ComplaintsforDon Jacobs Imports, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a used 2019 Subaru Forester Touring. This is the second vehicle I had purchased from them. I paid full price for the vehicle and they assured me that the vehicle was inspected and working properly. When I got the vehicle home and started setting up the “features,” one of them- the seat and mirror memory, did not work. I took the car to a Subaru dealership to inquire about the issue. I’d assumed it was me not setting it up correctly, but that wasn’t the case. After paying them $140 to do a diagnostic, they determined that the driver’s-side seat module would have to be replaced. (An electrical issue) The part + labor for them to do it would be $1016. I contacted Don Jacobs to see if they would either pay the Subaru dealership to fix it OR order the part and fix it themselves, and they told me that I bought the car “as is,” so there was nothing they could do. I might add, it took 5 days to reach that conclusion. Luckily, the Subaru dealership loaned me a car to drive during this time period. But now, I have to return it and get my car back with no resolution. I either pay $1016 or continue driving a “new to me” vehicle with missing features due to Don Jacobs negligence, dishonest, and very poor customer service. I strongly believe that it is their responsibility to make it right. Who is willing to destroy a customer relationship over something so minuscule?! I’m in shock and will NEVER recommend them or purchase from them again. I worked with ******** the Used Car Sales Manager.

  

  Business response

  04/26/2023

  This is in response to the complaint filed by *** *****  I am sorry to hear that she is having issues with her memory seat.  Although she did not bring it back for us to inspect, we understand that the dealership she took it too diagnosed some type of  electrical fault. This fault not was detected during our reconditioning process, nor was it discovered by the customer or us prior to delivery of the vehicle.  It is impossible to know when failures may take place and as such all pre-owned vehicles are sold As-Is.  We encourage all of our customers, as we did with *** ****, to purchase an extended service contract to cover unknown or unexpected issues.  Although she declined to purchase this protection, given that she only owned the vehicle a very short period of time and we always want to attempt to satisfy customers,  we made a goodwill offer to cover half (roughly $500) of the repair, which she declined.  My understanding is that the memory seat feature may not be that important to her, but should she change her mind, I will be happy to honor our offer through May 15th to cover half of the repair.  Please let me know if you need any additional information.

• Initial Complaint

  11/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2021 Z71 Suburbon from Don Jacob which I was told the purchase of the vehicle was $68,792 however they increased the price on the contract to $75,980 I had a trade-in but had equity in it, I was not upside down on my trade.

  

  Business response

  11/29/2022

  This is a response to the complaint filed by Ms.********.  It appears there may be a misunderstanding regarding the screen shot provided by Ms. ********.  The screen shot, which is accurate and from an unrelated website, indicates the vehicle is being offered for sale at $3,708 above the average of $68,792, which is $72,499.  This is the exact amount represented on our website, $75,980 less a savings of $3481, for a net price of $72,499.  This is also the exact same amount reflected on the attached buyers order.  Additionally, the buyer's order confirms Ms. ********'s understanding that she had equity in her trade.  We allowed her $24,000 in trade value and her payoff was only $15,414, resulting in equity of $8586 that was applied to her purchase.  Transparency is very important to us and we want to make sure that any questions she may have are fully answered.  As such, if she has any other questions of would like further explanation regarding this or any other aspect of her transaction, she can reach out to us and we will be happy to assist.

• Initial Complaint

  08/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I took my car in for check up on Sept 2021. The Vehicle Health Report showed that there were 3 items needing immediate attention and I approved 2 (steering and brakes). I asked them to look at why the battery light on the dashboard flickers intermittently. They said alternator needed replacement $591. About a month later, the car suddenly lost power and the headlights turned off. I took it back and asked them to also look at burning smell complaint and informing them that I felt that the alternator was not compatible as I had similar experience with my Honda Civic. After a while, they stated that they did not see anything wrong with it so I picked it up. The car was not driven until April, 2022. In April, the car stopped and we determined that the battery was dead so I bought a brand new battery. I took it in again so that Don Jacobs could look at it as I felt that the alternator was not good and I did not believe that ***** (the alternator vendor) had good quality products. They told me that the alternator was under warranty with ***** and that I had two options. If I did not want ***** to honor the warranty, they would have to spend on another and I would have to pay for the new one plus labor OR just labor if they went back to *****. I told them I would choose the latter. The alternator did not take care of the battery dash light flashing on and off so they said that the mechanic thinks there is low voltage from the battery cable. I approved that repair for $270 and the labor cost for installing the replacement alternator for a total of $509. This still did not take care of the battery light. After they kept double charging me for a fix that they did in late June that was also inadequate, I complained about their practices. I said that I did not trust them at all given that they are double charging me. As it turns out, the alternator was bad because I took it to Infiniti and they diagnosed the alternator was not keeping charge and replaced it with one from Napa.

