Those Honda Civic SI owners who were holding protests in front of dealerships about the widespread transmission problem (where the 3rd gear kept grinding, popping out and randomly going into neutral), finally have their day. Honda issued a TSB (technical service bulletin) on the issue, so now owners experiencing the problem can go their dealership and get it repaired for free, provided they are still under warranty. It’s not quite the recall owners were hoping for, but it’s something. Guess Honda has now heard of the problem they previously said they “never heard of before.” Must have been all that negative news coverage. Here’s links to the TSB (for Honda dealers, for Acura dealers (PDF)) so you can print it out and bring with you. Inside, one of the original newscasts covering the uproar.
cars
Florida Judges Tosses Out Thousands Of Bogus Toll Fines
A Florida judge tossed out thousands of Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and Florida Turnpike Authority toll violation citations for people getting tickets for no apparent reason because their toll transponders malfunctioned. Citizens were subjected to a “bureaucratic morass” when they tried to sort out the bogus tickets, made all the worse because their accounts were on auto-debit. [Orlando Sentinel]
8 Monthlong Dodge Charger Problem Fixed After Consumerist Post
Whenever Brian drove his Dodge Charger in the rain, all the dash lights flashed and he had trouble restarting his car, but after 8 months of strife, his problem got fixed after his story posted to The Consumerist. The next day after the post went up, Brian got a call from Paul at Danbury Dodge, his dealership. Paul wanted Brian to bring his car in so the Chrysler tech could inspect it. Brian brought in the car during a rainy day, the problems were recreated, and the Chrysler tech diagnosed and fixed the problem in less than four hours. On repeated visits before this, the dealership kept claiming they couldn’t recreate the problem. A rep for Chrysler VP TP Lassdora also called Brian up, apologized profusely, and offered five years of free oil changes and extended Brian’s service contract. “In the end, I believe that the Consumerist story forced Chrysler to get involved, whereas Danbury Dodge was content to ignore my complaints,” writes Brian. “Thank you to the staff and the readers of the Consumerist for motivating Chrysler and Danbury Dodge to fix my car.” Inside, the original video showing how Brian’s dashboard reacted in the rain.
Caliber Collision Center Damages Car Brought In For Repair
Sean’s car had a blowout over the Easter weekend, and he had it towed to Caliber Collision Center for repair.
Save On Car Rentals By Renting After Busy Holidays
Our favorite travel troubleshooter blogger Chris Elliot interviewed a car rental salesperson to reveal six insider tips on how to get the most for your money. We like number 5, rent after a busy holiday.
5. Timing is everything. The largest expense incurred by a car rental company is depreciation. Basically, these companies are leasing all the cars in their fleet. They’re charged different rates for different types of cars. “It is very important for car rental companies to have as many cars on the road as possible, as any cars that are sitting are not making money, and are actually costing the company money in depreciation fees.” A customer who shows up after a busy holiday weekend can more or less name the price for a rental car. “They should be begging for you to take cars off their lot,” he adds.
To get a view on what goes on inside the (twisted) mind of some car rental salespeople, check out our “6 Confessions Of An Alamo Car Rental Agent.”
It's Been 4 Months, GEICO, Where's My Money?
Jonathan writes:On January 1st, a friend of mine went to visit another friend in CT (I am from NJ), and unfortunately hit black ice, and proceeded into a guardrail.
Budget Rents Man A Truck, Then Closes Early And Charges $50 "No Show" Fee
Zach tried to rent a truck from Budget last month, and not only did he not get the truck, but he didn’t get the compensatory gift card they offered by way of apology. In fact, pretty much the only real thing he got from Budget was a $50 fee on his credit card for being a “no show”—even though he arrived at the location a half hour before closing only to find it locked up. Oh, and the location was 150 miles from his home.
Why Did Advance Auto Still Have Customer Credit Card Numbers On File From 7 Years Ago?
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Advance Auto said a computer hacker may have gotten financial information of up to 56,000 customers at 14 stores in Virginia and seven other states. The Roanoke company said the customers shopped at the 14 stores from December 2001 to December 2004.
