To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter so that you can see the kind of customer service that is given by the dealership Delray Acura. On December 29 I went in to look for used cars with my Step Father Rick and met with salesman Ron Hirsch. I live and work in Fort Lauderdale FL and there is an Acura dealership 10 minutes away from my house I choose Delray Acura due to their service, as my step father had purchased 3 other cars from them in the past 10 years and had been satisfied. I was looking at purchasing a 2006 Red TSX that was in the front of the dealership until they advised that one had come in the night before with less mileage and a navigation system.
They were wanted us to make sure that we knew the car had not been detailed or serviced as it had just come in the night before. I test drive the car and loved it. The terms of my purchasing the car was that the front and rear bumpers would be painted due to scratches and that the interior would receive a full detail as there were stains on the carpet and seats. Due to my credit report they had difficulty financing me. I would like to say they went through a lot of time and effort that day to due the best they could to assist. The owner of the dealership Jim ONeil gave us lunch and sat and talked with us as they were working the financing out. He let us know that even if we wanted to take the car in the condition it was in he would not let it off his lot as it had not made it through a service check yet and he wanted to make sure that everything was ok. I signed my loan papers, left my deposit of $3000 and due to the holiday weekend we were advised the car should be ready the following Wednesday or Thursday, we advised them we were not in a rush and wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of properly before we picked up the car.
Thursday January 3 I had not yet heard from the dealership as to when I could pick up my car. We had to call to find out there were problems with my financing and they were trying other banks. This was the first on many occasions that I had to call to find out what was going on instead of them calling to let me know. Friday January 4 I received no call to update and had to call again to see what was going on with the car and my financing. Again at that time we were advised they were working on it and we should have received a call, but didnt. On Saturday January 5 my step father called the sales man Ron Hirsch to advise we would be coming in and paying cash for the car and to forget the financing. It is at that time we were advised the car had not returned from the body shop and was not ready for purchasing. We had spent all week calling them to get an update and would be told we would get a call back and never did. I had left a week earlier with bill of sale, they cashed my $3000 deposit and yet they had no idea were my car was or what happened. At that time the General Manager Kevin ONeil spoke with my step father, apologized for all the inconveniences and was advised it would all be taken care of and could pick up the car January 7; 9 days after I had purchased the car. As I live and work in Fort Lauderdale I could only pick the car up at night, they advised I could come at 6 PM. When I arrived I inspected what I could in the dark and it all appeared to be ok all the scratches on the bumpers had been removed. We specifically asked what to do if I found something I didnt see as it was dark out. I was advise I wouldnt find anything, but that I could bring it back and they would take care of it.
The next morning I got in the car and noticed that the stains on the carpet were still there, the spilled coffee from the previous owner was still there. The inside of my car had not been detailed. I called to complain and was advised that I could bring the car back and they would re-detail it. Later on that night when I returned home I was looking through the info options on the dash and noticed that my oil was at 30 %. The car had not received an oil change prior to it being given to me. The next morning as now I had to do a full check as every day I was finding something else wrong with the car; I noticed the front bumper was loose from the frame of the car. There was a space big enough to fit my finger between the passenger side light and the bumper.
My step father called Kevin ONeil at which time we got the truth finally. The car was sent to the body shop, who until we called to advise we would be paying cash, they had all forgotten about. The car got lost at the body shop. The body shop did not work on the bumpers until Monday January 7 when I was due to pick up the car. The car arrived on the lot at 5:45 PM, 15 minutes until I was to arrive to pick it up so they did not have time to detail the car or take the car through the service check that the owner of the dealership advised must happen prior to them releasing the car to me. I was advised to bring the car back, they would fix the bumper, give me an oil change, detail the car and they would provide me with a loaner car. As I drove the car I that morning I now heard a flapping sound coming from the front of the vehicle that I had not noticed before. I brought the car in on Wednesday January 9 I brought my friend with me so he could explain that the problem with the bumper was the last clip that holds on to the frame, apparently it was broken. He suggested at that time that a new bumper be given as the clip could not be repaired as it was a part of the bumper. I explained the flapping sound was only heard at higher speeds and as I had to get on I 95 that morning to take it in was the first time I had heard it. The service person Jim was very nice and assured me everything would be taken care of.
