RX driven while being serviced at the dealer
05-06-16, 09:09 AM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
RX driven while being serviced at the dealer
I gave my car in for service to a Lexus dealer on Monday, May 2nd. Last night i got an email from EZ-Pass that my account has been automatically replenished. I looked into my account and it shows that my car went through the toll on May 4th and then May 5th. I am only picking it up tomorrow, May 7th, so the two transactions were done while the car was supposed to go through service in another part of town, it seems like one of the employees took it for a joy ride or something like that. Have anything similar happened to anyone before, and what would you do in such situation??
TIA
TIA
05-06-16, 10:29 AM
#2
What did it go in for would decide on my response. If it needs to be road tested, and there's no roads around that can get the car up to highway speeds, tollway may be necessary. That's looking at it with rose colored glasses though. Regardless, they shouldn't of used your EZ-Pass unless they planned on compensating you for the tolls (which they probably didn't have any intention of doing since they didn't pay the tolls themselves).
I'd take it up with your service advisor first, and if that doesn't get you anywhere, then take it to their manager and further up the chain if that also doesn't get you anywhere. IMO, I'd first go in and see what your advisor says before you say anything about the tolls and see if they own up to it. Bring copies of the tolls, they may try to say you had another transponder going through the tolls instead. I'm not too sure how EZ-Pass works, so if you have multiple transponders, I don't know if they separate them in the toll payment list. I know my I-Pass does that though.
I'd take it up with your service advisor first, and if that doesn't get you anywhere, then take it to their manager and further up the chain if that also doesn't get you anywhere. IMO, I'd first go in and see what your advisor says before you say anything about the tolls and see if they own up to it. Bring copies of the tolls, they may try to say you had another transponder going through the tolls instead. I'm not too sure how EZ-Pass works, so if you have multiple transponders, I don't know if they separate them in the toll payment list. I know my I-Pass does that though.
05-06-16, 10:55 AM
#3
No, I don't play soccer!
Yurka, I changed the title to more accurately reflect what happened.
Like Zmon said, take it up with the service advisor or manager. Dealers should ask permission before taking your vehicle for an extended (i.e. overnight) test drive. And they need to reimburse you for the tolls. They're not cheap around here. Good luck.
Like Zmon said, take it up with the service advisor or manager. Dealers should ask permission before taking your vehicle for an extended (i.e. overnight) test drive. And they need to reimburse you for the tolls. They're not cheap around here. Good luck.
05-06-16, 11:36 AM
#4
Intermediate
Thread Starter
I have only 1 EZ-Pass tag that is mounted to the windshield, no other vehicles on the account, it just looks strange that it was driven twice via the toll that is approximately 10 miles away from the dealership, if they were to test drive it, they could've easily used the highway that is right there, a block away. I came in for service because on a passenger side, front bumper slightly came off under the headlight (where LED DRL are), it was a little bit out of line 2-3 weeks ago, i asked them about it but they said everything is fine, it is just a little bit off, so i was cool with that, its a used car( i picked up 13). But a week later when i went with family to PA for a spring break, it got very hot there and i noticed that due to such heat, the part that they were supposed to check/fix came apart slightly,it was holding good by the fender above the wheel, but under the light it looked like pins/clips were not put in right,so I called them up and they said they were gonna take care of it, all free no questions asked. So i do not think such job requires a long drive especially via toll, i will look at the odometer tomorrow before i pick it up and i will see how far they went, i know the exact # of miles i left the car with and ill ask about the toll as well. cuz this is bs, what kind of dealership does that
05-07-16, 06:24 AM
#5
Lead Lap
Back in the mid-1980's, I dropped off a Mercedes sedan at a downtown Kansas City Mercedes dealer - Prestige Motors - early one morning for a repair. When I picked it up at the end of the day I noticed that it had been driven a LOT of miles and had a full tank of fuel. I was told that my car had been used to shuttle other customers to and from work for the purpose of making sure that it was running properly after it was repaired.
I had bought the car new but it was about five years old when this happened and had over 100,000 miles on it. The service manager's response was something like "What's the big deal? Your car already had a lot of miles on it."
Needless to say, that Mercedes dealership may have had the shortest life of any Mercedes dealership in history and soon went out of business.
