My trouble with this dealer began within 3 days of the purchase of my 1996 Dodge Intrepid in 2000. I brought the car home and 3 days later there was smoke billowing out of the front end. I had an appointment to get the windshield replaced, front door auto-lock, and trunk release repaired as part of the sales agreement anyway, so I added the mechanical failure on to the list and brought it in the next day.
A week later, my car was ready to be picked up. New windshield, no smoke... But as I drove along I noticed the engine was now making a terrible noise, and the door lock still didn't work. I got home and found out they hadn't repaired the trunk release either. The next day all the molding around the repaired windshield fell out. Back to the dealer.
Every day for a week I called to see if they had located the terrible engine noise. They said they hadn't figured it out. I stopped calling, since I had a rental paid for by them, and figured I should stop pestering them, they would call when it was ready. A month passed... I got a call that the rental company had called asking if I should still have the rental, and they were wondering why my car was there. I explained the situation, and they said they would get right to work.
Two days later, I got a call from the secretary saying that they had repaired the engine noise but the door lock, windshield, and trunk release were not covered by my warranty. She wanted to know if I still wanted those fixed. I explained those were problems when I bought the car and it was in the sales agreement. She told me that was not true. I went down and showed the sales agreement.
3 days later, I picked up my car. I got in. No engine noise. I clicked the auto door lock. It went up and down. Pressed the trunk release. It popped up. Windshield appeared to be in good shape. I thought my car was finally in good shape.
The next day, my husband and I were going out to the store. He got in the drivers side and I excitedly told him to use the auto door lock to let me in. Well, the door lock popped up. But now the door didn't open. Back to the dealer.
They fixed the door lock. Now I thought my troubles were really over. 3 months passed. The car started bucking violently. I decided I was NOT going back to their service department this time and started calling and got a repair shop that accepted my extended warranty (which I had paid an extra $1200 for when I purchased the car). Same day I brought the car in the shop they called me and told me I needed a new transmission. 2 days later, they called again to inform me that the warranty wouldn't cover it. I asked why and they asked me to come down to the shop.
When I arrived, they explained the reason the warranty wouldn't cover the transmission was that the transmission had failed due to illegal work done to the emissions system. They took me into the shop and showed me my catalytic convertors. They had obviously been cut open and welded back together, and shoving a screw driver in them proved that the inside was empty. The mechanic explained that they had been cut open, had the insides removed, and were welded back together and put back on the car. This had turned the catalytic convertors into little heater boxes next to some wires, the wires had melted together, causing the computer to send faulty signals to the transmission, causing the transmission to fail.
I asked the mechanic why someone would do that. He said that the only reason he could think of was if it had been brought in with engine noise that the repair shop didn't want to fix, they would take the catalytic convertors apart. This would make the noise stop without actually fixing anything. Hmmmmm... Mighty suspicious. Especially since the work order from the time I brought it in to Saturn for engine noise listed emissions system work, but was very vague and nobody at the dealer could explain what work was done and they hadn't put any new parts on... You draw your own conclusion on that one.
So I went to see the sales manager at the dealer. I gave him a copy of the estimate ($3800). He said it wasn't his problem and he wasn't doing anything. I emailed Saturn corporate. They said since it was a used car it was between me and the dealer. Filed a report with the Better Business Bureau. A week passed and they still hadn't contacted me. Called the BBB to inform them.
3 days later, the manager called me again. I suggested that they either pay for the repairs, or just take the car back and replace it with another car on the lot of equal value. He said they had decided that as a resolution they would pay for half the repairs. Not what I was hoping for, but at that point I had been paying for a rental car for 2 months and just wanted it over with. He asked me to come to the dealership so we could talk about it.
I got there and he went through my file. He asked if I had another copy of the estimate because it appeared he had lost the copy I gave him. I went to my rental car and pulled out the second copy of the estimate I had gotten. He looked at it and said "$3800? This is NOT the estimate you gave me!" I explained to him that it was, and I had just had the shop print me 2 copies when I went in because I knew I was giving one to him. He then proceeded to call me a f* liar and said that his half was $700 and that was all he was paying.
Went back to the BBB and filed a report about the fact that they didn't honor their resolution, and the BBB told me that they couldn't do anything more.
So I ended up paying for the entire $3800 repair, plus eating the cost of 3 months of rental car. I got my car back, drove it for 4 months, and it died again. Now it is sitting dead in my driveway. I've towed it to 2 different residences and that's all it's moved since.
I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to fix the stupid thing anymore, and went out and bought a new car, since my payments on the new one plus the continued payments on the dead Dodge (affectionatly known as the derelict) is less than it would cost me to continue to repair this lemon. I have 2 more years left to pay on it. Can't sell it since I can't get what I owe on it and can't get the title till it's paid for.
So the lesson learned... DO NOT BUY A CAR from Phil Long's Saturn of Colorado Springs aka ValuCar.
Elizabeth
Burien, Washington
U.S.A.
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