way shape or form that he would do a straightup trade with the defective Santa Fe vehicle for a new one. After several minutes of arguing and shouting, Tom declared he was through with this and he wanted his loaner vehicle back. My husband said he wanted to keep the loaner vehicle until all of this was resolved. Tom then declared, if the loaner vehicle was not back by 5:00 PM Thursday, October 14, 2004, he was going to file a police report and have me arrested for vehicle embezzlement.
When I found out all of what had taken place with the three-way call on Wednesday, October 14, 2004, in complete disgust and anger that I had conducted business with such a group of low-life shysters, the Hyundai corporation, I called an Assistant Program Manager, Derek Larson (1-800-633-5151 ext. 44853) at Hyundai consumer affairs and informed him of what had transpired with Joaquin's three-way call, of what Tom Hornbeck had said, threatening me with arrest. I told him this was the deal breaker. I would no longer be doing business with Hyundai. He was to call Tom Hornbeck at Southwest Hyundai and inform him he was to close my account with them and that when I arrived on Thursday, October 14, 2004 to return the loaner vehicle, Tom was to have paperwork there waiting for me closing my account with Hyundai; As well as, a check made out to me in the amount of $5600.00.
The $5600.00 was $3600.00 in payments to Hyundai finance in good faith as well as $2000.00 for the trade on my 1991 gold Volvo valued at $5500.00 by an independent appraiser. Later that evening, I called Mr. Larson and told him I wanted Southwest Hyundai to mail me a copy of the trade agreement I had signed and that Tom had written up on Wednesday, September 15, 2004.
I found out from my husband on Thursday, October 14, 2004 that he forgot to mail out the payment to Hyundai finance. So the actual amount Hyundai owed me was $5150.00. To prove, that in good faith, I was planning to pay the October, 2004 payment, (even with all the scheming that Southwest Hyundai had been doing), I made copies of that original money order.
Tom Hornbeck has forced my hand, I no longer have a vehicle to drive. He removed from me the loaner vehicle trying to force me to take back the defective death trap that they call a vehicle. Although they do not care whether I live or die, I care. I want to continue living. I need a car. Therefore, I must purchase another vehicle. If Southwest Hyundai's refuses to close my account with them thereby preventing me from living the quality of life I am accustomed to living and prevents me from purchasing another vehicle because of credit defamation, there will be serious legal ramifications to this corporation.
Wayne
Tijeras, New Mexico
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Hyundai
The first terrifying experience happened on a rainy day at Raven Rd. and Highway 337 in Tijeras, NM. I pulled out into the intersection and the car died right there in the middle of the highway. There was traffic coming at me from both directions and I was lucky I was not killed. I figured this was just a fluke occurrence and did not think anything of it again until the second time it happened on the same road on a rainy day, about a half a mile down from Raven Rd.
The car turned itself off, then turned itself on again and the wheel locked up, all within about ten seconds. This second experience happened around the end of April. About this same time, I received a recall notice on Hyundai Santa Fe's that they were malfunctioning on damp, rainy days. I called Southwest Hyundai and took the car into them with the recall card explaining I had the same problem as was described in the recall notice. I had also explained to them I was having problems with the car bucking at stoplights.
It felt as though someone had hit me from behind. Southwest Hyundai told me it was just a matter of reprogramming the computer in the engine and that I should have no further problems. I forgot to get a copy of the paperwork for the work done in April by Southwest Hyundai and they claim to have no record of that repair on file although I gave them the recall card.
In early June, on a sunshiny day, I was driving on Interstate 40 going east, I was in the far left lane. I had traffic on three sides of me when all of the sudden, the car turned itself off again, the wheel locked up, then the car turned itself on again. This experience took place in a matter of about ten seconds. I could have been killed. Again, I took the car back to Southwest Hyundai and told them what had happened, and that the car was still bucking at stoplights.
They told me that their district head repairman happened to be there that day and he would take care of my car. When they finished, they said it was a selenoid problem and assured me this would not happen again. They also did an oil change the same day, which I paid for with a discount coupon from Hyundai. Although I paid for the oil change, I did not realize until recently that on their paperwork, they recorded the oil change as no charge.
In early August, all of the sudden, the check engine light came on. It was a very hot day and I thought maybe I needed some coolant. I pulled into the parking lot of my husband's job and again the car shut off. It turned itself off and turned itself on again. My husband left his job and checked the car for low coolant, but this was not the case.
