so i having a small issue with my dealership
i bought my 2010 RA in june and with that an lifetime synthetic oil change card for it for $700, now this is not the first time i've done this i also bought one for my old RA i had before i bought this one.

anyway i'm curious about who's responsability it is to inform you of the details of such a service such as it only being valid at the dealership you bought it from. As no one informed me of this either time i bought said card and neither was my friend who i sent to this dealer to buy an RA, the only reason we know about it is he tryed to get an oil change at another dealership and they said its not valid here... so it brings up the question of how often they do it

we're both in the military so its a garuntee we won't live in the same city for the rest of lives. And with that i'm being posted to another province this winter. so i'll have paid 700 bucks for lifetime of oil changes to actually only get 2 oil changes before i move


i had gone to the service manager and it seemed like he could care less really and said there nothing he can do.

really i'd be happy to just walk away with a big box of filters and bottles of oil and do it myself


So the question is since i'll be going to talk to the owner or general manager shortly, is it their responsability to inform someone buying this service that its not valid anywhere else except their dealership?

especially if the sales rep knows this person will not be livign in this city for an infinite amount of time

 

Nope. You as the consumer are responsible for reading all the fine print in the contract. It sucks, but if the contract states that you must take it back to that dealership to get the "free" oil change, than that is what you must do. When they sell these kind of service contracts they count on a lot of people either moving, selling the car, or having the service done elsewhere because it is more convenient.

I would read the contract you signed, and see if there is a way you can transfer it another facility or another person, so at least someone can get some use out of it.

 

How did you think that this was a program that was owned by Mitsubishi and not the dealership? It would have to be owned by Mitsubishi in order for it to be honored at all dealerships, and even then, in almost every case of these programs, there will be fine print that tells you that the dealership has to be a "participating dealer". In other words, dealers don't have to participate in many of the programs that are offered by the manufacturers. About the only thing they have to honor is the factory warranty, that's about it.

Chalk it up to a learning lesson. Most of us have all had one of these in our lifetime, count this one as one of yours. Next time, read the fine print and ask questions, even if they seem dumb at the time.

 

I would look into all the fine print and contract you sign/given to u when u purchased the card/car

if it is not stated anywhere... u can argue with them or even bring you lawyer...
but this might actually cost u more than 700$..

feel sorry for your trouble..

 

oops just relised i posted this in the wrong section damn... mods feel free to move to general


anyhow i'm pretty sure they're was no paper work saying this in advance... though theres probably something on the card itself.. but i never received the card till after the loan was approved

hopefully i can get the manager to see my side and maybe just gimme a bunch of oil for the remaining balance of what i paid for it

 

did you buy the rustproofing and paint sealer too?

 

 

What you should do IMO is try and see if you can sell it to someone else in that area. Maybe the stealership will allow a transfer of serves.

 

Dealers are owned independantly robyn. When they sell the car, that singular dealer is making the profit, and the commitment to honor the card. Another dealership has no reason to lose 40$ in parts + labour because another dealership profited selling you the oil change card.

Think of it as zellers not accepting a Sears gift card. Why would they, they didnt sell it, or profit from it, and they surely arent bound to it.

 

Look at your fine print, usually there is something regarding cancellation, at a pro rated discounted of course. I just sold my Subie last month for my Mitsu, and I'm getting refunds on both warranties for my old car (one being a Mitsu warranty, the other from a private third-party company being sold by the dealer).

 

i know they can't transfer the service to another dealer but shouldn't they be able to give me something of equal worth to the money i spent on the oil change card in say parts... or just a box of oil and filters

like the oil change card cost me $750 bucks and i've only gotten one oil change done, and i'll only get one maybe two more done before i move away and won't be able to use the card any more..

so way i figure it i spent 750 bucks and am only getting like $200 in actual service work done..

 

^That's how they make their money. If you had ended up staying in the area and used more than $750 in services, would you expect the dealership to send you a bill for the extra amount? The answer is, of course, no. So why would you expect them to give you a refund on the amount you didn't use.

Since you haven't used, but one service off the card, you may be able to work out a partial refund with the dealer, or some other alternative. The dealer is holding all of the cards right now, so if they do help you out, they are being very generous.

 

this is what i'm hoping for, just haven't been able to get in to talk to anyone, i assume the person to talk to is the general manager cuz the sales & service manager said theres nothing they could do... didn't seem to care either

 

robyn, have you ever purchased a car and accessories before? Why would they care. You made the mistake of assuming an independant dealer was selling you a company wide oil change card....!??! and now expect them to pay the remainder of it back to you after the deal is signed? if this card was built into your deal, it has a numeric value of 0 and was given to you as a present for paying 750$ more for your car. The salesman mad 25-30% of that 750$ in his pocket as pure profit. There is no way that they will give you anything, there is no reason too.

Transfer the card to someone else maybe.

 

i have this is my second car.. lol the first car i wasted a bunch of money on "services & accessories"

i paid the extra for my card wasn't part of the deal but i did put it on the finacing loan, cards are non transferable...

i was just hoping theres some way i can get it back due to the fact they don't inform you of any of the catches except its only good for you.... its not till after i got the card and signed everything that you relise its only good at said delership because its printed on the card

you would think they would need to inform you of these important "strings"

ah well chalk it up to another lesson learned... maybe someday i'll be back in town randomly i can get an oil change just cause


on an end note since i won't be using mitsubishi oem oil & filters anymore whats the better aftermarket product to use