Unfortunately, I had to call in to the Acura Customer Care line today because I received some very disturbing news from my local dealership, Gillman Acura, about a power-train warranty on my car. I was told at the dealership, after they conferred with an Acura representative from the Acura Warranty Dept., that the power steering pump is not covered under the power-train warranty. Baffled by this, I called in to speak with someone who might be able to clarify how this could possibly be when the car is almost unable to be driven without power steering. The representative that answered the phone asked how he could help.
I then began explaining my concern to the representative. He asked for the VIN of the car, and after provided, he asked for my name and reviewed the purchase. I told him all of the information was correct, and I then explained my frustration of being told that the power steering pump is not covered by the power-train warranty. He went on to say that the parts that are covered with this warranty are only basically the engine and transmission. I told him that this was a useless warranty then since new cars rarely blow an engine, and he then went on to say that it could come in handy. I stated that I understand that it could since Acura is well known for having faulty transmissions, but I really thought that was supposed to have been cleared up. I again stated that the car cannot be driven without power steering, and then he asked me an asinine question that infuriated me. He wanted to know if I signed the papers for the car. Obviously, I did since I now have to deal with another issue for this car, but it was his way of letting me know that it was my fault for not reading every detail of a contract with Acura clearly. I now realize that I cannot trust Acura sales representatives to inform me completely when making a sales pitch either, so I will accept responsibility for being too trusting of their sales personnel.
He went on to state that I should read the warranty. I informed him that I did not call Acura Customer Service, a term being used loosely, to be scolded. He then stated that I wanted an answer that he was not authorized to give, and I then requested to be transferred to a person that could give the answer that I needed, and I was then told that no one was available. I told him that was fine because agencies such as the Better Business Bureau are great for dealing with poor customer service, and I ended the phone call.
This occurrence ranks among one of the worst that I have ever experienced with someone that is supposedly in a customer care facility speaking on the behalf of a company, such as Acura, that I used to believe actually cared about their customers. Now, I realize that the alleged caring about customers is a front.instead of allowing me to speak with someone that could actually take some personal responsibility and assist me with something that is, and continues to be, very frustrating for me, I am instead told to read the contract and not put my name on it until I have. I agree that this is great advice, but as I stated earlier, I was actually trusting of another group of customer care representatives for Acura. I sure have learned a lot about this company that I will definitely share with others so that the same mistakes are not made in the future!
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