Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing to lodge a complaint against Mastria VW due to their unwillingness to stand behind a car they sold me, despite their promises to the contrary. On Feb. 8, 2023, I put a downpayment on a 2013 Mini ****** ********** S, which included a high-interest loan through them and an expensive warranty. The first morning we had the car we noticed a small leak under it. Since Mastria is an hour from our house, I took it to our local mechanic twice over the next three weeks, in part because at first they thought it was oil, but then they realized it was coolant. When I realized what was going on, I contacted Mastria, and got a promise that, although they couldn't see the vehicle right away, they would honor the 30 day warranty, which seemed appropriate. Got an appt. and drove up, they tested for a few hours, and said they didn't see anything, which was super frustrating, since it was leaking every single day. They promised to fix it under warranty if my mechanic could give them more information on the location of the leak (which was pretty lame to put it back on me, tbh). Life is busy; it took some time to get an appointment with ************ and have a further diagnosis. He showed me exactly where the leak was -- which apparently Mastria mechanics could not find. I finally got around to emailing Mastria in July, and they ghosted me. I followed up, again, nothing. So I gave **. In Oct I got a cheery email wishing me a happy birthday, so I mentioned this still ongoing issue. They scheduled an appointment, they but DID NOT stand behind their warranty promise -- I was forced to pay $850 out of pocket. The expensive warranty I was upsold by *************************** did not cover everything, PLUS there was a $250 deductible. And on top of that, they charged me for the "loaner" car -- without ever informing me they were doing so. I regret ever doing business with them, and would like a refund of the money I paid to fix something that was wrong with the car when they sold it to me.

  

  Business response

  11/26/2023

  ****************, identified as Customer, initiated the purchase the aforementioned vehicle, a 2013 Mini ****** S *************************** # ***************** with ****** miles for the price of $10,997 on 02/08/2023, completing all of the paperwork the following day on 02/09/2023.  The anecdotal remarks relating to the interest rate or other terms of the purchase, have no bearing on what is owed, promised, or due to *****************  **************** brought the vehicle into our service department on 3/27/2023 to check for a coolant leak.  We pressure tested the system for over 2 hours checking for a coolant leak, and we were unable to duplicate his issues and did not find any coolant leak at that time. **************** also acknowledges (see attached l_fisher_review.pdf) that he took the vehicle to his local mechanic twice over the span of thee weeks after his purchase and prior to bringing it to us to be diagnosed on 3/27/2023, though he didn't outline that his mechanic was able to diagnose the problem either.  **************** took his vehicle and my ****************** didn't hear from for 7+ months thereafter.  The customer mentions that "life is busy" and that he "finally got around to emailing Mastria in July".  My ****************** has no record of his attempts to contact them.  Furthermore, we have an online Service Appointment Scheduler that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (****************************************************************).  In addition, our ****************** is available by phone 6 days a week from 7:30am-6:00pm Monday through Friday and 7:30am-5:00pm on Saturday.  We have no record on file of his attempts to contact us.
  
  
  
  
  ******************** original Client Advisor ********************* sent him an email on 8/14/2023 asking for referrals, which was opened by the Customer and went unanswered.  Then on 10/17/2023 my Sales Manager *************************** emailed him to wish him a (belated) happy birthday, to which **************** responded on 10/18/2023 and **************** claimed that he had emailed our Finance Manager, *************************** a few times regarding a mechanical issue with his vehicle - and never heard back.  **************** went on to mention that the issue was still unresolved and he hadn't had it repaired.  We set an appointment for him for 11/14/2023 to look at the vehicle. We found that the thermostat housing leaking. We then submitted a claim with the **************** Contract, as it is a covered part and repair. Customer has a $250 deductible. Customer gave the consent to repair. When we were attempting to remove the thermostat, one of the coolant pipes attached to the thermostat housing was frozen on and could not be removed. The coolant pipe is not covered under the Customer's **************** Contract. We gave the Customer a quote of $841.14 to replace the coolant pipe, a fog light bulb and daytime running light bulb in addition to the $250 deductible that was due for the items covered under his **************** Contract.  **************** gave us consent to perform the repairs as authorized.  The total bill was for $1518.15, for which $677.01 was covered by the **************** Contract and $841.14 by the Customer (see attached, l_fisher_repair_order.pdf).  Included in the $677.01 paid by the **************** Agreement was 6 days of Service Loaner coverage (totaling $240).  This directly contradicts the claim by the Customer that he was charged out of pocket as for the Service Loaner Vehicle, as the **************** Contract company completely covered those charges.  It is unfortunate that **************** has taken this stance since he authorized and paid for the repairs that weren't the cause of the leak, nor covered by the **************** Contract. 
  
  We wish **************** all of the best in his future endeavors.
  
  Respectfully,
  
  *******************************
  General Manager - Mastria Volkswagen

  Customer response

  12/05/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  It is disheartening to see dealer GMs like ******************** be so dismissive of legitimate customer concerns and blatantly overlook evidence in an attempt to rewrite the progression of events and weasel out of what they promised without accountability. No wonder the publics trust in dealerships is so low.
  
  Despite all of his obfuscations, ******************** is missing the overall point: there was a promise made to cover the repairs under warranty when I was there in March, and, when later presented with more concrete evidence of the leak that I could see with my own eyes from day one, Mastria ghosted me. No time frame was given as to the expiration of that promise. Remember his mechanics could not find something that I could observe every morning in the form of a puddle under my car, and something my own mechanic confirmed. I had to add coolant at least once every 5-7 days ever since I purchased it. Isnt it a little suspicious that his mechanics apparently could see any leak when I was there within the warranty period?
  
