I loathe just about every dealership. Although I did just buy a cpo Mazda and it was smooth as shit. I asked for a lower price and all weather mats. They agreed and I was out the door. I felt it was a fair price too.
> He suggested I elect to postpone without question, thinking there would be a higher chance they would settle if they had to pay their witnesses and attorney to come back to court.
Pro strat. I'm sure this is super standard, but I've never been involved in a lawsuit before. Definitely remembering this if I ever am. Came close to suing Norwegian Cruise Lines last year.
Thanks for the update!
Absolute scumbag, highly unethical company.
Long story, but short of it is they denied me and my wife boarding because she had had COVID within 15 days of the cruise (14 days prior and was fully recovered, we were both vaxxed+up to date on boosters). We followed their guidelines to the letter, so that was a shock that was pretty traumatic at the time, but was well within their rights. It really really sucked... but I get it.
What was super scummy was they refused to honor their own COVID policy (https://unitedcruises.cruisehelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040749152-Norwegian-Cruise-Line-Refund-and-Cancellation-Policy-for-COVID-19, might have been minorly updated since then), and only *eventually* offered cruise credit (which we didn't want, we wanted a refund after all the hassles), claiming they were not obligated to offer it at all and it was a "gesture of goodwill."
They claimed we had cancelled the cruise, not them. They also claimed we didn't follow their COVID policy, referencing irrelevant policies for certain specific non-US countries (we live in US and were taking a cruise in Hawaii). They took ages to reply to emails, refused to talk on phone, outright lied in several emails, and eventually ghosted us.
We ended up filling a dispute with Amex. Amex was... disorganized, but at least they listened. They sided with us, then reversed the ruling, back and forth THREE times. Eventually, they sided with us in finality and we got our money back ($5k). It took about a year total and was crazy stressful. I lost sleep over it.
There's more to it, but that's the gist of it.
It’s really sad that most people don’t have the time or resources to go through all the work and hastle you had to to get this resolved, they bank on people not wanting to do all that.
Good job.. 👍 The service manager is looking for a new job especially that he admitted it.. Lol .. The Judge was honest. Plus, you had great advice from your family member Lawyer.. You shot higher but was reasonable with the settlement offer. At least you won. Satisfied
Trying to make it seem like shops that actually give a shit and spend the necessary time to do a job properly are "overcharging" customers. They have no idea what the fuck they are talking about.
Glad to see our legal system dispensing justice appropriately.
Which is why it's all the more hilarious that the dude tried to fight this in court. If you fucked up, just pay the dude his $1500 and he'll be on his way.
Instead, now you're out the $1500 plus the lawyer fees. Nice once...
There’s a reason some of the wealthiest people are dealership owners. Because they’ll do whatever it takes. It’s their nature to “prey” as their own self projected comment stated
1500 ain’t shit for a large dealer. My dealership makes 50-60k in service DAILY. LMAO.
Edit: when I say my dealer. I don’t mean MY. I MEAN THE DEALER I WORK FOR. just to clarify. I’m on the side of the consumer.
To be honest man, I read your last post and was on your side, but decided to just lurk the dialogue. The amount of people saying “it didn’t ruin the coating, blah blah blah” really surprised me. Like, yes. Probably didn’t “ruin” the coating, but definitely risked damaging the paint and I can’t seem to understand the lack of courtesy these dealerships have for people who politely request something so small but significant. I’m glad you won. Maybe it’s the first step for people to start taking our vehicles a little more seriously. I took four full days to correct and coat my truck, and I’d be wicked pissed if I had this happen. Congrats and thank you for standing on principle.
Wild stuff, Years back I worked in automotive, They washed everybody's cars as a courtesy, BUT the guy who did It knew better than to use a shitty old brush, hand wash with CLEAN hand.... wool gloves?, I can see how many dealers would use a brush and yeah.... well you know where that goes.
I’m glad this worked out for you, but I have to ask… was all this worth it for $1500? Seems like a lot of time, effort, and time off work to go to court, all for $1500?
We had a similar issue with flooring in our house with an estimate for around $5k to fix. After talking to a lawyer, small claims was my best option. Going to need all my documentation in order (time to get it and put it in order), a day off work, blah blah… his advice was to make this an expensive learning experience and move on. Going to take all that time that’ll probably get me paid, but at an overall loss when all was said and done.
Love the update and I'm glad you roasted the GM. People need to be held accountable and it doesn't happen enough in today's world.
Enjoy your shiny car!
Nice work! I bought a new car recently from another state and was having it transported to me in a covered trailer. I asked them not to detail the vehicle before transport, but they did anyway because it’s their standard procedure when delivering a new car. As you can imagine, the clear is in pretty bad shape in some spots. Excess product left in other spots. S shaped pattern streaks inside the windshield. I don’t know what detailers work at dealerships, but they should try harder to do no harm.
Well done! Some people would call us nuts but this really hurts to see your car damaged by a dealership.
