DIFFICULT DECISION MADE: No Mitsu for me...MR or no MR
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DIFFICULT DECISION MADE: No Mitsu for me...MR or no MR
Friends, I am new to your wonderful forum, or at least I have not posted until now, when I wanted to make a few points and therefore registered.
I, like several other car enthusiasts, have been agonizing over whether it was time to purchase an EVO, especially enticing is the prospect of the fire breathing MR that is said to be arriving in a few months.
I have owned and currently own several Japanese sports car including the NSX, the TT Supra, the TT 300zx, the dainty Miata and the over achieving S2000 among others. I have not had the courage to acquire the Corvette, even though I am very impressed by its bang for the buck, largely because I value reliability and after sales service commitment very greatly....it is the peace of mind that the company is standing behind their customer.
The one thing that the Japanese have over the US automakers and to some extent even the Europeans, is the amazing reliability of their products and the way they stand behind their products. In years of owning a variety of Japanese cars I HAVE NEVER had a situation where I felt that I was being short changed by the after sales service.
I have never owned a Mitsubishi product before, largely because I could not find amongst their sports cars one that I felt was truly an inspired product, a product for the enthusiast, a no compromise machine that could not care less for occupent comfort or noise level.....that is until now! The Evo changed all that. Here is a machine that is a scalpel, it takes no prisoners, it rides hard and does not apologize for it. It has a rather below average interior material quality and couldn't give a hoot. It does have fabulous seats and a wonderful shifter and an engine that screams and shrieks and loves what it does. UNFORTUNATELY, however, Mitsubishi does not stand behind their product.
Mitsu needs to realize a few things very clearly and that it does not realize these is amazing. CUSTOMER IS KING, CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT, CUSTOMER IS WHY AND HOW THEY ARE IN BUSINESS!!
Given the amazing choice of products available and seeing how each manufacturer is fighting tooth and nail to acquire a piece of the action by attracting customers, I cannot see how Mitsubishi can afford to alienate the very people who overlooked the FACT that Mitsu is not a top tier name. The FACT that they chose to purchase the EVO over several other options, makes them a first rate customer, the very customer they were hoping for when they took the daring action to bring the EVO to these shores. And now, when they have attracted those customers, it is shameful and very poor business on the part of Mitsubishi to alienate these very people and scare away those hundreds and thousands others who were on the sidelines just waiting for the right reason and opportunity to jump in.
It takes a long time to build a reputation but unfortunately a very short time to destroy it. Lexus, Infiniti and Acura provide exceptional products but if they were known for horrible after sales service I doubt that they would be enjoying the success that they are, at least in comparison with the likes of Mitsubishi which is galantly (no pun intended) trying to win a piece of the large pie that is the US auto sales.
No matter how amazing the MR may be, no matter how great the engineering that went into it, no matter that it is a great bang for the buck.....it is not enough, at least not for me and I suspect not for hundreds like me, who want the reassurance of good, if not great, after sales support.
The headaches of ownership should never exceed the pleasures of the same. The visits to the dealership should be instances where one is made to feel like a valued guest. If that is not the case, there is plenty of choice in this land of ours.
I hope I have not hurt anyone's feelings by stating what I felt needed stating. After all I have learned from you people by reading and visiting this forum, that was the least that I could do. Best Wishes to all.
I, like several other car enthusiasts, have been agonizing over whether it was time to purchase an EVO, especially enticing is the prospect of the fire breathing MR that is said to be arriving in a few months.
I have owned and currently own several Japanese sports car including the NSX, the TT Supra, the TT 300zx, the dainty Miata and the over achieving S2000 among others. I have not had the courage to acquire the Corvette, even though I am very impressed by its bang for the buck, largely because I value reliability and after sales service commitment very greatly....it is the peace of mind that the company is standing behind their customer.
The one thing that the Japanese have over the US automakers and to some extent even the Europeans, is the amazing reliability of their products and the way they stand behind their products. In years of owning a variety of Japanese cars I HAVE NEVER had a situation where I felt that I was being short changed by the after sales service.
