Serious Issue

[caprisun]

Ok,

So I had an appt today to get part of a ski rack installed on the roof of my MS6.

I get there as planned, they told me it would take around an hour to install and asked if I would like to wait in the shop (which wasnt much of an option-boring) or to walk around the mall nearby (<1mile). I opted ot do the mall, I drove myself and the tech who sold me the rack and was going to do the install. I asked him politely if he could drive stick, he said he could. We get there and he drives off no problem.

An hour and a half later he calls me and says he's in the parking lot. I go out there and the rack looks great. He begins to give me the lodown on it and whatnot...we get in and he hands me the keyfob. I push the clutch in and its lifeless. Its practically dangeling for most of its travel except for the last 1/8th of an inch where its stiff as fuck.

I start it up and it sputters. I shut it off and ask "What happened?"

Deny deny deny.

I didnt "go after" him in any way. Just asked for honesty. No avail.

Long(er) story short, I cant get it out of the mall parking lot and haven't a clue as to how he got it in. He insists he had no problems with it.(omg)

I didnt pay for the rack yet and he didnt ask.
The car is still in the lot, I'm getting it towed to a dealer to findout whats next.


Among you're advice, What should or shouldnt I say to the service at the dealer...(I want it to be fixed under warranty as opposed to any insurance)


No skiing for me tomorrow.
Thanks.

[bazooka joe]

i can't imagine what he could have done to cause what you describe???

[caprisun]

joy ride.

the car has 11000 miles on it.

these things dont just happen.

[caprisun]

feel free folks.

[chiefmg]

Seems to me the way to proceed would be to lodge a complaint with the shop that installed the rack. Then once the dealer finds out what is wrong you can present them with the bill. If you haven't already lodged a complaint yet then I imagine you are going to get screwed.

Oh, and for the future, do not let any random clown drive your car.

[bazooka joe]

Seems to me the way to proceed would be to lodge a complaint with the shop that installed the rack. Then once the dealer finds out what is wrong you can present them with the bill. If you haven't already lodged a complaint yet then I imagine you are going to get screwed.

Oh, and for the future, do not let any random clown drive your car.
makes sense...your beef is with the asshat that drove the car, and apparently messed it up

[caprisun]

thanks!

Yes, I did "file" a complaint -so to say...

The asshat couldnt find the incident report thingy so I wrote my information on a legal pad for them...but then on the file where the estimate (for the rack) is, hw put in a little paragraph detailling our little problem...

As for the random clown driving the car...I'm 20 years old and a valet. If ANYONE were to drive a car hard/reckless it SHOULD be my demographic...apparently a guy 15 years older than me is worse...


Thanks everyone!

[_MSprotegy]

well thats f*cked up man. you should have wrote how many miles it took for you to get to the mall from te shop. may be he took the car for a joy ride? who knows. good luck with getting everything fixed.

[coyfish]

Wow I dont know how he could have managed to destory a clutch going less than a mile. Feathering the clutch the entire way back and forth at like 5K rev's maybe /:.

[Dr. D]

if he didnt ask you about payment for the rack yet then that should definately tell you something...

[lestat13]

Ouch.....

Agreed, if he didn't ask for payment, that is pretty much admitting they did something to mess it up. If you take it to Mazda, they will probably void your warranty and say it was drive hard. Take it up with the shop, make them pay out to fix it.

[speed6_dude]

Wow... i would not remove that car from the parking lot until i found out what happened. You know something went wrong!

Please keep us posted on this i wanna know what happened!

[caprisun]

lestat, Yea I know...no shit.

The service guy that I talked to was very easy-going and not too inquisitive. I just acted dumb and said that the clutch seems to be malfunctioning...I want the dealer to tell me whether or not it was abused so I can take the appropriate action.

GEICO told me that if the dealer determines it has been abused, then they can go forward and help me get through this with the rack people.

I'll keep everyone posted...today I'm supposed to hear back from the dealer.(dunno)


Thanks everyone.

[caprisun]

NEWSFLASH!

Mazda called my just now...it was a short conversation.

