Warranty Hypochondriacs Keep Mechanics Guessing A 42-year old Manhattan free-lance writer has named her BMW Esmeralda—and Esmeralda is spared no indulgence. When the car was under warranty, Esmarelda's owner asked the dealer to replace an interior panel for an eraser-size scratch. She demanded a new convertible top because of a 6-inch smudge, and then she had them fix a minor whistling sound that occurred only above 50 mph with the windows down. “Ok, so I’m anal” says the owner, who even swerves to avoid grass clippings. Mechanics have another term for people like her: “warranty hypochondriacs” and they are seeing more of them these days. Longer auto manufacturer warranties are not only adding more value to the automotive purchase, but also prompting many customers to screech into the repair shop for every squeak, rattle and scratch. The complaints range from oversensitive seat belt buckles to intermittent thumping noises that occur only when the customer drives over railroad tracks at high speeds. “Sometimes we have to fix the customer, not just the car.” says Steve Gorogias, service manager at Chevy Chase Buick/Hyundai in Maryland. Richard Simmons brought his Mercedes to a dealer two times because of a “squeak” under the drivers seat that no one else in the car could hear. He eventually had the dealer install new seat tracks which involved disconnecting some of the car’s wiring. Simmons has also brought the car in for a “rough shift” between first and second gear that occurs only between 18 and 24 miles per hour. “If they can’t fix it, I want them to replace the transmission,” he says. The emerging hypochondria is particularly acute among luxury car drivers, where entitlement and paranoia converge. At British Motor Cars in San Francisco, some customers don’t even bother to come up with a specific problem. They say, “I’m going on a trip, why don’t you just drive it for a while and fix whatever’s wrong” says service advisor, Jennifer Smith. She stopped listing her home phone number after too many customers tracked her down (one even interrupted her workout at the gym) to discuss their cars. But persisting too much can backfire. David Himes of Shoreline, Washington demanded that the dealer repaint his $25,000 BMW Z3, (which he named Maximillian) because highway sand had left tiny pock marks on the hood of his car after 3 years of driving. The dealer calls this “normal wear.” After several heated discussions with the general manager, Himes was formally banned from the dealership. Now if he calls in for service, the service advisor will see that he is “warning flagged” in the dealerships computer and will not be able to assign him an appointment. Recently we came across a 1998 Honda Accord LX that
had what appeared to be a strange electrical problem. 1. Turn the ignition off.
After losing 350 units
of its first ever sport-utility in a shipping collision in the English Channel
this past December, Volvo will try to speed up production of the XC90.
The company is concerned that demand will far exceed supply. When plans
for the launch of the new SUV were announced earlier this year, buyers began
ordering immediately. Volvo has sold about 9,000 units, more than half in
the U.S. The 350 XC90s that were bound for Newark, N.J. and Port Brunswick,
Ga., were pre-sold, said Volvo spokesman Stephen Bohannon. In all, Volvo
lost 1,800 vehicles, Saab lost 500, and BMW lost 355 when the Norwegian Tricolor
went down. Because of demand for the XC90, Volvo reportedly had already
been considering boosting production—from 50,000 per year to 55,000 to 60,000.
Silver Suits Car Buyer’s
Fancy
When purchasing a brand new vehicle, car buyers rank
color right next to make and model when formulating their new vehicle wish
list. For 2003, Chrysler Group's color experts predict that silver, and
new hues influenced by silver, will be popular in the new 2003 model year,
which began this fall.
In Passing. (Obituaries Courtesy The Standard Times)
|
|
Please drive carefully. |
As a participating shop and student mentor for our local vocational
school’s AYES School-To- Work Program, I have to attend meetings at the
school throughout the year. The most recent meeting at the school was not
unusual in itself until we got to the agenda item “student hourly rate
increase.” Currently, shops that are part of the AYES initiative agree
to have vocational students working in their shop at a fixed hourly rate
that is the same for all students at all shops. This way no student will
be biased to work at a certain shop because of a financial incentive. The
agenda item called for raising the student rate from $7.00 per hour to $8.00
per hour. The rate has been at $7.00 since 1995. It was interesting to note
that several of the other new car dealership service managers in the meeting
did not want to raise the student’s rate. They cited several reasons: This
areas economy is depressed, the shop overhead is high enough already, etc.
I thought the rate should be raised and expressed my reasons: Our states
minimum wage is at $6.75, the students are $0.25 from flipping hamburgers.
The fast food business is much less labor, brain and equipment intensive.
What painful bodily positions must they contort into each day in that field?
What scan-tool software do they have to learn? What tool box do they need
to fill with self-purchased expensive tools? What night training do they
have to attend and how often? No wonder it’s so difficult to get quality
people to stay in, let alone enter the automotive trade! Lets face it, these
students know the motto “work smarter not harder.” There are plenty of careers
out there that require less work and offer more pay. I ought to know, we
recently lost a great seven year employee to a union job. Hello...does
anyone hear me? This job has got to have at least some incentive, some reason
to do it. We live and work in an industry that has survived on the fact that
some people out there “did it” because they loved cars. That pool of the
population has all but dried up. The people in this industry are no different
than anyone else. We can’t expect any more people to accept substandard income
just because it was always that way and they won’t know any better. They’re
really smart people and they have the same bills to pay, if not more. Isn’t
it ironic that so many people inside the automotive service industry will
complain about the overall image and growing lack of available technicians,
but at the same time we won't turn around and face the financial pay issues
we have turned away from for years. (By they way, the “yes” votes won
on the rate increase.)
We are deeply saddened by the loss of our former employee and dear friend
Paul Cholette. Many of you may remember Paul giving you
a ride home or to work. Paul always had a positive attitude, was a wealth
of knowledge and loved talking with people. Paul fulfilled many duties
here including, facility maintenance, transportation of customers and their
vehicles, transportation of parts needed during the day by the service
department, etc. Paul who was 63, was born in Fall River, and lived
in this area all his life. He graduated from Dartmouth High School in 1957
and served in the Army National Guard during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He
was a communicant of St. Julie Billiart Church and regularly attended Mass
at Our Lady's Chapel in downtown New Bedford. Prior to his employment here,
Paul had a 35 year career with the New Bedford Gas and Edison Light Co.,
then Commonwealth Gas Co. and then NStar. In earlier years, he worked at
Harvey Probers Custom Furniture Store in Fall River. He was a skilled carpenter
who did many projects around his home. Skilled in martial arts, he also held
a black belt in the Tonan Judo Club. 1476 Purchase Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
Phone: (508) 999-3213
e-mail: samgauto@samscars.com
