mdelia

Labshark, why are you bitching about peoples concern for their hard earned property? If owning a Z is such a trivial thing for you, let some of your local car enthusists take your vehicle out for a ride of 4 miles. 4 miles nothing to you? How about 10, or 20, or 40? You have no idea what they are doing the car do you?

Its about respecting other people's property. The dealership didn't state anywhere that they would need to drive the car, he didn't sign a release for them to drive it, it shouldn't have been driven more then from the lot to the garage and back.

labshark7

There is no need for him to sign a release. The authorization to repair and drive the car were assumed when he dropped the car off.

There is no legal ground to stand on here. The service manager said that test drives are standard practice. End of story.

Do you really think that the techs, took his Z, 100 mph down dealership row to test out its capabilities?

Besides, it was not 4 miles, it was THREE MILES!

ml2316

i'd be pissed about it. that's unacceptable, i would at least write a letter of complaint. if they took the car out for 4 miles they were *obviously* joyriding, which means they were definitely driving very hard. i'd love to see what would happen if they got in a wreck and how they would try to explain that.

350zdanny

If I were the tech taking a joyride, I wouldn't be going 25 miles per hour. I'd be testing the oil pressure at 125. And you do give them the implied consent to drive the car when you request their service. The legal area on this would be grey. Do you need to go 4 miles for an oil change? Maybe. If they went to fill your tank up with gas, or they put your car in a storage lot. Who knows.

That said, I still don't think a letter will do anything, but if you have some type of gripe, go down there and confront the tech.

iris

I don't see why you can't ride with him. That's what the recommended TSB for the Bose amp says - to test it on the road w/ the owner/customer accompanying.

mdelia

Labshark,

First off, nice edit of your previous post with the insults to all those who had differing opinions then you.

Then why do some dealerships ask you to sign one? Do you assume that the dealership will drive your car after fixing the stereo? How about a sun visor?

Good try. The service managers gave differing information. If I was a betting man, I'd say that the second was covering for the first who thought it was strange for a test drive after an oil change. Regardless, who said anything about legal action?
The originator of this thread hasn't mentioned legal action anywhere that I've seen.

Thread subject says 4... so does his posts, but again its the principal of the matter. You also don't know that the tech's *didn't* take the car out and do 100 in it. I'm sure we've all been on test drives when the sale person floors it out of the parking lot and drives an engine that probably has 2 miles on it up to redline repeatedly just to show the car off. Who says the tech's don't do the same thing?

350zdanny

mdelia -

I agree with you about the principle and all. Also, when I test drove my Z (not the one i was going to buy), I thrashed it like you wouldn't believe, partly because I wanted to get a feel for the car, and partly because I could get away with it. It's sad that this goes on.

But a part of you has to agree with labshark. 4 miles won't do much damage. They can drive the car if they choose. They may have filled up the tank or washed it or whatever. Who knows. The moral of the story is nothing bad happened (thank god) and nothing more will come of this except wasted time.

Dan

PS - I need to start a controversial thread like this so I can get some more of those quality points next to my name

mdelia

I think that's the point a lot of people are making. Maybe nothing happened now, maybe next time it will. Unfortunately there are enough business that aren't run with integrity these days and people get burnt by it.

travelmadness

from that mustang site:

--------------------------------

MAN IT WAS WAY COOL, DROVE A '03 COBRA VERT TODAY THAT WAS IN THE SHOP, ME AND ANOTHER TECH TOOK IT OUT AND DROVE IT, DROVE HER HARD, 6 SPEED TRANNY, WE HIT 140 MPH REAL QUICK, TALK ABOUT POWER. NOT THAT WE DO IT HERE ALL THE TIME, BUT I JUST HAD TO RUN IT, IT WAS CALLING MY NAME... THE POWER IT HAS IN UNREAL, YOU JUST NEED TO GET OUT AND TEST DRIVE ONE TODAY, BY THE WAY, THE CUSTOMER'S COMPLAINT WAS LACK OF POWER AND POOR GAS MILEAGE, WHAT A CROCK... NEEDLESS TO SAY, IT IS OWNED BY A FEMALE, SHE EVEN SAID IT WAS DYNOED AT A SHOP AND THEY TOLD HER THAT THE CONVERTORS WERE TOO HOT AND THE FUEL TRIM WAS WAY OFF. I HOOKED IT UP TO THE COMPUTER, FUEL TRIM WAS NORMAL, CAT TEMP WAS OK, NO CODES, AND IT RAN GREAT. GO FIGURE.. OH YEAH, SHE EVEN TOLD THE SERVICE WRITER TO MAKE SURE THAT NO "PUNK" DRIVES HER CAR, WELL SINCE I AM THE MUSTANG SPECIALIST HERE AT THE DEALER, I GUESS I AM "THE PUNK", ALL THE MORE TO DRIVE HER '03 COBRA VERT AND SEE WHAT ITS GOT.. HEHE HOPE SHE DIDNT HAVE A HIDDEN CAMERA IN THAT CAR...... GET THIS, HER PLATES SAY "**** **"

----------------

marhot

Bini2 --way to go dude!

