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I think I've finally had enough...

2K views 21 replies 20 participants last post by  stevectsai 
#1 ·
I've never had more problems with a car than with the R, which is really too bad, because its a great car in a lot of ways. However, I've spent more time in the dealership with this car that I have my familes last 5 cars-- COMBINED. At this point i'm over 35 hours waiting in the dealership (they're shuttle won't drive me home and i'd have no way of getting back anyway) 3 (free) rental cars from them for a total of 10 days and I'm going back Tuesday. Thus far:

3 trip and 2 days to get the spacers on for wheel rub

Blown rear speaker (two trips)

3 days for squeaky brakes and a long drawn out seat fix in which they replaced the whole seat bracket and switched the apolstrey to get rid of a rattle

multiple trips for a faulty taillight housing

on... and on.... and on....

I mean the car is only a year old with 18,000 miles. The sad part is I know my problems have all been relatively mild. Many here have had much more and more extensive trouble than this. Can I blame all/most of this of Ford? I figured a continent of seperation from Detroit was enough... guess I was wrong.

Tuesday I get to go in for 2 more problems... they put a dent in my dash when they were putting in the seat (which they most likely won't do anything about, and my front fog light just fell out of its socket and is sitting on the inside of the front bumper....


Any suggestions for replacements... preferably something that isn't related to Ford, would fit a 6'5 person, and is reasonably sporty... Thanks for "listening"and once again...(@!^$(!#@&(%$)#&^$)@*&%)@#(&)$%!!!! http://********************/smile/emcocktl.gif
 
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#2 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (carsonlake)

You said it yourself, these are minor issues. Frankly, my allmighty Acura TL (actually two of them - an '00 and an '02 TL-S) had their share of issues.
It was capped off with the transmission shreading itself on the '02 TL-S at about 50,000 miles.
Cars are going to have issues. My '95 Maxima needed a new clutch by 50,000 miles. My '84 Rabbit has more issues than a psychiatric ward. My '97 Z28 was pretty good, but had a couple of issues plus a healthy appetite for lights. My wife's '96 Jetta liked using up 02 senors. My '99 Saab also liked 02 sensors and made strange noises. Most of the cars I liked a lot. Strangely enough the only vehicle I've had with no issues is my R and my Denali - my current two cars.
I think the issues you describe below are minor. No reason to get rid of the car. Now, if you a blown turbo and bad clutch, I could understand it.

Seems like everyone wants perfection from cars nowadays. You don't even get that in a Camry.

By the way, Ford has helped Jaguar with reliability, so it is possible it has had a positive impact on Volvo as well. Ford and GM cars might be boring and cheap , but they are generally speaking not unreliable.
 
#3 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (carsonlake)

Quote, originally posted by carsonlake »
I've never had more problems with a car...

My driver's seat stitching on the left bolster was itchin' me something fierce. I had in at the dealer for something like 57 days and kept bringing it back...

And I had persistent moisture problems in the cupholders too! Took them like five visits to figure out I had a leaky travel mug. Jeez!


Wahhhh!

lmfao. thx for that. http://********************/smile/emthup.gif
 
#5 ·
in a year, the IS350 will be as common place on the road as Civics and Accords and Camrys.

Like the IS300 it replaced, it will be a nice, capable, and GENERIC car.

besides, any R with a chip and high octane gas would rip the headlights out of the IS350.

all the numbers in the car mags saying how fast it is are complete BS. the car has weak torque, is heavy, and an auto.

i' can't wait to smoke the pants of the first punk i find in one who thinks he has a "fast" car....

if i were replacing the R, i'd look at the S4 if iw anted 4 doors and power.

if i wanted a reliable car, i'd check the new Camry.
 
#8 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (PhilUp)

Quote, originally posted by PhilUp »
Lexus IS350. Bullet-proof reliability.

He said something that would fit someone 6'5", not 5'5".

That car has less room than a Mini Cooper. Seriously, it's a joke. I'm 6'2" and I fet like I was press-fit into it, and the seat was pushed so far back, it was 2" away from actually touching the rear seat cushion.

Sorry to hear about all your problems. Sounds like you have severe dealer issues rather than real car issues. I can identify....you have a couple of small niggling problems that your dealer keeps making worse.

Is there another dealer you can try before you get rid of it?
 
#10 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (carsonlake)

You could wait the the Lexus GS350 (update to the GS300) due later this year. It has the same engine as the IS350 but with a useable rear seat.
 
#12 ·
Re: (JOSBRO)

I would have suggested an RX-8. Took one for a drive once and was fairly impressed.
As other's have mentioned I wouldn't ditch the R for the probs you are having what I would do is just keep track of the minor niggly things and get them taken care of at regular service visits instead of making special trips.
 
#14 ·
Re: (CyberRacer)

Quote, originally posted by CyberRacer »
1 month and 1500km so far and all smiles. No problems, nothing to be adjusted and did I mention the SMILE.

http://********************/smile/emthup.gif Here too, I http://********************/smile/emlove.gif my R.
 
