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.

The Mazda Sportscar Club of Washington is having a "tech session" at that dealership on the 29th. Maybe was can rough-up all of the techs while we are there.

I don't usually hand my keys over to anyone, let alone a stealership's tech, but I am considering a rev limit circuit built into my E-Manage installation that will make it impossible to take the car over 2500 RPM.
That way, I can throw a switch and the only thing they can do is move it around the lot.
I can see that call:
"Uh, Mr. Abrams? This is Joe Schmoe over at Buttfuk Mazda. Yeah, your car is having a serious problem and we may need to keep it for a while.
What is the problem?
Well, the car can't be driven normally...
Why would I want to drive it?
Uh, well, we normally test drive after warranty work..
Uh, no the radio isn't usually test driven, but...
Yes, I know your car was in for the A/C TSB, but we test..."

Any updates today???

I wish there was a rev limiter with the valet key. I valet my car with relative frequency and the valets are sometimes a bit too 'enthusiastic' for my preference.

Update:

I went into the dealership yesterday (left work early for this) and tried to speak with the GM. They kept telling me he'd be back in a few minutes from wherever he was, but I waited for 45 mins and he never showed up. They kept sending different managers, i.e. Sales Manager and the same Service Manager I already spoke to. They were totally dicking me around and did not want to get the GM involved.

I was very calm and diplomatic when talking to the Service Manager, and he became very irate and defensive. This was the best of his quotes, after I asked him if he thought his service techs drove my car for 40 miles like a grandma would drive:

"My technicians are skilled drivers with these automobiles, probably better at driving a manual transmission than you are. The RX-8 is not a true high-performance car, and is not meant to be driven like one, and our technicians don't drive them like one. We work on many powerful spoerts cars in this shop, and I assure you that your RX-8 is not one of them."

Can you believe he actually said this?! Besides being totally irrelevant and circumventing the real issue, which is that he lied to me, he insults me as an RX-8 owner. And not only that, do you think this is what their sales counterparts tell prospective RX-8 owners...that it's not a true high performance machine? I guess this means their salesman sold me the car under false pretense!

He basically just continued getting frustrated with me because I kept harping on the fact that he lied and he wouldn't admit it. He finally asked me what would make me happy, and i said that a warranty on my clutch would make me happy. He proceeded to call me "f-ing crazy" and stormed out.

I got a call today out of the blue from him, after I filed a complaint with MNAO, and he said that he spoke with the GM, and they agreed to give me a new clutch when it needs to be replaced! He was very apologetic! a total 180 degree reversal!

So, I guess i"m happy...hopefully he'll still provide the free oil change/maintenance and gas fillup.

What do you all think of this?

sidenote: I brought one of my buddies with me to the dealership when i went...had him dress up in a suit and remain silent, told him to appear very attorney-like and not to answer any questions about who he is. Maybe they thought he was someone from MNOA...who knows...

HAHAHHA good stuff. glad to hear somethigns were done

Get it in WRITING, signed by him and the general manager.

I love that you brought "the suit". Glad to hear that they finally gave you what you wanted. :)

Bingo - but.....make it IMPORTANT ;) :D

The more i think about this, the more pissed I become...

Here's what i'd demand: Fire the service Tech. Give you $(amount of clutch + labor) service credit.

wow .... i took my car in for warienty work it was there for 3 days and they put 250 miles on my car and did shit about it .... never will i goto a dealership again for any work .... But im turbo now so i dont have to worry about warienty work

the dealership was russel mazda in baltimore

Shane

cr@p..... I did not noticed this thread befor and just took my car to Rosenthal for an oil change.
I'll check my mileage

I just read this thread, it has me enraged :mad:
Im sorry this happened to you, I know I would be freaking out if I were in your shoes. Im glad to see you got some form of compensation in the new clutch. If anyone is going to get into the low 14's in the 1/4 mile, it should be you. haha.

I was especially pissed when I read that they said their service techs are better drivers than you, WTF is that.

hmm, i guess i should check the odometer when i get the car back from the said dealership :eek:

IMO everyone should dump this dealer.

well not so fast, i haven't yet reported back about my visit to this dealership, so let me detail what happened and THEN you can make a judgement

so i brought my 8 in for a few warranty-related items, i stated the following items:

- engine hard starting
- film deposit inside headlight housing
- squeaky brakes
- white foam on dipstick
- squeaky driver seat

how they addressed each one:

- reflashed (!) my PCM (even though I'm not in the MSP04 VIN range :eek: )
- gave me the 'cannot reproduce' response
- replaced front brake pads with updated ones
- replaced dipstick with the new dipstick assembly
- re-tightened all bolts on driver seat

so 4 out of 5 ain't that bad, plus I wasn't really sure on the 'film inside headlight' thing either, so I guess I'll just try again in the future lol

I dropped the car off around 9 in the morning, they had all the work done by 2

wasn't charged a single dime, since they were all covered under warranty :D

anyway, so because of this thread, the first thing I checked once I got the car back was to check the odometer reading, and it is about 20 miles more than what the original odometer reading as stated on the repair invoice . Granted I had them do the brake pad replacement TSB, so I was expecting them to test drive the car a bit to bed in the pads a little. 20 miles seems a tad high, but then again, i've already done things in my 8 that NO ONE should be able to do on the street without causing body damage, so I just go *shrug* :o

overall I had a no-fuss experience with them, nothing spectacular but nothing terrible either. I guess the YMMV cliche applies here :o

ANY issues with service should be taken up with Steve Miller. If you feel like he's not getting it done, I'll have a name for you. But I can't imagine anyting less then a rectified situation.