Great thread... best I've read since I've been here!
Who cares 'bout the subject anymore.

Great controversial thread ---way to rack up the points

Rack on dude!

Peace.

iris

yeah, i had a feeling they did it to me b/c i was a girl and they didn't think I'd notice it. WHATEVER. i now go to a service dealer who knows what a Z freak I am.

350zdanny

hey travel,

did the guy actually post her plates? If he did, PM me with the plate so I can find out what dealer this guy works for and blow up his ****.

that would be justice.

gooters

Yeah well that's what happens when tech's take hot cars out for a few miles Danny. I am actually with you, I would probably complain and that's it because it's not going anywhere after that. It wouldn't be worth my time to do anything more.

BUT, you really shouldn't take this pacifistic attitude of "they can drive my car if they want to" BS! They have no right, it IS technically theft! There is NO implied consent here?! Geez. I always watch my old pickup truck when I am getting the oil changed (if I am not doing it myself) to make sure the techs do the job right (prime the filter, etc)

And Labshark...quit trolling. I doubt you have a Z. And if you do, you sure as heck don't appreciate it much, either that or you are ignorant about the real world and/or you like getting tooled. Grow a set!

When I get a Z...if that ever happened to me (I wouldn't let it in the first place) and I saw the guys cruisin my Z on the road, I would drag them outta the car and beat some ***.

Subw00er

I bought my car in for oil service and there were oil hand marks all over the interior. That is to be expected. The messed up part is that they were on the passenger seat and it was clear that someone else went along for the ride. What the hell do two poeple need to go for the ride for? I wish I took the mileage first. I wont let that happen again.

Oh and the jackass was nice enough to pour oil all over the engine. Morons!

Giedrius

If you read the Mustang thread, his avatar/title says EX-MACHANIC and I believe he was already fired for that...

Blue Liquid

labshark and 350zdanny, there is no implied consent to let them drive it when going in for service. Only certain service procedures require a test drive. Oil change is NOT one of them. This is fact. I don't know how you guys came up with that, but it's wrong.

labshark7

Okay I changed my mind, you guys convinced me. .

I think you really have a real issue here. I can give you the number of the president of Nissan, or your regional manager. Just email me.

You are right, I wouldnt want some grubby mechanic that changes oil for a living to drive my car. What a failure he is, who knows what that type of person is capable of. Its scary. Besides, they make less money than we do, and drive uglier cars like altima's and ford rangers.

I think at the very least you are entitled to a new Z, or some hard cash for the >20,000 feet your car was driven.

I mean if you think about it, thats one less time your starter will kick over. 3 less miles, before your engine blows up. Now you need an oil change sooner. Did they even pay for the gas they used?

It might not seem like a big deal now, but you never know when you'll need those 3 miles back.

So please PM me if there is any thing I can do to help. I feel the pain, I do.

Buub

iTrader: (1)

My advice:

Write the letter (or letters). Even if you get no response, it will be theraputic and let you feel better.

But call radio and TV stations? Oh please. C'mon. Yeah it was a stupid thing they did, and I would feel angry about it too. But let's not get excessive. Write the letters then let it go.


As for Jiffy Lube, I don't like them. It seems all they use is Quaker State since they merged with Q-Lube, to begin with. Plus they have twice messed up my girlfriend's CRV, where she had an oil leak or something afterwards. It smelled like burning oil and it didn't go away. She finally had to take it to the dealer to change the oil again, clean up all the leaked oil, and make it right again.

I prefer the local Grease Monkey. They seem to do a better job than Jiffy Lube, and they'll put Mobil-1 in my car. :-)

gooters

lol, Lab is a troll. He sounds like a communist! I have had plenty of jobs digging ditches, pouring concrete, mowing yards, cleaning toilets, mopping floors, driving busses, all of this literally. I dont even have my Z yet, but when I do I am not going to let some random person cruise it without my permission. Are you a poor guy without a Z who feels entitled to take other people's crap? Get a grip. I have worked my *** off my whole life, I put myself through college to be in the position to even be shopping for this car, I don't believe in entitlement...you sound like a lazy guy.

stonesfan

There is nothing wrong with writing a letter of complaint and believe it or not, they can and do work. It may not in this instance, but who is to say. Case in point: It doesn't involve a car but I have a contract with my local gas company to service my gas appliances. This past winter, during a very cold spell, my furnace stopped working. The gas company informed me that they would not be able to come out for three to four days. I didn't feel like freezing my as* off for that long so I called a local repairman. He came over within 1/2 hour and had my furnace fixed. It cost me $250. I was pissed because I pay about $15 a month for my service contract with the gas company and the first time I want to use it they tell me I have to wait three days. So I wrote them a letter and told them I felt I should not have to pay the $250 out of my pocket and that they should reimburse me. And guess what? Two weeks later I got a phone call and they applied a $250 credit to my gas bill account.
So.....complaining/letter writing CAN work!

PS - I need to rack up some more points too.