(6th in a series)
Owning and driving a car can be fun, convenient and rewarding—if you are a safe, law-abiding driver and a conscientious car owner who follows all the maintenance recommendations for your particular vehicle model.
Sometimes, however, there are the spoilers who take all the joy out of owning a car. There are cases when the very organizations you trust to keep you happy with your vehicle are the ones who give you grief, instead.
Here are more tales of casa that turn smiles upside down.
Bet Enano, a businessman based in Intramuros, Manila, narrated that he bought his Japanese compact car at a Quezon Avenue dealership nine years ago and had the vehicle maintained for the first six years in the same casa. Sometime in the sixth year, he transferred to a Manila dealership.
The reason for the change: the Quezon Avenue dealership gave out an exorbitant estimate for the repair of his air-conditioning system.
The dealership estimated the cost of the repair to run up to P40,000. He refused the service and went to an aircon specialist in West Avenue, Quezon City, for a second opinion. After a few adjustments, the air conditioner worked, and the shop didn’t charge him anything.
Eight months after the repair, he went back to the aircon shop. It advised Bet to replace certain parts of his car’s air-conditioning system. This time, Enano said he spent less than P5,000, which was still far less than the P40,000 the QC casa was charging him.
Today, the 9-year-old car is still in good condition, including the air-conditioning system. Bet is satisfied with the Manila dealership, and he even plans to buy a compact SUV from the casa.
“I hope this Manila dealership will not disappoint me in the future,” Bet said.
Leaking buckets
In 2010, “JA” bought a 2009 model American compact SUV from a dealership in Taguig City.
When JA brought the vehicle in for its 10,000-km preventive maintenance schedule, he complained of a possible leak in the radiator hose as he observed the radiator kept running out of coolant. A checkup confirmed the leak, which was repaired.
When JA brought it in for its scheduled 20,000-km PMS in November 2012, he said the same problem had occurred. This time, the casa said the radiator repair would no longer be covered by the warranty.
Puzzled, JA said he was refused an explanation by the managers. “Not one of them wanted to talk to me. I had been in the casa for two hours.” The service advisors insisted that JA’s vehicle’s warranty had lapsed, and that there was no need for further explanation.
Confirming the claim
Right after learning JA’s story, Inquirer Motoring called up the casa to confirm JA’s claim. The dealer did confirm that JA brought the SUV in for PMS on two occasions, in 2010 and in 2012, for the 10,000- and 20,000-km scheduled checks, respectively. The dealer also revealed the extent of the services and repairs done on the vehicle on both instances. In the 2010 PMS, the casa did repair a leak in the upper radiator hose.
The dealer added, “After seven days, and during the after-service follow-up call, the customer relations staff confirmed with the client and said that the concern was resolved.”
The dealer claimed that the owner didn’t bring in the vehicle again for almost two years. When JA brought it in again in November 2012, the casa said it had found the radiator assembly was leaking once more, and needed repairs. It insisted that the car was already out of warranty, to which the casa said JA refused to proceed with the services.
JA said he felt shortchanged twice—for buying a new vehicle with a chronic defective radiator, and for being told that the car’s warranty had expired, which he insisted was “too soon.”
No parking, no sale
Vino (who requested his real name be withheld) told Inquirer Motoring his own frustration with a Japanese-brand car dealer along Shaw Boulevard.
“Last week, my wife and I decided to drop by this dealership to look at the compact car that we were considering to buy in place of her 2004 compact car. Through various websites, we noted that this compact car seemed to be the cheapest car in its class, although we were well aware of its spartan ‘no frills’ features.”
Vino’s trouble with the casa began even before he could step foot in it. “The moment we got there, we immediately noticed that there was no vacant parking slot. There was also no one outside to assist us, as everyone (including the guard) was inside enjoying the air con and (probably) their favorite afternoon TV show.”
Vino said that he had to leave his car on the busy street and rush into the showroom to call out for assistance. The head guard in a barong Tagalog came out with him and directed Vino to the service area parking slot. Vino asked his wife to disembark and proceed to the showroom while he drove to the service area.
When Vino entered the service bays, the guard assigned to the area told him that there was no vacant slot. “The guard even muttered that the head guard must be imagining things. I then went back to the head guard and he advised me to just double-park, saying, ‘Ako ang bahala’ (I’ll take care of it). And so I did, but the other guard shooed me away. I was so frustrated I called my wife through her mobile phone and told her that we were leaving pronto.”
Asked if Vino found another dealer, he quipped: “We decided to hold on to our compact car for the meantime.”
(To be continued)
E-mail your casa experience—pleasant or otherwise—to tsalazar@inquirer.com.ph.