Magnusson-Moss warranty Act
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 168
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From: Oklahoma City
I think you have me confused with someone that wants something for nothing. What I want for myself, if fair and honest treatment. And if you think that is "chicken $***" there is no debating with you.
How often do rocks fly up and punch a hole in power steering line? Honestly? You're around the place, so you would know better than anyone. My guess is not very often. I'll be honest; I don't know much about the maintenance of cars. However, lets say it happens more often than I think and power steering lines are cracked daily because rocks keep hitting it. Sounds to me that the lines are built weak, and/or are not properly protected. Perhaps another rock guard is necessary, I don’t know. We're not arguing power steering lines so I won't get too far into it. In any case, assuming that it "could" be damaged by a rock seems to be a lot easier, cheaper, and less hassle than saying it's probably not rock damage lets bill it as a warranty service, and get screwed later. Lets face it... receiving the money now from the customer is guaranteed and instant, dealing with Infiniti for warranty reimbursement is apparently never guaranteed, and I would guess certainly not timely.
$1.5 million doesn't surprise me -- but they're not doing it free. Everything that you have mentioned has been calculated as the cost of acquiring a sale. The truth is a free tank of gas, a detail, and a washed car is expected when you buy a new car anywhere, even at Kia. It is standard across the board, and if Infiniti didn't do it -- Infiniti would get some harsh criticism. Think that will cost them a sale? And I know you know this too, but $1.5 million calculates the retail value of these services. How much does a dealership pay for an oil change, the detail, the washing of the car, and the etching of the window? Oil, filter, water, soap -- hmm, I'm guessing not very much.
Now onto the window seal and tint issue. In one of my original posts, I stated that if you can honestly say that a modification is what is causing the problem, fine - charge for service. You must understand that the entire car service industry is under extreme scrutiny by the general public, not just Infiniti. I'm going to be fairly assumptive and say that most people that take their car into have warranty work done, not only dread it, but are also already anticipating the dealership to say "it's not covered under warranty." And why shouldn't we... you've just told us that if we have a bad attitude, or we don’t have regular service at your high prices, we might as well count on getting screwed "just for the fun of it", because we're weren't being "good-willed." Listen, I don't have to come in with a smile on my face when my car that has 10K miles just broke down...and I damn sure shouldn't be penalized because I change my oil at home because I don't think anyone else would take as much care doing it like me.
I didn't say brake jobs; I said brake & rotor jobs.
Dealer Charged Me $3200 For Brake Job!!!!!!!!!!
and I don't know from experience how much they cost...but you do.
In closing, the problem isn't that the customer thinks the merchant needs their business so badly -- the problem is, the business forgot it had a obligation to keep that customers business. You don't understand this because you're down there getting dirty. Your obligation is to provide excellent workmanship, not to keep customers coming back.
First off you have no concept of business... adding 40 customers and losing 1 isn't a "win." Gaining 40 customers and keeping the other 1 is.
Why do you keep talking about modified vehicles like they are the plague in your industry? Incidentally have you heard of Grubbs? Sure you have. My guess is they do more business in a month than you guys do in a year. How about Grubbs Performance? See they welcome modified vehicles, and service them...and someone how I still think they mange to turn a profit, and keep customers happy!
How often do rocks fly up and punch a hole in power steering line? Honestly? You're around the place, so you would know better than anyone. My guess is not very often. I'll be honest; I don't know much about the maintenance of cars. However, lets say it happens more often than I think and power steering lines are cracked daily because rocks keep hitting it. Sounds to me that the lines are built weak, and/or are not properly protected. Perhaps another rock guard is necessary, I don’t know. We're not arguing power steering lines so I won't get too far into it. In any case, assuming that it "could" be damaged by a rock seems to be a lot easier, cheaper, and less hassle than saying it's probably not rock damage lets bill it as a warranty service, and get screwed later. Lets face it... receiving the money now from the customer is guaranteed and instant, dealing with Infiniti for warranty reimbursement is apparently never guaranteed, and I would guess certainly not timely.
$1.5 million doesn't surprise me -- but they're not doing it free. Everything that you have mentioned has been calculated as the cost of acquiring a sale. The truth is a free tank of gas, a detail, and a washed car is expected when you buy a new car anywhere, even at Kia. It is standard across the board, and if Infiniti didn't do it -- Infiniti would get some harsh criticism. Think that will cost them a sale? And I know you know this too, but $1.5 million calculates the retail value of these services. How much does a dealership pay for an oil change, the detail, the washing of the car, and the etching of the window? Oil, filter, water, soap -- hmm, I'm guessing not very much.