  

  Business response

  09/09/2022

  After thoroughly reviewing the customer concerns, I found that we followed the test plans Honda makes available to us.  Unfortunately this was a part no longer available through Honda so we sourced it aftermarket.   Although we have very few issues with these parts, it is possible that the 2nd one was defective, and if so would have been warrantied.  With that said, and in interest trying to resolve the customer concern I am going to refund $509.  

  Customer response

  09/15/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Having had previously good results from Don Jacobs Honda (DJH) as far back as 2013, I trusted that DJH enough to be a repeat customer when my Honda vehicles needed repairs. I know that there are shady mechanics but I did not think that DJH would be one, given its name and reputation. I appreciate the offer of $509 but that only covers the second time the alternator was replaced along with the battery cable replacement which did not fix the issue of the dash battery light coming on. I would settle for a refund of the first alternator repair of $591 and $509 I paid for the second labor cost of installing another defective alternator along with the cost to install a battery cable which did not resolve the problem of the blinking battery light. Kindly note that I repeatedly told Cameron that I believed that the alternator was at fault which according to Infiniti that my suspicion was true. I hope once you reread the text messages that you will agree to a refund of $1,100 which is reasonable considering the money and time I spent trying to get a Honda vehicle fixed by a Honda dealership. Should this go further, I will have to ask for the maximum reasonable amount allowed in small claims for the time I will have to put in suing DJH. 
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** ************

  

  Business response

  09/21/2022

  I have reviewed this complaint again and conducted further investigation.  The 1st amount that the customer is requesting is for the original alternator.   This repair, despite the fact that it may have been a faulty alternator, is non-refundable.   That said, it did have a warranty, and it was replaced under parts warranty, with the customer paying for the labor.  The customer also had a battery cable that was faulty and this was replaced.  If the vehicle had another issue with the 2nd alternator, it would have been covered and we would not have charged the customer further for labor.  The company providing the part will warranty their part, not pay for another brand.  The customer chose to take it to another facility, where her brother supervised what was supposedly the next repair, which was installation of a different brand alternator. Again, we warranty our work and the parts supplier warranties their parts.  We attempted to contact her brother to gather any additional information he may have had, such as why he would think the parts supplier would pay for another brand replacement or why we should participate (he works in the parts department at Infinity), but he was not helpful.  I originally offered to refund the labor she paid for the second alternator, as well as the battery cable that was faulty, both of which were needed and she approved.  I didn't make the offer based on something we did wrong, I simply made it in a good faith attempt to resolve her complaint because of her inconvenience.  I will again make this same offer, if it is acceptable, I will send along a check, if it is not, we will withdraw this goodwill offer.

  Customer response

  09/26/2022

  
  Complaint* ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  The response is completely inaccurate. You contacted Infiniti and you were given the exact information that I stated in my complaint. Perhaps you should look at the vendors that supply you with subpar parts. It’s dishonest of you to pass along those costs to the customer. This is precisely why I chose to go to another place where my brother works, where I knew he would supervise the repair to make sure it was done correctly. Furthermore your mechanics surmised that a repair to the gauge cluster is what might solve the battery blinking light at a cost of $598! Wrong! The light blinks no more with the NAPA alternator (which is  what I was saying all along). Each time your mechanics wanted to go down a rabbit hole to replace parts which they were unsure to be the problem—review the texts again! Your vendor is the cheapest place for products so you get what you pay for; only thing is that the customer is unaware of this cutting corners given that you are a Honda franchise. If a Honda OEM is what your customers are willing to pay for, why would they settle for the cheapest aftermarket parts you can find?
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ************