Why would a company have customer info on file for so long? I found one credit card processor’s FAQ which said that the max for chargebacks is 180 days, which is only in the case of when a merchant has violated merchant rules (otherwise it’s 120). So Advance Auto was about 2375 days overdue for a records wipe. It’s time to start tightening up the lax security standards on the retail level that have created a playground of plunder for identity thieves.
(Thanks to Volksaddict!)
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Snapshot of the economy: Small car sales up in March, SUV sales down. Those experiencing the biggest deltas? Toyota Yaris:up 83.2%, Nissan Titan: down 44.9% [Kicking Tires]
Buick Doesn't Tell Dealerships About Fire Hazard
There are efficient ways to initiate a recall and issue safety notices, and then there’s the Buick way. After determining a potential fire hazard in the certain Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Regals, Buick sent out safety notices in advance of a probable recall to its customers. It alerted them of the hazard, and recommend they have a mechanic investigate any suspicious burning smells. What they neglected, however, was to inform their dealerships of the hazard. Reader Tculkin, who had already complained of burning smells to another mechanic, followed the advice in his safety notice and immediately called his local dealership. The dealership had no idea what he was talking about. Literally, they didn’t get the memo. Details, inside…
Shopping Strategy Of Millionaires: Buy Used Or High Quality
Ordinarily I find “money tricks of millionaires” lists to be sort of annoying and unhelpful, but this one, found on the Dumb Little Man productivity blog, and based on a book called ‘The Millionaire Mind’ by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, is an exception. It offers one bit of practical advice that I think everyone should at least consider.
GMAC And Car Dealership Scam Old Lady For Nearly $8,000
A volunteer in Chicago claims that her client, a 65-year-old woman with dementia, was given a GMAC auto loan for a new 2007 Pontiac, even though she only makes $900 a month and has no driver’s license. Now the car has been repossessed and the car lot is saying she owes them nearly $8,000.
Driving Over 60MPH Wastes Gas
“In a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon,” reports CNN Money. The faster you drive, the more air builds up in front of the car and the low pressure drag behind the car increases as well. Of course, you’re also getting to your destination faster. So the question is, what’s more important, time or money?
eBayed BMW M3 Resolution Hits Pothole
The guy who won a BMW for $60k on eBay only to have the dealership back out is chaffing at the conditions the dealership imposed after the two, following an international onslaught of criticism, came to terms. The two conditions the dealership asked for were 1) That Ken not sell the car for a certain number of years after he bought it and 2) That Ken has to go around to all the internet sites that picked up his story and tell them that the dealership worked out the deal. Ken’s lawyer was able to get the first one struck but Ken really doesn’t like the second one, especially after the following quote from the dealership appeared in the Journal-Star, “These bloggers out there, they have lots of time on their hands to do this.” To this, Ken wrote, “I got placed under the impression that the dealership really isn’t sorry for anything they have done here. Their attitude, it seemed was that I am to blame for the firestorm that culminated, implying that I wasn’t being proactive enough in getting the word out…I had no intention of becoming a pawn for this dealer, not after the way they treated me!” For their part, the dealership says they are ready to sell the car at the agreed-upon price once they receive payment from Ken.
Facing Online Onslaught, Dealership Honors eBay Sale
The dealership that refused to honor a BMW 3 Sedan for sold on eBay for $60,000 seems to have buckled under the deluge of criticism, emails, and phone calls made by irate internetizens sympathetic to the buyer’s plight. A post by buyer Ken on m3post.com says that the dealership has agreed to honor the original price. However, there will be certain “conditions,” which Ken wasn’t yet able to specify. Ken’s story appeared in various auto forums, and on Autoblog, Consumerist, Fark, and Digg (although for some reason, it got buried even though it has 475+ diggs…dealership sockpuppets at work?). Online social justice networking is in effect.
Enterprise Car Rental Corporate Email Address Formats
Some email address formats for Enterprise car rentals:
BMW Denies Test Drive Because You Are Not A "Serious Customer"
BMW of Columbia refused to let reader Barry test drive a 135i because he was not a serious customer. The dealership didn’t tell Barry what would make him a serious customer, but they seemed offended when Barry explained that he wasn’t going to buy a car that day.