I returned the car again to Southwest Hyundai and told them the car was no longer bucking at stoplights, but it was still dying on me. I told them the check engine light was on and I felt this had a connection to the car dying. They kept the car for a while and worked on it. Again, when I picked up the car, they assured me it was fixed and that I would have no further problems. I told Michael Gallegos that the problem better be fixed this time because I getting very exasperated with bringing the car in as well as the experiences of the car dying in traffic and at intersections. In late August, I was backed up in traffic for about thirty minute at San Mateo and Montgomery.
There was a great deal of road construction going on at that intersection. When I pulled out into the intersection, there was traffic coming from three different directions. The car died again, the wheel locked and then the car started back up again. I returned the car to Southwest Hyundai and informed Michael Gallegos that this was the last chance they had to correct this problem.
If it was not fixed for good this time, I was bringing the car back and I wanted to trade the car in for another new 2004 Santa Fe. They kept the car for about four or five days. When I picked the car up, he assured me it was fixed and for sure, that I wouldn't have any more problems the vehicle. But, if I did, not to hesitate to call him. I said you do not understand. If I have to bring back this car again, it will be for Southwest Hyundai to trade it for another 2004 Santa Fe.
Two or three days later, I was at the intersection of Tramway and Central leaving Smith's to get on the interstate going east. This was a Friday evening. Again, the car died. I had traffic coming at me in four directions. I could have been killed once again. I had to wait until Monday to call Southwest Hyundai because it was late Friday evening. I asked to speak to Tom Hornbeck that Monday and the woman at the dealership told me Tom was on vacation for two weeks.
She asked if I wanted to speak with James who is the service department manager. I told her no and I was tired of speaking to their repair people and I was tired of bringing this car in. I briefly told her what had been happening and what I had told Michael Gallegos and that I wanted this car to be traded for another new 2004 Santa Fe. She said the only person who could make that decision was Tom Hornbeck and I had to wait until he got back from vacation.
Six days later, on September 12, 2004, my husband and I were returning from Santa Fe on North Highway 14 my husband was driving this time, when again, the car, briefly died. The car turned itself off, the wheel locked up, and then the car turned back on. My husband was very angry and determined that I would not be placed in this needless, risky, dangerous situation again.
On Monday, September 13, 2004, my husband took off work and we went to Southwest Hyundai. We waited in the parking lot about four hours for Tom Hornbeck to return from a car auction. Chris Gensinger, during that four-hour period, came out to us about four different times trying to get us to deal with him. We explained each time what we wanted which was to trade this hazardous vehicle in for a new 2004 Santa Fe, a straight trade, keeping my loan exactly the same, just trading to a safe vehicle.
We also told him the only person we wanted to speak to was Tom Hornbeck because he was the only person that could authorize this transaction. Chris knew exactly why we were there that day because he had seen me in the service department three of the four times I had been there and I had spoke to him about what had been going on with the Santa Fe. Chris asked us to return on Wednesday, September 15 at 5:30 PM to meet with Tom Hornbeck.
When my husband and I arrived at Southwest Hyundai that Wednesday September 15, 2004 at 5:30 PM, Chris Gensinger ran out to us in the parking lot. He told us Tom said for us to pick out any Santa Fe on the lot we wanted and that he would do the trade.
My husband and I looked at each other very surprised. I looked at Chris and asked him what he meant. He said, Tom said to pick out any Santa Fe you want and we'll just trade it. We test drove two Santa Fe's and did not find the color of the vehicle we wanted. Chris, Wayne, Tom Hornbeck and myself all sat down inside the dealership while Chris, instructed by Tom, filled out a trade agreement. Chris had me initial the mileage on my black Santa Fe and sign the trade agreement in front of Tom Hornbeck. Tom wanted to make sure he understood what was going on with the car and listened to Wayne explain the experience he had with the car coming back from Santa Fe the previous Sunday.
I told Tom about all of my experiences with the vehicle as well. He said he would need about fourteen days to do the transfer of paperwork. Tom had never done this type of transaction before. He said Ian, the finance manager, had a customer who had purchased a Tiburon with a defect that had never been seen before by Hyundai. He called Ian over to the table and explained to him that we had a similar problem with our Santa Fe, it had a defect that Hyundai had never seen before. Tom told him he wanted to do a transfer of paperwork on the cars wherein everything with the loan stayed the same, but that the only thing that changed was the transfer of VIN numbers on the cars and how should he go about doing this.