Never underestimate what a dealership or repair shop will stoop to. I once had a Lexus dealership cleanup person remove the rear headrests from an LS and a Lexus dealership service writer insist that my car didn't come with rear headrests when I picked up my car and noticed them missing -- we found them in the trunk.
I had bought the car new but it was about five years old when this happened and had over 100,000 miles on it. The service manager's response was something like "What's the big deal? Your car already had a lot of miles on it."
Needless to say, that Mercedes dealership may have had the shortest life of any Mercedes dealership in history and soon went out of business.
Never underestimate what a dealership or repair shop will stoop to. I once had a Lexus dealership cleanup person remove the rear headrests from an LS and a Lexus dealership service writer insist that my car didn't come with rear headrests when I picked up my car and noticed them missing -- we found them in the trunk.
05-07-16, 07:38 AM
#6
Intermediate
Back in the mid-1980's, I dropped off a Mercedes sedan at a downtown Kansas City Mercedes dealer - Prestige Motors - early one morning for a repair. When I picked it up at the end of the day I noticed that it had been driven a LOT of miles and had a full tank of fuel. I was told that my car had been used to shuttle other customers to and from work for the purpose of making sure that it was running properly after it was repaired.
I had bought the car new but it was about five years old when this happened and had over 100,000 miles on it. The service manager's response was something like "What's the big deal? Your car already had a lot of miles on it."
Needless to say, that Mercedes dealership may have had the shortest life of any Mercedes dealership in history and soon went out of business.
Never underestimate what a dealership or repair shop will stoop to. I once had a Lexus dealership cleanup person remove the rear headrests from an LS and a Lexus dealership service writer insist that my car didn't come with rear headrests when I picked up my car and noticed them missing -- we found them in the trunk.
I had bought the car new but it was about five years old when this happened and had over 100,000 miles on it. The service manager's response was something like "What's the big deal? Your car already had a lot of miles on it."
Needless to say, that Mercedes dealership may have had the shortest life of any Mercedes dealership in history and soon went out of business.
Never underestimate what a dealership or repair shop will stoop to. I once had a Lexus dealership cleanup person remove the rear headrests from an LS and a Lexus dealership service writer insist that my car didn't come with rear headrests when I picked up my car and noticed them missing -- we found them in the trunk.
That Mercedes dealer was the worst.
When I owned my 2011 Mercedes E350 4matic I used my local Atlanta Classic Cars Mercedes dealership and they were the best when it came to warranty work(great free AMG loaners,free food and drinks in the waiting area,etc) .
The only issue i had with them was that I had a small weeping leak where the differential connects to the transmission at the end of my 50k mile warranty(less than 2k miles) and the service manager told me that it was not serious enough to repair at the time.
He was surprised that I even knew about small leak, because many of his customers never look under the car.
Well, I do peek under my cars and noticed that small weeping at the seals.
However, I know that the issue was only going get worst as the diff/trans seal deteriorates and it will become a $$$$ costly repair($3K-$4k) down the road after the warranty expires.
I believe that they noticed the weeping seal also before I brought the car back to them to inspect since they done work on the car before, but decided to let it go and wait for me to come back later when it would be on me since it is a very expensive repair job.
So I just traded the E350 soon after the last service trip since I got the feeling that my great service ends when the warranty is over.
In my opinion most dealers are good to warranty customers and try to make up lost revenue with customers with cars out of warranty by charging very high prices to repair/service anything.
Last edited by carguy75; 05-07-16 at 07:54 AM.
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05-08-16, 02:14 AM
#8
Pole Position
Yes, you need to watch out for things like this.
One time I bought my Lexus into a small Lexus dealer for routine service and I just needed a ride to the nearby airport about 10 miles away (I was flying out of town for the weekend and will be back some three days later on Monday ) . The service advisor was going to have some teenage "boy" working at the dealership as the "porter" (similar to a Walmart greeter) who puts in those plastic seat covers and the paper floor mats DRIVE ME IN MY LESS THAN 6 MONTHS OLD new Lexus to the airport and bring MY car back to the dealership. I told him NO!! Use the dealership shuttle! !! He said it is tied up right now. I told him to untie the shuttle now or I'm leaving and will not come back EVER!
