Please Share Your Jim Ellis Customer Experience
Published Thursday, 27 May, 2010 by Jimmy Ellis. Categories: People, News.
We want to do everything we can to make your Jim Ellis Experience the best one ever. Whether it's in service, parts or buying a new or used car, we want to hear about your experience.
Many of our customers use sites like Kudzu to review our stores, and we appreciate that. In fact, we have an entire team of people dedicated to reading and responding to those customer reviews!
Today, I want to ask something a little different. What would have made your Jim Ellis experience "above and beyond"? What would have taken your visit with us to the next level? We have the feedback from the marketing gurus, now we want to hear from you, our customers.
Please post a comment here, send a tweet to me or to any of our store accounts, or post a note on our Facebook wall!
Many of our customers use sites like Kudzu to review our stores, and we appreciate that. In fact, we have an entire team of people dedicated to reading and responding to those customer reviews!
Today, I want to ask something a little different. What would have made your Jim Ellis experience "above and beyond"? What would have taken your visit with us to the next level? We have the feedback from the marketing gurus, now we want to hear from you, our customers.
Please post a comment here, send a tweet to me or to any of our store accounts, or post a note on our Facebook wall!
Comments
David Gjertson 7-18-2010, 2:50 PM
Mazda Repair Chronology
2005 Mazda RX8
(Approximately 115,300 miles on odometer)
June 17, 2010 - Thursday
My Mazda RX8 ran perfectly well early in the day. I drove the car around 12:00 PM and it ran fine with no apparent problems. When I left the house approximately 6:00 PM I noticed the engine light was on and the car was running very rough. The car exhibited lack of power and had to continue to pump the gas to get it to move forward. No other warning lights were lit BUT engine light. I turned around after a few blocks and came back home. Waited about 30 minutes and tried the car again. The engine started and the engine light continued to be illuminated even after start-up but, the car continued to run very rough. I thought I could make it the gas station and back. Drove about two miles and the car started to emit white smoke and by the time I reached the first intersection (approximately three miles) the car was engulfed in smoke and the cabin began to fill with smoke as well. I managed to get it on to Jiles Road and parked in a day care parking lot. By this time the car was so hot even the console was hot to the touch. Smoke continued to fill the cabin. The engine light was the ONLY warning light that was lit. I thought the car had a fire under the hood and jumped out of the car and looked below without opening the hood. I saw that the catalytic converter was also very hot and smoking. The car was completely engulfed in white smoke and it began to rain very heavily dissipating the smoke and cooling the car down. Called USAA roadside service and the car was towed to Cabena?s Japanese Auto Care at 3790 Highway 92 in Acworth, Georgia. The car arrived in the evening around 8:00 PM Thursday June 17th.
June18, 2010 ? Friday
I spoke with Mr. Cabena at around 10:00 AM and he informed me that he believed the engine failed due to heat. His observation was that the seals on the rotary engine had failed allowing gas, oil, metal and ceramic materials to exit the tail pipe. He did not mention a problem with the radiator or the battery. Cabana?s initial evaluation included the following problems:
? Engine/Transmission (one unit on the RX8)
? Exhaust System
? Catalytic Converter
? Engine Computer
? Miscellaneous Wiring that had over heated and become brittle
The initial verbal estimate was $5,000 - $7,000 for a new engine, transmission, exhaust system, engine management computer and miscellaneous wiring. Mr. Cabana researched the car and found a re-call for engine failure issued October 2008 and asked if I had received a notice. I had no recollection and checked my service records from Jim Ellis Mazda and could find nothing that specifically addressed the re-call. There was a reference to a re-call on a service record from December 12, 2006 well before the 2008 re-call had been issued. Mr. Cabena recommended towing the car to Jim Ellis Mazda and I called USAA for their recommendation. USAA moved the car to their lot in Austell on Friday evening June 18th for assessment due to the engine fire insurance claim I had filed.
Mr. Cabena?s follow-up e-mail sent Wed 7/7/2010 9:10 AM:
?David - I cannot vouch for the condition of the radiator since we never addressed that condition. We addressed what you said was a "smoking" and "running rough" condition. When we started the car it was emitting a large amount of "oil burn" smoke from the tailpipe. We shut the car off and checked the spark plugs and found one of them to be oil contaminated. The radiator never came into play, and we never saw any antifreeze dripping from the car that would cause alarm. That doesn't mean that the radiator didn't have a problem. The vehicle is definitely burning oil internally, but if the radiator is fractured, the dealer is focusing on that and not the condition of the engine.
Call the service advisor and ask him to please install an aftermarket radiator in the vehicle today so you can get your car back. I don't know why the OEM radiator is on back order, or how long it should take. Only the dealer can answer that.?
June 18th ? June 28th
The USAA claims service located in Austell examine the car. The USAA claims representative was on vacation and another adjuster Chris Morales, examined the car Friday June 25th. His conclusion was that there had been no engine fire and listed the damage as ?Internal Engine Failure?. His recommendation was to have the car repaired at my expense. Mr. Morales DID NOT start the car and only examined the external parts of the engine for fire damage and made no mention either verbally over the phone or in his written report that there was a problem with the battery OR radiator. When I asked about a possible problem with the radiator he said there was ?no evidence of coolant on the ground? where the car was parked. The car was towed to Jim Ellis Mazda Monday afternoon June 28th and arrived around 4:00 PM. The service manager from Mazda called to let me know the car had arrived and would review the damage Tuesday morning.
