Negative: Rosenthal Mazda
 

I am so incensed I do not know what to do! Took my car in for an oil change, dropped it off the night before, wrote down my mileage (like i always do).

When I picked my car up this afternoon, my odometer read 40 miles higher than when I dropped it off. The maintenance managers agreed that this should not be. They are currently buying time by telling me "we'll look into it."

Anybody know how I should be repaid? Anyone ever heard of this occurring?

Who knows what the hell they did to it in those 40 miles...

Any advice would be much appreciated.

:confused:
P.S. Rosenthal Mazda in Arlington, VA

It's under warranty, have them check the whole car out.

Talk to the dealership's manager.
The trouble is: it is hard for you to prove what the mileage was when you left the car with them, so they will have an easy way out. Unless, of course, you do have a document from them that recorded the mileage when you dropped off the car.
Nevertheless, such a thing is inexcusable.

They won't do anything. Maybe they'll say they checked the car and didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

I don't know how many miles are on your car, but if you're just going by what was on your trip odometer, perhaps they accidentally switched your display to km instead of miles; that would make it look much higher. If that's not the case, though, there is absolutely no excuse for putting 40 miles on a customer's car.

You should call and/or write a letter to the owner of the dealership, documenting the mileage. Contact Mazda North America's Customer Service center and let them know this dealer is misusing customer cars brought in for routine oil changes (nothing that would require a technician test-drive):
1-800-222-5500
Monday through Friday:
8:00AM - 4:45PM (Pacific)
9:00AM - 5:45PM (Central/Eastern)

Mazda North American Operations
P.O. Box 19734
Irvine, CA 92623-9734
Attn: Customer Assistance Center

Just to be safe, have them give you all of the mechanic's fingers in a small paper bag.

Well at my dealership they write my mileage down before they do any work. Do you have a copy of the invoice? It should state the mileage. I understand your frustrations, i think you should ask for a free oil change to compensate the miles. 40 is a lot of miles and i hate to say it but they prolly push the limits of the car.
When i was waiting at my dealership for an oil change i saw them pulling another 8 in the garage. The sad thing is that there driving it hard around the corners and pulling it in really fast( i was looking at other 8's and heard a car reving loud which caught my attention).

well at least it is a known normally reputable dealer. they will find the reason and make it right

The nerve of those guys!

On a similar note I had shipped my car ('88 Olds Cutlass Calais w/Quad-4 and a 5-speed) to Germany. When I went to pick it up there was another soldier that had shipped his Chevy IROC-Z at the same time. It was noted when he picked it up that the car was filthy and had a whopping 2400 miles on it since it was dropped off at the depot! That was one heluva joy ride. They generally only put less than 3 miles on the vehicles while manuevering them on and off the boat and/or truck. The milage is noted on all the shipping forms and is noted at every leg of the journey.

When I got my car, which was the first one on the car carrier at Bremerhaven and on the trailer OVER the cab. It was discovered that someone stole my stereo out of the dash while the car was on the truck and it was in the car when it got off the boat!

Hi All

My first post.

I'd say as s minimum ask for a free oil change plus ask for the peretrator to personally visit your home or work and personally apologise. Then say that this request is a minum response that your requesting and put the ball back in their court to exceed your expectations with a generous response above this request.

And finally you have the choice to never use them again (if its practicle).

You can always threaten to report it to the police as a theft and then to the newspaper. That will no doubt get them motivated.

this thread makes me think of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

lol yea right!

"uhm....I request that the person who joy rided my car come to my house and apologize to me personally, tell him to bring some subs too"

"sure sir we'll get right on that, expect the mechanic to be at your house tommorow at 6pm with 3 large pizzas, you like olives on your pizza?"

lol...that'll happen, really...it will...:)

EDIT: Sorry to bash you on your very first post...I just couldn't resist tho' :o

lol...I know the guys at my dealership joyride. it's okay as long as they make sure the gas is where it was when I dropped it off. ;) There's nothing they can do to her that I haven't...:D

I have documentation that the car is 40 miles above where it was when I dropped it off. The lower gas gauge is what caught my attention...about 1/4 lower than when I dropped off.