They talked and then it was decided that the district representative was going to be there the following week and Tom could get his assistance with the transfer of the paperwork. Tom again stated he needed fourteen days to complete the process and to please work with him and let him have the time he needed. My husband asked two to three times during the course of this discussion what problems would there be or what problems do you (Tom) foresee with this transaction? Tom said he did not foresee any problems and he just needed at least fourteen days to complete the collateral trade transaction.
We left and then I returned to inform Tom my check engine light was on again and I was very apprehensive about driving the vehicle, because of what had happened before when the light came on. He said he knew it was probably related to the problems the car had been having all along and that he would work and rush as fast as he could. During that fourteen-day period, the car died two more times on Highway 337 near Juan Tomas in the East Mountains.
When we did not hear from Southwest Hyundai after the fourteen days, my husband called to find out what was happening with the vehicle trade. Wayne was told to bring the vehicle in for what appeared to be a formality to let the district representative take a look at it. At the same time, Tom told Wayne that another one of their customers had brought in their 2004 four-wheel drive Santa Fe because it was bucking at stoplights. On September 29, 2004 my husband picked up the loaner vehicle and dropped off my black 2004 Santa Fe to Southwest Hyundai.
About two weeks later on October 8, 2004 my husband received a call from James, the service manager and was told that the district representative would be in Albuquerque on Monday, October 11, 2004. At 5:30 PM on Monday, October 11, 2004, there was a meeting between my husband, Wayne, the district representative and James, the service manager. In this meeting, my husband was informed by the district representative that he would not be authorizing a trade with the vehicles for Hyundai Motor Company.
My husband let them know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not going to put me back into that vehicle again because they had assured us and told us four other times that the car was fixed and we would not have any further problems with the car, but it continued to be a safety hazard. We could no longer take them at their word or believe anything that they said. After a brief discussion about money versus the safety of a customer and confidence in the manufacturer, the district representative decided money was more important and he still would not authorize the trade-out and that he had full confidence in the repairs of the vehicle. My husband said if they were so confident with the repairs of the vehicle, they could put another customer in it, but they were not going to put his wife back in it again. Wayne tried to get a name of someone above the district representative, but he said he was the final say.
On Tuesday, October 12, 2004, I called the consumer affairs department of Hyundai and spoke with a Joaquin at 1-800-633-5151 ext. 45426. I poured my heart out to him. I told him of all the injustices I had experienced with Southwest Hyundai from the extreme lack of customer safety concerns, to broken promises, to the deceptive trade agreements given to my husband and me by Southwest Hyundai. Joaquin asked me to give him at least two days to resolve these problems. He apologized for the treatment my husband and I had received from Southwest Hyundai. That was the morning of Tuesday, October 12, 2004.
Later that afternoon, James, the service manager of Southwest Hyundai, called and left a message on my machine, that I was to come and pick up my Santa Fe. On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, Joaquin did a three-way call between Wayne, my husband, Tom Hornbeck, and himself. Tom denied ever having said in any way shape or form that he would do a straightup trade with the defective Santa Fe vehicle for a new one. After several minutes of arguing and shouting, Tom declared he was through with this and he wanted his loaner vehicle back. My husband said he wanted to keep the loaner vehicle until all of this was resolved. Tom then declared, if the loaner vehicle was not back by 5:00 PM Thursday, October 14, 2004, he was going to file a police report and have me arrested for vehicle embezzlement.
When I found out all of what had taken place with the three-way call on Wednesday, October 14, 2004, in complete disgust and anger that I had conducted business with such a group of low-life shysters, the Hyundai corporation, I called an Assistant Program Manager, Derek Larson (1-800-633-5151 ext. 44853) at Hyundai consumer affairs and informed him of what had transpired with Joaquin's three-way call, of what Tom Hornbeck had said, threatening me with arrest. I told him this was the deal breaker. I would no longer be doing business with Hyundai. He was to call Tom Hornbeck at Southwest Hyundai and inform him he was to close my account with them and that when I arrived on Thursday, October 14, 2004 to return the loaner vehicle, Tom was to have paperwork there waiting for me closing my account with Hyundai; As well as, a check made out to me in the amount of $5600.00.