I have never owned a Mitsubishi product before, largely because I could not find amongst their sports cars one that I felt was truly an inspired product, a product for the enthusiast, a no compromise machine that could not care less for occupent comfort or noise level.....that is until now! The Evo changed all that. Here is a machine that is a scalpel, it takes no prisoners, it rides hard and does not apologize for it. It has a rather below average interior material quality and couldn't give a hoot. It does have fabulous seats and a wonderful shifter and an engine that screams and shrieks and loves what it does. UNFORTUNATELY, however, Mitsubishi does not stand behind their product.
Mitsu needs to realize a few things very clearly and that it does not realize these is amazing. CUSTOMER IS KING, CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT, CUSTOMER IS WHY AND HOW THEY ARE IN BUSINESS!!
Given the amazing choice of products available and seeing how each manufacturer is fighting tooth and nail to acquire a piece of the action by attracting customers, I cannot see how Mitsubishi can afford to alienate the very people who overlooked the FACT that Mitsu is not a top tier name. The FACT that they chose to purchase the EVO over several other options, makes them a first rate customer, the very customer they were hoping for when they took the daring action to bring the EVO to these shores. And now, when they have attracted those customers, it is shameful and very poor business on the part of Mitsubishi to alienate these very people and scare away those hundreds and thousands others who were on the sidelines just waiting for the right reason and opportunity to jump in.
It takes a long time to build a reputation but unfortunately a very short time to destroy it. Lexus, Infiniti and Acura provide exceptional products but if they were known for horrible after sales service I doubt that they would be enjoying the success that they are, at least in comparison with the likes of Mitsubishi which is galantly (no pun intended) trying to win a piece of the large pie that is the US auto sales.
No matter how amazing the MR may be, no matter how great the engineering that went into it, no matter that it is a great bang for the buck.....it is not enough, at least not for me and I suspect not for hundreds like me, who want the reassurance of good, if not great, after sales support.
The headaches of ownership should never exceed the pleasures of the same. The visits to the dealership should be instances where one is made to feel like a valued guest. If that is not the case, there is plenty of choice in this land of ours.
I hope I have not hurt anyone's feelings by stating what I felt needed stating. After all I have learned from you people by reading and visiting this forum, that was the least that I could do. Best Wishes to all.
Evolved Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 621
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From: Texas
no pain , no gain. not everyone here has had a problem, they havent voided the Ac , water pump. radio, or suspension. just some tranny issues and the clutch which is always a debated topic with the Dealers. dont look at me for all your answers but i was looking at the ford Lighting. but when 2 friends had motor trouble from leaking intake intercooler they got shafted by FORD. well i didnt buy one. I took the chance on the Mitsu. and it runs great NOW. the overall product is great, if you dont mod your car you should have minimal issues. the bigger problem is with people and modification, but hey go drive some other car and you can read about ours. Blast to the Past.
Well said,
I totally agree because I promise this will be my LAST mitsubishi ever. I love my car to death but the customer service aspect of Mitsubishi turns me off from them completely. Sorry Mitsu you make a great car now back it up with great customer service.
I totally agree because I promise this will be my LAST mitsubishi ever. I love my car to death but the customer service aspect of Mitsubishi turns me off from them completely. Sorry Mitsu you make a great car now back it up with great customer service.
Newbie
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 28
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From: Mineola, NY
I had trouble also. The dealership i got it from in Manhasset SUCKED *****. All lying, stinking cheaters. I was promised some accesories after i purchased the car and never got anything. I had filed various complaints towards them with mits. of america and BBB and consumer affairs. Plus they broke the contract we had and i got shafted for more money. (MY FAULT!!) Anyways they aren't even there anymore. I guess they went out of business. Goes to show you how much they care after u give them the money.
Evolved Member
iTrader: (3)
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,907
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From: dublin, oxford, chillicothe OH
No offense taken.
