Do I Have a Case?

NewOwner FL · 04-04-05, 07:41

(with the People's Court theme playing the the background)

I purhcased a new 2005 from a dealership in Clearwater, Florida. Within the first week, it began to pull to the right (passenger's side). I took it to the service department. The service report states that the tires were rotated and the allignment checked out 100% correct.

I drove it home and the problem continued. I returned to the service departement and had my salesman drive with me as well as one of the "middle" service managers. They both agreed there was a problem.

The next morning I get a call saying my car is once again 100% correct. The Service Department Manager (the big cheese) drove the car and said that it is fine and that he sees no problem with it at all and that the service department is not to work on the car. (Seriously guys, I am not making this up)

The Service Manager had one of his Techs call me. I asked the Tech if any of the guys who actually work on the cars took it for a dive, and he said "no".

I am not happy to say the least. I have never heard of a Service Dept. refusing to work on a car. I have contacted the Florida State Attorney's office and informed them that I may have to persue the FL Lemon Law which I have recently become and expert on.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or should I just go ahead and start to file the paperwork?

I have remained cool, calm and collected throughout this mess, but I am at the end of my patience.

Frustrated in Florida

mdsmithers · 04-04-05, 08:05

Perhaps you should try a different dealership, what kind of car is it?

94BlkStang · 04-04-05, 08:11

Quote:

Originally posted by mdsmithers
Perhaps you should try a different dealership, what kind of car is it?

I agree. I doubt if you will get anything resolved without going to another dealership and allowing them the opportunity to fix it. One thing you don't have any proof of, is that something is wrong other than your say so. Good luck.

Slackmeister · 04-04-05, 08:11

I'd try another dealership. When my car was new, I had tire problems that two other dealerships couldn't (or didn't take the time to) cure. The third dealership finally ended up swapping the tires off another car....problem solved.

NewOwner FL · 04-04-05, 08:16

While it is true I do not have sworn affidavits from my Salesman and the Vice-Service Manager, I do have their words. I know, I know, but I believe that they would back me up. The Sales-Manager is also on my side as well.

If I cannot persuade the Service Manager to take a drive with me, then I will take it to another dealership...thanks for the advice!

White95Max · 04-04-05, 08:28

How hard does it pull to the right? I've heard that all cars are supposed to veer to the right with no steering input (just a little bit), so that if you fall asleep you go off the road instead of into oncoming traffic.

Setec Astronomy · 04-04-05, 08:31

You haven't mentioned what kind of car it is, but before you start going to other dealer, the state, etc., why don't you try contacting customer service at the manufacturer? They may be able to rather easily convince the selling dealer to make it right, before this gets any more messy.

Maxy--depending where you live, some of that is done by the crowning of the road, but you are right, it sometimes makes alignment checking difficult.

NewOwner FL · 04-04-05, 08:36

If it is a safety feature, then I will be very happy! I will ask that question to another dealership though.

It pulls enough that I have to keep the steering wheel at a constant "left turn" at about 11-o'clock. The pull increases if I do not correct or compensate with the steering wheel. I would say that the car pulls somewhere between 15 and 25 degrees to the right.

White95Max · 04-04-05, 08:39

Did the service manager drive the car on the same roads you experience this problem on? (Maybe some roads are crowned more than others)

NewOwner FL · 04-04-05, 08:40

Oh sorry, its a 2005 Hyundai Tiburon GT Auto. I have not made any modifications to it, nor do I plan to. My wife has been a Hyundai owner since before we were married and her car is a gem. Never had one thing wrong with it and it drives the same now as it did when she bought it 3 years ago.

I will contact the manufacturer per Setec's suggestion and see what they recommend. During the drives with the service VP and the Salesman, we drove on parking lots, side roads and major 4 lane highways.

White95Max · 04-04-05, 08:43

So when you drive on those parking lots, side roads, and major 4 lane hwys you experience the pulling, but the others did not?

NewOwner FL · 04-04-05, 08:49

Three of us (not including my family members) experienced the same thing. My salesman drove the car (I was in the passenger seat) for about 15 minutes on the various types of roads and we returned to the service department. Then, the Service VP drove the car (I was again the passenger) on the same roads and agreed that the car was pulling. The service VP checked for any difference in regards to Torque as it will sometimes pull a car, but "stepping on it" made no difference to the pull. He suggested a plan to fix the problem and I left the car with him to begin the process. The next day is when I received the info. from the Service Manager that they were not going to work on my car because he sees no problem. He is the one who drove by himself without a passenger.

All in all, we drove a total of about 30 minutes on different types of roads. US 19 down here has been recently re-paved and the car performed the same on all roads at various speeds during both acceleration and deceleration.