  Additionally, ******************** is wrong in several regards.
  
  First, ******************** is wrong to say that my mechanic couldnt find the leak back in Feb. / March. They saw that there was a leak, as I told ***************** in Feb/March, but since it was an involved job to fix it, they suggested I take it to the dealer, since it was under warranty.
  
  Second, ******************** is wrong to say that I did not contact them back in July when my mechanic was more precisely able to identify the leak (something Mastria was unable or unwilling to do).  I have attached my correspondence with **********************, who works at Mastria, and with whom I was in contact back in Feb. and March, and who sold me the warranty. I contacted him each time because he understood the terms of the initial dealer warranty and had promised that it would be taken care of. In my mind, he is the higher authority as the finance guy. I did contact him in July, as the emails show, and he said he would consult with his service ***** and get back to me, which he did not do, despite me reaching out again.
  
  ******************** says I authorized and paid for the repairs in November, although what were my choices in that moment? They had my car for almost a week, and would not release my car unless I paid. I told the sales manager and everyone I spoke with that I was immensely unhappy with their unwillingness to stand behind their promise. But my hands were tied. They had my vehicle, and the leak was getting worse.
  

  Again, my frustration here is that Mastria unethically just wants to sell cars, but not stand behind their sales. My request is still the same: a full refund for the repairs, since this should have been taken care of by them, as I requested, under warranty, back in March. Im happy to pay the $52 for the light bulb repair. But the rest of the $800 should have been covered by them months and months ago.
  
  Regards,

  Linford

   

   

  

  Business response

  12/06/2023

  As part of our standard business practice, our mechanics adhere to a strict policy: we don't commence or finalize any repairs that fall outside the coverage of a warranty or vehicle service agreement without the explicit consent of the customer. ******************** complaint perfectly underscores why this policy remains integral policy across all our dealerships.
  
  Our initial inspect of ******************* concerns occurred on March 27, 2023. Despite conducting a comprehensive pressure test on the coolant system for approximately 2 hours, we were unable to replicate the concerns raised by the customer.
  
  In his original complaint,**************** expressed, 'Life is busy; it took some time to get an appointment with ************ and have a further diagnosis. He showed me exactly where the leak was -- which apparently Mastria mechanics could not find. I finally got around to emailing Mastria in July, and they ghosted me.' This communication gap spanned over 4+ months from his last visit. Considering ******************** direct interaction with our Service Advisor *********************** in March, it's unclear why he didn't reach out to our ****************** directly for any unresolved issues.Moreover, the prolonged delay of over 4 months before initiating contact adds to the complexity.
  
  **************** also claimed,'They scheduled an appointment, but DID NOT stand behind their warranty promise -- I was forced to pay $850 out of pocket.' Contrary to this statement, as documented in the initial complaint submission, we did repair the identified leak once it was pinpointed, with a $250 deductible, approximately 9 months AFTER the vehicle's purchase. Subsequently, additional repairs were required,not covered under the warranty, which were authorized by ****************. These supplemental repairs, referred to as $800 by ****************, were duly completed and paid for by him as agreed upon. Upon completion of the authorized repairs,**************** collected his vehicle in its repaired state.
  
  Addressing ******************** claim regarding charges for the 'loaner' car, our documented records refute this allegation. It's important to clarify that we did not charge **************** for the 'loaner' as alleged by *****************
  
  We extend our best wishes to **************** and his vehicle for their future endeavors.

  *******************************

  General Manager - Mastria Volkswagen

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2012 ***** Accord from Mastria Volkswagen on 1/31/22 (it was actually 2/1/22 that I signed the papers but they back it up until 1/31 so the salesman would get credit in January). I purchased the extended warranty. Within the first week of ownership, I had to bring the car back in to get the right, front passenger door fixed since it could not be opened from the inside. They fixed it. Around 3/14/22, I called the service department because I heard a low-whirring sound coming from, what sound like, the right rear. The soonest Saturday appt. I could get was April 9th. I took the car in and they confirmed the issue. They said they could repair it but it would cost me since it is outside the 30 day repair window. My $******** warranty didn't cover it either. On the way home, it was a little warm and I decided to turn on the A/C. The A/C wasn't producing cold air. When I took the car in to a local guy to fix the wheel bearing on 4/13/22, he said the A/C compressor was not turning on/engaging. I have had this car less that 4 months / less than ******** miles and I am already encountering this many issues from a car that went through a "multi-point" inspection at a "reputable" dealership. I adjusted my original review of the dealership to show the problems I have experienced. I have also left other reviews on car buying. The responded to a review and said to send an e-mail to a customer service mail box, which I did on 4/30/22. To this date, I still haven't heard from them. Despite them confirming the noise in the right-rear wheel and me taking it to ****************** in ******, ** to be fixed, I still hear the noise. I have a bad feeling they sold me a car with more issues than miles (118K). No wonder they pushed the warranty so much. They knew I would need it. I just would like my wheel and A/C fixed. Just made 3rd car payment and should not be having these issues when buying from "reputable" dealership.

  

  Business response

  05/27/2022

  Customer Care has contacted the customer and has apologized for our poor communication, and his overall disappointing experience. Although we were not able to complete the necessary repair to customer's satisfaction, we will continue to assist in any way possible, including communicating with warranty company, if necessary. Customer has been welcomed to keep in touch with Customer Care.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