Terrible customer service @ Infiniti Williowdale, Toronto Ontario

[Smartidiot]

So I went to Infiniti Willowdale (Yonge and Steeles) dealership today for a TSB fix - replace driver seat base assembly

While I was there, I told their service advisor Howard that my car is making some clunking noise when I turn my steering wheel slowly to the left.

He wrote the sympton on the report and said he will haev some tech guy take a look at the issue.... since he did not mention anything about the extra charge for inspection.. i'd naturally assume everything is covered under the warranty given that I have a 04 G35 with 90,000km and the warranty doesnt expire until Feb 28th 2008.

1 hour later, another service advisor Karim called my cellphone and said the reason why my car is making the noise is because i have some aftermarket pads with incorrect size.. and its $54.00 to trim the pads...i said no to him and he told me in that case he will have to charge me another $54.00 for inspection since pads are not covered under the warranty.. so i better let them trim my pads and pay $108 ($54 for the service and $54.00 for inspection).

i told him i was never informed about a bill of $54.00 before i left the shop and according to Infiniti policy (acutally i believe this applies to all makes), they cannot perform any bilable service before getting customer's permission..

so he got kidda upset and said he will double check with my service advisor Howard and called me back in 10 mins.

2 hours gone, no calls yet... so i called back and Karim said they've waived my inspection charge and my car is good to go.. ..

i went to pick up my car at the end of the day and because it was past the service dept office hour, i had to get my car key from the sales dept..

As i stepped into my car, i found that

1. The declining button on the right hand side of the driverseat is not working. 2. THe heigh button on the right hand side of the driver seat is not working

3. The seat joing cover (don't know the exact name here) is ripped off on both sides

4. there is an unkown broken component on my driver seat.. don't know where that comes from.

I have used my cellphone to take some picture of this nightmare and here i am jsut wondering what my options are..

I don't know if they do this to my car on purpose because i insist not paying that $54.00 service charge or they simply dont respect me as a customer since i am only 25 years old and all i can afford is a 04 G35 Coupe....

i wanna know if there is a consumer complaint association or any sorts where I can file an official complaint to Infiniti Willowdale dealer.

I know some guys might think that I am over-reacted here but i have worked my *** off and i am loving my car to death..

so seeing that a huge dealership liek them did something this low to me car is unthinkable........

any suggestoins are highly appreciated...

i will try to post some pictures later...

[zozoka1212]

For the next time if you see things like that you should refuse to take your car back. Best you can do now is sit down with the service manager and tell your side of the story. Make sure you are calmed when you are talking and tell him nicely you are sure it wasn't like that when you left the car for service. Every time I take any car back from service I inspect the car all around for any damage.

Zozoka

[fosterelli]

I do the same as zozoka1212...I ALWAYS walk around the vehicle looking for any damage, scratches, dings, etc.I popped the hood on my '07 Acura MDX after a TSB replacing the right front strut...FOUND A TOOL UNDER THE HOOD! It was a telescoping magnet for retrieving dropped bolts/screws. Now how the hell they left a tool under the hood is beyond me but I always look for any damage, including dirt on my floor mats and interior.NEVER take your car back from a dealer without inspecting...and if you do find damage or what not...DO NOT TAKE THE CAR...ask for a service manager and document, take pictures, etc. They will remedy problems if you handle it at the point of picking up the vehicle. Once you leave they could put the blame back on you.

Good luck and don't go down without a fight.

[Smartidiot]

thanks for the support guys....at least now i know i am not the only one who is being so protective of my car so i went back to the service dept. this morning and they made it sound like this is nothing big deal... the service guy Karim wasnt even willling to go take a look at my car with me.. (its parked right outside the door.. about 20 steps away from his desk).

as i asked the name of the technican who did the service yesterday ,Karim became alert immediately and asked me why do i need the name...... and later told me it is Trevor Barry

oh well.. since i am single, un-married, no babies or wife to take care .. i have the world of time to deal with this issue.. (yeah i am that bored and nearly perfectionist)

i guess i am gonna start by writing a letter to Infiniti Canada and forward the same letter to some local car magazines in 5 business days if a response is not heard.....

i will keep you guys posted if anyone is interested here...

thanks again.

[zozoka1212]

Is that Karim guy the service manager? If not I would still talk to the manager. Make sure you tell him you are a member of one of the largest forum. He should think about how much business they will lose when it is starting to get nasty. Also you have another option to take i to the small court. It is free only takes time. If you go that far make sure you document everything. But before everything you should go back and tell the manager to put it on paper he is not going to fix it. That usually does the trick. He knows if he puts it on paper with his signature on it, he can get screwed. Don't leave without the paper.

Zozoka

[G_whizz]

That totally blows!!

You have to try and remain as professional and diplomatic as possible. But be firm. If all of these things truly werew caused by them, don't let them get away with it. Go as far as you can with this before no other alternative is to take legal action.

I will NEVER take my car there now after hearing this crap.

Word of mouth... here's proof that it works!

Below is the best ever vid. of a dealership getting busted for scamming a customer...check it out!

http://www.break.com/index/mer....html

[zozoka1212]

G nice find. What an a$$ service. They try to rip you off everywhere. You have to be careful.

Zozoka

[G_whizz]

Thanks. Pretty frickn unbelievable eh? They got sooo burnt by that customer...nice job on his part!

