Poor Experience/Treatment at Oakville Budd's QEW Mazda :rant

[thegreatsatan]

Last night my Mazda blew a tire randomly when my gf was driving it, I guess she drove over something because it was totalled. So this morning I went out to take the tire off, and I went in the back, got out the jack, wrench etc. I jacked the car up and tried to take the lug nuts off, but they wouldn't come off no matter how hard I tried, so I noticed that one of the lug nuts needed a key to take off, as theft protection. I looked everywhere throughout my car, that I purchased three months ago, and there was no key.

I called QEW Mazda to see what I should do, and they told me to call Waterloo Mazda and see if they could send out an apprentice to help me out. I called them out and they said they "absolutely could not do that, but that I should call Mazda Roadside Assistance. So I did, and they told me that since I was out of warranty, they would not help, and I should call CAA. So I called QEW Mazda back, and spoke with Troy, who sold me the car. I explained to him that I had checked every reasonable location in the car for this master key, and it was not in there, it clearly had not come with the car. I asked what they could do for me, since they had sold me a car that did not have the ability to take off the tires. He said he didn't know, and that there was probably nothing they could do, and that they would not accept blame for this. I asked, if you're not to blame for selling it to me without the key, who is? He said the onus was on me. I asked why, and he said "our stance is that we sell our cars with all the equipment necessary to remove the tires." I said ok, if that is your stance, it would appear that you did not do that, and I am now on the side of the road with no way to remove my tires, are you saying you won't accept any responsibility for that? He put me on hold, spoke with his supervisor, and reiterated exactly what I had just been told - they would not accept responsibility, nor would they compensate me in any way for expenses incurred due to their mistake (he didn't say it WAS their mistake, mind you) and basically said "I'm sorry man, there just isn't anything we can do for you."

Well, because of this I will have to get it towed, 80$, miss a day of work, 150$ plus looking bad to my boss, spend hours dealing with something that should have been simple (remove the tire, put on spare, drive it to get a new one) and ALSO I'm going to have to go take it to Waterloo Mazda and get a new Master Key and theft protected lug nuts intalled, 35$. So, for their mistake of not providing me with the key, which they DID admit was their "stance that they would provide me with it" but somehow not their responsibility if they did not do so, they cost me 265$ and essentially said "we already got your money, FU."

But at least the terrible condition rims it came with were protected from theft, lol. I guess I would expect this from some sleazy auto shop, but this is Budd's, they have a reputation to maintain and I had heard good things which is why I trusted them from the get go. This is really poor customer service, and I'm very disappointed that not only would they not admit they did anything wrong while at the same time admitting it was their responsibility (amazing double-think going on there) they just really didn't seem to care about someone who just bought a car off them 3 months ago. I have nothing against the dealership, and I actually went out of my way to post a glowing recommendation of them after I purchased it, because I was very happy with the purchasing experience. But just as I will be the first to commend someone for outstanding service and let others know, I will also be the first to let others know about a really poor experience that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

[zzz3]

you have to talk to john (booter22), i wouldn't even go there for service or talk to anyone besides him (except katie).

[tomato.novaa]

sucks to hear

[ds2chan]

Sorry to hear. That's a crappy situation to be in. But how would you think this would make you look bad to your boss?

Are you in Kitchener or something? Why would they ask you to call Waterloo Mazda?

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the tire.

Granted, the car should have come with the key for the locks and you might never have discovered this otherwise but you did get a great deal on the car, and Troy exceeded your expectations up until now..


Hey all, first time poster, excited to join the community.
I just wanted to post my dealership experience, at Oakville QEW Mazda with the salesperson Troy. Basically, all in all a very positive experience. I bought a used 04 GS, with 89 000 km on it. He gave me a very good price on it, and even though the sale was already made, he kept on going out of his way to make us happy, ie - the car was listed "as is," and you had to pay more to safety it. He ended up getting it safetied for free. He gave us a full tank of gas (and I mean FULL!) upon coming to pick it up. He initially was going to charge us to detail it, but in the end, detailed it for free as well. All three of these things occurred AFTER the sale had been made.

Anyways, I've been driving it for a few days now, and it's a great little car. Little rust around the wheel wells, and the brakes are definitely going to need replacing soon, but for the price I could not be more happy. Looking forward to being a member of this community, I'm just happy I finally got the car I had been looking for.