You have to realize that these are individual problems. The individual situations have bad service. For everyone that has these problems, there are so many more that don't. Let's say 100 people on this forum (??) have problems and choose to speak up against it, and have gotten bad service from a dealer. Well what about the other thousands of people that don't have problems. People don't have the need to make up a post and waste space by saying, "Hey guys, I have no problems." We'd be filtering through these threads all day. You shouldn't necessarily reflect a business name on individual dealer service. It means the dealer is not standing behind it's sale. Look at Subaru. They offer a free SCCA membership upon the purchase of a car. Go out and use that membership. See what happens to your warrantee. It happens everywhere that performance cars are sold. You're going to have warrantee denial, you're going to have problems, you're going to have lemons. But the place you hear about it is the forums. Because that's what you use them for, to come here and discuss the car and talk about your problems or anything else about the car. So this is where the people who have the problems congregate so naturally, it may appear that people are being denied service daily and having other problems, etc. But that's not the case because people don't come here to say, "hey I have no problems."
Mitsubishi as a whole isn't the one denying your service, working on your EVO, etc. It is the individual dealerships that sell Mitsubishi.
Find a good dealer that stands behind their sale of the Mitsubishi product, and you're set to go.
It just happens to be that you hear about the bad dealers more than the good. That doesn't mean the good ones aren't out there.
You have to realize that these are individual problems. The individual situations have bad service. For everyone that has these problems, there are so many more that don't. Let's say 100 people on this forum (??) have problems and choose to speak up against it, and have gotten bad service from a dealer. Well what about the other thousands of people that don't have problems. People don't have the need to make up a post and waste space by saying, "Hey guys, I have no problems." We'd be filtering through these threads all day. You shouldn't necessarily reflect a business name on individual dealer service. It means the dealer is not standing behind it's sale. Look at Subaru. They offer a free SCCA membership upon the purchase of a car. Go out and use that membership. See what happens to your warrantee. It happens everywhere that performance cars are sold. You're going to have warrantee denial, you're going to have problems, you're going to have lemons. But the place you hear about it is the forums. Because that's what you use them for, to come here and discuss the car and talk about your problems or anything else about the car. So this is where the people who have the problems congregate so naturally, it may appear that people are being denied service daily and having other problems, etc. But that's not the case because people don't come here to say, "hey I have no problems."
Mitsubishi as a whole isn't the one denying your service, working on your EVO, etc. It is the individual dealerships that sell Mitsubishi.
Find a good dealer that stands behind their sale of the Mitsubishi product, and you're set to go.
It just happens to be that you hear about the bad dealers more than the good. That doesn't mean the good ones aren't out there.
Last edited by SilverEvo8owner; Jun 20, 2004 at 07:42 PM.
Evolved Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 574
Likes: 0
From: New Bedford, MA
People do business with people they like...
-----
42 months ago I was looking to trade in my pickup. KBB trade-in value was $9K, I expected to get $7.8K for it (the payoff). So, my parents send me to the Toyota dealership they've gone to for over 20 years, and give me to the salesman that's sold them 7 cars. I was interested in a Celica GT-S.
How was I treated? Not well at all. Test drive? Denied by the general manager. Why don't I get a nice Echo instead, he insisted. Kids love them! Or a 6-year old Celica -- no need to take a new one out? Offer for my truck? $6500.
Went to the Honda dealership, looking to lease an S2000. Wouldn't let me lay a FINGER on the car. Get a Civic. Kids like Civics -- run like wind -- great mileage. Whatever...
Went to the Chevy dealership that sold me my truck, looking at a Z28. Told me to take a hike.
Went to a Nissan dealership to check out the Maxima 20AE. What occurred there resulted in a formal complaint against Nissan, and a handwritten apology from the General Manager, and the Northeast Customer Service Manager. The salesman was fired weeks later.
-----
This continued for weeks. I went to a used car place, Sam Giammalvo's. Guy is supposed to be the nicest guy in town. Offered me $5K for the truck. After this, I was about to keep my truck.
Look at the new Eclipse. Seems tepid compared to the 2G, but it's a big step above my barebones F-150. Salesman comes out and complements my truck. Ask him what he'd give for it. The GM says $9500 right off the bat. Ok. Mind if I take the loaded GT out for a spin? Sure.