#15 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (carsonlake)

Sorry for all the problems you're experiencing. I'm sure it can be extremely annoying. A few things to keep in mind:

1. The P2 cars (including our R's) have ZERO Ford influence.
2. What do you define as "reliable?" Something that may have more minor issues, or something that LASTS? I would say that a vehicle that has an average life span of 18 years and over 250K miles (like Volvo) would be more reliable than a vehicle that falls short of that average lifespan (like most Fords). Has your car ever left you stranded? I'd say your vehicle is reliable (in the sense that you can depend on it to get you from point A to point B safely) . . . but just has some minor issues.
3. Minor issues can become major issues if you have a retailer who doesn't know how to handle them. It appears that your retailer doesn't know how to handle those issues. I would recommend you try a different dealership.
4. Your car is DRIVEABLE. Not one of your issues requires that you need a loaner car. Is it inconvenient for you? Yes. But, as a retailer, I would rather reserve my loaner cars for customers who are actually in need of a loaner car, instead of handing them out to someone who's got a squeak. Sorry.

Based on what you've described, it seems you've experience a comedy of errors (which is unfortunate). If your retailer damaged something on your vehicle in the process of "repairing" it, then insist that they fix what they broke. Escalate your complaints to VCNA if need be.

And before you change cars, change retailers. See if you can find a place with people who are better able to assist you. And keep in mind that, really, you do have a rare car. As such, it does not make business sense for a retailer to stock R-specific replacement parts. So it's entirely possible that they may need to fault-trace your problems, then order parts, and then install the parts once they arrive. So do you part and don't have unrealistic expectations -- remember, you don't have a Ford.
 
#16 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (R Salesman)

I would agree the dealership is partially to blame. Also, I have tried to limit the trips to the dealership to when I was having a regular service/oil change, however, since they need to confirm the problem, and order the part, I end up going back there. They only give me loaner cars when they know it will be there for a few days. The last loaner I got was given because I had been sitting there for 5 hours and they finially deciced to get rid of me. Reguardless of the relatively minor nature of these problems, the fact remains that I've spent an inordinate amount of time waiting for repairs, easily more that I have in the last 5 years combined (and that included a 10 year old buick).

I am not sure how much influence Ford has had on Volvo's manufacturing policies. I do know that this car's consistent battle with minor issues is eerily reminisencent of the Ford Tempo and Contour that my grandparents battled with for years...
 
#17 ·
Re: (CyberRacer)

Quote, originally posted by CyberRacer »
1 month and 1500km so far and all smiles. No problems, nothing to be adjusted and did I mention the SMILE.

Yep, me too. My new girl is 2 weeks old, has 800 miles on her (long drive home from San Francisco) and I am just amazed by a the compliments I have received on the way she looks.

The only car I liked the look of as much was the S4 Avant in Nagaro Blue with the two tone seats (blue suede leather inserts). The press said the S4 was more tempremental than the R, so I passed and purchased a used 04 to see what I thought before jumping in on a new one. My 04 has been great for the year I owned her. Perhaps your car was built on Monday morning or Friday afternoon
JK, but how can a buyer figure out which car is built rather problem free and the next one down the road is a PITA
Just luck of the draw IMO.
Good luck on the next one.
Jim
 
#18 ·
My '04 R has gotten downright boring it's so reliable. I'm actually getting bored with this car at this point and I'm starting to eye a B7 S4...
 
#19 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (RnTX)

Quote, originally posted by RnTX »
You could wait the the Lexus GS350 (update to the GS300) due later this year. It has the same engine as the IS350 but with a useable rear seat.

I think it's already out. I was very surprised to see one on the road the other day.


But nah, go for GS450h.
 
#22 ·
Re: I think I've finally had enough... (carsonlake)

Quote, originally posted by carsonlake »
I've never had more problems with a car than with the R, which is really too bad, because its a great car in a lot of ways. However, I've spent more time in the dealership with this car that I have my familes last 5 cars-- COMBINED. At this point i'm over 35 hours waiting in the dealership (they're shuttle won't drive me home and i'd have no way of getting back anyway) 3 (free) rental cars from them for a total of 10 days and I'm going back Tuesday. Thus far:

3 trip and 2 days to get the spacers on for wheel rub

Blown rear speaker (two trips)

3 days for squeaky brakes and a long drawn out seat fix in which they replaced the whole seat bracket and switched the apolstrey to get rid of a rattle

multiple trips for a faulty taillight housing

on... and on.... and on....

I mean the car is only a year old with 18,000 miles. The sad part is I know my problems have all been relatively mild. Many here have had much more and more extensive trouble than this. Can I blame all/most of this of Ford? I figured a continent of seperation from Detroit was enough... guess I was wrong.

Tuesday I get to go in for 2 more problems... they put a dent in my dash when they were putting in the seat (which they most likely won't do anything about, and my front fog light just fell out of its socket and is sitting on the inside of the front bumper....


Any suggestions for replacements... preferably something that isn't related to Ford, would fit a 6'5 person, and is reasonably sporty... Thanks for "listening"and once again...(@!^$(!#@&(%$)#&^$)@*&%)@#(&)$%!!!! http://********************/smile/emcocktl.gif

I feel for you. My car has been in the shop 3 times, with less than 22k miles. they are not small issues either... we're taking about axle ping (resulted in new hubs and new axles!), and dead alternator (changed under warranty), and finally, countless check engine light and one time coolant level run critically low and ask me to stop driving this car immediately! turned out this car is very touchy.
 
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