Dealership damaged headlight.....

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Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Why are you bringing your car in tohave the brake fluid changed ?


Do you mean why change it at all or why pay a professional to do it?

A. Some people think brake fluid can deteriorate and get wet and it should be replaced periodically.

B. Some people are not comfortable working on their cars and would rather pay someone that has more experience and training to work on their cars.
 
so i recently drained all the fluids in a car in preparation to scrap it at a yard. it is a 2007 kia spectra with 141k. when i was draining the brake fluid i was wow'ed that the fluid looked.. looked okay. like a light beer. then towards the end i started pumping the brakes. after it was all drained the coffee containers i was using to drain into had this nasty tar crud spit balls that was somewhere in those lines. it was about 1/5th of the total liquid drained.

given, the brakes worked just fine, but somewhere, somehow, that magic black baby poo was in the lines. just my personal story on brake fluid. i am not going to claim to know what it is or was, except that it was intriguing in a spock sort of way. enjoy your friday.
 
I make it a habit to walk around my car right after it's been serviced by someone else. Those headlight scratches seem easy to miss when you're doing a quick once over looking for primarily major dings/scratches.

Had a similar incident at a Benz dealership where their complimentary car wash ripped out the 3rd turn signal light on the front quarter panel on my old ML320. It was obvious they were at fault and I told my SA. He asked the lady who initially checked me in if that was there before and she said no and how she commented to me how wonderful shape the car was in. The SA admitted fault, ordered the part without fuss or issue and I had it installed the next day.

Stand your ground and don't accept their BSing, which they will do.
 
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Whatever happened with the scratched wheel covers from the last time it was in the shop?
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Whatever happened with the scratched wheel covers from the last time it was in the shop?


Oh, is there a pattern of behavior, here? I didn't know that.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Whatever happened with the scratched wheel covers from the last time it was in the shop?


Oh, is there a pattern of behavior, here? I didn't know that.


Was there also an issue with paint damage to the rear bumper, or was that someone else?
 
Ok folks, I took it in and had the head service manager take a look. It was covered in beads of rain so I wiped that off and showed him the damage, he agreed that it was not acceptable. He then wanted to take it around and have it buffed to see if it would come out. I then told him that I detail often and that I could handle that myself (didnt want them to end up buffing paint or damage anything else). He saw my hesitancy and went inside, he brought back some clean terry towels and two bottles. One was some type of swirl remover the other he said was "prewax", guessing he meant polish. He did it right in front of me and did a good job. He apologized many times about the issue. I told him that I was concerned that the compound may be too aggressive and that it might take off the clear on the headlights. He then offered to give me a warranty, I gladly accepted. So if they yellow, or for some reason the scratches show up I am covered for 2 years! All in all I am happy about how he handled the issue, he also called the tech who did the damage into his office while I was there! Bravo dealer, you actually made it right. Still not happy about minor scrapes that the paint around the headlight had, seems the tech was leaning into the engine bay and his belt was scraping things up. Most of those little scrapes should clean right up with a good polish, maybe even some NuFinish.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Whatever happened with the scratched wheel covers from the last time it was in the shop?


Well I personally know the owner, and he knows that I am a man of good character, he replaced them without an issue. It took a while to get to that point (the point of him finding out, and not the guys at the counter that I had been dealing with), but as soon as he found out it was me it wasn't a problem.
 
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I find it amazing that so many people here believe that
sloppy, sub par service from outrageously expensive
$tealerships is something to be accepted or tolerated.

No surprise that these sleazy, underhanded places keep on doing the same thing decade after decade...it won't change until the customer refuses to tolerate the [censored] work.
 
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
I find it amazing that so many people here believe that
sloppy, sub par service from outrageously expensive
$tealerships is something to be accepted or tolerated.

No surprise that these sleazy, underhanded places keep on doing the same thing decade after decade...it won't change until the customer refuses to tolerate the [censored] work.



I vote with my feet and don't visit the dealership except for recalls. I certainly wouldn't keep going back to a shop that repeatedly damaged my vehicle.
 
I always look under the hood before leaving the dealer...and check tire pressure...
The last time they neglected to replace the cap on the positive pole of the battery and one of the 2 bolts securing the engine air filter box...
...and they reduced the air pressure to THEIR specs from what I had put in the tires based on MY experience with them...I SAW them doing that and stopped them after one tire's PSI was "corrected".
 
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Can the scratches buff out?

I ask because replacement of the entire unit will look terrible compared to the other headlight which is nearly 10 years old.
 
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
I always look under the hood before leaving the dealer...and check tire pressure...
The last time they neglected to replace the cap on the positive pole of the battery and one of the 2 bolts securing the engine air filter box...
...and they reduced the air pressure to THEIR specs from what I had put in the tires based on MY experience with them...I SAW them doing that and stopped them after one tire's PSI was "corrected".
I hate when people touch my tire pressure. I took my car in for a rotation and balance last week at Discount Tire and they didn't balance them and I watched them lower my air pressure! Idiots! I still haven't gotten around to airing them back up.
 
I will say that regarding the tire pressure issues, as long as the dealer has NOT been told to leave them alone, if they set them to factory recommended specs I regard this as a positive because the shop is paying attention to detail. (as long as they set them to the CORRECT FACTORY SPECS)
 
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
I will say that regarding the tire pressure issues, as long as the dealer has NOT been told to leave them alone, if they set them to factory recommended specs I regard this as a positive because the shop is paying attention to detail. (as long as they set them to the CORRECT FACTORY SPECS)


Yes, I agree...but...I had told them NOT TO TOUCH the tires...
 
My Hyundai dealer nearly made a hole on the top surface of the rear seat of our 2009 Sonata when they were looking for the water leak. When I pointed this out to the service adviser he gave me a dirty look as if I was trying to pull a fast one. It simply reflects their carelessness, they will never admit fault.
 
Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
My Hyundai dealer nearly made a hole on the top surface of the rear seat of our 2009 Sonata when they were looking for the water leak. When I pointed this out to the service adviser he gave me a dirty look as if I was trying to pull a fast one. It simply reflects their carelessness, they will never admit fault.


Did they damage the seat in any way? Did you make them fix it if so?
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Can the scratches buff out?

I ask because replacement of the entire unit will look terrible compared to the other headlight which is nearly 10 years old.


Yes, the dealer buffed them out right in front of me. If they had to replace it (which he would have) then I would have just had them replace the other as well so they would look the same.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Why are you bringing your car in tohave the brake fluid changed ?


Do you mean why change it at all or why pay a professional to do it?

A. Some people think brake fluid can deteriorate and get wet and it should be replaced periodically.

B. Some people are not comfortable working on their cars and would rather pay someone that has more experience and training to work on their cars.


Takes an hour and the only tools needed are a 10mm wrench and some vinyl tubing in most cases
 
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