JadedOwner

The manufacturer has sent me a written letter, which states that I can take my Subaru to any dealer, to have the lower control arm repaired
free of charge (parts and labour).

I took my car to Markham Subaru dealership (at Markham Road and 16th
Avenue), who determined that the lower control arm needed to be replaced.

During the process, he disassembled some other part, but could not put
it back together again. This was not covered by the manufacturer.

I was charged $138.98 for what was supposed to be a free repair.
I was also asked to sign 3 papers ($138.98 bill, and 2 other bills to
the manufacturer, about $500 and $300 respectively). The dealer was
also unwilling to give me a copy for the 2 papers to the manufacturer.

He said that he could not release the car to me if I had not signed the
2 bills to the manufacturer.

I would never return to this dealer again.

mickp

iTrader: (1)

Definitely not going to go there then.

Bit of a drive anyway

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

Yes I will boycott the dealer too

mikeywilliams

damn was gonna pop over there this afternoon lol

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

I would contact subaru direct about this

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

mine is booked in tuesday for a repair, but seriously why did you pay for it?
they cant charge you to repair a defective part thats what a warranty is for it covers labour and the parts.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

At least we can't blame International Motors THIS time.

Or can we............?

JadedOwner

I had to pay $138.98 and sign the 3 papers; otherwise the dealer would not give me the car key back.

The dealer said that the part that he broke was not covered by the manufacturer; only the lower control arm (parts and labour) were covered.

I suppose that I could ask the dealer to consult the manufacturer on how to put the part back together, but the dealer can cause further unknown damage due to his incompetence.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I'd buy a few jars of honey and leave a trail to his front door from the woods mate, you might not get your money back but the look on his face when a load of grizzelies start licking his windows will be worth it

And thanks for the heads up, i was going to let them do mine, but i'll go to the one in timbucktoo now instead.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

The bold is the key, he broke it, he fixes it

DonNedly

iTrader: (10)

yeah, if you take your car to a garage and they break it, they fix it out of their pocket.
They pulled a fast one on you mate.

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

I would have walked away, rang the local newspaper and subaru, then got all my mates to block the access in and out of the garage until they gave up.

Wolf_gsxr

Why did you pay? I'd speak to Subaru as high as you can go but if you signed the papers legally your feckked.

SirFozzalot

I wouldn't let this one go. Write a letter to the manager and then to Subaru direct. The local press would probably take interest too if he doesn't offer a refund.

Ok so you signed the papers but you were pretty much held to ransom. Pay for it or you won't get your car back!? That's not right especially as it was his fault.

Ste-V

iTrader: (2)

In all fairness though, if you are given a job to do, and you must remove another part to do that job, if the part you have to remove/disconnect is knackered, and breaking/damaging the part is unavoidable, then the customer should just have to take that on the chin and pay it, as the part was fecked anyway.

If hes genuinely broken something he shouldnt have touched then fair enough it is down to him, but otherwise, it's for you to pay IMO..

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

if the part is broken or damaged the dealer should phone the customer and explain the situation before any work is done.
i.e. if we remove said part it will break and need renewing.

Ste-V

iTrader: (2)

You can not always tell before removal though.. I agree he should have given the OP a ring and mentioned the problem before collection, but he may have done, the OP doesnt say..

SirFozzalot

But if it hadn't been removed to fix a faulty item then it possibly wouldn't have broken.

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

agreed but its how they deal with the problem though.

i had coilovers arbs and antilift kit fitted at scoobyworld recently,
upon removing the front arb the drop link split, they phoned me straight away and asked me what i would like them to do, i.e. fit a new one or an uprated one.
then on arrival to pick up the car they showed me the broken part so i could see it had rusted away causing the failure.

this is what the dealer should do not fit parts then expect you to pay upon arrival, what if the op has no money to hand as it was a warranty job?
i assume they wont release car until payment.

sweden

iTrader: (2)

A dealer/garage does not have the legal right to hold on to your car in that instance, work was carried out without the customers permission, they do have the right to remove the part they fitted that wasnt covered under the warranty and release the car, any extra work needs to be contacted to the customer by law end off.

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

OP, that's outrageous behaviour! (By the Subaru 'dealer', not you lol )

I would have been incensed! I know hindsight is great and all that, but you should have phoned the police* - that Subaru dealer was exercising nothing less than naked blackmail IMO!

Plus when being forced to pay - i.e by blackmail - then you should have written down/signed on the invoice, "Paid under protest"... It gives you legal clout later on; should you get the police, lawyers, papers, etc. involved...


* Mind, if Canadian police are anything like British police, then that strategy wouldn't have worked, anyhow!

Ste-V

iTrader: (2)

I agree completely, they may have contacted the customer and told him, he doesnt say, if they have just gone ahead without permission then fair enough, that is naughty.. All I was trying to say was if something else ends up being damaged as a result of carrying out the work requested by the customer, then that is down to the customer to pay for, as long as the mechanic was doing his job properly, which Im assuming he/she was.

For example, if a customer instructs me to carry out a service on their vehicle, if for example, the oil filter carrier cracks upon removal, that isn't my problem. As long as I have used the correct tools and done the job properly, any problems are down to the customer and I will contact them, inform them of the problem and recommend a solution.

As I say, if the mechanic has either:

1. Touched something he shouldnt have
2. Caused damage through improper precedure
3. Not informed the customer when discovering the problem

If they have done any of the above, then they should put it down to experience and correct it. If they haven't done any of the above, then the customer needs to either pay for the fault to be corrected, or instruct them not to go ahead with correcting the problem.

Hope that all makes sense, wasnt trying to cause an argument, was merely trying to put my point across as a qualified mechanic

SirFozzalot

I agree with what you're saying but the key bit that's different in this case is that the customer hasn't "instructed" him to do the work as such. Subaru has told him to take his car to the garage for a repair that they are paying for due to faulty design/manufacture. If they had done their bit properly in the first place then the car wouldn't have had to go to the garage and have anything removed so nothing would have been broken.

Ste-V

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I didn't look at it that way, good point I don't work at a dealership, Im self employed so I can't comment on what happens in that situation really..

To the OP, what part is it that they have damaged?

juggers

iTrader: (1)

urban

iTrader: (1)

Me too