I wish you luck in getting compensated.

[thegreatsatan]

Yes, I am in Waterloo, which is why they suggested I call the Waterloo Mazda, who although they were sympathetic (if you were our customer you would be getting taken care of, it should have come with the key for sure obviously) weren't able to help. I asked if I could borrow their master key for an hour but they said they only had one set so they couldn't loan it out, and he sounded like he was telling the truth. If I had been out in the middle of nowhere and this happened, I really would have been up shits creek, even CAA weren't able to take it off, I had to get it towed to Çanadian Tire and it cost more due to it being extensive labor.

As far as for why it makes me look bad at work, simply because I did not show up, regardless of justification.

I recognize I got a great deal on the car, I also recognize Troy was great up until now, and to that extent I recognize it is not his decision whether to compensate or assist me I n this matter. Regardless its just a matter of accountability and I was sold a car without an essential component and not informed of this, and responsibility for that was not taken by Budds when it should have.

[Hoodzy]

I agree with your rage to an extent.. as they clearly forgot to include the part with the car.

However would you be so furious if you were at home and the key was missing? If you are relying on something so important you should have checked when you got the car.
Regardless you should be compensated with something for having to go back to the dealer for a part they didn't include and essentially charged you for.

[zmz3]

I agree with your rage to an extent.. as they clearly forgot to include the part with the car.

However would you be so furious if you were at home and the key was missing? If you are relying on something so important you should have checked when you got the car.
Regardless you should be compensated with something for having to go back to the dealer for a part they didn't include and essentially charged you for.

You cannot remember everything, and it is assumed that the key for lugs is in glove compartment or cup holder area.

Having said that, you do not check your gas cap before you're home do you? what about spare tire, jack stand etc?

Dealership can easily make this up and chug in the cost of the key. It's not a lot on them for a *NEW* customer who might have come to dealership for regular maintenance services.

No one is perfect, but the difference is the treatment after to correct it. Simple as that.

[Hoodzy]

All cars come with a jackstand, gas cap and spare tire standard.
If you paid extra for your fancy winter floor mats and they said they threw them in the back you'd probably check right away. Same goes with a key for your lug nuts.
I'd personally want to know where my key was kept in the case of a blown tire.

PLUS the OP said he couldn't get the lug nuts off regardless of needing the key for the one nut. I tried somewhat to get the lugs off with the shit wrench they give you. If you weigh under 240 pounds and don't want to risk getting your shin gouged by the end of the wrench they aren't coming off. I'd suggest keeping a better wrench in the vehicle which I do now.

[mazda72]

All cars come with a jackstand, gas cap and spare tire standard.
If you paid extra for your fancy winter floor mats and they said they threw them in the back you'd probably check right away. Same goes with a key for your lug nuts.
I'd personally want to know where my key was kept in the case of a blown tire.

PLUS the OP said he couldn't get the lug nuts off regardless of needing the key for the one nut. I tried somewhat to get the lugs off with the shit wrench they give you. If you weigh under 240 pounds and don't want to risk getting your shin gouged by the end of the wrench they aren't coming off. I'd suggest keeping a better wrench in the vehicle which I do now.


Dont blame the OP, they gave him a car with "locked" wheels. It should be the dealerships responsibility in providing a
ready car .
I bet the sales guy didnt forget to take the customers money.

[Aitch]

I believe the issue is that the OP didn't know he had wheel lock on, thus didn't look for the key.

[thegreatsatan]

I believe the issue is that the OP didn't know he had wheel lock on, thus didn't look for the key.
Correct.
I understand that I do bear some responsibility for not checking. Yeah, I should have made sure everything is there, but like Aitch said, I didn't know that my wheels were locked, and I was told everything was there to remove them. IMO, the main responsibility is on the dealership to provide what they say they will, they did not and I should not have to pay the price for that. They already made very clear that they were not going to help me out in any way. I just had all the locks removed, which wasn't cheap. I won't cry over spilled milk but I don't think I will be returning to Budd's anytime soon unless they make this right. It's not even really about the money, it's just about taking responsibility for a mistake you made and are clearly in a position to correct.