So becareful, if you have a nice fairly new Lexus, they may abuse it (the teenage porter doing donuts in the parking lot or use YOUR car as the shuttle car taking other customers around town . Or going to the parts store making a quick part pickup or whatever ).
I think the above happens more often than you might think. So I always take a pic with my cell phone of the car's mileage at drop off. I understand under certain service conditions the need to do test drives and such. But if the mileage is like 100 miles instead of 10 miles, then something is fishy.
One time I bought my Lexus into a small Lexus dealer for routine service and I just needed a ride to the nearby airport about 10 miles away (I was flying out of town for the weekend and will be back some three days later on Monday ) . The service advisor was going to have some teenage "boy" working at the dealership as the "porter" (similar to a Walmart greeter) who puts in those plastic seat covers and the paper floor mats DRIVE ME IN MY LESS THAN 6 MONTHS OLD new Lexus to the airport and bring MY car back to the dealership. I told him NO!! Use the dealership shuttle! !! He said it is tied up right now. I told him to untie the shuttle now or I'm leaving and will not come back EVER!
So becareful, if you have a nice fairly new Lexus, they may abuse it (the teenage porter doing donuts in the parking lot or use YOUR car as the shuttle car taking other customers around town . Or going to the parts store making a quick part pickup or whatever ).
I think the above happens more often than you might think. So I always take a pic with my cell phone of the car's mileage at drop off. I understand under certain service conditions the need to do test drives and such. But if the mileage is like 100 miles instead of 10 miles, then something is fishy.
I gave my car in for service to a Lexus dealer on Monday, May 2nd. Last night i got an email from EZ-Pass that my account has been automatically replenished. I looked into my account and it shows that my car went through the toll on May 4th and then May 5th. I am only picking it up tomorrow, May 7th, so the two transactions were done while the car was supposed to go through service in another part of town, it seems like one of the employees took it for a joy ride or something like that. Have anything similar happened to anyone before, and what would you do in such situation??
TIA
TIA
05-08-16, 02:19 AM
#9
Pole Position
But wouldn't the leak covered under warranty (when your car was still under warranty ) and thereby the dealer get compensated by the factory for the work done? So actually a win win for both parties?
WOW.
That Mercedes dealer was the worst.
When I owned my 2011 Mercedes E350 4matic I used my local Atlanta Classic Cars Mercedes dealership and they were the best when it came to warranty work(great free AMG loaners,free food and drinks in the waiting area,etc) .
The only issue i had with them was that I had a small weeping leak where the differential connects to the transmission at the end of my 50k mile warranty(less than 2k miles) and the service manager told me that it was not serious enough to repair at the time.
He was surprised that I even knew about small leak, because many of his customers never look under the car.
Well, I do peek under my cars and noticed that small weeping at the seals.
However, I know that the issue was only going get worst as the diff/trans seal deteriorates and it will become a $$$$ costly repair($3K-$4k) down the road after the warranty expires.
I believe that they noticed the weeping seal also before I brought the car back to them to inspect since they done work on the car before, but decided to let it go and wait for me to come back later when it would be on me since it is a very expensive repair job.
So I just traded the E350 soon after the last service trip since I got the feeling that my great service ends when the warranty is over.
In my opinion most dealers are good to warranty customers and try to make up lost revenue with customers with cars out of warranty by charging very high prices to repair/service anything.
That Mercedes dealer was the worst.
When I owned my 2011 Mercedes E350 4matic I used my local Atlanta Classic Cars Mercedes dealership and they were the best when it came to warranty work(great free AMG loaners,free food and drinks in the waiting area,etc) .
The only issue i had with them was that I had a small weeping leak where the differential connects to the transmission at the end of my 50k mile warranty(less than 2k miles) and the service manager told me that it was not serious enough to repair at the time.
He was surprised that I even knew about small leak, because many of his customers never look under the car.
Well, I do peek under my cars and noticed that small weeping at the seals.
However, I know that the issue was only going get worst as the diff/trans seal deteriorates and it will become a $$$$ costly repair($3K-$4k) down the road after the warranty expires.
I believe that they noticed the weeping seal also before I brought the car back to them to inspect since they done work on the car before, but decided to let it go and wait for me to come back later when it would be on me since it is a very expensive repair job.