June 29, 2010 ? Wednesday
I called and left a message with ?Eddie? the Mazda service technician at approximately 9:00 AM and he returned my call 11:00 AM. Eddie said the car ?needed a new radiator? and the battery was dead at cost of approximately $900. The battery was replaced nine months previously. No mention was made of engine failure or engine smoke. I asked if was sure he had the correct vehicle and he assured me that he was examining a gray 2005 RX8 with no license plate. I also called Cabena?s to make sure the estimate was correct he indicated that the radiator part is about $450. There was no call back from Mazda service Wednesday.
June 30 ? July 5, 2010
I heard nothing from Mazda all day Thursday and left two messages with Eddie. He finally called back at approximately 5:00 PM and indicated that the radiator was ?on back order? and I could have the car back Monday July 5th. Once again I said, ?are you sure you have this right?? There was still no mention of engine failure and Eddie said the mechanic had started the engine and made no mention of engine smoke or any type of engine problem. I had to inform Eddie that Monday was a holiday and perhaps the car would be ready Tuesday July 6, 2010.
July 6, 2010 - Tuesday
Eddie called and said he believed my car would be ready to pick up on Wednesday. I let him know I was traveling on business to Florida Wednesday through Sunday and had a trip planned to North Carolina Monday and Tuesday and could pick up the car on Wednesday morning July 14, 2010. I also requested an aftermarket radiator to reduce repair costs.
July 13, 2010 - Tuesday
I requested an emission inspection in a conversation with Jim Ellis service Monday afternoon because the license had expired while it was being repaired and Eddie complied. He informed me that because the battery had been replaced the computer would have to be reset by driving the car for some distance. I received a call Tuesday morning from Eddie around 9:30 AM and he said there was a problem with the car losing power after it warmed up. He believed it could be the catalytic converter causing the problem. I informed him of the chronology of how the car had been reviewed by a private mechanic and the USAA insurance adjuster. Both believed there was a serious problem with the engine which had only been ?discovered? by Jim Ellis Mazda on Tuesday morning. I also mentioned the engine replacement recall from October 2008 in advance of him discovering the condition of the engine through further testing. I believe the problems with the engine are directly related to inaction on the attached recall notice.
July 16, 2010 - Friday
Mazda informed me that they will not honor the recall as it ?was addressed? in December 2008. I am fully liable for the $6800 repair for new engine and catalytic converter. I called the home office, ?Al? at Mazda Customer Service, 800.222.5500 extension 1168 and he said Mazda MUST honor the 100,000 warranty despite that fact that I had complained about the problem and they performed a minimal test as per MSP-16. They will NOT offer partial compensation either. I will contact an attorney Monday to explore other options. I have already placed this complaint globally on Facebook and filed a several consumer complaints with various organizations..
IMPORTANT NOTES:
? I repeatedly inquired Jim Ellis Mazda to make certain they had they were referring to my car in describing the repair problems and the severity of the problems. Eddie insisted it was a ?problem with the radiator and battery?. It wasn?t until Tuesday morning July 6th that they ?discovered? it had more serious problems.
? I called Chuck Cabena to ask if he had found a problem with the radiator when he started the car and tested the engine on June 18, 2010. He said there was ?no indication of a problem with the radiator? and his follow-up e-mail stated ?I cannot vouch for the condition of the radiator since we never addressed that condition?.
? I also called Chris Morales, USAA Claims Adjuster and he also said he did not find a problem with the radiator and there was no coolant on the ground at their facility where my car had been parked for several days.
? The 2005 RX8 has a warning light for Low Coolant Level. It has been on only one time since I owned the car approximately three months ago. The reservoir was slightly low (perhaps 1 inch) and I added distilled water and the light went out. When I drove the car June 17th in the AM to take my son to running camp, the coolant light was NOT on and the car ran fine. Before the engine failed, the coolant light was NOT on indicating that the coolant level was at specifications. The Check Engine light was the only warning light that was lit when the engine failed. No other warning lights came on.
? Jim Ellis Mazda service may tell me the engine failed as a result of overheating. They had no knowledge of the car being checked independently by two different sources until I told them July 13th. In addition, the October 2008 re-call was not addressed. I have no record of receiving a notice for this re-call, nor was there any indication from my service records from Jim Ellis Mazda that the re-call had been addressed subsequent to October 2008.
? I have complete service records for the 2005 Mazda from the time I bought it new in Tampa September 2005. It was always serviced at the dealership; Cox Mazda in Bradenton, Florida and Jim Ellis Mazda in Marietta, Georgia except for tire maintenance and oil changes. I complained to Cox Mazda of power loss several times which is documented in the service records, and they could not find a problem. The title of Mazda Service Bulletin 01-014/08 issued October 24, 2008 is titled Engine Lack of Power.
? The 2005 Mazda RX8 had 66,650 miles on the odometer on 12/15/2008 during a Jim Ellis Mazda service interval. This is well below the 100,000 mile warranty limit on engine failure indicated on the 2008 re-call notice. Mazda claims they did the necessary repair. I have several friends with cars over 150,000 miles which is not unusual these days. The RX8 is apparently designed to last 100,000 miles and burn up shortly thereafter. I serviced the car at the recommended intervals, did not abuse the engine and followed recommended self-maintenance procedures for adding 5W20 oil when necessary and using premium fuel.
Respectfully submitted:
D.Gjertson
Post Follow Up Comment →
Alicia King 8-25-2010, 4:19 PM
I'm sorry that you had these problems with your 2005 RX8, and I hope that Mazda (the OEM) and Jim Ellis Mazda Marietta (the dealership) have done everything to make your customer experience better. Car problems - and expensive car problems in particular - are very stressful. Your documentation and due diligence are to be commended!
Please comment here to get in touch with me if you do not feel that this matter has been resolved to your satisfaction.
Alicia King
(in the Jim Ellis Internet Marketing Office) Post Follow Up Comment →