• Initial Complaint

  07/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have been bringing my 1990 Honda Accord to Don Jacobs instead of an independent auto repair. I took my car there in August, 2021 because the battery light kept coming on. They said it was the alternator and replaced it. Approximately 3-4 months later the car lost power and stalled. I jumped it and replaced the battery. A month later, the car lost power again and the headlights went out. I brought it in and they told me that the alternator was defective and that although the part is under warranty, I would have to pay for labor costs. Since it was months after, I paid for the additional labor. This did not fix the battery blinking light so they charged me again for a battery cable replacement. This still did not fix the problem but it blinked less until I used the a/c. Earlier this month I brought it in and they said it was a bad compressor and said parts would be aftermarket parts and charged me over $1600. When I picked it up, I was happy because the compressor seemed to fix the blinking battery problem. A week later the air was hot so I took it back to them and now they are saying that the part is defective but since it's under warranty I would only need to pay for labor costs. Isn't labor included in a warranty??? I can understand if this happened more than 30 days after but this was a week after the repair. I do not have any confidence in them now and will get my car and take it to an independent mechanic. I intend to sue Don Jacobs in small claims court if they do not provide me with a refund. I will never go to Don Jacobs again. I have been told by people who work in that industry that there have been many complaints about Don Jacobs and it's better to go out of town (Richmond) if I insist on going to a dealership. It's a shame because I used to trust them with all my Honda vehicles but never again. Their mechanics are no better than a shade tree mechanic but inflate costs as if they are master mechanics. And they buy the cheapest parts they can find.

  

  Business response

  07/28/2022

  We have contacted the customer and repaired her vehicle at no charge.  The situation was not handled properly and the new staff involved have been re-trained to avoid this from happening again in the future.

  Customer response

  08/03/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ************

• Initial Complaint

  07/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I co signed my son a car on May 25, 2022. After getting home he noticed the windshield washer motor was not working. We contacted don jacobs and they asked for us to bring the car in to their service department on a certain date and time. My son took the car and they glanced over it and told him to bring it back the following week (apparently whoever I spoke to had not put him down for a appointment). He took it back the following week and they informed him that they do not work on Toyotas and he would have to take it to a Toyota dealer. They did do a inspection on the car and determined the windshield washer motor was not getting power. They also stated they checked the fuse box. My son then took the car to Greens Toyota in Lexington and come to find out it was a missing fuse. That appointment cost us $100 and a lot of time and aggravation. I spoke to A manager(at don jacobs)and he told me that I would be reimbursed the $100 (this conversation was on June 28). I have yet to receive the check. My sons temp tag expired on 6/25/22. I informed 2 managers and my salesman on different occasions. I was told by one manager and my salesman that they would look into it, and have not heard from either one of them. The other sales manager I spoke to said that their was a lien issue and it took them a while to handle it and that she would over night me a new temp tag (this was on July 7) I have still not received a new temp tag. This has been a horrible experience for me and my son. Communication has been terrible.

  

  Business response

  08/02/2022

  I would completely agree that we did not communicate or follow up appropriately and this has been addressed with everyone involved.  We have reimbursed Mr. ****** his out of pocket costs as we had agreed to do and the tag issue has been resolved.  While the tag issue was outside of our control we certainly needed to do a better job communicating with the customer.

  Customer response

  08/02/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  06/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I went in on Friday 6/24/2022 to get help with an oil change on my 2019 Jetta. I had tried that same morning to perform it myself. However, I was unable to remove the drain plug, it would only free spin. It would neither loosen or tighten. Once this happened, I figured I would have to take it to a business to try to help remove the screw, as I thought this meant that the bolt’s threads was stripped and I did not have the necessary tools. After going to one business and I explained the situation, they told me that the oil drain pan itself was stripped and it would need a replacement. I decided to take it to another business to get a second opinion. They told me the exact same thing and said I would need to take it to the dealer, the place where the last oil change was performed. I had not gotten there first because I knew they were booked until July 5th to perform an oil change but I decided to go considering the gravity of situation. After arriving to the dealer, the service advisor ****** *****, informed us that there was no way to determine the issue but they would try to perform an oil change. He later came to us and informed us the exact same issue the previous 2 businesses had informed us and what I had experienced that same morning, that the drain plug could not be removed and the oil pan is stripped. Even though the service advisor confirmed that they performed the last oil change, as the OEM drain plug and filter can confirm as well as their records, they would not accept fault. I know that the oil pan can be stripped only when it is over tightened, and they were the last to tighten the plug. They would not try to get it covered under the warranty because of “outside influence” of one of the prior business who tried to loosen the plug, because of some cosmetic scratches. I had agreed to pay $400 before tax but after further consideration, I firmly believe it is the dealers responsibility to cover the damage of their mistake.

  

  Business response

  07/09/2022

  Sorry for delay, we resolved the issue with the customer last week.  

  Customer response

  07/13/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  10/16/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  2-3 years ago I had routine services completed on my 2013 Nissan Altima by Dona Jacobs Honda service department. Prior to dropping my vehicle off, the service advisor provided a list of services needed and pricing. One of the services was for a transmission fluid flush. While my vehicle was there for the service, I received a call stating they found out I had a locked transmission which meant it had lifetime fluid and would never need to be flushed. I of course trusted their expertise even though my Nissan service manual called for the service. I never questioned it again. I took my vehicle to have an oil change at a different company today and they suggested I have the transmission fluid flush. I explained to them what ** told me, and the other company said that was simply incorrect. They couldn't get the dipstick to unlock so they took the transmission cover off to get a better look. Come to find out, ** broke my dipstick cap and then glued it back on to the fill tube!

