Jim
Orlando,#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, March 05, 2006
Daniel: There are some things I want to help you with. First, this is an old car...not 11 years but more like 12. But more on that later. I want all of you to know each JD franchise is independently owned. You've heard that before but what that means in this case is the local franchises are owned by a man who knows the business and knows without customers, there's no reason for his existence! What may happen with a JD in some other place has no bearing on these operations. I trust the Orlando operations, I've sent people to them. I almost became a customer but made a business decision to buy new instead. In short, they have good people there, from the top down. (You won't hear me say that about many stores, trust me!) I wish cars were like we had back in the seventies. It was easy to diagnose them and fix them. Today's cars are much more complicated. Even in your 12 year old car, you have much more computing power than Neil Armstrong had when he landed on the moon! The hardest problems to diagnose are driveability. Anybody in the business will tell you this. For example, a quarter inch worn piece of insulation on a wire in some hidden location can cause driveability issues. Contrast that to fixing a 1970 Plymouth, for example! Thanks to the government, we are now in a different era in the realm of car repair. Intermittent, hard to find problems are the norm these days. On one hand, the service department wants to keep the customer satisfied, the customer wants a quick, cheap fix. I would suggest you work with the dealership. Remember, getting nasty solves nothing. You're financial issues are another matter. You do have a contract and a due date. You need to meet that due date and communicate with them if you have a problem with that in advance. In case you're wondering Daniel, I don't work for them, I don't have any connection with them in any way. I'm not in the car business either. As a person of honesty and integrity myself, if I was interested in working in used cars, I would choose the local JD franchises!
Steve
Bradenton,#3Consumer Suggestion
Tue, February 28, 2006
With all of the tows, down time and missed work you have suffered, you would have been further ahead to just take it to the HONDA dealership to find the problem. It sounds like you have a cracked head or a bad head gasket. Keep in mind that JD has backyard grease monkeys, NO MECHANICS. A mechanic that actually knew anything would never work for JD. I would just call them and tell them the brakes are bad, then point it towards the GM's desk and park it. [On the desk].
Kevin
Orlando,#4Consumer Suggestion
Tue, February 28, 2006
Daniel, they sold you a car that was supposed to be "reliable," backed by a warrany. Just because it is 11 years old doesn't make it right for them to deceive you. You should file a complaint with the FL Atty. General's office. If nothing else, at least you complaint is on record and the dealership must repond or they will get a negative rating from the AG. You could return the car and deal with a charge off. If your credit is already bad you don't have much to lose. They can't garnish your wages in Florida. I know it's not easy for you. Good luck.
Kendrick
Lawrenceville,#5Consumer Suggestion
Tue, February 28, 2006
Hey Daniel, I've been in your shoes before. I guess we all at some point in our lives, have had to deal with a crappy car. However, I'm sorry to say that I don't believe you have much recourse on a 11 year old vehicle. In fact, I'm surprised that JD Byrder even gave you a warranty. All you really can do is take this lump and learn from it. Always have a used car inspected and if possible test drive it for at least a day. If the dealer refuses, then walk. Finally, for heavens sake, don't roll over your loan into another auto loan. You will just spiral deeper into a debt hole. Kendrick Lawrenceville Ga. "GO Braves"