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Dealership stiffed me. What do I do?

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:45 pm
by blacknwhite
Bought my GTB 3 months ago from a Sydney dealer about 3 months ago(not naming names yet) To cut to the chase the deal clincher over another dealer was that it was sold with a 5 yr Subaru warranty. Was told this with my wife by sales rep and sales manager, at signing rep said would post off warranty papers for the extended warranty to Subaru and would get back in the mail within a few weeks.
After a few emails and phone calls to the sales rep and customer liason today I got a letter from the sales rep apologising but he was mistaken that the 5 yr warranty was on another demo so sorry but your car is only got standard 3 yr and basically yep its their fault but hey bad luck. Igot copies of emails and dates , there is no question that I bought the car on the understanding of extending the warranty to 5 yrs which emails confirm
While I am seething at the moment a cool head may be advisable, so what do you guys reckon I should do
Suggestions please , If you are in the industry and dont want to blab on the forum please pm me (in strict confidence of course)
Many thanks
Pete

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:05 pm
by buggermedumplings
I got the 5yr warranty but there was paperwork to sign when picking up the car as well as an additional service manual. Did you have any of this?

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:24 pm
by blacknwhite
no additional manual, the sales rep showed me a slip and said this is the 5 yr warranty and he would fill in and send to save hassle this was checked via email when I got home and thought about it as I had extended warranties before with subaru. He said on the email that he sent it onthe saturday. and yes I got the email
Pete

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:49 pm
by buggermedumplings
I'll check what additional paperwork I received and post the results.
Cheers

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:01 pm
by stuntgirl
is it written anywhere on your contract?? if not. then they legally dont have to supply..
although they have told you on emails. then they should out of goodwill and customer satisfaction...
good luck

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:05 pm
by Roddez
My mother got an extended warranty on a Hyundai.
When the air conditioning packed it in after four and a half years, the extended warranty proved to be a bit thin.
She ended up contacting consumer affairs and they told her that they will not get involved in car warranty claims if the car is more than three years old. Consumer Affairs also suggested that they don't recognise extended Car warranties.
I hope that things have changed in the last two years.
Have you talked to the dealer principal?

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:16 pm
by Mo_GT
I would contact Subaru Australia and explain the situation to them and see what happens.
The problem with subaru extended warranties is that its not something that you can buy but rather something subaru australia offer on certain deals.
If the dealership offers you another (eg: wynns, etc) extended warranty don't take it without reading the fine print and making sure that youre happy with it.

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:18 pm
by Mo_GT
Roddez wrote:My mother got an extended warranty on a Hyundai.
When the air conditioning packed it in after four and a half years, the extended warranty proved to be a bit thin.
She ended up contacting consumer affairs and they told her that they will not get involved in car warranty claims if the car is more than three years old. Consumer Affairs also suggested that they don't recognise extended Car warranties.
I hope that things have changed in the last two years.
Have you talked to the dealer principal?
If youre mum paid for the extended warranty then she has a right to claims but within the scope of what is covered by that warranty.
Was this a Hyundai warranty or some other warranty ?

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:19 pm
by Mo_GT
stuntgirl wrote:is it written anywhere on your contract?? if not. then they legally dont have to supply..
although they have told you on emails. then they should out of goodwill and customer satisfaction...
good luck
Cat, don't verbal agreements apply to car sales pple ?

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:11 pm
by blacknwhite
Mo_GT wrote:stuntgirl wrote:is it written anywhere on your contract?? if not. then they legally dont have to supply..
although they have told you on emails. then they should out of goodwill and customer satisfaction...
good luck
Cat, don't verbal agreements apply to car sales pple ?
Not only a verbal from the sales rep but the sales manager as well in front of the wife and a handwritten letter from the sales rep 2 months later saying he had "made a mistake" and so I only got 3 yrs not 5 but he was totally responsible
What is a warranty extension worth do you think cause If its not a factory warranty they can pay out in cash
sorry still seething, you should see this letter, so many spelling and grammar mistakes that it made me boil as much as the content
Pete

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:42 pm
by stuntgirl
Mo_GT wrote:stuntgirl wrote:is it written anywhere on your contract?? if not. then they legally dont have to supply..
although they have told you on emails. then they should out of goodwill and customer satisfaction...
good luck
Cat, don't verbal agreements apply to car sales pple ?
to me yes.....
but i cant speak for all sales people and sales managers.

Posted:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:22 pm
by WeeGraeme
blacknwhite wrote:Mo_GT wrote:stuntgirl wrote:is it written anywhere on your contract?? if not. then they legally dont have to supply..
although they have told you on emails. then they should out of goodwill and customer satisfaction...
good luck
Cat, don't verbal agreements apply to car sales pple ?
Not only a verbal from the sales rep but the sales manager as well in front of the wife and a handwritten letter from the sales rep 2 months later saying he had "made a mistake" and so I only got 3 yrs not 5 but he was totally responsible
What is a warranty extension worth do you think cause If its not a factory warranty they can pay out in cash
sorry still seething, you should see this letter, so many spelling and grammar mistakes that it made me boil as much as the content
Pete
I have no legal qualification to give legal advice, but my suggestion would be that if you have a written letter saying that he'd made a mistake, that would be your evidence that it was part of your original agreement.
I'd be approaching the dealer one last time. During the conversation, I'd be telling them that I'll be taking this evidence of their agreement to the Office of Fair Trading or whatever it's called in your state.
Whether or not you're officially entitled to it, they might be prepared to agree to it after the fact to avoid the hassle of dealing with the Office of Fair Trading.

Posted:
Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:56 am
by MY07GT
Sort it out with the sales manager. If he doesnt give you the result you want than advise that this will be reflected in your customer survey if u havent done so already and advise that you will be contacting the dealer principle.
Phil.

Posted:
Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:10 am
by sinist4
i just think if they said it then they should do it...
edit: or atleast they shoud have told you before you brought the car if that was possible.

Posted:
Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:41 pm
by MIB
Sorry to go off topic, just wondering how Cat is doing in Melbourne????