[mazda72]

Correct.
I understand that I do bear some responsibility for not checking. Yeah, I should have made sure everything is there, but like Aitch said, I didn't know that my wheels were locked, and I was told everything was there to remove them. IMO, the main responsibility is on the dealership to provide what they say they will, they did not and I should not have to pay the price for that. They already made very clear that they were not going to help me out in any way. I just had all the locks removed, which wasn't cheap. I won't cry over spilled milk but I don't think I will be returning to Budd's anytime soon unless they make this right. It's not even really about the money, it's just about taking responsibility for a mistake you made and are clearly in a position to correct.


Dealership should provide the keys for the locks with the sold car.

[Noisy Crow]

The wheels probably had to be removed for the safety inspection..............

[Default User]

The wheels probably had to be removed for the safety inspection..............

Excellent Point

[kjmckenz]

If you weigh under 240 pounds and don't want to risk getting your shin gouged by the end of the wrench they aren't coming off. I'd suggest keeping a better wrench in the vehicle which I do now.

I only weigh 108 soaking wet, and I was able to change to my spare no problem last year when I went through a pot hole and my tire blew...
I had to stand on the handle and sort of bounce up and down on it a bit, mind you, but the lugs still came off. :)

:bot

[standsideways]

1. you need to"crack" the wheels off, and i guarentee you just put some force on the tire iron, instead of "cracking" the nuts off.

2.you should check that everything comes with the car before taking delivery. If you were too excited to think about your key, that is your fault..

SURE it sucks, but did you ever ask for the key prior to delivery? what if the last owner didnt have one? did they say it was included?

bottom line is that the dealer simply is not responsible for the key...it isnt a safety item, and the subject was likely never brought up PRIOR to the flat tire.

if you listen to some used car salesman who wants your money, and believe everything he says, you should definately learn from this! next time go into the dealership like a communist leader, demanding this and that prior to sale, or NO DEAL.

[Noisy Crow]

The people here know a lot about cars. Most people do not. If your wife/mom/grandfather/cousin/neighbour/random-person-off-the-street was the one who bought the car: would it be reasonable to assume that person knows about wheel-locks? And that they need to make sure the key is in the car? My answer to that is: no.

[Donshaw]

+1 And again I would like to point out that the OP did not know that the car he purchased came with wheel locks. That part to me could be a simple overlook, it's an unfortunate situation and i hope you get some compesation.


The people here know a lot about cars. Most people do not. If your wife/mom/grandfather/cousin/neighbour/random-person-off-the-street was the one who bought the car: would it be reasonable to assume that person knows about wheel-locks? And that they need to make sure the key is in the car? My answer to that is: no.

[cwp_sedan]

The people here know a lot about cars. Most people do not. If your wife/mom/grandfather/cousin/neighbour/random-person-off-the-street was the one who bought the car: would it be reasonable to assume that person knows about wheel-locks? And that they need to make sure the key is in the car? My answer to that is: no.

+1. This is definitely a good example of how not everyone has some automotive knowledge. Dealerships included should already be aware of this.

[sudz]

A very similar thing happened with My Fiancee's Mazda5, also purchased from QEW mazda. The sales person whom we bought the car from no longer worked there.

We got it in February, First Oil change (*cringe*) at mr.lube as we realized we were over and about to go on a long road trip. Come Fall, I decided to put on the included winter tires/steelies myself. Low and behold - No key. I called the dealership, They told me that they put it in the cupholder or the glove compartment. No dice. All the 4 extra bolts where in the glove compartment (the 4 bolts replaced by the lock nuts)

Thankfully it wasn't a blow-out situation that had me changing the tires. I drove it to QEW mazda, talked to Booter, and he talked to a mechanic who couldn't GIVE me a lock key, but they had the one I needed, so as a compromise, he took off the Bolts for me in the parking lot, and I drove it home with 4 out of 5 bolts. The tires no longer have lock nuts, QEW mazda didn't charge me a dime, and were as helpful as I could have expected.

What i would have attempted to do in this situation, is take a picture of the locknut, and e-mail it to John Boot. I'm sure they would have let you borrow it provided you left something (License, Visa etc) to ensure you would bring it back. Granted its a PITA

John Boot is the man. If he knew about this he wouldn't have left you hangin!

I have had my doubts about QEW/Oakville/Budds Mazda, but in the end, I always end up with my foot in my mouth.