Dang, you guys are makin me feel bad about the times I have taken customer cars to Philly to get a real cheesesteak! Those boys at Rosenthal are soon going to figure out how to disable the vss.......

CALM DOWN!!!!! I WAS JOKING. Test drives of more than a couple miles should require permission with valid reason for trouble shooting.

Rosenthal in Arlington??
 

:confused: I bought my 8 at Rosenthal Arlington and have found their service department to be better than average. The service team leader keeps me in the loop on what is going on and they get the car back to me ASAP. Once they did not have the part, a catalytic converter that was broken, and they gave me a rental for 3 days until the work was done. There were no additional miles on the car. Everyone was professional and courteous. Their sales people were morans and could not tell the difference between an 8 and a miata but their service department was comparably good. Perhaps I just have low standards or have had enough bad experiences with other shops that when someone acts like they are trying I appreciate it. Plus, I know the GM and he is an old rotar guy. He is a good guy who really gives #!@#! about his shop.

wow 20 miles. here in SB thats a trip to the other side of town.. a good mechanic would take my car for a drive like that to feel it, hear it and such.. as long as it comes back with out a scratch i want my guy to test drive it.. Hell i race mine on the track.. i need to know its not going to fly apart on me..
Dont be to hard on them guys a test drive is a good thing.. better to test drive it then give you back a car that will kill you when the Wheels fall off. :)


Rosenthall is a First Class Dealership I am sure this is an isolated event..
But do keep us informend.

too bad they wont price match their mazdaspeed stuff...
and their return policy is stupid...
last time i ever purchase anything from them :/

I won't price match anything 2 weeks after the sale. Do the research before hand and I'll beat any Mazda dealer's advertised price on any factory item.

The return policy is apparently something you must have failed to read prior to your purchase? Just my opinion but one should always read a return policy before making a purchase. You would be amazed that no matter how many don't even though you make it possible to read it from every single web page on your site.

However the policy is in the middle of an overhaul anyway. Hope to have it updated soon.

Like I said before, Rosenthal Mazda has been very good to deal with overall. Just this last experience with them had me aggravated.

Most things in life don't bother me. One of the few things that does bother me, however, is being taken advantage of and being lied to. This was a prime example. It's one thing to drive my car 40 miles without authorization, but it's another thing to lie about the reason behind it. Car dealships are stereotyped as shady businesses for a reason, and no matter how tight this particular operation is run by their GM, there is still a resonating component of shadiness. The service manager could have admitted guilt, and offered me any number of things to quell my dissatisfaction and assure me that my car is unblemished in any way. Yet all he did was gave me a knowingly BS story and offered me a free oil change.

Sidenote: One of you mentioned Steve Miller, the service manager. He cursed me out when I initially asked for a warrantied clutch. He called me "f*^!ing crazy" and stormed out of the room. Now I have a letter from him authorizing a new clutch at a very minimal price, should it ever wear out. Rectified situation? maybe, but certainly a painful process.

I will take my car into them again mainly because of the convenience factor...I live in the Ballston neighborhood and I can walk there. Plus I trust their technicians who work on rotaries. I just want to publicize my experience so they realize their mistakes and will not take advantage of any other customers.

Good luck with all of your dealings with Rosenthal, and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

-A

First off, it sounds like this has been resolved, glad to hear it!

Now, my two cents: There has been times where I've taken a car in for service and I wish they would have taken it out on the road, put a bit of mileage on it, so they could actually find out what the problem is. I had an odd rattle in the engine bay of my Isuzu Rodeo that only existed while under load around 3000 RPM. I had the fricken thing into the dealership three times, and all three times they said they could find no problem. Finally, the fourth time it was in, they mentioned that they couldn't find the problem, even with it up on the lift, being rev'ed to 3000 RPM with a tech under the car. I then asked "have you actually driven the car?" to which they answered "no" so I took the service advisor out for a spin. Sure enough, the rattle showed up, and he said "Holy Crap, wht is that? We haven't heard that yet!" Well DUH! I told them under load for a reason.
Turned out to be a cracked heat sheild around the exhaust manifold. If they had only driven it to find out the problem it would have saved everyone a bunch of time. I've also got a similar tale with the Celica I had, but I think I've gone on long enough :D

Please do your self a favor
 

Write the letter to MNOA, explain the situation and how you were treated, and what was said and who said it. Nothing may happen but it will give some closure. I'd cc the GM who would not even come out to see you, your idea of the "lawyer" may have scared him off. I don't think that a police report "was" a dad idea....then, but not now. Who knows what may come up wrong with your car, but you know who you will blame, so let them know in adavnce-what happened!

You went too far dude, relax ok?