The service rep told me that they got a better look at what the problem was...turns out the clutch is "entirely fried" due to "excessive abuse."

He said he is going to have his service manager look at it and into the gearbox and everythign else related to see if some of the parts will be covered under the clutch TSB and/or the warranty...but didnt make any promises.


My anger level with the asshat that did this has risen by a power of a million.

[mhrebin]

bring the bill from the dealer to that guy. for sure.

[caprisun]

This might turn into some judge Judy shit if the warranty/tsb doesnt pick up the tab...doubt they will...

I was just thinking and looking up some older threads...I'm going to have the dealer look at the center diff, REAR diff, the diff mounts, the motor mounts, the turbo, and everything in between...

It just dawned on me that this guy must have been launching and doing all sorts of stupid shit too.

[bazooka joe]

you own him!

[tunersteve]

Wow, this is BS. You better not pay a dime for the repairs. Best of luck to ya.

[OJ Bartley]

Wow, I can't even imagine how pissed I'd be. Even assuming the guy wasn't being malicious and just couldn't manage to drive it properly, he should have stopped the car and either found someone who could, or picked you up in another vehicle instead of beating it all the way to the mall. On the other hand, if he took it out on some back road or industrial strip and was launching and doing donuts... nail him to the wall and make him pay every penny of the repair. Did you check the tires too?

[caprisun]

OJ- EVERTHING is being checked out. When I last spoke with the service guy i told him to look at everthing/anythign that could be affected.

Once I get the final official estimate from the service dpt today, I'm calling the rack place and getting the boss on the line.

[OJ Bartley]

Good plan. And as usual, the more you have in writing, the better. It couldn't hurt to fax a copy of the estimate over to him just before you call, so he can read along, and you seem even more serious.

[mysleeper6]

You didn't say if there was any odor present when you returned to the car. I was just trying to find the sweet spot for launching (pre-TSB replacement) and I swear I could smell the clutch for a couple of hours.

[caprisun]

sleeper.

the car reeks.

it smeels inside and out. the towtruck driver even asked about it.

the service ppl smelled it and said they had to turn on a fan when they cracked open the clutch assembly.

the saga continues.


on a better note, the rack store manager wasnt as big a dbag as i anticipated...so we may have something to work with...im in a hurry and have more work to do today and tomorrow.

peace.

[mysleeper6]

That's what I figured; it was just the missing piece I would have expected for the joy-ride theory.

[mazdaspeedster3]

Wow... This is unreal. People these days, what the hell. I bet he was trying to drift in his parking lot. Warranty more than likely isnt going to cover a clutch in the first place, wear and tear item. Hope the shop is a reputable one with something to lose if you go after them. I would definately be in the phone with the owner already! Next time you need a rack installed, do it yourself.

[coyfish]

All this for a ski rack :(. Sucks

[speed6_dude]

I had my clutch replaced with the service bulletin... but Mazdaspeedster3 could be right, that is prob. not warrenty work! I would be calling the ski rack place and asking them how they wanted to handel paying for it since they were gonna replace your clutch! If you have any problem getting them to work with you get in contact with the better business and local news stations! I know we have a local news station that will go to their business and ask them questions with the cameras and all... That will get them moving if nothing else does!

[caprisun]

News.

Rack store call me today after requesting I email all my receipts and docs from oil changes and whatnot so they could "show their insurance."

"The Insurance" says they aren't covering it because they aren't liable because of a "pre-existing condition." (on a car with 11000 miles)


I asked if it was his (the mgr) final word. He said yes. I told him I'm going to have to handle this a different way.

To court it is. I'm not worried because I know I'm in the right and can prove it. This is just a hassle...

All for a ski rack.

Judge Judy here I come.

[bazooka joe]

if you have an attorney, have them write them a "nice" letter, it may save you a lot of hassle...what are you out $?

[lestat13]

Damn dude, that is awful. Make sure we know what happens. We are all pulling for you!

[speed6_dude]

Their insurance company said you had a "pre-existing" problem or yours?

How would either know if you had a pre-existing problem or not?