  

  Business response

  01/07/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/20) */ I have reviewed the service file with the service manager. Our records indicate that Ms. ********, who was an employee of ours at the time, did have her vehicle in for service. The records indicate that this service was recommended and declined. While this is what the records indicate, I am not saying that she was not told that it was non serviceable, but if she was it was likely due to the fact they the cap was unable to be removed. A non-removable cap is a design of transmissions that are non serviceable, much like many Volkswagen models. Regardless, we would never have broken something and not repaired it. Unfortunately things happen from time to time and all of our staff knows that we make it right 100% of the time, and this should have also been Ms. ********'s experience while employed with our company. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/10/21) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This is 100% a lie, and I have witnesses to the conversation when I was told I needed the service and then later called with the explanation that this service never needs to be done! They are the only ones who have ever messed with that area of my vehicle. They are known for trying to "cover up" their mistakes. They've messed up my vehicle with other services, They've caused damaged to other employees vehicles and many customers. They need to accept responsibility for this, because they are the ones we broke off the cap and then glued it back on, and tried to cover up their tracks by saying this service never needs to be done. They're being dishonest and need to take responsibility! Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2021/10/26) */ Not sure what Ms. ******** is saying we are lying about, I acknowledged that she may very well have been told her transmission wasn't serviceable, but if we did it was most likely because the cap was glued on as according to Ms. ********. We certainly have been known to make mistakes and take responsibility for them regardless the cost, which at times has been several thousand dollars. Ms. ******** started work with us in July 2016. We first worked on her 2013 Vehicle in April 2017 when the vehicle had nearly 45k miles on it. Who worked on it prior to this time I am not sure but presumably it had been serviced over the 4year and 45k miles of service. Ms. ********'s employment was terminated for cause in June 2020 and the statement that she makes indicating that we cause issues with many customers and employees vehicles is simply untrue and inaccurate. We will not be participating with any repair on her vehicle. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2021/10/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The vehicle had not needed the transmission fluid replaced before it was taken to *** ****** to have this service completed. No other company had performed work on the transmission prior. *** ****** is at fault for breaking the cap and trying to hide the fact they did so by gluing it back on and then telling me this service NEVER needs to be completed, hoping I would never find out what they did. This is fact! As far as calling me a liar about ** having done similar things to me, other employees and customers is laughable. They know the truth whether they want to admit it or not.

• Initial Complaint

  10/08/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On July 31, I purchased a 2011 BMW from Don Jacobs. I am aware that used cars generally do not have warranties. However, after spending over $11,000 in cash for the vehicle, I drove it for less than 500 miles and Less than 60 days later, September28, the car died in traffic and would not restart. I had it towed to a trusted and certified mechanic and was informed that the engine was not feasibly repairable, and would need to be replaced at a cost of $6 - 7,000. It is not a good business practice to sell any vehicle that the dealership did know, or should have known was in this condition. To compound that issued, I was promised a call back from the dealership with a resolution or at least some type of response. I have not received that call back, even after leaving multiple messages.

  

  Business response

  12/08/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/12) */ I have reviewed this transaction in detail with the appropriate Department managers. While the vast majority of used cars that we sell do have warranties on them at the time of sale, this vehicle was purchased through our Auction Axcess program, which offers cars that we would otherwise wholesale due to age or mileage to the public at a reduced price. We have very specific and detailed disclaimers that state we do not inspect these vehicles for other than safety related items and the vehicles may need repairs. Further, we highly encourage prospective buyers to have the vehicles inspected by an independent shop and require them to either acknowledge that they had the vehicle inspected or that the were offered the opportunity to have it inspected and declined to do so. While it is our hope and has been our experience that the vast majority of these vehicles provide good reliable transportation, unfortunately they are mechanical in nature and issues will occasionally arise. While Mr. ******** clearly acknowledged this as an as-is vehicle and was offered to have his local long time trusted mechanic inspect the car, we always are willing to assist our customers. To this end, our Variable Operations Manager called and offered to inspect the vehicle at no charge as long as the vehicle is brought/towed to us. Additionally, as a Goodwill gesture and in an attempt to satisfy the customer, we are willing to do any needed work at a significant discount. Mr. ******** was going to consider and get back with us if interested.

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