Now onto the window seal and tint issue. In one of my original posts, I stated that if you can honestly say that a modification is what is causing the problem, fine - charge for service. You must understand that the entire car service industry is under extreme scrutiny by the general public, not just Infiniti. I'm going to be fairly assumptive and say that most people that take their car into have warranty work done, not only dread it, but are also already anticipating the dealership to say "it's not covered under warranty." And why shouldn't we... you've just told us that if we have a bad attitude, or we don’t have regular service at your high prices, we might as well count on getting screwed "just for the fun of it", because we're weren't being "good-willed." Listen, I don't have to come in with a smile on my face when my car that has 10K miles just broke down...and I damn sure shouldn't be penalized because I change my oil at home because I don't think anyone else would take as much care doing it like me.
I didn't say brake jobs; I said brake & rotor jobs.
Dealer Charged Me $3200 For Brake Job!!!!!!!!!!
and I don't know from experience how much they cost...but you do.
Originally Posted by G35Mechanic
So in a worst case scenario you are looking at $2497.63 in parts alone not including tax. Labor your looking at 2.5 hours each so 5 hours total. Most infiniti dealerships charge around $95 an hour labor so say about another $475. Add them together and your parts and labor total comes to $2972.63, you dont pay tax on labor so the tax on parts (lets use so cal for example) is 8.25%, tax total is $206.05 bringing the grand total to $3178.68.
Originally Posted by G35Mechanic
Truth is, for every customer with a modified vehicle that decides they will never come back to us ever again...there are 40 more with stock vehicles that will gladly take your place.
Why do you keep talking about modified vehicles like they are the plague in your industry? Incidentally have you heard of Grubbs? Sure you have. My guess is they do more business in a month than you guys do in a year. How about Grubbs Performance? See they welcome modified vehicles, and service them...and someone how I still think they mange to turn a profit, and keep customers happy!
Ok....now you two guys are just arguing.
Sales ... you are right.
Mechanic ... you are explaining your point.
Mechanic is just telling you how its going to happen in many instances...its true. Nothing you can do. Call, email, write letters, picket outside Infiniti doesn't matter. Nothing you can do but go somewhere else where your service is appreciated. Why give the buttholes that brushed you off the opportunity to make business?
Also ... stop fighting. This is a never solved issue "warranty versus mods" just do the mods and if you have a problem with the warranty do what you can to fight it out.
But you can't be naive in thinking that doing mods "won't" void warranty. You're going to run into that crap
Sales ... you are right.
Mechanic ... you are explaining your point.
Mechanic is just telling you how its going to happen in many instances...its true. Nothing you can do. Call, email, write letters, picket outside Infiniti doesn't matter. Nothing you can do but go somewhere else where your service is appreciated. Why give the buttholes that brushed you off the opportunity to make business?
Also ... stop fighting. This is a never solved issue "warranty versus mods" just do the mods and if you have a problem with the warranty do what you can to fight it out.
But you can't be naive in thinking that doing mods "won't" void warranty. You're going to run into that crap
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2
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From: St. Bonifacius, MN
Hey guys... this is my first post. I don't wanna beat a dead horse either but thought I'd share a similar story or at least add my $0.02.
I don't own an Infiniti G35 although I did have the honor of test driving an '05 G35 last week.
Long story short - My last vehicle was an '03 VW GTI 20th Anniversary Edition. I recently sold it & it was modified. About five weeks ago & prior to selling it, I went out to the vehicle to find the battery completely dead. I had it placed on a flatbed & hauled to the dealership I purchased it from brand new in Aug. 2003. Service writer immediately blamed it on my aftermarket equipment & demanded $625.00 from me because my "comfort control module" was broken. I brought up the Magnusson-Moss warranty act & spoke with VW of America as well as the service mgr. of the dealership. I advised them they would have to *prove* it was an aftermarket piece of equipment I added to the vehicle that made my "comfort control module" go bad. They didn't respond to my comments & reluctantly replaced the part free of charge under warranty.
Two days later after getting my car back, the same thing occurred. Went out to the vehicle in my garage & found the battery completely dead. This time, had it hauled off to a different dealership. The service writer called me the same evening he received my car & let me know there was nothing they could find wrong with the vehicle. He did ascertain that there was a large draw occurring to the battery & was guaranteed it was not a factory part causing the draw. He advised me he would be willing to have a technician dig a little deeper and find out if it is one of my aftermarket components causing the problem. Of course, that would be at my own expense... but at least he offered a solution.
Despite the fact that I had to pull money out of my pocket ($417.77 to be exact), the technicians at this particular dealership diagnosed the issue with no problem at all. I had some aftermarket gauges installed by a friend a few weeks prior & he inadvertently ran the power wire incorrectly. Not only did they isolate the problem, but they re-wired my aftermarket gauges correctly for me. In the end, I paid for their labor, supplies, as well as the cost of a new battery since the original could no longer hold a charge. This also means, the previous incompetent dealership replaced a perfectly good [expensive] factory part that never required any replacement in the first place. Yet, they were unable to correctly diagnose the problem. What would have happened if I didn't take a stand & just simply gave the initial dealership $625.00 for the part and labor???