[Smartidiot]

Thanks. Pretty frickn unbelievable eh? They got sooo burnt by that customer...nice job on his part!

hello guys....i just write a letter which i am going to fax it to Infiniti Canada after i get my car back from them..

its not like i am hoping to change the world by one letter or anything but i hope my voice will reach some top guy at Infiniti and they can start giving us some respect..

anyways.. here is the letter that i am going to send..----------------------------------------------------------

To Whom It May Concern:

On Wednesday July 25, 2007 I went to Infiniti Willowdale dealership on Yonge and Steeles for a TSB fix – Replace driver seat base assembly. While I was there, I mentioned to one of the service advisor Howard S. that my car has been making some clunking noise occasionally when I turn my steering wheel slowly to the left. He wrote the symptom on the report and told me he will have a technician take a look at the issue when my car is in for repair. Since Howard did not mention anything about the extra charge that might be applied for the inspection, I naturally assumed that this is free of charge given that my 2004 G35 Coupe only has 89.890km on it and the warranty does not expire until February 28, 2008.

One hour later, another service advisor Karim Mulji called me on my cellular phone and informed me that the reason why my car is making a clunkinig noise is due to the aftermarket brake pads with incorrect size and it would cost me $54.00 to trim the pads. I refused the service and he said in that case I will still be charged $54.00 for inspection so he recommended me to do the trimming and paid $108.00 ($54.00 for trimming and $54.00 for inspection). I told him the fact that I was never aware of the additional charge since no one ever mentioned it to me before I left the shop and as far as I know, Infiniti policy clearly stated that service advisor is obligated to get the customer’s approval prior to performing any billable service. Karim then said he will double-check with Howard S. and get back to me in 10 minutes.

Two hours later, no response yet, so I called back and Karim told me they have waived the charge for my inspection and my car is ready to go.

I went to pick up my car on the same day after I got off from work but since it is a little past 6:00pm (which is when Service dept close at Willowdale dealer), I had to pick up my car key from the sales department.

As I stepped into my car, I found that

1. The seat decline button (next to the back-and-forth adjustment button) on the right hand side of the driver seat is not working. 2. The seat height adjustment button (next to the decline button) on the right hand side of the driver seat is not working.3. The seat finishers (both outer and inner) of the driver side is ripped off and falling apart4. There is an unknown broken component left on my driver seat and I have no idea where that comes from.

I went back to the same dealer on Thursday July 26 2007 at 7:30am and learned that the technician who did the service on my car is Trevor Barry (Employee ID 38). However, they made it sound like there is nothing big deal and simply asked me to leave my car with them for another day and they will take care of it. No apologies, no explanations. The service advisor was not even willing to take a look at my car with me though the car is parked 20 steps away from his desk right outside the entrance.

My car is still with them as I am writing this letter here so I really have no idea what is going to happen to my car.

Now I am not sure if this is due to the fact that I was not willing to pay the $54.00 inspection charge or simply because I am not a “big” customer to Infiniti since I am only 25 years old and all I can afford is a 2004 G35 Coupe not a 2007 M45. Nonetheless, I chose Infiniti G35 Coupe over other luxuries brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz as the second car in my life because of the infamous VQ35 Engine and the reputable customer services. However, in the last two days, I have experienced the worst customer service in the car industry and I don’t think I was treated fairly as a consumer.

Seeing a huge corporation like Nissan/Infiniti doing something like this to an average consumer is unacceptable and beyond my belief. This not only jeopardizes the corporation image but also loses a long time fan of Infiniti/Nissan for years to come. I have to say that I am very disappointed with Infiniti customer service and I will strongly recommend anyone NOT to purchase a vehicle from Infiniti due to its sub par customer service.

FYI: This letter will also be forwarded to local car magazines next week.

Regards,

Robin YCell: xxxxEmail: xxxx

Vehicle info: 2004 G35 Coupe 5AT with 89,890km. Warranty expire on Feb. 28th, 2008.Vehicle VIN: xx

Dealership:Infiniti of Willowdale7200 Yonge StreetThornhill, ONL4J 1V8

Service Advisor: Karim Mulji

Technician: Trevor Barry

[G_whizz]

Not a bad letter...although I would re-think threatening them so soon with sending this letter to car magazine, that might have a negative effect.

Focus on "clearly the work done regarding the TSB had a direct result on the current problems you were not experiencing earlier.

As far as the brakes and not advising you of the charge or an apology... gotta just chalk that up as poor customer service...just convey your dissapointment but don't dwell on it.

There's my $0.02 cents...let us know what happens and good luck!

[Smartidiot]

lol..

are you at work now man?? i thought you'd be helping my girlfriend find a job....hee hee hee hee.. just j/k..

well.. i am planning to send this letter to Infiniti Canada after i get my car back from the dealer and i am not planning to go to this dealership ever again in my life..

so here i really dont care if there'd be any negative effect ... either they will take my letter seriously or feed it to the shredder right away.. whatever they wanna do with it i have made my point there...

and obviously i am not really gonan send this letter to car magazines.. thats jsut too much troubles there and i am kidda lazy..

but anwyays.. thanks for your comments and i will try to re-wrod some of the inappropriate sentences later today..

[G_whizz]

LOL.. yes I am work. I'm ALWAYS at frick'n work.

Funny enough I pulled her resume today for a position I had.. but she was missing some qualifications. Rest assured, as soon as I have something I can present her to, I will call her right away!

[gotak]

Darn it I just got a new Sentra and I was hoping Willowdale would be ok to do my service at. Since they are like around the corner from me... Guess not.

Anyone with experience with Avenue Nissan?

[G_whizz]

To ALL the people around Ontario... trust me I got the best dealer connection. The guy simply ROX!! Great C.S. EXCELLENT prices. HIt me up if you EVER need a Nissan/Infiniti... trust me.

[gotak]

Who's this guy?

[G_whizz]

South London Infiniti Nissan... Mark McCarville. If you are going to see him or call him.. tell him you were referred by Sean McConachie