I received a call on Friday January 11 stating that my car was all fixed. I inquired about the flapping noise and if they had replaced my bumper, I was advised yes. I picked up my car on January 12 by myself. I looked at the inside to make sure it had been detailed, it was. I checked to make sure I had received an oil change, I had it now read oil lie at 100% and looked at the bumper and it looked OK to me. That day I had to go out of town to Orlando and no sooner that got on the Florida Turnpike did I hear the flapping sound again. At this point I was tired of talking to Delray Acura and decided I would take care of it on Monday. On Monday January 14 I had my friend check out the bumper to make sure that it was OK. When he inspected the bumper he noticed they did not replace it as they had led me to believe, but filled the space between the bumper and the light with a clear silicon material. At this point I had gone from being frustrated to being mad. I began to feel I was being taken advantage of as I was a woman. I was advised to bring the car back in to the dealership and they would take care of it yet again. I brought the car back in on Tuesday January 15, dropped off the car and went to work. I received a call back in two hours stating it had been taken care of. I went to pick up the car the next day and when I arrived; the bumper had not been fixed but the silicon they placed in between the bumper and the light and simply been painted red to cause an illusion that the bumper was closer to the light. I decided that I was not going to take the vehicle until this was fixed. I was advised at that time that they were not going to order me a new bumper just for 1 clip. A bumper, that when I purchased the car was attached to the car. I work in Customer Service so I tried very hard through all of this not to get angry or yell because I know that it will get you no where, after all you get more bees with honey than with vinegar.
I called back and was advised I had to speak with Jim ONeil the owner of the dealership to make an appointment for him to view the problems with the car. I drove home that day only to hear the flapping noise was still there as well. I left a message for him every day for the remainder of the week and never received a return call. I also left messages for Kevin ONeil the General Manager as that is who was aware of the problems I was having. I was not upset that neither one of them returned my calls, but that no one returned my calls. I am the General Manager as well and have a lot of daily responsibilities above and beyond customers so I understand that just because I left him a message didnt mean I was his top priority. The difference is what I would have done was given my account for someone else to call me so that as a customer at least I knew that they were aware of the problem and that someone would be working on it. Friday January 18 I left messages on Jim and Kevin ONeils voicemails that I would be in on Saturday to discuss my problems. Saturday January 19 I arrived at the dealership to discuss my problems, Jim was not in as he was sick so I spoke with Kevin, they had the Used Car Manager Ron look at the bumper and come for a test drive with me to hear the sound. We took the car on a test drive and he heard the same noise I did. He stated it was coming from the side of the vehicle though, not the bumper. When we arrived at the dealership he stated that the noise might be the black door edge guards may be the cause for the noise. He advised that he discussed it with Kevin and that they would be ordering me a new bumper cover and when it came in would give me a call to bring the car back in to be fixed and they would provide me with a loaner car. He stated to expect a call within a week.
I received a call from Jackie in their admin department stating that the title to my trade in had been sent to me and not to them and could I bring the title in to them. I advised I hadnt checked my mail and that I would bring it with me when I brought the car back for the bumper. She stated she needed it right away as they had already sold my trade in to someone else and it was illegal without a title. I must admit at this point I was in no rush to assist them due to everything I had been through already. A week passed and Jackie had my original sales person Ron Hirsh call me for the title again. I called him back and advised that I would put it in the mail, but what was going on with my bumper as it was now February 1 and no one had called me to let me know what was going on. He stated that he would research it and call me back. I never received a call again until Thursday February 7 from Ron stating they still had not received the title to the car I had traded in. I returned his call and advised I never received a call back about the bumper. He then told me that Friday February 1 when he spoke with the service Manager Dillon he had ordered the bumper right in front of him. This meant that for over 2 weeks I was waiting for a bumper that had never even been ordered for me. I was very upset at this point and unfortunately for Ron, that is who I expressed my anger to. I explained I had never in all of my life received such bad service from anyone, I was being patient and nice and kept trying to give them chances to fix the problem and nothing ever got done, there was absolutely no follow through from anyone. He apologized, advised me he had given me good service, but understood what I was saying. He had Dillon call me to advise that the bumper had come in and I could bring in the car when ever I wanted and again they would provide me with a loaner car. At this point, I really felt it was because I was a woman I was being treated like this as they thought I was imagining the flapping sound until the manager had taken a ride with me.