P.S... I'm not worried about the rims being stolen because My Fiancee is a curb Magnet. *facepalm*

[Hoodzy]

I only weigh 108 soaking wet, and I was able to change to my spare no problem last year when I went through a pot hole and my tire blew...
I had to stand on the handle and sort of bounce up and down on it a bit, mind you, but the lugs still came off. :)

:bot
You risked getting injured.... having to stand on a tire iron.. when the one end is sharp isn't safe or necessary. My ex gf's POS pontiac G5 at least came with a wrench that had a nice extendable handle making the lugs come off easily.

What mazda comes with lock nuts standard??

[RTEnthusiast]

Speaking of wheel lock keys, I actually had the SAME thing happen to me, with a different outcome.

December '11 I bought my '10 BMW from Open Road BMW in Newmarket. Between the day I purchased the car and the day I took delivery, I bought a set of winter tires and wheels off Kijiji, and dropped them off to the dealership so that when I took delivery, the RWD car would already have snows on it.

Keep in mind, the wheels are OEM BMW 335i wheels. While installing the 18" snow wheels, Open Road BMW discovered that the factory lugs with locks from my 328i wouldn't fit the 335i wheels. Rather than charge me, they just gave me a set of OEM BMW wheel locks for free and put them on the car.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I was at BMW Downtown getting my wheels swapped for the summer. Low and behold, the wheel lock key wasn't in the car to take the winters off. I called Open Road, and within 24 hours, they had a new wheel lock key delivered to my house. The service manager said "it may be in the bag with the summer wheel lugs/nuts", but just to be sure, he sent his driver from Newmarket to my parents' house in Mississauga with a new key the same day!

A week later, I actually discovered that my dad had the lock key in the garage. I called them to apologize for the misunderstanding, and offered to bring the key back. They said not to worry about it, and they look forward to seeing me come back for service.

Budds should learn from these guys. I've found that Budds BMW in Oakville isn't really the best place to take my car either... even though my Mini came from there.

[DashRipRock]

First thing I do is remove the lock nuts. Nobody is stealing stock Mazda Rims. They take the whole car now. Last place I heard about Rims being stolen was in Scarboro in the 90's. Even if you have the key it's no guarantee the lug is coming off. A stripped wheel lock is the same as not having the key.

[SKYMP3]

Speaking of wheel lock keys, I actually had the SAME thing happen to me, with a different outcome.

December '11 I bought my '10 BMW from Open Road BMW in Newmarket. Between the day I purchased the car and the day I took delivery, I bought a set of winter tires and wheels off Kijiji, and dropped them off to the dealership so that when I took delivery, the RWD car would already have snows on it.

Keep in mind, the wheels are OEM BMW 335i wheels. While installing the 18" snow wheels, Open Road BMW discovered that the factory lugs with locks from my 328i wouldn't fit the 335i wheels. Rather than charge me, they just gave me a set of OEM BMW wheel locks for free and put them on the car.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I was at BMW Downtown getting my wheels swapped for the summer. Low and behold, the wheel lock key wasn't in the car to take the winters off. I called Open Road, and within 24 hours, they had a new wheel lock key delivered to my house. The service manager said "it may be in the bag with the summer wheel lugs/nuts", but just to be sure, he sent his driver from Newmarket to my parents' house in Mississauga with a new key the same day!

A week later, I actually discovered that my dad had the lock key in the garage. I called them to apologize for the misunderstanding, and offered to bring the key back. They said not to worry about it, and they look forward to seeing me come back for service.

Budds should learn from these guys. I've found that Budds BMW in Oakville isn't really the best place to take my car either... even though my Mini came from there.

Very impress about this service from a dealership.
New Market to Mississauga, are you kidding me? I would say sure, if you come pick it up.

+1 for that BMW dealer

[zoomahh]

You risked getting injured.... having to stand on a tire iron.. when the one end is sharp isn't safe or necessary. My ex gf's POS pontiac G5 at least came with a wrench that had a nice extendable handle making the lugs come off easily.

What mazda comes with lock nuts standard??