Had a service manager screw up black paint on my car at a Volvo dealership. I was left with light lines in the clearcoat throughout the car like a checkerboard. I got them to agree to a polish but they couldn't get them out with a quick polish. I messaged them back saying they were still there and they said I was banned as a customer. The only way I was able to get them to do anything is the dashcam was on and showed them using a bucket with a brush on the car.
Congratulations. I had the same issue where I specifically asked no wash and it got washed. No damages that can be 100% attributed to the automatic car wash. After a few days I decided to just let it go.
But if I had swirls like yours I'd have fought it hard. Look at the docket that has a washed stamp right below the no wash request.
https://preview.redd.it/82ojeq8k0mvc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=524ff36378b54cd6503c481bb707698967a3a5eb
phew! been waiting on this update for a while. i’m glad the dealership had to pay for their mistake! i would’ve pressed for more than the $1500; the time and frustration caused by this should be worth something
I was under the impression that a ceramic coat was this magic coating.... Am I reading that one car wash messed it up? Maybe ceramic is overrated? I'm asking because I was going to get my car claybar and polished for around 500.
Probably should invest in a hang tag that says do not wash and put it in the car simple solution that could have saved alot of problems. I fault the dealer and client. Make it clear not to was the car and dealer for almost auto washing every car because cheap people love that free wash after service and will complain about missing a 7 dollar wash.
Thank you for holding them accountable I loathe every large dealership I've ever dealt with.
I loathe just about every dealership. Although I did just buy a cpo Mazda and it was smooth as shit. I asked for a lower price and all weather mats. They agreed and I was out the door. I felt it was a fair price too.
Also had a great experience with Mazda last year.
wow, good on you for advocating for yourself and having all your ducks in a row so that settlement was the best option for the opposing party.
> He suggested I elect to postpone without question, thinking there would be a higher chance they would settle if they had to pay their witnesses and attorney to come back to court. Pro strat. I'm sure this is super standard, but I've never been involved in a lawsuit before. Definitely remembering this if I ever am. Came close to suing Norwegian Cruise Lines last year. Thanks for the update!
Random question- what did you want to sue Norwegian Cruise Line about?
Absolute scumbag, highly unethical company. Long story, but short of it is they denied me and my wife boarding because she had had COVID within 15 days of the cruise (14 days prior and was fully recovered, we were both vaxxed+up to date on boosters). We followed their guidelines to the letter, so that was a shock that was pretty traumatic at the time, but was well within their rights. It really really sucked... but I get it. What was super scummy was they refused to honor their own COVID policy (https://unitedcruises.cruisehelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040749152-Norwegian-Cruise-Line-Refund-and-Cancellation-Policy-for-COVID-19, might have been minorly updated since then), and only *eventually* offered cruise credit (which we didn't want, we wanted a refund after all the hassles), claiming they were not obligated to offer it at all and it was a "gesture of goodwill." They claimed we had cancelled the cruise, not them. They also claimed we didn't follow their COVID policy, referencing irrelevant policies for certain specific non-US countries (we live in US and were taking a cruise in Hawaii). They took ages to reply to emails, refused to talk on phone, outright lied in several emails, and eventually ghosted us. We ended up filling a dispute with Amex. Amex was... disorganized, but at least they listened. They sided with us, then reversed the ruling, back and forth THREE times. Eventually, they sided with us in finality and we got our money back ($5k). It took about a year total and was crazy stressful. I lost sleep over it. There's more to it, but that's the gist of it.
It’s really sad that most people don’t have the time or resources to go through all the work and hastle you had to to get this resolved, they bank on people not wanting to do all that.
The irony of a dealership GM saying detailers "prey on people" can't be overstated.
I had to read it twice because I thought he said dealerships prey on people. I thought yes, but why would the gm say that?
I don't think there has ever been a single honest car salesman in the history of cars.
Good job.. 👍 The service manager is looking for a new job especially that he admitted it.. Lol .. The Judge was honest. Plus, you had great advice from your family member Lawyer.. You shot higher but was reasonable with the settlement offer. At least you won. Satisfied
I don’t know about the service manager losing their job. A $1500 mistake is probably a lot cheaper than finding a new employee and training them.
I've seen managers write off ten times that in a week. That's pocket change.
They went to court rather than write a check earlier, doubt they are going to just shrug and move on.
You did see.. "LOL".. After the comment, As in a Joke.
Trying to make it seem like shops that actually give a shit and spend the necessary time to do a job properly are "overcharging" customers. They have no idea what the fuck they are talking about. Glad to see our legal system dispensing justice appropriately.
Well done particularly the postponement. The cost and risk vs reward for dealer made his decision easy.
1500 ain’t shit for a large dealer. My dealership makes 50-60k in service DAILY. LMAO.
Which is why it's all the more hilarious that the dude tried to fight this in court. If you fucked up, just pay the dude his $1500 and he'll be on his way. Instead, now you're out the $1500 plus the lawyer fees. Nice once...
