Dealership Fraud

[Gabe]

I just recently purchased a used MazdaSpeed from a known dealership in Ottawa. The dealership is not Mazda, I won't name said Dealership just yet as this story is happening right now.

Let me just tell you the nightmare I've had so far.

The vehicle is supposedly certified. Yet the morning after I bought the car, the Check Engine Light came on. I have an OBD-II scanner and picked up the code P0421 which basically means that the Cat Converter is gone.

I took in the dealership but did not tell them about the code since I wanted them to do their job and not skew their judgment. I told them how frustrated I was about this ...but since they were going to fix it for free it was ok so far.

So 2 days later, I call them and they tell me the car will be ready by end of day. I then Call by end of day and now they are telling me they need to order a new Manifold because it's leaking. This is, according to them, going to take a week to order.

Week later...I take the car in.

4 days after that, they still have my car! So I call them and they inform me that they have replaced the Manifold but had to send my car to Mazda to "tune the turbo". At that point, to me, that raised BIG red flags.

I basically called all the Mazda dealerships in the area and found my car. The Mazda dealership, all confused, informed me that someone dropped off my car pretending to be me and they had no idea that this person was from said other Dealership!!! Mazda then told me that what had to be fixed is the Cat Converter as I suspected and that in light of all this, they would only return the car to me..(understandably)

Now I am stuck in a really horrible situation, as my car is still at the Mazda dealership as I write this letter and the other Dealership (won't name it just yet to protect myself) is coming after me for screwing them.

I've already contacted a lawyer about this...but beyond that I'm not quite sure what to do.

Thanks for your help...and apologies for the long long thread...

[terapr0]

are you asking a question or just sharing your story??

I dont understand how or why the other dealership would construe what you've done as "screwing them"....what did you do that was so terrible? picked up your own car?

[Impressive]

Ridiculous. Absolutely f**kin' ridiculous.

You should go see what's up with that sketchy dealership to be honest...I don't see how you are screwing them at all. You bought a car, which has problems, and they're not being straightforward with what is happening with it.

Heck, they weren't even straightforward with Mazda, which is pathetic.

Good luck getting all this resolved. Keep us posted!

[Gabe]

Asking what to do.

I caught them committing fraud by pretending to be me when the signed the car in the other dealership.
Also really bad ethics by saying they fixed the Manifold when in fact they did nothing of the sort.

[aris]

If you contacted your lawyer What they tell you?

[zzz3]

file a complaint with omvic.

[Gabe]

well...the lawyer is a friend of mine that doesn't usually deal with such issues but he would do his best to help. He's still looking into it.

I should probably go and find someone that specializes in those kind of issues.

[Gabe]

Ah, thanks, omvic is exactly what I was looking for.

[DumpInfo]

I'm outta words and can't believe such dealership would commit this. I'm speechless!! I say contact CityPulse and request help from "silverman" (think that's what he goes by) and share your story this is incredible to me!

[mazdaspeedemon3]

file a complaint with omvic.

yeah +1 to that, expose that stealership so no ones has to go through the same thing... sorry to hear.

[Gabe]

Just filed my complaint with them. We'll see where this goes.

What's really bad here is that it's put me in a terrible situation. I still have a loaner car they gave me and they left me a really angry voice mail saying that if I don't return the car by tomorrow, they will report it as stolen! (And yes I saved the voicemail).

[Gabe]

Also, FYI.

I have the orignal Repair Order document + copies of the document this dealership signed. The order is under my name, signed under my name but under the sales guy home address! (I looked it up)

[krimsalt]

If they say they fixed the exhaust manifold, have another mechanic look at it, if it's clearly not new, add that complaint with OMVIC.

[Kiyomi]

call the police

[JonsMazda]

Holy crap! They better offer you a free brand new mazdaspeed for all the trouble they put you through....

[mazdaagain]

OK, here is my read on the situation ....

You bought the car supposedly certified and the NEXT morning after you bought the car, the check engine light came on. Meaning that the light was not on when you drove it off the lot. Unless they provided a warranty on the used car, once you drive it off the lot, the car is your responsibility to repair or get fixed under any remaining factory warranty. You took the car back to them. They realized that there was a serious problem and did not want to let you know that they had sold you a car with a bad catalytic converter so they lied to you and sent it to Mazda to get it fixed properly. Since it was already sold to you and under your ownership, they could not take the car to Mazda as the dealership so they had to take it in as you.

It seems to me that they were trying to get everything properly fixed without letting you know, knowing that you would be upset if they sold you a car with a serious problem. This indicates to me that they did not knowingly sell you a car with a bad catalytic converter. They were getting the reapirs done and paying for it themselves or having it covered by warranty. they were NOT asking you to pay. They could have said "Sorry sir, the car is yours and your problem now". They did not. They even gave you a rental car while your car was in the shop. And they sent the car to Mazda to get fixed ... not Joe's crappy corner garage.

What did they actually do wrong ? 1- they lied to you about the repairs, 2 - they took the car to Mazda under the guise of you.

Yes, they were not completely honest with you but they could have done a lot worse. Just get your car fixed and let it go. Had you been almost any other buyer, you would never have known what the issue was and you would have got the car back repaired and fixed properly. I'd rather deal with a delaership trying to make things right (even if they did it the wrong way) than a dealership that doesn't do things right.

[Gabe]

I did purchase an extended warranty, it seems that they would rather send the car to another dealership to have it paid for there rather than through their own. They would have saved themselves a lot of trouble just by being up-front with me.