The $5600.00 was $3600.00 in payments to Hyundai finance in good faith as well as $2000.00 for the trade on my 1991 gold Volvo valued at $5500.00 by an independent appraiser. Later that evening, I called Mr. Larson and told him I wanted Southwest Hyundai to mail me a copy of the trade agreement I had signed and that Tom had written up on Wednesday, September 15, 2004.
I found out from my husband on Thursday, October 14, 2004 that he forgot to mail out the payment to Hyundai finance. So the actual amount Hyundai owed me was $5150.00. To prove, that in good faith, I was planning to pay the October, 2004 payment, (even with all the scheming that Southwest Hyundai had been doing), I made copies of that original money order.
Tom Hornbeck has forced my hand, I no longer have a vehicle to drive. He removed from me the loaner vehicle trying to force me to take back the defective death trap that they call a vehicle. Although they do not care whether I live or die, I care. I want to continue living. I need a car. Therefore, I must purchase another vehicle. If Southwest Hyundai's refuses to close my account with them thereby preventing me from living the quality of life I am accustomed to living and prevents me from purchasing another vehicle because of credit defamation, there will be serious legal ramifications to this corporation.
Wayne
Tijeras, New Mexico
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Hyundai
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Hydman
Belen,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
Dealer Documented Repairs
#2Consumer Comment
Tue, June 24, 2008
Make sure you get and keep a copy of all paperwork and that it accurately reflects the reason you requested service. I have made multiple requests for multiple problems and strangely enough there is no documentation. I learned the hard way.
Southwest Hyundai
Albuquerque,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
False Accusations
#3UPDATE Employee
Fri, December 07, 2007
This complaint initiated due the customer's inability or unwillingness to understand anything we ever said to them. They brought their vehicle in for this problem only two documented times. The second time we kept the vehicle (and the customer was provided a new loaner car so they were not inconvenienced) until we had it properly repaired. It is important to note that before they started demanding a new vehicle, there was never any menition of life-threatening events. The customer simply stated an "annoying cut-out." But the customer believed they should have been given a brand new 2004 vehicle now that they were unhappy with their 2003 model. They asked me if they could be traded out by the manufacturer (the "factory" as they called it), and I told them I could not make that decision. At no time did I then, or have I EVER spoken on behalf of the manufacturer. I told them I would forward their request along. But that didn't stop this customer from declaring that I had told her it would be a simple matter and that it would take two weeks to "complete the paperwork." This is completely untrue. I didn't even know she was claiming this, until I got a call from Consumer Affairs. They said the customer was "hysterical, hard to understand" and was screaming at the operator. The operator wanted my help calming her down. So I suggested he put me on a 3-way call with the customer. We ended up on the phone with her husband who stated that he was not "playing any more games" and he would never bring our loaner car back until we got them an new 2004 vehicle. I reminded him that the loaner was our property, and that I had legal recourse if he did not bring it back. He later translated this to me stating that I would "have his wife arrested and thrown in jail" if he did not bring the vehicle back immediately. And this is the way it has been with this customer at every turn. No matter what is said to them, it is turned around and mis-quoted. The customer has never been treated with anything but respect and concern. We failed to diagnose the vehicle properly the first time, but this was human error. On this first visit, we also changed their oil and did not charge them. They wanted to be reimbursed for the oil change because of the inconvenience of the vehicle not being diagnosed properly. When reminded that they were not charged for the oil change, they went balistic and demanded they had been charged. Even after being showed the ticket with "No Charge" clearly printed on it, they insisted they had written a check for $19 and wanted to be reimbursed. It didn't seem to bother them that we had also made a $250 repair to some scratches on the vehicle (caused by the customer, not the dealership) and had not charged them. At this time we had no idea what we were dealing with, and still thought we could solve their problem by being courteous, professional and generous! We fixed it properly the second time they brought it in. So that is where this problem should have ended. But the customer had by now convinced themselves that they were owed a brand new 2004 model vehicle. So they have been busy writing letters to every dealership in town trying to trash our reputation, making frivolous law suits, etc., etc., etc. It is unfortunate that someone can go online and make a complaint like this without ANY proof of legitimate harm or injury.