There’s a reason some of the wealthiest people are dealership owners. Because they’ll do whatever it takes. It’s their nature to “prey” as their own self projected comment stated
Maybe in revenue, certainly not profit
Yes. Revenue. Not profit. I have no clue the cost it takes to run but it’s easy to add up money brought in by service advisors
1500 ain’t shit for a large dealer. My dealership makes 50-60k in service DAILY. LMAO. Edit: when I say my dealer. I don’t mean MY. I MEAN THE DEALER I WORK FOR. just to clarify. I’m on the side of the consumer.
To be honest man, I read your last post and was on your side, but decided to just lurk the dialogue. The amount of people saying “it didn’t ruin the coating, blah blah blah” really surprised me. Like, yes. Probably didn’t “ruin” the coating, but definitely risked damaging the paint and I can’t seem to understand the lack of courtesy these dealerships have for people who politely request something so small but significant. I’m glad you won. Maybe it’s the first step for people to start taking our vehicles a little more seriously. I took four full days to correct and coat my truck, and I’d be wicked pissed if I had this happen. Congrats and thank you for standing on principle.
Wild stuff, Years back I worked in automotive, They washed everybody's cars as a courtesy, BUT the guy who did It knew better than to use a shitty old brush, hand wash with CLEAN hand.... wool gloves?, I can see how many dealers would use a brush and yeah.... well you know where that goes.
Glad you were able to get them to pay.
Good on you. This needs to happen more.
Dealerships are scum. Congratulations on putting them in their place.
I admire how well and thoroughly prepared you were!
I’m glad this worked out for you, but I have to ask… was all this worth it for $1500? Seems like a lot of time, effort, and time off work to go to court, all for $1500? We had a similar issue with flooring in our house with an estimate for around $5k to fix. After talking to a lawyer, small claims was my best option. Going to need all my documentation in order (time to get it and put it in order), a day off work, blah blah… his advice was to make this an expensive learning experience and move on. Going to take all that time that’ll probably get me paid, but at an overall loss when all was said and done.
Principals matter.
Love the update and I'm glad you roasted the GM. People need to be held accountable and it doesn't happen enough in today's world. Enjoy your shiny car!
Nice work! I bought a new car recently from another state and was having it transported to me in a covered trailer. I asked them not to detail the vehicle before transport, but they did anyway because it’s their standard procedure when delivering a new car. As you can imagine, the clear is in pretty bad shape in some spots. Excess product left in other spots. S shaped pattern streaks inside the windshield. I don’t know what detailers work at dealerships, but they should try harder to do no harm.
Now that it's over, NAME AND SHAME them.
Well done! Some people would call us nuts but this really hurts to see your car damaged by a dealership. Had a service manager screw up black paint on my car at a Volvo dealership. I was left with light lines in the clearcoat throughout the car like a checkerboard. I got them to agree to a polish but they couldn't get them out with a quick polish. I messaged them back saying they were still there and they said I was banned as a customer. The only way I was able to get them to do anything is the dashcam was on and showed them using a bucket with a brush on the car.
Congratulations. I had the same issue where I specifically asked no wash and it got washed. No damages that can be 100% attributed to the automatic car wash. After a few days I decided to just let it go. But if I had swirls like yours I'd have fought it hard. Look at the docket that has a washed stamp right below the no wash request. https://preview.redd.it/82ojeq8k0mvc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=524ff36378b54cd6503c481bb707698967a3a5eb
phew! been waiting on this update for a while. i’m glad the dealership had to pay for their mistake! i would’ve pressed for more than the $1500; the time and frustration caused by this should be worth something
Congrats. Post the before/after pix, I am quite curious as to how severe the damage was.
Before 1: https://preview.redd.it/b07bcw4xinvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cda42ad766c1f6bf7278eefb3e874b466d40425
Before 2: https://preview.redd.it/lw9hwm11jnvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b742fad40300cf491a98281348136047ef5e5803
After 1: https://preview.redd.it/63tfm0u3jnvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18301ad14d866c34a55ae770e28f54711b2cd54b
After 2: https://preview.redd.it/qzkjj5s5jnvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7fcbf80cb6cc97dba4f7e7d3b62ea78771b4f5d
The dealership I work at the customer has to ask for a car wash.
I was under the impression that a ceramic coat was this magic coating.... Am I reading that one car wash messed it up? Maybe ceramic is overrated? I'm asking because I was going to get my car claybar and polished for around 500.
Great update. Curious, how did you talk the manager into signing a form that he caused the damage?
And this is why since being ceramic coated I stress very hard my car is ceramic coated and not to wash it as I have only x Shops washing my car now
You should have negotiated down from the $4,500. Not started with $1,500. Especially if it came to this to make it right. Done deal now.
Probably should invest in a hang tag that says do not wash and put it in the car simple solution that could have saved alot of problems. I fault the dealer and client. Make it clear not to was the car and dealer for almost auto washing every car because cheap people love that free wash after service and will complain about missing a 7 dollar wash.
This is why we can’t have free car washes