Mine did,
I guess with the 2012's, with the 16" alloys, they now come with wheel locks...standard. Gotta tell ya I was surprised when I saw this too... I was like "WTF is this!!?? Wheels locks??!! Cool :)

[8nfinity]

Speaking of wheel lock keys, I actually had the SAME thing happen to me, with a different outcome.

December '11 I bought my '10 BMW from Open Road BMW in Newmarket. Between the day I purchased the car and the day I took delivery, I bought a set of winter tires and wheels off Kijiji, and dropped them off to the dealership so that when I took delivery, the RWD car would already have snows on it.

Keep in mind, the wheels are OEM BMW 335i wheels. While installing the 18" snow wheels, Open Road BMW discovered that the factory lugs with locks from my 328i wouldn't fit the 335i wheels. Rather than charge me, they just gave me a set of OEM BMW wheel locks for free and put them on the car.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I was at BMW Downtown getting my wheels swapped for the summer. Low and behold, the wheel lock key wasn't in the car to take the winters off. I called Open Road, and within 24 hours, they had a new wheel lock key delivered to my house. The service manager said "it may be in the bag with the summer wheel lugs/nuts", but just to be sure, he sent his driver from Newmarket to my parents' house in Mississauga with a new key the same day!

A week later, I actually discovered that my dad had the lock key in the garage. I called them to apologize for the misunderstanding, and offered to bring the key back. They said not to worry about it, and they look forward to seeing me come back for service.

Budds should learn from these guys. I've found that Budds BMW in Oakville isn't really the best place to take my car either... even though my Mini came from there.

That's the kind of service that normally happens at a premium car dealership such as BMW, Mercedes, etc. The premium pricing on the cars affords them the luxury to pamper their clients. For BMW, an extra wheel lock key costs them next to nothing if the customer is happy and will buy again from them. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for all automakers.

[mazdaagain]

I bought my last Mazda 3 in January and went right from the dealership to a tireshop to have snows installed. As the tireshop was removing the tires with the lock key, they discovered that one of the locks was different than the other 3 and could not be opened with the key. What probably happened was when the car was being safetied before I picked it up they mistakenly swapped a lug lock with the car beside it on the shop floor. Luckily the dealership was not far from the tire shop. I took it right back and they removed all the old lock lugs and put a new set on. In addition they gave me a Mazda watch for all the trouble of going back and forth.

It's ridiculous that Budd's won't take responsibility for the key not being in the car. more than likely the mechanic that certified it used the key and forgot to put it back in the car ... either that or they didn't actually certify it ....

At the very least they should be giving you a new set of lug locks.

[thegreatsatan]

I like how they clearly do monitor these boards, but are not responding at all to this... Well, ok, that's some good PR for you.

They claimed they did a 110 point inspection on it prior to selling it to me, so they would have had to take the wheels off for that. And that's what the salesman Troy Harmer said that when I spoke to him on the phone, "well they would have had to take the wheels off for the inspection" and I replied "ok, so either they did not do a proper inspection, or they forgot to put the lock key back in the car after" and he would not admit that it was even possible they forgot to put it back in the car, when clearly, they did. Essentially he tried to call me a liar, or at every turn try to turn it back around on me somehow, when clearly the fault lay with Budd's.

They still have not contacted me in any way, and are not offering compensation of any sort. So just keep that in mind if any of you are planning on dealing with this dealership. Even on something which they DO ADMIT was THEIR RESPONSIBILITY they will not help in any way. When I called, I offered even to drive out to get the key off them to borrow it. They said no. They just said we already have your money, and you are shit out of luck buddy.

[miako]

I had similar situation and back in 2008, different dealership though. Bought my 2008.5 ms3, mind you guy that it was my 4th car purchase and guess what the sales didn't give me the lock key + 4 wheel nuts that was in a bag with my name on it. Of course, when I took a day off to put on my winters, there was no key. Called the dealership, the sales was off and I spoke with the manager, they said they can't do anything and I had to go to the dealership again to pick it up. I guess I can't blame anyone for not checking, but in my defense, I expected everything to be in my new car when I pick it up. I'm in the boat business, and there is a PDI checklist that we have to follow, to make sure everything is in the boat before delivery. Also, when I went back to the dealership to pick up my lock and nuts, they were the ones apologized to me and I didn't say I'm sorry that I forgot to check if everything was in the car when I took the car. I wouldn't blame the OP for not checking.