The customer in question brought his car in for a warranty repair and ended up in a lengthy debate about the damage
June 16, 2024 at 13:30
- An Acura owner brought his car for a warranty repair only to find it damaged when he picked it up.
- The incident led to an argument that spanned several days and involved Acura corporate.
- Everyone can learn a valuable lesson from this saga of questionable service.
Dealers make the bulk of their money in their service departments. Sometimes, those sections of the business can lead to additional losses though. That’s what one Acura customer claims happened as he believes the dealer damaged his wheel and failed to correct other issues with his car.
A man who goes by the nickname ‘Que the Chaotic’ on YouTube is a content creator who drives an Acura Integra Type S. Recently, he added an aftermarket exhaust only to hear some bad news. His practically brand-new car already had a significant oil leak. Little did he know that the situation would lead to a weeks-long battle between himself and his local Acura dealer.
Read: Used Car Dealer Sells Customer’s Ford While In For Repairs
That dealer is Acura of Troy in Michigan. When Que brought his car in, the dealer initially thought the leak was a failed gasket. It took several days to get that part and once installed, the problem persisted. The dealer went back to the drawing board and decided to replace the head assembly and the high-pressure fuel pump. That cared for the oil leak but other problems popped up.
At his pickup appointment, Que immediately noticed that his rear driver’s side wheel had what appeared to be recent curb rash. He had requested that the dealer work to fix some ill-fitted panels too. It wasn’t done. When he addressed these concerns with the service manager, the response was unsatisfactory.
First, the manager flatly denied that his team could’ve damaged the car. “We drove it right into the shop,” he says. The service documents themselves appear to show that’s a lie though as the car has an additional eight miles on the odometer.
Second, the manager then says that all Integra Type S models come from the factory with ill-fitted panels. Understandably, Que was unsatisfied with these answers.
He then reached out to corporate who he says wasn’t helpful at all. The team there told him to work it out with the dealer. Then, as he went through the trouble of working his way up to a general manager (who actually worked at a sister Chevrolet dealer), he was met with a chiding from another dealership employee.
“Probably should’ve talked to him before the assault,” the worker says before admitting that he hasn’t even seen the video to which he’s referring.
Happy Ending
In this case, the story has a happy ending as Que finally receives the service customers expect. The dealer made him whole and did what he could to address the panel gap on the hood.
Ultimately though, this is a great reminder to everyone that when dropping off a vehicle for service, it would be a good idea to get video or photo evidence of its condition before leaving it. Crisp clear photographic evidence would have reduced the headache that came from this he said, she said service situation.