[OJ Bartley]

That's ridiculous. I hope you don't have to go through court to get them to pay for damaging your car. Good luck. :(

[caprisun]

Their insurance...I dont want to file a claim with my insurance, and my insurance wouldn't want me to either.

As far as "pre-existing issues"...the car had a full circle inspection and oil change 2 weeks ago. Everything just fine there. 11k on the clock. Two weeks later the car goes into the shop after this fiasco and the servicemen said the stench of burnt clutch reeked; lo and behold everythings gone to shits. I was not the last one to drive the car. The car worked wonderfully when it was dropped off. The dealer determined that the clutch failed to "excessive abuse."

I have no idea where the rack people get off on thinking its wasnt their fault. They claim mazda should have warrantied the clutch.

$2800 so far...

So now heres the little dilemma. I need to find an attorney. I'd like to have the best possible, it doesnt matter if their fee is 800 an hour to me, because I am going to win and they will be paid. Thing is, what high-powered attorney will represent someone over a $2800 case? On the other hand, it is a surefire win because I AM in the right. I CAN prove it with various sources.

Next step is to find the best lawyer that will represent me. Its only going to be a short consultation to discuss evidence and facts, then probably less than an hour in court if it comes to that...perhaps a lawyer would say that the next thing to do is to write a letter to their insurance.

The car just needs to be fixed.

Its funny, I am 20 years old. I valet cars when not in school. I've driven EVERYTHING. I've driven home drunk people in their BMWs. I have never misused a car. I have never felt like maliciously damaging a car. I take care of other people's shit. Whether its a POS with 200k miles on it, or a Ferrari. I'll never understand why someone feels the need to fuck someone elses property up then dont own up.

Sorry for the novel.
Thanks for everyone's advice, I'm picking it back up monday...time to start the weekend! (breakn) (thinkbeer)

[freekwonder]

Damn good luck getting your car fixed. Sounds like the shop is hoping to scare you and hoping you will shut up. How do they get the idea that it was a preexisting problem?

[caprisun]

Got the car back wednesday, all is fixed and has a brand new clutch and flywheel. It feels fine, just "new" and a little touchy. But the pressure and engage points seem reletively fine.

All that is left now is to get an attorney to help me get the 2700 dollar tab taken care of...

You live and learn I guess.

In other news, I think I may have found a great dealer to go to from here on out! (Mazda of Lakewood)

The service people there were VERY easy to work with and always gave me the benefit of the doubt with regards to the warranty and possible coverage. The service manager was in communication with the ski-rack place and myself in a timely and throurough manner. The service advisor that I worked with was pleasant as well; he's a mazda guy with a few rides and understands it all from my (our) persepctive. Neither one of them wrote me off as a spoiled brat or something like that as a am only 20 (I bought this car MYSELF)...When the warranty's up and I am ready, I know I'll have a reliable resource to go to for help on modding the car when the time comes.

All-in-all a learning experience.
I guess its wiser to install a ski rack yourself and risk losing skis, than to allow someone else to do it and run the risk of loosing your car.

Cheers.

[mazdaspeedster3]

Getting a lawyer to take the case and serve them papers may be all you need to do. Even if they were to throw you 2k and cover the lawyer, better than nothing. I cant imagine having your car for a couple hours and doing that much damage to your clutch, geesh! Weak clutch! Glad it is fixed and hope you get some of your moneys back!

[izackary]

You may have convinced me to look into a data logger at some point, even as DIY-oriented as I am. No way your car would be on security video at all?

On my former cars, I was fine with anyone driving them; all automatics. I've only allowed my mom, middle bro, step-bro, and another friend to drive my car. (Shaddup, my ma has had a clutch foot longer than I've been around! :p) I won't let my little bro drive it because he's not smooth on a stick. On the rare occasion my car goes in for service, I'll usually hang around just because of knuckledraggers like this guy.

[mpk]

Unbelievable story. Completely shameless. I was also a valet when in college and feel equally strongly about respecting OPP.

Glad your car is back to normal -- keep us in the loop regarding the final outcome.

Best of luck

[speed6_dude]

These situations are always so frustrating... but like you said you are in the right i would not worry to much!

Good luck and keep the info coming!