So I just traded the E350 soon after the last service trip since I got the feeling that my great service ends when the warranty is over.
In my opinion most dealers are good to warranty customers and try to make up lost revenue with customers with cars out of warranty by charging very high prices to repair/service anything.
05-08-16, 02:38 AM
#10
Intermediate
^^I was thinking the same thing.
The seal was not leaking enough to drip oil, but it was wet or seeping oil.
It would become a leak later on, hence why the service manager decided not repair it.
The job is pretty hard to do per Mercedes service manual.
My car only had about 2k miles before the 50k warranty was up.
In the service manager defense maybe the seal had to actually drip oil for it be replaceable through the warranty per Mercedes.
I just read in the forums about the cost of the job from other members that had to replace the same seal or worst a entire transmission since the seal allows the transmission fluid to leak out and fail if not caught in time.
Here is a forum entry similar to the one i read years ago that got me concerned at the time.
http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w2...case-leak.html
Sorry OP for jacking this thread about Mercedes service,but I just had to respond to the other Mercedes owner about the service I got from my local Mercedes dealer.
The seal was not leaking enough to drip oil, but it was wet or seeping oil.
It would become a leak later on, hence why the service manager decided not repair it.
The job is pretty hard to do per Mercedes service manual.
My car only had about 2k miles before the 50k warranty was up.
In the service manager defense maybe the seal had to actually drip oil for it be replaceable through the warranty per Mercedes.
I just read in the forums about the cost of the job from other members that had to replace the same seal or worst a entire transmission since the seal allows the transmission fluid to leak out and fail if not caught in time.
Here is a forum entry similar to the one i read years ago that got me concerned at the time.
http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w2...case-leak.html
Sorry OP for jacking this thread about Mercedes service,but I just had to respond to the other Mercedes owner about the service I got from my local Mercedes dealer.
Last edited by carguy75; 05-08-16 at 04:07 AM.
05-08-16, 02:36 PM
#11
Lead Lap
Did you really want to have the mechanic, after a three-beer lunch, strip the first of the threads on the first nut he removed (with the air gun set on "tire lug nut" torque in the wrong direction?
Then grumbling about spilling gear oil on his boot and scratching the finely machined surfaces as he chisels-off the half-glued-on gasket?
And then dropped the bearing cap from one of the universal joints - losing a couple needle bearings?
Slapping enough Permatex around the gasket to make it look like it was changed during a 10-second pit stop at Indy?
Filling the diff with the only gear lube that the hose would reach?
And then snapping off one of the carrier studs as he tried to remember if he torqued them - using the highly-accurate "gudentight" method?
Or - should you have simply washed-off the weep once a year - knowing that "oily parts don't rust"?
Then grumbling about spilling gear oil on his boot and scratching the finely machined surfaces as he chisels-off the half-glued-on gasket?
And then dropped the bearing cap from one of the universal joints - losing a couple needle bearings?
Slapping enough Permatex around the gasket to make it look like it was changed during a 10-second pit stop at Indy?
Filling the diff with the only gear lube that the hose would reach?
And then snapping off one of the carrier studs as he tried to remember if he torqued them - using the highly-accurate "gudentight" method?
Or - should you have simply washed-off the weep once a year - knowing that "oily parts don't rust"?
05-08-16, 06:07 PM
#12
Intermediate
Thread Starter
So here is what came out of it. I spoke with them, apparently the body shop is located in Queens, so they had to drive my car from Manhattan to the body shop there, they showed me the location and it does make 20 miles extra, as for the toll they apologized and said they will reimburse me. F** it, there is a different issue.