I made an appointment to bring back my car on Wednesday February 13. When I arrived that morning I advised the person who took the car that my friend had figured out that the problem was the bottom trim on the passenger side of the vehicle, not the bumper. There were missing pegs that hold the trim to the car and they were not there so it was causing the flapping sound. He took a detailed description of what was to be done and the service representative was shown what we were talking about. I was advised that morning they had run out of loaner cars, despite the fact I had made an appointment to come in. I was advised they were sending me to Enterprise but that they would be taking care of everything. My friend and I were picked up by a representative of Enterprise from the dealership. I gave him all my information so that the car could be signed out, he then asked me for a credit card for the $150 deposit. A deposit? For getting a loaner car? To fix the mistakes the dealership had made for over a month now? What if I didnt have a credit card or the $150 that had to be left as a deposit? I did not have a credit card on me so I gave them my check card. I was then advised the $150 had to be withdrawn out of my account and would be placed back into my account when I returned the vehicle. I was then advised I had to pay an extra $10 a day for my friend to drive the rental and it would not be covered by Acura. My friend is fully covered on my insurance and had they have had a loaner car at the dealership this would not have been an issue as he was already on my insurance and it was my insurance that would have covered the loaner car should anything have happened while driving it. I agreed to pay because I was already late for work and didnt have time for technicalities. When I got to work that day I called Ron Hirsh; my original sales man to state that I didnt want to be charged the $10 a day for the extra driver. He stated the Used Car Manager Ron had approved to cover the extra charges I incurred. Friday February 15 I received a message that the new bumper had been put on and it was ready for pick up. I called back to specifically ask if the noise had been taken care of as it was not mentioned in the message. I was assured it was all taken care of. When I pulled up my car was sitting right in the front waiting, I went right to the car before I went inside to inspect it, and the bumper had been replaced. My friend got on his back to inspect the side trim to see it the plugs had been put in to stop the flapping sound and it had not the trim was still able to be pulled by hand away from the car. I went inside to discuss that it still was not fixed. The service manager Dillon, a service personal and my friend all went to the car together to view the problem. I was advised by Dillon that the flapping sound is usually the bumper and they had fully inspected it before calling me. I advised him when I dropped off the car that I had advised specifically of what it was and how it wasnt the bumper. They blamed the mistake on the person who took my order that morning for not writing it up correctly. The service personal put the plastic plugs on right in front of us. It took him 5 minutes. 5 minutes is all it took to stop the noise I had been complaining about for over a month and had been made to feel like I was making it up. Please note that when I got home that day, I looked at the paper they gave me when they took the car. It was written up correctly, it very clearly stated the passenger side trim was loose. This was just another case of no follow through. Everything was taken care of at this point. I spoke with the person who checked me out that day to make sure that Acura was going to be taking care of the whole bill for Enterprise, I was advised it has been taken care of.
I had to take the loaner car back to Enterprise. I also wanted to make sure they refunded the full $150 deposit they had taken from me to get my LOANER CAR. I went to drop the car off only to see that the office was closed. I was advised to bring the car back to the dealership and they would take care of it on Monday.
Monday February 18 I called Enterprise to verify that Acura returned the car and that my $150 refund was processed. I was advised by John that it had been taken care of that morning. I inquired again about the extra driver charge and was advised it was taken care of.
Tuesday February 19 a refund in the amount of $120 was processed by Enterprise. I had been charged the extra driver charge.
I have not spoken with anyone to date from Acura to get my $30 back. I understand this seems petty; after all it is only $30. But this is just the final example of no follow up from anyone at Delray Acura.
Purchasing a car should be a fun occasion. I was excited the day I went in there as I hadnt bought a new car in 7 years. They all truly killed any joy I had of purchasing this vehicle. I have never received such bad service in all my life. I am sure when this is read absolutely nothing will be done as well as I nothing they have said they would do has ever been done.
I think more should be done for me, but hey what do I know I am just a woman who imagines flapping noises in my car, but the least that should be done is refund me my $30.
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