So we went for a test drive... that spanned 30 miles and lasted nearly an HOUR. He even offered to let me take it home, show my folks, etc (which I eventually did, by myself. He stood at the dealership to have lunch). We drove on the worst road in the area, my work route, and around my neighborhood. The sale was completed the next day, and considering my credit history wasn't well established, and put virtually nothing down, I got a good deal on the lease. The finance manager explained leasing thoroughly, how the payment was put together, etc. He wanted to make sure I was making an educated and informed decision. I did research when I got home, and what he told me checked out. He was completely honest and wanted to make sure I didn't think any weirdness was happening behind the scenes.
-----
I need an oil change but I'm busy at work? They'd come to pick it up, and they'd drop it off clean as a whistle. Sunroof recall? Handled the day I asked about it. 3 months ago my sending unit went JUST out of warranty. Service manager said if it was miles I was over, and not time, he would've gladly fudged the milage on the claim and did it for zip. I still got my regular 20% parts and labor discount though, though he took another $30 off the sensor since he felt it was just terrible luck.
-----
Evo MR press release appears on the Mitsu site. I give it to the GM. He says he'll talk to regional about it. I get a call and he says its coming. Well guess what? My lease is approaching its end. So I tell him he can order me an MR as soon as he can, and we worked pricing out based on a ballpark figure of $34-35K that he'll sell it to me for around $31-32K. I know I can trust his word. I've mentioned autocross participation and he's all for it unless I obviously abuse the car.
And he's had a few abuse cases with Evos. We're talking transfer cases in which pieces of gears fell onto the shop floor, with flat spots all over the clutch, and hotspots all over the flywheel. In these cases, he did the work under warranty, but told the customer if it came back that way again, it was going to be on their dime. Got to give the guy credit for filing the claims when it was dead obvious (and in some cases, admitted) that they were trying to drag their Evos.
-----
Not all dealerships are evil, though some are. Mitsu may have a lot of rotten ones, but Toyota and Honda aren't necessarily any better. People just do business with people they like. That's what I do.
-----
42 months ago I was looking to trade in my pickup. KBB trade-in value was $9K, I expected to get $7.8K for it (the payoff). So, my parents send me to the Toyota dealership they've gone to for over 20 years, and give me to the salesman that's sold them 7 cars. I was interested in a Celica GT-S.
How was I treated? Not well at all. Test drive? Denied by the general manager. Why don't I get a nice Echo instead, he insisted. Kids love them! Or a 6-year old Celica -- no need to take a new one out? Offer for my truck? $6500.
Went to the Honda dealership, looking to lease an S2000. Wouldn't let me lay a FINGER on the car. Get a Civic. Kids like Civics -- run like wind -- great mileage. Whatever...
Went to the Chevy dealership that sold me my truck, looking at a Z28. Told me to take a hike.
Went to a Nissan dealership to check out the Maxima 20AE. What occurred there resulted in a formal complaint against Nissan, and a handwritten apology from the General Manager, and the Northeast Customer Service Manager. The salesman was fired weeks later.
-----
This continued for weeks. I went to a used car place, Sam Giammalvo's. Guy is supposed to be the nicest guy in town. Offered me $5K for the truck. After this, I was about to keep my truck.
Look at the new Eclipse. Seems tepid compared to the 2G, but it's a big step above my barebones F-150. Salesman comes out and complements my truck. Ask him what he'd give for it. The GM says $9500 right off the bat. Ok. Mind if I take the loaded GT out for a spin? Sure.
So we went for a test drive... that spanned 30 miles and lasted nearly an HOUR. He even offered to let me take it home, show my folks, etc (which I eventually did, by myself. He stood at the dealership to have lunch). We drove on the worst road in the area, my work route, and around my neighborhood. The sale was completed the next day, and considering my credit history wasn't well established, and put virtually nothing down, I got a good deal on the lease. The finance manager explained leasing thoroughly, how the payment was put together, etc. He wanted to make sure I was making an educated and informed decision. I did research when I got home, and what he told me checked out. He was completely honest and wanted to make sure I didn't think any weirdness was happening behind the scenes.
-----
I need an oil change but I'm busy at work? They'd come to pick it up, and they'd drop it off clean as a whistle. Sunroof recall? Handled the day I asked about it. 3 months ago my sending unit went JUST out of warranty. Service manager said if it was miles I was over, and not time, he would've gladly fudged the milage on the claim and did it for zip. I still got my regular 20% parts and labor discount though, though he took another $30 off the sensor since he felt it was just terrible luck.