The day i was purchasing a car, it just came in as a trade in on a newer model. Front bumper right under the passenger side headlight was slightly not properly aligned with the fender. Upon purchasing the car, i double-checked with the dealership if it was not broken etc, they said the clip just came off and then will take the bumper off and reinstall it, detail the car for me so i had to wait like 2-3 days to actually get it after i signed everything.I spoke with a sales individual and pre-owned sales Lexus Manager and they both assured me that upon picking it up in 2-3 days everything will be taken care of, and i have nothing to worry about. On the day of the pick up, I inspected the car and i found bumper still not being perfectly aligned with the rest of the body in the exact same spot, i brought it up to them, but they assured me, it is just the way it is put in, it was checked by the bodyshop people and it will not come off, its a two-year old car, it tends to happen ( and yes half of brooklyn drives with messed up cars), plus they gave me a good deal and said just because it stands out a little doesnt mean it will come off, it is holding strong. The following week I went with my family on a trip to PA for a couple of days and the car was standing under the sun for a little bit, the surface got warm/hot and i noticed that the part they said was holding "strong " came off(1st picture). I called the dealership right the way, they said sorry, bring the car in and we will take care of it. This is why it was in the shop this past week. I picked it up yesterday morning, and the 2nd picture shows how it looks after they did the work on it.
On the side it looks aligned well, but under the headlight there is still a gap. I brought it up to them that im not satisfied with the work, and double-checked whether or not it will last or will come apart again. On the receipt it says "Font bumper comes off apply EXPOXY", so i googled it and it appears to be simply an industrial glue. However once again i was assured that the bumper is done well and cosmetically it might not look perfect since it is a pre-owned but it will not come off again.
Today we had a little sun in NYC, about 65-70 degrees outside, big black car attracts some sun and once again, just after about 30-45 minutes on a lot under the sun it came off, exactly the same way as on the 1st picture. After that i drove the car under a roof(friend's garage), closed space, much cooler than the outside, and the bumper again holds stronger,similar to how it came from the shop. For a little bit i thought maybe i have hallucinations, i drove it to the store by my house, open space,lots of sun and again about half an hour and it came apart just like on the 1st picture. I've contacted the dealership again and i feel like they no longer believe me. I was told that i must speak with a pre-owned sales manager because it is an issue in their department, unfortunately manager is not in until tomorrow. I shoot him an email regarding the issue and i hope it can be resolved in a way that will neither require me going to the dealership often for some glue nor paying ton of money out of my pocket.
I've had the car for less than a month so far and I have never dealt with anything similar before, is it okay that it comes off when its warm and then sticks back again when it is colder outside, like is that one of the properties of that glue?? In NY when you purchase a car, you get a state warranty for either 60 or 90 days which basically protects you bumper to bumper, i signed on it before finalizing all the paperwork and on top of that my car is still under Lexus original warranty until May of 2019. Is there anything that could be done to prevent bumper from coming off when it gets warm? Summer is coming up and it usually gets up to 100 degrees if not more here, so if thats the case, something tells me that for the whole summer part of the bumper will be just freely wiggling back and forth and that is not really a great thing. What if due to speed and wind or whatever it gets ripped further down and completely comes off on a side?? At the same time i dont want to go weekly to the dealer so they can put some more glue on it just for it to come off the next day. Is there anything i can demand from a dealer(legally of course, what they responsible for), such as maybe some sort of a bracket hold bumper in place, or a new bumper or i dont know what since ive never dealt with such thing. If anyone can give me some input that will be very beneficial.
I understand that this is a pre-owned vehicle and it can not be perfrect cosmetically, but i picked this vehicle because they assured me that everything will be taken care of, bumper would be done and there would be no issues. If they were to tell me that im getting the car like it is when it was just brought it, then i would have picked a different one, they had and i believe still have( as of yesterday) exactly the same car, same package but 10k miles more, i just trusted them on fixing a minor thing, now i feel fooled, cuz they didnt do annything to it and im stuck with an problem that is pretty much annoying, i dont really have time to deal with a bs like this constantly.
Sorry for a long post,
TIA
Pictures are here btw
The day i was purchasing a car, it just came in as a trade in on a newer model. Front bumper right under the passenger side headlight was slightly not properly aligned with the fender. Upon purchasing the car, i double-checked with the dealership if it was not broken etc, they said the clip just came off and then will take the bumper off and reinstall it, detail the car for me so i had to wait like 2-3 days to actually get it after i signed everything.I spoke with a sales individual and pre-owned sales Lexus Manager and they both assured me that upon picking it up in 2-3 days everything will be taken care of, and i have nothing to worry about. On the day of the pick up, I inspected the car and i found bumper still not being perfectly aligned with the rest of the body in the exact same spot, i brought it up to them, but they assured me, it is just the way it is put in, it was checked by the bodyshop people and it will not come off, its a two-year old car, it tends to happen ( and yes half of brooklyn drives with messed up cars), plus they gave me a good deal and said just because it stands out a little doesnt mean it will come off, it is holding strong. The following week I went with my family on a trip to PA for a couple of days and the car was standing under the sun for a little bit, the surface got warm/hot and i noticed that the part they said was holding "strong " came off(1st picture). I called the dealership right the way, they said sorry, bring the car in and we will take care of it. This is why it was in the shop this past week. I picked it up yesterday morning, and the 2nd picture shows how it looks after they did the work on it.