I don't think that "They could have been a lot worst" qualifies to excuse them...sorry. A Cat converter doesn't just plug itself overnight. Yeah sure, an oversight can happen but again, be upfront about it and I wouldn't have been in this situation.

[Aitch]

OK, here is my read on the situation .....

There could be worse situations, true.... But what the dealership did was still pretty bad and there is really no excuse. As OP mentioned now, he had a warrantee from the dealer so obviously they were just trying to save money.

I'd rather deal with people who are honest with me while making things right instead of hiding the truth and forging my signature for repairs.

[mazdabetty]

Wow, unbelievable. Dealership in Ottawa huh? I bought mine at a non-Mazda dealership in Ottawa as well who lied to me about my car's accident history... wonder if it's the same place? hmm :S

[standsideways]

I bought mine at a non-Mazda dealership in Ottawa as well who lied to me about my car's accident history...

you have to ask for a vehicle history report(carfax) to be sure :)

[mazdaagain]

There could be worse situations, true.... But what the dealership did was still pretty bad and there is really no excuse. As OP mentioned now, he had a warrantee from the dealer so obviously they were just trying to save money.

How were they trying to save money ? They sent it to a Mazda dealership to get fixed !!!!!!!!!!!! If they wanted to save money they would have done it themselves !

[Aitch]

How were they trying to save money ? They sent it to a Mazda dealership to get fixed !!!!!!!!!!!! If they wanted to save money they would have done it themselves !

My bad. You're right, they committed fraud because they didn't know how to fix it themselves. So when someone commits fraud AND is incompetent, we should give them a break?

[mazdaagain]

My bad. You're right, they committed fraud because they didn't know how to fix it themselves. So when someone commits fraud AND is incompetent, we should give them a break?

Take it to the cops or the courts then. This will never get anywhere. Criminal Fraud where they want to prosecute is where the offender commits fraud for personal gain or profit. Getting a car repaired under someone else's name and not making them pay for it will never get prosecuted.

I just found out that I had a very real fraud committed on my last purchase to the tune of $20 K. I have to decide what I will do about this and if it is worth pursuing with Mazda Canada since the fraud was committed by one of their dealerships.

[crystal8484]

Wow, unbelievable. Dealership in Ottawa huh? I bought mine at a non-Mazda dealership in Ottawa as well who lied to me about my car's accident history... wonder if it's the same place? hmm :S

Which dealership did you go to?

[Gabe]

So... An update.

So far what I have been offered in exchange for all my troubles is a year of free oil changes! I'm not sure how stupid they think I am but apparently they do think so. I finally got a call from someone higher up at the dealership. They took my entire story and couldn't believe that this sales person did this. They are supposed to get back to me soon with some kind of offer...

In the meantime, while my car is @ Mazda. They just called me back and informed me that they replaced one of the Cat Converterand that apparently it's still clogged up by the second Cat Converter (didn't realize my car has 2). Mazda informed me that it's highly unusual for the car to already need them both replaced considering that it only has 53,000k. He suggested that the BOV that the previous owner installed is likely causing it.

While it's nice that they are fixing it all for free, man did I get screwed big time.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

brutal situation..

Sorry to hear about your purchase nightmare..

Aside from your time and inconvenience.. how are 'screwed'?

[Gabe]

Finally got my car back yesterday.

They had to replace both Catalyst Converters. Considering the car only has 53,000k on it...it's definitely not normal. Mazda told me the car is likely running too rich and that it needs a tune.

I'm considering asking the Dealership to fork out the $$$ to pay for this considering how badly they messed up.

[Aitch]

What year is the car? 53,000km would still be under warrantee for newer models, right? Did you have to pay for the repairs?

[MajesticBlueNTO]

So... An update.

So far what I have been offered in exchange for all my troubles is a year of free oil changes! I'm not sure how stupid they think I am but apparently they do think so. I finally got a call from someone higher up at the dealership. They took my entire story and couldn't believe that this sales person did this. They are supposed to get back to me soon with some kind of offer...

In the meantime, while my car is @ Mazda. They just called me back and informed me that they replaced one of the Cat Converterand that apparently it's still clogged up by the second Cat Converter (didn't realize my car has 2). Mazda informed me that it's highly unusual for the car to already need them both replaced considering that it only has 53,000k. He suggested that the BOV that the previous owner installed is likely causing it.

While it's nice that they are fixing it all for free, man did I get screwed big time.


Finally got my car back yesterday.

They had to replace both Catalyst Converters. Considering the car only has 53,000k on it...it's definitely not normal. Mazda told me the car is likely running too rich and that it needs a tune.

I'm considering asking the Dealership to fork out the $$$ to pay for this considering how badly they messed up.


get rid of the BOV for now. go back to the stock one or get a bypass valve from Turbosmart, Forge, etc.

interesting that the Mazda dealer told you to get a tune.... warranty still honoured if you do get tuned?

[Gabe]

Yeah they did the whole thing under warranty. Didn't cost me anything.

After all of this...thinking I have no choice but to buy an aftermarket exhaust system if I want to keep the mods it currently has...might as well by an AP as well while I'm at it.

[Impressive]

As some others have said, whatever you do, take off the BOV.

[Gabe]

So what you are saying is that it needs to be fully recirculated? Would a dual port Turbosmart be ok? in a 50/50 configuration

[MajesticBlueNTO]

So what you are saying is that it needs to be fully recirculated? Would a dual port Turbosmart be ok? in a 50/50 configuration

See point 4 (http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?58408-*MSpeed*-Mod-Path-Pt-2-Stage-2&p=849769&viewfull=1#post849769)