So, I was reading the comments here at kendalball.com and the veered off course into web site stats. Realizing that it’s been months since I checked mine, I took a look. I noticed a significant number of hits from the car blog, Jalopnik, which is odd seeing as they have no blogroll, and I’ve never been able to successfully comment there.
I was behind on their RSS feed, so I took a look to see what was driving people my way. Well, it turns out that I had the dubious honor of making one of their ‘Blog Hoonage’ posts (I still don’t quite understand what that means) for my experience with Ricart and my Mazda3.
Here’s their entire comment from the 20th:

The red flag should have been thrown right about the “one of the dealer flunkies ‘backed it into something in the car wash or something'” point, yes? No? [salguod.net]

I tried to leave the following comment on the post, but, as usual, it failed saying the ‘authorization’ had failed:

In hindsight, yes, the red flag should have been thrown. However, the discount I got meant the difference between a used Protege5 and a new Mazda3. A new car with some repaired minor damage? Sounded good to me. Who knew what I’d get with a used car anyway.
What I should have done, and I kick myself for not doing so, is ask for a complete record of what was repaired so I could look it over more carefully. Then I would have caught the door damage then rather than months later.
Of course, they could have just fixed it right the first time. Or the second, third, fourth, or fifth time.
Thanks for the linkage.

I’ve written about my luck with cars …

• 02-21-2006 – Old reliable 1993 Escort dies with a bad throwout bearing.
• 02-26-2006 – I succumb and buy a new 2005 Mazda3 5 door from Ricart Mazda instead of repairing the old Escort. I get a pretty good deal ($3,000 off sticker) in part because the car has had ‘minor repairs’ to the right rear. I’m told that one of the dealer flunkies ‘backed it into something in the car wash or something’. I inspect the RR quarter panel quickly and find no real evidence of repair.
• 07-22-2006 – (Approximate date) While washing the 3, notice some defects in the repair done by the dealer:
  • The rear bumper is deformed.
  • The rear aero flares don’t fit well.
  • The rear license plate is crooked.
  • There are small, clear stone shields missing from the right rocker panel between the rear door and the rear wheel.
  • There’s a small crack in the paint where the body had been repaired.

  That crack is especially troublesome as it indicates poorly applied body filler.