On the side it looks aligned well, but under the headlight there is still a gap. I brought it up to them that im not satisfied with the work, and double-checked whether or not it will last or will come apart again. On the receipt it says "Font bumper comes off apply EXPOXY", so i googled it and it appears to be simply an industrial glue. However once again i was assured that the bumper is done well and cosmetically it might not look perfect since it is a pre-owned but it will not come off again.
Today we had a little sun in NYC, about 65-70 degrees outside, big black car attracts some sun and once again, just after about 30-45 minutes on a lot under the sun it came off, exactly the same way as on the 1st picture. After that i drove the car under a roof(friend's garage), closed space, much cooler than the outside, and the bumper again holds stronger,similar to how it came from the shop. For a little bit i thought maybe i have hallucinations, i drove it to the store by my house, open space,lots of sun and again about half an hour and it came apart just like on the 1st picture. I've contacted the dealership again and i feel like they no longer believe me. I was told that i must speak with a pre-owned sales manager because it is an issue in their department, unfortunately manager is not in until tomorrow. I shoot him an email regarding the issue and i hope it can be resolved in a way that will neither require me going to the dealership often for some glue nor paying ton of money out of my pocket.
I've had the car for less than a month so far and I have never dealt with anything similar before, is it okay that it comes off when its warm and then sticks back again when it is colder outside, like is that one of the properties of that glue?? In NY when you purchase a car, you get a state warranty for either 60 or 90 days which basically protects you bumper to bumper, i signed on it before finalizing all the paperwork and on top of that my car is still under Lexus original warranty until May of 2019. Is there anything that could be done to prevent bumper from coming off when it gets warm? Summer is coming up and it usually gets up to 100 degrees if not more here, so if thats the case, something tells me that for the whole summer part of the bumper will be just freely wiggling back and forth and that is not really a great thing. What if due to speed and wind or whatever it gets ripped further down and completely comes off on a side?? At the same time i dont want to go weekly to the dealer so they can put some more glue on it just for it to come off the next day. Is there anything i can demand from a dealer(legally of course, what they responsible for), such as maybe some sort of a bracket hold bumper in place, or a new bumper or i dont know what since ive never dealt with such thing. If anyone can give me some input that will be very beneficial.
I understand that this is a pre-owned vehicle and it can not be perfrect cosmetically, but i picked this vehicle because they assured me that everything will be taken care of, bumper would be done and there would be no issues. If they were to tell me that im getting the car like it is when it was just brought it, then i would have picked a different one, they had and i believe still have( as of yesterday) exactly the same car, same package but 10k miles more, i just trusted them on fixing a minor thing, now i feel fooled, cuz they didnt do annything to it and im stuck with an problem that is pretty much annoying, i dont really have time to deal with a bs like this constantly.
Sorry for a long post,
TIA
Pictures are here btw
05-09-16, 07:23 PM
#15
Intermediate
Thread Starter
i know rld14, i have friends who own a body shop, they can fix it for me but it will cost me x amount you know i dont want to get it done as a favor cuz i will owe them one in return, better just pay something. If i were to mess up the bumper myself i would not bug the dealership, but since they were supposed to fix it in the 1st place, i think it is only fair when i bug them for something that should've been done before i picked up a car. I finally spoke with a manager today, he said it seems like whatever they've been doing is not working and "at this point it seems like clips are not holding in the way they should so we most likely will have to replace the bumper". I guess i just must annoy them enough to get the result i was supposed to get originally. asked them if i can drop the car off some time this week to get a new bumper but quiet as of yet, hopefully issue will be solved.