-----
Evo MR press release appears on the Mitsu site. I give it to the GM. He says he'll talk to regional about it. I get a call and he says its coming. Well guess what? My lease is approaching its end. So I tell him he can order me an MR as soon as he can, and we worked pricing out based on a ballpark figure of $34-35K that he'll sell it to me for around $31-32K. I know I can trust his word. I've mentioned autocross participation and he's all for it unless I obviously abuse the car.
And he's had a few abuse cases with Evos. We're talking transfer cases in which pieces of gears fell onto the shop floor, with flat spots all over the clutch, and hotspots all over the flywheel. In these cases, he did the work under warranty, but told the customer if it came back that way again, it was going to be on their dime. Got to give the guy credit for filing the claims when it was dead obvious (and in some cases, admitted) that they were trying to drag their Evos.
-----
Not all dealerships are evil, though some are. Mitsu may have a lot of rotten ones, but Toyota and Honda aren't necessarily any better. People just do business with people they like. That's what I do.
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Newbie
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 17
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From: South Australia
Find a good dealer that stands behind their sale of the Mitsubishi product, and you're set to go.
Back in the states I only bought from 1 guy and I was taken good care of because he would put the pressure where it was needed instead of me having to hassle.
Originally Posted by shiftright
No matter how amazing the MR may be, no matter how great the engineering that went into it, no matter that it is a great bang for the buck.....it is not enough, at least not for me and I suspect not for hundreds like me, who want the reassurance of good, if not great, after sales support.
Last edited by MaxR; Jun 21, 2004 at 03:19 AM.
I bought my Mitsubishi from Manfredi Mitsubishi and they have one of the best customer service. Just as good as the service I receive at Lexus of Manhattan. However, while I'm at school in Buffalo, there's this place called Northtown Lexus which has a service manager who's a total ***. He jipped me off with a service that wasn't needed to be done. He said after I lowered my car, my warranty is voided and even though they didn't do work on the car, they needed to check the car by taking off the wheels and examining the parts which took them one hour!!! Next time I went there, he yelled at me for driving too fast in the parking lot. ******* I was only driving 15 mph!! I ride a bicycle faster than that. Then I told him that's not how you should treat customers. He told me that Lexus does not need customers like me. I just cursed him out and left. I filed a complaint through Lexus HQ and they apologized there. The next time I went in Northtown Lexus, they treated me much better and one time I was too lazy to hand wahs my EVO in the winter, they hand washed it for free.
It's some dealerships that are messed up not all. Some WILL change. Some don't. File a complaint and keep *****ing until you get what you expect.
I had rock chips behind the driver's side door and got a paint job at Dan Georger Mitsu. Well, I missed the appointments 2 times and also my mileage was 16K which makes me 12000 anything wrong they fix warranty gone. Service manager fudged the mileage but he told me...remember to come to the appointments. Last chance!! Well, the third time I got there on time. Beautiful paint job and service even though I did not purchase my car there.
well, good luck with ur dealerships everyone.
It's some dealerships that are messed up not all. Some WILL change. Some don't. File a complaint and keep *****ing until you get what you expect.
I had rock chips behind the driver's side door and got a paint job at Dan Georger Mitsu. Well, I missed the appointments 2 times and also my mileage was 16K which makes me 12000 anything wrong they fix warranty gone. Service manager fudged the mileage but he told me...remember to come to the appointments. Last chance!! Well, the third time I got there on time. Beautiful paint job and service even though I did not purchase my car there.
well, good luck with ur dealerships everyone.
Evolved Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 793
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Hooptie157
Well said,
I totally agree because I promise this will be my LAST mitsubishi ever. I love my car to X but the customer service aspect of Mitsubishi turns me off from them completely. Sorry Mitsu you make a great car now back it up with great customer service.
I totally agree because I promise this will be my LAST mitsubishi ever. I love my car to X but the customer service aspect of Mitsubishi turns me off from them completely. Sorry Mitsu you make a great car now back it up with great customer service.
how can you love a car more then your life
err