• 08-01-2006 – The 3 goes into the shop for it’s first service, a simple oil change and tire rotation. While it’s in, I have them check on those issues with the repairs done before I bought it. Enterprise gives me a rental at Mazda’s expense. The Focus they had arranged has a screw in the tire, so I get a little runt of a Chevy Aveo.
• 08-05-2006 – Supposed to pick up the car, but the service rep calls and says she doesn’t like how the stone shields fit. She’s sending it back to be corrected, I drive the runt for the weekend.
• 08-09-2006 – Supposed to pick the car up, but the service rep calls and says she doesn’t like how the aero flares fit. They’re ordering new ones. I keep driving the runt. It makes my butt numb if I drive it for more than about 25 minutes at a time.
• 08-11-2006 – (Approximate date) Supposed to pick up the car, but the service rep calls and says she still doesn’t like how the stone shields fit. Body shop can’t peel them off and re-paint the rocker extension again, so they order a new one. After 17 days, I’ve had enough of the Aveo and ask for a different car. Enterprise puts me in an Impala. Big car. Big, big floaty car. I almost prefer the Aveo. Lots of power though.
• 08-17-2006 – Try to pick the car up. They’ve replaced the rear bumper, the rear aero flares, the right rocker extension, the stone shields and reworked the rear quarter panel between the RR door and the RR wheel. It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon which is perfect for highlighting the obvious mismatch in the silver paint. Plain as day, a nice diagonal line. Not acceptable, I refuse the car and get back in the Impala.
• 08-20-2006 – (Approximate date) Some young punk vandalizes the Impala in my driveway, stealing the Chevy badge off the trunk lid. Ultimately the dealer agrees to fix it for me before turning it in to Enterprise.
• 08-24-2006 – I finally get the car back. Paint match is good, but I point out to the body shop manager that the new, replacement bumper seems to have a different wrinkle in it. He indicates that he noticed it too, but compared it with another and it had the same look. It does look almost intentional. I want my car back, so I take it and go my way. (Later, I learn that the bumper he compared it to was the damaged one that came off my car!)
  Incidentally, while I’m here, the body shop receptionist says ‘Oh, I remember this car. They damaged it getting it off the truck.’ So much for that flunky and the car wash story.
• 09-27-2006 – Not convinced that this bumper is right, throughout September, I look for Mazda3 5 doors to see if the bumpers match my own. They do not. I call the dealer and email pictures of the subtile defect. They can’t see it. I offer to take it in to compare to others on the lot, they repeatedly refuse, insisting on waiting until the Mazda rep. is available. Finally, on the 27th, I meet both him and the service manager. We look at my car and pull a bumper from the parts department. The verdict? “Put this on his car.” he says after very little inspection. Argh.
• 10-02-2006 – The car goes in for bumper #2. They call Enterprise for my rental and they have no idea I was coming. They have no cars, only a Chevy Venture minivan and an Explorer. I take the Explorer. Big, awful truck. It manages to be enormous on the outside and small on the inside.
• 10-04-2006 – I pick up my car. Paint matches, bumper is right. Finally, all is good – or so I think. Some time later I notice that those stupid aero flares got put on wrong again, one hangs over the edge of the bumper by almost 1/4″.
  Later yet, I notice that the door to window seals on both right doors don’t seem to touch the glass. They certainly don’t match the left side. This is confirmed in January with our first snow as snow gets between the glass and the rubber on the right doors, but not the left. That’s odd, though, as it was the right rear that was repaired …
• 02-19-2007 – It’s time to have the second oil change and tire rotation and to have those door seals and aero flares looked at. I waited to avoid making several trips to the dealer. I take it to a different dealer, rightfully fed up with Ricart. This dealer orders replacement door seals and aero flares.
• 02-26-2007 – Happy first birthday Mazda3, it’s into the dealer for more new body parts. The door seals and aero flares are in. I get a rental this time, a Corolla. Yawn. In and out the same day, but the new flare (they only replaced the right one) is curled up at the corner. They say it will straighten out when the weather warms. I’m dubious. More significant is the fact that the new door seals are no better – no different actually – than the old ones. Frustrated, I ask for the service manager (who is out) to call me. I never get that call and finally call him on March 2nd. He apologizes and says to bring it in Monday and he’ll look at it.
• 03-05-2007 – Back to the dealer again. I explain the previous repair at Ricart and I show him how the right doors are different than the left. The seals don’t fit well, they’re wavy and don’t touch the glass. They stick up above the inner panel where the left side is flush. He agrees and says he’ll take it to the body shop to check it out. I get another rental, this time an ’07 Mazda6. I’m the very first to drive it. The best rental I’ve had.
  He calls back later in the day. The diagnosis? Both door skins have been previously replaced and put on improperly. (So much for ‘minor repairs’ to the ‘right rear’.) The only fix is to replace the skins again. Unfortunately this is not something that Mazda will authorize under warranty, I need to go back to Ricart.
  When I pick up the car, he shows me what the body shop manager showed him. The gap between the front door and fender is inconsistent, the putty applied to the inside of the door where the skin meets the frame is sloppy and inconsistent and it’s beginning to crack and of course there’s the door seals (called swipes by Mazda). He say that these doors will eventually rust due to the poor repair.
  He puts it all in writing:

  Doors have had previous repairs and door panels do not line up properly causing door swipes to be loose on window. Looks like both pass door skins have been replaced and not aligned correctly causing window seals not to touch windows.
  Needs both door skins replaced.

That’s where it stands today. I needed to get this entire saga documented so I can present it to Ricart. My plan is to go there and meet with the service manager and the Mazda rep. I want complete documentation as to how the car was damaged and what was repaired on the car before I bought it. I want Ricart to pay to have the car repaired at the shop of my choosing, including an inspection of other areas of repair and corrections there as well if neessary. I don’t want their shop touching it again. They will put me in a rental car for as long as it takes. I want a Mazda5 van, because I think they’re neat and I want to try one out.
Part of me says I ought to go after them harder. They deceived me as to how much damage the car had and how it happened. They’ve repeatedly been unable to fix it. Under Ohio lemon law, I think I have a pretty darn good case. It was in the shop for the same issue repeatedly and it remains unfixed and it was in the shop for nearly 30 days in the first year. Both are criteria for return. Beyond that, I have a case with the attorney general for fraud.
Ultimately, I like the car and just want it fixed. I bought it knowing it had been repaired. Now, I was told minor repair and it turns out that half the side of the car was replaced. I was told they had a top notch body shop but they have proven to be woefully incompetent. Had they been honest with me and had they repaired it properly, this wouldn’t be an issue now. So, ultimately if I can get it repaired properly, I’ll be happy. I don’t want to be the miserable guy battling the big car dealer to get his car perfect. I just want it right so I can go on with life.
Now, if they give me trouble about making it right, I’ll be getting an attorney on the phone.
Oh, and If I give you advice on what car I would by in your shoes, think long and hard about taking it. 😛