Essentially my car was stolen - that's the way I'm looking at this. And, it most likely was not a mechanic or 'technician' joyriding in my car. It was probably an overnight worker, maybe one of those guys who buffs the floors.

What if I have 2,000 miles less on my clutch now? what if my tires won't last as long? brakes? my oil was a bit low when I dropped off and I'm sure they pushed it hard. These are just some of the questions that are fueling my anger!

I have no doubts that long term damage can be done in 40 MILES that maynot manifest for quite some time. I'm thinking of asking for an extra year or 2 on my warranty.

Peace.

There was a lady with a Mustang Cobra who was reading her mustang board when a newb joined to brag about he and another service tech 'joy riding' and 'driving how it SHOULD be driven' some 'dumb bitch's' SVT Cobra while she had it in for service....

One thing lead to another, and the guy was fired, etc.

I'd insist the tech be fired, and the dealer grant you free service, etc, for the life of the warranty - also cover the clutch, etc, when it goes. 40 miles is plenty to smoke a clutch disc. ;) :)

I feel your pain. Back when I had my Mustang I used to stay with the car whenever it was being serviced and insist that it never stayed overnight. Or if it did stay overnight that it was locked up in the garage. The reason being that I went to HS with most of the techs and the guys that washed the cars and knew how they were. It was quite often that I saw them out on the road with a Mustang GT or Cobra with the service number hanging from the rear view mirror chirping through the gears. :( Some people's kids...

I asked them to check the security cameras where my car was dropped off to see when it was moved, and by whom. I know that business often recycle security tapes from day to day, so hopefully they'll check today and something will turn up.

Should I file a police report? that's another question I have. Sorry...I've just never heard of this happening before. although i know it's plausible, I really feel like a victim and like i've been taken advantage of. I'm a single 25 yr old guy so it's not like I have many other things to worry about. It feels like my baby was kidnapped. that's the only way i can describe it.

I know it's just a car...a material posession...blah blah blah...but it's MY car and I take very much pride in it!

You should, at the very least, make them fill your tank and not charge you for whatever it was you had done (sorry, don't remember reading through all the posts) This behavior can not be tolerated by these people who we put in a position of trust. There was a guy a few months ago that this happened to....except the dumbass that took his car for a joyride destroyed one of his rims.

I think you have every right to be offended by such things. Would the person that took your car for a spin like it if you went in their house and watched their TV and shat on their toilet. Probably not. What gives them the right to touch your posessions?

Okay - here is the latest:

The dealership is now claiming that the technician who was filling my RX8 with oil accidentally spilled oil on the engine, and had to drive it 40 miles to get the burnt oil smell out of the cabin.

They offered me a free oil change and maintenance check, but that's it.

This is crappy because there is no way for me to verify that they're telling me the truth. Just my word against theirs.

I'm considering calling Mazda North America and seeing what they have to say about this. Are there any ramifications of spilling oil? They said that they cleaned it off. I have a feeling that they're just trying to cover their asses.

They are lying, or covering up. That story doesn't even pass the 'common-sense' test.

Call another local mazda dealer service department. Speak to the service manager; get his/her name. Ask them the following question:

"If your technician spilled some oil down the side of the engine, how would they clean it up?"

See if the guy mentions 'driving 40 miles'.

Report back your findings to THIS dealer, along with my 'Your explanation doesn't pass the common-sense test.' :)

where's my popcorn? This is rediculous.

Roll......some......heads.......

I am also a single mid 20s guy who has not much else to worry about besides my car (and student loans). I would be completely incensed by this. Do what dmp says, and then call MNAO and give the dealship, service manager, and any other info. How about instead of driving you car 40 miles, they call you and say "sir, we're very sorry but we spilled oil in your engine bay" and then use a cloth and some cleaning solvent to clean it up?

I wasn't going to post to this but now they compounded their folly by lying to you. I can't stand people who lie, worst types of people in the world.

They are lying for sure.
Darin is right. Take his advice and see what the dealer says to that. Also, contacting MNAO is probably the right thing to do but don't get your hopes up that they will actually do anything about it. Sad but true.

Ya know - I've been considering CALLING Rosenthal Mazda, and bitching at them....lol.

Definitely contact MNAO, and make sure to tell them they lied to you to try to cover itup.

Also, fire is a good solution.