I guess the only point is with the growing popularity of aftermarket parts on vehicles, I think dealerships need to meet the consumers halfway, so to speak. If my power windows no longer work out of the blue one day, don't immediately blame it on my stereo system unless you can prove and back up your claim. If my transmission no longer shifts into reverse, don't blame it on my aftermarket exhaust system. I'm just being facetious, of course - but I was more than willing to pay the $417.77 to the dealership who corrected the problem. Obviously, I would not have demanded the work done on my aftermarket gauges be covered under the manufacturer's warranty by the dealership... but it was a nice breath of fresh air to finally go to a dealership who didn't treat the customer like an outcast because of aftermarket equipment.
Anyway, I sold my VW last week... I'll include some pics of it as well as a shot of the gauges and stereo. I know there probably aren't very many VW enthusiasts amongst you guys... but if it's any consolation, my next ride will be a G35. heh heh... Peace out... - ZOKU.
I don't own an Infiniti G35 although I did have the honor of test driving an '05 G35 last week.
Long story short - My last vehicle was an '03 VW GTI 20th Anniversary Edition. I recently sold it & it was modified. About five weeks ago & prior to selling it, I went out to the vehicle to find the battery completely dead. I had it placed on a flatbed & hauled to the dealership I purchased it from brand new in Aug. 2003. Service writer immediately blamed it on my aftermarket equipment & demanded $625.00 from me because my "comfort control module" was broken. I brought up the Magnusson-Moss warranty act & spoke with VW of America as well as the service mgr. of the dealership. I advised them they would have to *prove* it was an aftermarket piece of equipment I added to the vehicle that made my "comfort control module" go bad. They didn't respond to my comments & reluctantly replaced the part free of charge under warranty.
Two days later after getting my car back, the same thing occurred. Went out to the vehicle in my garage & found the battery completely dead. This time, had it hauled off to a different dealership. The service writer called me the same evening he received my car & let me know there was nothing they could find wrong with the vehicle. He did ascertain that there was a large draw occurring to the battery & was guaranteed it was not a factory part causing the draw. He advised me he would be willing to have a technician dig a little deeper and find out if it is one of my aftermarket components causing the problem. Of course, that would be at my own expense... but at least he offered a solution.
Despite the fact that I had to pull money out of my pocket ($417.77 to be exact), the technicians at this particular dealership diagnosed the issue with no problem at all. I had some aftermarket gauges installed by a friend a few weeks prior & he inadvertently ran the power wire incorrectly. Not only did they isolate the problem, but they re-wired my aftermarket gauges correctly for me. In the end, I paid for their labor, supplies, as well as the cost of a new battery since the original could no longer hold a charge. This also means, the previous incompetent dealership replaced a perfectly good [expensive] factory part that never required any replacement in the first place. Yet, they were unable to correctly diagnose the problem. What would have happened if I didn't take a stand & just simply gave the initial dealership $625.00 for the part and labor???
I guess the only point is with the growing popularity of aftermarket parts on vehicles, I think dealerships need to meet the consumers halfway, so to speak. If my power windows no longer work out of the blue one day, don't immediately blame it on my stereo system unless you can prove and back up your claim. If my transmission no longer shifts into reverse, don't blame it on my aftermarket exhaust system. I'm just being facetious, of course - but I was more than willing to pay the $417.77 to the dealership who corrected the problem. Obviously, I would not have demanded the work done on my aftermarket gauges be covered under the manufacturer's warranty by the dealership... but it was a nice breath of fresh air to finally go to a dealership who didn't treat the customer like an outcast because of aftermarket equipment.
Anyway, I sold my VW last week... I'll include some pics of it as well as a shot of the gauges and stereo. I know there probably aren't very many VW enthusiasts amongst you guys... but if it's any consolation, my next ride will be a G35. heh heh...
Peace out... - ZOKU.
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Well not to stir the $hitter, but I'm glad this was brought up. Sounds like any aftermarket goodies I want to install (typical exhaust, cats, etc) will be done by Grubbs so I don't get jacked on the warranty should it arise.
I've always driven Hondas/Acuras and have never had any problems (not many recalls to even deal with) but I know full well about this sort of thing from modifying my motorycycles. It seems as if it's the same thing, if you in good with your dealer, they'll cover it, if not, they'll blame it on some part you added.
I've always driven Hondas/Acuras and have never had any problems (not many recalls to even deal with) but I know full well about this sort of thing from modifying my motorycycles. It seems as if it's the same thing, if you in good with your dealer, they'll cover it, if not, they'll blame it on some part you added.
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Dec 8, 2015 01:45 PM