‘Mi kotse es su casa’

(Second in a series)

The stories keep coming in. Inquirer Motoring readers, reacting to last week’s “horror stories” from the car dealerships, have added their own hair-raising tales. Here are two more, hot off the inbox:

Rendered powerless

Aurelio S. bought his 2008-model van at an authorized dealer in E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City, in 2008. Eight months later, the van’s battery conked out and he had to call home for assistance and get his vehicle jumpstarted (the van being an automatic transmission). Aurelio immediately drove his vehicle to another dealership of the same manufacturer in a Macapagal Avenue branch, which was nearer to his home. Upon diagnosis, the service staff told him that his van’s battery needed replacement.

The battery was still covered by warranty, so all Aurelio was supposed to do was wait, as the dealership would have to request the vehicle exclusive distributor for a replacement. He was told that a new battery would take 15 days to arrive. Aurelio had no choice but to use the defective battery in the meantime. A few days later, the battery conked out again. He brought it back to the Macapagal Avenue dealership, this time insisting he could no longer wait for the replacement battery to arrive as the van was his only vehicle. The dealer provided a temporary replacement. Unfortunately, the replacement battery also conked out the very next day.

This time, Aurelio said he had no choice but to call a battery dealer and have it delivered and installed on the spot by the motorcycle delivery rider.

The next day, he drove to the Macapagal dealership to submit the receipt for the battery purchase and delivery, and requested that he be reimbursed. The dealership, however, refused and insisted that he accept the new battery that the dealership was about to issue him.

“What were we supposed to do with an extra battery?” Aurelio complained. He added: “In the first instance, we couldn’t understand why a big dealer couldn’t issue new batteries immediately as soon as they are reported.”

Aurelio sold his van in 2011, yet the battery issue still haunts him. “Why does such a big company with many branches not see the necessity to stock replacement batteries? Why such a long wait for a P4,000 replacement in a P1.7-million van? That smacks of a dire lack of concern for clients.”

Feel right at home

Student Noel A.’s parents bought him a brand-new SUV at a Balintawak dealership. Noel, as careful as he was with his spanking new car as he was studious in school, always set aside a significant portion of his monthly allowance for the car’s periodic maintenance expenses.

During his car’s visit to the casa for the 50,000-km checkup, he noticed oil stains in his dashboard, and small scratches on his fenders.

Then, one incident jolted him to his senses. “There was this one time that I came to check my car at the maintenance corner. I saw two guys sleeping in my car during lunch break. I reported this incident to their supervisor. What irked me was this supervisor just woke them up to tell them to get out. Simple as that.”

Faster than a student dropping a calculus course, Noel wasted no time changing to another casa located in Shaw Boulevard. This time, the relationship went smoothly. “Even my uncle, who (eventually) bought my SUV, was a satisfied customer,” said Noel.

Noel is now a happy owner of a Japanese SUV, and a delighted client of its casa at the Bonifacio Global City. “They are very entertaining, even if this SUV is expensive.” No ho-hum service here.

(To be continued)

Share your own funny, frightening or enlightening experiences with your casa. E-mail the author at [email protected]. Promise, we’ll keep your true identities under wraps, unless you ask us otherwise.